Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Carefully!” The man exclaimed, for a moment holding her tightly to his chest after he caught Marinette in the middle of her fall, saving her from the bruises that would inevitably await her otherwise.

If she wanted to make it to graduation, Marinette needed to either start watching her step when she walked, or get herself a bodyguard. And now, being enveloped in a pleasant masculine scent and firmly pressed against a strong chest, pleasantly felt through the thin fabric of his shirt, she began to lean towards the second option.

But the sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared when the man abruptly pushed her away, helping her stand up straight. “You need to watch where you’re going!” He grunted in displeasure and took a step back.

As the young man spoke, Marinette was staring at him – simply unable to take her eyes off him.

Tall, blond, with a strict suit and a piercing gray-green gaze, which seemed to instantly reach the depths of her soul, displacing everything that was there before his appearance...

Until this moment, Marinette thought that such men, with such looks, would suddenly appear out of nowhere right in front of someone’s eyes to save them only in the movies.

And yet he stood right in front of her, handsome and irresistible...

And don’t let her even start on his strong hands and his scent that seems to be forever stuck in her respiratory system…

“Damn-you’re-gorgeous…” Marinette muttered as she continued to devour him with her eyes.

The man’s eyes widened a little and it seems his cheeks even slightly darkened from a blush, but he quickly came to his senses. “I suspect this isn’t the first time you fall today, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” He spoke with an annoyed expression. “And apparently the first time you hit your head, too.”

“Have we met before?!” Marinette asked in surprise when she heard her name from the beautiful stranger, feeling her heart beat faster at how pleasant the sound of his voice seemed to her, despite the fact that he was clearly trying to sound stern.

“Very funny!” The-savior-from-the-movie grunted, turned around and walked down the corridor.

Marinette hurried to follow him, completely forgetting that she was going to the lessons, but fortunately the blond turned into her classroom. He walked up the steps and sat down in the seat right behind her desk.

Maybe he’s a new student? – The girl thought, sitting down at her desk, and – just in case – turning around to check if the man of her dreams was really sitting behind her.

He did.

Good. – Marinette breathed out in relief, but continued to periodically look back at him, unable to help herself.

The young man just rolled his eyes at her in annoyance.

Plays unapproachable! – She guessed and smirked, because it only made him more attractive and fueled her excitement.

Her classmates kept coming into the classroom, but Marinette didn’t pay much attention to them until Alya finally came and sat down next to her. “Nino isn’t responding to my calls!” She reported in a worried voice.

Marinette turned to her. “Yes-yes,” She answered hastily so as not to be distracted by unnecessary topics. “I’m sure he’s fine! But listen, who’s this hot stuff behind me?!” She got straight to the point in a rather loud whisper.

Alya looked at her in confusion. “Did you mean to say ahead of you?” She clarified.

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Why would I say that if he sits behind me?” She asked, annoyed that her friend didn’t answer her question, and again glanced briefly at the guy behind her, who turned away, diligently pretending that he didn’t hear them.

Alya looked at her as if Marinette had lost her mind. “What is this, a joke?” She asked in confusion.

“Why does this have to be a joke?!” Her friend asked back, losing patience. “Come on, Alya, I need a hand here!” She said as she leaned over to her friend. “He seems to know me… Well, we seem to study in the same class… Is he a newbie?”

“He is no newbie!” The journalist barked. “He is the same impudent brat who has been studying with us for a year!” She said, glaring at the blond behind.

Marinette also turned to look at him and licked her lips. “Delicious brat…” She said with a dreamy smile.

Alya nudged her in the side with her elbow. “Hey, girl!” She whispered in her ear with concern. “He will hear you!”

Marinette continued to undress the young man with her eyes. “I really count on it…” She purred, resting her elbow on his desk, to which the blond finally glanced at her, but as soon as he met her eyes, he turned away with an unhappy look.

The girl turned back to her desk and leaned over to her friend. “So, Alya, what do I do?!” She demanded. “The lesson will start soon, I should at least get his phone number!”

Her friend continued to stare at her, puzzled. “You’ve got his number, Marie, you’re a class rep…” She frowned as she thought, then realization flickered across her face. “What are you going to write to him?!” The journalist demanded in a suspicious voice.

“I’ll think about it during class…” Marinette smiled as she stood up from her desk. “And now I still have a chance to talk live.”

She walked over to the blonde’s desk and sat on top of it. “Hey, handsome!” She smiled at him, not hiding her interest – there was very little time left before the start of the lesson, so she had to make her point clear.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, your behavior is inappropriate!” He snorted in annoyance, to which Marinette only smiled wider and leaned over to him.

“You could punish me for it if you want…” She offered and bit her lower lip playfully as she heard Alya gasp behind her.

“Did you get the wrong address?” The young man asked in annoyance, – he really was a tough nut to crack if he didn’t fall for such frank flirting, but Marinette didn’t plan to give up.

“And why is that?” She asked playfully. “Is there a more appropriate place for us to talk? I don’t mind if we stay alone and you give me a detailed lecture on how to behave.”

The guy rolled his eyes. “Firstly, such games don’t work on me.” He said frankly, which Marinette was grateful for because now she knew she needed to change tactics. “And secondly, Adrien is sitting over there.”

The girl turned and looked where he nodded, and saw another blond, whose face seemed very similar to the man of her dreams, but this one was very red at the moment. “Oh, hey, Adrien!” Marinette waved her hand happily, and again turned to her target. “I didn’t realize how similar you two look! Are you Adrien’s older brother?”

“Wha...?” The blond started, but trailed off and sighed. “Ok, Miss Dupain-Cheng, this was very entertaining, but now could you please clear my line of sight – the lesson is about to start.”

Marinette raised her hands in surrender. “OK, you win!” She said and smirked. “I will leave you alone for the lesson, but on one condition.” She promised.

“If it’s part of some show the class is putting on and that you want to drag me into,” He began irritably. “I already said that I’m not going to participate in any…”

“Shh...” Marinette interrupted him by pressing a finger to his lips. “Don’t waste so many unnecessary words, darling. Just tell me your name.”

The guy looked at her with wide, stunned eyes and blinked.

Satisfied that she finally got his attention, Marinette slid her finger down his lips and hooked his chin, lifting it slightly towards her. “So, do we have a deal?” She asked, looking down at his lips.

The blond stared at her for a moment longer, then nodded slowly.

Marinette looked up at his eyes, which seemed especially deep, as if for the first time since she saw him he began to actually perceive her, and that dense wall of detached irritation, behind which he had previously been hiding, slightly lowered. “What’s your name, Mon Ange?” She murmured softly.

The young man swallowed nervously. “F-felix…” He spoke quietly, keeping his stunned gaze on her.

Marinette gave him a satisfied smile and jumped off his desk.

Maybe she actually had a chance to get the attention of this mind-blowing man, because now she knew his name and Alya said that Marinette had his phone number saved, so she didn’t have to wait until the next break…

And how could Adrien hide this art piece from her for so long?!

This intense gaze… As if burning through her mind…

But now Marinette saw that it was only a facade, and she could bet that with the right treatment she could make him as smooth as silk and obedient as a trained puppy...

She sat down at her desk deep in thought and sighed dreamily as Alya leaned over to her. “I figured it out!” Her friend whispered, knocking Marinette out of her fantasies. “I looked at the latest news on the net – there were already several reports of selective amnesia!” She announced excitedly. “No one has seen an Akuma, but people report the same symptoms as you have: the person doesn’t remember someone they knew before.”

Marinette frowned. “Are you saying that an Akuma hit me?” She asked, surprised – she didn’t meet any Akuma on her way to school...

Alya solemnly nodded, “I’m absolutely sure!” She confirmed. “You’ve never acted like this, especially with him!”

“So, I do really know him!” Marinette almost squealed in delight, because it meant that she really could already have that dreamboat’s phone number and she could write to him already during the lesson – to continue her tactics of winning his heart!

Well, not only his heart, of course – she could bet that something interesting was hiding under that suit, considering what she managed to feel through his shirt when he caught her in the fall...

“Hey, girl!” Alya called out to her, knocking Marinette out of her dreams again. “Are you listening to me?!” She asked irritably.

“Yeah, sorry…” Her friend responded distractedly. “So what’s up with the Akuma…?”

“I don’t know what’s up with the Akuma!” Her friend snorted. “It’s YOU who should know what’s up with the Akuma!”

“Hmm…” Marinette shook her head. “I didn’t see anyone…”

“I’m not talking about that!” The journalist whispered annoyedly, and nodded at Marinette’s purse.

The girl opened her purse in confusion and saw Tikki peeking out from there. She winked at her kwami and leaned over to Alya. “I don’t think Tikki saw the Akuma either…” She reported.

Her friend looked at her in such a way that Marinette realized that some other answer was expected from her. “What does this have to do with it?!” The journalist barked in confirmation of her guess. “Don’t you think you should go, you know, look for them?..” She whispered into her friend’s ear.

“Oh…” Marinette uttered, remembering that as Ladybug she should have rushed off to find the Akuma.

