It had been yet another day of fighting for the citizens of Paris. Another akuma defeated. Another victory for Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was time for another fist bump and another swift escape. But when Chat held his fist out for their victory fist bump, Ladybug only stood there and stared at him.
It was only a few seconds of silence. Only a few, before Ladybug raced up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, ensnaring his other arm in her embrace. He was tense for another few seconds before he relaxed and hugged her back. He wasn't going to complain about the free hug but it did have him a bit worried. "Ladybug..."
"Shhh..." Came her gentle voice and he closed his mouth and just enjoyed it. "You know your my best friend, right, kitty?"
Chat stiffened, just a second, before he frowned and reluctantly pulled her away from him. She immediately wiped her face and he knew she had been crying. "Are you okay, M'lady?" He put his hands on her shoulders.
Ladybug swiped his hands off her shoulders. "Just answer the question, you stupid cat!" She said, breaking into a smile and laughing.
He smiled. "Yeah... I know."
She continued to wipe the tears out of her eyes. "And you know I love you, right?" He fell silent, thinking. He knew what she meant but he almost wished he didn't.
"I do, buggaboo. Are you sure you're mewkay, M'lady?" He smirked when she laughed, wiping the rest of her tears away.
"I'm okay, Chaton. I swear. I just got a little emotional."
Chat tilted his head slightly. He knew better to dig any deeper. "But only a kitty bit, right?" He inquired, smirking wider. Ladybug lightly punched him in the arm. Then there came the beeping signifying it was time to head out. "We better get going."
He turned to leave but his ears perked when she said, "Aren't you forgetting something, kitty?" He turned his head and saw her holding out her fist. He smiled and let his knuckles meet hers.
"Pound it!"
"Au revoir, M'lady."
"Au revoir, Chaton." Ladybug smiled at him, hinted sadness in her eye that he barely noticed. "Oh, could you meet me at the tour Eiffel later tonight? I have something very important to tell you."
He smiled and nodded. "I'll be there, bugaboo. You know I will." She nodded, her smile faltering a bit. Then she turned, pulled out her yo-yo, and swung away.
Chat really hoped she was okay but he figured whatever was on her mind she would tell him, tonight.
...
Delighted at the chance to see his lady again, Chat didn't waste any time making his way to the tower. Upon perching himself on the railing at their usual spot he called out for her. When he got no answer he assumed she hadn't made it there yet so he waited.
After several minutes of swishing his tail back and forth in anticipation he grew confused. Maybe she wanted to change it up a bit? A new spot, perhaps? He climbed the famous landmark, looking every which-way. It was odd, nonetheless. But then an idea occurred to him and he headed to the first landing of the tower. Surely she would be there.
In no time at all he found himself on the first landing and he looked around. He didn't see any sign of Ladybug. No pretty silhouette. Nothing. But he did spot a candle and next to it was a box. A very familiar box.
Picking up the box he found a letter attached to it. His heart began rapidly speed up. She couldn't...She wouldn't...
He unfolded the paper and scanned the words.
Dear Chaton, Hello, kitty. Sorry, I couldn't do this in person. I just couldn't face you. I'm tired, Chat. It's been so hard. I have a life I want to live but Ladybug always gets in the way. I want you to know it isn't your fault. Please don't think that. You were the best partner I could ask for. I just can't do it anymore. It's too much weight. Saving Paris... Saving you. I can't love you like you want me to, Chat, and it hurts. I want to. I really do. But I love someone else. I'm in your way. You've nearly gotten killed many a time thanks to me. I know you always believed in me. I know you always say I can do it, but I can't. It's too much. I want to save everyone but I can't and I hate that. What if the next person I couldn't save was you? Or him? I don't want to be Ladybug when that happens. I hope you can forgive me, Chat. I didn't want to hurt you. Take care of Tikki, for me, okay? I'm gonna miss you, kitty. I'm so sorry... No longer yours,
Buggaboo
It hurt so much he didn't even realize he was crumpling the paper as his fists tightened. He tried to hold in his emotions. It was too much. He couldn't handle it. This wasn't happening.
