Nino didn't approach right away, he wasn't even sure if he should at all. Instead he just stood, visible but waiting in the wings while his two friends spoke in hushed voices he couldn't hear. Shouldn't hear anyways... wasn't his business.

It was Cat who saw him first, looking over Ladybug's shoulder as he held her and bending down to whisper something, Ladybug turning around to look herself.

Nino froze, instinctively looking away even though he couldn't hide. No one made a move or said anything at first.

'You owe her an apology,' Wayzz said simply, allowing Nino to decide what to make of that himself. He was glad when Nino chose to walk forward.

"B..." he said quietly, still not looking at her, rubbing at his neck with gloved hands. "I- I'm a jerk. I snapped at you and it was really uncool, I didn't mean to upset you... It's not my business and I stuck my nose in and I-..." he sighed, looking up and flinching to see that she had separated from Cat, silently walking towards him until she was only a few feet away. "I'm sorry," he said eventually, the words heavy as he looked into her eyes, red and puffy from crying. "I'm really sorry... I'm an assh-"

Nino gasped and tensed when she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him tightly, her hands wrapping just under where the shield was fastened and pulling him against her.

Nino was stiff, shocked and unsure but he returned the gesture, looking passed Ladybug to see Cat Noir standing a respectful distance away, smiling gently like he was proud of him for apologizing.

"Shut up," she said again, the words softer and muffled against his chest. "You're right... you were right to say what you did. It might have been harsh but... I needed to hear it. And I'm sorry too, okay?"

Nino didn't speak, leaning back and pulling her back a little to look into her face, clenching his teeth and breathing in before crushing her against him again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I'd never make you cry on purpose B... I love you, you're one of my best friends. I'm really sorry..."

"I love you too Nino..." she said quietly, returning his hug and letting him hold her for a moment before wiggling against his hold, taking a step back and wiping at her eyes.

She stood there, taking deep breathes and rubbing her arms absentmindedly before she made some kind of decision.

She swallowed once before clearing her throat, shaking her head before looking up with a smile, only slightly forced at first but getting more natural the longer she wore it.

"Alright Ninja Turtle," she laughed a little breathlessly, sniffing a bit and holding her arms. "Now that you're done being an ass and I'm done being a wimp... let's just forget about it okay? Me and Adrien-" she hesitated, looking over her shoulder at him who watched, tail flickering as he waited for her to finish her sentence.

She took an extra moment before the smile became natural all together, looking up at Nino with gentle eyes. "Me and Adrien will be okay. And we'll take care of ourselves. Even so..." she paused, looking away as if it was too embarrassing to say to his face. "Thank you for everything..."

Nino was stunned, watching her before looking over at Cat Noir, his friend nodding his head and grinning. "Genuinely," he added from a distance. "Don't know what would have gone down without you pushing us in the right direction."

"Some things are always meant to happen," Nino said without thinking, growing a little self-conscious of himself as he spoke and looking away, trying to play it off. "I just played middleman."

He could feel them both looking at him, then look at each other, but he didn't want to check to see if they were impressed or making fun of him so he just said, "Well like you said let's forget about it. Out of my court now, you losers are on your own."

His friends paused for a moment before they burst out laughing, Cat Noir walking over towards the group now that the heavy stuff seemed to be said. Nino couldn't help but smile when Cat put his arm around Ladybug, winking at her when she looked up to which she only rolled her eyes. She still smiled to herself though.

'I seem to be rubbing off on you,' Wayzz teased, Nino fighting off a grumble. 'You said it well, and I'm proud of you for apologizing.'

"Eh," Nino said aloud with a shrug, his two friends looking up in confusion but he didn't answer them either.

Truth be told he was just trying to make up for his misstep, and what Wayzz had said sort of stuck with him. He could see what he meant, when he said Marinette and Adrien were each other's fact. Hard for him to say it with the same effect though.

