#srsly mari and adrien are gonna get much more important and plot relevant later

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 36

This one was already ready but I told myself to stop procrastinating on other stuff before posting it... and then ignored myself and decided to post it anyway because if there is one person who is a bigger fool than Kim, it is me. Anyway, here be lots of Kimax :D

And also on AO3, as always

Marinette and Adrien took almost a week to travel all the way back to Cheng, having to take the carriage since the trains were still not running, as always. Ever since Agreste had started taking over territory deep into Asia, all the rail lines had “mysteriously” been stopped with no sign of starting up again, even for royalty. It was no secret that the empire was using them to transport mined goods back to their capital and preventing anyone else from sharing.

“Marinette, it’s so good to see you!” Queen Sabine exclaimed when they arrived, rushing forwards hug her daughter. Formal royal customs and protocol were rarely followed in Marinette’s tight-knit family. “I’m so glad you made it here safely.”

“What do you mean?” Marinette asked.

“Nothing in particular,” King Tom said, joining the hug. “It’s just that the state of the world has been a bit… tense, lately. Like anything could go wrong at any point. But don’t worry – you’ll always be safe here at home!”

“Where’s Kim?” Sabine asked, looking at the carriage, frowning. “And who’s this?”

“This is, um, Felix,” Marinette said, grabbing Adrien’s hand and pulling him over. “He’s a noble, a refugee fleeing from the Agreste Empire when they took his homeland. I said he could stay here with us for the holidays.”

“It is nice to meet you, Felix,” Sabine said. “You can always feel free to come here whenever you need to. Our kingdoms do not support the Agreste Empire at all.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Adrien said, bowing. “It is an honour to be here.”

“And where is Kim?” Tom asked. “I thought he would be staying here with us too. The more guests, the merrier!”

“He went to stay with Max,” Marinette said, trying not to smile too much. She could guess perfectly well why Kim had wanted to stay with Max so much. She had been suspecting it right since she saw how much Kim missed Max during the summer holidays, and her suspicions were practically confirmed when Kim had quickly dashed into her room to let her know he wouldn’t need to stay in Cheng this time. His eyes had practically been glowing.

“Oh, well that’s nice for him!” Tom continued. “It’s good to explore and make friends with leaders from all over the world. Having allies will be very important for him.”

Friends… allies… neither of those quite captured it. Marinette tried not to grin again.

“Speaking of which,” Sabine said, “his grandmother, the Queen-Regent of Lê Chiến, has been corresponding with us again and has a proposition, though of course we won’t decide on anything without your input. You and Kim are close in age and good friends, and our countries would certainly be stronger with a formal alliance between them – especially considering everything that’s going on with Agreste right now. So what do you say to a betrothal?”

“W-what?” Marinette could feel the blood rushing away from her face.

“You don’t have to decide straightaway! It’s just an option.”

“Me? Betrothed to Kim?” She shook her head. “He’s… he’s great and all, but… but…”

“Remember, marriages between royals are usually for necessity and politics, not love. At least Kim is someone you get along with. If you agree to this now, you won’t have to worry that later you’ll end up engaged to someone much worse.”

Marinette gulped. How to explain to her parents that she was already in love with Adrien, the heir to the throne of the empire that was her sworn enemy? How to explain that Kim was clearly already interested in someone else?

“And didn’t you used to have a crush on Kim?” Tom asked, winking at her.

“What? That was like 10 years ago!” She blushed just remembering it. Alright, she had once had a bit of a soft spot for Kim when they were little kids. But she was long over that! Kim was more like a brother to her these days.

“Well just have a think about it, alright? We won’t force you into anything, we promise. We just want safety and stability for our countries, and happiness for our wonderful daughter and her good friend. It would be a good match.”

“I’m in love with Felix!” Marinette blurted out, gripping Adrien’s hand tightly in her own. “Felix and I, we’re… we’re a couple.”

Her parents blinked, silent for a few seconds, taken aback. They recovered quickly.

