Felix had been asleep for roughly an hour and a half when Kagami felt him shifting. She set her sketchbook and pencil to the side and regarded him, "Felix?" she asked gently.
He gave no response readily, blinking hazily as his fever addled brain tried to puzzle together exactly where he was and what was going on.
He was lying down... When had he gone to bed? Wait... He saw a pair of legs and realized what he'd initially mistaken for bed sheets was actually Kagami's skirt and he had her jacket draped over him like a small blanket.
Felix sat up, head swimming with the sudden change in position, "Nnngh... Kagami?" he asked, rubbing at his face fervently.
Kagami offered him a sympathetic smile, "Have a good nap?" she asked easily.
If his face wasn't already flushed, Kagami was sure he'd be blushing judging by the sheepish look Felix gave her.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to fall asleep." he apologized.
"It's no problem." Kagami brushed him off easily, "I just worked on some more sketches. Would you like to see?" she offered, hoping to distract him from being too self-conscious.
"Sure." Felix shifted to sit up a bit straighter.
Geez. He felt awful. Though he was awake, it seemed like his brain was protesting this fact by processing at a snail's pace. He was pretty sure he was done for.
Tears prickled in his eyes as a feeling of dread began to quickly settle into his chest in a deep, heavy wave.
Kagami was holding out her sketchbook, but paused, "Are you crying?"
There was no judgment in her tone, just surprise.
Felix swallowed thickly, blinking the small tears away.
"No." he denied, but he didn't look any less miserable.
Kagami frowned, "What is it?" she pressed.
Felix looked down at his amok, clenching his hands into fists until his knuckles blanched white, "My heart's racing." he offered and took a deep breath in an effort to maintain his composure. All it did was cause him to cough... likely the first of many.
Kagami studied him worriedly, "You're alright. No one's seen you." she assured.
Felix shook his head, "But they will. They all will." his voice shook and he smirked in spite of himself, "I know, the worst that's going to happen is maybe I get a lecture on looking after myself. Maybe I get told to head home, go to bed..." he shivered, unable to stop it, "But even though I know this, all I want to do is run and hide away where no one can find me."
"Your father punished you for showing weakness, didn't he?" Kagami decided.
He hadn't said what about his childhood was to blame, but she was fairly certain based on what had been said.
Felix nodded slightly, "Every single time. Any time he didn't like how I felt, good or bad, it was wrong and I needed to be reminded how I was supposed to be." his expression darkened as he stared back at his ring, "I've become unapologetically myself since his passing, but every time I feel weak... I still feel so anxious..." he sighed.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Kagami said carefully, "You had a traumatic experience surrounding feelings of weakness, so of course it will stir up bad feelings when you're in a low point. Though, weren't you the one who kidnapped me from my mother for berating me for being a slave to my own emotions? And weren't you the same one who denounced everything she was hammering into my head about it?"
Felix looked at her.
Kagami gave his hands a gentle squeeze, "Take your own advice. Let yourself feel whatever you need to feel- that includes if you feel unwell. I know your natural response might be hard to break, but just work at it a bit at a time." she said, "You claimed you couldn't relax around me, even, but with a little help you did manage to." she noted, "You're already making progress."
Felix offered a small hum of acknowledgement, turning that over in his head.
If his brain weren't so sluggish, it would be a lot easier.
"What do you think I should do?" he asked at length.
"Personally, I think you should let me call Adrien to let him know." Kagami voiced, "It would save you having to confront the group in person, and I know he'd be understanding." she went on. "However, I respect you, so I'll let you make the final decision."
Felix was silent a long moment, then sighed deeply.
"Okay... you can call him."
He did his best to steel himself, but he could feel his rapid pulse thrumming through his brain. It was dizzying.
Kagami nodded, giving his hands another affectionate squeeze before she pulled out her phone and called up Adrien.
It rang just a couple times.
Adrien picked up, there was laughter in the background.
Clearly, they were all having a good time.
Adrien was suppressing him own laughter as he spoke, "Hey, Kagami. How are things going with you and Felix?"
"We've been enjoying our time together. We're at the park now." Kagami replied calmly, "But I'm calling to let you know we won't be joining you at the movies."
Adrien's jubilant tone flattened a touch, "Oh? Did something come up?"
"In a matter of speaking." Kagami acknowledged, "Felix is sick. He needs to go back to your house and rest."
Adrien blinked, "He's sick?" concern seeped into his tone, "How sick?"
Marinette had drawn closer, noting the turn in the conversation.
"He's pretty feverish and he seems miserable." Kagami glanced at Felix.
Either his headache was worse, or he was having an inner panic attack by the way he was holding his head.
Adrien frowned deeply, thinking back to that morning and realizing Felix's 'allergy' had likely been something else after all.
"Oh no." he sighed, "Does he need help getting back? Should I call my bodyguard to come pick you guys up?"
Kagami glanced at Felix briefly, then back to her phone.
