"I'm sorry." Marinette said for probably about the twentieth time.

"I know." Tikki sighed and accepted her best friend's apology.

"It's just," Mari sighed.

"Kind of fun to be on the other side of things for once?" Tikki joked, jabbing her friend playfully in the ribs.

Marinette blushed and sputtered no doubt remembering the times she had caught Tikki and Alya spying on Marinette and Adrien back when they were all still in middle school and high school- Alya had missed the last year and a half when Adrien and Marinette had actually started dating because she'd been in New York with the internship for the New York Times- leaving Tikki to go solo on the missions to make sure Marinette didn't get her heart stepped on- she'd backed off when she realized that Adrien Agreste despite being an obviously attractive teenage boy who happened to be fairly famous do to dis last name and modelling career was a far cry from the jerk-heartbreaker-casanova sterotype his fame could well have turned him into; but Tikki knew that while her judgement may have been wrong in this particular case you could never really know what people were like until you got to know them... after all she'd first thought Plagg was goth. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at her past self's assumptions.

Okay so maybe she did need to train her brain to stop jumping to conclusions but she couldn't really help it either you could never instantly trust someone no matter how much you might want to- lots of people ended up learning that lesson the hard way... and yet here she was having a coffee with someone she'd met barely even a month ago.

"We just want to make sure you're okay." Marinette's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I know." She said softly; and she did, she understood why Marinette and Alya had spied on her and Plagg however annoyed she had been about it at the time. "But I told you, I'm not looking for a relationship right now, you said it yourself people can hang out without being a couple." Tikki climbed up the ladder to the top bunk- she had been so exhausted these past couple of days that she and Marinette had agreed to switch beds for a little while- now despite being exhausted at least she had enough energy to make it up the ladder.

"I know." Marinette's soft voice reached Tikki from the ground.

No other comments followed so Tikki was left alone in the dark where the events of the day had finally settled on her completely.

She'd been completely honest when she'd told Mari she wasn't looking for a relationship. That kind of thing took more energy than she thought she had at the moment and she didn't have a clue about what people were supposed to do when they were in one... did you just say "hey want to be in a relationship?" Nothing could possibly be that easy, at least in Tikki's experience it never had been- she'd never had that kind of connection with another person before. She wasn't sure what that was supposed to feel like. She'd insisted to Alya and Marinette that she didn't have a crush on Plagg and she was fairly certain that it wasn't a crush but... she'd called him her 'partner in crime' was that the same thing as admitting you wanted to be in a relationship?... she didn't think so... she had almost said 'friends' "think of it like we're... friends." but that term hadn't sounded right, the word friend was just so over used. -Marinette was a friend, Alya was a friend. Tikki would have done almost anything for either of them so long as it didn't cross a certain unspoken boundary- but the term "friend" itself sounded almost... old and it hasn't sounded right in her head when she'd tried to apply it to Plagg.

Yes, she did consider them friends but that unspoken boundary of "what I would do for you" was slightly different... the same but... not... and so the term "friend" didn't really fit- the n the term "partner in crime" had popped into her subconscious had seemed to... click at how right it had sounded... because despite what she had thought previously in life about it being impossible to instantly trust someone... that was how she had felt with Plagg. This almost unexplainable compulsion to help him and be there for him and be helped by him but not really asking for any "favours" in return, just this feeling like... they would pick each up off the ground- he had literally prevented her from faceplanting into the sidewalk.- This feeling of knowing that the other person could handle some things by themselves but being there for them anyway for when they needed it.

So... no Tikki didn't think it was a romantic relationship at least... not yet? Tikki wasn't sure what she would do if they ever reached that point.


Plagg felt a bitter self-loathing as he stared at the grade visible on the computer monitor. It was enough to make him cringe.

Awful.

Not a straight up failure but... close enough and he'd already been walking on thin ice.

He had to get his act together and fast if he didn't want his parents "investment" into his future to go up in flames.

Honestly he could have cared less about that part of the situation. He knew that paying for his college had just been a way for his parents to kick him out of the house without seeming like the worst parents on the face of the planet.