No.
No. It wasn't true. His Ladybug would never abandon him. His ladybug would never abandon Paris like this. His ladybug would never leave.
He didn't open the box. He set it to the side. He was afraid opening it would make it all too real. He left the slightly crumpled letter under it so it wouldn't blow away.
She would be back. She was probably just scared. She wouldn't just abandon all of Paris like that. His Ladybug would never do that. Never.
So he went home and he climbed in bed. He ignored Plagg. He refused to listen. She would be back. She had to be.
...
When Adrien woke up the next morning he almost forgot but it all came back and he was nearly overcome with anxiety. But he had felt that before so he ignored it, like he did Plagg, and he got dressed.
He somehow managed to convince Nathalie to let him walk to school on his own. Maybe she sensed he needed the space or maybe she just didn't want to deal with a moody teen boy. Regardless, he was grateful for the extra room to breathe.
That space was eventually swallowed up by his kwami, as Plagg got way too close to his face. "Are you okay, kid?" Adrien just pushed him out of the way and kept walking.
"Someone could see you, Plagg!" He grumbled but Plagg just got right back in his face.
"If that will finally get you to answer me, then I don't care." Plagg glared. Adrien glared back, staring the tiny kwami down for a few seconds before sighing.
"I don't want to talk about it, Plagg..."
"Then don't." Plagg said. Adrien stopped in his place and looked back at the kwami, whom had fallen behind. "Just listen to me." Adrien reluctantly nodded.
"What if she isn't coming back, kid? You just left Tikki up there! Hawkmoth could get her-"
"She'll be back."
"But what if-"
"She'll be back."
"But, kid-"
"I said she'll be back!" Adrien screamed, his fists balled. Plagg's ears fell flat against his head as he glared.
"What if she isn't, Adrien?" Plagg cried. "I know you really want her back! I do too! But could you please consider the fact she may never be back! She didn't just abandon you!" In all their time together, Adrien had never seen the little cat so angry. "What about Tikki?" Plagg finally mumbled, his angry face falling.
Adrien looked down, feeling a bit ashamed. "You're right, Plagg. I'm sorry. She didn't just abandon us, she abandoned her kwami and I abandoned her, too." He looked up and pulled Plagg back over to his pocket. "I gotta go to school now but... I promise you, as soon as I'm free, we'll go back for Tikki, okay?" Plagg didn't look him in the eye. "I'm not going to abandon her too."
"Fine." Plagg grumbled and Adrien attempted to make a comforting smile.
"Now get back in my pocket! Someone will see you!" Plagg continued to linger and Adrien rolled his eyes. "I put fresh Camembert in there." He smirked as he watched the kwami practically dive into the pocket. Then he ran the rest of the way to class.
...
When Adrien Agreste entered the room, Chloe knew something was wrong. It was something she was always able to pick up on but it was particularly bad this time. What did that stupid man do this time?
She watched Adrien migrate to his seat and continued to glance his direction throughout most of class. His friend, Nico or whatever, kept asking Adrien what was wrong and he never did give a straight answer. It took several seconds of wild impatience to finally convince Chloe Bourgeois to do something so she stood up.
"Mme. Bourgeois, please sit back down." Mme. Bustier said, looking over at Chloe. Chloe just stared down at her desk before looking up.
"Mme. Bustier, I need to talk with Adrien... Right now."
"Chloe, this is hardly the time to be socializing. We are in the middle of class."
"I said, right now! Unless you want me calling my daddy!" Mme. Bustier fell silent and just glared back at her before reluctantly nodding.
"Fine, but I will not be stopping class for you."
"Fine by me." Chloe mumbled as the teacher went right back to teaching. She ignored the glares she got from Dupain-Cheng and her sidekick as she took Adrien's wrist. "I will be borrowing Adrikins for a bit if that's fine with you Nico... Not that I care." Chloe then dragged Adrien out of the room ignoring the aggressive reply of, "It's Nino".