"Alright shall we address the elephant in the room?" Cat Noir said with a grin, the weight on his shoulders growing lighter every second. "Or rather the turtle?"

"Oh yeah," Nino said, looking down at his outfit. "Almost forgot for a second there."

"We didn't," Ladybug said with a laugh, her voice still holding traces of her sobs in it but getting stronger as she cleared her throat again. "Look at you! You seem to be getting adjusted."

Nino shrugged, laughing awkwardly. "Well it took falling off a building but yeah sorta getting used to moving around at least."

Cat Noir chuckled, retracting his arm from Ladybug's shoulders to jerk a thumb in her direction. "Hey she fell out of the sky when we first met too." He paused, looking a tad sheepish as he said with a smile, "And I might have had a fall or two myself before she showed up."

"Sooo!" Ladybug said excitedly, some of her bubbly Marinette energy breaking through as she tried to distract herself, still smiling when Cat Noir settled his arm on her again. "What's the breakdown?"

"About as far as I've messed around," Nino said as he reached back for his shield, "this thing is my weapon and how I get around so not all that different from what you guys got. My communication is in this though," he said as he gestured to his wrist, "Which is good because trying to use a giant shield for a video chat would suck."

The others laughed, Cat Noir's laugh faltering into a startled swallow when ladybug reached up to hold his hand dangling from her shoulder with one of her own. Nino looked away, chuckling to himself.

"Show us the shield!" Cat suggested after he recovered, pulling Ladybug back a few steps so they were both standing a short distance away with big smiles. It kind of reminded Nino of proud parents at a student assembly, and he struggled not to be embarrassed.

Nino did as he was asked, tossing the shield down and getting on with ease, the mount and dismount having been practiced religiously by this point.

Nino turned his weight to swing the board to face his friends who gasped excitedly, Ladybug's arms clutched close to her chest as she 'oooooh'ed.

"Now that's cool!" Cat Noir complimented, encouraging Nino to move around a bit.

He did as he was asked, showing how it turned and how speeding up worked and such. When he got off the movement was smooth (thank god) and he stepped down hard on the end closest to him to kick it back up towards his arm where it connected automatically in one motion.

He felt his neck heat up when Ladybug and Cat clapped, their faces so genuinely happy he was having a hard time doing anything.
"Come on guys," he whined, "this is why I didn't call you right away."

"We're excited for you!" Ladybug defended them, hands on her hips defiantly, "We're not embarrassing you, this is really cool!"

"kinda feel like whats embarrassing is up to me but whatever" Nino mumbled to himself, looking up when Cat Noir ran over.

"Hang on put it down again. Lady can use my staff, I want to see if I can ride this thing."

Nino quirked an eyebrow but threw it back down, the shell hovering about an inch off the ground and patiently waiting for Cat Noir.

"I got this!" he declared, stepping on and threatening to fall over almost immediately. "Ah, okay, that's harder to stand on then I thought."

"Yeah it took me awhile," Nino said with a shrug, feeling a little better to see someone else struggle with it. Then a lightbulb kicked in and his eyes narrowed a fraction.

That's what Adrien was doing, he could tell, especially when he asked Nino for advice on how to move around. He was letting him feel like the guy who knew what was going on and teaching someone else something.

Nino blinked, not responding right away before saying, "Uh, keep your balance, and lean your weight in the direction you want it to go."

Nino stared after him as Cat Noir played around a little, laughing as he zipped around and laughing still even when he fell off.

Nino felt something warm in his chest that wasn't related to embarrassment or guilt, but something more akin to... gratefulness.

'Thanks...' he thought silently, to both of them. 'For everything you've done too...'

'Pardon me master,' Wayzz suddenly spoke up, Nino's head tilting toward the bracelet though the voice came from inside his own head.

"Wassup buddy?" he said aloud, Ladybug and Cat Noir looking over and understanding pretty quickly that he was referring to his kwami. Ladybug called out for a turn on the 'hover board' as Wayzz continued.