Honestly he could handle everything himself, who needed them anyway? He hadn't seen or been obligated to go see them in almost two years.

He could manage just fine without their money.

The part that frustrated him about this entire situation was that he actually wanted to try to do the whole college thing... but he was he was treading on water and he could only keep this up folr so long until he drowned.

Thursday. It was Thursday. He could stay afloat for one more day. Wallow in self-hatred for the weekend and then force a smile and bite his tongue to start the cycle over again on Monday.

Oh the joy.

He closed the tab on his computer and shot an accusatory glare at his textbook. "I blame you." He hissed under his breath as he pushed away from his desk; swivel chair gliding across the room is come toa stop when it hit his bed.

He stayed where he was, turning his body in the chair to get a better view of the cityscape that was visible out the window.

Lights. Bright pin picks in the shadows. So bright that they almost gave him a headache but the oncoming headache didn't stop him from staring out of the window and thinking over what Tikki had said to him Tuesday morning over coffee 'partner in crime' he'd never had one of those and now he'd been entertaining the idea for the past forty-eight hours or so it was far too amusing.

Aside from Adrien he could safety say that he didn't really tend to make friends with "the right crowd" he was proud of his "rebellious streak" - or so his parents called it- but he'd never gotten into major trouble his parents might very well have killed him if he so much as said the words 'juvenile detention' he was obviously still alive so he'd not really had the guts to do anything too crazy.

He didn't know where to put Tikki on the "reckless" spectrum, she claims that she wasn't that type of person but the girl had run across the street and just... sort of brushed it off- yeah okay he'd told her he was going to stop bringing it up- didn't mean he would stop thinking about it- could you blame him?! Talk about a killer first impression. If he'd tried running across a street in the middle of morning rush hour he would have gotten his guts knocked out. Multiple times. He didn't have that kind of luck.

How did that saying go? "opposites attract" or something like that... guess it was true in this case.

She'd told him to hide evidence if she ever committed murder and he knew she'd been joking but part of him would have done it, if she was ever in that much trouble he would have done anything he could to help her get out of it.

Who wanted to do everything in life solo? Solo was overrated.


"Need a ride?"

Tikki almost jumped out of her skin when the black motorcycle pulled up alongside her, she halted abruptly on the sidewalk and turned at the sound of that voice- muffled slightly by the helmet...

Plagg?

"You- you want me to get on that... thing!"

"It's called a motorcycle."

"Where did it come from?"

"It's mine, I bought it. Duh."

"Do you know how to drive it?"

"No."

"What?!"

"I'm kidding! Come on, it's not going to bite you."

"You know?... the park is just two more blocks away.. I'll walk."

Plagg took off the helmet and grinned at her even as he rolled his eyes. "Chicken."

Okay that took a sizable chunk of her pride but Tikki wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting defensive so she just kept walking even when he revved the engine and sped past her; she couldn't really see his face through the visor of his helmet but he was no doubt being unnecessarily smug.

She froze in place hands going to her hips as she rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him as he disappeared behind the corner. She swore she heard his laugh floating back to her ears on the wind- he'd likely caught her reaction in his side mirror.

"What took you so long?" Marinette asked, pulling her legs up to her chin to make room for Tikki on the picnic basket.

"She wanted to walk because she's a chicken and doesn't trust me to drive a motorcycle."

"Never said I didn't trust you." Tikki said evenly as she walked around to Plagg's right side to go sit by Marinette, as she passed Plagg she thumped him on the back of the head. "And that's for calling me a chicken."

Plagg just snickered and shrugged.

Tikki plopped down on the blanket, tilting her head back with a small sigh. A frown marred her expression as she caught sight of the gray clouds that hovered ominously in the sky. She lowered her gaze away from the sky and subconsciously hugged herself for warmth.

She hated the cold weather that was imminent and fast approaching even though it was only early November and had yet to actually snow.

There was no doubt in Tikki's mind that this was going to be their last picnic for a while.

