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Marinette might scream. At first, she could believe it was an accident. I mean, she knew Felix wouldn’t ever flirt with her. That was as possible as the fact that he was a Chat Noir. Hah, as if. Maybe he would flirt with her if someone held a gun to his head. But even then, Marinette would give it like a 60% probability, max 70%.
She would say that she knew him. Not ‘I know all of your deepest darkest secrets’ kind of knowing, but definitely better than anyone in their class. Which wasn’t much considering she was the only person from the class talking to him somewhat regularly. Someone would say it’s because she sat with him, but she would call him a friend.
He might deny it if anyone asked but she knew better.
But it still wasn’t the easy banter that she had with Chat Noir, nor discussing the feelings kind of relationship that she had with Alya (or at least had, until Lila came). Which is why, she thought that she was still dreaming that morning during their physics class.
Everyone was already there but at least she wasn’t late. With a sight she put down her bag and sat in the back next to Felix. Last night her patrol took longer than usual and she still had to do her homework for the next day when she came back.
So to say that Marinette didn’t get her beauty sleep was an understatement.
“Good morning to you too Marinette,” Felix said, and was it a teasing smile or normal smile? She shrugged it off, put her hands on the desk and flopped her head on them while making a grunt, that could have been considered as an answer.
She heard him chuckle lightly and felt something warm in her chest. Ugh, crush was the last thing she needed right now. Well, that’s a problem for future Marinette, now sleep should be her only problem next five minutes before the start of the class. And maybe during the class, depending what will they cover.
“Wakey, wakey sleepyhead.” Okay, someone probably changed her desk mate because there’s no way those words could have just left his mouth. “The teacher is looking here.”
She raised her head and looked over at Felix. Okay, he was smiling softly. But he wasn’t weird color nor was questionably dressed so he probably wasn’t an akuma. Probably, but she still heard ‘wakey, wakey’ in her head so she couldn’t be too sure.
“Kim, put two magnets on every desk, please,” Ms. Mendelev said as she handed him the box.
Soon, two magnets were sitting in front of them and Marinette absent-mindedly grabbed one of them. So did Felix, and their hands brushed. Marinette was honestly too tired to care, so she just grabbed the other one.
Felix on the other hand felt his cheeks redden. He quickly looked over to the girl sitting next to him who was, by the looks of it, trying to sleep with her eyes open. He chuckled a bit to himself.
“So,” she heard him start.
She gave up on her plan and turned to him.
“Will you stop attracting me so much?” he asked looking like an image of composure.
Marinette did a double-take. She pinched herself. Ouch, okay, she wasn’t asleep. The pain didn’t stop the blush from rushing to her cheeks, but at least it helped give the brain reason for the blush because this was Felix. She can’t be blushing from something Felix has said. No.
He smiled at her. The akuma option and looking more plausible by every second.
“Excuse me?”
He motioned with his hand. She looked down and saw that half of his pens were slowly inching to her magnet.
“You could have said your fricking pens,” she grumbled, even as she moved it to her side of the table.
She swears she saw him grin.
///
She almost forgot all about the situation by lunchtime. She sat down next to Felix. There hadn’t been anyone from their usual friends group yet so she took out her lunchbox and started eating. Her parents also packed her two heart-shaped cookies so she gave him one. Kwami knows he hasn’t been eating lots of sugar with that model diet he has.
He blankly looked at it.
“Oh, that’s a new recipe my dad wanted to try before Valentine’s day,” she rushed to explain. “But he only gave me two so try not to show them to others,” she smiled at him and congratulated herself when she noticed that corners of his mouth were quirking upwards. Every non-neutral expression from Felix was for her a small victory.
“Thanks Marinette,” Claude came from seemingly nowhere and grabbed the cookie from Felix’s tray. She mentioned that her dad will make some Valentine’s cookies to him a few days before but didn’t expect him snatching them, coming seemingly out of nowhere like a Batman.
“That wasn’t…” she started but he was already somewhere else.
Felix looked right into her eyes. She felt her cheeks blushing… for a completely unknown reason, thank you very much, that is also a problem for future Marinette.
“I was wondering if you can give me your heart, mine was just stolen.” She choked on the piece she was chewing. Someone should give him a lesson on tact or whatever, that could stop him from giving her a heart attack.
Second time a day.
He had the audacity to look like nothing was happening. With a glint in his eyes.
Ugh.
Definitely an akuma.
///
The whole next day was Felix acting perfectly normal in school (or at least, Felix’s kind of normal) so she considered both things he said just as a creation of her sleep-deprived mind. And the mischievous gleam also something he imagined.
