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The blond-haired boy stood there, mouth slightly agape, unsure of how to handle the confession of the girl in front of him.
“I love you, Adrien Agreste. I’ve loved you since the beginning of the year.”
Now that’s a surprise I did not anticipate.
He looked at her again. Dark silky hair, bluebell eyes… A very pretty girl, now bearing a very hopeful face.
He smiled back at her cautiously and saw her face light up.
Oh, This is perfect! It’s like a dream come true!
But first, I need to find out who she is.
---
Felix had only had a rough outline in mind about what he had planned to do that day. The general gist was “let’s pretend to be Adrien and wreak some havoc,”, but while he had a hunch that an opportunity would present itself, he wasn’t sure what kind of opportunity it would actually be.
After all, could anything really interesting happen in a ball organized by Chloe Bourgeois attended by students from Adrien’s high school?
Felix looked about the extravagant and boisterous decor. As much as he was used to it, it always made him just a bit nauseous. He helped himself to a little appetizer served by Jean, a light toast with foie gras.
And then, right when he was about to call it a day, the perfect chance had appeared in front of him. Quite literally.
A moment of scrolling through the student roster revealed her name to be Marinette-Dupain Cheng.
“Well then, Marinette, how about we leave all these people to enjoy themselves so we could be together?” Felix extended his hand towards her, waiting for her answer.
“Yes!” she took his hand as both started to walk out the ball.
Adrien has no idea what’s coming for him, does he? She’ll be so mad, I don’t think she’ll ever forgive him.
---
The two quickly made their way out of the party and into the Parisian streets.
“At last, free to our heart’s content. Where should we go, Marinette?”
Better pick something nice, because I don’t have a concrete plan yet.
Looks like she was as out of plans as he was, so he went on.
“How about a drink?” he asked, and Marinette grinned wildly as she grabbed his hand.
“Hey, where are you dragging me?” he asked, half-jokingly, as he let himself be pulled by her.
“To the best iced coffee in Paris!” she replied.
It wasn’t too long before both were sitting on a bench with two tall iced coffee cups.
He took a sip of his drink. It was delicious indeed.
“Well, how is it?” she asked.
Now there’s an opportunity to tease her as they come, isn’t it?
He needed to test the water anyway.
“It’s…”
He stopped for a moment and looked at her. The girl was elated in his presence. Smiling. Blossoming.
What was my plan, again? Oh, right… Well then, let’s do my thing! I was always good at backhanded compliments and twisting words.
“It’s…”
He then realized he just couldn’t do it. It was as if her happiness had some magical hold over him. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt her this way, even with that tiny little bit of teasing.
“It’s delicious, Marinette. The best I’ve ever had.”
Well, that was lame.
It was one of the best he’s ever had, though. But it wasn’t how it tasted - it was something else which he couldn’t quite pinpoint yet. He had to try yet again. This girl couldn’t possibly stop his plan, could she?
I’m an expert at this game! I’m no novice… let’s try this again.
“You know, Marinette…”
He found his plans abruptly stopped as she drew near him, face by face and grabbed him for a joint selfie.
“You know what to do, Mr. Model!”
He did know what to do and smiled instinctively. Or was it just instinct involved? Maybe he did genuinely find this moment too cute to resist?
This isn’t going as planned, at all.
---
“Yas, girl!” Alya exclaimed as a familiar blond-haired boy approached her.
“Hey, Alya, what’s the happy occasion?”
Alya looked at him, then looked again at her cell phone and turned pale white, as if she had just seen a ghost.
“Adrien?”
“Is everything alright, Alya?”
Alya seemed extremely hesitant before she blurted out her answer.
“No. We have a problem.” she said as she showed him her cellphone’s screen.
Adrien gasped at the sight on her cellphone.
“That’s my cousin, Felix! What’s Marinette doing with him?”
Adrien seemed to twitch uncomfortably, as if severely bothered by this new information.
“Well…” Alya fidgeted with her fingers, unsure how to proceed without saying too little - or too much. Adrien then continued.
“She doesn’t even know him, does she?”
“Nope, she doesn’t.”
“Oh my god. She thinks it’s me! Which means…” At that moment, Adrien started to blush furiously.
“Um. Yeah.” Alya somehow felt a bit more at ease now that he had figured it out himself, relieved of the burden of having to spell things out for him.
“When she finally gathered the courage to tell you…”
“...It wasn’t even me at all.”
---
“Are you hungry, Adrien? Perhaps we can go grab something to eat.”
“Umm… yeah, I guess?”
Felix seemed to have lost concentration at this point, unsure what would be the right thing to do next.
What’s wrong? I can’t seem to pull this one off, at all.
“Yes!” She cheered. “I shouldn’t be praising the competition, but some bakeries around here do give us a run for our money,” she chuckled. “Come, I’ll show you.”
I don’t stand a chance against her enthusiasm, do I?
This time she didn’t have to pull him with her. After a short walk, they found themselves at the entrance of a bakery.