Once out of the room, Chloe let go of Adrien's wrist and glared at him. Adrien didn't look her in the eye. "Chloe, I'm really not in the mood to sign another one of your posters right now." Chloe crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, she tried to tone down the attitude, just a bit.
"You really are naive, Adrien. I don't want your stupid autograph." She let her arms fall to her sides and she glanced the other way before sheepishly saying, "What's wrong?"
Adrien smirked and crossed his arms. "Why, Chloe Bourgeois, I didn't know you cared." Chloe balled her fists and blushed as she punched him in the arm. "Ow!"
"We've been friends for years! Don't think I don't notice when your sad just because you have new friends to hang out with!" She cried before relaxing herself and letting the heat leave her face. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "Is it your father again?"
Adrien's eyes grew wide. "What? No! Well... Not this time..." He looked at the ground, rubbing his arm as if searching for some source of comfort. Chloe pushed her naturally aggressive nature aside and set a hand on his shoulder.
"Tell me, Agreste."
Several seconds of silence until he finally looked her in the eye. "It's my... cousin... She just up and left us, you know? She tried to say it wasn't my fault but I can't help but feel like it is. She said we were too much for her. She couldn't handle it anymore. She said she had a life and we were just getting in the way." Chloe's face was stone cold. She didn't show any emotion but her increasing grip on his shoulder practically gave her away. "We were real close and she just left. I want to believe she'll come back but... but what if she doesn't?"
One swift moment and she had the other blond trapped in her arms. She wouldn't face him. She wasn't going to cry. He needed comfort and for all he's done for her, he deserved at least that much. She ignored his sobbing. She had known Adrien long enough to understand he hated crying in front of other people. She just held him tighter.
"You listen here, Agreste!" She aggressively whispered in his ear. She felt him fall still. "It's not your fault. It will never be your fault! Just because she couldn't care enough about you to stay doesn't mean you did anything wrong. She left but your still here and your still thinking the best of her which is more than I can say for me, right now. If she doesn't come back, I'm right here, okay? Do you hear me? I'm right here and you are never getting rid of me!"
She was pleasantly surprised when shaky arms wrapped back around her. Words spoken so softly, came out of his mouth, she almost didn't catch them. "Thank you, Chloe." Just like that, a few tears spilt but she wiped them away, patted his back and waited a few seconds before pushing him away and looking him in the eye.
"Stop crying, you baby." She giggled in an attempt to cover her own tears. "Just come find me after school, okay? We'll go to your place and we'll talk, just the two of us. I swear no funny business. Just helping you get better, okay?"
Adrien nodded and wiped the tears away. "Yeah, okay mom." He smirked and she punched him in the arm again. "Ow! Stop doing that!"
"You started it." She said and smirked back at him as the bell rang and their other classmates made their way out of the classroom. Nico quickly made his way over to Adrien, glaring at Chloe.
"Dude, are you okay? She didn't bite you, did she?" He looked Adrien up and down as Chloe hmphed. Adrien just laughed and you could tell years of modeling did wonders for him because he didn't even look like he had been crying, despite the slightly glassy eyes.
"No, Nino. Chloe was just helping me out."
"Ha! Yeah right!" Nico (Nino?) cried and wrapped his arm around Adrien's shoulders leading him away and to their next class. Sabrina found Chloe shortly after and quizzed her but Chloe just ignored her. She couldn't focus anyway. Of all the people, why did that have to happen to Adrien? Her mother wasn't the best mother by any means but even she didn't abandon her. It made her angry. So angry. She swore then and there that she didn't care how much it hurt her ego, she would make that boy feel better. She would help him forget! No matter how long it took.
...
It had been a relatively peaceful day. He had got done with all his studies and waited for his brother to get home as he sat in his chair reading a book on the Greek myths. He was enjoying the peace and quiet. It wouldn't be there for that much longer.
"Hey, Fe." Came the casual voice of his brother. However he sensed that Adrien wasn't alone. Not that his brother ever was, but he sensed more company than usual.
"Hello, Adrien. Who did you bring with you this time?" He asked, not looking up from his book.