Of course, Alya was right, but…

Then she would have to leave the man of her dreams unattended… And what if someone wins his heart during her absence?! She couldn’t take that kind of risk! Besides, the Akuma didn’t seem to be causing much trouble for now, right?..

“Listen, Alya…” She began cautiously. “You’re saying everything right, but first I need to gather more information…” She explained in order not to reveal her true motives. “You yourself said that no one has seen them yet, so it’s possible I would only waste my time and all that, – skip classes for nothing…”

She turned to steal another glance at the blond hunk behind her.

Felix – even his name sounded wonderful…

Alya caught her eye and looked at her friend skeptically. “Right.” She snorted. “Because the lessons are exactly what interests you the most today!”

Marinette smiled, never taking her loving gaze off Felix. “Okay, you got me.” She confirmed. “I just don’t want this yummy to be eaten while I’m gone.” She confessed shamelessly, in a not-so-quiet whisper, then turned to her friend. “But the rest is also true!” She said much quieter. “So, what else is there about this Akuma?”

The journalist was clearly unhappy, but she took out her phone again and began flipping through the pages. “The principle by which people forget someone isn’t clear.” She said. “But friends of hit people report that they behave unusually towards forgotten people…” She muttered as she read the news, then her face seemed to light up with realization. “Maybe Akuma changes the attitude towards a person to the opposite?!” She asked quite loudly, clearly so that Felix could hear her.

Marinette rolled her eyes. Was this girl even on her side?!

She turned to the blond and shook her head as if to say “Don’t listen to this nonsense!”, then turned back to her friend. “Alya, I can tell whether I like a guy or not.” She spoke loudly enough for him to hear her too. “And I definitely would like to unwrap this chocolate bar… Or maybe even try the filling…”

She turned to Felix, who was staring at her slack-jawed, – and winked at him. Meeting her hungry gaze, the young man swallowed and turned away – blushing all over his face.

“Come on, girl!” Alya exclaimed indignantly. “You can’t let yourself act like this! You’re under Akuma’s influence! You can’t know exactly what effect it had on you!”

“Akuma?!” A voice came from the front desk, where only Adrien has been sitting so far. “Was Mari hit by an Akuma?”

“Seems very much like it!” Alya confirmed irritably.

“That… explains things…” The model muttered and glanced at Felix.

Marinette realized that Adrien also implied that without the Akuma, she wouldn’t have behaved this way towards his older brother, – and it made her terribly upset.

“Listen, Agreste,” She said with a frown. “You’re my very good friend and I love you, but you can’t be on her side!” Alya and Adrien stared at her with shocked expressions, which only encouraged Marinette to continue. “I mean, don’t you want me to win your brother’s heart and marry him? – Then you’ll officially become my brother!” She turned and looked at Felix. “Damn it, I can’t take my eyes off him! That piercing gaze… – I get goosebumps all over my skin…”

Marinette was probably talking pretty loud, because she noticed that now the whole class was looking at her, dumbfounded.

But why?

“Why are you all staring at me like that?” She exclaimed in annoyance. “Can’t you see how gorgeous he is?!”

“Mari, he literally has the same face as Adrien…” Alya spoke softly.

Marinette looked at Adrien, then back at Felix.

“No he’s not!” She stated with confidence. “His eyes have a slightly gray tint, and his features are sharper, and he looks older, and his lips…” She licked her lips, about to describe in detail how Felix’s lips were different, – and probably add a couple of comments about how she would like to taste them, – but Felix took his bag and got up from his seat.

“I am not a shop window mannequin, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” He said sternly, not even blushing, – maybe she went too far trying to show him how much she likes him?

Felix went to the exit of the classroom and, passing by Miss Mendeleev at the door, – she had just come to start the lesson, – only grunted. “I don’t feel well.” And then he left the class without waiting for her permission to leave.

Daring, damn it! – Marinette thought with a sigh as she followed him with her eyes.

The school bell just rang, so running out of class to catch up with him now would probably be something out of the ordinary for a class rep. Although Marinette felt that she was ready to do it if she was sure that Felix would be glad to see her.

But maybe she should give him some time?

Miss Mendeleev only had time to say hello to the class with a displeased look – however, she always looked displeased, so maybe this wasn’t connected with the student who suddenly left the class, – when Nino ran into the classroom, apologizing for being late.

After receiving permission from the teacher to enter, he went to his desk, but froze, staring at Alya. The journalist crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him, offended, while Adrien pulled Nino by the sleeve, reminding him to sit down at the desk.

Marinette looked at Alya in surprise and leaned towards her as the teacher started the lesson. “Don’t you want to say hello to your boyfriend?” She asked softly.

“Obviously not.” Alya snorted. “He doesn’t consider it necessary to answer my calls!”

Nino turned and stared at Alya as if seeing her for the first time, and Miss Mendeleev cleared her throat. “Mr. Lahiffe, you may chat with your girlfriend during recess, you are already late.”

Nino’s eyes widened. “My what…?” He asked, looking between Alya and Marinette in confusion. “Mari’s not my girlfriend…”

“She’s talking about Alya, Nino.” Adrien whispered, yanking on his friend’s elbow to turn around.

Nino complied, but continued to minutely look back at Alya. “Listen, dude, this girl behind me, the beautiful one, with glasses, is she Alya?” He asked Adrien in a whisper, but his words were clearly audible in the silence of the class.

To everyone, apparently. “Mr. Lahiffe!” The teacher called out again in a stern voice.

“Sorry!” Nino squealed and turned to the blackboard with an unnaturally straight back, pretending to be an attentive student.

Alya pushed Marinette in the side. “He got hit by an Akuma too!” She whispered.

“You think?” Marinette asked in surprise – she was too busy with her thoughts about how to get to the runaway hottie man – so she didn’t delve into what was happening around her much.

“Obviously!” Alya whispered angrily. “He doesn’t remember me!..” She thought for a moment, then whispered again. “But this breaks my theory…”

“What theory?” Marinette asked distractedly, searching for Felix’s name among her contacts while hiding her phone from the teacher under her desk.

“That Akuma changes the attitude towards a forgotten person to the opposite. Unless Nino hates me…” She reached forward and poked her boyfriend in the back with her pencil, to which he turned around in surprise. “Hey, do you hate me?” The journalist asked him directly.

The DJ looked at her with his eyes wide. “Me? Why should I hate you?!” He asked, almost frightened.

“You haven’t answered my calls all morning!” Alya reminded him offendedly.

Nino’s eyes widened in even more surprise. “Was that you?!” He asked, then broke into a happy smile. “I had no idea it was you, pretty girl, otherwise I would have answered right away!” He reassured her just before receiving another reprimand from the teacher, along with a warning to be removed from class.

But Marinette wasn’t following the classroom noise anymore, because she had found two Felix’s on her contact list, and since she knew one of them as a longtime bakery customer, her blond dream man had to be the other one.

She quickly flipped through the previous chat – they really should have known each other because the chat was quite long, but consisted mainly of technical messages regarding studies – information that Marinette usually sent out to her classmates as a class rep – and Felix’s short answers.

Marinette pressed her lips together firmly and typed a message.

Me: hello good lookin’

Chapter Text

The message was read almost immediately, and Marinette’s heart flipped over from this fact, but there was no response. She sat there for a moment, frowning at the screen, then typed in the next text.

Me: I can see that you read my message

Me: did I offend you?

Finally, the dots started running on the screen and Marinette looked impatiently at her phone, excited to read what he was writing, but the message didn’t appear for a long time. The girl frowned again, but decided to be patient and give Felix time to think, and was soon rewarded for her patience.

Felix Fathom: a person can’t be offended by another, Miss DC, they can only offend themself. And I just don’t want to get involved in a conversation with a person who can’t think clearly and can’t be responsible for their actions

Marinette raised her eyebrows in surprise.

At least the man of her dreams answered her instead of ignoring her texts, so not everything was lost. Plus, Felix didn’t seem particularly aggressive, but Marinette still decided to be careful – not to scare him off.

Me: I know my name, what day, month and year it is, I know how I got into class and what I did before – so I can be considered thinking quite clearly, don’t you think?

The message was read instantly, which made her smile – because it meant that Felix didn’t even leave the texting app and waited for her answer. Maybe she managed to get his attention after all? – Marinette thought, pleased with herself.

Felix Fathom: and yet you are acting very much out of character

Me: is it so out of character to flirt with a guy I like?

Felix Fathom: that’s the point, Miss DC, you don’t like me

Marinette re-read the message again, – there were a couple of things in it that seemed wrong to her, so she set out to clarify them one by one.

Me: first of all, how can you know that I don’t like you?

Felix Fathom: well, you with the memories of me don’t like me

Me: you can’t know that

Felix Fathom: yes, I can

Felix Fathom: your usual behavior clearly indicates that

Me: maybe me with memories just hides her feelings for you

Felix Fathom: you can’t know that because you have no memory of me at the moment

Marinette nervously tapped her fingers on the table.

Felix was right, of course. But not in the fact that she didn’t like him, but in the fact that now she won’t be able to prove to him that she likes him both with memory and without it – because she was absolutely sure that there was no way she didn’t like this man!

