Your Broken Heart Can Heal Mine (Adrienette Adult AU)

Chance

Alya could honestly not believe who stood outside Marinette's apartment. What did he think he was doing in Paris?! And he knocked on Marinette's door?! What nerve he had!

"Hello? Marinette, I need to talk to you," the DJ spoke from behind the door.

Alya took a shaky huff before opening the door.

"Marinette's not home," she told him, crossing her arms.

"Alya, wow! Uh... so you're house-sitting?" Nino swiped his red hat off nervously, clutching it like his lifeline. Alya was always an amazingly fierce woman, and it never ceased to amaze him. If there was one girl he knew was more than capable of kicking his butt across the county, it was definitely that brunette.

"Cat-sitting. What are you doing back in Paris?" Her tone softened slightly as she noticed the slight trembling in the tall DJ. A small, barely noticeable blush crossed her face when she noticed how more masculine he had grown. A short, perfect stubble covered his chin.

"I- um... actually came back because I wanted to hang out in Paris for the rest of the month. School's out for the time being. How are you, Vixie?" He asked, losing his nerves as a smile crossed his face as well as Alya's. She'd forgotten about his dumb fox-like nickname he gave her when they used to date.

"I'm... absolutely freaking perfect. Thanks for asking, Hat-boy," Alya pulled his hat from his hands and slipped it over her own head like she used to do.

He laughed, shaking his head. Alya definitely did not change over time. Nino feared it would be incredibly awkward to see her again, based on how badly they left off: with her crying and him having to leave for college. She'd even questioned his love for her at the end, and he was forced to leave before he could even reply. Watching her eyes fill with the tears of the pain of his words not spoken haunted him.

He regretted not telling her those words for the all years he spent away from her, and it often kept him up at nights. He could only remember how much it hurt her, and yet he was scared to reach back out.

Nino's original plan was to ask Marinette how he could ease back into talking to Alya, but it seemed she wasn't holding any strong grudges. He could tell there was a discomfort or at least a well-hidden grudge within the girl.

"Get your butt in here. When did you get to Paris?" Alya invited him in with her unique, familiar style of word choice.

He smiled at her, but didn't make direct eye contact right away. Nino entered the apartment, to which the both of them were greeted by enthusiastically social kittens, Tikki and Plagg. Both feline companions sniffed at Nino's legs and released small meows to greet him.

"I just got here like an hour ago. So these are Marinette's little ones?" He asked, gently scratching behind their ears to the best of his ability.

"The black kitten belongs to Adrien," Alya replied, sitting on the couch as she tried to think of how she'd approach the elephant in the room.

"Adrien's back in town? Good timing to come, I guess," Nino laughed awkwardly, shifting his feet as he didn't know whether or not it would be rude to sit.

"He and Marinette are dealing with Chloe Bourg-'yuck' and Gabriel 'Agrestive' at the moment. Or at least I think. Should we call them? Oh wait, let's make your arrival a surprise to Adrien! And sit your butt down, Nino. This isn't a royal household."