Chapter Text
Hearing about Felix’s visit made the younger cousin feel quite ecstatic. It was always lonely in the household so having a friend would be fun. Or so he had thought. You see.. Felix had always been.. a polar opposite of Adrien. The teenager was too serious for his own good, a smile on his face extremely rare. He had no partake in “putting it nicely” and would in fact be very blunt to the point where most get offended. Truth be told, Felix hated just about everybody. So when Adrien got the news that he would be transferring to his high school for a month, he was a bit anxious.
As the days grew nearer until Felix’s arrival he began to pace back and forth in his room, nerves making him unable to focus. The poor thing couldn’t even hold his staff steady while on missions or patrol. Even Ladybug told him to take a few days off to rest a bit. Reluctantly, he accepted. After hours of figuring out what to do in the worst case scenario, he decided he needed to “warn” his friends on how grumpy Felix tended to be.
“Just don’t take it personal! he’s always kind of angry.”
Nino laughed giving Adrien a pat on the back that startled him, sometimes Adrien wondered if Nino knew his strength. “Okay, dude. thanks for telling me.”
“He’s not a bad person, just a little bitter.”
Alya pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before putting a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow in question. “Okay. but if I hear ONE thing I don’t like I am not afraid to give your cousin a little talk for you.”
He had told about everybody in his class, although he had forgotten to mention it to someone. “HIS COUSIN IS COMING? What if he’s just as dreamy? What if he’s nice to me? I can't handle that! Alya you know I’m a mess! Why didn’t he tell me?!” She had been tugging on her pigtails with a panicked expression, lying down on her back in the middle of the room with the lights off. It was now just three days before his arrival on Monday and Marinette had only just heard the news from Alya.
“Get off the floor, at least.”
“The floor is my only friend now.” She complained, hissing when Alya turned on the lights.
“Come on! it’ll be fine.” Alya insisted, helping Marinette sit up. The two had now been sitting on her polka dot chaise, Alya smiling earnestly. “Sooo, what do you want to do?”
“Die.”
Alya watched her best friend collapse her back onto the couch, covering her eyes with a deadpan expression. “It’s Friday Mari! The possibilities are endless. Don’t be such a drama queen. Let’s pick out some cute clothes for Monday instead. That would be fun!” Alya began to get up from the couch and raid Marinette’s closet. Now they were used to borrowing each other’s clothes without asking, so seeing her pick out some pants and shirts wasn’t out of the ordinary.
Marinette picked herself up, groaning. “Fiiiiiiiine.” She said with a huff, hiding her excitement to pick out clothes. She always loved simple makeovers and pretending to model in her bedroom, so a little fashion show wouldn't hurt. She watched Alya pick out a couple outfits before trying them all for herself.
After two hours of trying on clothes and excessive snack breaks, Marinette decided on wearing a pink pinafore button dress with a white undershirt. It was casual, pretty, and fun to wear. Alya clapped her hands together in excitement, her smile so big her cheeks started to sting. It was the perfect dress to wear in order to gain a little bit of attention. Marinette matched her best friends happiness, spinning in the dress with an innocent smile.
“That one is perfect Mari!” Alya began to put the other clothes back in her closet, realizing their work was just about done. She dusted off her hands as she closed the closet, looking back at Marinette who was still unsure of herself.
“You think so?” She was blushing faintly, wondering if a certain boy might compliment her outfit tomorrow, a lovestruck look on her face. Alya already knew what she had been thinking about.
“Adrien will think so.” Alya said wickedly, a smirk appearing on her lips as she noticed Marinette’s blush begin to darken. Alya had already taken out their pajamas and shoved them into the bluenettes hands. “Here, go change. I’ll make some popcorn and you can pick the movie this time, just don’t choose Starstruck again.”
Laughing, she accepted the pajamas and nodded, brushing off Alya’s last comment. “I can’t help it! It’s a DCOM classic! And Christopher Wilde is so dreamy~” She smiled, thinking about the romantic comedy. She began to unbutton her dress before continuing, “I mean who can resist a Disney Channel Original Movie?” A rhetorical question really, but Alya answered.