But now Felix won’t believe her, so he was right that it was useless to try proving it right now, because Marinette had no evidence other than her own certainty.

So she decided to clarify another matter instead.

Me: ok

Me: let’s leave the question of whether Marinette with memory likes you or not for now, although I’m sure she does – I’m her, after all

Running dots reappeared on the screen, and Marinette hurried to continue so as not to give him the opportunity to contradict her.

Me: but since we know each other well and study in the same class, why don’t you call me Marinette?

The dots stopped running and nothing happened on the screen for a while, so Marinette waited patiently, and even looked up from the phone to pretend that she was listening to the lesson in the meantime, – only to catch Alya’s condemning look.

Marinette put on a very studious but still fake smile on her face and again buried her gaze under the desk – at the screen of her phone, where the long-awaited answer finally appeared.

Felix Fathom: our relationship is not conducive to this

Me: why don’t we change the status of this relationship then?

The dots flashed on the screen again, and Marinette almost went crazy as she explored their dance pattern because the message didn’t appear for a long time: either Felix typed and erased – not sure what to say, or he typed out a long reply. And judging by the text that appeared on the screen, – it was the second option.

Of course! – Marinette thought with a smile before reading it, Felix gave her the impression of a man who would always find something to answer! And for sure it would be something smart...

Felix Fathom: Miss DC, today in class you showered me with compliments, flirted with me very expressively and then practically proposed to me instead of sighing for my cousin like you usually do. Therefore, I do not consider it possible to change the status of our relationship in any way, if only because when the memories of me return to you, you will regret your actions. And I prefer not to have the feeling that I am taking advantage of the situation

Marinette re-read the message several times and came to the following conclusions:

1. Adrien and Felix are cousins, not brothers like she assumed – that was the simplest thing that immediately caught her eye.

2. She probably went too far with compliments and embarrassed him, so she should apologize for it.

3. Felix refused to change the status of their relationship not because he didn’t want to, otherwise he would have said so – in class he seemed quite tough and frank in expressing his displeasure. So it seemed more like he was worried about how she would feel after her memory returned.

4. Felix acted like a gentleman and didn’t want to “take advantage of the situation”, which must have meant that he would like to take advantage of it otherwise, right?

5. It was very disappointing that the messages didn’t convey the intonation of the speaker, because it seemed to her very strongly that jealousy was heard in Felix’s words about Adrien, but she couldn’t know it for sure.

Marinette kept the last couple of conclusions close to her wildly jumping heart with particular hope, but decided not to put pressure on Felix by pointing it out right away and let him get used to her – their communication had clearly been more formal before.

Me: I’ll try to be more restrained with compliments, I didn’t want to embarrass you, let alone force you to leave the lesson

Felix Fathom: I wasn’t embarrassed. I know my own worth, so external assessments – whether they are good or bad – don’t embarrass me. I only left so as not to let you embarrass yourself in front of the class with your frankness while your memory is gone

Marinette smiled as she read his text and admired this man even more.

Of course she didn’t embarrass him with her compliments! Felix was too sure of himself for that! He was just trying to take care of her! Although, it wasn’t clear why Marinette was supposed to be embarrassed of her behavior – after all, she was telling the truth, – he really made a huge impression on her...

Me: why should I be embarrassed by my sympathy?

Felix Fathom: because your opinion of me will be different once the akuma effect wears off on you

Me: we don’t know that

Felix Fathom: we know that

Me: so if I hadn’t lost all my memories of you, you wouldn’t mind my flirting and compliments, right?

Felix Fathom: no, because neither would have happened

Me: what if it did?

Me: if we met again and I would remember you and behave the same way, how would you react?

The dots on the screen didn’t jump and there were no new messages, so Marinette looked up again, deciding that Felix was thinking about how to behave with her.

That made sense. If one of her classmates suddenly started flirting with Marinette without remembering her, she would probably also be careful with this person.

Marinette checked her phone, but there was still no answer. She sighed and resisted the urge to write to him again. After all, Felix didn’t ignore her all this time, which means that he doesn’t ignore her now, too. So she could give him some more time to think.

The class was almost over when a new message finally appeared on her phone screen.

Felix Fathom: Miss DC, you and I have a complicated relationship. We often argue and many people consider us enemies. I must admit that I am inspired by our discussions and I find in you an interesting interlocutor and a worthy opponent, but I’m afraid your opinion about me was not formed at the best moment of my life and has remained the same since. So I am not quite ready to discuss with you the theoretical ways of the development of our relationship, which won’t have any influence on reality.

Marinette stared at the screen for a long time, digesting everything he wrote.

So, they met when Felix behaved somehow unattractively (inappropriately?) and he himself understands this and for him it was just a difficult life period. Judging by his description of Marinette and their interaction, Felix respected her, but gave absolutely no hint as to whether he viewed her as a romantic interest.

Although he definitely blushed today when she flirted with him... Could he blush if he didn’t have any feelings for her? Perhaps her behavior would seem to him just stupid…

Or not...

Marinette tore her eyes away from the screen and looked at her best friend.

Alya probably knows what exactly was that bad thing Felix did, but her attitude towards Marinette’s future husband (as she mentally appointed him) was clearly negative. At the moment. And Marinette was now in no position to convince the journalist otherwise, because she didn’t know the details of what had happened.

But she couldn’t ask Alya about those details either, because her friend would probably try to convince Marinette that she didn’t like Felix, and the designer already knew that she couldn’t disprove that claim yet. Apart from her inner confidence in this fact, – which even Felix himself didn’t believe, – she had nothing.

So Marinette dismissed the option of asking her friend for information.

Probably the easiest thing would be to wait until her memory returns, to transform and go look for Akuma. But for some reason this action didn’t seem right.

If the Marinette with memories of Felix for some reason didn’t show him her romantic interest, – this was her chance.

Because Marinette was sure she had feelings for him. One glance from him made her chest explode with an abundance of fluttering insects, and when she happened to be in his arms while he caught her as she fell, she almost melted at his proximity.

So Marinette had two explanations.

First, – Marinette with memories wasn’t aware of her own feelings for Felix because she couldn’t get rid of some old idea about him, obtained as a result of an unfortunate misunderstanding. So now, when she had no prior opinion of him, she had a chance to help herself.

Second, Marinette with memories was aware of her feelings for him, but hid and suppressed them because everyone around her considered them enemies and she was too susceptible to other people’s opinions. In this case now she also had a chance to help herself, because it seemed to Marinette that there were no barriers in the way between them and nothing could stop her in the process of winning Felix’s heart.

In either case, Marinette couldn’t go for the Akuma hunt until she won his sympathy, because she might not have another chance to do so.

Marinette sat in her thoughts for so long that she didn’t notice the bell ring.

Adrien immediately jumped up from his desk and was next to their desk, and Nino wasn’t far behind him. “Alya, so you think there is an Akuma in the city?” The model asked, frowning.

Nino looked at the journalist with a stupid distracted smile and didn’t seem to notice that his friend had already asked the girl a question. “So, you’re Alya, right?” He asked without taking his eyes off her. Are you Mari’s new friend?

Alya rolled her eyes and turned to Adrien. “Does this answer it for you, Sunshine?” She asked irritably. “If it was only about Mari shamelessly flirting with your cousin, I might think she went crazy or something. But when my own boyfriend doesn’t remember my name at the same time, – I think we have a pattern here.”

“But the Internet says that no one saw the Akuma…” Adrien muttered, glancing briefly at Nino, who was blushing.

“Am I your boyfriend?..” The DJ asked nervously. “I mean, I don’t mind, you’re like…” His gaze flickered over Aya’s figure and Nino swallowed nervously. “You’re just… wow…” Then his eyes widened in horror. “I mean… it’s not that I only like that…” He blushed even more. “I mean, of course I like it… But I… uh...”

Alya listened to him, – her arms folded on her chest and her foot stamping on the floor with annoyance. “Now we know two things about this Akuma,” She stated, giving her boyfriend an appraising look. “Their effect doesn’t change the attitude towards the forgotten person to the opposite, which means that some other principle is at the basis of the change in attitude.”

“But Mari and Fe…” Adrien began to object, but Marinette interrupted him with an offended voice.

“Why does no one believe me when I say that I really like him?!” She snorted irritably.

“Who, Adrien?” Nino asked in surprise, having missed the entire morning scene before class.

Marinette looked at him even more annoyed. “I used to like Adrien, of course.” She admitted. “But that was so long ago, – I was a child!” She continued without noticing the surprise on the model’s face. “But today I met his older brother…” She drawled dreamily, remembering how deftly Felix caught her and for a moment wrapped her in his arms…

“Cousin?!” Alya and Nino corrected her in one voice, only the DJ expressed the question and he blushed again, noticing this synchronicity. “He-he… look, we even think alike…” He said dreamily.

Alya rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s oblivious attitude again and returned her attention to Marinette.

“Cousins, right, I forgot! Haha!” The designer laughed. “But he’s like… insanely hot… and so strict… I wouldn’t mind him ordering me around somewhere in private, if you know what I mean…”

Alya looked at her with her mouth open and shaking her head disapprovingly. “You’re utterly shameless, girl! And I understand the essence of this Akuma less and less...” She looked her friend in the eyes carefully with the air of an investigator conducting an interrogation. “So, you do remember liking Adrien.”

