Sorry for no update last week, I was busy with finals.
As always, a thank you to Khanofallorcs for being the beta for this story. :)
Chapter Eighteen
Tikki was an early riser, usually waking up before Adrien, even with his early schedule. That was why he was pretty surprised to see the kwami still curled up on his pillow as his alarm went off, only twitching at the beeping. But then again, it was earlier than usual, as he had a photoshoot scheduled before school. He made sure to quickly shut off his alarm, shifting the kwami so he could cover her up with the edges of his blanket as she shivered slightly, before heading off to shower.
He was half asleep himself as he got ready, moving as quickly as he could so Nathalie wouldn't be knocking on his door telling him to hurry. At least there hadn't been an akuma attack last night, and he had been able to get a full night's rest, as his father insisted he went to bed early when he had to get up early. That still didn't change the fact that he was tired, and that he had a presentation to give later in school. Nothing like smiling and looking pretty when the stress was piled on.
Tikki was still fast asleep once he was ready, and he frowned down at her. But if she wanted to sleep, he wasn't going to wake her. He scooped her up into his palm, her skin warm against his as he slipped her into his bag, making sure his books wouldn't crush her. By then Nathalie was knocking on his door, reminding him that they needed to go now.
He was ushered from his bedroom as soon as he stepped through the door, Nathalie already rattling off everything that would be expected from him today. He sighed as he learned that he would be missing his first period because of the shoot, but as long as they didn't go any longer... Breakfast would be presented after the shoot, but it was so early that honestly, he didn't care, allowing himself to be shoved into the limo.
"Aaa-cho!"
Nathalie glanced back at him as the squeaky sneeze filled the air, and Adrien gave a small smile in response, though it had not been him. As soon as her eyes returned up front, his bodyguard let out a concerned grunt, and he swiftly grabbed for his bag. He flipped it open, and found that Tikki was now awake, the little kwami shaking in the corner of his bag. His eyes widened as she looked up at him, the little kwami looking absolutely miserable.
He opened his mouth to ask her if she was alright– but only he couldn't; not with others in the car.
As soon as they arrived on set for the shoot he immediately blurted out something about needing to go to the bathroom, bolting away before anyone could say a word to him. He was grateful to find that it was empty, immediately scooping the small kwami out of his bag. She curled up against his fingers, eyes dull and skin looking pale.
"Tikki?" He asked in a worried whisper. "Tikki, are you alright?"
She sneezed, shivering in his hands. "N-no..." She whimpered. "I forgot what it feels like to be s-sick."
"How can you get sick?" He asked, pacing the bathroom nervously. "I mean, aren't you magic and healing and crazy old? I mean, how does a virus even infect you? It is a virus? What do I do?"
She tried to sit up, but he was quick to shift her back into a position to cradle her. "I haven't been ill in centuries..." She muttered. "Side-effects of us kwamis taking on a physical form. Not like you humans, unbalanced energies..." It looked like she was about to sneeze again, but instead broke down into a fit of coughing. "B-be fine... you have your photoshoot..."
"You are not fine," Adrien said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one else had come in. "How can I help you? You said something about energies, right? Can I um, rebalance them somehow?"
"You can't," Tikki muttered, eyes flickering up towards him. "I... I'm sure I'll feel better soon."
"No," Adrien insisted. "I can't leave you like this."
"Adrien!" Nathalie's voice called. "Please hurry, we're working with limited time, and we haven't even done your makeup yet!"
Adrien closed his eyes. "I'll hurry through this photoshoot as quickly as possible, okay?"
"I'll be fine..." Tikki insisted as he slipped her back into his bag.
Tikki was even worse after the shoot.
Guilt gnawed at Adrien as his bodyguard drove him to school, Tikki nestled away in his pocket. He held a hand over his chest, holding the kwami close as she trembled against him. She was no longer even sneezing, just letting out hoarse coughs and short breaths as they drove. Adrien had music playing on his phone to try to drown it out, but still he saw the Gorilla peer back at him through the rearview mirror.