“Psychos.” Alya laughed, playing along with her best friends strong opinion. Both girls had changed into their pajamas and had begun to press play on Marinette’s computer, the big bowl of popcorn by its side.
The weekend went by swiftly, Marinette and Alya doing various activities; from making macarons to filling out quizzes in magazines to lounging on the chaise doing absolutely nothing. Either way, the two had plenty of fun and Marinette was ready for Adrien 2.0’s arrival. It was now Sunday night and Alya had gone home that morning, leaving Marinette alone in her bedroom to think.
“You seem anxious Marinette. Is everything okay?” Tikki had flown by, floating above her nose. Marinette had been sitting down, staring blank faced at nothing, her kwami growing concerned.
Marinette didn’t bother to make eye contact, still looking down at her rug. “Just a little nervous.” She mumbled in reply, sighing and putting her focus on another area of the room to stare at. She looked tired.
It was noticeable. “It’s almost 17:00 (5:00pm). Maybe you should cancel patrol for tonight?” As soon as Tikki suggested canceling, Marinette had brought herself back to reality, now looking back at Tikki, shaking her head.
“No no, that won’t be necessary. Besides, Chat is waiting for me anyway.” With that, Marinette sat up from her chair and stretched her arms above her head, stifling a yawn. She then uttered out her three magic words and her body was covered in an indestructible latex. Marinette looked back at herself in the mirror, staring at the mask that covered her face before climbing up onto her terrace balcony and swinging her yo-yo to their meet-up location.
As soon as she arrived onto the top of the building, she was met by a timid Chat Noir to her surprise. He sat by himself, a frown on his face, legs dangling off the edge of the roof. His ears were droopy.
Ladybug felt herself frown, what had happened to him? “Chat?” she called out wearily only for him to stand up quickly and offer her a forced smile and a sweet compliment. “Evening M’lady, you’re looking radiant this time of day.” His grin was tired.
Ignoring the compliment, she was curious to his dismay. “Is everything okay? You seem a bit… sad.” She watched his smile fade as a sigh escaped his lips. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, not entirely sure what to say. Ladybug had sat down next to where Chat had been sitting just moments before, the cat hero taking motive to sit back down next to her.
“Aw,” he cooed, “are you worried about me?” He stared at the cars below, aware that his partner was looking at him worriedly. The sun was beginning to set and the heroes had a sun-kissed golden look due to the sunlight.
“Yes.” An answer he hadn’t expected. He turned his head to look back at her, now seeing how concerned she had been. He felt bad for not saying something sooner. Ladybug looked at him with innocence, before speaking up. “If it’s something with your father again i’m really sorry Chat-”
“It’s not that.” He interrupted, waving a hand in dismissal. “Not this time at least.” He let out a chuckle but stopped shortly afterwards, seeing how Ladybug didn’t laugh. His night hadn’t gone exactly swell. Felix was like a carbon copy of his father, and when he arrived that Sunday morning, he felt a bit overshadowed.
Gabriel had gone as far as putting his hand out for him to shake. Can you believe that? The last time Adrien even hugged his father was when his bodyguard turned into a gorilla. Months ago. It stung slightly, that small gesture of respect. But he paid no attention to it. Not until Felix had been throwing jabs at Adrien the whole afternoon.
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“Comic books?” He questioned, giving a death glare to the paperbacks.
Adrien felt embarrassed, blushing awkwardly. “Mangas actually..”
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“Really? You own High School Musical CD’s?” Felix held back a laugh, “Are you five?”
Adrien felt insulted, watching as Felix went around his room and point out all of his flaws. “Uhm, yeah. I liked the movies. If you don’t like those, though I have some Clairo CD’s that are nice. We could listen to those?”
“I’d rather sit in silence.”
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Adrien was calm, sure a bit uncomfortable, but he could manage. A whole month, he wasn’t sure. But it was just this evening and he was sure things would get better. Everything is fine! Until it wasn’t.
“What’s with the creepy shrine?” He scoffed, looking at the many pictures of Ladybug that hung on his wall.
Adrien wanted to make an excuse to leave, but he was far too polite. “That’s Ladybug.” he said with a fond smile, “Paris’ hero.”