"Chloe decided to tag along."
Upon hearing the name, he groaned. Chloe had already entered the room. He still didn't look up. "I heard that, Agreste!" She cried.
"I know." It was to his irritation that Bourgeois stormed up to him and pushed the book down towards his lap so she could look him in the eye. He glared at her and she glared back. "Pleasant as always, Bourgeois."
"Oh, shut it, Felix! I'm not here because I wanted to see you! I'm here because I heard about your cousin." She cried, putting her hands on her hips. Felix was a bit confused and leaned off the chair, just slightly, to look past Chloe. He looked at his brother who just looked back at him and he saw the faintest hint of a very annoyed black, tiny cat. He straightened his posture.
"Yes. It was quite tragic. We weren't that close, though, Bridgette and I." He said, almost emotionlessly. Chloe didn't seem to blink an eye at that fact. He looked over at Adrien again. "But I thought we were going to discuss that alone." Adrien just gave a sheepish grin and shrugged.
"I'm sorry she did that to your family. If I had my way I would make sure she wished she was never born!"
"Chloe, stop. It was her choice." Adrien said, taking off his over shirt and and tossing it aside. "I'm going to take a quick shower. I have a shoot in an hour. Promise me you won't kill each other?"
He and Chloe looked back at Adrien and he knew his brother wasn't reassured by any means however, he knew Adrien just wanted to get away for a bit and Chloe wasn't one to take hints. "I assure you, it would only be in self-defense." Normally Adrien would laugh at something as simple as that but he didn't, he just nodded and closed the bathroom door behind him after grabbing a fresh change of clothes. Felix didn't like that. Adrien was always the more jovial out of the two and when the burden of being joyful fell upon him, well... they were both screwed, weren't they?
"Alright, Agreste," Oh right... She was still here, "We need to talk."
"What would you and I ever need to talk about?"
"Adrien. He isn't happy. You know it, I know it. What are we going to do about it?" Chloe took a seat on the couch and turned around to face him. As much as Felix hated it, he agreed that something had to be done about his brother so he closed the book and set it aside.
"We won't be doing anything. I'm going to talk to him."
"Oh? And you're sure that's going to do it?"
"Do you have any better ideas, Mme. Bourgeois?"
Chloe fell silent and Felix almost found it more irritating than when she was talking. She eventually looked up from her thoughts and frowned. "No." Despite the urge, Felix did not smirk and just nodded. He expected that to be the end of it but it wasn't. "I just don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch him hurt." She hugged her chest and looked towards the bathroom door. This was new. As long as he had known Chloe Bourgeois, Felix had never seen her so hurt for someone else. "I want to help him, too, Felix. He's always been there for me and I've never seen him this down before."
Felix stood up and walked over to the couch, taking a seat a couple of feet away from her. "I understand." He simply said, and didn't wait for a response. "So, we'll just both make him feel better. I'll stay out of your way, you stay out of mine." Chloe looked at him, clearly bewildered but he didn't flinch. "You do your idiotic blonde routine and I'll be his brother." Chloe made a sound similar to a growl and Felix smirked. "Oh, so that isn't an act?"
Suddenly he was assaulted by a pillow and upon pulling it away from his face Chloe just glared right at him. She then looked back towards the bathroom door and her face fell to a worried look. "He's been in there a while..."
"Yes."
"I just can't believe your cousin would do something like this after your mother..."
Felix flinched and did not look her in the eye. "Yes... I can't believe it either." He mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Chloe said, rubbing her face. "I don't know what I'm doing." She looked over at him. "I know you and I don't get along but, and excuse me if this oversteps our hate pact, but... Are you okay?" Felix looked away from her and balled his fists just for a second before looking back at her and seeing a smiling Adrien just behind her.
"So, are we the last people on earth or are you two actually getting along?"
Felix looked back to Chloe who looked about as amused as him. "You're right. This is an overstep." Adrien frowned.
"Adrikins! Come over here and lets play one of those games you like, or something!" Chloe cried. Adrien made his way over to the couch and sat between them both.
