I love long comments and you made a lot of really great points! I want to address all of them, so I think this will be a little long.
I think a big issue that Nino has with Chat in this fic is a feeling that he isn't trusted and respected. In the past, Nino has had a tendency when what he says isn't respected. The first time he was Akumatized was for his best friend's lack of a birthday party!
There's a huge dissonance between what he thinks Chat Noir is like (and how he's been in the past) and how Chat Noir is acting currently. The Black Cat isn't joking around, he's not really being playful with Nino and there's no banter between them. I'm sure Nino thinks that it's something that Chat feels about him specifically, like Chat Noir being mad at him over Rocketear or the many other times he was akumatized. As you said, Nino seems to be a favorite of Hawkmoth's! Chat Noir is normally a very sunny person, but he also is very much a closed book around the other heroes. Ladybug is the one he trusts without question, so he's the most fun and chilled out around her.
I think Chat Noir was keeping an eye on Rena and Carapace because he doesn't trust them as much as Ladybug does. He doesn't see them as a threat, but he also remembers fighting them in Miracle Queen. He doesn't want to hurt his friends and he does want to keep them safe, but between keeping Ladybug safe and them I think he would choose Ladybug. Especially if they were being mind-controlled. It definitely made Carapace mad that Chat Noir was keeping him back and watching Rena. He wasn't going to do anything, but from Chat's perspective, he's suddenly approaching Ladybug mid-purification of the Akuma. Anything could go wrong. Even further than that, Nino proved he wasn't trustworthy when he told Adrien his secret! Even if it was an emotional response. So Chat Noir trusts him even less for reasons Nino doesn't know or understand.
Of course, you're also right that Chat Noir is worried Nino will recognize him as Adrien from his behavior, so he has even further reason to stay away. I'm sure that makes Nino even more frustrated. I think Chat Noir is the most relaxed around Ladybug and the more people who join, the more anxious he gets.
My favorite part about writing these different perspectives is when characters realize Chat Noir actually does do a lot. He doesn't just mess around, his job is to make sure that Ladybug can actually save the day. That means that he has to be good at a whole lot of different jobs. I think most people assume it's Ladybug who does the majority of the work, but Chat Noir does his fair share too! He's a serious superhero when it comes down to it, even if he likes to make jokes. The person who is most aware of Chat Noir's hard work is Ladybug, which is why she doesn't like people saying he's a sidekick. He's just as important when it comes to winning the battle and she couldn't be Ladybug without him.
You're right that Nino noticed the distance between Chat and the other heroes, but he doesn't really know why yet. Alya is scared of Chat Noir, and she's a little jealous of his bond with Ladybug. He doesn't trust Alya and he's jealous of her knowing who Ladybug really is, but he's also mad because Ladybug didn't trust him enough to tell him.
For a lot of these things, Nino is half projecting. He thinks Chat Noir doesn't trust him, but only because Chat Noir stopped him from moving too early.
I think Nino really loves Alya and Alya loves Nino. Alya wanted to bring up that Chat left that big bruise on his chest, but Nino understood that he went way over the line by attacking Chat in anger. Alya's advice is also the reason Nino started investigating at all. It's integral to the plot of the fanfiction that Alya and Nino's relationship is genuine.
On the topic of Chat Noir's power? Adrien is an athletic young man so that alone would make him fairly strong and fast as Chat Noir. The biggest difference between Nino and Adrien is that Adrien has had nearly four years to figure out how to be Chat Noir. He knows how to punch just right, how to use his strength to the maximum effect. Chat Noir knows how to move at his maximum speed because he's covering for Ladybug in battle. I think Marinette is the same way, except she doesn't do sports as a civilian. Ladybug's main form of exercise is being Ladybug- so she might not be quite as strong as Chat is, but she can make up for it in speed. She has her yo-yo to get around and she has different abilities that help level the playing field between the main duo. This can be seen by Ladybug winning in Chat Blanc! She grapples him into a hold and throws him. So, Nino has neither the experience nor the speed to have an edge over Chat Noir. He's not as athletic either, so he really only had his shield to fight. Chat got around the shield by pushing him off the roof and scaring him.
To answer the question of if he's stronger than Nino because he's more athletic or his Miraculous is stronger, I'd say both along with Chat Noir just knowing how to fight better. It's a combination that lets him dominate.
I think Chat Noir is very much like Plagg. They both have scary abilities to destroy, but they don't seem to take their jobs too seriously. At the same time, neither one of them hesitates when they need to be serious and they both understand their roles as Destructors well. If Chat Noir or Plagg wanted, they could probably be incredibly scary but they don't feel like it.
I think Chat's line of "Rena was supposed to tell you we aren't supposed to use our powers on patrol" was really just his way of giving Nino an out.
I'm sure this whole situation is weird from Adrien/ Chat Noir perspective. Carapace, who he knows is Nino, keeps spying on him for some reason. He catches him every time, but I'm sure Chat Noir might be thinking "Is Nino trying to find out my secret identity?" It makes sense for him to put some distance between himself and Nino for that reason, but also because the things Nino said in Rocketear seriously hurt Chat's feelings. Even if he did trust Nino completely, Chat Noir would still distance himself from Nino until he's figured out how to feel. I think Chat Noir is also trying not to be 'annoying' like Nino described him, so he's not being as sunny as usual. Then, out of nowhere, Carapace attacks him on patrol. Adrien has faith in Nino, but at the moment I'm sure Chat Noir thinks this is a betrayal of some kind.
"Does he want to hurt Ladybug? Is he trying to take my Miraculous?" I think those are the thoughts he immediately thinks, but as Nino begins to panic- probably around when he puts up his shield, Adrien figures out that Nino was feeling angry. So Chat Noir decides to play a bit of a game by scaring Carapace. He shows off his speed and strength as much as he can, just to intimidate Carapace. Once the shield is down, he tells Nino to learn from this. On the other hand, he also punches Nino hard enough to make his ribs bend, but I think that's because whatever his reason was for attacking, he still did it. He has to be punished in some way. In the end, he lets Nino off the hook by not telling Ladybug. I think the punch was also to show that if he ever did try to betray Ladybug, Carapace would fight against Chat Noir first. He might've had too much fun scaring Carapace, but he also needs to make sure it never happens again.
And Chat Noir is terrifying in that regard.
I think Adrien fully forgave Nino for what he said about Chat Noir, but forgiveness doesn't mean that his words didn't hurt. It just means that Adrien wouldn't make a big deal out of it.
Adrien and Nino really just need to talk, but I don't think they will. They're both kinda dumb when it comes to stuff like that and it's Adrien's nature to just let things hurt him. He's a bit traumatized.
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BaslessRapier (trynottoworrytoomuch) Wed 11 Aug 2021 06:20AM UTC
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