"Tikki," he whispered as he was dropped off, the school grounds empty thanks to it being the middle of class right now. "Please, you need to tell me how to help you. What does a sick kwami need?"
Tikki gave him a pained look as he pulled her into his hands. "I... I need a healer. Someone who... specializes with energies?"
She didn't sound too sure of herself.
"How am I supposed to find someone like that?" Adrien asked as he slipped into the school. "No one is supposed to know about you, and how would someone even know how to help you?"
"There are many people aware of the magic in this world," Tikki said softly. "You'll have to make up a story about me. G-give me your phone and I can see if I can find somewhere for you to take us while you're in class..."
"No, we're going now," Adrien said, pulling out his phone. "What kind of thing are we looking for? Like a... psychic shop or something? Is that kind of thing even real?"
"I'll have to look," Tikki insisted, her voice so quiet. "It will t-take time anyways, and you need to go to class. You have your presentation."
"Tikki," he said firmly.
"It w-will take time for me to look anyways?" She said softly. "Adrien, please..."
He hesitated, before unlocking his phone for her as he carefully placed both of them back into his bag. "We're going at lunch," he said. "Sooner if you get any worse."
"But you have your presentation–"
"That will be during our last class," Adrien said. "Do you think we can be back by then?"
Tikki nodded, and he closed the bag, taking in a deep breath. He doubted that he would be able to focus at all he headed towards his science classroom, even if it was his favorite class. Ms. Mendeleiev paused from her lecture as he walked in, eyes narrowing.
"You are very late, M. Agreste," she said stiffly.
"I had a photoshoot this morning," Adrien replied, pulling out the excusal slip Nathalie had already gotten from the school. "I'm sorry for interrupting."
She took the slip, giving a stiff nod. "Go sit down. And Rose– what do you think you're doing with a bottle of perfume in this class! We have the Bunsen burners out today!"
"Oh," Rose said, pausing. "I was just writing a letter–"
"That is highly flammable!" Ms. Mendeleiev snapped, marching to the back of the classroom, where Rose shared a desk with Juleka. "Give me that now– and the phone and whatever you were writing just now, I know those aren't notes– you may collect them after class."
"But–"
"Keep complaining and it will be after school," Ms. Mendeleiev said, gathering them up as she headed back towards the front of the classroom. "Everyone put your notes away and clear your desk. Thanks to Mlle Lavillant we will be having a lab safety pop quiz."
Groans were heard throughout the classroom, but Adrien was secretly glad– knowing that this was something he could pass instead of jumping into the middle of a lecture having no idea of what they were studying or what he had missed. He pulled out a pencil, taking a moment to peer into his bag, and found Tikki with his maps app open. She glanced at him, giving a weak smile, before turning her attention back to the screen.
Only a few more hours until lunch– he could do this.
"Prince Ali is just so amazing!" Rose said with a squeal, leaning back against Juleka. "He's coming all the way from the Kingdom of Achu just to do a Christmas toy fundraiser for the children's hospital here!"
"Someone seems pretty excited," Nino said with a chuckle. Adrien gave a quick nod, looking up at the clock impatiently. Miss Bustier had given them the last ten minutes of class to just talk and hang out– but they were not allowed to leave early for lunch. It was honestly painful, each minute feeling like ages as he waited for the opportunity to take Tikki to get the help she needed... though he still had no idea how that was going to work.
"You guys don't understand!" Rose said. "He does so much charity work– he's been to most of the countries in the European Union to do so, visited half of the countries in Africa, five different locations in the United States, and he's going to be going to South America at the beginning of next year. He'll be starting off in Brazil, but he hasn't said what other countries he'll be going to yet."
"So was that letter a declaration of your love?" Kim said with a smirk.
