adrien isn’t sure why carapace keeps hanging around him so much lately - he’s always being rescued by the hero in green - but he likes him a lot. carapace doesn’t seem to expect adrien to act any certain way like everyone else. he laughs when adrien makes bad jokes. he actually doesn’t seem to smile as wide when adrien acts like adrien agreste perfect model; and he gets confused when adrien lets slip an overdramatic chat noir-esque pose. adrien realizes carapace doesn’t know him at all and that means maybe adrien can figure out who he really is. and maybe even fall in love with the boy who has no expectations and smiles at him regardless.
nino is realizing he doesn’t truly know his best friend; and this new side of him? this genuine truth? that’s the kind of boy he could be hopelessly in love with, more than adrien or chat noir or anyone, really, and that’s terrifying as much as it’s exciting. if only he can work up the nerve to admit his identity to the boy he knows hates being kept in the dark.
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how to write adripace vs ninoir I don't even know. like they're separate people and very different but for some reason I keep getting worried my carapace just sounds like chat noir. ack. like if you switch the names would you know it's off or would it feel the same. idk idk. but also. carapace doEs act a little different than nino.
also I never realized how much of a romantic he also is but he's always holding doors open dramatically for alya and being all chivalrous and stuff too . and he flirts but it doesn't sound like he's trying to be charming like chat noir but like he's stating a fact instead, he's even more smooth😂 they're BOTH romantics. that's so sweet. I feel like that's not touched on much in fics but omg it has so much potential
Summary: Adrien is the target of the akuma of the day and has been unable to get away to transform. Carapace is trying to protect him, but Adrien doesn't make that easy. Adrien keeps trying to sneak away or worse, throw himself into the battle. This pisses Carapace off. An Adrino one shot!
...
Getting the wind knocked out of you was never fun. Adrien unfortunately had more experience with the sensation than he wanted, but usually he at least had the protection of his transformation.
But today, he was not so lucky. Today, the akuma was his photographer - pissed at Adrien’s subpar performance, and he hadn’t been able to sneak away to transform under the akuma’s relentless assault.
“You okay, dude?” Carapace asked, climbing off of him, holding a gloved hand.
Adrien took his proffered hand with a grunt, and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. He didn’t get a chance to catch his breath as the projectiles continued to fly overhead. The car beside them was hit sending it blasting into bits.
Yikes.
But he didn’t have time to contemplate the near miss. He was being shoved down to the ground, then hauled right back up to his feet, and then pushed into a sprint.
Carapace took a hit and stumbled to the ground, clutching at his right knee.
“Keep going!” Carapace barked.
But Adrien ignored him, instead dropping to the ground under the next flash of blue, and rolled to Carapace’s side and wrapped the green armored arm over his shoulder, and dragged his unknowing teammate into an alleyway, cursing that Carapace had already wasted his shelter on Adrien at the beginning of the assault.
All he had done was prevent Adrien from getting away to transform.
Read on Ao3
Adrien hauled a limping Carapace into cover into an alleyway. They should have been hit, but the shots had stopped. Adrien risked a glance backwards, and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Ladybug engaging with the akuma.
Carapace’s shield was beeping rapidly now.
Adrien turned his back to his protector, and poked his head out of the alleyway. He searched rapidly for any cover - any tiny hiding spot he could use to transform, but there was nothing. He had just stuffed Carapace into the only one close enough.
Ladybug made an impossible dodge flipping backwards, but in the process lost her footwork.
A flash of green in his peripherals told him Carapace had just lost his transformation. And he was injured anyway.
Adrien didn’t think. He never thought during akuma battles. He pushed off the corner of the building like an olympic runner coming off a starting block straight for Ladybug.
“Dude!” Carapace shouted behind him. “What are you doing?!”
Adrien only had eyes for Ladybug though. He slammed into her hard, knocking the wind out of his chest for what had to be the third time in the last twenty minutes. The sizzle of the crackling blue ball of electricity whipped a hair's width from his ear.
He turned automatically with his arms circled protectively around her as he fell to his back taking the brunt of the impact with the ground.
Her blue eyes blinked at him in shock for a split second before she sprang back to her feet with her yoyo spinning in a shield. He tried to follow suit, but the world spun around him.
A shimmering green shield manifested around him a few seconds later, and Adrien let his head fall back to the cement.