That was until they packed their stuff. They were the last ones in the class, and Marinette was thinking about designing something. Last week she bought a really nice piece of fabric. It was from scraps, so she couldn’t make a skirt or dress, but maybe it would be enough for a nice top.
Just as she was about to leave, he grabbed her wrist.
“Wait,” he said and she threw him a puzzled look.
“Do you want a kiss?” he asked while looking her in the eyes. Marinette.exe has stopped working. She felt all the blood rush to her cheeks as she looked at him closely. Was he making fun of her? He dared to smirk.
And okay, she saw him sneer at her classmates, saw him fondly smile at her or one of their friends. She saw when he tried to hide his laugh when Allegra said something funny or
fake smile for photoshoots.
This was new.
And she wasn’t ready.
“Ehm… I… no! I mean, yes? Wait… what?” she stuttered and looked down. Nope, no hole to swallow her whole, she’d have to suffer through this.
And then he took her hand into his and put something in her palm. She blinked and looked down. It was a small piece of packed chocolate. Hershey’s kiss.
His smirk turned into positively beaming.
Marinette might scream.
///
That evening, Marinette was sitting on her roof balcony. It was middle of February, so the night was far from warm, but she was positive she could spend here at least another
hour or so. She had this as her small relaxing place. No weird behaving Felixes anywhere in sight. She brought her sketchbook, mug of steaming tea and some croissants with her.
“Look who the cat dragged out on this beautiful evening,” Chat Noir drawled as he landed on the roof next to her. She hid her smile behind a cup.
“I mean, I’m the one sitting on, may I say, my balcony, so I should be asking this.”
“Oh, you’re pawsitively hurting my feelings here, can’t I just stop to visit my favorite civilian?”
“Sorry, I wasn’t aware of this title, since we met approximately two times before,” she laughed and resisted the urge to flick his nose. From the time as Ladybug she knew he didn’t like touches that much.
He grinned at her.
“That must mean that you’ve left such a lasting impression,” he bowed as he grabbed her hand and laid a kiss at her palm. He intensely stared into her eyes which made the statement sound more sincere.
Marinette yanked her hand and nervously looked around. When her eyes landed on the croissant she snatched it and quickly jammed it into Chat’s still outstretched hand. She hoped she wasn’t blushing. Why did Chat had to pick the same day as Felix to be weird? Even though he was flirting occasionally, he was never big on touching.
“Here, it’s really good, my parents have a great recipe that lots of people love. I mean they have a successful bakery, so of course people like them, I mean the croissants, not my parents. Of course there’s nothing wrong with my parents, they are perfectly lovable people and- ehm-,” she cut her rambling and rushed to sip from her tea.
“I don’t like croissants,” he almost scoffed. What was with her cat? In one moment he’s flirty and in the second he refuses perfectly fine croissants. Not that he has to like them, but they’re French for Kwami’s sake.
“You never answered, what are you doing here?” She grumbled as she grabbed the croissant back and took a bite. Fine. Perfectly fine.
“I was just passing by when I saw a princess in her tower so I decided to save her.”
“By your presence?” she laughed and huddled her blanket closer to her. It was getting colder and colder.
“Even though your doubt in my charming personality is hurting my feelings, your laugh will be warming me in those cold moments.”
“Well, at least you’ll have something to warm you,” she murmured.
“What was that? Are you cold?” He made a show of looking her up and down. She shivered. From coldness, of course. “Yes indeed, your lips do look a bit blue. We can’t have that, can we?”
“Chat,” she said warningly when she saw his grin deepen.
“Would you like me to warm them for you?” he drawled and leaned closer to her.
And Marinette was tired, Marinette was cold and Marinette was confused. Those were her reasons as to why she had closed her eyes and leaned in too.
And few seconds nothing happened. She opened her eyes. She blinked. Chat was looking at her with the most shit-eating grin that she had ever seen, the only thing coming close were Felix’s grins these last few days.
He looked down. She followed his look where he was handing her her cup of tea.
She took it, still confused.
“Stay warm princess,” he whispered and used his baton to leap to another roof. She watched as he got smaller in the distance.
“Well that was certainly something,” Tikki flew out of her hiding spot and laughed at Marinette’s startled expression.
“Oh, that stupid cat is getting worse and worse.”
///
There was still some time left before the beginning of the class. That meant that she had managed not to be late for a few days in a row. She wasn’t the only one surprised; going by Felix’s slightly raised eyebrows. She grumbled something and flopped to her place. So she wasn’t a morning person sue her. Or should she say sew her? Marinette resisted the urge to hit her head on the desk. Was she seriously making a fashion puns? Chat would be so proud, he may never know about that.