Rose flushed. "W-well I do admire him, but I've never met him or anything... I'd really like to while he's here in Paris, but I don't want to interrupt his work or anything. He's really busy, but nearly everything he does is for kids and he just has such a caring heart..." Rose leaned up against Juleka. "Don't you think he's amazing, Jules?"
Juleka looked away. "...Yeah."
"Do you think I'll be able to get my letter to him?" Rose asked. "I mean, if I can't meet him, I just want him to know how much I appreciate what he does!"
"I'll... I'll help you find a way to get it to him," Juleka muttered, closing her eyes.
"Really?!" Rose cried, before throwing her arms around Juleka. "Oh yes, thank you! You're the best, Juleka!"
Juleka gave her a small smile, but didn't say anything else.
"Ugh, you're so desperate it's making me sick," Chloe said from the front of the room. "Just send it to the hotel he's staying at, the staff will take it to him– not like actual royalty would lower himself to read something like that from you, though."
Rose didn't seem to notice the insult. "But I don't know which hotel he's staying at?"
Chloe smirked. "Mine, of course– Daddy's hotel is the best in the entire city, nowhere else would be worthy of a prince."
"Chloe is going to be one of the first people here in Paris to meet him!" Sabrina said excitedly.
"Yeah, and you're coming with me," Chloe said, looking down at her nails.
"M-me?" Sabrina said with wide eyes. "B-but I thought you said only important guests would be invited to greet him at the hotel!"
Chloe eyed her. "Yeah, and you're my guest. Are you saying that who I invite isn't important?"
"Hey, um, Chloe?" Rose asked, and Chloe let out a loud groan, but looked back towards her. "Do... Do you think you could give my letter to Prince Ali for me?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "I literally just told you how to get it to him. Find someone else to play messenger for you."
It was then that the bell rang for lunch, and Adrien leapt out of his seat. He rushed out of the classroom without saying a word to Nino, which normally he would feel bad about, but his best friend had immediately turned towards Alya as soon as the bell rang. Adrien rushed through the halls, his frustration growing with the crowd of students trying to head to lunch, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, as most were heading towards the cafeteria and only a handful were heading towards the front doors.
As soon as he was able to get through the front doors he charged down the steps two at a time.
"Oh, Adrikins~" A familiar voice called.
"I'm really in a hurry, Chloe," Adrien said, pausing to watch as Chloe and Sabrina came after him. "Is there any way this can wait? I don't have a lot of time."
Chloe tilted her head. "Oh, is your father finally eating meals with you again? That's good, I was ready to come down to your house and give him a piece of my mind."
He smiled weakly. "We both know that wouldn't go over well, Chlo."
"Whatever; anyways, this thing fell out of your bag," Chloe said, holding up a small red object, and Adrien's eyes went wide with shock. "I don't know what you're doing with some weird toy like this, anyways–"
"Thank you!" Adrien cried, quickly grabbing the poor kwami from Chloe, who had been holding her by a leg. He quickly tucked Tikki back into his pocket, not daring to let anyone else get a chance to see more than a glimpse of her.
"Um, yeah, maybe actually close your bag next time, okay?" Chloe said, pointing to his messenger bag, and a glance down did reveal it was opened. He quickly shut the flap shut, while Chloe snapped her fingers. "Sabrina, give him back his papers that fell out."
"Here you go, Adrien," Sabrina said cheerfully, handing over his notes from today, which he had just stuffed into his bag instead of into their respective folders, probably having flown out right alongside Chloe.
"Thank you, Sabrina," he said with a forced smile. He didn't want to be rude, but every moment talking was a moment he was not getting Tikki help.
"What was that toy thing anyways?" Chloe asked, hand on her hip. "That's not your style at all."
"It's, um, a donation," Adrien said swiftly, mind racing for an answer. "For the fundraiser. That the prince is doing?"
"Do you want me to give it to Prince Ali personally?" Chloe asked. "I'd tell him it's from you."
