Felix Fathom and his mother, Amelie, were in Paris for the week to spend time with his aunt and cousin. He really couldn't blame his mother for wanting to make up for lost time. Especially now that she was 'free' too. While she hadn't quite been the puppet he had been to his father, she may as well have been. Her wrists had been tied by family expectations and her desire to keep him- Felix- relatively safe and well.
It made him sick to think the things his mother had put up with on his account, just to keep his father from going too far. If she hadn't been there, there was more than one occasion he was sure his father would've ended him outright. As such, Felix had learned to be secretive, withdrawn, and self-sufficient to minimalize the torment both he and his mother faced. If there was no sign of weakness, there was nothing to exploit. Nothing to punish.
This habit had been deeply rooted into him for years and he still found himself falling to it, even now. It was difficult to show others his vulnerable side. He was getting better at it... but it was still very much something he was working on.
It was this same habit that had him locked in the guest bedroom's en suite bathroom early one morning, staring hard at his reflection in the mirror.
"It's horrible! It's terriiiiible! What have I done to you?!" Duusu was squeaking with emotion, hovering around her holder.
Felix facepalmed, letting his hand slowly slip down his face with a sigh.
"Nothing, Duusu. It's a cold... It's not anything you caused." he said flatly, voice a bit rough due to a sore throat.
Duusu frowned, "If it's nothing, why are we hiding in here?"
"Because I still don't want any fuss." Felix huffed tiredly.
He looked himself over critically. A little bit of concealer ought to hide the bags under his eyes without issue. The main problem was his nose had chosen this morning to turn into a faucet. No matter how much he tended to it, there seemed to be no end in sight... He blamed whoever had been coughing up a lung in the men's room at the train station the other day.
Felix sat on the toilet to think, "Let's see..." he sniffed, "There's a tree in bloom outside the bedroom window, I could dust some flower pollen on the shoulders of my shirt and claim it's allergies because of the tree."
"Oooh." Duusu looked thoughtful, "That way you don't have to hide your runny nose!" she said brightly, "Hmmm... but do you think you really need to? What if it actually makes you have allergies and then you feel worse?"
She was used to most of her recent holders getting very sick over time, so it wasn't unreasonable to be concerned.
"I'll just put a little bit, act like I've been dusting it off my clothes." Felix said simply, "Worst case scenario, it just adds credibility to my story and no one bothers me."
Duusu's eyes lit up again.
She loved how creative he was, "Oh! That sounds so smart!" she beamed.
Felix smirked lightly, "All I need from you is to back me up. Don't let anyone else know any different."
Duusu nodded dutifully, "You got it!"
Felix set to work with his ruse.
He applied the concealer flawlessly under his eyes and took the time to comb and style his hair. By the time he was done, his upper lip was already starting to look quite raw from his constant wiping at his nose.
He sighed. Maybe he could sneak away and buy himself some medicine later. Maybe Adrien at least had some antihistamines lying around for his own allergies... He'd have to poke around.
For now, he emerged from the bathroom and went over by the window, leaning out just enough to pluck a flower from the tree. He'd underestimated just how sensitive his sinuses would be. He'd scarcely gotten the pollen near his face, and he felt his nose burning and tingling.
He couldn't stop himself as several sneezes rang out in quick succession.
"Heh...Ehhhh...Et'chuuu! Ehhhh'tchuuuu! Hhhhh...Ehhh...Ehhh'tchuuuu!"
"Geez. Did you explode in there?" a voice teased mildly from the hallway.
Felix blanched. Why was Adrien right outside his room? His ruse wasn't ready!
Well... he glanced at the flower still in hand. He thought up a lie quickly, a modified version that would still work.
He closed his window and moved to the door, opening it.
Adrien blinked, "What happened to you?" he asked.
Felix smirked wryly, "Thought it would be nice to pick one of the flowers from the tree outside my window for my mom. The pollen shot up in my face." he stated.
Adrien seemed to buy it, as his concern quickly turned into a laugh, "Yeah, those flowers will get you. Be careful."
"Noted." Felix said, "I'd lament seasonal allergies, but at least I'm not allergic to feathers."
Adrien crossed his arms, looking Felix up and down as if he expected him to pull a pigeon from his vest or something.
Felix simply smirked and walked on by.
To his delight, his allergy story was working well enough to get him through breakfast without anyone batting an eye. Still, he knew he needed to get some medicine in him soon and lie low for a while if he wanted to be truly convincing. After all, the pollen from one little flower shouldn't still have his nose teeming all day. Especially if he changed his clothes and there was no pollen remaining.
~x~x~x~
Unfortunately for Felix, the opportunity to snoop for any antihistamines in Adrien's room didn't present itself before the two of them were ushered outside and encouraged to spend time together.
Emilie had suggested they meet some friends for a movie. Amelie had agreed as Felix really did need more friends.
Adrien was texting and then glanced up, "Marinette, Nino, and Alya can meet us in fifteen minutes." he informed.
"Fan-tastic." Felix drawled boredly.
Adrien eyed him, "You know, if you'd rather do something else, you can say so."
