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Her spots came off with laughter, as she leaned into him. Squeezed into the narrow passageway, it couldn't be helped; she couldn't lean the other way.
"Man, that was fun!" She took a shaky breath before bursting into giggles again. "Scary but fun!"
She was talking about running on the rooftops, jumping off them at a crazy speed, trusting in the kwamis granting the superpowers that their suits would absorb the damage if they fell.
Excited, she grabbed his hand.
"Let's do it again!"
Félix flinched. He was still not used to her touches, light and feathery as they were. It was difficult to associate physical contact with affection when it had meant something very different for so long.
Marinette noticed. And Félix noticed that she did. But the last thing he wanted was for her to stop.
So he caught her hand before she could pull it away, shy and embarrassed and inexperienced, and slipped his fingers through the gaps between hers.
Next to her, Félix sometimes felt like an old man witnessing the clumsy first steps of his grandchildren. Sometimes, he was a little kid, stepping into the frightening future.
Seeing her discover his favorite places and things for the very first time was exhilarating. It filled him with the lightness of being, and he was happy to share, though not all at once. He was afraid that once he ran out of things to show her, she would run away and leave him behind.
Boys like him never got to spend much time with girls like her; but she was nice and fun to be around. He didn't want their time to end.
Having a friend like her was worth every trick he had to pull to turn minutes into hours spent together.
He whispered, "Want to see something great?" over the loud beating of his heart. She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb, agreeing readily.
What Félix didn't know was that she, too, lived for those stolen moments, away from everyone else.
She took a deep breath and dazzled him with her smile.
"Always."
He gave a slight nod, peeked around the corner, then pulled her along, as he kicked off the ground in a fast-paced run that made blood rush to his face, covering up the blush he had.
Even out of their suits, their hearts beat to the same rhythm, wild and free, as they wished to be.
Through the shadows and light, through the drizzling rain, they dashed now on the streets of Paris, cobblestones under their feet, wind in their hair, going faster and faster and faster.
They collapsed into an adrenaline-powered heap on the grass by a sign forbidding them from doing it, all giggles and laughter.
“Where are we?”
“Parc de la Villette,” he answered, looking into her sparkling eyes. “But we’re not done yet. Come on!”
He stood up on his shaky legs, not once letting go of her hand even when she pushed herself up, too. His grip was strong, but not in a desperate sort of way. It was as though he was afraid of losing her in a crowd, even though there was no one else out this late at night.
“Where are we going?” she asked curiously.
“You’ll see.” Félix didn’t mean to sound mysterious. He only became aware of it when Marinette nudged him impatiently. “The slaughterhouse.”
She froze like a deer in headlights, heeling her shoes in the ground. “The what ?”
Félix took one look at her face and knew instantly that she had no idea what he was talking about.
“Grande halle,” he explained patiently. “There’s an exhibition there.”
She frowned, “Is it open this time of the night?”
“There’s a way in.”
Hearing that, Marinette skipped closer to him, so they were walking side by side, arms brushing together.
“Are we breaking and entering?” she whispered excitedly. Now, it was Félix’s turn to stop.
“Do you always have crime on your mind or is it because it’s me?”
Marinette smiled innocently and pushed her chin forward. “It’s just that kind of day. Like some people have cheese and wine kind of days? Just, with you, it’s crime.”
“Crime and punishment.” She winked at him. “I saw you reading it at school.”
“I’d rather not talk about books right now.”
Félix had a little trouble with breathing, when she looked at him like that, with her lips pressed into a cute pout.
“What else am I supposed to talk about with you then? I only ever see you reading or during our duties.”
“Do we always have to talk?” he inquired back. “Can’t we just enjoy the silence?”
“I want to get to know you better, and there’s only so much I can learn about you without you telling me anything.”
“Fawn, there’s nothing about me that you need to know,” he said as gently as he could, both flattered that she was interested in him and scared that she’d take off as soon as she knew more.
“Everything about you is on a need-to-know basis, isn’t it? And I never need to know,” she huffed, trying to pull her hand free. Félix, as terrified as he was of this scenario, held on, selfishly refusing to accept it.
“I’m trying to be more open with you,” he snapped, not in total control of himself. “But you can get me in so much trouble, you can’t even imagine.”
“I can get you in enough trouble without you telling me anything,” she shot back angrily. “But have I? No! Because I don’t want to get you in trouble!”
He sighed, “I know. It’s irrational, alright?”
“Alright.” She squeezed his hand, making up for her small outburst. “How are we getting in then?”
“Breaking and entering,” he muttered, a little amused when she perked up at that. “But not the way you’re thinking. My friend has the keys and he’s letting us in, so we can enjoy the exhibition together.”
“It’s been a long while since I’ve been to any exhibit outside of the Louvre.”
