"Nino, you're my best bro right?"

Uh-oh, Nino thought as he stared at his blond pal who was sitting queasily beside him for the last hour. He knows Adrien like the back of his hand, and the last time he asked him such question ended him throwing his fabulous headset in the Seine.

"Of course," he answered nonchalantly as cold sweat began to drip on his forehead "We're BFF right? Best Friends Forever."

He noticed how the blond model's Adam Apple bobbed on his throat when he gulped audibly. Uh-oh, he thought again, this must be bad.

"You see…Nino…"

Nino grasped the edge of the bench with his hand and braced himself for the worst.

"Is it okay if you're my male best friend?"

The bespectacled male blinked at him owlishly. Of all the things that he could say, that was the one he did not expect the most.

"Well, I am your male best friend," he told him, confusion still all over his face "What brought this on, dude?"

Adrien's gaze dropped on his lap as he began to twiddle his thumbs "Erm, I may have acquired a female best friend…?"

He tilted his head and drawled "Okay…?"

"And there are two of them."

Nino's lips thinned, and with his blank-faced expression the model began to panic "Yo – You're still my best friend, okay? One of my first friend since I started in college, and the first male friend I really like to hang out with! You're important to me, but there are these two girls that – "

"Whoa, wait – calm down, dude!" Nino slammed both of his hands on his friend's shoulder then shook him when he began to blabber nonsensical words "I'm fine, okay? I'm just shocked."

"S-shocked?!"

He wasn't supposed to laugh at Adrien's frazzled expression yet he did "I was expecting something dramatic happened that puts you into trouble, or probably you did something that could break our friendship – "

"But I did something that could break our friendship!" the blond bewailed "I have two people who could steal your best friend's status."

"Okay – first of all, I'm going to fight for my right to retain my Best Friend position," said the DJ with crossed arms "Second – you mentioned two females?"

The blond nodded profusely as he rubbed his nape.

Nino dropped his hand limply on the side "Are we talking about Alya and Marinette?"

Adrien choked his spit then sputtered "N-no, not Alya – "

"Is it Marinette and Chloe?"

"Not Chloe!"

"Marinette and someone else?"

"I did not say anything about Marinette!" he finally exclaimed with a huff.

So it is Marinette, Nino smirked mentally.

"Just to clarify, you have two girls who are candidates to overtake my Best Friend throne – "

"Well, not really overtake," Adrien corrected shyly "More like, share?"

"Dude," he shook his head with bemusement "I don't mind sharing my status with Marinette – "

"I did not say Marinette!"

"Okay - with someone I probably know and someone I probably don't know," he corrected "And if I recalled correctly, you mentioned that I'm your best male friend while these two could be your best female friend?"

The blond nodded.

"Dude," he gave him an impassive look "You made it sound like you're a sexist."

Adrien gasped with disbelief "Tha-that's not my intention!"

"I know. I'm just making fun of you," his raucous laughter earned a beady glare from the blond "Going back to your dilemma, you have two girls whom you want to string as Best Friend while the other as Girlfriend – "

"That's not what I meant!"

This made Nino frowned "You're confusing me, Agreste. Are you telling me that you want one of the girls to be superior to the other?"

"That's the problem - I don't want to." Adrien confessed sincerely "So I'm asking for your help."

"Adrien, there might be stages of friendship but that doesn't mean you can't be friends with anyone," he patted the blond's back "Friendship is not always an exclusive affair, dude. God knows you need to be toxified from Chloe's twisted company since childhood."

His friend chuckled "Thanks, man."

"Anytime, dude," Nino responded then bumped his fist "Now let's go back to the topic. You have two girls that you're getting to know – "

Adrien rolled his eyes indignantly "I already told you, Nino."

"Hey, I am your best friend, moreover best male friend, and I have the right to know the details. So, spill."

"Alya really rubbed you off, huh," the blond scowled but his friend wasn't deterred by his scary looks "Okay, so there's this girl in my work – let's call her Lady – who's a smart, brave and beautiful, who always saves me whenever I'm in trouble and lends a hand every time I'm in pinch. She cares for my well-being and always listen to my side."

"Then there's this other girl I often see after work," he went on with a dopey smile still plastered on his face "Let's call her Princess since she's literally a princess inside and out – cute, sweet, kind, courageous and looks out to everyone especially those in dire need. I tell you, she's a damn psychic! She knows what's inside my mind before I could say anything. I swear I can't keep lies with her."

Nino adjusted his glasses "Are you sure that you're asking for a friendship and not a relationship advise?"

His best friend groaned inwardly "Nino…"

"Have you ever seen your disgusting face while you're gushing about Lady and Princess? I swear that's not the look of a person who sees someone as just friends."

"They just see me as a friend!" he revolted.

"You don't."

Adrien did not correct his comment.

"To be honest, I don't see any problems befriending both Lady and Princess, and if I'm going to vouch for your description of these two girls, I could say that they were pretty nice companions," the DJ told him casually "Like what I've said, friendship is not always an exclusive affair. Unless you want to seek more than friendship – "

"In which they don't" the blond interjected.

"Whatever you say, dude," Nino snorted much on his annoyance "We both know that you're an oblivious cinnamon roll that sucks at the dating scene. You even tried to hook me up with Marinette!"

"Can we just leave the past behind? I've suffered the consequence already, and I've been trying to erase that incident from my memory!" Adrien whined while cradling his head.

The DJ simply patted his head "There, there, my little boy. Papa Nino will always be there to help you in the Romance Department."

"Shut up," he growled.

"By the way, have I met Lady and Princess in person?"

Adrien pursed a smile "Not telling."

"Oh really?" his best friend's brow perked up "Let me guess, are they petite, with bluebell eyes and has a jet-black hair tied in pig-tails?"

The blond sat ramrod straight then looked at his friend with bewilderment "Wha – How did you - ?"

"And if I'm not wrong, they both have creative streaks?"

The way his friend bobbed his mouth like a dehydrated fish told him that it was true.

"I knew it, you stupid dork!" Nino slapped his back that almost toppled him off the bench "You were trying to confuse me by making Lady and Princess as two separate people!"

"But they are two separate people!" he defended.

"No they're not!" the DJ guffawed "The way you described Lady and Princess is just like the way you described Marinette!"

Adrien felt like Nino splashed him a bucket full of ice cubes.

Gears in his head began to turn around as if rewinding some scenes from the past like an old film, combining the memories that he had with Ladybug and Marinette and comparing them together.

Until it finally clicked.

"Mon dieu…Mon dieu! Mon dieu, Nino!" the blond suddenly stood up then hugged his best friend like a kid who won a candy "Merde, Nino! You're the best!"

Nino, who was confused as hell, just went to the flow "Of course! That's what friends are for, right?"