“Of course I do, Alya!” Marinette confirmed. “I mean, I was following him at the photo shoots like a stalker, and came up with all sorts of crazy schemes to get us together…” She turned to the model, whose face was already flushed by this time and whose eyes were round with amazement. “Sorry for that, Adrien, you’re probably used to having weird fangirls, but I promise, I don’t do that for a long time. And I don’t want my silly old crush to interfere with our friendship. You’re very important to me.” She closed her eyes with a dreamy sigh. “Besides, if I manage to win your cousin’s heart, we’ll become relatives!”

When Marinette opened her eyes, both Alya and Adrien continued to look at her in bewilderment, only Nino didn’t take his admiring eyes off his girlfriend.

Adrien swallowed. “So, you like Felix that much, huh?” He asked, recovering a little.

“Of course I…” Marinette started, but her friend cut her off.

“Of course not!” Alya blurted out. “I mean, I can’t be sure if she really doesn’t see you in a romantic way anymore,” She admitted looking at Adrien. “But it’s true that crazy schemes with stealing phones and camouflages really didn’t happen for a long time.” She scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. “I need to pay more attention to my friend’s personal life,” She admitted, looking back at the dreamy brunette. “Mari stopped sharing her thoughts with me on this subject for quite some time, but I’m sure her newfound sympathy for your cousin is only the result of an Akuma hit.”

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest in displeasure that no one believed her, but she already knew that now she didn’t have the opportunity to prove it to them, so she didn’t enter into an argument.

The bell for the next lesson rang and the guys went to their desks – Nino looking tirelessly back at Alya, Adrien – in deep thought.

Marinette took out her phone and reread today’s texting with Felix. Then she pursed her lips stubbornly and began to write the next message.

Me: sorry, my classmates distracted me a little

Me: so

Me: what I suggest is

Me: let’s pretend that we’ve never met and don’t know each other

Me: and just chat

Me: no pressure

Her messages were read very quickly, as if Felix held his phone nearby, waiting for her answer, – Marinette noted with hope.

Felix Fathom: for you that’s the way it is

Felix Fathom: because you don’t remember me

Felix Fathom: but all the pressure of our previous communication remains on me

Marinette’s face broke into a predator smile as she typed her response.

Me: believe me, if I were around right now, I would make sure that you experience completely different pressure

The message was read immediately, but there was no response. Then the dots jumped and disappeared. Then they jumped again.

Felix Fathom: Marinette with memory will be very angry with you when she reads those texts

Me: Marinette with memory can suck it

Me: I like you and I’m gonna be very clear about it

For a while, there was no activity under her red message, then the dots jumped again.

Felix Fathom: your friend is probably right

Felix Fathom: your feelings could be reversed

Me: my friend doesn’t think so anymore

Felix Fathom: just because you managed to convince her that you like me doesn’t mean that you do

Me: I didn’t manage to convince her of this, even when I explained to her that my crush on Adrien had passed a long time ago

Me: but her boyfriend has lost his memory of her and he obviously still likes her

Me: so this assumption turned out to be groundless

Felix read the messages again and didn’t respond, and Marinette patiently waited for him to digest the information. After all, he never once told her that he didn’t like her, so the dynamics could be considered positive. And if she’s careful and patient, maybe she'll be able to help Marinette with memory more than she hoped...

Felix Fathom: yet somehow you chose to forget me

Me: I thought we already agreed that i didn’t choose this

Me: akuma chose it for me

Me: of my own free will, I would never forget you, mon ange, you can be sure

Felix Fathom: Marinette, you never showed such interest in me while you remember me, so you must understand that I can’t take your thoughts and actions seriously right now

Marinette felt a warmth rise in her chest at the fact that he wrote her name, – it could definitely be considered progress. So she hurried to continue the conversation.

Me: the question is, would you like to take them seriously?

Felix Fathom: this conversation doesn’t make sense

Felix Fathom: I suggest we continue it when your memory returns

Felix Fathom: in case you still have such a desire

Marinette began typing that she had no doubts about her feelings, but realized that he wouldn’t believe her anyway and deleted the text. Then she wrote that they would definitely continue this conversation when her memory returned, and also deleted it, because she couldn’t guarantee it.

She pursed her lips resolutely and tucked her phone into her bag.

If she wanted to get this amazing man for Marinette with a memory – that was clearly not able to openly express her feelings for Felix to him – then she needs to move to more effective actions.

Chapter Text

At the next break, Marinette came over to Miss Bustier, who was teaching their previous lesson.

“You must have noticed that Felix is not in class today.” She said. “He didn’t feel very well and went home.”

The teacher nodded. “Yes, he sent me a message.” She confirmed. “I hope there is nothing serious with him.”

“I’m sure there isn’t.” The class rep smiled. “However, he will miss today’s lessons, so I wanted to bring notes and homework to him, but I can’t find his address. Could you duplicate it for me?”

Miss Bustier smiled back. “Of course, Marinette! You’re such a great class rep, you know how to take care of everyone.” She took out her phone and started tapping something on the screen. “I’m sending you his address. Tell Felix we’re worried about him.”

Marinette smirked. “I’ll make sure he knows that.” She promised and turned away to her desk to get her bag — now that she had his address, she wasn’t going to waste time at school.

What were a couple of missed lessons worth when you were going to win the heart of the man of your dreams?!

But of course she was intercepted by her *cough-cough* best friend *cough-cough*. Marinette frowned, thinking that if Alya continued to interfere with her love life like that, they would have to reconsider the status of their relationship.

“I know where you’re gonna go.” The journalist reported, blocking her way.

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t confirm nor deny this fact.” She responded defensively, intending to continue on her way, but Nino and Adrien had already joined them again.

“So you both didn’t see the Akuma that hit you?” The model asked, looking from Marinette to his best friend and back again.

And why was he so interested in this Akuma?! – Marinette thought irritably, but decided she could spare a couple of minutes for her closest friends. After all, only she could purify the Akuma, so she still had time to seduce Felix.

“I remember everything that happened this morning perfectly well, Adrien.” She replied with a friendly smile. “But I didn’t see any Akuma.” She admitted.

Adrien looked at Nino questioningly. “What about you, bro? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?” He asked.

Nino tore his eyes away from Alya with obvious difficulty and looked at his friend. “Other than this terrible traffic that made me almost late for school, nothing much happened.”

Alya looked at her boyfriend with interest. “What was special about the traffic?” She asked. “Now that you said this, I remembered that I read several references about unusual traffic congestion in the city today.”

Nino blushed slightly, basking in her attention. “Well… my bus wasn’t arriving for a long time, so I went on foot, and while I was walking, green lights flashed at several intersections at the same time from all sides – so cars and pedestrians started moving all at the same time, and then they all stopped in the middle of the intersections blocking each other’s way, and these crowds of people were difficult to get around.”

“Exactly!” Marinette picked up, remembering how she had taken the order to one of the clients in the morning before school. “I also saw a flash of green traffic lights from all sides! But I was in a hurry to get to school and didn’t give it much thought.”

Adrien grabbed Nino by the shoulders and turned him around. “What else, Nino?!” He demanded. “Were there any strangely dressed people or something like that?”

“I didn’t see any strange people…” The DJ muttered, trying to see Alya behind the model’s back.

“So, the Akuma is somehow connected to the traffic control system and acts through it…” Adrien spoke quietly under his breath and finally released Nino. “You know, guys, I completely forgot about the photo shoot, which I’m already late for! Can anyone lend me their notes later?” And without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the bag from his desk and went to the exit of the classroom. “Thanks, bye!”

Alya turned to Marinette, grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. “Do you understand what that means?” She whispered, looking meaningfully into her friend’s face.

“That Adrien has a bad memory?” Marinette wondered in confusion as she contemplated how she could escape the school before the teacher returned to class.

“No, Marinette! Focus!” The journalist demanded. “That we know where to look for Akuma!” She explained even more quietly, leaning to Marinette’s ear. “You need to transform and find them!”

Marinette sighed in annoyance. “Alya, I understand everything, but right now I really have a more important matter that requires my attention.” She said, and finally reached her desk to grab her backpack.

But she managed to escape only to the corridor, where her friend caught up with her. “You are under the influence of an Akuma, girl!” She reminded. “You can’t trust what you think you feel right now!” She leaned closer again and whispered in her ear. “Especially when you have to save the whole city!”

The designer looked at her friend and firmly clenched her fists. “Or maybe now is the only time when I can trust my feelings, which cause so much doubt and condemnation in everyone, and which is probably why I hid them from everyone and why no one knows about them!” She blurted out in a single tirade in the stunned journalist’s face.

She was about to apologize to her friend for raising her voice – after all, it wasn’t Alya’s fault that Marinette-with-memories hadn’t told her about her feelings for Felix, – which she was sure she had, – but the journalist got ahead of her, saying what Marinette least expected to hear from her.

