Ch19
Felix shifted in his seat. "You want me to do what?"
"Meet my friends," Adrien said firmly.
He stared into his cousin's eyes and saw that he was serious. Why though The thought of interacting with people made his insides feel as if a cage of butterflies had been released in them. But he could tell his cousin wasn't doing this out of a sense to harm him.
"I know you don't like other people much but just give it a chance. I'm sure you can be moved by friendship just as much as I did," Adrien said. "Just a little bit you don't have to stay the entire time."
He sighed. "Fine. I'll go." Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be something ridiculous.
"Great. It'll be fine I promise," Adrien said.
If you say so. Adrien's bodyguard escorted them to the car and they headed off throughout the city. "Where is this place at?"
"My friend Nino invited me to this boat house. A guy from school named Luka is hosting a get together," Adrien said. "He seems alright."
He folded his arms and looked out the window. "Fine. We'll see how good he is."
As the car drove through the city of Paris his mind turned to something different. Uncle is hiding something. Just what could it be? He had tried to sneak into his office but lately, his uncle and Nathalie had been using it and had been increasingly diligent with an eye on him.
"Adrien have you had any more nightmares recently?" he asked softly.
His cousin looked down and shook his head. "No. I don't have them as often as I used to." Adrien shivered as if reliving some unpleasant memory. "I wish she could be here. I wish I could tell her how much I miss and love her."
Adrien took a deep breath and shook his head. "When she passed it was like my whole world crashed down on me. I sometimes wish my father would talk to me about her."
He probably knows more than he is letting on. "Don't worry I'm sure he'll open up to you when he is ready," he said.
Adrien nodded. "Was it the same for you when your dad died?"
He clenched his fists. "I got over it. Despite him and my mom always fighting it did hurt." The memories of his father and his mother arguing flashed in his mind making him tense up. His dad was more of the tough love type but he was still his dad.
"I'm sorry," Adrien said looking down. "I should've been there for you."
"It wasn't your fault," he said softly. "I know your father became even more restrictive with you since your mother passed."
He probably could've tried to come but it wouldn't have been easy. Sometimes I wish we could have better lives. Free from the restraints of our parents.
"If I could I would've gone," Adrien said softly. "I shouldn't have left you alone during that time, it was hard for me when I had to go through it."
"Thanks," he muttered. "It wasn't easy but I managed. Do you ever wish you had more freedom? Less restrictions from the world."
Adrien looked down at the floor of the limo and slowly nodded. "I do. Thanks to Plagg I can have the freedom I could never have experienced otherwise." His cousin looked up at him. "Do you feel that way with Pollen?"
He nodded. "It's different from my normal life. Free as can be." Deep down he admitted that having a miraculous was pretty cool, he could live a free life away from his rigid civilian life. Such a liberating feeling. I'll protect our freedom at all costs.
When they arrived at the meeting place he put on his usual cool air. It was a nice ship and Adrien's classmates were just as he described them.
"Hey your Adrien' cousin nice to meet you," Nino said with a wide grin.
"Likewise," he said shaking his hand. Despite his façade, he found that his stomach felt like a cage of butterflies had been released in it.
He did his best to memorize the names, he never realized his cousin had so many classmates. "Hey nice to meet you both," said a boy around their age with blue hair. "I'm Luka."
"Hey long time no see," His cousin shook Luka's hand and smiled.
"I'm Felix." He shook the hand and their gazes met. For some reason he looked familiar as if he had seen him somewhere.
"Glad you both could come," Luka said with a calm smile. "I heard you both play the piano well."
"Yeah we do," Adrien said.
"Would you both mind playing us a duet while I play my guitar?" Luka said.
"Sure. Are you ok with that Felix?" His cousin asked.
He nodded. "Fine by me." Lets see how good you really are.
A part of him was curious, according to Adrien his friends always boasted about this guy's guitar skills.
He examined the keyboard, it was suitable for one person to play but he could make it work. "Are you ready?" He asked.
Adrien smiled at him, he seemed much more relaxed than at home. "When you are."
They both played the piano and often did duets for their parents as kids so it wasn't out of the ordinary.
Taking a deep breath he pressed a key and began to play. Adrien followed his lead and picked up the melody. Adrien's friends watched in awe as they played a beautiful duet, their hands gracing the keys.
Then Luka began to play. The blue haired boy plucked the strings of his guitar with a light pluck that gave off a soothing melody. He's good I'll admit that. Lets see how good he is with this.
He picked up the pace and began to play more complicated chords. Adrien picked up the pace as the crowd sat in awe at their melody.
Yet Luka managed to keep up and modified his keys and kept up with them. Not bad. He had to admit Luka was a good musician.