“In that case we will have to tell Kim’s grandmother that you will be rejecting the proposal,” Sabine said, smiling. “It would be quite unfair for you to have to marry someone else when you’re already together with someone who would be a perfectly appropriate match.”

“I’m so happy for you two!” Tom said, giving them both a clap on the back. “Say, Felix, where did you say you were from again?”

“An area near the 1st region,” Adrien mumbled. Marinette could feel his hand shaking and sweating. Well, he wasn’t exactly lying – his home palace really was near the 1st region.

“And what title are you? We need to know how to formally address you.”

“Um… Duke of the Alpine,” he replied. That wasn’t entirely a lie either – one of Adrien’s many titles included Duke of the Alpine. Thank goodness Cheng was so far away that it would be hard for her parents to verify his claim. She really did not like having to lie to them, but it was necessary for Adrien’s safety. No one could know he was here.

“Wonderful! Well, Duke Felix, we look forward to getting to know you. Come on inside and we’ll show you around!”

“Thank you,” Adrien mumbled, moving to follow them.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. At least Adrien was safe for now. How long was he going to have to stay undercover for? There was no end in sight to the tyranny of the Agreste Empire, nor its enmity with Lê Chiến. What would happen if war broke out? What if Adrien was discovered, and forced to return home? Nothing boded well. Marinette had no idea how her relationship with him was going to survive.

But at least he was okay for the time being. That was the most important thing.

Meanwhile, over on another part of the planet, Kim had already spent a week with Max in Kanté. Things were quite similar to how they had been last year, and yet… something was different, too. Kim couldn’t help wondering if somehow the sun was shining more brightly, or perhaps the air was fresher, or maybe everything had been cleaned thoroughly enough to sparkle.

“Kim, slow down!” Max called, half-laughing, as Kim pulled him along by the hand. “We’ve got plenty of time!”

“But it’s more fun to run!”

Within a few more seconds they had reached where they were running to – the top of the large grassy dome overlooking the capital city. It was one of the places Max had taken him while sightseeing last year. Kim remembered how magical it had felt here last time, seeing the bustling metropolis beneath them, almost too futuristic to believe, with aeroplanes zooming through the sky above them…

And yes, there it was again! This time it looked so magical it felt like being in a dream, or in some other world entirely. There were maglev train tracks stretching off into the desert, colourful skyscrapers for miles around, thousands and thousands of cars driving along the immaculate roads! Everything was amazing!

Kim pulled out of his pocket a little camera he had bought from a tourist shop earlier. He lifted it up to take a picture of the view…

Hmm, something was missing. It wasn’t possible to get the scope of the city without something in the foreground to contrast it.

“Max, can you just stand there for a second?” Kim asked, pointing at the very top of the hill.

“You want to take a picture of me?”

“Yeah! This picture would look awesome with you in it!”

Max went and stood on the very top of the summit. “How’s this?”

“That’s perfect!” Kim had to stop himself from saying “You’re perfect”. He looked through the lens and took the photo. This was going to look amazing!

“Thanks!” Max said, coming back over to him. “I can’t wait to see what these look like when we get the film developed.”

“Me too!” Kim put the camera back in his pocket. “Hey, do you think I could cartwheel all the way down this hill? How many cartwheels would it take?”

Max frowned. “My guess is about 8, but I would also guess that broken wrists or ankles would be a likely outcome, so I would advise against it.”

That was so sweet! Max was concerned for his wellbeing! Wait, of course he was – he was Kim’s best friend. Duh. Kim knew he needed to stop taking every little interaction as romantic in nature. He was too sappy and lovesick for his own good.

“You’re right,” he said. “Anyway Max, today was another awesome day, so uh… thanks for showing me around again. I hope you’re not getting tired.”

“Don’t worry, I’m definitely not! It’s not every day I get to show my favourite city in the world to one of my best friends in the world.”

The way Max was standing there beaming at him, in front of the beautiful landscape, the wind ruffling his hair...