“You really stopped stuttering and blushing around Adrien and talking about him romantically a long time ago.” Alya spoke thoughtfully. “I attributed it to your growing up and hoped that soon you would be able to take more serious steps…” She confessed. “But if I acted too aggressively towards your new romantic interest without noticing your liking for him, and that’s why you didn’t tell me about your feelings, I’m really sorry, girl…”

Marinette looked at her with her mouth open in surprise. “So…” She began hopefully. “Are you admitting that I might have liked Felix before… you know… I lost all memories of him?”

Alya frowned. “I mean… You do have a tendency to talk about him a lot…” She admitted with the same thoughtful look. “But usually it’s more about how he annoys you…” The girl continued, as if digging through her memories. “But then again, sometimes I get the feeling that when we are at school, you talk more with him than with me, even if your discussions mostly consist of disputes and confrontations…”

Marinette beamed, – her theory seemed more and more real! And maybe Alya was still worthy of the place of her best friend.

“But Marinette, you do understand that you now have a more important responsibility, right?..” The journalist recalled in a whisper. “You can’t deal with personal matters while an Akuma is running around the city…”

A sly, self-satisfied smile played on Marinette’s lips. “Or can I?” She asked, and after quickly removing the earrings from her ears, put them in her friend’s hand, then kissed Alya on the cheek and ran down the corridor to the exit of the school. “Have fun you two!” She said, turning to her dumbfounded friend.

*

The woman who opened the door for her and spoke French with a heavy English accent was probably a housekeeper. She politely invited Marinette to wait in the living room and promised to invite “Master Felix” right away, confirming that he was at home.

Marinette was so eager to see her sassy, handsome blond again that she couldn’t sit, but only paced back and forth in the living room, nervously looking at the paintings on the walls. Now that she had given her miraculous to Alya, she didn’t have unlimited time anymore.

But her friend was right – there was no need to delay the capture of Akuma because of personal matters – nothing prevented them doing both things at the same time. Marinette will just need to be more persistent and make her future husband fall in love with her in the shortest possible time.

She was so busy thinking about how to do it that she didn’t hear the living room door open. “You again?!” A pleasant for her ear, albeit stern, voice was heard behind her, and Marinette turned around so abruptly that she lost her balance and, entangled in her own legs, began to fall.

Her chosen one instantly caught her by the hand, while his other hand grabbed her waist from behind, holding the girl in a semi-horizontal position and not letting her fall. His face hung over hers and seemed worried, his eyes slightly wide, his lips parted.

Marinette’s lips were also parted, and in fright, she didn’t immediately realize how close they were, and only looking up at his eyes she came to her senses and for a moment lost all ability to think sensibly from the way a million needles pierced her chest with sharp warmth from his worried, concentrated look.

And how, pray tell, could a girl avoid falling head over heels in love with this strong amazing man, who seemed to hide his care for her behind his harsh facade and so deftly saved her from falling for the second time today?!

It was as if his agility compensated for all her clumsiness, as if her softness counterbalanced his hardness.

As if they were made for each other.

And she was going to prove it to him.

Her gaze fell to his lips and Marinette licked hers, lifting her eyes back to his. It seems that Felix finally realized how close they were, too, because his eyes widened even more, – not from fear that she might fall, but from some other emotion, which was probably related to a slight color staining his cheeks.

The man swallowed and looked like he was about to straighten up when another voice sounded in the room.

“Oh, sorry kids, did I interrupt you?” A female voice asked.

Marinette caught another emotion on Felix’s face before he straightened up, helping her to her feet, and turned to the front door, where stood a woman who – judging from the pictures she’d seen in the Adrien’s house – looked a lot like Emily Agreste.

“Not at all, mother.” Felix replied sternly, but Marinette could see that the color still adorned his cheeks.

Realizing that she was meeting her future mother-in-law for the first time, Marinette turned to the woman and smiled benevolently. “Good afternoon.” She greeted her politely.

The woman’s smile was just as polite. “Feli, will you introduce your guest to me?” She asked and immediately turned back to Marinette, not waiting for her son to fulfill her wish. “I’m Amelie, this young man’s mother.” She introduced herself.

Marinette immediately liked this woman, so she took a step forward, holding out her hand for a handshake. “I am Marinette, this young man’s future wife.”

Marinette heard a weird strangled sound behind her back, where Felix stood, at the same time that Amelie laughed merrily. “Hahaha! That’s pretty much what I told my husband’s parents when I first met them.” She said with an amused voice. “You’ll definitely fit into the family, right, Feli?” She said happily, ignoring Marinette’s hand and wrapping her in a friendly hug instead. Then she pulled away and looked at Marinette with a sly expression. “So, you must be that same Miss Dupain-Cheng that I have heard so much about?”

Marinette turned in confusion to Felix, who suddenly found an incredible interest in studying the patterns on the floor. She turned back to Amelie, feeling her heartbeat quicken with joy at the thought that he could be interested in her even before she began to seduce him, because he even mentioned her to his mother. “Only good things, I hope…” She clarified cautiously.

“Absolutely!” The woman readily confirmed, taking Marinette by the arm and for some reason leading her away from the man of her dreams. “Will you have lunch with us, dear?” Amelie asked.

Felix caught up with them and blocked the women’s way. “No, mother, Miss Dupain-Cheng doesn’t feel well, she’s already leaving.” He stated sternly.

“I don’t…” Marinette tried to protest, but Amelie cut her off.

“If Marinette isn’t feeling well, we can’t let her go!” She said decisively. “Take your guest to your room and let her rest on the sofa. I’ll send you water. And tea – in case Marinette gets better.”

Felix opened his mouth, obviously about to protest, but then he looked between the women and seemed to decide against arguing. He sighed and turned around to open the door for Marinette. “This way, please, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

Marinette once more politely smiled at Amelie, and after receiving a warm, mysterious smile in return, followed Felix to his room.

To his room!

The arrival of his mother only brought her closer to fulfilling her plan to seduce the hottest man alive. In addition, on his own territory, he’ll probably be more comfortable, and maybe he’ll even relax and weaken his defenses...

Felix closed the door of his room behind her, and instead of inviting Marinette to rest as his mother suggested, he sat down on the sofa himself, resting his elbows on his knees and dropping his face into his hands as if he were tired.

It was even better that way, – Marinette thought, – he knew that she was in good health, well, except for a partial memory loss, of course. But most importantly, it will be even more convenient for her to carry out her plan.

Perhaps Felix was just worried that Amelie caught them and met Marinette. Or maybe that she told the girl that he mentioned her at home.

In any case, it was only to her advantage.

Maybe this way he will quickly understand that there is no point in hiding his feelings from her? If Marinette was right and he had them, of course…

He wasn’t wearing a jacket at the moment, only a shirt, so Marinette could see how tense his shoulders were. She walked to the back of the couch and leaned over him – Felix didn’t seem to mind her closeness at all when they were in physical proximity – apart from when he called her behavior inappropriate.

But that was only because they were in school, right?

“You are too tense.” She spoke softly, and just as softly placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them slightly.

His muscles tightened even more under her touch, and after feeling them so well, Marinette wasn’t sure she could stop touching him…

But she promised that she wouldn’t violate his boundaries, so she had to first make sure that she was right and Felix was comfortable around her. And if not, take the slower path of seduction.

“Is it ok when I touch you like this?” She asked carefully before making another massage motion, but without taking her hands away from him.

Felix was silent for a couple of seconds, his shoulders tense under her hands, then he exhaled slowly and his muscles finally relaxed, as if in surrender. “That’s not the point.” He muttered.

Marinette bit her lower lip, trying to temper her fluttering chest from the fact that he didn’t push her away. She pressed her fingers into his shoulders, grabbing his muscles in a gentle massage motion, then relaxed her palms again. “So you don’t mind if I do this?”

Felix sighed again. “It’s wrong.” He said.

“Right and wrong don’t really exist, do they?” Marinette argued as she resumed her massaging movements on his shoulders. “There’s only something you like or don’t like.” She leaned closer to him and asked quietly right into his ear. “So, what would it be, Felix?..”

The man froze and seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Then his body tensed up again and he slowly straightened up, forcing her to do the same.

Maybe she was putting too much pressure on him?

It was obvious that there was no hint of romance between them before her memory loss, – since none of her classmates and even Alya noticed it, – and Felix himself insisted that her behavior didn’t betray any feelings she might have. It could be that she was wrong about the reasons he was comfortable next to her, and blushed, and talked with his mother about her. He could just respect her for her strong opinion, like he told her before, – which meant that she had to take things slow.

“Marinette…” Felix spoke in a tense voice, but goosebumps ran through her body at the sound of her name anyway. “We’re not in a close relationship, but the way we communicate is stable at least, and I wouldn’t want to ruin it just because you’ll hate me even more for your own behavior under the influence of an Akuma. For me letting you act like this.”

Marinette frowned and removed her hands from his shoulders. “I… see…” She said quietly.

Maybe she got it all wrong? Maybe there was no need to speed things up at all?

