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“Tikki, what do you think?”
Tikki looked up from the TV where she had been watching a talent show. Adrien had no interest in such things, and sometimes it wasn’t even in a language he understood, but he let Tikki watch whatever she wanted. She appreciated that – there was so much of human society to see, and being confined to associating with a single person at a time meant that she’d only ever seen bits and pieces of it. But in the years since Tikki had last been out in the world, human innovations had accelerated at a truly amazing pace, and now she could be exposed to so much more without even leaving her wielder’s side. She could just spend hours soaking up the information and entertainment that the television dispensed!
The Internet, too, offered this, and it was something on the Internet that Adrien was currently looking at, pulled up on one of his computer screens. Tikki left the television and zipped over to him, taking in what he was looking at. It appeared to be some sort of website for ordering custom jewelry, and rendered on the screen was a lovely silver necklace adorned with glittering blue gemstones.
“It’s beautiful, Adrien!” Tikki said, because it was. “But would your father be okay with you wearing non-Gabriel brand jewelry?”
“It’s not for me,” Adrien said, shaking his head. “I wanted to give Black Cat a gift. In a week, it’ll be six months since we started fighting Papillon together, you know?”
Tikki could see several problems with that. While she wasn’t entirely sure – she’d seen human customs come and go and change with the years, so who could know what they’d think up next – she didn’t think that expensive jewelry was an appropriate gift for the situation, even ignoring the practical issues. Which she wasn’t going to.
“But Adrien…” she said, gently. “Black Cat can’t wear a necklace like that while trying to fight, and she can never wear it as a civilian, either. You can’t give her anything that would potentially reveal her identity if you encountered her in everyday life.”
Which, as Tikki knew well, he absolutely would.
Adrien’s face dropped with disappointment. He spun the chair back to face the computer screen as he frowned and reluctantly exited out of the jewelry transaction. “But I don’t want to give her something impersonal and common…”
“I’m sorry,” Tikki said, sympathetically, “but being superheroes, you have to make sacrifices – you can’t engage in all the same social rituals together as you could otherwise.”
Adrien tapped a pen idly. “What about food? That wouldn’t be traceable if she ate it before detransforming. Maybe I could cook her something?”
“Like cookies!” Tikki said, eagerly. Now that was a plan she could get behind. Adrien smiled.
“Yeah, like cookies,” he said. “I’m sure I could slip into the kitchen after our chef goes home. I’ll find a recipe online and we can make it, how’s that sound?”
As far as Tikki was concerned, it sounded just wonderful. Maybe she’d even get to try some of the batter!
So, many hours later, Adrien with phone in hand, the pair of them crept down to the kitchen, and got to work. Tikki had – with some difficulty – managed to talk Adrien out of trying to make a complicated and fancy recipe, arguing that it would increase the time they needed to be in the kitchen, increasing the risk that they’d be caught. Instead, she’d persuaded him into trying a quicker and simpler chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Tikki was not, of course, motivated in any way by the fact that chocolate chip cookies were her favorite. No. This was, of course, purely practical advice.
“Alright!” Adrien said. “With a recipe, this shouldn’t be too hard. Just follow the instructions, right?”
“Right!” Tikki said cheerfully.
“Okay, uh…” he scrolled through the page on his phone. “First, we need flour…where do you think the flour is kept?”
Tikki helped search through the cabinets until she came across it. “Ah ha!”
“You found it!” Adrien said, then stopped still. “Uh…Tikki?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“I didn’t know there were different kinds of flour,” he said, frowning at the assortment. He glanced back down at his phone. “The recipe doesn’t say what kind to use…”
After a few minutes of Internet research, Tikki and Adrien determined the flour that they should be using, and got to work.
That was not to say, of course, that it went smoothly. At one point, Tikki had to rush to save the dough before Adrien turned the mixer on a few whole, unbroken eggs.
“No no no!” she said. “You have to crack the eggs first!” A lot had changed since she was last active, but she was very certain that hadn’t.
“Oh,” Adrien said, blinking. “The recipe didn’t say to do that…”
“You don’t want bits of eggshell in your cookies, do you?” Tikki asked.
“I thought it’d dissolve or something when I cooked it.”
“Mn-mn,” Tikki said, shaking her head. “You need to get the egg out of the shell.”
“Okay,” Adrien said, taking one of the eggs out of the bowl. “So, do I just crush it, or…?”
“Here,” Tikki said. “I’ll show you.” She took the egg from him carefully and hit it lightly against the countertop, then flew upwards so she could split it neatly above the mixing bowl.
Adrien’s attempt did was much less neat, though Tikki had fortunately had the foresight to insist he break the egg over a smaller, empty bowl in case any bits of shell fell in. Which they did, and Adrien had to fish them out.
“It’s lucky that I’m not allergic to eggs,” Adrien grumbled as he washed the mess off his hands, frowning in distaste.
“I’m sure it’s easier the more you do it,” Tikki said encouragingly. “Maybe you can ask Marinette if she or her parents could help teach you. And that way you wouldn’t have to sneak around at night, either.”
“I don’t know that I’ll be doing it this often,” Adrien said. “This is just for a special occasion.”
The rest of the preparation went slowly, but steadily, and the cookies made it to the oven without further near-disasters.
“I hope she’s impressed with them,” Adrien said, staring dreamily into space as they waited for their cookies to bake.
“I’m certain she’ll appreciate them!” Tikki said. “The half-anniversary of your partnership will be special to Black Cat as well.”
“Ah, but…will she be impressed?”
Tikki looked at Adrien softly, and considered her words. She knew where Adrien’s attitude and need for approval came from, and she also knew that it wasn’t easy for him to break out of that.
“You don’t need to impress Black Cat, Adrien. She values you as you are.”
“Not the way I want,” he said, sighing.
“No,” Tikki admitted, though that wasn’t entirely true. “But that’s okay. She’s important to you even if she never returns your feelings, right? And your friendship with her is valuable on its own.”
Adrien was quiet for a moment. “Yeah,” he said finally. “You’re right. But I still wish…”
Tikki nuzzled him sympathetically. “It’s difficult to be in love,” she said. “But love isn’t something that can be controlled or demanded. Perhaps Black Cat will fall for you someday. Perhaps she won’t. But you’ll always, always be her friend and partner. And that will help you get through the pain of heartache, if it comes.”
“I don’t like to think about that,” Adrien admitted. “Still, I won’t get anywhere if I don’t try, right?”
“I don’t think Black Cat will be won over by trying to impress her,” Tikki said. “She’ll see right through that. But genuine, thoughtful gestures? I bet that’ll go a long way towards winning her heart.”
“Really?” Adrien asked, looking surprised and hopeful. Tikki hid a smile – after all, she knew it already had.
Their conversation was cut short as the oven timer went off, and Adrien jumped to his feet.
“Ready to try some cookies?” he asked.
“Always!”