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“You always lie, and you prank everyone, and you can’t ever be trusted!” Marinette blasted in a single tirade, indignantly pointing her finger at his chest. “I know exactly what you’re after!”
She caught Felix on his way from the car to the school and led him away from the entrance – around the school corner, where no one went in the mornings. Something flickered in his hands, but he immediately hid it behind his back, but Marinette had been daring to confront him for several days and was too focused on her goal to pay attention to the little things. Plus Felix followed without arguing and that was all she needed right now.
[Over the past few weeks, he has changed tactics, and instead of opposing himself to his classmates and playing pranks on them, Felix seemed to be able to turn the opinion of the entire class in his favor in a short time. From the outside, it looked like he was making amends, and as a responsible class rep, Marinette should have been happy at such a group dynamic, but...
She knew better than to believe in it!
Because he seemed to gradually become friends with everyone, except her. Even Alya stopped calling him the ‘evil twin’ and constantly resenting him. And it very much reminded Marinette of a situation she’d been in before... with Lila.]
“And what am I after, Miss Dupan-cheng, if I dare to ask?” The young man inquired, looking at her with an attentive, studying gaze, as if she were not a person, but a laboratory experiment, which he observed while peeping into the flask.
[Damn, this guy was smart! Even one look at him spoke about it. And the fact that he used his amazing intellect not for good, but to pull off well-thought-out setups, infuriated Marinette even more…
Of course, sometimes those setups were useful, too.
For example with the same Lila.
When he started attending their class and saw how impudently the Italian hung herself on his cousin, Felix, to his credit, acted rather protective of Adrien. At first, he told Lila that her behavior could easily be qualified as sexual harassment and threatened to deal with this situation legally if the girl didn’t stop invading Adrien’s personal space.
Surely, Lila gasped theatrically at his rudeness, and the class made a disapproving noise, and Adrien himself – the eternal peace maker that he was – quickly said that nothing terrible was happening and that Felix was overreacting.
Marinette saw how Felix’s face became impassive and detached then, and a chill ran down her spine at the hidden threat that she felt from his outer over calmness.
And although later she found out that she wasn’t mistaken, – fortunately this threat wasn’t directed against her, – which she was glad about, because she hadn’t yet met such a talented intriguer as Felix, – whom even Lila wasn’t a match for.
Only a week had passed and Felix seemed to have lost all interest in the girl hanging like a bunch of ripe grapes from Adrien’s hand, but one fine day – not for Lila – when Marinette and her classmates came to the lessons, they found a projector with a series slides and videos prepared for them.
There was information proving not only Lila’s lies, but also the illegality of her actions, so much so that she and her family were threatened with liability before the law. The teacher and the principal, who were invited to the ‘private screening’ were shocked, – they took the girl out of the classroom and the Italian didn’t appear at school anymore.
But it was obvious to Marinette that Felix had no good intentions with this revelation. Maybe he wanted to remove a competitor, or cause chaos in the class, or maybe even just to have fun. But even if he did it to protect his cousin, it didn’t mean that Felix could be kind to someone else – outside his family…]
“You want to turn everyone against me!” Marinette growled in resentment, because she knew that his plan was already working. Felix really had already gained confidence in her classmates, and sometimes they even fell silent when Marinette approached small groups of them whispering in the corners – so his actions were clearly directed against her. “You’re not the first to do it!”
Felix rolled his eyes. “If you’re comparing me to that leech that used to stick to my cousin before I amputated it, then I’m almost offended.” He said in such a skeptical tone as if her comparison really didn’t make any sense. “The ability to lie alone doesn’t make a person smart, otherwise she wouldn’t have walked over the deepest place on thin ice that could be broken with one light touch.”
[He was right about something, – Marinette thought, refusing to agree with Felix of her own accord out loud. Besides, it was always so difficult to argue with him!
To be honest, since he started attending her classes, they constantly entered into verbal skirmishes – mostly over the material studied in the lessons – from physical concepts that Marinette was far from to the characters of the books from the school curriculum. And often Felix built his arguments in such a way that it was hard to disagree with him.
In some matters, it was easier for her to admit that he was right, but how smug he was about it continued to infuriate her.
For example, once Miss Mendeleev asked if the water poured from half a glass of hot water to half a glass of cold water and vice versa would be the same temperature, and the whole class, including Marinette, said yes, when only Felix said no. And of course, Marinette had to begin proving to him that the amount of cold and hot water is the same, and it doesn’t matter which one to pour into which one – they will mix in equally warm water, – it was too obvious to stay silent.