“Can I take you out?” Felix asked, knowing nothing about her internal pun struggle. Marinette’s brain short-circuited. Is he doing that weird not flirting thing again?
No, she had enough.
“What, are you going to pull out a gun from behind? You know, to take me out,” she made quotes with her hands. “Or what else could it mean. Hmm, no I actually can’t think of
anything else, so where is it.”
She leaned a bit closer to him, throwing an exaggerated look behind him. There was an amused, but still fond look in his eyes. Strange look on him.
“I’m asking you out.”
“Really? Cause here I was, thinking you or-” or certain someone, her mind filled in unhelpfully, but she stopped herself before she could finish. “Ehm… were trying to flirt with me these past few days, but it looked like not after all, so here I am, not exactly knowing, what was happening.”
“That was just to know your reaction. I didn’t know how very opposed you would be to me wanting to date you, so I thought I’ll check it out before. You know, as a research.
“Research, huh? So even after physics class, when I was blushing you had to continue with your research?” she bitingly replied. Then, when her brain caught up with the fact that
he said dating her, she felt herself blush for the umpteenth time in few days. Thanks brain.
“Well, I had already persuaded Claude to steal the heart cookie that I was hoping you’d offer me, , not that it was hard, t that was too good to waste. And also, it was quite amusing to wa…”
“Wait, wait, wait, let’s go back. You said dating? Like romantic stuff and all that? Girlfriend and boyfriend?” she slapped herself in her mind. Wow, way to be suave Marinette.
“As far as I know you are a girl and I am a boy. Or do you prefer using gender-neutral nicknames?” he rubbed his chin as if thinking. “Darling? Sweetheart? Purrfect, that fits cause you’re so sweet.”
He had the audacity to wink.
“Nope, this isn’t happening right now. You know very well what I meant by that, mon minou. Wait…” she didn’t mean to say that. No brain, this is Felix, you know that. Yes, he’s acting like a certain stay tomcat but still very much Felix.
“Took you time, my lady. I was wondering if I’ll have to be more obvious with the next few clues.” Oh, okay. To be honest, she should have known the moment a pun left his mouth.
She supposed there was some magic from miraculouses protecting their identities because let’s face it, the mask weren’t that useful. That was all her logical side managed. After, the prevailing side filled her brain with word ‘what?’ on a loop.
“Looks like the cat’s out of a bag,” he shrugged, laughing quietly to himself. That jolted her out of whatever limbo she was in, and looked him straight in the eyes. She felt like the blush was now a permanent feature on her face.
“Well, allow me now, to ask you this again, buginette,” he looked at her smirking. “Do you want a kiss, my lady?”
Before he even had the chance to take out any Hershey’s kisses from his pocket (not that he was planning on doing that right now, but she could never be too sure with him), she grabbed him by his tie and kissed him on the lips. One of the pros was, that she managed to surprise him, if his “humf” was anything to go by. One of the cons was, that after the initial courage and following action she froze for a second, not exactly knowing what to do now. Then he kissed her back and she melted against him. After few seconds she parted her lips in an inaudible sigh and deepened the kiss. She felt his hand on her cheek, which was once again completely red. But for once, she didn’t care.
She promptly jumped away when she realized they were still in school. In class, moreover. Fortunately, none of their classmates seemed to be paying them any attention, instead choosing to listen closely to whatever story Lila created now. Marinette might have heard astronaut and take me to space but she wasn’t sure. And for once, she didn’t care one bit. In front of her was sitting flushed Felix, his orderly tie now rumpled. Even though she doesn’t remember touching his hair, she must have because they were also messy. Her gaze lingered a bit on his red bitten lips and it took all her willpower not to kiss him again.
He was hungrily taking her in so she couldn’t look much better. Well, one more thing that she didn’t care about at all right now. She sent a small smile his way, and put her right hand under the desk in a silent invitation. He took it and sent her still slightly dazed smile back.
There were few moments of content silence.
„You stupid cat, you did also the whole ‘we can’t have your lips being cold‘ ordeal, you can’t say that had anything to do with research!“
That idiot dared to laugh.
Bonus:
“So guys, I see that you finally tied the knot-“
“Claude, you know that we did not get married-”
“-and so, before I was so rudely interrupted, I wanted to congratulate you on that, as a person who helped Felix do his weird, stupid and completely unnecessary scene, but whatever works for you I guess, if that’s what you’re into I won’t judge-”
“Claude, I swear to-”
“and to say that you’re welcome, it wouldn’t happen without me, you’re totally inviting me to your wedding.”