Adrien gave a weak smile. "I'm afraid that I need to be seen giving a donation, you know how Father is with my public image."
Her lips twisted. "Well, one's public image is very important. Don't worry, I'll tell the prince that you'll be donating, how does that sound, Adrikins?"
"That sounds wonderful," he said with a smile– making a mental note to buy a red plushie of some kind to donate. "Well, um, I'll see you around– gotta go! Bye, Chloe! Bye, Sabrina!"
He then gave them one wave, and then hurried off of school grounds. He kept his hand on his shirt pocket the whole time, making sure Tikki was secure this time as he tried to find some place he could talk to her. In the end he chose an alleyway, swiftly ducking inside as he pulled the kwami out.
"Th-that wasn't good..." Tikki muttered weakly.
"It's okay that she saw you, right?" Adrien said urgently. "She just thought you were a toy, and this healer is going to see you too– right?"
Tikki closed her eyes. "Y-yeah... as long as she just thinks th-that... if she saw me moving or flying, that would be a different story."
He brought her close to his chest. "I'm so sorry you fell out of my bag. I'm going to get you help now, okay? Did you find a healer of some kind we could go and see?"
"On y-your phone..." Tikki muttered, curling up in one palm and he pulled his phone out from his bag. There was a map up on screen, a small marker seemingly placed by Tikki on one. He frowned, it being a small little place on the bank of the Seine, but scrolling out a bit showed that it wasn't too far away from where they currently were.
"A massage shop?" He asked, blinking.
"Also does... other things..." Tikki said weakly.
"How do you know?"
Tikki shivered. "...Website...? Said they are... Clairvoyant?"
Tikki had never been one to use his technology often, but he wasn't going to question it, as she was both the one sick and looking for a place that could help them. He nodded slowly, tapping on the screen so a route would be pulled up to take them to the massage parlor. Tikki was now rambling, though, and he looked down at her in worry.
"The fact that they aren't overly open about it means they are probably more likely to be truly attuned with m-magic," she said, pausing to cough. "I've sensed strong auras when we've been in the area before and so I think this would be a good place to start. Just tell them that I'm your cat and that I haven't been feeling well and you... you wanted another opinion because the... vet said I was fine? Then that way they won't think about anything a-and–"
"Tikki, just breathe," Adrien said in a soft voice. "You need to rest, you'll be feeling better in no time, okay?"
With that, he carefully slipped her back into his pocket, and followed his phone in search of the massage parlor.
It was a modest little shop, a small little place tucked among so many others that most would have passed it without blinking. He hesitated, double checking his phone, but this was the place Tikki had wanted him to go. He slowly made his way up to the door, a small bell ringing as he entered. He looked about, the front room small with a small desk that sat empty. There was a door that led somewhere farther back behind the desk, but the entire front room was covered with traditional Chinese decor. There were multiple objects with Chinese characters written on them, but despite the Mandarin he had learned, there were only a handful he could read. A faint smell lingered through the shop, though he wasn't sure if it was from candles or incense.
He swallowed, hurrying up to the desk, and ringing the small bell that sat on the desk on top, a ring echoing through the shop.
A few moments later an older woman came through the back door, smiling at him. "Hello," she said cheerfully. "Can I help you–"
Her green eyes widened in recognition, and he flinched slightly. It didn't seem to matter where he went or what demographic he encountered– there always seemed to be some that knew of Adrien Agreste. He took a deep breath, stepping up closer to the counter.
"Please don't tell anyone I've been here," he said swiftly, as the women looked at him hesitantly. "My father will–" He paused, shaking his head– he highly doubted an old woman would be a rabid fan that would post any little thing about him. "I need your help, please."
The woman gave him a small smile, playing with a chain on her hand, which hung from between a ring and a bracelet. "Of course, dear. How can I help you, exactly? We don't have any appointment scheduled at the moment so we weren't expecting anyone..."
