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Chapter 1: poverty stricken boys

Adrien never actually considered getting naked on the Internet for money. It was always just a passing thought. Something to laugh about when he got tipsy with his friends. He was raised to have "dignity" and "self respect". He'd never sell himself short. He had so much potential to do bigger and better things than dance in his underwear for complete strangers. No, he was in college double majoring is physics and computer science. He had brains on his side. Sure he modeled in his early and mid teens, but he started to get serious halfway through high school. Unfortunately that meant his father wasn't going to support him through college since he wasn't an Agreste Designs employee anymore.

Gabriel had this idea that Agreste men always did amazing things, and if that meant supporting yourself in one of the best colleges in Paris for science then goddammit Adrien was gonna do it. Never mind the increasing price tag on tuition and books since Gabriel went to college, or that going to college while working to pay for it is an unreasonably stressful life. All that mattered was that Adrien was destined for great things and he could do it on his own.

So that's how he was suddenly sharing an apartment with Nino with shitty wifi and two old mattresses they found at a thrift store. Now microwaveable macaroni and cheese was a treat while caviar was a thing of the past. Adrien never liked caviar anyways…but he did like having a comfortable bed and at least a medium sized room. He didn't miss the vacancy of his old room, but he did miss being able to shower more than once a week. The water bill was always so high because both Nino and Adrien had a nasty habit of spacing out under the warm water. Even when they cut back to five minute showers they struggled between pay checks.

Nino usually DJ's for nearby clubs and has even landed permanent positions at a few. Sometimes he does weddings and religious coming-of-age parties and even funerals which usually…didn't end well. Adrien on the other hand was working part-time at the nearby grocery store. He worked as much as he could between classes, yet it was a minimum wage job so…not much profit. Of course he was looking for another job, but not a lot of people were hiring. If they were…it was a job Adrien was not interested in.

"C'mon, the beauty store is a great idea! They pay twice as much as Melly's Groceries," Nino pointed out.

"Sorry, but I don't want to be flocked by a bunch of girls," Adrien replied as he stirred the butter, milk, and…real…cheese in the noodles.

"If say get off your high horse, but you've already had that problem a couple times at Melly's…"

"Exactly. Plus, it's a beauty store! It's usually straight girls in there with a little too much confidence just because they own the naked 3 pallet," he continued and pulled out their cheap dish wear they bought at the same thrift store as the mattresses.

"Wow, Adrien. Was that a read?" He questioned. He shrugged as he filled the bowls with Mac N' Cheese.

"I'm just saying," he hummed and got out a spoon and a fork before joining his friend on the floor.

"Sass master Agreste. Poverty has changed you," Nino teased and grabbed the bowl with the spoon.

"Whatever. Plus there's those diehard fashionistas who try to match a polish to their fabric but really they're just wasting their time. It's awful," Adrien said and stabbed at the yellow noodles.

"How do you know all of this?" Nino questioned,

"I went in just the other day to turn in my application and got stopped by like five girls and the other three were exactly like that. It's hell," he answered.

"Ah, I see," Nino said.

Their conversation dwindled down as they started to stuff their faces with quality name brand Mac N' Cheese. It was that time of night when talking became unnecessary with the presence of food. As two boys living in poverty with bottomless pits for stomachs, they fully took advantage of every meal they were offered. Adrien was definitely a devout Christian. Especially if Clarissa continued to bring her delectable mashed potatoes to the monthly potluck. Nino loved Lego robotics club. The ever other week party at Jared's house with free pizza had nothing to do with his passion for bricks and wires. Still, they found themselves hungry for more…

"So if not the beauty store, then what?" Nino asked as he scrapped the last of the noodles out of the bowl.

"I dunno. Maybe I should post advertisements around town for-"

"Your body?" Nino interrupted. Adrien turned bright red.

"N-no! I was thinking of offering piano lessons!" He stuttered. Nino laughed.

"You'd get more money from selling your pubes from middle school," he teased.

"Ew! That's disgusting!"

"Face pics are $20, but a dick pic tacks on another zero to that figure," Nino continued relentlessly.

"I hate you," Adrien said. His friend laughed harder.

"Oh don't take it too hard, dude. I'm just kidding," he said and patted Adrien's shoulder. The blond sighed.

"The sad part is that you're right. It's hard to find someone who doesn't want this Agreste ass."

"It must be a hard life. How many girls numbers did you get last week?"

"Ten! And I got two more today!" He shouted and dug loose pieces of paper from his pockets.