"Think it will snow?"

Marinette asked, seeming to read Tikki's thoughts as the other girl also turned a worried expression towards the gray skies.

"If you jinx it I swear." Tikki warned twisting her scarf tighter around her neck.

"Think positively! At least no one will look at you weird for making hot chocolate." Mari elbowed Tikki in the ribs.

"Why would they look at you weird for making hot chocolate?" Plagg questioned, confused about what was so amusing. "Because she makes hot chocolate in the middle of summer." Mari explained for Tikki.

Tikki rushed to defend herself. "It's got 'chocolate' in the name! I can't help it! It's one of my weaknesses!"

"I told you you'd jinx it!" Tikki scolded as the four of them rushed to pack up what was left of the picnic. "I can't control the weather!" Marinette defended as she folded the blanket and slung it over her arm.

"You want a ride back? There's still lots of room in my car." Adrien said; addressing Tikki as he took the picnic basket from Marinette's hand

"Umm..." she'd been about to take his offer when she noticed Plagg walking away towards the parking lot, the hood of his black jacket up over his head to keep the snowflakes out of his hair. Confused as to why he was leaving, she followed after him.

"Hey, wait. Didn't you hear what Adrien said about having room in his car?"

"I don't want to leave my bike," Plagg pointed to the motorcycle.

"Oh, right." Tikki supposed that made sense even if Plagg walked away with the keys surely someone could find a way to drag it off if that someone was determined enough.

Can motorcycles be hotwired like cars? Probably.

She cast a glance over her shoulder at Adrien and Marinette who had managed to gather up the rest of the picnic. She didn't feel too inclined to walk back to them. The less time she spent out in this dropping tempture the happier she'd be .

She stood there for a moment more, debating her options. Weighting the pros and cons.

Adrien's car would have a heater.

Adrien's car was further away.

Motorcycles didn't have heaters.

Plagg was closer.

She twisted her scarf tighter around her neck, tugging her jacket closer to herself.

Plagg seemed to read her actions and determined expression on her face.

"Hop on, I'll give you a ride."

"I... don't have a helmet." The thought had just occured to Tikki and it was definitely more concerning then not having access to a heater. Being warm didn't really help if your brains were knocked out of your skull.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"... Okay."

He grinned like the Cheshire cat and she punched him in the shoulder before swinging her legs up to sit behind him on the vehicle, wrapping her arms around his waist like she'd seen people do in movies.

For a moment they didn't move and Tikki was beginning to feel very uncomfortable in this position and was about to unwrap her arms and hop off the motorcycle entirely- screw it she'd just suck it up and walk- but before she could back out of the situation Plagg had started the engine and was pulling out of the parking lot. Following Adrien's blue Mercedes out onto the street.

It was then that Tikki remembered Plagg had never been to hers and Marinette's apartment.

She felt stupid.

She distracted herself from her stupidity by concentrating on how fast they were going.

It wasn't too bad...

Of course as soon as that thought crossed her mind Plagg had to put on speed in order to make it through a light before it turned red or they would risk losing sight of Adrien's car.

The scream that escaped her was half from terror and half from excitement, she wasn't sure which feeling was more prominent.

She buried her face into the back of Plagg's shoulder to shield her face from the constant gust of icy wind as best she could.

The cold wasn't so much of an issue either, the heat generated by the engine traveled downwards so at least her legs were warm and her jacket and scarf were doing their job.

After a few minutes they began to slow down and she pulled her face out of his shoulder to realize that they were idling on the curb next to her apartment.

Well... that was definitely faster than walking.

Plagg took off his helmet. "Huh... guess I know where this place is now." he commented, looking up at the common brown brick building with a half shrug.

Tikki swung her leg over, sliding off the motorcycle and looking at the building. "Guess so." Tikki agreed not really sure if she actually needed to respond to Plagg's comment.

"Thanks for the ride by the way, it... wasn't horrible." That was as close to admitting she'd had fun as she was willing to confess. She still didn't want to get him a reason to be smug or hold her own words against her... not that she actually thought he would.

