"Are you sure you're okay? I could come by with something to eat."
"Really, I'm fine Adrien. I don't want you to risk getting sick."
Adrien sighed into the phone, as the Gorilla drove him over to Marinette's place. Alya had called asking if he wouldn't mind going over to help the blunette translate from French to Chinese for her great uncle. The teen wanted to say no and go take care of Ella... but said girl had told him to forget it.
"You didn't seem fine yesterday, coming to school so sick you fainted."
"And I *achoo* apologized a hundred times already." Adrien grimaced as Ella coughed harshly away from the phone, the sound thick and wet.
"Are you taking the medicine I had sent to school for you?"
"Yes, sir. Every two hours on the hour."
Ella hated lying, especially to Adrien. While she was taking the medicine he gave her at the end of the day yesterday, she wasn't at home resting like he thought. She was at the park, curled up against a tree- but the teen didn't need to know that. Ella already had Kiisy being a worrywart- she didn't need Adrien worrying about her as well.
"As long as you're sure..."
"I promise I'm fine- relatively."
"That just worries me more."
"You don't need to be worried. Enjoy your Sunday and I'll see you at school tomorrow."
"Only if you're feeling better."
"Yes, mother." Ella smiled at Adrien's laugh, before the pair bid goodbye and hung up as Adrien informed her he pulled up outside Marinette's place.
"You really should just let the boy worry about you." Kiismet commented, poking her head out of her holder's hair, cringing as the girl let out another string of phlegmy coughs.
"I'll be fine. Just gotta stay awake through classes tomorrow. By then, the medicine will have kicked in and started knocking this cold out."
"This is more than a cold, Elly-bean."
"It'll be fine. I'm gonna take a nap before "The World's Greatest Chef" comes on. Wake me if something happens?"
"Of course. Sleep well, Ella."
An hour later, Kiismet gently woke up her holder- the girl was dizzy at first, but collected herself enough to shift and sit up. Another minute and Ella managed to pull out her phone and open her streaming service to watch the cooking show.
"As usual, our panel of gourmets is made up of André Bourgeois, the mayor of Paris and owner of this luxury hotel, his daughter Chloé, representing the younger generation, hot rockstar Jagged Stone and his killer crocodile Fang, and finally, the divine head chef of this very hotel, Marlena Césaire, and yours truly - Alec! It's time to determine the fate of Cheng Shifu's famous Celestial Soup. Let's get tasting!" Ella watched the jury, minus Chloé taste the soup... the noirette frowning at the smirk on the blonde girl's face.
"What IS this!?" Alec exclaimed, spitting out the soup.
"Uh, I don't think this soup would fare well with our guests! I'll give it a 3/10."
"Seeing as it's pretty unappetizing, maybe I'll pass on the tasting, but I'll still give it a zero!"
"Ech! It's like kissing a member from the Zombeats! Negative zero."
"I'm sorry, but it's inedible. I give it 1/10." Alya's mom gave her vote last.
"Uh... I..." The chef spoke, walking into frame and tasting Chloé soup.
"Uch! I don't understand, I never put these ingredients in. It's a mistake. Someone sabotaged soup!"
"I'm sorry, Cheng Shifu, but I'm giving you a zero, too, which brings your score to 0.8/10 - the lowest so far. Celestial Soup will therefore not be in the hotel's menu this year, and you will not be named "World's Greatest Chef"!"
"And I thought Chloé couldn't *achoo* sink any lower..." Ella grumbled, frowning at the screen as the show went to commercial. She shifted to stand, but a wave of dizziness and Kiis stopped her.
"Don't you dare think about going anywhere!"
"But with this kind of thing, Hawkmoth is gonna akumatize someone!"
"You are sick- you can't fight like this! There's no way you're transforming into Raven! Let Ladybug and Cat Noir take care of this one!"
"But *achoo*-" Ella doubled over as coughs ravaged her chest and left her wheezing for air.
"Just listen to your body for once, Ella! You can't keep ignoring the warning signs- that's why this got so bad!"
"Doesn't really help that it's the middle of November, huh?"
"Definitely not." Once again, Kiismet wished it was time for that evil man's comeuppance... maybe she could take a little peek- no, the kwami needed to keep at least some rules intact.
"Come on, Ella. Let's get you back to the apartment. You said your father wasn't gonna be home for at least another week- and I'm sure I can get the door if I phase through the wall and open it from the inside!"