“Wait right here,” she said, returning after a short while with a brown paper bag.
“What did you get us?”
“Oh, it’s a surprise!” she grinned. “Now, follow me and when I tell you to, please close your eyes.”
He nodded as the realization hit him as to why he wasn’t able to pull this one off. He was enjoying the company and the whole thing far too much.
Have I... started developing feelings for her?
He felt as if a wall of bricks had collapsed over him. How could this have happened? How did this girl do it?
“Are you coming, Adrien?”
“Um… yeah…”
I am so screwed. I have to find a way out of this.
---
“Well? Have you managed to get a hold of her?” Adrien asked Alya anxiously.
“She isn’t answering any of my calls or messages.” Alya frowned as she showed him her phone, her calls unanswered. “But I know where that girl is taking him, trust me.”
“Where would that be?”
“The most romantic spot in Paris, obviously.” Alya replied.
Adrien paused for a moment to consider this new information.
She really does love me that much, huh. How could I have missed that? Why didn’t I pick up on this sooner?
If it weren’t for my obliviousness, none of this would have happened. It’s my fault, too. It’s time I fixed this.
---
“You can open your eyes now.”
Felix opened his eyes and found himself overlooking the city, with the Sacré-Coeur, the Eiffel tower, and the Arc de Triomphe all in clear sight.
“It’s all so beautiful, isn’t it?”
Felix felt Marinette dig herself into his arm and gently lean her head on his shoulder.
“I wish this could last forever, Adrien.”
“I do too, Marinette.”
And he meant it. There was just one problem.
It can’t, because it’s all based on deceit.
She is just so sweet. So honest and sincere. Her smile can melt even the coldest of hearts.
How could I have ever considered hurting her so much, just because of a cousins’ squabble?
I’m a terrible person and now I have to prove it out loud.
Whatever’s coming for me, I deserve it. I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.
---
Felix’s mouth dried as he felt whatever courage he had leave him at that instant.
Please forgive me Marinette. Please.
“Listen, Marinette… There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Oh? What is it, Adrien?”
“Well… It’s… I’m…”
I can’t! I want to say it, I have to say it…
“Adrien?” A worried look came about Marinette.
“I’m… I’m actually…”
“... Felix!” Another, nearly identical, blond-haired boy called from a distance accompanied by a furious looking redhead.
Marinette’s jaw dropped at the sight, looking at both Felix and Adrien alternatively. At last, her eyes settled on Felix, piercing his soul with their stern look. He instinctively lowered his head and eyes down.
“Please, just… hear me out,” he pled. ״At first, I did plan on using this as payback against Adrien. But all this love…”
“... which I didn’t deserve!” he added hastily, a reminder to both of his act of deceit.
“It changed something. I realized how much I wanted to be the one you loved like that.”
He paused for a moment.
“I’m so sorry. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness… but if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you… Anything! Let me know and I’ll do whatever it takes.״
Marinette paused, now confused, as two pairs of eyes looked at her, anxiously waiting for her response. In a moment she resettled, her eyes turning towards Felix.
“First, whatever grudge you held against Adrien is a thing of the past. No future ones, too.”
“Done.”
“As for the rest… Karma’s a harsh mistress, isn’t she? Looks like you’ve gotten your punishment already.”
Felix nodded gently as he slowly backed away.
---
Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down, as Adrien’s voice made her open them up again.
“Wow, Marinette. You sure handled this like a champ.”
“Um. Thanks!” she replied. “I just hope we don’t get any more surprises like that…”
Marinette focused back at Adrien and in a moment became flustered again.
“Wait, so you know now… oh my god! Adrien, I’m...”
He quickly hushed her with his finger against her lips.
“Shh. If I ever needed a reminder on just how amazing you are, that’s surely it.”
Marinette finally let herself smile widely.
“No more surprise cousins, right?״
“Well, there’s still Julius...” he ventured. Marinette punched him lightly in the shoulder, giggling, as Adrien retracted his statement.
“You know I’m joking. No more cousins from me, it’s a promise! Now, would you let me make it up to you?”
“With pleasure. You can start by sharing this bûche de Noël with me.”
“Oh, definitely!”
They both grinned. A moment before she unpacked her brown bag though, Marinette had a sudden insight.
“Say, Adrien… where does Felix come from, again?”
“London, why?”
---
“So, Karma really is a dangerous one to mess with, but that’s the story on how I met your mother.” Felix stood there, a smile plastered on his face as Emma pouted.
“No, it’s not. It can’t be!” she protested.
“I’ll have to tell you the rest some other time because we have to go now. But you can probably guess the rest of it…
… when you realize that at the time, I had absolutely no idea that Marinette had a cousin too.”
Bridgette giggled in affirmation. “Oh, I had so much fun with you at payback day.”
“Don’t worry, my dear Emma,” she said, turning towards her daughter. “You’ll get to hear that part, too. It’s a promise.”