#space wise my apt feels like it can handle three cats. probably not more than that

[queenerdloser]

i am on the CUSP of getting another cat. the random thought to look at craigslist cats occurred to me and i found like three different ads where i was like LOOK AT THAT CUTE CAT and now i'm talking myself into getting cat no 3.

[quicksilversquared]

Nino and the Miraculous

What if Nino got a Miraculous other than the Turtle? What kind of things might he have gotten up to with the Fox, or the Peacock, or the Bee?

Three drabbles ft. Nino and different Miraculous.

(AO3) (FF.net)

Peacock

Nino didn't really dress up on a regular basis. Anything fancier than a t-shirt and jeans made him uncomfortable and just got in his way besides. He wasn't much for jewelry, either, just a few simple rubber-band bracelets.

So having a Miraculous that came with a ridiculously elaborate outfit was...discomfiting, to say the least.

"I keep asking my kwami to make it a bit simpler, but he insisted," Paon grumbled to Chat Noir as they scanned the city for the latest akuma. The akumatized woman had gone into hiding after only a couple minutes of battle, and Ladybug was out being as visible as possible while the two boys lay hidden, waiting for the akuma to reappear and go after Ladybug so they could attack and take him by surprise. Paon shifted, tugging on the sparky robe that spread out around him and trying to hide the most glittery bits. "He said that peacocks don't do simple. And then I transformed, and he had added even more detailing to the eyes at the bottom of my robe thing. And more glitter, of course."

Chat Noir snickered at that. "Are you sure that wasn't in response to you putting the pin on in a strange spot? I swear, you have your Miraculous somewhere different every time I see you."

Paon groaned and made a face. "Maybe. But that wasn't my fault, really. It's gotten too warm to wear a jacket, so I've been pinning my Miraculous to an undershirt instead, since there's no way I could get away with pinning it to my actual shirt. It worked okay, but then I had a slightly tighter shirt and if I didn't want the outline showing to everyone and anyone then I had to pin it on my stomach. And I forgot to move it before I transformed." When Chat Noir continued snickering, Paon scowled at him. "Okay, some of us weren't lucky enough to get a Miraculous that can stay on in the same place 24/7. I would love to have a bracelet or ring instead of a pin, but I didn't exactly get to choose."

"I know, I know," Chat Noir insisted, still looking far too amused at Paon's plight. "But you have to admit, it does look funny when where your cape thingy is pinned changes every single day. Like, one day it's pinned at your right shoulder, then on your left, then in the middle, then halfway down your side, then on your stomach like some kind of weird skirt..."

Paon groaned again and flopped back on the rooftop, now sorely regretting the fact that Chat Noir was no longer avoiding him since they had established that Paon didn't have any feathers in his costume and therefore Chat Noir wasn't allergic to him. He had been hurt initially when the famous cat superhero kept his distance, but if Chat Noir was just going to tease...

"I'm gonna ask my kwami to add feathers to this glittery mess if you don't stop laughing," Paon warned after another few seconds of listening to the snickering. "Proper feathers. And then we'll see how smug you are when you're sneezing every few seconds."

Chat Noir promptly fell silent.

(Apparently Duusu had heard Paon's threat to Chat Noir, because every time he transformed for the next week, a whole down comforter's worth of feathers flowing out under and past his robe-slash-cape. Chat Noir glared at him through four fights, and it wasn't until Ladybug scolded him for taking a joke too far that he talked to his kwami and Duusu only agreed to change the costume back after several large bags of sugar-coated jelly candies. It took a month more after that for Chat Noir to agree to get anywhere near Paon again.

And Nino never could get Duusu to dial back on the costume's dramatics. He did, however, wise up and stop complaining about it before he could get completely drowned in glitter.)

  Fox

Nino was a bit bemused when he first found the fox-tail necklace in his room. It didn't see like the kind of jewelry that he would normally wear or get as a gift, but once Trixx popped up and explained things a bit (after Nino's screaming subsided, of course) it made more sense.

He hadn't been chosen to match the jewelry itself, but rather the powers that came with it. And if he thought about it, the necklace itself would be easy to keep secret. It wouldn't be hard to tuck the necklace into his shirt and hide it there when he wasn't transformed.

Besides, who cared about who the Miraculous itself looked like when the powers that came with is were so cool?

"So I can make illusions that act and sound just like the real thing?" Nino questioned Trixx once again. When the kwami nodded yet again, Nino grinned, excitement coursing through him.

Never mind generating random items and fixing-everything power. Never mind Cataclysm, even. Illusions of anything that could act just like whatever they were was so. much. cooler. It was like the cutting-edge holograms that XY used instead of performing live, except able to go whatever and say whatever- and speaking of XY, that gave him an idea.

A beautiful, fabulous idea.

"So I could make an illusion of Jagged Stone and make it look like he's playing live in my room?" Nino wanted to know. "Because, dude, that would be so. cool. My speakers are good and all, but nothing beats the real thing-"

"That is not the intended use of the Miraculous!" Trixx scolded. "You'll get yourself discovered that way! If anyone comes to investigate the noise and finds the Fox superhero sitting in your room-!"