“Kim? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” Kim said quickly. “Fine. Just, uh, tired. Maybe we should go back to the palace now and get some rest. After all, we’ve got that yuletide diplomatic ball thing to attend tomorrow, right?”

Max’s kingdom was hosting this year’s Peace Ball that took place every December, with leaders from every country in the International Alliance attending. It was probably going to be posh and formal and boring, but at least Max would be there too. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.

“Yes, we need to prepare for that,” Max said, nodding. “In fact, I’ve got a surprise in store for you about that.”

“Ooh, really? What?”

“You’ll see very soon!”

He chuckled and began walking back down the hill, towards where the guards were waiting. Kim just took his hand again and ran, pulling him down behind him. He could hear Max laughing away so happily. It was so cute!

They arrived back at the palace soon enough, and Kim went back to his room to rest. He lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling fan above him, the blades spinning so fast they merged into a blur. Almost like his own heartbeat. He couldn’t get this stupid grin off his face. One thought kept running through his mind:

Thank goodness for Max.

He was serious. Not just because he was in love with him, but in general. Thank goodness Max was around. Everything recently had been going so wrong – the flu pandemic, the looming war between Agreste and Lê Chiến, his grandfather’s suspicious death, the fact that he was going to soon be responsible for an entire country, just everything being so confusing he could barely sort out his own emotions or even tell up from down.

But here, with Max by his side, were a few weeks of respite. It was like being in a blissful bubble of peace and happiness. Being able to spend time with Max, no school to get in the way, just forgetting about all his worries for a little while. This was exactly what he needed in his life right now. It was almost no wonder he had fallen in love with Max – how could he resist someone who was just this perfect for him?

That being said, he still wasn’t sure whether or not Max loved him back like that. Of course Max cared about him, that much was certain. But romantically? That was another matter.

When should he tell him? This sort of thing should not be rushed, that had already caused him enough trouble in the past. Asking out Chloé on a whim had been a disaster, kissing Adrien at the winter party in first year had made things awkward between them, and running away immediately after confessing to Alix had caused him a lot more stress than he needed. This time he needed to think it through properly.

What about the Cupid Festival? A day like that would be perfect for confessing his true feelings! And anyway, Max was his best friend. Even if he didn’t love Kim back like that, he wouldn’t be weirded out or anything. Things would still go well. Yes, the Cupid Festival seemed like a good day to do it. He had made up his mind.

Until then, though…

He covered his face with his hands, knowing he was blushing, not entirely caring. Spending time with Max was so much fun! It always had been, but something was just so different now. And Kim had had plenty of crushes before, too many to count, and he had been so head over heels for people he didn’t think he would be able to get over it, and yet…

This still felt different somehow. Never before had he fallen in love so slowly, so gently. Usually he just met someone cute for the first time and that was it, he would be smitten. But not this time. The fact that he loved Max now just seemed like an extension of their close friendship. That they had grown closer and closer over the years, and at some point Kim’s feelings for him slipped from platonic to romantic without him even realizing. He was sure that hadn’t happened with anyone else before.

With Chloé, he’d just talked to her a little at her birthday banquet, feeling so flustered at how pretty and powerful she was, and then decided to ask her out when he saw her again at school. There had been nothing slow about it. With Adrien, he hadn’t realized what he was feeling at the time was a crush, since he didn’t know that was possible, but he definitely had strong feelings for him right from the beginning. It only hit him at the winter party. And as for Alix, well… Kim could easily pinpoint the moment he realized he liked her. But his crush on her had always felt very separate from their friendship, almost like it was oddly superficial despite how strong it did indeed get.

But Max! Kim thought back over the past few months, trying to recall everything. He had missed Max’s company so much over the summer holidays, more than he had expected to… he had been so grateful to see Max go into quarantine just for him… he felt so oddly happy waking up every day and knowing Max was there with him… and he won arm wrestles just by hearing Max laugh… cuddled with him after the earthquake… cried into his arms after receiving that letter from home… not wanted to put him down after the spider incident–

There was a knock on the door. Kim sat up, wondering if that was Max. It must be – who else could it be? No one else here really bothered talking to him.

