Nino was still chuckling happily to himself as he climbed the steps to the school's main entrance, looking over his shoulder every few feet in anticipation of Adrien's flustered rage. He managed to make it inside before ever spotting his red faced friend, starting to climb the stairs towards his second floor classroom when he heard the first shout.

"NINO that was freaking AWESOME!"

The DJ looked up as he made it to the second level, jumping slightly in surprise when he saw his classmate Alix barreling towards him with the rest of the class at her back, minus Marinette and Adrien.

"Dude!" she was still saying as she ran up to him, jumping and punching him pretty hard in the shoulder, enough force behind it to make him wince. "That was so cool you just straight up punched her and you aren't dead? That's what I call a hero!"

A small crowd formed around him and Nino stared at them wide eyed, unsure of how to respond as Kim walked up to him, leaning his weight on him as he threw an arm around his shoulders.

"That's a pretty wicked punch you've got there Nino," Kim was saying, "Never would have thought you had it in you!"

Max spoke next, adjusting his glasses and looking at him in genuine surprise.

"Your probability of survival was next to none, but you're somehow still standing here. I'm impressed."

Rose drew attention to herself with a high giggle, clasping her hands before her chest and cooing, "You were so brave! I would have been too scared to move, you were amazing! As soon as you distracted her we were all freed, we might have died without you!"

Everyone agreed, cheering and clapping as Nino just laughed awkwardly, adjusting his cap and kicking his shoe against the ground.

"Ah guys come on, I'm not a hero. I knew Ladybug and Cat Noir would show to back me up, they're the real guys who saved the day," he said after a moment, sort of admitting it to himself as much as he did his peers. He was sort of miffed with the heroes for scolding him but he really would have been in trouble if they hadn't showed.

"You're wrong," a new voice suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to the top of the stairs where Adrien stood with his arms crossed.

Adrien walked forward, being let into the circle of students to stand by Nino, leveling him with a strong gaze as he said, "It might have been stupid and reckless but you're a hero. You drew the akuma out into the open, Ladybug and Cat Noir wouldn't have been able to do anything if you hadn't stepped in." Adrien rolled his eyes, sighing for a reason no one knew except for Nino. "It was stupid but it needed to be done, and we all owe you big time."

Nino blinked, staring at his friend as a small smile grew on Adrien's face, the blond shaking his ehad again but giving in somewhat to Nino's delight.

Nino grinned, clapping Adrien on the back and laughing before saying, "I'll take that in place of a raise."

Adrien laughed too while everyone else just looked confused, no one noticing as Marinette quietly slipped in to join the group. Everyone only noticed she was there when she suddenly called out down the hallway towards their principal who had just appeared.

"Mr. Damocles!" she shouted, waving her arms over her head, "Sir can we talk to you please? Just for a second?"

The class looked between Marinette and their principal who started to walk over, Mr. Damocles effectively ignoring her and walking straight over to Nino with a smile.

"Ah young Nino!" he said when he arrived, setting his hands on Nino's shoulders. "Your actions were rather heroic today, the school owes you its thanks."

"Uh no problem," Nino said back uncertainly, looking over as Marinette forced her way into the interaction with an apologetic smile.

"Uh sir," she said quietly, her hands wrapped around each other. "I'm sorry, but why are you trying to move Ms. Bustier's classroom?'

All of the gathered students blinked once before looking up at their principal who suddenly looked slightly irritated, a murmur picking up as Marinette forced everyone to remember the cause of what had happened.

"That is an adult matter young miss," Mr. Damocles said evasively, but then Adrien spoke up, hands on his hips.

"Sir that isn't fair is it? To just move her classrooms in the middle of the year. She's worked incredibly hard Marinette is right to question it."

"Yeah!" Nino jumped in, backing away from Mr. Damocles' hands. "She is our teacher, switching her out is bogus!"