When they were done everyone cheered for them. "Wow that was epic!" Nino said as Adrien's friends began to compliment them both.
He nodded but couldn't help but smile a little. A giddy sensation spread inside of him that he couldn't explain. No one had ever complimented him before that wasn't family.
"You both play well," Luka said.
"Thanks you too," he said. "Where did you learn to play the guitar like that?"
Luka smiled at him. "You could say that my family is a bunch of musicians."
"I see. Me and Adrien have played since we were young," he said.
Luka smiled. "I can see that."
"A-Adrien," said a small timid voice.
They turned and he saw a familiar girl. Oh great that stalker. He discreetly stepped in front of Adrien luckily Luka took action.
"Hey Marinette we just finished playing a song," Luka said gripping her shoulder. Marinette just gave his cousin a longing look while Adrien discreetly turned to Nino and began talking about something.
"Marinette why don't you listen to the recording I made," Alya said taking her friend to the side. The girl kept her eyes on his cousin the entire time and had a longing look in her eyes.
She needs help. His stomach turned at the thought of his cousin having a stalker. He heard of what they could do and hell would freeze before he let one destroy his cousin's sanity.
"Sorry about that," Luka said. "I heard she made Adrien feel uncomfortable. Don't worry I told her to give him space."
"Thanks," he said.
Luka avoided his gaze. "To be honest we are kind of dating on and off but she has been distant at times."
Oh I bet she has if she still thinks of Adrien. "Well I wish you luck with that," he said.
Luka laughed. "Thanks. Come on lets enjoy ourselves."
He nodded. The rest of the evening he forced himself to remain pleasant and get along with everyone else. It was stressful for his inner introvert but he managed to make it through the evening without saying anything sarcastic or rude.
Overall he didn't know what to make of Adrien's friends. It was obvious that his cousin was grateful for them and he was more relaxed than at home. I've never hung out with people before. This wasn't bad. A part of him honestly wanted to do it again.
Later that night he transformed into Hive and explored the city on his own since Adrien had to do some homework. The cool Parisian night made his skin tingle as he leaped from building to building.
A sense of freedom spread through his body as he landed on the Eifel Tower and looked down at the city. I've never been this free before. A smile spread across his face as he looked down at the city below him. So free. Without the constraints of my civilian life.
He laughed as he leaped from the tower and landed on a building. Racing from rooftop to rooftop he eventually decided to rest on the top of a rooftop.
So far no akumas and so Su Han. He frowned as he thought of that monk. Personally it had been a while since he lost a fight, the humiliation made his blood boil. He won't take away our happiness. He clenched his fists. I'll take him out if he comes at us again.
Adrien worked so hard to be a good hero and pushes himself to be the best. He deserves his miraculous and over my dead body will I let some monk take it from him.
His head shot up as he heard someone land near him. "Hey where is Cat Noir?" Turning around he saw Viperion.
"Hey. He is tied up with something else," he said. Standing up he stretched his arms and looked at the snake hero. Viperion's carefree smile was genuine yet he couldn't help but keep his guard up.
Viperion folded his arms his muscles showing under his suit. "I see. Well do you want to patrol together? Ladybug is a bit busy at the moment."
He shrugged. "Sure why not."
Viperion smiled at him. "Great, come on."
The two of them left the rooftop and began to patrol the city. "How's Ladybug doing?" he asked.
"She's alright, I think slowly she'll warm up to you and Cat Noir," Viperion said. "Does he still feel the same about her?"
He sighed. Hard to tell. "I think he does but is learning how to better control his feelings."
Viperion nodded. "I hope things can get better between them, Paris needs both of them to work together."
Maybe if someone treated him like an actual partner then he would be more willing to work with her. From what he could see Ladybug was bossy and a bit of a control freak. But he does like her deep down, it might be a phase but I only hope that he can take care of himself.
"You and Cat Noir are pretty close. How long have you known each other?" Viperion asked.
"For years," he said as the walked across a rooftop. "We've had each other's backs since I could remember." He turned to Viperion. "He is the nicer one but I won't let anyone hurt or take advantage of him."
Viperion gave him a calm look. "I see. I can't tell you both mean a lot to each other. I'm sure he is glad to have such a good partner as you."
"Thanks," he said. We are a family. We stick together. "Our civilian lives are a bit complicated but we look after each other. We've always had each others backs." He turned to Viperion who was looking at him calmly his eyes free of any judgment, deep down he had a feeling he could trust him. It was strange since he never really trusted anyone.
"We'll I'm sure he is grateful for you," Viperion said. "Come on lets go have some fun."