"You don't even know how to play those, Chloe."
"You can teach me. The more distractions, the better."
"Will you play, Fe?" Adrien turned and looked at him. Felix sighed. He couldn't say no so he pulled out a controller.
...
A few hours later and the sun was beginning to set. Adrien got home late and collapsed onto the bed. "That took forever."
"A cousin? Really?" Adrien sat up and looked at Felix, not in the mood.
"Excuse me. I guess I should have just told her Ladybug abandoned me and the entire city." He said, sarcastically, lying back down.
"She what?" Felix cried. Felix had on his normal face but if you had lived with him as long as Adrien had you could tell there was slight differences. Felix couldn't hide everything from him. He knew his brother was angry. Felix sighed. "Is that why you just walked in here last night, didn't say a word, and kept ignoring Plagg's needless rambling?" Adrien didn't look at him.
He felt the bed shift and knew Felix had migrated to it. "What happened?" Adrien watched Plagg fly out of his discarded over shirt.
"Well-"
"Not you!" Felix said and Adrien didn't need to look to know Felix was giving Plagg one of his death glares. "What happened, Adrien?"
Adrien sighed. "I don't know! I don't know what happened! She said to meet her and I found her note and the box and..." Adrien suddenly shot up. "Tikki!" He cried.
"What?" Felix asked, eyebrow raised. Adrien just ignored him and jumped out of bed.
"Claws out!" He cried and then he was Chat Noir. Felix stood up and raced towards him, grabbing his wrist. "Felix, let go."
"Not until you explain! You can't just act like everything is okay, Adrien!" Felix said. "What happened?"
"Felix, just trust me! I'll explain everything later. I have something I really have to do and when I get back I promise I'll explain it!" Felix stood still, glaring at him and not letting go. "Please, Fe." Felix just sighed.
"And you will explain everything?"
"I promise." Adrien said. Felix's hand fell to his side and Adrien smiled. "Thanks." Felix crossed his arms and Adrien took that as his que to leap out the window, so he did.
...
Chat Noir raced over to the tour Eiffel, heart racing. He didn't even take a second to appreciate the sunset, he was set on his goal. Hopefully the box was still there. Hopefully Tikki was still there. He slowed only a little when another thought came to mind. What if the box wasn't there? What would that mean? Would his lady be there waiting for him?
His heart fluttered at the thought. What if she was back? What if she was there to apologize? What if they would sit down and watch the rest of the sunset like they always did? What if...
What if Hawkmoth found the box?
His heart stopped for a few seconds as he stopped on the first floor of the tower. He looked around but couldn't see the comforting candle glow. How could he be so careless? What if he lost the ladybug miraculous? How would the akumas ever be purified? Chat Noir would have to destroy them all... Then, how would he repair the city? By that point, if only to spare Paris, he would have to hand over his miraculous! What then?
Chat turned his head every which way, walking around the area, searching. He let out a breath when he saw the blown out candle, toppled over and inches away from the item he was looking for, the heartbreaking letter still safely secured under it. He chuckled a bit at himself. Of course the candle had only blown out. How could he expect a candle to stay lit this whole time?
He walked over and picked up the box, along with the letter, heart racing and breathing heavily. Once he opened this box it would all be real. The chances of this being some cruel joke played on him by Ladybug were very slim to none... What would he do with her gone?
What was he thinking? This wasn't just about him! This was about Plagg and Tikki too. What if Tikki was here all alone, mourning by herself? How could he be so selfish and careless? He took a few deep breaths and a determined look made its way on to his face as he stared at the closed box. This wasn't just about him anymore.
Chat Noir opened the box and saw a pair of shiny red and black dotted earrings staring back at him. He recognized them instantly and he felt like crying but he held it back as a red glow escaped the earrings and took the form of another kwami. "Hello, Chat Noir. Took you long enough." Tikki smiled back at him, warmly, despite the tears dotting her big, blue eyes.