Mr. Damocles sputtered a moment, looking around at the students as they started to rally against him. "This is a matter of faculty, and not-"

Alya spoke next, fearlessly getting in the principal's face. "That isn't cool! She works so hard you can't just do that to her! Don't think this is staying off the school blog, I'm sure everyone in the whole school would agree that moving her is wrong." Alya shifted her weight onto one hip, waggling her phone in one hand like it was a weapon as she added, "And I'm sure a lot of the board members will have something to say about such an intricate matter being public knowledge."

Nino grinned at the savvy reporter, Mr. Damocles looking thoroughly backed into a corner. Leave it to Alya to go for the balls.

The owl like man adjusted his coat, murmuring under his breath something like, "Perhaps the decision could be reviewed..." before walking away, retreating to his office as Alya stood triumphantly.

"Nice one," Nino complimented her as the students started to return to their classroom, a few making a point of saying kind things to their teacher as they entered. "He's gonna think twice before crossing you."

"As he should," Alya said with a grin, looking at him over her glasses. "And everyone should think twice before crossing you now too, that was pretty cool back there. Never knew you could do something so brave. Adrien's right, we really owe you."

Nino stared at her, laughing a little bashfully and looking over at Marinette and Adrien who still stood nearby though not together. "Uh, well thanks. Just did what needed doing."

"If you think you're getting away without an interview you're dead wrong," Alya said with a laugh, walking away towards Marinette to drag her towards the classroom. She called over her shoulder to Nino just before crossing through the door, saying, "So don't try and leave before I get one!"

Nino stared after her for a few seconds before chuckling to himself, looking over as he realized it was only himself and Adrien left in the hallway, the model back to looking a little miffed all of a sudden.

"What's your deal?" Nino started to say, before yelping as Adrien socked him in the arm.

"Thanks for just ditching me with LB!" he hissed, slightly red in the face again as Nino started to laugh in his face.

"Hey you're welcome, are you meeting up with her tonight or what?"

Adrien blanched, looking away nervously even though he was still smiling a little. "Uh, yeah. She's gonna come over..."

Nino hooted as he punched the air, his arm a little sore. "Aw yeah! Dude are you guys gonna go to dinner or something?"

"No!" Adrien answered quickly, looking around to make sure no one was listening. "She's a superhero dude it's not like we can make a reservation somewhere. She's just coming over to hang out."

"You're a hero too," Nino said unhelpfully with a shrug of the shoulders, Adrien not looking terribly entertained. "But hey chilling is fine. Just relax, have fun, it's all good."

"All good??" Adrien said back in an exasperated voice, pacing in the hallway and betraying just how nervous he really was. "Dude I have no idea what we're gonna do! Like, we could... I don't even know does she like movies? Do I even have movies in my room? I could get some..."

Nino couldn't help but roll his eyes, wondering to himself how far he was going to have to carry this thing before saying, "She loves video games, play some of those."

Adrien stopped instantly, looking up at him with an amazed expression. "She likes video games? What kinds? I have loads! Does she have a system she likes the best?"

Nino laughed, aware that they had been out of class for a little while now and needed to get back in before it started back up. "Yes, she's a big nerd just like you. She loves story and cute crap and fighting and lots of stuff." Nino thought something over, pulling from his facts of Marinette and remembering a conversation they had had about video games from what seemed like forever ago. "She hasn't played Kingdom Hearts and she's always wanted to. You can play that, or like Mario Kart or something whatever is fine. Chill out dude, you'll have a great time."

"Kingdom Hearts?" Adrien said uncertainly, stumbling as Nino pushed him towards the classroom. "I can do that... that would be fine, maybe I can have food sent to my room? What food does she like?"

"Go," Nino said with a laugh, shoving Adrien along before backing away down the hall himself. "I've got to pee, tell Ms. B I'll be in in a sec, and then I promise I will help you plan your date okay? She loves sweets."

Adrien stood in the doorway, looking distracted and a little distant before nodding and opening the door.

Nino sighed, a smile on his face as he started to head towards the boy's bathroom. Nino was probably going to be on wingman duty all day, constant texts and notes in class until Adrien got a little more sur eof himself. He'd do it of course, this is what he had been working towards, but still it was funny to see how flustered he was. And he had no clue that the girl he was obsessing over sat literally right behind him.