'Excuse the childishness,' Wayzz said with a surprisingly sheepish tone, somehow mixed with bravado and humor, 'but with Plagg around I can really never resist. Would you be above showing off a little?'

Nino took a second to react before he was grinning, his tone teasing. "Wayzz I'm surprised at you. Sort of took you for the more mature one out of the two of you."

'I am!' Wayzz insisted, 'Always have been, but Plagg has insisted on showing off his Cat Noir's since the dawn of time. He's always gloating, you should hear him,' he said with a slight huff. 'You're a fantastic Jade Turtle, and there are some things you can try! It'll be good for both of us.'

Nino laughed, shaking his head and walking over towards where the others were playing with his shield. "Hey you don't need to do the hard sale I'm on board little man. What did you want to do?"

Nino approached the others, listening to Wayzz and humming in understanding and then at one point "Wait I can do that? Cause that is really rad."

Ladybug was tottering on his shield when he got there, stepping off with a slight stumble and stooping to hand it to him, one hand falling to her hip as she asked, "So what are you doing?"

"Apparently," Nino said slowly, grabbing his shield and walking off towards the tower, "there are a couple of water related things Wayzz wants me to try."

"Makes sense," Cat said with a laugh, hands behind his head as the three casually strolled through the deserted area. "I hope you can't do that thing where turtles pull their heads into their bodies, and if you can please don't ever do it ever."

"Oh man that sounds gross!" Nino burst out, making a face that made Ladybug laugh.

"I doubt he could but yeah," she agreed, "don't try."

The three walked together, Ladybug striking up a casual conversation of 'how are we going to get you off lockdown?' which Nino was pretty engaged in.

"You guys are big deals, if you swing by and say I'm clear to go at the very least I can go back to school again."

"Sounds easy," she said with a finger tapping her chin, deep in thought, "it'll have to be both of us though. We'll have to try after school tomorrow though. We don't have enough time to clear you by then."

Nino was nodding when he noticed Cat Noir glance down towards his ring, lifting that hand slightly with one eyebrow raised. Nino watched as he titled his head much like he had for Wayzz, listening to something before scoffing, "No Plagg."

The two other heroes looked at him questioningly and Cat Noir rolled his eyes. "It's nothing, Plagg is being a poor sport cause he isn't getting attention right now."

He winced suddenly, reaching up to cover his cat ears with one arm and saying to his ring, "Relax! Stop yelling I was just messing with you. Let him have this man."

Nino snorted, shaking his head before saying, "Seems like they have a little friendly rivalry going huh? Hope they don't expect us to fight."

'I wouldn't make you fight your friend!' Wayzz protested indignantly, just as Cat Noir tilted his head and scoffed, "I am NOT fighting my friend Plagg."

Then it was Ladybug's turn to pause for a moment with one hand on her earrings, before saying, "Tikki says 'Boys knock it off.'"

They all traded glances before they starting laughing, arriving at the side of the Seine river in stitches.

"According to Tikki it's always been like that," Ladybug relayed with an entertained smile. "Close friends but always trying to one up each other."

"Hilarious," Cat said with a shake of the head, his fake ears twisting a little as he grinned. Then he turned his attention to Nino. "Well Mr. Jade Turtle we've arrived, what did Wayzz want to try?"

"Not completely sure," Nino admitted, hopping the railing and looking down at the water. "Care to elaborate a little?" Nino said towards his bracelet.

'Get on your shield and coast down,' Wayzz said simply, 'Make no changes. Just like coasting down a street.'

"But it's water?" Nino said uncertainly, knowing his statement was correct but Wayzz just laughed. He turned towards his friends. "Don't think he's going to elaborate so I'm just gonna go for it and be really cold probably."

Ladybug beamed at him excitedly while Cat Noir gave an animated thumbs up. So Nino just sighed and got on his board, pushing off and out into the open air.