"I'm really sorry... Tikki..." He glanced to the side, having a hard time looking at the kwami floating before him. "I was being really selfish and left you up here all alone just because I couldn't accept that-" He hugged his sides and sighed, "That Ladybug left." He held out the box and paper again, glaring. He quickly stuffed the letter in the box and attached the box to his belt before looking back at Tikki. "Never mind that... Are you okay?"
Despite the clear sadness in the little kwami's eyes, Tikki's smile never faltered. "I'm fine, Adrien. I saw it coming." Chat Noir didn't bother to quiz her on how she knew his identity. He wouldn't be surprised if she always knew. He just looked her in the eyes, silently asking her how she really felt. Her eyes looked to the ground. "I saw it coming. I knew it was coming. I just didn't want to believe it. I'm sure you understand." She giggled, as if to lighten the mood a bit but Chat only looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "I've had holders abandon me before. This shouldn't affect me..." Tikki looked back up at him, "But it does! She left and even though she told me why I still don't understand! She was one of my best holders... What did I ever do to make her feel like she wasn't good enough?"
It was instinct to snatch Tikki out of the air and hold her close to his chest. "It isn't your fault..." He said, softly as the little kwami sobbed a bit into his chest. "Sometimes humans just feel worthless and no matter what you do or say to try and prove them otherwise, they won't listen." His ears fell back against his head. "I don't know why she left but I promise you that I will never abandon you again, Tikki." Tikki flew out of his arms and giggled as she wiped her tears away. "At least not on purpose, anyway." He chuckled.
They both giggled a bit before Tikki gave him a worried look. "You're crying."
"Am I?" Chat asked, bringing a finger up to his mask to wipe the supposed tears away. He brought it back down and found an extra bit of shine to his latex covered finger. "Yeah, I guess I am." He said, giving her a sad smile. "Come on, let's go home. There's someone I have a lot to explain to." Tikki smiled and took hold of his shoulder as he pulled out his baton. He picked up the discarded candle, deciding not to leave it to waste and side glanced at the kwami on his shoulder. "Hold on." He extended the baton, let it hit the ground, and swung away from the tower.
...
Felix sat, somewhat impatiently, waiting for his brother to return home from his escapade. He was slowly tapping his foot as he pondered Ladybug's sudden "abandonment", as Adrien had put it. He assumed he would have a better understanding of things once his brother explained. If his brother was ever going to return home and explain, that is.
Still, Felix had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact Paris' number one favorite super heroine would ever just up and leave. It just made no logical sense. Unless she and his brother had defeated Hawkmoth. However, he was sure Adrien would have told him about that. In fact, his brother would never shut up about that fact with how much he loved being Chat Noir. Then again, Ladybug had left and that was bound to keep his brother distracted. But, if Hawkmoth was defeated and Ladybug left, why would Adrien need to be Chat Noir anymore? He had a hard time believing their "master" would let him keep the ring.
Felix sighed in frustration. He wasn't sure what he was more upset about. The fact his brother left him to ponder like this or the other fact Ladybug had supposedly just gone and left the city. Left his brother... Surely she wasn't clueless. She had to know Chat Noir had some curious infatuation with her, for whatever reason. She must have known it would hurt him. What was she thinking?
His questioning thoughts were interrupted by the clear sound of footsteps making their way down the hall outside his brother's room. His father was still up.
This no longer surprised Felix. The man probably hadn't had a restful night ever since his wife vanished. Felix's mother vanished. Their mother vanished. Yet another question Felix wanted answered. Among them being, what in the hell did his father do at this time of night? He would investigate if it weren't for the fact he still somehow had enough respect left for that man to not delve into his private life.
Felix heard a soft thump and broke out of his thoughts, looking towards the many window's of his brother's room. When his eyes rested on a familiar silhouette he began to walk forward. "Finally." He said as Adrien stood up. "Are you going to explain?" Upon getting a better look at his brother it did not take Felix long to notice three things besides the fact his brother was holding a used candle. One; there was something attached to Chat Noir's belt he was sure wasn't there before. Two; There looked to be a creature hanging off of his brother's left shoulder that Felix could only assume was another kwami. And three; Adrien was crying.