"I'm sorry I'm going to need that statement in writing."

"Never." Tikki countered, walking away from him to join Adrien and Marinette where they stood by Adrien's car.

"You guys want to come in for some hot chocolate? Tea?"

"Sorry, Princess but I can't. I have to be at my father's house for a meeting with some magazine editors."

"Oh that's okay, stop by later if you can. Let me know how things go with... that." She trailed off looking a bit embarrassed and even Tikki knew that she had been referring to how things would go between Adrien and his father, not Adrien and the magazine people.

"Good luck," Tikki encouraged. "I'm sure it will go miraculously." She couldn't help the very slight undercurrent of sarcasm from slipping into the second part of her sentence it had been intentionally though.

Adrien grinned at her and shook his head. "I'm just sure." He replied equally sarcastic. Tikki patted his shoulder and walked back towards Plagg to repeat Marinette's invitation to come into the apartment.

Plagg beat her to it.

"What was that all about?"

"Mari asked Adrien if you guys wanted to come inside for some hot chocolate or tea or something, Adrien said he can't cause he's got this meeting with his father and some magazine people."

Plagg cringed slightly, remembering the recent argument he and Adrien had gotten into on the subject of Adrien's father.

"Touchy subject, what'd you say?"

"I said quote: "I'm sure it will go miraculously."

Plagg looked at her.

"... 'miraculous?' Who says that anymore?"

"I do." Tikki didn't find the word strange or outdated at all.

"Fair enough."

"So you want to come inside or not?"

"I can't, I have to go and place myself under house arrest and study before my professors attempt to murder me for failing another test."

"That bad huh?"

Plagg shrugged, putting his helmet back on before he gave her a two fingered salute and followed Adrien's car down the street.

Kill me.

Tikki rolled her eyes at the text message from Plagg.

Dramatic much?

Don't care.

Quit whining.

You sound like Adrien. You're supposed to take my side in stuff like this. I'd take yours, not very fair that you're throwing me under the bus.

I'm going to ignore you now.

Rude.

Has anyone told you that you're extremely annoying?

:) Everyone, all the time.

Just making sure you knew.

"Term exams in a week," Tikki looked up from her phone as Marinette spoke from across the room where she sat in a chair, cutting a swath of fabric. "how's your confidence level?"

"Well I haven't suffered a full mental breakdown but I'll keep you posted on that. What about you?"

"Meh. I think I'll manage. I've been doing okay so far but with my luck I'll probably overthink and second guess absolutely everything the day exams actually start."

Tikki looked down at the notebook that was open on her lap, taking a highlighter and underlining a sentence. "You'll do great, just remember to take deep breaths; it's not the end of the world."

"No, just a lot of pressure and possibly the end of my career." Marinette quipped, with an audible snip of her scissors to emphasize her point.

"Oh please, it will not be the end of your career your designs are fantastic! Not to mention the fact that you have major connections in the industry all ready; Adrien will back ujp anything you make no questions asked. You've watched every single episode of Project Runway multiple times and you've been sewing since Home Economics class back in grade school! You practically breathe this kind of stuff Marinette trust me you'll be fine!"

"Thanks Tikki."

"It's what I'm here for. If it gets to bad remember the trick I taught you that always works for me."

"Yeah okay."

"Good. You worry too much."

"What about you? What do you want to do after all of this?"

"Oh I don't know, open my own clinic somewhere, work for one of the bigger non-profit organizations. I'll take whatever I can get honestly."

"Just don't settle for anything okay?"

"When do I ever settle for anything?"

"Never."

"Exactly and I don't plan to start anytime soon."


A/N: Apologies for another note; this time an update on my process - I've managed to streamline it the best I think I'll manage, however future chapters seem rather long and while I'm trying to upload a chapter a day, I might not make the daily upload for a few chapters in the foreseeable future.

Although I'm not the original author, thanks again for reading. I truly am only sharing this because I like the characters and direction the story is going, and would love to complete what had been started.