Felix was clearly a private person, and perhaps through their constant discussions and verbal skirmishes, he gradually got used to her, slowly letting her into his life. Then, by rushing things she would only prevent Marinette with memories from getting him. As much as she wanted to be with him, she couldn’t deny that everything indicated the Akuma’s influence on her. But the thing was – she wanted him forever, not just for a short period of time until Akuma was caught...

Then the best plan to seduce Felix would be to show him that she respects his privacy and leave. Alya could help her to think it through later on, when her memories come back – after all, Marinette managed to convince her, right? And then she could continue her plan of seduction already with her memory and no one could deny her feelings just because a couple of memories disappeared from her head...

“It will be better if I return to school.” She said softly and turned to leave the room. “I’ll ask someone for notes from missed lessons for you.” She promised as she walked to the door.

She reached for the doorknob and was about to open the door when Felix caught up with her and grabbed her hand. “Wait!” He said, frowning.

Marinette looked at him in confusion, not sure of what plan to seduce this man she should apply now that he held her hand and she didn’t want to leave anymore and trust to finish the job to Marinette-with-memory.

Not that she actually wanted to leave him in the first place...

“I didn’t mean that I wouldn’t like to… That I…” Felix sighed again and looked at her attentively. “Will you remember this when the Akuma effect ends?”

“Hmm…” Marinette thought about it. “It’s hard to say for sure.” She admitted. “Sometimes the influence of Akumas is purely external, like Reflekta, and people who have been hit remember everything. But when it comes to mental changes, such as with Dark Cupid, then the victims of Akumas didn’t remember what happened to them.” She looked at him with interest. “I would definitely like to remember how I feel right now.”

There was doubt in Felix’s eyes. “You might change your mind about this statement when you get your memories about me back and only feel embarrassed and angry at me.”

“So, you’re only worried that I will be angry with you?” She asked carefully.

“I already said that it would be unpleasant for me to lose the stability that we have come to lately.” Felix admitted. “Even if from the outside our communication seems conflicting to people, I… enjoy your company.”

Marinette swallowed and decided to hell with all the delays with seduction, because Felix himself didn’t let her go, and he admitted that he didn’t want to lose her, and he took her hand. And this meant that she did everything right, and it worked, and she had to make the most of her time – even if she forgot everything that’s happening now afterwards and Marinette-with-memory had to sort out the mess – if she was so blind that she didn’t see how incredible this man was or so indecisive that she couldn’t express her feelings to him – this were her personal problems.

Marinette turned fully towards Felix and carefully took hold of his tie with her free hand. “And would you be pleased if I was right and it turned out that Marinette-with-memories also really, really liked your company?..” She asked quietly, slowly moving her gaze up from her hand on his tie to his eyes. “And she was just a coward to admit it and was hiding it from you…”

Felix looked at her hand on his chest and swallowed, but he still didn’t let go of her hand.

He met her eyes. “Marinette-with-memories isn’t a coward.” He answered confidently. “If she has some reasons to hide her feelings – in case she has any – these reasons must be important to her and I… we both should respect them.”

Marinette felt another wave of warmth spreading inside her chest at the idea of Felix protecting her from her-without-memories-of-him and her lips twitched into a smile. “But don’t you think she might need a little push anyway? If I forget everything, would you tell her how important she is to you, hmm?” She asked softly, leaning back against the door and pulling him lightly by his tie so that Felix hung over her. “She IS important to you, right?”

The man looked at her almost fearfully, but didn’t try to pull away. “She… is…” He spoke in a barely audible voice, keeping his eyes on her lips and swallowed.

Noticing the direction of his gaze, Marinette felt a new wave of anticipation and confidence that her method of seduction was working. Or maybe Marinette-with-memories had already done most of the work for her?.. So she just had to make sure that Felix wouldn’t stay away from her when her memories returned and she would probably forget this whole conversation and everything that had happened since the Akuma hit.

She tugged harder on his tie and he let her, and now his face was so close to hers – she could even feel his uneven breathing on her skin.

Marinette stared at him through slightly closed eyelids. “I can see that you want to kiss me just as much as I want to kiss you…” She whispered, throwing her head back more – to face him better.

Felix braced his free hand against the door next to her head, as if to keep the distance between them, but his other hand squeezed hers, making her heart pound even faster. “Will you stop torturing me if I admit I do?..” He spoke quietly, – almost pleading in his voice.

Marinette closed her eyes and tugged on his tie a little harder. “You just did…” She whispered as his forehead met hers.

His rapid breath touched her lips as he whispered. “Please, Marinette… I can’t… we can’t…”

Even through her closed eyes, Marinette saw a swarm of numerous red magical bugs, enveloping her entire being for a moment, and the last thing she had time to think was that she almost... almost…

What was that almost-thing that she was supposed to do?..

Chapter Text

Marinette opened her eyes and blinked in confusion, not quite understanding where she was or what was happening, but Felix Fathom’s face was definitely hanging over her face so close that his lips almost touched hers.

Her eyes widened as she realized that he was pinning her against the wall, one hand resting on the surface behind her head – as if he was about to kiss her – just like that time on the roof when they stood almost identically, but he was dressed like Adrien and she was dressed as Ladybug...

What the hell?!

Did Felix decide to molest Marinette the same way?!

And Although this time her body reacted to his proximity differently, she instantly wrenched her hand that she found in his and tried to pull away: whatever she felt for him, it was inappropriate behavior on his part anyway, because Felix had to make sure she wanted it first, right?!

“What the hell are you doing?!” She yelled, pushing him away from her. “Let me go!”

Felix’s eyes went wide and Marinette saw a genuine horror on his face that she had never seen before. He immediately stepped back from her at a respectful distance and, looking around, the girl realized that she was in a room she had never seen before, too.

“What’s going on?!” She demanded. “Where am I? What… what are you…” Marinette wasn’t even sure how to formulate her question, – the feeling that she didn’t know how she ended up here and what happened to her before it was… confusing… disturbing even…

Felix took a small step towards her, raising his arms up at chest level with open palms, as if he were about to soothe a feral animal. “I promise, Marinette, nothing happened… I…”

“Marinette?!” She exclaimed harshly, feeling an urgent need to protect herself from the softness in his voice, from the fact that he suddenly called her by her name and from how warmly this sound echoed in her chest. It made her feel even more confused and therefore act more defensively. “Did you hit your head, Fatom?!”

Felix’s face changed right in front of her eyes, as his emotions were hidden and his expression became habitually hard and unapproachable.

But instead of allowing her to also feel the usual way next to him, for some reason it made Marinette feel somehow uneasy, as if something broke inside her, and in hindsight she realized that she felt some kind of connection between them before that, as if they were open to each other…

But maybe she just imagined it?

After all, this was the reason why she forbade herself to feel anything for him. He would never in his life develop tender feelings for her – this was Felix Fathom, cold and gloomy, and the only positive emotions he depicted were for his pranks and could only be a game.

Somehow, this statement that Marinette had accustomed herself to over the past months didn’t sound quite as convincing in her mind today...

And where were those distant wonderful times when she calmly dreamed of three children with Adrien, with whom she couldn’t even talk easily then, which made her dreams inaccessible and therefore no effort was required from her to achieve them?..

Now she was older, and regularly woke up from wet dreams about his cousin, whose gaze pierced her to the depths of her soul and made it impossible to think about anyone else. And she couldn’t even discount her feelings this time due to the unavailability of the object of her desires…

Although Felix was unavailable to her internally, their constant arguments and discussions didn’t give her the opportunity to distance herself from him enough for her dreams to be abstract. Instead, the tension that arose between them in their permanent disputes only drove her more crazy, making her want him more...

Marinette shook her head, driving away the surging thoughts – now wasn’t the time for whining, she didn’t even understand what was happening and had to urgently figure it out.

The girl glanced around the room again. “Where am I?!”

“It’s... uh... my room.” Felix replied, swallowing nervously, – it was extremely unusual for her to see such signs of weakness in him.

“As in... in your house?!” Marinette asked, bulging her eyes at him – it always seemed to her that Felix Fathom wouldn’t let her even on the threshold of his house because of how annoying she must be perceived by him – and then it turned out that he somehow dragged her here without her knowledge…

She took an aggressive step towards him and Felix stepped back, so Marinette continued her advance until he was almost back-to-back against the wall. “Listen, Fathom, I don’t know what’s going on here,” She said sternly, looking into his face. “But if you…” Marinette trailed off as she noticed the way Felix was looking at her. His eyes were open wider than usual, as if in fright – his gaze was fixed on her lips, his mouth dropped open as Felix sucked in air and seemed to be holding his breath.

Marinette stared at him suspiciously. “You’re acting so weird that it worries me even more than the question of how I got here.” She admitted without taking her eyes off him.

Felix swallowed, slipped between her and the wall and turned away from her. “It’s not me who has been trying to seduce an innocent classmate since early morning by flirting with him and stalking him all the way to his house.” He grumbled with resentment.

Marinette didn’t immediately understand who he was talking about and who was chasing whom, – her attention captured by the resentment that sounded in his voice that was clearly directed at her. It was even weirder because the way he was just looking at her... it seemed that he wanted to...