"Yeah, I'll explain. Sorry it took me so long, Fe. I had to get Tikki."
"You're crying."
"I have been told, yes."
"Why?"
Adrien smiled, sadly and it was at that moment Felix noticed how tired his brother looked and acted. He watched Chat Noir set the candle aside and take the unknown item off his belt. Felix was able to determine it was a well crafted hexagonal box. "Claws off." He mumbled and the suit dissipated leaving a very tired Plagg floating in midair. "I know you wanted an in depth explanation but truth is, Felix, I don't know much past this." Adrien held out the box and when Felix took it his brother walked past him and to his desk. Felix looked at the box, a bit confused, before following after his brother and grabbing another chair for himself.
Turning on the desk light, Felix opened the box and found a crumpled piece of paper. He pulled that out and found a shiny set of rather dull, black earrings. Felix took a glance at Adrien who was giving him tired smile while he rested his head on his arms. Felix looked back to the paper and set the box aside. After carefully spreading it out, he found it was a note. He scanned the words carefully, each word bringing more questions than answers to Felix.
"This doesn't make any sense. What made her think carrying a weight like that would be easy? What right does she have to even bring up your feelings? Why is she more focused on not upsetting you and less on the fact she just left a whole city without the one hero who can stop the akumas from multiplying? What makes her life more important than Pari-" Felix stopped when he realized his brother was fast asleep on the desk, Plagg curled up in between his shoulder blades.
"I'm sure she had her reasons." Felix turned to look the other kwami in the eye. Felix quickly put the mentions of Tikki and the kwami's ladybug like appearance together. "Even if you and I don't understand them."
"You must be Tikki." Felix said with no emotion.
"Yes."
"Do you know why she left?"
"Yes and no."
"What does that mean?"
Tikki sat herself on the desk and looked up at Felix. "Yes meaning, she told me. No meaning, I do not understand."
"That makes two of us." Felix mumbled, rubbing his temple. "Regardless of her reasons, my questions still stand. What right does she have to bring up my brother's feelings in this way? It's like she is trying to guilt him. But then she spends the rest of this letter contradicting herself. If she really cared about Adrien's feelings she would have done this in person."
"No!" Tikki said, sharply. She quickly covered her mouth and looked down almost as if ashamed. "I mean... she wanted to."
"But she didn't." Tikki stayed silent. "Putting biased aside, what makes her life more important than the 2.1 million other lives that reside in Paris? What hero abandons their people for their own happiness?" He looked down at Tikki, frustration obvious in his tone. "Forgive me if I'm wrong but does that sound like a hero to you?"
A tear made its way to the little kwami's eye and Felix felt a pang of guilt. He was about to apologize when Tikki spoke up. "No." Felix remained silent a bit, staring at the little kwami. "But... I think you are being a bit too harsh, Felix. She is only human. If there is anything I have learned from my time with humans, they don't always do the right thing. They don't always do what makes sense." Tikki turned her head and Felix followed her gaze to his sleeping brother.
Felix nodded, turning his head to look at Tikki. "I'm sorry." He said, turning back to Adrien and watching as he continued to sleep peacefully. It was fair to say he was a bit worried for his brother's health if Adrien continued to act the way he had today. He smirked and quietly said, "If it makes you feel any better, I don't understand humans either."
Tikki smiled up at him before looking back to Adrien then to Felix again. "Shouldn't you be getting rest, too?" Tikki inquired, tilting her head.
"Maybe later. I think I'll stay here for tonight." Felix said, not looking at her.
Several seconds of silence until Tikki said, "Do you think Adrien will be okay?"
Felix remained silent and did not answer her, he just stared at his brother. Truth was, he didn't know whether his brother would be okay or not. He didn't even know what Adrien would do now that Ladybug was gone. As far he he knew, there had to be a Ladybug to purify the akumas and fix the city but there also had to be a Chat Noir to see that through to fruition. So what was his brother going to do now?