He had practiced going from the roof to the street before and found that it typically went down in an arc, the same true as he headed towards the river. He was thinking since he was turtle themed he would be pretty okay in the water but hadn't really been hoping for a late night swim. However when his shield connected with the water he didn't sink, it didn't even tip. It just coasted over the surface of the river, just like he was riding down a street.

"WOO!" he heard behind him from up on the street, executing a drifting turn to see Cat Noir had jumped on top of the fence and was pumping his fists in the air. "Oh Lordy he can walk on water!"

"Halleluiah!" Ladybug chorused in the same dramatic voice, laughing and giggling as Cat Noir danced on the railing.

"Wow..." Nino said to himself, looking over the edge of the shell into the dark waters of the river. He shifted his weight, drifting over it like an ice skater until a mischievous grin broke out over his face. "Now there's nothing blocking my way... let's see how fast this goes."

Back on the street Ladybug gripped the railing tightly, leaning over the watch as Cat Noir sat down, swinging his legs over the water.

"Look at him go!" he said happily, pride clear in his voice as Nino became more daring, leaning more heavily and picking up speed. "And who said turtles were slow?"

"Wow," Ladybug breathed out, watching as Nino zipped over the surface of the water, his momentum disturbing the water slightly and leaving a trail spreading behind him. She smiled when she heard him laugh. "He seems to be doing pretty well," she said after a moment, "and after being so apprehensive."

"Well I imagine giving him enough confidence to jump in a fight is going to be another story," Cat said with a chuckle. "But baby steps right?" He looked over at her, smiling down at her as she looked up. "We clear him for school, let him do these night runs to practice for a while. Maybe start working him into patrols."

"We should probably introduce him to the city," she hummed in response, looking out over the water as Nino executed a pretty sick turn that sent out a huge tidal wave of water and made him laugh again. "People have already been asking questions about seeing the old Jade Turtle, seeing a young one now will probably confused people."

Cat Noir shrugged, not looking terribly bothered. "We don't need to explain it, we just have to say, 'This is our buddy he's going to be in Paris now. Please plan his statue and add his name to the guest list.'"

Ladybug snorted at that, giggling into her hands before she looked up at him with eyes shining with humor, stunning him slightly.

"Oh my god when he gets a statue he is going to be so flustered. Him being the turtle makes perfect sense honestly he'll just hide in his room when it gets put up."

Cat Noir was frozen for a second before he burst out laughing, the sound long and ringing out into the sleeping city.

They shared that laugh for a while before silence fell between them, and Adrien rejoiced quietly that it didn't feel awkward. It was alright.

"I'm happy for him..." Ladybug said eventually, her voice quiet and earnest. "That he's having this you know? He did a lot of good that the city will never know about. I want him to have the statue and be recognized. He's so used to doing good deeds without any praise... I think it will make him happy to get some."

Cat Noir hummed in agreement, smiling as Nino did a flip and nearly fell but stuck the landing anyways, hooting in victory. "You're right. Having him in on this already felt good, sharing it with him is even better. And did you see him with Wayzz when you went over?" he asked, turning to look at her. "They bonded so quickly. Wayzz is the perfect amount of level headed but still giddy and fun. He's always been sort of slow to anger but when he got there he was irrational you know? He'd lash out, get mad and blame others. I kind of think Wayzz will balance that you know? A calm little turtle to tell him what's what. I dunno," he shrugged, "I don't know if that makes any sense really. I'm not sure how Tikki is for you but with me I was just lonely for a long time, and now I've got Plagg to make me laugh and mess around. I think that's part of it."

Ladybug was silent for a moment, staring at him in surprise before smiling and nodding. "I agree," she spoke quietly, her smile clear in her voice. "I had no confidence at all before all this, but Tikki is the kind of supportive I really needed. Someone to tell me I was okay and doing the right thing. A little certainty."

She was quiet for a little before she said, "He will be an amazing hero... he already is, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Cat Noir answered with a grin, waving as Nino started to head back towards them. "He really is."