“But now that the Akuma effect is over, you can leave me alone and return to your usual hatred of me, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“Akuma?..” Marinette whispered in fear – the memory loss of the events leading up to this situation that she experienced finally starting to make some kind of sense – and that sense was terrifying.

Because she didn’t fight any Akuma...

Which could only mean one thing...

Marinette was seized with horror and with trembling hands she reached for her ears...

There were no earrings...

Marinette felt her body shaking.

What she had always been so afraid of and tried to avoid... that her emotions would take over and her enemy would sneak into her mind, akumatize her and take her miraculous.

The girl sank helplessly to the floor, almost unable to feel her legs under her. “I… w-was akumatized… He t-took my m-miraculous…” Her lips trembled, eyes blurred with tears.

“What are you talking about, miss Du…” Felix began, turning around, but trailed off when he saw her sitting on the floor.

His eyes widened — or so it seemed through her tear-contorted gaze — and he rushed over to Marinette and crouched beside her, grabbing her by the shoulders, but now his closeness wasn’t as unsettling as everything else.

“Marinette…” He called softly. “What’s the matter?..” He asked, gently squeezing her shoulders and looking into her face with concern, but Marinette barely perceived him at that moment, – her mind diligently trying to systematize the information received.

Felix was talking about her, apparently.

The fact that she flirted with him and pursued him while she was akumatized wasn’t particularly unexpected – she had long suppressed her feelings for him, and probably, like it was with Evilustrator, they broke out and distracted her from the main thing – confronting her enemy.

Marinette looked up at him hopefully: if she was with Felix constantly, like he said, he must have seen her give away her earrings. She must have been so infatuated with him that Shadow Moth had to come here for her miraculous himself. But it also meant that Felix could tell her what had happened.

“Where’s Chat?” Marinette asked with worry. “Did Shadow Moth take his miraculous as well?”

Felix looked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about, Marinette?” He asked, frowning. “You weren’t akumatized, you were hit by an Akuma who... seems to have reversed your feelings...” He said as if the words felt bitter on his tongue.

Marinette stared at him in the same bewilderment for a moment, then she raised her trembling hands to her ears again and touched them. “But… But my earrings…they are gone…” She whispered, even more confused with what was happening and therefore feeling completely defenseless.

“I don’t know where your earrings are…” Felix admitted, still frowning, then he suddenly looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time in his life. “Wait, why did you say that…” He trailed off, staring at her with wide disbelieving eyes.

“Oh no…” Marinette whispered, only now realizing that if she wasn’t akumatized, but someone purified the Akuma, then Alya must have stolen her earrings when Marinette was hit – to do her friend’s job for her…

But that meant she had just betrayed her biggest secret…

…to Felix Fathom.

In a sudden surge of adrenaline, Marinette jumped to her feet and rushed to the door, muttering “I gotta go” and trying to convince herself that he didn’t understand anything, and that her secret identity wasn’t in danger.

Felix didn’t try to follow her when she fled his house, intuitively finding her way to the exit in unfamiliar corridors.

Her self-deception didn’t help much though, so she knew she’d have to face him soon.

And not only about the secret of her identity, apparently…

*

“It all makes sense now, you know?” Alya sighed as she came to her to return the miraculous.

Marinette lifted her head from the pillow and frowned at her friend.

She could describe what happened to her today in many ways, but ‘makes sense’ definitely wasn’t one of them.

“Your behavior and loss of memory of Felix, I mean.” The journalist explained, sitting down on the bed next to her. “You probably don’t remember anything, just like Nino… God, I barely got rid of him to transform… Don’t worry, girl, I’ll tell you now, and you’ll understand everything.” She promised as she stroked Marinette’s hair.

Her caring tone only made Marinette feel worse, because if Alya tried to calm her down, it meant that she actually had done something terrible and her friend had a reason to comfort her...

“I questioned the victim in detail after I purified the Akuma and restored everything, so I think I know exactly what effect it had on you.” The journalist said. “Refresher – that’s what she called herself. She works in a city traffic management system and was engrossed in her work because of a big project that the mayor assigned them, and her fiance was also doing a big project in his company, so they kinda drifted away.”

Marinette lay on her side, listening to her friend’s story – at least it didn’t require her to deal with her problems immediately and she could forget about them for a while...

“This morning when her boyfriend left for work and forgot to kiss her goodbye, she realized how distant they became.” Alya continued. “I think Shadow Moth caught her while she was panicking about it. She told me that she only wanted to refresh the relationship with the man she loved and avoid any distractions from the most important thing – her feelings.

So I came to the conclusion that people, under the influence of her hit, lost their memory for the person they had feelings for, but when they met this person, they seemed to sharpen all their previous feelings for them, and nothing could stop them from expressing these feelings. The fact that this Akuma was hiding in the city transport control system and giving people a “green light” on their feelings was very symbolic, actually.” She finished and looked at Marinette. “You don’t remember anything at all, do you?”

Marinette groaned at the need to clean up the mess she apparently made and covered her face with her hands. Maybe if she stays in bed and pretends nothing happened, her problems disappear?

“I get why you didn’t tell me about him, girl.” Alya admitted. “And I don’t insist that you discuss your feelings for him with me. But I thought you better know what happened before you see him again.”

Marinette looked up at her from under her palms. “Was I that terrible?” She asked carefully.

“Well, your flirting was pretty shameless, but I think everyone will understand that you were under the influence of an Akuma, so…” She spread her hands. “But if you need my help to sort out your feelings, I’m here for you.”

Marinette remembered Felix’s weird behavior in his room, and although she now understood that it was she who molested him and not him pinning her to the wall, why he allowed her to get so close to him was unclear. It didn’t fit the picture she had of him.

“How… uh… how did he react to my… flirting?..” She asked cautiously.

Alya shrugged. “The way he reacts to everything, I suppose – rude.” She said, disappointing her friend’s fragile hopes, – maybe Marinette was just so disoriented in his room that she only imagined everything? “Though at some point he seemed to get flustered and I saw him blush when you called him your angel and asked for his name while sitting on top of his desk. He even obeyed you back then.”

Marinette’s eyes widened, but before she could freak out at the picture her friend described, Alya checked her watch and got up from her bed. “Okay, girl, I gotta go, but if you want, I’ll come to you in the evening and we’ll talk about everything.” She suggested. “Also, I’m pretty sure you texted him the whole time before you went looking for him – probably to his house, because I heard you get his address from Miss Bustier.”

Marinette followed her friend with her eyes, thinking about how she misunderstood everything when she came to her senses in his room, and only now realizing in hindsight that his tie was in her hand as he hung over her…

Did she pull him to herself by the tie?..

The picture seemed so bold, and… exciting, too…

Marinette felt terribly ashamed that she attacked him with accusations. Although it was nothing compared to the shame she felt at the thought of what Alya had described in class…

Was she really acting so provocatively in front of everyone?

Marinette sighed and – almost against her will – reached for her phone.

On the one hand, she didn’t want to know what she could text him, on the other hand, she desperately needed to know it. Because what she said to Felix was what probably caused him to call her by her name... It was what convinced him to let her into his room… Made his stand so close to her without pushing her away…

And the horror on his face at the moment when Marinette accused him of molesting her didn’t seem at all feigned...

Maybe she was mistaken about him? Maybe there was something real in Felix Fathom? Maybe his coldness was only external and he knew how to feel? Maybe she was wrong to completely dismiss the possibility that anything could ever happen between them?

Maybe Marinette-without-memory somehow managed to win his heart?..

And if not, then she needed to understand what was happening between them at least in order to know how to talk to Felix about the fact that he probably now guessed about her secret...

Their today’s texting has been preserved, – probably restorative magic didn’t attribute it to the harm caused by the Akuma, which Marinette couldn’t quite agree with, but in this case she was rather grateful for it.

Marinette leafed through the texts for the morning with a non-standard “hello good lookin’” from her side, and after exhaling slowly, she began to read.

Ok, ok, no panic, at first everything looked no worse than Alya described, one might say, almost harmless, – Marinette reassured herself. And Felix’s responses looked like he was just trying not to interact with her, answering almost politely and not even making fun of her behavior, despite the fact that her texts looked rather… insistent.

Felix Fathom: that’s the point, Miss DC, you don’t like me

Marinette sighed. If Felix was so convinced of this and had no intention of making fun of her, – she thought resentfully, – why did he reply to her texts at all?!

Me: maybe me with memories just hides her feelings for you

God, she really wrote that to him, didn’t she?.. And asked him to call her by her name…

Then something he texted caught her eye.

Felix Fathom: Therefore, I do not consider it possible to change the status of our relationship in any way, if only because when the memories of me return to you, you will regret your actions. And I prefer not to have the feeling that I am taking advantage of the situation

It really sounded to Marinette as if Felix wanted to change the status of their relationship and the only thing holding him back was that he thought she didn’t want that.

But maybe she only imagined it again? It was only a text, after all, and it was difficult to judge something by it…

In any case, Marinette needed more than that to allow herself to truly believe in something different than what she made herself believe in...

Felix Fathom: I only left so as not to let you embarrass yourself in front of the class with your frankness while your memory is gone

Did he really try to take care of her reputation?