Felix thought quickly and nodded, "Actually, I was thinking of visiting Kagami while I'm in town. You can still do whatever you want, though. What our moms don't know won't hurt them."
Adrien seemed to consider it, "How about I'll hang out with Marinette, Alya, and Nino for a few hours, then you and Kagami can meet us for a movie if she's up for it?" he suggested, "That way we can still technically tell our moms the truth."
That should be enough time, Felix decided.
He nodded, "Sounds good. See you then."
He walked through the gate with Adrien and then they parted ways.
When they were well out of earshot, Duusu peeked out of Felix's vest, "So, are you going to call Kagami? Maybe we should bring her some flowers!" she said brightly.
"We're not calling Kagami." Felix informed, sniffling, "At least, not yet."
"Huh? But you told Adrien- Oooh." Duusu caught on, remembering his desire to go unbothered. She frowned, "But how are you going to meet them all for a movie later?"
"We'll still do that, even if Kagami doesn't want to come." Felix clarified, "But right now, I've got to get my nose to stop running so we've got to get something with an antihistamine in it."
"Where do we go to get that?" Duusu wondered.
"Don't worry about it." Felix said simply.
Duusu hid back in his vest as he trudged along.
He found a small drug store and bought himself some cold medicine and cough drops. It all had to be small enough packages to hide on his person with ease, so cough syrup or any bulkier items were a 'no'... Not that he needed cough syrup anyway. It was just a sore throat and runny nose right now. He decided to buy a bottled water as well in order to wash it all down.
~x~x~x~
Felix headed back outside, seeking out a quiet spot.
He found a spot shaded nicely by a large tree and sat.
Duusu watched curiously as her holder popped some cold pills.
She frowned as she noticed a subtle grimace to Felix's face when he swallowed, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Throat just hurts." Felix told her simply. He popped out a cough drop next and slipped it into his mouth, then leaned back against the tree. Now all he had to do was wait for the medicine to kick in. He scrolled through his phone in an effort to look busy.
He decided he had best get in touch with Kagami, lest she manage to run into Adrien first. He didn't want to arouse any suspicions. Though with his nose still running and his throat feeling raw as it was, he didn't quite want to talk on the phone either. So he supposed texting was the way to go.
'Hello, my queen. What are you up to today?'
Kagami was seated on a bench, drinking some water. She and her mother had just finished some early morning kendo practice.
'I just finished with morning kendo. And you?'
'Adrien wanted to know if you'd like to come to a movie with us later. Marinette and those two dorks with the glasses will be there too.'
'You mean Alya and Nino?'
Kagami guessed.
'Is that how you spell their names?'
Felix hadn't had enough conversations with the pair to know or care too much.
'Anyway, what do you think?'
Kagami glanced around hesitantly.
Her mother wouldn't approve of a movie, that much was clear. Perhaps she could tell her instead she was meeting some friends at the museum to do some studying and stay sharp over the summer. That might go over better... She decided to try.
'I'll get back to you about that in a minute. Are you still with Adrien right now?'
'Not at the moment. We can meet up for a little date if you want. ;) '
Duusu giggled, "Ooh! The winky face means you're being coy! That's so cute!" she squeaked.
Felix shook his head slightly and gently pushed her back into his vest as a reminder to stay out of sight. Just because they thought they were alone didn't mean someone couldn't walk by.
Kagami glanced at the message.
'We will see.'
The Tsurugi heir stood from her spot and walked over to where her mother was waiting beside Tatsu, "Mother, is it alright if I go now to meet some friends? We wanted to go to the museum to brush up on some history over the summer. Then, we were planning to head to the zoo and do some sketch observations of the animals there."
Tomoe turned slightly towards her daughter, dark sunglasses reflecting ominously in the morning sun.
"How many children will be there? I would rather you not distract yourself with too much unnecessary company, if indeed your goal is to learn."
It was a challenge, Kagami knew. Every time she asked for permission to do something, it was like a battle of wits. She had to know the right answer and quickly, or the jig was up.
"I would just be going to meet up with two friends, mother." Kagami said easily, it wasn't technically a lie if she did see Felix and Duusu first.
Tomoe seemed satisfied enough with that.
"Very well. Though I expect you back in time for dinner."
"Of course, mother." Kagami said with an obedient nod.
Tomoe offered a nod of her own, gingerly getting into Tatsu's back seat before instructing the car to drive off.
In her absence, Kagami glanced back at her phone.
'Where do you want to meet?'
~x~x~x~
Felix had been resting his eyes while he waited for a reply, head leaned back against the tree as he willed the meds to kick in faster.
The soft ping from his phone drew his eyes open again. He smiled lightly.
'How about the park and we'll go from there?'
'See you soon.'
Kagami replied in confirmation.
Author's Note:
As promised, I wanted to write something else for this fandom. It took a bit longer than expected as I got wrapped up in making a custom Argos doll. ^^; However, now that the doll is finished, I decided to double down on getting this fic written. It won't be as long as most, but it still will have a few chapters. I really wanted a Feligami fic where Kagami was the primary caregiver, mostly because I just love how she's so direct. Haha. Reviews make me happy and I'll see you in Chapter 2!