He smirked at the hero. "Fine lets go."
They both raced through the city of Paris leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Looking at Viperion's calm gaze a sense of tranquility washed over him. Normally he was a suspicious person but something about Viperion put him at ease.
"AHHH!" The blood curdling scream made them both stop.
"Down there!" Viperion yelled.
He assumed a fighting stance as he saw a woman being held at knifepoint by two large men. "Lets go!"
Viperion nodded as he adjusted his bracelet. They both lunged at the attackers, he landed between the woman and the first thief who tried to lunge at him in shock.
"Oh no you don't!" He quickly grabbed the man's arm and broke it. The would-be thug screamed as he dropped his knife.
Viperion then came and incapacitated the other thug. "Are there more?"
The woman who was standing against the wall shook her head. "N-No. Th-Thank you both."
He nodded. "Go and call the police and get somewhere safe."
The woman did as she was told and after a few minutes, the police came and took care of the thugs. "Not bad," Viperion said. "Did you train in martial arts before?"
"Yeah I did," he said as he watched the police take the criminals away. "You?"
Viperion shook his head. "Nah. But it hey it always good to learn new things." The snake smiled at him. "I know you and Ladybug got off to a bad start but I hope we can all work together."
He shrugged. "I hope so too. If Cat Noir is in so am I."
Viperion laughed. "You two must make quite the team."
Oh you wouldn't know half of it. "He never had it easy," he said softly as he looked up at the moon. "I want to make sure no one harms or uses him."
Viperion looked at him and nodded. "I understand."
Marinette sighed as she sat at her desk and did her homework. Stupid Hive. The image of Cat Noir's new 'sidekick' flashed through her mind making her blood boil. The guy was so arrogant it drove her crazy. Viperion apparently reassured her that Hive could make a good ally but she still didn't trust him.
I bet he's putting all those ideas into Cat Noir's head about being neglected. Could she have been more open to Cat Noir? Of course. Yet the way Cat Noir spoke of it she might as well have been treating him like an inferior.
"Marinette you need to let it go," Tikki said calmly. "Paris needs you both and Su Han." The kwami paused. "He doesn't seem like the type to mess around."
A pit formed in her stomach, Su Han was anything but friendly and each time they met he seemed more intent on hurting Cat Noir and Hive.
"I don't know if can forgive him," she said softly. "Alya didn't deserve what happened to her."
Tikki sighed. "We all make mistakes, but right now I don't think Paris can afford you both being divided." Tikki's eyes bore into her. "Please for the sake of everyone make up with him."
She looked down at the floor of her room and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll try to move ahead."
"I know you can do it," Tikki said. "You're the guardian."
"I am." She rubbed her head. Relaxing in her chair her gaze shifted to the sole picture of Adrien she still had and her heart sank. "I just wish he would give me a second chance."
It still hurt how Adrien ignored her existence and how the entire world thought she was a stalker when in reality she just wanted the best for him, to keep him safe from girls who could manipulate him.
"Marinette whether you like it or not Adrien feels like you violated his personal space," Tikki said calmly. "No matter what your intentions were he feels like you intruded in his life. If you want his friendship you'll have to earn it."
"How can I do that when he doesn't want anything to do with me?" she muttered.
"Maybe you could tell him you're sorry?" Tikki said. "Once he is ready to speak to you just tell him."
She sighed and cleared the tears forming in her eyes. "I just can't stand how things turned out." Grabbing a tissue she cleaned her eyes as a fire burned inside of her. "If I can I'll apologize to him, if not-" she paused and looked to the ground. "I-I'll do my best to move on."
Tikki nodded. "Paris needs you don't ever forget how much you mean to other people."
Looking at the ground she nodded. I've done so much for the city, I know I shouldn't let personal feelings get in the way but it's not easy. "I'll do my best for the city," she muttered.
Her phone beeped and she noticed it was from Luka asking if she wanted to hang out. "Marinette are you shouldn't go out with a guy if you aren't fully committed to him," Tikki said softly.
She avoided her kwami's gaze. "I-I do like him."
Tikki raised an eyebrow. "Yet you still want Adrien too?"
"That's different," she protested. "With Adrien I just want to be his friend again that's all?" Yet deep down she knew she couldn't lie to herself. Taking a deep breath she sat her phone down. "I just feel lost with both of them. I care about them both deeply."
"Well if you keep being indecisive you eventually lose both," Tikki warned. "If you honestly feel like you can't commit to Luka you should end it now."
"I'll think about it," she nodded as she picked her phone back to Luka and responded to the message.
Deep down she knew Tikki's words were true. Luka deserves someone who can commit to 100%.