"Alya, what am I going to do." I whined into my phone.

"Sorry girl. But there's nothing I can do from over here."

I shifted my weight to my other foot, "Well, could you-"

"I am not breaking into your house to get your uncles present to mail to you. I love you and would do almost anything for you but I draw the line at possibly going to juvie. I don't want to give Chloe and Sabrina the pleasure of Sabina's dad arresting me."

Yep, that's what I had forgotten to bring. Not a hairbrush or something that could be easily replaced. It just had to be my uncle's present. And Tikki wasn't going to let me use the horse miraculous to get it either.

I tried to when I first realized that I didn't bring it and that ended in a lecture about not using the miraculous for self gain, being responsible, and facing consequences. Tikki's main point being I couldn't magic my way out of every scenario.

That rule stickler.

I groaned, "But it's the gift Adrien helped me make."

"All he did was translate a few words to mandarin for you."

"It was very helpful."

"Like google translate isn't a thing."

"Say that to the people who have the word soup tattooed on them, not on purpose."

Alya snorted, "Far point. Why don't you just buy your uncle something there?"

I thought about her suggestion, waving at Papa as he tried to sneakily check on me. He smiled sheepishly through the balcony's glass door and waved back, before going back to whatever it was he was doing prior.

"We are going to the marketplace today. But I wanted to show Adrein a picture of my uncle getting it. It would give me a chance to talk to him."

"Oh, so that's what's upsetting you." I felt that smirk.

"Hey, I can be upset about both."

I heard a door bang open and a boy's voice form Alya's side. She said something that I couldn't catch.

"Is that Nino?" I asked.

"Yeah," Alya said.

Nino said something indiscernible before Alya told me she had to go. We said our goodbyes and I hung up.

I opened the balcony glass door. Going inside, I walked down the hall to a room that wasn't mine, but had a bed, a dresser, and my suitcase.

I debated on checking if Chat Noir had left any messages on my way. Chat had taken it upon himself to make twice daily calls, one before and one after his patrol. On the third night here he actually caught me while I was checking for messages. I thought it was an Akuma attack, but it wasn't. Chatton was on another patrol. I kept him company on that one; letting him talk my ear off till I almost dozed off and Chat told me to go get some sleep.

Deciding not to check since Alya hadn't mentioned any Akuma sighting during our phone call, I grabbed a brush and hair ties off the dresser. Perched on the end of the bed, I ran the brush through my hair, sectioning it out before tying it in my usual pigtail due.

What was I going to do about my uncle's birthday present? I could mail it when I got back home. But wouldn't it be less special if he got it after his birthday passed? I thought about Alya's suggestion of getting a replacement. It was doable if I could get something without Uncle Wang seeing it. I would have to wait for him to be distracted or go off on my own.

Maybe, I could try convincing Tikki one more time to let me use the horse miraculous. I could use it any way but it felt wrong to go behind my kawami's back like that.

"Tikki?" I called, opening my purse. My kawami sat in there, arms crossed, and a frown on her face.

"No." She said, knowing exactly what I was going to ask.

"But-,"

"No!" She closed the bag.

I pouted. Such a stickler.

Soon my parents called me and all of us including Uncle Wang were off to the marketplace. On the way here, I had tried to get my uncle to play a round of 'guess what your getting for your birthday,' but that had been fruitless. He wouldn't even try to make any guesses.

The market itself was huge. Made up of many stands, boutiques, and stores. We spent a couple hours going around the different shops.

Eventually, I confessed to Maman about needing to get something for Uncle Wang and asked if I could go on my own. She let me, saiding to meet them up for lunch later.

An hour later, I was exiting another shop empty handed. As I was walking to another one I felt a tug on my shirt. Looking down I saw that my purse was open and Tikki had a hand on my shirt.

"Marinette can we get one of those?" she gestured to a stand that was selling Jian dui. "They look so good."

"Sure thing," I ordered one batch of them. The cashier handed them to me in a brown bag. While walking away I opened the bag and pulled out one. I was handing Tikki the Jian dui when I bumped into someone. I stumbled back and almost tripped on my own two feet when a hand grabbed my arm and steadied me.

"Oh, sorry." I said, before looking up at a familiar face with green eyes that caused my brain to short-circuit.

Adrien?

Adrien was here, right in front of me.

Am I dreaming?

"Marinette?" He said with a bewildered expression on his face.

"A-adrien? Wh-what are you doing here? Am I hallucinating?-I mean I-I never thought I would see you here." What was he doing here? He should be in Paris taking his fencing lesson. Not that I minded him being here, but this was unexpected.

"My father is opening a new store here. He brought me along while he oversees the opening." Adrien answered. He then asked why I was here. I explained why, as I closed up the Jian dui bag and put it in my purse. Tikki can have the rest.

"It's awesome that you get to spend time with family," Adrien said, hooking his arm around my shoulders. I tried not to swoon as he guided us to a bench, "My father decided that I should be one of the main models to help advise his new store. So it's been back to back shoots till I got here today."

"Oh, that's so cool."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Honestly, it's kind of draining. This is the first real break I've gotten since the start of summer."

"I... can kind of understand that." I said, thinking about my Ladybug duties.

Our conversation luled before a sly look came into Adrien's eye. He leaned closer to me, conspiratorially.

"Lets run away together," he whispered.

"What!" I squeaked. Run away with Adrien. Okay this had to be a dream. Time to wake up Marinette. Wakey, wakey. Did I bonk my head when we crashed?

Adrien stood up and offered his hand, "Come on, let's go sightseeing by ourselves. We have a window since Gorilla is checking out that figurine stand over there," he gestured with his chin to where his bodyguard was turning over a figurine of Uncanny Valley.

Was this really happening?

I glance at Adrein's hand and then back at his face. "Umm, will it be okay for you with your busy schedule and-and all?"

He grinned at me, "Technically my schedule is free for the rest of the day, and I would like to spend it with a friend."

I placed my hand in his, "Alright."