The battle wrapped up in just a few minutes at that point. The healing ladybugs flew past, and Adrien breathed a sigh of relief as the throbbing in his head vanished like it had never been. He sat up immediately. Ladybug was comforting the akuma victim, though she glanced over at him. He waved back reassuringly. He was fine.
The shield dissolved and Carapace landed in front of him with a scowling face of displeasure. Adrien wanted to laugh.
“What the fuck was that?!” Carapace demanded.
“I was helping?” Adrien responded meekly.
“You shouldn’t have been helping! You’re a civilian! And this time the akuma’s target!”
“What should I have done differently?”
“Stayed in the alleyway!” Carapace shouted as if it was obvious.
Adrien shook his head. “I couldn’t do that. You were hurt. Chat Noir was nowhere to be found. And Ladybug was-”
“Ladybug was wearing a supersuit! She would have been fine!” Carapace snarled.
Adrien’s eyes whipped up to the hero’s wild eyes in surprise. Sure, he had been a bit reckless, and it probably looked worse pulling that stunt as Adrien rather than Chat Noir, but he was okay now. Ladybug was okay, and the akuma was defeated. He had never seen Carapace so angry.
No, that wasn’t quite right. He had seen Carapace this pissed exactly once. On Heroes Day right after Rena Rouge had been hit.
Ladybug landed between them at that moment, her gaze whipped back and forth between them obviously taking in Carapace’s anger.
“Everything okay?” Ladybug asked.
Adrien offered her a practiced smile. “Yes, of course, Ladybug.”
“Carapace?” She prompted when he still didn’t say anything.
“I know that I need to give you back the miraculous. But can I have a moment with Adrien first?”
She glanced between them again. And then smiled in understanding. Though Adrienhimself didn’t follow.
“Why don’t you take him home?” she suggested. I’ll swing by your place later and retrieve the miraculous.
“Thank you,” Carapace croaked. Was he crying?
Ladybug launched herself into the sky, leaving Adrien and Carapace alone on the very public street. Neither of them moved.
“Are you okay?” Adrien asked.
Carapace’s gloved hands clutched either side of his head. “No! Don’t you know there are people that care about you?!”
And there was no doubt about it now. Carapace was definitely crying.
“Well, yeah,” Adrien conceded softly. “I didn’t realize you were one of them though.” He watched Carapace’s reactions and mannerisms closely. They suddenly looked familiar.
Very familiar.
Carapace buried his masked face in his hands. “Fuck. Ladybug is going to kill me.”
Adrien laughed. She was going to kill him, too.
“You’re not supposed to know who I am,” Carapace said, finally looking at him again.
Adrien held his hands up in surrender. “I still don’t.” He was lying. If Carapace had been a girl, it would have been harder to figure out. But he wasn’t. And Adrien didn’t have that many guy friends. Not ones that cared that much anyway.
“Right,” Carapace said, his voice clipped.
Adrien continued to play dumb. “Are you a fan?”
Carapace laughed darkly. “The biggest,” he drawled sarcastically.
Adrien took a step forward, leaned forward, and gave Carapace a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for protecting me. I’m sorry I made it more difficult for you.”
The hero stared at him, his eyes impossibly wide.
“Sorry, was that too much?” Adrien immediately backpedaled. This was Nino afterall. He didn't mean to make things weird.
Carapace seemed to unfreeze in that moment. He struck forward more like a viper than a turtle, his lips crashing onto Adrien’s.
Adrien squeaked before Carapace swallowed his cries with a tongue, and Adrien let himself fall into the kiss. This was Nino, he kept telling himself.
Somehow, that fact only made it better.
Carapace eventually pulled away with a gasp, and a pleased smirk.
“Do you kiss everyone you save?” Adrien asked, gasping for breath.
“Only if they also happen to be my celebrity crush.”
Adrien grinned. “Of course. Anything for a fan.”
Carapace swept him up, bridal style and took him home. Adrien might have enjoyed it a bit too much. Carapace waved a good bye with a smirk before he disappeared out Adrien’s window.
Adrien promised himself he’d wait a few weeks before he asked Nino out to ensure his friend had plausible deniability in maintaining his identity.
But he only lasted three days. Nino had enthusiastically agreed, and if suspected Adrien knew he didn’t say anything. They had an awesome first date and it was the first of many to come.