"You poor eligible bachelor," Nino fake pouted.

"I'm not eligible, and you know that," Adrien muttered. His friend sighed and rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, dude, are you seriously still hung up on Ladybug?" He asked.

"I'm not "hung up" on Ladybug. I'm in love with her."

"You don't even know who she is," he pointed out.

"I may not know her name, but I know her. She's brilliant and beautiful and-"

"-brave and kind and yeah yeah yeah I've heard it all before. Listen, Adrien, it's been two years. Hawkmoth is gone, you guys defeated him. Fu took back your miraculous and hers too and that's the end. Sorry, but I don't make the rules," Nino lectured.

"That's were you're wrong. I know that Hawkmoth is defeated and all that jazz, but Ladybug is still out there! We never revealed ourselves to each other, and I know she's out there. She's out there…somewhere," he sighed.

"Didn't she like…not like you?"

"She had a crush on some other guy, but…we have this special connection, y'know? Like…we were made for each other…" Adrien sighed again and looked out their tiny window as rain pelted against it.

"Don't doze off on me again, bro. I'm not gonna haul you to your side of the living room tonight," Nino said and stood up. He grabbed both of their empty bowls and rinsing them out in the sink before getting out the dish soap.

"Sorry," Adrien mumbled and stood up to dry the now clean dishes.

"Even though you're saving yourself for Ladybug that doesn't mean you can't score some cash for…some ammeter-esc modeling gigs," Nino said and put the silverware away.

"My body is a temple," Adrien hummed and put away the bowls.

"A sexy temple," Nino added. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," he replied.

"We have a computer. The webcam is a bit shit, but once this weeks paycheck comes in I think I can score something from the thrift store," Nino offered. The blond shook his head.

"I've already said no, Nino. I'm not that kind of person."

"What? The kind of person who scores easy cash? I'm not gonna pressure you dude, but it's not a bad idea," he continued to coax.

"But it's bad for my reputation. What do you think my father would say if he saw an ad online saying 'Skype sex with Agreste'? He'd have my head," Adrien pointed out. Nino patted Adrien's shoulder.

"Boy, listen. There's a thing called an alias. You don't have to be Adrien Agreste the online prostitute. You can be…uh…Chase…Jones the webcam boy…yeah."

Adrien lifted a brow.

"Chase Jones the webcam boy?" He repeated.

"Yeah…something like that," he mumbled.

"I dunno. That's not a very sexy name," he replied with a smirk as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter.

"Granted, but we can brainstorm. Plus, who's to say you want to go for that sexy over masculine appeal? There's a lot of people out there looking for a wide-eyed virgin with pinch-able cheeks and a cute butt," Nino told him.

"Pinch-able?" Adrien questioned. He knew he was a virgin but his cheeks hopefully weren't that round. Yes puberty treated him well, but he still had a slight boyish appeal to his face.

"Yes, and cute. What I'm saying is maybe we should cater to those who aren't looking for the stereotypical man and throw a bone to all those bunny chasers."

"Are you saying I look like a bunny?"

"You look like a rabid bunny right now. We need to tame this mane," Nino noticed and ruffled Adrien's shaggy hair. The blond pulled away and stuck his tongue out.

"I'm going to that cheap salon tomorrow, okay? Bill gave me a raise for pulling in more of the teenagers with way too much allowance," he assured him.

"Good, and maybe we should invest in some lingerie. Something cute and lacy that would real in a lot of people," Nino suggested and looked his friend up and down to try and guess his size.

"No," Adrien said with wide eyes.

"I'm thinking you're about…a medium in the pants department, right?"

"Yes…but no! I'm not gonna do this. It's a dumb idea. Who's to say anyone wants to meet Chase Jones anyways. Surely there's tons of cam boys and cam girls out there to satisfy the masses-"

"Actually there's quite the shortage," Nino interrupted. Adrien frowned.

"How do you know?"

"I've done my research. Plus I am bi so like…the idea intrigued me," he answered. Adrien sighed for probably the hundredth time.

"Sorry dude. I'm doing good at Melly's. I still have five applications that haven't been answered yet anyways," he said.

"Well don't rule it out right away. At least wait until you get rejected and then we can talk more," Nino urged. Adrien gave an irritated smile before pulling himself off the counter and walking towards their single bathroom.

"I'm gonna take a shower. Goodnight," he waved.

"Don't use all the hot water! I'm planning one in a couple of days!" Nino called as he went through the door.

"Got it."