"No, that's alright. I hear Ryuko is handy to give him a lift." she mused.
Felix glanced up at her, caught off guard.
Adrien blinked, but smiled lightly, "Well, make sure to send Ryuko my thanks." he said easily, "I'll call my mom and Aunt Amelie to give them a head's up. Tell Felix I hope he feels better and if he needs anything, I'll pick it up. Otherwise, we'll be back after the movie." he promised.
"I'll let him know." Kagami assured, "Thank you, Adrien." she said and hung up.
She turned her full attention back to Felix, "That wasn't so bad, right?" she offered calmly, trying to reassure him.
Felix forced a small smile.
His heart was still pounding in his chest, flooded with panic.
He knew rationally there was no reason to be this bothered about it, but he couldn't just make the feeling disappear. He felt exposed. Vulnerable.
Kagami seemed to see right through his half-hearted grin and patted one of his knees gently.
"It will be alright." she encouraged and stood from the bench, "I'm going to go transform, I'll be back in just a moment."
"There's... there's really no need for you to..." Felix trailed off as her gaze hardened again.
"Perhaps you'd rather break an arm falling from the rooftops as Argos then?" Kagami challenged.
In his fevered state, Felix withered.
"No..."
Kagami nodded, satisfied.
"I'll be back." she repeated in a gentler tone and stalked out of sight.
Felix gathered all his willpower and shoved himself up off the bench.
His whole body felt heavy... maybe he did need Kagami's help to get back.
~x~x~x~
Shortly, Ryuko came striding back onto the scene. She saw Felix was on his feet, but only just. He had both hands on the back of the bench and was hunched over a bit.
The dragon themed heroine closed the distance between them and scooped him up in one fluid motion.
"Uuuuh...mmmmnph!" Felix let out a sound of mild surprise quickly followed by his face being smushed into Ryuko's shoulder.
She glanced down at him.
He hadn't noticed her approach. That wasn't good, though it did reassure her she'd made the right call.
"Come on. Let's get you home."
"Heh... that would be a bit of a long trip..." Felix muttered woozily.
Ryuko chose not to warrant that with a response as she tucked him closer to her and began sprinting. She moved nimbly, shifting briefly to the air element to afford them a shortcut.
For Felix, the trip back to Adrien's was a blur.
His headache was pounding and his pulse thudding in time with it.
The wind whizzing past his ears didn't do him any favors... nor did all the swift jerks and leaps along the way.
Ryuko had intended to set him down at the gate to buzz him in, but quickly realized setting him down after such a bumpy ride wasn't particularly viable. She was fairly certain if this were a manga, his eyes would be swirling spirals right now. He looked absolutely dazed and a little green.
"Sorry..." she said quietly.
Felix just hummed in acknowledgement, clearly still reeling from the trip.
Ryuko shifted him slightly in her arms and pressed the buzzer.
It came to life.
"Yes?" It was Nathalie.
"Felix Fathom is unwell, I found him in the park and he's feverish. By now word should have reached his mother. I've brought him back so he can rest." Ryuko relayed simply.
Nathalie hadn't dealt much with Ryuko, but she knew who she was as Kagami hadn't tried too hard to keep her identity hidden back in the day.
She saw no reason to give her a hard time as judging by the video feed, Felix did indeed not look very well.
The gate opened.
Ryuko took that as invitation and carried Felix up into the manor.
She moved up the stairs towards the hall with the bedrooms slowly as to allow him a bit of a break from the jostling.
"Which room are you staying in?" she asked him quietly.
Felix peeked up at her hazily, then glanced around.
He seemed to register they were close as he made an effort to push off from her, "I can walk from here."
"You're sure?" Ryuko asked dubiously, eying him.
Felix smirked faintly, "I'm sick... not crippled."
Ryuko sighed inwardly, but set him down gently.
Felix's smirk faded as he swayed horribly now that he was vertical again.
Rings were circling his vision and he staggered blindly into Ryuko's chest.
"Felix!" her tone was equal parts scolding and concerned.
He rested against her a moment to get his bearings, then straightened, "Sorry." he muttered, "I guess I'm dizzier than I thought." he cleared his throat in an effort to try to bring some strength back to his voice, "I'm better now."
Ryuko looked less than convinced, but said not a word as she followed him closely to his guest room.
~x~x~x~
As the door closed, Duusu fairly flew out of Felix's vest, hovering near him worriedly.
"I'm fine, Duusu." Felix sighed, barely suppressing a shiver.
At least they weren't outside anymore. No more breeze to make it worse.
He kicked off his shoes, slipped out of his vest, and started to loosen his tie.
He paused when he noticed Ryuko just standing there.
"Uh... thanks for the ride."
She simply nodded, but stayed put.
The more he took apart his perfect attire, the sicklier her boyfriend looked.
His concealer had largely smeared off on the trip, only adding further to his truly haggard appearance.
Felix finished removing his tie.
She was still watching him.
