Nino knew what she was doing.

And honestly, he just wanted to laugh in her face every single time.

Alya (or, should he say, Rena Rouge) had been a superhero for a while now. Although there are lots of things that she doesn't do that she could do with her powers, one of the things she wasn't required to do was to excessively flirt.

With him.

As her alter ego.

Nino could see straight through her act- she was testing his loyalty to her.

Although he was mad at the fact at first, he had to admit that it was reasonable. She was often ditching dates or disappearing on him to go and fight an akuma- not to mention that he used to have that crush on Marinette.

Now that Adrinette had sailed, Nino didn't dare bring that up again. Adrien would either kill him or himself for their idiotic actions back then.

So he let Alya play her little 'game' with him.

But today…

Today was the last straw.

He couldn't stop himself- he really couldn't.

Especially when he had just received his own Miraculous from Master Fu only a few days ago. Wayzz didn't exactly agree with his plan- like he had heard of Ladybug's kwami, he was a stickler for the rules, but Wayzz didn't outright tell him not to.

That was all the permission Nino needed.

He looked up at the night sky as he waited, knowing exactly how everything was going to work.

Rena came not that long later, looking around.

"Are they late Again?" She asked, looking around.

"No, they were actually early." Nino, as Carapace, said. "I just told them to go on ahead, and that I'd wait for you."

"Uh…" Rena blinked. "...Thanks."

"Speaking of waiting…" Carapace stood up and smirked, walking closer to her and getting in her personal space. He enjoyed the blush he saw light up her cheeks very much. "I have something important that I've been meaning to show you."

"Uh…" Rena Rouge was speechless (for once), and he enjoyed her stunned silence for only a moment before he grabbed her hand and pulled her close, and then leaning down to pick her up in his arms. She squeaked, hands instinctively wrapping around his neck. He chuckled softly to himself.

"Hold on tight, foxie." He said, giving her a flirtatious wink before leaping off with her into the night.

In actuality, he had talked to Ladybug and Chat Noir about this beforehand, and while they were actually late again for patrol, Rena didn't need to know that.

This was payback after all.

He quickly took them over to the roof of his house (he couldn't do this without giving something to help make her feel guilty), and placed her down on the roof gently. Rena's eyes were wide, and she had a good reason for it to be.

The rooftop had three candles by the corners of the blanket he had setup, along with food from Marinette's bakery and some juice (come on, they were young! He wasn't going to get champagne for them to drink!).

"Pace?"

"Yes?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Wh-What is this?"

"Just a little something I made." He walked over and poured them some juice, offering a cup to her. Rena Rouge stared at it a bit in shock before sipping from it, a bit of guilt flashing through her eyes. He smirked.

Good.

Now she was starting to know how he felt before he figured out her identity.

He sat down, reaching over for some food before patting the ground next to him, gesturing for her to sit down. She did so slowly, looking slightly uncomfortable as she accepted the food and bit into it timidly. He frowned.

He didn't like seeing her like this.

He needed to get her to open up before he could continue on with his plan of revenge.

"So…" She looked over at him, curious as to what he was going to say. "What's your day been like so far."

"As good as babysitting all day while your friends have fun is." Rena sighed. Carapace nodded, knowing that what she had spoken of was true. He had been performing for a very important party and had invited the three of them, but only Marinette and Adrien could come.

"That sucks."

"It does."

"Too bad you can't be as sneaky as your namesake." He paused, smirking when he saw her get a little riled up. "Unless, you are?"

"Of course I am!" She said. "How else would I be able to sneak out for akuma attacks?"

"Mhm." Carapace chuckled as he took a sip from his drink.

And so, their usual banter and talking began- her becoming more and more relaxed as the sat here under the moon.

Then he decided to pick it up a notch.

He subtly scooted closer to her until they were side by side, wrapping a hand around her waist as she continued to talk about how annoying her siblings could be at times.

She froze, blush coated on her cheeks as he leaned in- close to her ear.

"You having a good time?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah."

"Good. It wouldn't be worth it if you weren't having a good time." Carapace smirked, using his arm around her waist to scoot them closer together.

"I…" Rena Rouge swallowed nervously. "I have a boyfriend."

"Oh?" Carapace raised an eyebrow as she nodded, slightly pulling away from him, blush still on her cheeks.

"Y-Yeah."

"Hmn… what to do…" He leaned in closer, adoring the blush on her cheeks. "What would you do in my situation… Alya?"

Rena Rouge gasped, and he leaned back, satisfied that he had the upper hand…

For now.

He was probably screwed.

"How do you know?!" She exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Hmn…" Carapace smirked, lifting a hand up to his chin in mock-thought. "Maybe you should think before you decide to use your alter ego to test my loyalty."

It took precisely three seconds to run off of the roof, laughing his head off.

And it took precisely four seconds for Rena Rouge to get up and follow him.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, LAHIFFE!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"