"Everybody is blind dude..." Nino said to himself as he entered the empty bathroom, making his way towards a urinal.

"I know," a small voice suddenly quipped, freezing Nino in his tracks. "But you didn't notice either till it was right in your face!"

Nino shrieked when he felt something crawling up his leg, furiously shaking his pant leg until out popped a small flying black cat he recognized as Plagg, the kwami twirling in the air with a cackle.

Nino whipped around furiously, making totally sure he was alone before hissing, "Plagg what the hell you scared the crap out of me!"

"Good thing we're in a bathroom then huh?" Plagg snickered, looking around the area and scrunching up his nose. "Ugh, still smells though let's go somewhere else."

"No! I came in here because I needed to pee, why were you in my jeans!?"

Plagg crossed his little arms, looking bored as he said, "I needed to talk to you and like you said everyone is blind. I jumped ship while everyone was yelling at the owl guy."

Nino stared before screwing his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose as he said, "Okay. Why?"

Nino jolted when he felt a weight on the brim of his hat, looking up to see Plagg lounging over the edge to stare at him upside down much like Tikki had when they first met. "Cause I wanted to talk to you! I need you to do something for me."

"Oh?" Nino said in a monotone voice, already sort of dreading what was required of him. From what Adrien had told him Plagg liked to cause trouble.

"Look," Plagg said shaking his little ears and getting comfortable. "I don't want to sit through Adrien's dumb date, so I'm going to go with you until he's done with it. You have Camembert at your place right?"

"What!?" Nino said incredulously, reaching up to snatch Plagg off his hat. "You want to come over? You can't just bail on Adrien what if there is an akuma attack?"

Plagg shrugged, not seeming terribly worried. "There was already one today, and if there is another Lady Luck can deal with it. Or you can, you'll just punch it right?" Plagg laughed at his own joke, wriggling against Nino's hold but the DJ held him tight.

"Would Adrien even be cool with that?" Nino asked uncertainly, but Plagg just scoffed.

"I don't need his permission! And he definitely didn't ask me before expecting me to sit through him stuttering in front of Ladybug for hours on end. Just tell him I'm with you, he'll be fine. Your hat looks comfy," Plagg said suddenly, bursting free from Nino's hold and clambering up his face with push up into Nino's cap, snuggling into his hair as Nino just stood there awkwardly.

"I- dude I need to pee! Go wait outside or something!"

"I'm not looking!" Plagg shouted back, his voice muffled from on top of his head and Nino sighed heavily. He looked at the urinal for a moment before groaning and just leaving the restroom, deciding he'd rather just really need to pee then try and go with Plagg there.

Nino sent Adrien a rather basic text saying something unhelpful like, "Your cat is sleeping in my hat so don't trip that he's not with you," as he walked back to class. He walked in as Adrien was reading it, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow to which Nino just shrugged in response.

Nino never quite got used to having Plagg wriggling around on top of his head for the rest of the school day, constantly distracted as the cat shifted through his hair and even kneaded at his scalp to get comfortable.

Adrien asked him for an explanation at some point through a passed note in science class, and he told him the truth. Plagg didn't want to be bothered with his date so he wanted to stay with Nino until the next day. Adrien was pretty reluctant but gave in sooner than Nino would have guessed, probably thinking that maybe not having the trickster around for something so important would actually be a good thing.

'Guess I'm babysitting,' Nino thought to himself, barely paying attention as the school day progressed. Hopefully there wasn't much he needed to do, just buy a bunch of cheese right? He'd have to go to a store after school probably. Stay in his bedroom. Couldn't leave him unattended, he might chew through something.

Super powerful god, sleeping in his baseball cap. He sighed. His life was weird now man.

Nino made it through the rest of the day bouncing between sending Marinette encouraging texts and answering Adrien's constant questions as best he could. He found himself more than once looking between the two of them in class, wondering how the hell something so ridiculous had come to pass. Just... what are the chances man? Two superheroes in one classroom? Two superheroes who were in love with each other in a weird confusing way like less than three feet from each other at any given time?