He flinched. "I'm sorry," he said swiftly, and usually in this situation he'd back away and say he'd come back another time– but with Tikki sick he couldn't just give up so easily. "I– I just don't know where else to go? My friend told me that, er... clairvoyance? Here? Something about... realigning energies...?"
He honestly had no idea what he was talking about.
The woman smiled, coming from around the desk and laying a hand on his shoulder. "You seem stressed, young man. Why don't you come on back and explain everything to me?"
He let her guide him into the back room, which was clearly the main part of the massage parlor. It was quaint– a large mat laid out in the middle of the room, a few potted plants scattered around the room. The woman led him towards a small desk tucked near the corner, where an incense holder and a gramophone sat. He carefully sat down in the chair, while the older woman pulled out a stool from the corner to sit down across from him.
"It's... it's my pet," he said slowly, remembering the vague script that Tikki had given him– but he honestly had no idea how anyone would believe she was a cat! He reached into the bag, picking up the kwami in his hands. She didn't look like a real bug, a mammal, or a reptile, but she didn't have fur, and he had no idea what he could pass her off as. He decided just to bite the bullet, and showed the woman the sick kwami.
She let out a loud gasp, and he flinched.
"She's a... um... a..." He looked down a trembling Tikki. "She's my pet... naked mole-rat. She's been sick all day, and the vet said they couldn't find anything wrong? And my friend told me that maybe there's something off about her... aura? And I read on your website that you do that stuff aside from massages and I came here in hopes you could help me?"
"Fu!" The woman shouted up towards the ceiling, causing Adrien to flinch, holding Tikki towards his chest. "Fu! Get down here right now, it's an emergency! Fu! Wake up!"
He heard footsteps above them suggesting that perhaps there was an apartment above the shop, or perhaps just another part of the parlor. The woman quickly grabbed Tikki from his hands, causing Adrien to reach for her– it felt wrong not to have the kwami with him, but soon he heard footsteps of someone coming down stairs, and one of the panels on the wall opened, revealing a man coming down from the hidden staircase. Adrien was startled, but supposed that they didn't want customers intruding into their living space.
"What kind of emergency this time...?" The man asked with a yawn, stretching. "Last time you said that it turned out to just be an akuma..."
Adrien wasn't sure in what circumstances an akuma wouldn't count as an emergency, but his worry for Tikki was too much to even entertain the thought. He pushed himself to his feet, following after the woman, not wanting Tikki out of his sight. The man replaced the panel, before turning around– eyes going wide when he saw Adrien.
The man was very short– not even coming up to Adrien's shoulders. He was a Chinese man, with dark brown eyes and graying hair just like the woman. He wore a red Hawaiian shirt, a pendant hanging around his neck, and for some reason he seemed vaguely familiar to Adrien. Before he could even try to place where he could have possibly met the man, he spoke, pulling his attention away from his racing thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" He snapped, and Adrien stepped back.
"I'm–" Adrien stuttered.
"Fu," the woman said sternly. "Now is not the time for that, we have something much more important at hand." She held out Tikki towards him, and Fu's eyes widened even further. "This young man here brought his... what did you call her, dear?"
"Naked mole-rat?" Adrien said nervously.
"Yes, that," the woman said, letting Fu scoop the kwami out of her hands. "Says that his... friend recommended perhaps a more spiritual means of healing."
"Unbalanced energies," Adrien said, using the words Tikki had. He had no idea who these people were or what they would do, but he wanted them to have a full understanding of the situation if they were going to be doing anything to Tikki.
"Yes," the man said dismissively. "Don't worry... young man, I've seen this before. Sometimes ailments are not physical, but may appear to manifest that way. I will need to read her energies before I can do anything to help her– Marianne, please take this young man up front so I can work."
"Wait, no, I need to stay with her," Adrien said as the woman put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, dear, Fu knows exactly what he's doing," Marianne said.
