Miraculous Raccoon [Completed]

Too Little Too Late for Class

"Tris?" A voice calls. My shoulders are shaken and I slowly pull myself awake. Dark swooping hair and a concerned face.
"Charon?" I ask, my voice sleepy. He relaxes and nods.
"Are you alright?" he asks. I yawn and stretch, my neck complaining about the angle I had been in.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell him, pushing myself up. He holds onto my arm and helps me stay balanced. "Really, I'm fine," I assure him, trying not to notice the butterflies I got from him holding onto me. "What was happening? Did everything turn out okay?" I ask.
"Yeah, one of the teachers got akumatized," he tells me.
"Does that mean it's okay that we're late for class?" I ask jokingly. He almost smiles at that.
"I think I'm just not going to class right now," he says.
"Are you not feeling well?" I ask, reaching out to touch his forehead. He turns his head. I pull my hand back, worried I went too far.
"It's not a sick thing," he tells me. "Not a fever sick, anyway."
"Oh, okay," I say, sticking my hands into my pockets. "Should I walk with you back home?" Charon shrugs.
"I'll walk you to school. I just won't go in with you," he tells me.
"That works, I guess. Let me go in late by myself?" I ask. Charon gives me a little quirked smile but doesn't say anything. I sigh as my heart jumps, but walk with him, looking off to the side as he matches my pace.
"Mystique showed up," Charon says after several moments of silence.
"With the akuma?" I ask. I hadn't thought anyone except Ladybug and Chat Noir would have noticed her being there.
"Yeah, she helped Chat Noir escape detention," Charon tells me.
"Detention? Someone finally put that cat in a corner?" I joke. Charon breaths through his nose in a ghost of a laugh.
"He told the news people that Mystique was really helpful to them, and even Ladybug said it wouldn't have turned out so well without her help," Charon reports. My heart feels light and I feel my purse vibrating as Raya does a jig in the pocket.
"I bet you're really happy to hear that," I tell Charon. "Since she's your favorite, right?"
"It would have been better if White Fox had been able to be there," he says quietly. "They're a team, so he should have been there."
"Oh, well, yeah. I think so, too," I admit. My feelings are so conflicted with White Fox. I never really spent time with him, just a couple quick conversations when we would run into each other, the few times that's happened. I can't exactly stay and chat afterwards. But I also don't know how I should act around him even if I did. And that kiss makes me unable to figure out how I feel.
"You think White Fox is a good partner for Mystique?" Charon asks as we get to the school steps. I step up a couple and turn around to shrug at him.
"Of course. They're both still pretty new at this, so they haven't figured out how to work together. But I think you're right that they could be really great partners."
Charon gives me a real smile. A Charon smile is so rare, but so different than Michael's overly enthusiastic ones. Charon's are sweet and so genuine. His eyes crinkle in the corners. You have to smile back at him. Then remember how to breathe later. "Well, I should get to class. See you tomorrow," I tell him with a wave, skipping up the rest of the stairs. He nods and turns, heading back down the street. Today's been a good day.

"I'm home!" I call as I walk in the door to the house.
"Tris! Your school called and said you were late to your afternoon classes," dad's voice booms through the rooms. I groan. "How many times has it been this month?"
"I'm sorry," I reply, heading into the house to find where the lecture is happening. "A teacher got akumatized and things were kind of crazy" I tell him.
"If the teacher was able to be in class on time, why couldn't you?" he demands.
"I, uh, passed out at the park down the street," I admit.
"Tris, these 'I passed out' and 'I had a fainting spell' or whatever you want to call them excuses aren't going to work much longer," he tells me. I stare down at the floor. They don't even work now? What is he trying to say? "You're going to have to do the dishes for the rest of the week," he tells me. That's what I do anyway, so I suppress my sigh and nod an acknowledgement of my so called punishment.
"Yes, Dad," I say. He nods, satisfied at my acceptance.
"Now go help your mom in the kitchen. She's too stressed trying to get everything done," he tells me as he settles down in front of the tv.
"Yes dad," I repeat, this time allowing myself an eye roll as I walk past him.
The night is another tally mark on my record of frustrating dinners, but I hold together all the way through another hospital story.
"How was your day?" Mom asks as she puts away the last glass.
"What?" I ask, startled as I toss the towel into the laundry room. That's a new question.
"You seem tired, so I wondered how your day was," mom says.
"Oh, well, it was fine," I tell her.
"Is anything new happening? Anything interesting happen today?" Mom asks. I shrug. Do I bring up how I helped Ladybug and Chat Noir fight an akuma? I could at least mention the akumatized teacher.
"Yeah, actually-"
"Mooooom!" Jess shrieks from the next room.
"Oh, hold that thought, would you dear?" Mom asks. I nod and sigh as she leaves the room. Welp. Time for homework.