Felix replied that she didn’t take into account all the variables, and that a glass of hot water itself is also hot, and cold water, added to it, would warm up faster using heat from both water and glass, – while the same amount of hot water poured into a glass of cold water will be cooler, because that glass is also cold and would take some of the heat away.
It was the first time Marinette stared at him with an amazed look, as if she had just discovered the mysteries of the world – and that’s not counting the box with ancient magical creatures hidden in her room. Even Adrien, with his deep knowledge of physics, has never turned her views so dramatically.
But of course, in the next moment, Felix grinned smugly at her enthusiastically-confused face and said that she needed to look at the world more widely and then maybe she would begin to notice the obvious things under her very nose. Marinette then snorted indignantly and turned away, not wanting to acknowledge his victory – no matter how obvious it was.
Even worse were cases when their discussions touched more serious issues – human destinies and decisions, when characters from books or just random people were discussed in the class. For example, once, on her usual reproach that he arranges pranks, Felix said that people themselves want to be deceived and generally choose their lives as they want, because in the end they make decisions that are most beneficial to them.
Marinette immediately thought about her superhero role, which she didn’t choose, and of course it wasn’t beneficial for her to exhaust herself from the last strengths by leading a double life. She objected that the inhabitants of Paris didn’t choose to be hunted by infected butterflies, knowing for sure that she was right and Felix would have nothing to argue with her.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked what she would do if she knew that according to forecasts this year her city was threatened by a strong earthquake.
Marinette was confused, not understanding the comparison, but couldn’t immediately answer, because the obvious solution would be to move, but that would mean starting a new life in a new foreign place and leaving everything familiar. In addition, it wasn’t known when the earthquake would occur and whether the forecast was even true, and it would be easier to stay...
As she thought, Felix watched her with the same studying gaze of a scientist conducting an experiment, then said, “Exactly”, – as if he could read her mind and knew what she was thinking. “People choose what feels best for them, even if the only benefit is not putting in the extra effort to change their lives for the better. Same with the Parisians. Same with everyone.”
After such deep topics of their disputes, Marinette usually was coming to her senses for a long time.
It wasn’t even because she was angry, – internally recognizing his rightness and feeling her powerlessness to argue with him. It took her a long time to come to her senses, because Felix puzzled her, attracted her with his depth of understanding of the world and human nature, blew up her mind with a couple of casually thrown phrases which made her want to listen to him more and more, and it became increasingly difficult to pretend to disagree with his opinion.
Thus, almost as quickly as he had ousted Lila from her school, he had ousted his cousin from Marinette’s thoughts – which were now filled only with Felix – whether it was annoyance at his pranks, or admiration for his world view, or resentment for not using his brilliant brain and the ability to manipulate for good.
And once she even caught her own eyes watching his lips in fascination – without her consent, of course!
Felix had stopped to take a sip of water in gym class and a drop flowed down the perfect outlines of his lips, – and Marinette only realized how her body was reacting to the sight when she reflexively swallowed the saliva that formed in her mouth from the desire to taste those lips.
She immediately forbade herself such thoughts, and even if they returned, Marinette persistently ignored them. Because it was even worse than dreaming about Adrien! No matter how naive those old forgotten dreams were, – they were about her friend, while dreaming about her eternal opponent, and possibly an enemy – and so shamelessly devouring him with her eyes – was something completely unacceptable…]
“Being smarter than Lila only makes you more dangerous!” The girl exclaimed, even more annoyed at how easily he again fended off her attacks. “And I know perfectly well what danger you pose to me!”
Felix gave her another skeptical look. “What incredible danger do I pose to you, Marinette?” He spoke in an insinuating voice, narrowing his eyes at her.
The sound of her name on his lips sent chills down Marinette’s spine – it seemed she heard him pronounce it for the first time, and it sounded in his voice not harsh or venomously, as she might expect, but surprisingly soft and pleasant, as if a gentle breeze from the sea enveloped her body. But such an involuntary weakness of her traitorous body in front of him angered Marinette even more, because not only did she lose their disputes to him, but now also her friends, and in addition – herself...
Marinette opened her mouth to answer, but a lump stuck in her throat, and tears came to her eyes from how useless it was to argue with him when she knew that the battle was already lost – so instead of accusations, only short, inarticulate sounds escaped her trembling lips.
“W-were... my... f-friends…” She sobbed as helpless tears flowed from her eyes. “Alone... ab-bandoned... me…”
Marinette wanted to run away, but her legs went limp from weakness and she could only cover her face with her hands, trying to hide her tears from her enemy, to whom, of course, they were already obvious. She hoped that he would just leave and not openly laugh at her – no matter what Felix’s pranks on her classmates were, – they always remained within the bounds of decency, and he didn’t seem like a person who would finish off an already defeated opponent.