"I can't leave her alone," Adrien said, pulling free of her. "She's... um... a really rare species of naked mole-rat? The spotted naked mole-rat... and she was put in my care and I can't let anything happen to her and I'm already worried sick–"
The older couple shared a glance, and the woman's expression softened. She laid a hand on her husband's shoulder, and he let out a long sigh. "Very well, you may stay, go have a seat. Marianne, I do think some tea will do him some good."
Adrien uncertainly sat back down in the chair, watching as the two went to work. A pillow was brought out and placed on the mat, the man kneeling next to it as he carefully set Tikki onto it. She twisted and turned, letting out small whimpers, eyes pressed shut. Adrien immediately tried to push himself to his feet once more, but he was cut off as a small cup of tea was pressed into his hands by Marianne. He blinked in confusion, not sure where the woman had gotten it, but he took a nervous sip, trying to calm himself.
It was a chamomile, though with a faint minty taste that Adrien wasn't used to. It wasn't a poor combination, though. Taking another sip, his eyes remained locked on Tikki.
He would be lying if he said he was skeptical– before Tikki had come into his life, he had never given much thought to the idea of there being more than what science could explain. Even when he had met the kwami, there was still an order to it all– it wasn't powers from nowhere, but granted through a being who was clearly much more than him. Words that triggered effects, limits to what could be done– it all had a logic that he liked.
Right now, he was just watching as the man ran his hands above Tikki, eyes closed, letting out a slight hum. Nervousness gnawed at his gut, wondering if Tikki had made a mistake in whom she had chosen to go to. Maybe there were other means of power out there, but these people weren't one–
"Ow!" Adrien suddenly yelped, his ears suddenly burning. He slapped his free hand over one ear, the other pressed against his shoulder, his other hand holding the cup of tea tightly. The man didn't look up from Tikki, just picking up a gong, which let out a low thrum as it was struck.
"Are you okay?" Marianne asked gently.
"I, um–" His eyes flicked about, carefully pulling his hands away from his earrings, which were no longer burning. "Got my ears pierced recently? Still getting used to it?"
"I am sure it will pass in time," she said. "Have some more tea, it will help."
He took another sip as his earrings heated up once more, though not quite as painfully. He tilted his head slightly, trying to feel for something... more, but unlike when he was transformed, there was nothing there. Not the presence he sensed when Lady was near, or the energy of summoning a Lucky Charm– it just seemed in this state he wasn't privy to such. But yet he was sure something was happening. It was like he was trying to listen to a conversation in another room, aware that others were speaking, but he could not understand what was being said.
Tikki's tense and shaking form did seem to be relaxing with every strike of the gong, though, and he felt relief running through him as he watched her curled limbs slowly unfold. Blue eyes flickered open, watching the man with no hesitation. The kwami stirred, but he laid a hand over her, and she went still on the pillow.
"This is uncommon, but not unexpected, I'm afraid," Fu said, striking the gong once more, before setting it aside. He pushed himself to his feet, picking up Tikki as he headed over towards Adrien.
He took Adrien's tea cup from him, offering what remained to Tikki, who didn't hesitate in drinking what remained. Her antennae flicked up as she sat up, opening her mouth to speak– and Adrien swiftly shook his head.
Fu ran a finger across Tikki's head. "Those attuned to positive energy can be easily... affected. Constant shifting between light and dark can be stressing."
"Is she okay?" Adrien asked, inching forward.
"Right as rain," Fu replied, holding out Tikki to him– and she happily floated out of his hands towards Adrien. With wide eyes he jumped forward to 'catch' her, bringing her in close before any questions could be asked.
"You should know better than to go jumping around," Adrien said with a forced laugh. "Just feeling better and already putting yourself in trouble." He carefully slipped her away into his shirt pocket, before turning back to face the couple. "Thank you so much."