From what Alya described to her, the memoryless Marinette’s behavior in class should have been very outspoken...

Me: so if I hadn’t lost all my memories of you, you wouldn’t mind my flirting and compliments, right?

Felix Fathom: no, because neither would have happened

Me: what if it did?

Me: if we met again and I would remember you and behave the same way, how would you react?

Marinette held her breath as she read his reply.

Felix Fathom: Miss DC, you and I have a complicated relationship. We often argue and many people consider us enemies. I must admit that I am inspired by our discussions and I find in you an interesting interlocutor and a worthy opponent, but I’m afraid your opinion about me was not formed at the best moment of my life and has remained the same since. So I am not quite ready to discuss with you the theoretical ways of the development of our relationship, which won’t have any influence on reality

She exhaled slowly.

He clearly talked about the time he dressed up as Adrien and recorded a video on his behalf. Marinette found out that Felix lost his father much later than the incident, but she has long linked his behavior then with his loss. But it seemed that Felix had remained cold and hard ever since and the opinion of his classmates about him remained the same. And with how distant he was, often limiting his communication with them mainly to arguing with Marinette, it did nothing to improve their opinions.

But now, while she was reading his texts, it seemed to her that Felix only hid the warmth that was in him, remaining closed from people so that he wouldn’t be hurt again.

Losses do this to people.

At that thought, Marinette badly wanted to let him know that the world had much more warmth than pain, that he didn’t have to hide himself from her, but she immediately remembered her rude behavior in his room today when she woke up from the effects of the Akuma.

Damn it!

Her hands itched with the urge to act.

She needed to finish reading these texts and decide what to do next.

Me: believe me, if I were around right now, I would make sure that you experience completely different pressure

Marinette’s cheeks flushed at such a shameless hint, but Felix’s response sent the warmth from her burning face into her chest, because he was standing up for her... in front of herself...

Felix Fathom: Marinette with memory will be very angry with you when she reads those texts

Marinette with memories wasn’t angry.

Many emotions exploded in her chest, but anger was not one of them.

Rather, she was even grateful to that sassy Marinette for having dared to risk expressing her feelings, which, judging by what Felix wrote her next, might even have some chance of reciprocation.

Felix Fathom: Marinette, you never showed such interest in me while you remember me, so you must understand that I can’t take your thoughts and actions seriously right now

Felix wouldn’t be fiddling with her and her texts so carefully if he didn’t care. And – whatever happened in his room after this that changed his mind, – but he was about to kiss her, right?

God, Marinette needed to see him!

But she couldn’t dare face him now that she knew how she’d been acting with him all day...

Me: the question is, would you like to take them seriously?

Would he?

Felix Fathom: this conversation doesn’t make sense

Felix Fathom: I suggest we continue it when your memory returns

This was the answer for her.

Marinette slowly sighed once more and typed in the message with trembling hands.

Me: so

Me: how does one continue a conversation that wasn’t really started by them?

Her texts were read almost instantly, as if Felix had his phone close at hand. Though she didn’t know if he always read messages as quickly…

It probably didn’t matter now because the dots on the screen started jumping as Felix was writing his answer.

Marinette thought she was going to get crazy, waiting...

Felix Fathom: Miss DC, I offer my deepest apologies for allowing myself to touch you when you weren’t aware of your actions. This was inappropriate behavior on my part and has no excuse. I promise that apart from the touch that you witnessed, nothing else happened and I understand if you don’t want to see me again.

Marinette read the message once more.

She had the feeling that he had been thinking about what to write to her all this time since she ran away.

Although Felix was extremely good at expressing his thoughts and did it in a very structured way and instantly, there was a sense of thoughtfulness and integrity in this text, as if he wanted to express everything at once in case she really didn’t want to communicate with him anymore.

It sounded like he cared.

Me: judging by the texts that I just read, I was very aware of my actions

He read her message immediately, but there was no response.

Then dots flashed across the screen. Then they disappeared. Then they began to run again.

But there was no answer.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, – realizing that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know how to behave with the other somehow comforted her, as if despite everything that had happened today, it made them equal.

But she knew she had to do something.

Perhaps she could start by apologizing for the unjustified accusations she’d made against him.

Me: I was told how I behaved, so I want to apologize for assuming the worst when I came to my senses. It wasn’t fair to you

This time the answer came pretty quickly.

Felix Fathom: It was. It looks like you had reason to think of me that way because of the way I behaved with you once

Anxiety ran through her body in an unpleasant wave.

So, Felix realized she was Ladybug. She blurted out too much and he was too smart not to catch on, and now he was clearly talking about the incident with her superhero alter-ego, – he had never acted like that with Marinette.

Me: should I be worried now that I said too much while being confused?

He answered right away.

Felix Fathom: no

Felix Fathom: I have no intention of hurting you, Miss DC, and I apologize for the incident when we first met, too. It wasn’t the easiest period of my life and I’m not proud of my actions

Marinette found herself smiling at how different Felix was today, how cautious he was with her, as if he was afraid to frighten her off just like she was afraid to frighten him off. As if she hadn’t imagined that there was some kind of openness between them in his room today.

It made her feel more confident. And, probably, act bolder.

Me: I thought you call me by my first name now

Felix Fathom: will you be comfortable with it? Today, before you left, it didn’t seem that you liked it very much

Marinette pursed her lips together to give herself more confidence and typed in an answer.

Me: or maybe the change in your behavior was too sudden for me to immediately admit how much I liked it

The dots ran and stopped. Then they ran again. And they stopped again.

It wasn’t until Marinette began to doubt that she should have admitted to Felix that she was pleased when he called her by her first name that his answer finally appeared on the screen.

It was worth her wait though.

Felix Fathom: Marinette, today was an emotional ride for me, and the fact that you don’t remember anything only makes it worse. You are important to me. You asked me to tell you about this if you forget our conversation. I admit, I wasn’t going to do it, because I was sure that you wouldn’t be interested. But now I’m not sure of anything anymore. And it’s torture for me, because I’m used to standing on the ground with both feet. Only this morning I still thought that I didn’t want to lose the stability that was between us, albeit in a dispute. But your actions made me realize that there’s something that I want more than stability in my life, and therefore you are now reading these lines.

Marinette swallowed, – her heart pounding like a mad hammer, her hands shaking, her lips dry with excitement.

Me: and what is it that you want more than stability in your life?

His answer came immediately, and when she read it, Marinette knew that there was no turning back for her heart.

Felix Fathom: it’s you, Marinette

*

When Marinette entered the classroom the next morning, almost all of her classmates were already sitting in their seats.

Including Felix.

Alya waved her hand, Adrien smiled at her, Nino threw a friendly “What’s up, dude!”

Marinette nodded to everyone at once, threw her bag on her desk and, without taking her eyes off Felix, who was also intently watching her, went up to his desk.

Her heart was beating wildly as she stopped next to him, but the slight blush on his cheeks reminded her of what Felix had written to her yesterday, and it made her bold. The fact that he was willing to lose his stability for her made her strong, and Marinette wanted to show him that he didn’t have to lose anything.

She sat on top of his desk without taking her eyes off his.

“Hey, pretty boy,” She smiled. “I was wondering if you’d go out with me tonight?..” She asked, leaning slightly towards him and ignoring the way her face burned.

It didn’t matter, because the blush on Felix’s cheeks also grew brighter.

“Again?!” She heard Adrien’s worried whisper behind her.

“I don’t think so…” Alya answered him, also in a whisper, in which Marinette could discern her friend’s pride in her.

“Again what?..” Nino’s bewildered whisper was heard, to which Marinette smiled wider.

“It depends.” Felix spoke softly.

Marinette saw his eyes sparkle with happiness and it seemed to her that he could hardly suppress a smile.

“Anything you want, Mon Ange…” She spoke quietly, – rather to be in tune with him. After the shame experienced yesterday, it seemed that her comfort zone had expanded so much that now Marinette was no longer worried about what her classmates would think of her.

“I wouldn’t dare to ask ANYTHING I want.” Felix spoke. He folded his hands on the table and leaned on them, tilting towards her.

Marinette leaned closer to him until her face was right next to his. “Would you like me to give you some courage?” She suggested, and from the way Felix’s eyes lit up, Marinette knew she reminded him of his own words during their first meeting, when they each wore a mask – whether literally or figuratively.

Felix raised himself even more, closing his eyes and nearly touching her lips with his, and spoke almost into her mouth. “I’m afraid I can’t refuse this offer…”

His whisper intoxicated her, and at that moment for Marinette, conventions were no longer important, and the excited whispers of her classmates surrounding them, too. And the fact that only yesterday she burned with shame when almost the same behavior was described to her seemed to lose its importance as well.

When she touched his lips, the main thing was that Felix responded to her kiss.

Yesterday’s Akuma helped both of them see each other with a fresh look, reassess what was important, what could be feared and what was worth risking. And now their relationship could change status, and a new stability could form in them, based not on arguments, but on feelings that no longer needed to be suppressed or hidden.

Because although it seemed that yesterday’s Marinette helped her win Felix’s heart, maybe, just maybe, it already belonged to her for a long time.