La Red

Pt. 5

La Red

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D/C: I own nothing.

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Marinette liked going to Nino family's Food Mart. It was small, but it was very cozy. There was even an eating area as Nino's mom would make food there too. Which is where they are right now. Marinette and Nino sat facing each other, both munching on whatever they ordered off the menu for breakfast.

It was quiet between them, to the point that Ms. Lahiffe escaped to the backroom, yelling out to Nino to call her if a customer walks in. this left with the teens wondering who was going to talk first.

Nino would occasionally look over at Marinette as he tried to think over what he needed and wanted to say to her. Many of those things could very well get himself into trouble as he could run into. How could he tell her that Ladybug had told him as Carapace, not as Nino, several things that have been happening to her ever since Lila came into the picture? He really is a horrible friend...

"Didn't you say you wanted to say something to me in person?" Marinette asked, breaking Nino out of his self-deprecating thoughts. She put down her fork to pick up her drink and taking a tentative sip from it.

For his own part, Nino looked away bashfully. Right, that was one of the reasons he wanted to meet up with Marinette is to properly apologize and to get her full side of the story, then to talk about his breakup with Alya... or was it the other way around...

"I don't know where to start or say, Marinette." Nino said honestly, he pulled off his hat to scratch his head. "I found out a lot of things yesterday and I am still reeling from what I found out. I... I talked to Ladybug yesterday. Alya had a huge fight with her and I wanted to know-"

"If you could smooth things over between them?" Marinette added in.

"Ye-Yeah, that." Nino knew he was on a thin thread as he needed to be careful with his words. He can't just tell Marinette when he talked to Ladybug, he did so as Carapace. How Ladybug had told him about Lila's lies and how it severely affected not only the hero but also Marinette to a massive degree. "She told me... that she could no longer trust Alya due to her inability to seek out the actual truth than going onto detail about Lila. How they are not actually best friends and everything Lila had ever said about her to everyone, is just lies. Then... then Ladybug told me how Lila is going up against you and nearly caused you to get Akumatized! Marinette, why didn't you say anything?"

"Who would have believed me, Nino?" Marinette questioned back with an obvious shrug. She looked down at her half-finished breakfast wondering if Tikki would like some of it. "Alya would have easily said it was because I'm jealous of Lila or something else just a pitiful. Don't argue with me on this."

Nino had to agree, Alya has been making Marinette feel horrible every time the bluenette attempted to stand up for herself at every turn. And what did he do during all this? Nothing. He picked up his fork to take another bite of his food, but his stomach clenched over when he remembered something Ladybug mentioned to him. "I'm not arguing. I promised to just listen and not jump to conclusions but... almost getting Akumatized?"

"Luckily for me, it did not happen." Marinette said, patting Nino's hand in an attempt soothe him. "I'm okay, I didn't allow Lila to get to me."

"What did she say? What did she do?" Nino doesn't know if he really wanted to know what nearly caused Marinette to almost cross that point.

Marinette shifted uneasily in her seat. This was it. The make it or break it point. "Lila... she..."

Nino... Nino did not know what to think anymore as he sat there as Marinette told him everything that Lila has been doing against her. How Lila threatened her, causing her to lose all her friends and so much more. But he did what he promised the day before, to promise to judge or jump to conclusions. This is about Marinette, not about him.