"You did the right thing in coming here," Marianne said. "The two of you–"
She was cut off by a loud beeping from Adrien's pocket. He jumped, still not used to the sound, swiftly pulling out his phone to look at the akuma alert that had just popped up on his home screen. His heart pounded, this only being the third time the alert had gone off since it was created– and not a moment too soon. His hand fell over where Tikki was hiding in his pocket, eyes wide as he read the alert.
"Why didn't they send this out sooner?" He cried– because it had apparently been nearly twenty minutes since the so-called 'Princess Fragrance' had appeared. He backed towards the door. "I... I gotta go, my family will be worried about me..." He paused. "How much do I owe you for this?"
"Don't you worry about that, it's on us. As for getting home, a few buildings down to the north there's a fairly secluded alleyway," Fu said calmly. "That should take you back to one of the main streets, if that's where you're headed."
"Another attack," Marianne spoke softly as he turned to leave, looking at her husband with worry. "It's only been three days since the last one."
"She shouldn't have lasted this long," he muttered softly, grabbing the pendant around his neck.
Adrien had been heading out the door, but he hadn't been able to help but pause, listening to what the older couple was saying. Tikki nudged him, telling him to go, but he turned around. "What do you mean?"
Fu jumped in surprise, looking up at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be, young man?"
"I, um–"
"Don't worry yourself," Marianne said with a smile. "It is just strange to see such powerful forms of magic. I supposed we thought it would have been long over by now."
"Yeah," he said quietly. "That would be nice."
Not wanting to waste another moment he bolted out of the back room and hurried out the front of the store. There weren't many people on the small streets, and so it was quite easy to slip into the alleyway the couple had mentioned. As promised, it did lead all the way through, but this place was good enough.
"Tikki," he whispered. "Spots on."
With a flash of pink his healed kwami merged with the earrings, and with a single bound Crimson Beetle took to the roof, rushing off to join the akuma fight.
"And then the next thing I knew, I was on the roof, Crimson Beetle was catching the butterfly– and Prince Ali was right there!" Rose squealed– not even fazed by the fact that she had been akumatized, just happily recounting the tale of her encounter with the heroes, and, of course, the famous Prince Ali. "He was so amazing– he wasn't worried about me having been an akuma or even of Lady Noire!"
"Probably because he doesn't get a front seat to Paris' news," Marinette muttered from behind Adrien, and he gave her a worried look. However, turned in her seat, facing the back of the classroom, watching Rose as she talked to the class.
Rose let out an excited squeal, leaning up against Juleka. "I got to give him my letter in person– and then he invited me to the fundraiser this weekend– and I just can't believe this is actually happening!"
"It does sound pretty awesome," Kim said. "Did the prince have a bunch of knights to protect him?"
"Prince Ali does have a complex system of bodyguards for when he leaves Achu," Max replied, fiddling with a circuit board on his desk. "The details, however, are kept heavily under wraps, and I was not able to find any more information aside from the fact that it does exist."
Kim leaned forward, frowning. "Isn't that the same thing you were working on last week? I thought you said you finished it."
"I was unfortunately unable to get him to properly connect to the internet," Max replied. "Originally I wanted him to connect to my cell phone and use data from our plan, but my mother said that would drive up our bill far too high. I have to rewire part of the system, and find a new solution."
"What are you making anyways?" Alix asked, leaning forward to look at the blueprints on his desk, which Max immediately tucked away.
"It's amazing," Kim said in excitement. "He's been working on this program for years now, and he's finally finished it and now is making a–"
"Kim, you promised you wouldn't say anything!" Max snapped.
"Oh yeah," Kim said, leaning back in his seat, crossing his arms smugly. "Sorry, Al, I'm afraid this is a top secret project that no one is supposed to know about."
"Oh, you couldn't keep a secret if your life depended on it."
"Yes I can! I kept the Monkey and the Rabbit a secret!"