“You’ll love it! I promise you.”
The smiles were soon back on their faces.
~ 馬と鹿 ~
The exhibition room was dark, and for a moment, Félix thought that his friend, or more specifically an acquaintance owing him a favor, had let him down. But the music started, quiet at first, then growing into a crescendo, as the walls slowly came to life in an underwater wonderland.
“Humankind’s deep roots in the sea are still present in our frequent interactions with the bodies of water all around us,” murmured Félix, reciting the brochure he’d memorized in the afternoon. “Like many creatures of the sea, we grow at our own pace. Our hearts are intertwined on a primal level, calling out to each other, asking to be saved.”
“It’s beautiful.” Marinette stood still, mesmerized with the fish swimming on the walls, carried by the currents drawing images on the walls.
Félix sat down on the floor, legs crossed. He watched Marinette more than he watched the actual art.
She moved around, excitedly trying to catch the red fish her heart had settled on as her favorite. But the moment she touched it, it erupted into flowers, following her body heat. Then she tried to recreate those flowers on different walls, wondering if she’d just gotten very unlucky or if there was a pattern to how specific flowers appeared.
In Félix’s eyes, her smile was the main exhibit.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, when she sat down next to him, intrigued by the artwork he had accidentally created. Touching the corals gently made them sway as though a fish was swimming through the reef, heavy movements crushed and crumbled them, a reminder of how fragile they were, both corals and humans.
Marinette laid down slowly and sideways, so she could look at Félix, when he lowered his back and turned to face her, too.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Thank you for coming.” Félix wondered if she ever tired of hearing that. Her face betrayed nothing of her thoughts. “I saw this place and the first thought I had was that I wanted to share it with you.”
Marinette cupped his face with both hands. “I’m glad you did. I could stay here all night and it wouldn’t be enough.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
He smiled softly, wondering if holding him in such an endearing way meant she was going to kiss him. His heart tried to break out of his ribcage, displeased with his hopes that anything could happen between them. If anything ever did, it would mean an eventual downfall, a complete failure for his part.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Félix covered her hands with his own, grieving the lost moment before prying her fingers gently from his face.
“Stop treating me like a coral though, Moose,” she said in full seriousness. “I won’t break so easily, and really… I would like to be your friend.”
“We are friends, aren’t we?”
“Proper friends. You know, not just because… we both are in possession of a miraculous.”
“Let’s give it some time, shall we?” He offered gently. It didn’t pacify Marinette, whose cheeks flushed with anger.
“Look… I like you,” she sputtered in a single breath. “And there are times when I look at you and I just want to kiss you senseless.”
“You’re not in love with me, Fawn.” His heart beat loud and fast in protest. “You’re just excited and high on hormones whenever we meet, and that’s not a good motivation. Trust me, I’ve had those moments too.”
Marinette considered his words, and nodded, though she didn’t quite agree with him.
“If you’ve also had those moments, what’s the harm?” She tried to come off as nonchalant as she could. “We could kiss once and see if there’s anything there, and that would be it, you know.”
“Fawn…We both could get hurt, and that could ruin our superhero dynamics, and the list goes on and on.”
“We were both entrusted with the Miraculous, with no explanation from anyone other than the kwamis who can’t seem to ever be on the same side. Yet here we are, fighting the bad guys side by side.” Marinette twiddled with her thumbs before he covered her hands with his own. “The world will not end if we kiss once.”
Félix’s eyes flickered to her coral-red lips, then back to her eyes again.
His stomach twisted with anxiety. What if he kissed her wrong? What if she never wanted to see him after the kiss? What if he wanted to kiss her more, and she didn’t?
It was a cruel experiment she was proposing. But he lost all willingness to disagree at the sight of his pleasant smile.
“Okay,” he exhaled. “But just one kiss.”
Marinette leaned forward. “Right now?”
“Whenever you feel like kissing me.” Oh, his heart was doomed.
Marinette nodded, and returned her hands to his face, tracing his jawline, running fingers through his hair, wriggling closer, so she was almost halfway on top of him. She leaned down slowly, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss which he immediately knew was not good enough. She exercised self-restraint as though testing the ground while really wanting more.
At first, he went along with it. But then his selfishness got the best of him, and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss for a moment before forcing himself to pull away. His heart threatened to explode.
Marinette was also breathless, with a new fire alit in her eyes.
Hurriedly, he got up, and Marinette followed his lead, careful not to destroy the small coral reef they had created just by lying on the floor, as they left.
It was there the next day, when Marinette went there with her family. Instantly, she laid down where Félix had been, just so that she could spend a little longer, pretending he was within her reach. It was the only comfort she needed.
Marinette closed her eyes, and wished for more.