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Nino wasn’t sure what he’d just walked into. The classroom, yeah. Marinette and Alya in their seats, sure. But Adrien was sitting on top of the girls’ desk, looking at Alya’s phone with maybe the biggest smile Nino had ever seen. And that was definitely Adrien who had just said something about some guy being cute.
“I know!” Alya agreed emphatically, scrolling on her phone. “I got so many good pictures last night. I knew you’d want to see them.”
“Can you share these with me?” Adrien asked. His cheeks dusted pink when Alya winked back at him. “We just don’t see him often!”
“Um,” Nino interrupted, confused, “see who?”
Marinette sighed. “They’re going on and on about Carapace.”
What? No way. There was no way Adrien was totally obsessed with Carapace, because Nino was Carapace, and that- that was insane. “N-no,” Nino stammered out. “Really?”
Adrien nodded, leaning forward to smile at Nino. “He’s so cute, don’t you think?”
“Uh,” Nino managed, mostly shocked speechless by Adrien’s coy smile. It was warm in here, right? Like, really warm, unseasonably warm, and it definitely wasn’t just him.
“I think he is,” Adrien said, saving Nino from having to answer. “And he was out again last night, and Alya got so many good pictures.”
“Just for you, sunshine,” Alya said. “You know I’ll share them with you. Just let me pick the best ones.”
“They’re all good ones!” Adrien closed his eyes with a sigh. “I wish I could’ve been there. I’m so jealous you were so close to him, Alya.”
“Hey, I have a question,” Marinette said. “Since when did you have a thing for Carapace?”
“Since when does it matter?” Adrien countered with a shrug. “I have a thing for him. So what?”
“So you’re, like, super in love with him out of the blue.”
“He’s cute!” Adrien argued.
No one seemed to have a counter argument to that (least of all Nino, of course).
Adrien hopped off the desk, landing next to Nino and playfully nudging his shoulder. “C’mon. You get what I’m saying, right?”
“Um, yeah,” Nino said. Adrien thought he was cute. Adrien had a thing for him. Superhero-him, but still him.
Where had this come from? Marinette had a point. Adrien had barely ever mentioned Carapace before, but now, out of the blue…
Adrien slid into his seat with another dramatic sigh, interrupting Nino’s thoughts. “Nino, have you ever met him?”
“Met… who?”
“Carapace,” Adrien said with a patient smile.
Right. Of course. The superhero Adrien was obsessed with. “Um, no?”
“Oh, that’s unfortunate.” Adrien rested his chin in his hand. “I wish I could meet him.”
“Yeah?” Nino said as he sat down, flustered. He wanted to get his materials out for class, but he honestly didn’t remember what class he was in right now.
“Mm-hm.” Adrien leaned a little closer. “I really do think he’s cute, you know.”
“You, uh, you did say that.”
Adrien leaned closer. “And he’s, like, so strong, too. Have you seen him?”
“U-um, not- not personally?” Nino said.
Adrien flashed a grin.
What was happening?
“Well,” Adrien said, sitting back in his seat a normal distance away, “I want to meet him. Can’t you imagine? Getting rescued by a superhero like him?”
“Hey,” Marinette said from behind them, “what happened to the other superheroes?”
Adrien turned to face her. “I don’t know. They’re just not as cute as Carapace. Sorry.”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re worse than me when I have a crush.”
“Oh, isn’t it fun?” Adrien let out another dreamy sigh (seriously, how was he doing that?). “I get why you do it now, Marinette, I really do.”
“You’re insufferable.” Marinette leaned forward to ruffle Adrien’s hair.
“Check your texts, loverboy,” Alya said. “I just shared the folder of last night’s pictures with you.”
Adrien scrambled for his phone.
This… made no sense.
But, you know, Nino was flattered nonetheless.
Look, Carapace was just doing his job. If Ladybug asked him to patrol, well, he’d do that. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was here, and why Chat Noir wasn’t, and why Ladybug had asked him to do this at all when patrol was mostly just a social hour for the heroes, but he wasn’t complaining.
And maybe, if he suggested they patrol past where Adrien’s photoshoot was… well, they had to make sure all of Paris was safe.
“Oh!” Ladybug said in surprise when the park housing the photoshoot came into view. “Hey, it’s Adrien Agreste over there.”
