Skybound- Miraculous Au

Chapter 19: Part 2

A.P.V.

The streets were quiet as I walked, that was beyond the sounds of wind rolling away small objects and whistling through miniature allies. If it hadn't been for the rubble strewn through the streets, though less than the night before, I would have described the city as peaceful. 

I didn't have to try hard to avoid the occasional officer patrolling through the night, as they tended to stick to the more troubled sectors of town. Or well, the less well off side of town; troubled was just what my father called it. Still, I was careful not to let myself be caught in any stray rays of light from lit windows.

Unlike yesterday when I arrived to the meeting spot, Nino was waiting for me. I noticed immediately that he looked tired, and had bags under his eyes almost the colour of the evening sky. He smiled when he saw me though, and pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on.

"Hey, dude." He grinned, pulling me in for a quick hug. "I'm so glad to see your okay."

"Why would I not be," I frowned. 

"After the earthquake yesterday, and the rumors you and your dad had been spotted near a particularly nasty collection of rubble, I was worried you'd been hurt," Nino explained.

I flashed a soft smile, at my friend, glad I had one person in my life that cared about me the way father should.

"Well, you don't need to worry about me now," I told him. "What about you though? Is your house okay? Your brother didn't get hurt, did he?"

"Oh, no. Chris is fine, and the house is mostly all in one peace thankfully." Nino assured me, as he ran a hand through his hair. "Also, I'm sorry I didn't show up yesterday evening like we had agreed. I had to help my neighbors who weren't quite as lucky."

"So, uh funny story about yesterday…" I took a deep breath, about to continue when Plagg ran out of the shadows in cat form and dug his claws into my foot.

"Ow! Plagg!" I exclaimed, as I pulled him off of me by the scruff of his neck. "What was that for?!"

"Dude, do you have a cat?" Nino asked, staring at Plaggg wide eyed as he hissed at me and I dropped him to the ground.

"No, well actually yes, I guess. You see-" 

Plagg let out a meow of warning, and I sighed before picking him up.

"I uh, actually just adopted him yesterday!" I continued, and began petting Plagg much to his dismay. "I found him on the streets on the way to meet you, and we'll he just looked so lonely and hungry lying in the rubble so I decided to take him home with me."

"So you now have a stray cat living in your room, which you named Plagg… Does your father know?" Nino frowned as Plagg struggled in my grasp.

"Heck no. If he did Plagg would be out in the streets faster then I could say Camembert." I shook my head, as Plagg finally gave in and went limp in my arms. He's ears perked slightly at the last word, but otherwise he was now docile.

"That's an oddly specific word, but okay," Nino shrugged. "Let me know if you ever need me to hide him from your dad for a day or something"

"Will do!" I smiled at Nino.

Though it hurt me to lie to Nino, even if only partially, I had to trust Plagg had his reasons to want to hide the truth. Whatever they were, I would be sure to ask him later once we were alone.

"So, what's the plan for the night?" Nino inquired as we began walking. "I should let you know I can't be out to late, with my parents being all paranoid as a result of .. well you know."

"I honestly hadn't thought that far ahead," I lied. 

The truth was that I'd planned to spend the evening decoding the diary with him, but unfortunately I couldn't let him know that. 

"Oh, wait!" I stopped in my tracks and opened my bag to hand Nino the food I'd nabbed earlier. "I got this for you and your brother!"

"Oh man! Thanks dude!" Nino grinned as he took the package from my hand and slid it into his own satchel. "Chris is going to be thrilled. Anything I can get you in return?"

"You don't need to get me anything," I said sheepishly. "It is a gift after all."

Nino opened his mouth to say something in return, when there was a shout that stopped us in our tracks.

"Who goes there?!" 

Knowing right away that it was an officer, Nino and I exchanged a quick glance before we both nodded and bolted towards the nearest alley, hopefully having left them in the dust.