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English
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Part 1 of I know it’s light you’ll find
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💚 Favourite Adrien Fics 🖤
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Published:
2024-06-14
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620
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1/1
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The Cat's Meow

Summary:

Claw Noir knows they’re probably not in Nino’s good graces right now: so when he sucks in a breath, they brace for a lecture, a quip, the kind of general discontent they always seem to inspire.

“You changed your hair.”

Not… that. Whatever ‘that’ is.

Notes:

Written for Adrino Week 2024 - Day 6: Heroes! 💚🖤

Work Text:

Claw Noir knows they’re probably not in Nino’s good graces right now.

Well, Adrien is, but that is a separate matter entirely. These days, they don’t smile much and talk even less: it’s a good thing, then, that their new friend talks over movies like his life depends on it. Ever since he got them both banned from every theatre in Paris, they have hung out at Nino’s instead; Father accepts his absence gracefully, probably because he likes it that way.

Anyway, none of that really matters right now: what does matter is that they’re both hanging at Betterfly’s HQ — Betterfly always wants them around, unlike some people — and that, officially, they haven’t met since that whole vortex incident. The crypt still bears the scars of their dramatic entrance, daunting crevices hastily patched up with instant cement.

Claw Noir knows they’re probably not in Nino’s good graces right now: so when he sucks in a breath, they brace for a lecture, a quip, the kind of general discontent they always seem to inspire.

 

“You changed your hair.”

 

Not… that. Whatever ‘that’ is.

 

“Y-yeah.” The mask is supposed to make her more eloquent, to fix whatever is wrong with her, but — not this time. “I thought I might… need a change.”

 

Nino nods, then resumes not-playing on his phone. Claw can’t possibly imagine sitting close, so she opts for the floor instead.

The silence is awful, unnatural. She cannot bridge the gap, so she doesn’t make a move.

 

“Is that your natural colour?”

 

Nino’s headset dangles from his neck: he is willing to try, which means Claw Noir should try too. At the very least.

 

“Yeah…” Again with that ‘yeah’. Was that all she could say? “I mean, my — my actual hair is a little lighter. I thought I could use a change.”

“From a different shade of blonde?”

“Hm-hm.”

“Dude. Your hair used to be green.”

 

She chuckles then, and it sounds like the squeaks of a drowning rat. Anxious fingers scratch the nape of her neck, the patch that used to be shaved.

 

“… I figured…” Even now, the silky locks feel weird under her touch — like weeds she itches to pull out. “… if I’m going to try and be a hero, I might as well look the part, right? So, I kinda took inspiration from someone.”

 

Adrien: the other Adrien, the one that is all soft smiles and gentle eyes and hands offered like a lifeline. Had they not met him for themself, they would not believe he exists.

Nino clears his throat, fidgeting with his bracelets. He’s looking for his words, and finally settles for:

 

“Dude, no offense, but — this is bullshit.”

 

Which, again, is unexpected.

 

“Don’t get me wrong! I’m happy you’re trying and all, but like…” Claw stops slouching then, and tilts their head towards him. “… you like green, right?”

“I guess.”

“And mohawks? And spiky bells?”

“What do you care?”

“I don’t! That’s the point!” He offers, hands shooting up in surrender. “Look, if you’re not going to cataclysm me, I’m not going to mind what you wear. No one said you can’t be a punk and a hero.”

 

Uh. That’s… food for thought, at the very least.

 

Distantly, she pictures her father’s designs: ‘clothes that reveal the beauty within one’s soul’, or so Mum would say. But Mum is long gone, Dad is a bloody fool, and Claw’s soul is a work in progress.

Maybe she hadn’t been thinking about Adrien, after all. About either version of them.

 

“Thanks, Nino. That’s… surprisingly helpful.”

“I’m surprisingly smart,” his friend grinned, sliding his headphones back in place. “Oh, and for what it’s worth, dude — I really digged the purple eyes.”


Now that leaves Claw utterly wordless.

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