“Oh, really?” Carapace said, feigning surprise.
“You know, I heard he has a crush on you,” Ladybug teased, leaning in closer.
Okay, how many people had Adrien told?
“What?” Carapace said with an awkward laugh. “I, um, did not know that. Definitely.”
“You should talk to him.” Ladybug grabbed Carapace’s arm. “He’s, like, so obsessed with you.”
“No, I-I shouldn’t,” Carapace said, brushing Ladybug’s hand away. “It’s just a celebrity crush probably.”
“He’s a celebrity.”
“So?”
“That means a celebrity crush for him is basically a real crush. Oh, look, they’re wrapping up!” Ladybug pointed towards the park. They were packing. Adrien was walking away.
Oh, god. He was serious. Carapace let out a nervous laugh. “What? Me?”
Adrien nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. I’m so happy I finally got to meet you. Pictures don’t do you justice.”
“N-no?”
“No way. You’re way stronger in person.” Adrien reached out to rest his hand on Carapace’s bicep.
Carapace stared down at Adrien’s hand. And then back at Adrien. He should say something, something cool and smart and funny, but he couldn’t think of any words at all. Did he even know any words? He didn’t. He’d never even spoken before.
Adrien’s phone rang, interrupting that beautiful moment. He pulled his hand away to check his phone and sighed. “I guess I should get home.” He looked back at Carapace with a hopeful smile. “But I’ll see you again?”
Carapace nodded. “Yes. Yeah. Absolutely.”
Adrien smiled back.
They both stood there for a moment, not saying anything. Carapace would’ve been happy to live in this moment forever.
And then, Adrien moved. Closer. He put a hand on Carapace’s shoulder and moved even closer and then he-
He pressed a kiss against Carapace’s cheek.
It sent a shock down his spine, freezing him in place. Adrien just kissed him. His cheek, but, still, he’d kissed him!
Adrien giggled one more time (how did he do that and how did he make it so cute) as he pulled away. He waved as he took a step back. “Bye, Carapace.”
Carapace managed to raise his hand and wave back.
Yeah. He definitely needed to talk to Adrien again.
Nino was early to school the next day. He wanted to beat Adrien to make sure he didn’t miss a single word he said.
It felt a little weird, admittedly, to be playing this game with his secret identity. Adrien didn’t know he was talking about Carapace right in front of him. But Nino was desperate to know what Adrien thought of him.
And, yeah, Adrien was cute and funny and sweet and thoughtful and smart and he’d make a great boyfriend. But that was beside the point. The point was… well, maybe that was the point.
“Hey, Nino,” Alya said as Nino walked into the classroom. “Did you see Carapace was out last night?”
“Um, yeah,” Nino said. “I heard.”
“Adrien’s gonna freak.”
Marinette giggled. “I’m pretty sure I saw Carapace talking to Adrien.”
“What?” Alya grabbed Marinette’s arm. “You’re joking. Oh my god, he’s so gonna freak.”
“I’m serious. Carapace found Adrien after his shoot yesterday.”
“Oh my god. Do you think Carapace likes Adrien?”
Marinette nodded. “Oh, absolutely. He has to.”
Man, why was this classroom so hot lately?
“Alya!” Adrien shouted, suddenly having entered the classroom. “You’re never going to believe this.”
“You talked with Carapace?” Alya asked, a laugh in her voice.
“Yes!” Adrien threw his things down at his seat as he rushed up to the girls. “He was flirting with me!”
Alya grabbed Adrien’s hands with an excited scream. “No way!”
“I swear! He was!”
“Was he everything you imagined?” Marinette asked.
Adrien let out a dreamy sigh. “Even better.”
Nino busied himself with digging out a pen. Or two or three or all of them. Anything to keep his head down.
“He’s incredible. He’s so handsome, and he’s so strong, and he’s funny, too. He’s, like, perfect.”
Seriously, was there no air conditioning in this school?
“And he just came right up to me!” Adrien continued. “He found me. Can you believe it?”
“No way,” Alya said. “He’s so into you.”
“I know!”
Nino had to find Adrien again. As Carapace. Just… you know, because. No specific reason. Adrien’s excited giggling with Alya had nothing to do with it, obviously.