His brain felt strangely reckless all of a sudden. In the spring holidays, when he had answered the door without a shirt on, Max had run away with a nosebleed, right? What if he did it again? Just to see if Max still liked him, or was he over him now? Wait, was that even a good idea? Oh – who cared!

He pulled his shirt off and scrunched it up in his hand, really not thinking about it properly, then ran towards the door and opened it to see–

ALIX?!

What was she doing here?!

She took one look up at him and burst into laughter. “Kim, what the… did you think I was Max or something, were you like… trying to impress him or what…?!” She wiped a few tears out of her eyes, she was laughing so much. Even her snake looked like it was laughing somehow.

“Don’t tell him,” Kim muttered, grumpily putting his shirt back on. Why did the shirt thing never freaking work, darn it?!

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” she said, still grinning rather annoyingly. “But I don’t think you need to worry about impressing Max like that, he already knows perfectly well how shredded you are. You know, because of the spring holidays? When you did this exact same thing except you were trying to impress me instead? Which wouldn’t have worked because–”

“So what are you doing here?” Kim asked quickly. He didn’t want to think about the spring holidays.

“Setting you up with Max, of course. And also I have to attend the Peace Ball since I’m a pharaoh and my kingdom practically founded the International Alliance, so yeah. At least it won’t be so boring this year with you two here. Posh events like these can be very romantic, I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. So you and Max have to get together.”

“I was thinking maybe the Cupid Festival might be better…”

“What, really? That overrated festival day where people use it as an excuse to be all mushy in public and act like romance is the only kind of love there is, or all that matters? No thanks, I am far too aromantic for that – which reminds me of another reason I’m here. I have to get that science journal off Max. Don’t ask. Oh, and one more reason – to give you this.”

She handed him a little box-like thing with an electric screen and buttons on it.

“Is this a phone?” he asked. It looked a bit like one, but the ones he had usually seen had wires connecting them to the electricity lines. The only portable ones he had seen were Max’s phone and Alix’s sceptre-phone-thing, whatever it was.

“Yep, it’s a phone, and it’s yours now. Special gift from my kingdom.”

What? An expensive portable phone… just for him?

“You really didn’t have to,” he mumbled, trying to ignore the fact that his eyes were suddenly watering.

“Oh shush, you have to keep it. Anyway, you can use it to properly keep in touch with your family once they’ve fixed the telecommunication lines, without having to send letters! And also this phone has an update with the very latest technology, where you can send people messages by typing them in using the buttons. Kind of like sending a letter, except instantaneous. Look.”

She grabbed it off him and selected the little letter icon from the menu, then showed him the two phone numbers already stored in his phone – hers and Max’s. All you had to do was type in any message, then select who to send it to, then press enter and – voila! It was simple.

“That’s actually really cool,” he said, taking the phone back. “Seriously, thank you so much!”

“Hey, it’s no problem. You deserve some good things to happen to you now. Your year has been pretty sucky so far.”

Without even needing to think, he bent down and hugged her. “Thanks for being the coolest best friend ever. And your year hasn’t exactly been the greatest so far either, with all the like… timeline nonsense and stuff, so…”

“Oh man, don’t even bring up those stupid timelines,” she said.

“Why, what happened now?”

“You don’t wanna know. Like trust me, you really, really, do not wanna know.”

“Are you sure?” He grinned. “What, is it too ‘embarrassing’ to tell me about again?”

She whacked his arm with her sceptre. “It’s embarrassing for you too, you dolt. Anyway, I’ve got a science journal to be reading, so I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, bye.”

She left, and Kim closed the door. He looked down at his new phone. This thing… could it really be used to send messages to people thousands of miles away? All the way on the other side of the earth? And she had just given it to him like it was no big deal?

Those telecommunication lines had to be fixed soon. And he had to talk to his family properly.