"You can go..." he began.
Finally, Ryuko spoke, "If that's what you want. Though if you'd permit, I'd like to stay for now."
Felix blinked, "O...kay? You know I'm just going to be sleeping, right?" he coughed in spite his best efforts to hold it back.
Ryuko nodded, "As you should." she replied, "Though... depending on if your mother is preoccupied, I thought perhaps you'd like someone to take care of you."
Felix stared at her a very long moment.
"Take care of... me?"
He questioned; it was as if he didn't trust his ears.
Ryuko offered another nod, "I still have some time before my own mother is expecting me. So, if you don't mind, I'll be here to take care of you until then."
"How?" Felix asked dumbly.
He was so used to masking any sign of sickness and just doing his best to sleep it off when and where he could. The idea of someone taking care of him while sick... it just sounded like something his mother would have done for him as a toddler... back before he was self-aware enough to hide it.
Ryuko blinked and considered that, "Well... if you lied down on your stomach or side, I could give you another massage. I could also bring you anything you need like medicine or water." she began listing off, "Maybe fluff your pillows..."
Felix arched an eyebrow slightly, "Fluff my pillows?
"I don't know." Ryuko huffed.
It had been an appreciated gesture in a shojo she'd recently finished reading...
Felix started coughing again.
"Okay. You can stay." he decided breathily as the fit passed, "Just... maybe detransform?"
Ryuko eyed him, "Why?"
"Because," Felix managed a smirk, "Then I can admire your beautiful freckles easier, my queen."
Ryuko's eyebrows knit.
Okay, he must be delirious. Still, she'd humor him.
She dropped her transformation.
He began unbuttoning his white dress shirt a bit before deciding to keep it on for some semblance of warmth. And so, shirt half-undone and still clad in his pants and socks, Felix sprawled out on the guest bed on his stomach, eyes closed. If his heart would just stop racing, he was sure he'd have no trouble conking out for a little while.
He could feel the bed dip slightly as Kagami sat by him and began working his shoulders and back with firm, but gentle hands.
Slowly, his muscles relaxed, and his heartrate steadied as he began to drift.
Felix tried to fight it even now, "Yer t'good a'this..." was all he managed to slur out groggily.
Kagami laughed lightly, "Just rest." she bid, "You need it."
Felix felt one of her hands start gingerly combing through his hair.
It felt truly amazing. Wait... did he like being petted? Maybe. Huh.
That was the last thing he remembered before all his senses faded away into the oblivion of sleep.
Duusu was still hovering nearby worriedly, she looked like she might cry.
Longg was trying her best to offer reassurance, "Duusu, he'll be okay. You'll see."
Duusu shook her head, plumage fluttering slightly, "You don't understand. All my recent holders have gotten very sick or died. Em..." bubbles ascended from her mouth, but she continued, "Co... Na..." she sighed, realizing it was no use trying to say their real names.
"Even Monarch... Granted, it happened after Argos got my miraculous, but there's no way of knowing if I didn't somehow cause him problems, too." her little voice shook, "All I do is... is hurt people."
Longg looked at her friend sadly, "Hey. Your miraculous was broken for a long time, remember? That wasn't your fault. You suffered just as much as anyone." she reminded, "But things are different now. Your miraculous was fixed and you're with Argos, like you said."
"But how do I know my miraculous wasn't broken too long and it became cursed?" Duusu replied tearfully, "Felix says it's not my fault, but look at him! The only thing wrong this morning was he was a little tired and his nose was running! Now he's got a fever and a cough, and he can barely walk straight!"
"Duusu..." Longg began.
Kagami cut in, "Felix is right not to blame you, Duusu."
"Hm?" her eyes wobbled.
"His quick decline is a bit troubling, yes," Kagami began, "However, it's not completely out of the ordinary either. If this is the flu, that would explain why he got so much worse in only a few hours. As long as his fever doesn't spike too high, though, he should be fine within a week, give or take." she continued combing her hand through his hair, despite the fact Felix was dead to the world.
"R-Really?" Duusu asked.
"And as for a cursed miraculous? I think that's unlikely, seeing as your powers are no longer being used for evil purposes." Kagami voiced calmly, "All we have to worry about right now is keeping a good eye on him and making sure he gets plenty of rest and fluids. He'll be counting on you to voice his needs if he can't, so stay vigilant."
Suddenly Duusu stiffened, puffing her chest out importantly, "Yes, ma'am. I'll keep all eyes on him."
"Good, I know you'll do him proud." Kagami assured.
Author's Note:
I like to think Kagami's mother was not super tender whenever Kagami wasn't well when she was younger and had a 'tough it out' mentality. I also like to imagine that once Kagami got deep into manga, she fell for all the cliche stories of girl nursing sick boy and vice versa as an 'Ah, so that's how it's supposed to be.' moment, considering the love advice she gave Marinette. ^^; Anyway, reviews make me happy and I'll see you in Chapter 4!