It only took two days for Carapace to run into Adrien again. He was called in for another akuma. And, look, he was still just doing his job. He was rescuing civilians, honest. He didn’t even realize he had Adrien in his arms until he’d set him down somewhere safe.
“Carapace!” Adrien said, grabbing his wrist. “Wait! My- my best friend, Nino, have you seen him?”
“Um, yeah,” Carapace said. “He’s okay.”
Adrien let out a breath. “Oh, thank you. I couldn’t find him anywhere and I was so worried.”
“Hey, it’s okay. That’s what us heroes are for.”
Adrien smiled. “Yeah. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
That smile. Wow. What was Carapace doing, again?
A crash behind him reminded him. Akuma.
But Adrien was still holding his wrist, and, you know, he couldn’t just leave
“Are you going to take care of that?” Adrien asked.
“I mean… yeah,” Nino said with a sigh. “I am.”
“Thanks for the save, Nino.”
“Oh, it’s nothing for a fan,” Carapace said with a shrug.
“I’m more than just a fan.” Adrien put his hands on his hips.
“Right, sorry. My number one fan.”
“I’m also your best friend.”
What? “What are you…”
Hold on.
Had Adrien called him Nino?
And now that stupid smile on Adrien’s face was clearly that sly, plotting little grin of his, and-
“Wait- wait!” Carapace said. “You know?”
Adrien shrugged. “Maybe.”
“How long have you known?”
“A few days.”
A few days. A few days ago was when Adrien had started with his relentless flirting and had developed his crush on Carapace. “So- so you- the whole time, you- me?”
Adrien let out a breathless laugh. “Yeah. It was really funny to watch you panic.”
“I’m not panicking!” Nino argued in a panic. “I’m just, you know, flattered.”
“Sure,” Adrien teased. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Right.” Adrien clasped his hands behind his back. “You know, I never did get a clear answer about how Carapace feels about me.”
“Really?”
“I mean, I have a pretty good guess, but…”
Carapace held a hand out.
Adrien took it.
“Just for the record,” Carapace said as he interlaced their fingers, “that was really mean of you.”
“I know.” Adrien stepped closer. “But it was really funny.”
“Yeah,” Carapace laughed. “It was.”
“So… do you have an answer?”
“Yeah.” Carapace smiled back. “You’re alright, I guess.”
Adrien gasped, jaw dropping open.
Carapace couldn’t hold back a laugh, even when Adrien let go of his hand to swat at his shoulder instead. “Hey!”
“I’m just alright? I’ve been flirting with you for days!” Adrien shoved Carapace playfully.
Carapace held Adrien back by his shoulders. “And you were mean about it!”
“It was funny and you know it.” Adrien ducked out of Carapace’s grasp to push his chest.
“It was cruel,” Carapace countered. He grabbed Adrien’s arm to stop his attack.
“It was hilarious.” Adrien finally stopped fighting. He was standing so close to Carapace, hands still resting on his chest.
Carapace adjusted his hands until they were resting on Adrien’s waist. “You are pretty funny.”
Adrien smiled, urging him on.
“And you’re cute,” Carapace continued. “And you’re really persistent. And you’re so smart.” He pulled Adrien a little closer. “And I love you.”
Adrien wrapped his arms around Carapace’s neck. “You’re just alright,” he said.
Carapace laughed. “Jerk.”
“Kidding.” Adrien leaned in a little closer. “I love you, too.”
And Carapace might’ve been a little dense, but he could figure this one out. He closed the little distance left between them to kiss him. Adrien responded in kind, and he was warm and soft and wonderful. And it made all the teasing from the last few days worth it, just the one kiss; even then, Carapace had the feeling he’d get more.
“How did you find out who I was?” Carapace asked.
“You’re terrible at hiding it,” Adrien said. He smiled. “I saw you detransform. You need better hiding spots.”
Carapace sighed. “Man, I knew someone was there.”
“You’re lucky it was just me.”
“Yeah. I’m really lucky it was you.” Carapace leaned in again, but before he could find Adrien’s lips he was interrupted by a loud crash from nearby. He’d entirely forgotten.
“Oh, shit, the akuma.”
“Go!” Adrien said with a laugh. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I’ll come find you.” Carapace leaned in to steal one more kiss before he left, because, well, he’d certainly earned it after the last few days.