"I could use an illusion to make myself look normal!" Nino protested, but he could already tell that Trixx made a good point. If anyone came in and touched any of the illusions and they went up in smoke like Trixx had said they were apt to do (and there was no way to deny that that wouldn't happen, not with a nosy little cousin that visited without warning, there would be no way for Nino to believably argue his way out. He would have to reserve use of his powers for battles, and battles alone.

(...well, okay, for battles and for late-night pranks, but only because even if Nino wasn't exactly much of a prankster, he just couldn't resist the opportunity.)

"Besides, one large, complicated illusion like that, and your transformation would wear off after five minutes and the illusion would go with it," Trixx finished, crushing Nino's dreams of personal hologram concerts with finality. "It's not worth it. But you say that there is technology these days that acts similarly to the Illusion? How does it work? That's so cool you can do it without magic!"

"I don't know, dude," Nino said, shrugging. "I'm not great at the science and electronics stuff like that. But I can ask one of my friends at school!" he added quickly when Trixx drooped in disappointment. "My friend Max would probably know, he's crazy smart about technology stuff. Whether or not either of us will be able to follow what he says I don't know, but I'll try."

Trixx considered Nino for a few more seconds. Then a toothy smile split his face.

"Great! You know, I think you'll do."

  Bee

Nino didn't know how the designs for the various Miraculous were chosen. If he had been in charge, he would have chosen a bracelet, definitely, and a ring, and maybe an anklet, and he supposed that maybe earrings could work for both male and female holders, and a necklace might, too-

-but a comb?

Pollen seemed just as puzzled as Nino as to how he was expected to wear the Miraculous. Apparently most of her previous holders had been female.

"And the males holders all had long hair," Pollen grumbled, inspecting Nino's close-cut style. "It was a thing back then."

Nino raised an eyebrow as Pollen unsuccessfully tried to shove the comb into his hair. The tines scraped against his scalp briefly before coming loose again, sending the kwami and Miraculous tumbling through the air. "Men wore fancy combs like yours as well?"

"No- well, not normally," Pollen said, stabbing at his hair again. It wasn't any more successful than the first time. Nino hid a wince as the comb scraped against his scalp. "But my Chosens had lovely thick hair and would hide my comb in their hair. Some hid it in their beards. Can you grow a beard?"

"How old do I look?" Nino questioned, exasperated. "No, I can't grow a beard, it's impossible."

Pollen buzzed in frustration and flew a lap around his head. "Oh, I don't know what else to do! You could stick it under your hat, I guess, but that would come off too easily- and what if your hat blew off and someone saw it? Or what if you had to take off your hat inside? You're always adjusting it, it wouldn't be safe."

"I could stick it in my pocket," Nino offered, reaching out to take the comb. Pollen snatched it away, scowling. "Come on, there really aren't that many other options. My pockets are deep enough to handle it, and I always keep my phone in the other pocket."

"But then it'll look weird when you transform," Pollen complained. "Not that it would look any less funny if we just glued the comb to your head. And you would probably complain about it not feeling great then, too."

Nino cringed at the thought. "We are not gluing anything to my head. It would look weird under my hat, anyway. And I have to take my hat off on a regular basis, too." He considered the Miraculous again. "I'm going to have to have it in my pocket. We'll have to see how it looks when I transform, I guess." He moved to tuck the Miraculous in his pocket, tugging it away from Pollen. "We can at least try it this way."

"Wait, what's that?" Pollen asked as Nino's shirt hitched up to reveal his belt buckle. "That metal thing there, on your pants. With the leather."

"That's my belt," Nino said, puzzled. He tugged his shirt up a little more so Pollen could see it without diving under his shirt to investigate. Kwamis apparently had absolutely no sense of personal space. "I don't always wear it, but these pants are a little big and I wouldn't want them to start slipping or anything if I have to run from an akuma attack."

Pollen spun in circles, excited. "This is perfect! You can glue the Miraculous to your belt! It'll look a bit strange when you transform, but it'll be hidden by your shirt the rest of the time."

Nino glanced at the Miraculous, then at his plain belt buckle. "Really? You think that will work? I feel like that could get uncomfortable too, if I need to bend over or something."

Pollen level him with a steely look. "It's either getting attached to your belt or your head. Your choice."

"...I think I'll go with the belt."

-0-0-0-

Chat Noir circled his and Ladybug's new teammate, inspecting his outfit. It looked fairly standard for a superhero outfit...except for the comb held by a black-and-yellow strap at hip height.

"Interesting fashion choice," Chat Noir commented, grinning. "Starting a new trend?"

Bumblebee groaned. "There was literally nowhere else I could put it," he explained. "My hair is too short and Pollen wouldn't let me just stick the comb in my pocket. I'll deal with the funky look."

Ladybug looked like she was trying not to laugh. "You must have a pretty big belt buckle normally, then."

"Oh, you have no idea. My kwami seems pleased, though, so..." He shrugged. "I guess I'll wear long shirts until ol' Hawky gets defeated. Won't be a problem unless I hit a growth spurt or something."

Chat Noir laughed but finally quit his prowling to lean against a nearby chimney. "That's a funny superhero requirement. No growing allowed."

"Says the one who's shot up several centimeters in the past month alone, you beanpole." Ladybug's teasing tone held no malice. "I'm glad you found a solution, though," she added to Nino. "As unusual-looking as it may be. And Bumblebee?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome to the team."