It took about an hour for the girl to make it from the park to the apartment complex, with how slow she moved and how many times she had to stop and hack up her lungs. Once she got up to the door, Kiismet was able to phase through the wood and unlock the door, letting Ella into the apartment for the first time since her father left on a business trip three days ago.
"Now go straight to bed."
"Yes ma'am..." Ella mock saluted, heading off to her room. Kiismet frowned after the girl before busying herself in the kitchen making tea.
Adrien smiled, watching Marinette and her uncle. The man won the contest, bringing him and his great niece closer. The teen couldn't help but wish Ella had been here for this- she would have enjoyed seeing Chloé get what was coming...
"Wait- Cheng Shifu!" Adrien got an idea, running over to the pair. The man turned to the boy, Marinette mirroring the action to stare at her crush.
"Yes, Adrien?"
"Sir, do you think your soup would be good for a cold? My friend is sick and I wanted to bring her something to eat."
"Would say yes. Let me pack for you."
"Thank you sir!"
Marinette watched Adrien bounce on the balls of his feet as he waited. Inside her chest, her heart pounded but hurt... she knew who Adrien was talking about: Ella. The girl had come to school yesterday sick as a dog: a fever of 39 degrees C, coughing, sneezing... she had fainted by lunch and spent the rest of the day asleep in the nurses office. Adrien drove her home, even getting medicine shipped to the school for her to take! All the actions made the jealousy rise like a bitter wave in the blunette's chest, but she told herself Adrien was just being a good friend- that she still had a shot at being with him.
"Thank you so much, Shifu!" Marinette zoned back into reality at Adrien's words, her eyes finding the blond as he just about ran out of the room, soup in hand.
'I hope one day he'll look like that for me...'
'I'm dropping off some soup for Ella, since she's sick. I promise I'll be home right after.'
Adrien sent a quick text to his father, before hopping in the car and giving Ella's address to Gorilla. The man grunted but shifted the car into drive. The soup carefully in his lap, Adrien dialed Ella's number and held the phone to his ear, but she didn't answer.
"Hopefully that means she's asleep..." He muttered, moving his eyes to the window.
A few minutes later, the car pulled up outside the apartment building and Adrien headed inside. He hit the fourth floor button on the elevator and went up.
"413!" He found the apartment quick, given there were only two apartments/condos on the floor. Knocking on the door, Adrien only had to wait a minute before the handle jiggled and Ella appeared.
"Adrien?" She asked, her voice scratchy.
"I know you said not to worry, but I couldn't help it..." The boy blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. Ella sighed but stepped back, letting him inside. Adrien followed her into the kitchen, taking in the high-end decor and severe lack of personalization.
"Adrien?"
"Huh?"
"What'd you bring?"
"Oh! Uh- Marinette's great uncle made this today, and he said it would help with your cold."
"That's sweet of you... thank you." Ella smiled, still adorable despite the flushed cheeks and pale skin.
"Of course! Anything for you, Elle," Adrien smiled wide at her, "now go sit on the couch. I'll bring the soup to you."
"You don't have to-"
"But I want to. Now go sit."
"...fine." Ella giggled, moving around him to head into the living room. Adrien turned and watched her go, before he searched the cabinets for a bowl. After a minute, he had the soup in hand and was sitting beside Ella on the couch, watching her slowly eat as the TV played lightly in the background. The conversation was light between sips of soup, mostly about the show earlier or about homework. It was almost as if the pair...
'Almost as if we lived here together...' The thought danced across Adrien's mind, making him blush scarlet. Luckily, Ella, even though she saw it, took it as he was getting sick and was quick to usher him out the door.
"I told you I wouldn't let you get sick! Your father would have my head!"
"No he wouldn't- he likes you!"
"Still- it's getting late too, I know your dad is waiting for you to get home!"
"Alright, alright. Now I only want to see you at school if your fever's down to 36!"
"I promise!"
Adrien smiled, grabbing Ella's hand before she shut the door.
"Sleep well, Elle. Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"...okay." The girl whispered, Adrien finally pulling his hand back and heading down the hall after shooting her one last smile. He moved to the elevator, hearing the door click shut behind him.
"Awe, look at you~ Taking care of your girl like that!" Plagg teased, zooming out of the teen's jacket to float in front of his face, smirking all the while.
"Plagg, I swear-"
"I'm not gonna let up until you finally ask that girl out!"
"Just shut up until then."
"Awe now that's officially my favorite moment between you two~"
"Shut up, Kiisy!"