That was so stupid.

He shipped it so much, there was really no way it wouldn't work out. They were perfect for each other. The more he thought about it the less surprised he became. It made sense that they would always be drawn together in life, they were made for each other.

Just kiss you idiots... he sighed again, looking down at his lap to answer another text from Marinette on the down low, snickering to himself when he felt Plagg tumble forward when he tilted his head.

Alright, so the agenda. He was probably going to be on call all through the date, reassuring them both as much as he could. Probably getting phone calls whenever one of them left the room. He was going to have to watch Plagg, keep him from complaining too much which sounded exhausting. He had loads of homework and a project to finish, and he should probably make some copies if he had the time. He seriously doubted either of the super duo would do their school work that night.

Didn't sound way too hard, Plagg couldn't be that much of a handful right?

'N- I'm going to strangle your cat.'

Adrien blinked at the text message for a long second before sighing to himself, typing out an exasperated, 'What did he do?' before shaking his head.

Adrien set his phone down on the bed, still unlocked and facing up as Nino typed out a response. Adrien tried to keep his gaze from flickering up to the time displayed on the top of the screen but failed, nervously fidgeting with the knot of his tie as he read 8:25 PM for the dozenth time that minute alone.

He had five more minutes until she was supposed to be there.

Adrien jumped when the phone vibrated, not even able to manage a laugh when he read Nino's furious message he was so nervous.

'N- He chewed through my freaking headphones because I said I wasn't going to go and buy him even more of his stupid smelly cheese! He eats like a locust, he's draining my wallet why can't he like something cheap.'

Adrien stared at the words, assuring Nino he would pay him back before looking at the time again.

8:26 PM.

Was a tie too much? He asked himself that for the thousandth time. Probably, they were just playing video games right? He tore it off, fidgeting with his white button up shirt and rolling up the sleeves. That was better right? More casual?

This was so stupid, they were best friends. They were partners they had fought side by side for so long now he knew her so well. Yet somehow this still felt so jarring, like he was meeting her for the first time. In a way he sort of was, as Adrien. Intimately anyways. It was stupid how easy it was to wink and smile when he had a mask to hide behind, but how without it he felt such a sharp churn of anxiety in his stomach.

He wanted her to have a good time. He wanted her to laugh. He wanted to be her friend, with and without the mask. He wanted to ask her to dinner and have her say yes. He wanted to know what to wear.

Adrien groaned, dropping his head in his hands and clenching his teeth. This was stupid. They were friends! Talking to her was easy! Effortless! Then why the hell now did he feel like he wasn't going to be able to say a word and she hadn't even arrived?

What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to act? He wanted to just crack jokes and be himself but... wasn't that Cat Noir? She didn't like Cat Noir, she liked Adrien but who was Adrien what was he supposed to do?

Adrien hesitated, lifting his face slightly as he thought back to about an hour earlier, Nino's words of comfort echoing in his mind as he had expressed the same insecurity.

'If you go into this as anyone other than yourself then that's all she's ever gonna love.'

Nino had said it so easily, during a phone call as Adrien had initially started to panic. He said it like it was simple, the only real answer and Adrien supposed it was. If he acted differently than even if things went well it wouldn't mean anything.

Adrien slowly straightened his back, fixing his brushed hair with one hand and breathing deeply. After a long moment, he actually smiled a little.

He really didn't know when Nino had gotten so... he didn't want to say smart. Nino had always been smart. Wise, he guessed, that was probably the right word. He still said 'dude' and 'broski' but he said some pretty true things too. Things that made Adrien feel more at ease. It was weird how sometimes it felt like Nino had just no clue what was happening, and other times it felt like Nino was the only one seeing the big picture. In this instance that was probably true. Nino had all the secrets and this was what he had done with them, orchestrated this moment for him.

Adrien sighed, looking again at the time on his phone passed a few raging text messages from his best friend to see the clock display 8:29 PM.

'You can't go in as anyone other than yourself...' Adrien thought to himself as the clock ticked over. 'Just be yourself... and if things work then... they work.'