“Adrien,” Felix stared at one of the pictures, “Our family is full of tens. We are models, linguists, athletes, businessmen-”
“Your point?” He interrupted, bubbling with irritation.
“We don’t chase after women who play dress up. We let women chase after us. Don’t swoop so low, it's embarrassing. Has your father taught you anything?”
He wanted to fight back, defend her. He didn’t even know half of anything! He didn’t know how he risked her life daily or how much she does to protect her friends and family. He didn’t know Ladybug like he did. He didn’t know anything.
It wasn’t worth it. Fighting back wasn’t worth it. “I’m going to go take a shower.”
“I’m so sorry, Chat..” The heroine frowned, looking back at Chat who had an expression that said, ‘oh well’ he had left out that instance with the so called “shrine” not needing any more embarrassment from his crush. “I had no idea your cousin was like that.. If you ever need anything please just page me on our burner phones. I will drop anything just to make sure you’re okay.”
Ugh.. He knew he would cling onto those words. He knew it would ring in the back of his mind and become engraved in his brain. He knew he would get addicted and overthink every little moment they’ve had as clues of her undying love for him.
“Your friendship means everything to me.”
And there it was. The words that made his chest burn and his eyes welled up in tears. He bit the inside of his cheek and tried his best to give a genuine smile. “Thank you, M’lady. And same to you.” How could she sit there and pretend that everything they had was platonic? How could she be so far in denial? How could she say the things she says and turn around to say it means nothing more? How?
Still. He would be thankful for everything she has done. He would be appreciative for her friendship and cling desperately to that title. It was better to be her friend than to be nothing at all.
He looked like he was thinking, of what? She wasn’t sure. Ladybug gave a sincere smile as he hunched his back, looking out to the cars below. He looked nice, even when he wasn’t feeling it. She had grown to adore his messy hair and the way he pouted his lower lip when in deep thought. He was so much more than what she had thought he’d been. He was insanely kind, funny, and understanding. He had troubles, some of which she could never even begin to understand, and yet he was still so compassionate. Not to mention talented, he was good at being a hero. And from what she knew, he was multilingual, in various sports, and very knowledgeable of fashion trends for whatever reason that may be. He was loyal. And he had her back. And she was sure she had never noticed how gorgeous he looked-
She grabbed her yo-yo and opened the top. 21:00. “It’s getting late.” He hummed in agreement. The two looked at each other simultaneously and said their goodbyes, heading back into their homes.
“Fudge!” Marinette had shoved a piece of bread in her mouth as she waved her parents goodbye. Of course she had woken up late. She had fifteen minutes to get to school and it was an eight minute walk, but she also had to put her things in her locker which was way on the other side of the school and then back over to her classroom. Needless to say, she arrived six minutes late.
Awkwardly sitting down to her seat, she said hello to Alya who gave her a knowing smile. She was already given a few looks and smiles from her other friends, complimenting her dress in quiet whispers. She glanced in front of her, only seeing Nino. No Adrien. Huh, strange.
As if on cue, the blonde walked in and she felt herself melt, god he was so gorgeous it hurt her eyes. She pretended to be taking notes to appear busy as she felt everyone’s heads turn. Don’t stare. She told herself. She had been doing a great job of minding her business until she felt a pair of eyes boring into her skull. Looking up, she noticed who had been staring. His cousin had been smiling at her. Why? She smiled faintly back, looking over to Alya to stop herself from her lingering eyes.
Alya raised a brow, noticing how the other boy was staring. Nino had noticed too, looking over to Adrien, who had been oblivious to the lingering look.
“Do I get to pick my seat, Ms Bustier?” His cousin asked, Adrien already sitting down slightly peeved. Sheesh. Not even a hello, no friendly introduction. His friends were going to hate him. Good thing they knew. He looked over at Alya who was smiling, then to Nino and Adrien was left confused. Turning his head he noticed Marinette. Crap! I forgot to tell her! A look of panic waved over his face.
“You can if you’d like, Felix. Would you like to give an introduction to the class?” The teacher offered, smiling kindly.
He shook his head, eyes focused on the pale girl in the pink dress. “I’d prefer not.” He said sharply, walking over to Alya. She was confused as he set his bag on her table. “I choose this seat. Move.”