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
Adrien relaxed slightly when no one questioned Kim further on his comment about the Monkey and Rabbit– who, for some reason, had never made it into the news. Tikki had just shrugged like it was no big deal when he had asked her, but outside of him and Lady, Kim seemed to be the only one who had seen them. Adrien's eyes drifted about the classroom, most people falling into little conversations with those near them. With the akuma attack there hadn't been enough time to actually do all of their presentations– pushing the assignment back into next week, just before the holiday break.
"You should come with me, Juleka!" Rose said excitedly. "Prince Ali said I could bring a guest too!"
"No, I'm good," Juleka muttered, looking away.
"But it would be so much funner if you were there," Rose said, inching closer to her. "There's going to be a banquet after, with a ton of food, and a whole fireworks show; it's going to be amazing!"
"I'm sure it will be," Juleka said softly. "But I... I want you to enjoy it."
"I won't enjoy it alone!" Rose said, leaning towards her. "I won't know like anyone there, except Chloe, but I don't think she'll want to hang out with me. I mean if you wouldn't be comfortable at a big event, then of course you don't have to come..."
Juleka blinked as Rose slumped in her seat. "I'd love to go with you."
"Really?" Rose squealed, before nearly tackling her off of their bench with a hug as the bell rang.
Everyone was quick to hurry from their seats as class officially ended, no one wanting to waste a moment of what remained of the day. Adrien was really the only one that slowly pushed himself to his feet, leaning down to grab his bag as his classmates hurried towards the door– when he saw a blur of pink coming down towards him.
He didn't need to think, reflexes kicking in, arms flying out to catch the girl before he fell.
"Thank you, Adrien," Marinette muttered as he caught her, pulling her back to her feet. "Can't even take two steps..."
"Well, it's not too often that I have pretty girls falling for me," Adrien said, winking.
"Uh-huh," Marinette said. "You're telling me that you don't have pretty girls falling at your feet all the time, M. Model?"
His eyes gleamed. "Oh, there're plenty of girls– but I'm afraid that they all pale in comparison to your beauty."
She put a hand on her hip. "M. Model is M. Smooth as well, then?
"It would be a crime to lie," Adrien said with a grin.
"You know what is a crime?" Kim called. "Blocking the aisle– you're going to make me late for my swim team!"
"Sorry!" Adrien yelped, the two of them hurrying towards the door of the classroom.
"Well, today has been crazy, hasn't it?" Adrien said as collapsed on his couch, letting out a long sigh.
"Hmph."
His eyes flicked towards Tikki, the little kwami having her arms crossed as she hovered in the air. He sat up slightly, worried entering his gaze. "Tikki?"
"Yes?" She said, a bit coolly.
"Is everything okay?" He asked. "You are feeling better– right?"
"'Naked mole-rat'," Tikki said in a low tone, turning towards him. "You called me a naked mole-rat?"
He scratched the back of his head. "Heh, sorry... I just didn't think they'd be convinced of the cat idea you had?"
"Of all the things, you pick naked mole-rat?! They would have believed you, they would have believed anything you said," she took in a deep breath. "Naked mole-rat..."
He let out an uncertain laugh. "I'm sorry, Tikki, I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just really panicked and said the first thing that came to mind."
"That was the first thing that came to your mind?"
"They're the only eusocial mammals...? And bugs are usually eusocial?"
"Not ladybugs!"
"Come on, Tikki," Adrien said, sitting up. "It's not like you're going to ever see those people again, there's nothing to worry about. How about this, I'll get you some macarons from Marinette's bakery tomorrow; I know those are your favorites."
"You can't bribe me with food, I'm not Plagg," she said, eyes flicking back towards him. "...But I'll take a box of strawberry macarons. Those ones are amazing."
"I dunno," Adrien said with a smile. "If I can't bribe you, what's the point..."
"No!" Tikki cried, zipping towards him. "I, um, I mean– rude! You can't just promise something and then take it away."
He grinned. "I didn't promise, I offered."
"And I'm taking you up on that offer!"
"Maybe I should look up the diet of a naked mole-rat instead..."
"Adrien!"
He burst out laughing.