She felt a light touch on her shoulders, and then his hands closed behind her back – gently and carefully, as if Felix was afraid that she would hit him for it. But instead, Marinette began to sob even harder, – at how pleasant it felt to be in his arms, and because whether he was doing it to save face in front of her classmates or to tell his cousin later how he supported his friend, – but it was definitely not what it seemed to her, what she would like it to be – a sincere concern, – and it made her feel even worse.
Felix’s embrace tightened around her a little and he pulled the girl closer to himself, taking some of her weight off her suddenly weakened legs. “I really don’t want to tell you the truth,” He said in a low voice, as if they were having a quiet, confidential conversation. “But…”
Marinette forced herself to pull away from him and looked at Felix through her teary eyes, thinking that of course she was right, and he was deceiving her, and deceiving all her classmates, too, – just like Lila did, and now he finally decided to admit it!
And why does she even let him hug her?! And why is he even doing it with his dislike for physical contact?!
And why does it feel so good?..
“But you leave me no choice,” Felix continued, looking steadily into her eyes, as if he didn’t care at all that she was in his personal space, which he never let anyone in. “Because while getting close to people who are important to you, the last thing I wanted to do was make you cry.”
Marinette’s tears stopped dripping, as if obeying his unspoken ban, and she frowned, looking at him in bewilderment.
“It’s... uhh…” Felix spoke up again, answering her silent question. “...your birthday tomorrow, Marinette.”
The girl stared at him with even more confusion, because how did he know about her birthday? And what did that have to do with anything?
Felix pulled away slightly, releasing her from his embrace, and took a small step back, – and Marinette immediately felt cold and ill without his warm arms around her. But before she could argue with the lump in her throat, Felix raised his hand between them with the box he previously hid behind his back, and then behind her back – so Marinette couldn’t really clearly see it before.
The box was beautifully packaged and tied with a pink ribbon, reminiscent of the color of her favorite jeans, and Marinette stared at it like it just materialized out of thin air. “What is this?” The girl asked suspiciously, trying to sound stern, but already anticipating that the answer wouldn’t be what she would have expected to hear at the beginning of this conversation.
A slight blush colored his cheeks, but Felix continued to stubbornly look into her eyes as if he was afraid to miss the climactic scene in his favorite movie.
Maybe this was what his attentive look meant? Not experimenting on her, as Marinette always thought...?
“This... is your present…” Felix finally spoke as he handed her the box. “One of them, anyway.” He added, and now it seemed even the tips of his ears flared with paint.. “We were planning to… uhh…” He started again, but trailed off. “I really don’t want to spoil the surprise for you, Marinette.” He admitted with a frown.
Marinette stared at him with wide eyes as the familiar picture of the world in her mind was collapsing and a completely new one was recreated in its place. And she would never have believed if someone had told her about it at any other moment when Felix’s eyes wouldn’t have looked at her with such genuine concern, and he wouldn’t have just comforted her round the corner of a school where he didn’t even have an audience, – like he really cared.
Because Felix-always-staying-perfectly-calm-and-detached-Fathom blushed as he handed her the gift he had prepared for her birthday. He made up with her friends because they were ‘important to her’ and, judging by the fact that he said ‘we were planning’, he was preparing some kind of surprise for her together with her friends, – which explained the whispering behind her back classmates, – falling silent when Marinette approached them, – in a very different way than she had imagined till this moment.
The new picture of the world didn’t match the old one so much that it took Marinette a little time to recover.
She finally dropped her gaze to the box and felt just how badly she wanted to know what was inside. And it wasn’t a curiosity of a birthday-girl, but a genuine interest in what Felix could choose for her, – because she wanted to understand his true attitude towards her.
But perhaps there were some other ways to find it out without opening the box? After all, opening presents prematurely is considered bad luck...
Marinette carefully took the box as if it could dissolve back into the air in her hands and looked up at the young man who handed it to her. Felix swallowed nervously, – something she had never seen him doing before, – and his lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure if he should do it.
“Thank you.” Marinette said, deciding that now it was her move, and raised herself on her toes, intending to kiss his cheek. But she clearly overestimated the possibilities of her height, because even when she raised herself, the girl couldn’t reach where she was aiming.
But that turned out to be enough, for Felix leaned over to her almost instantly, ready to accept her gratitude, – as if it was a habitual action between them, – which she didn’t quite expect either. Her lips touched his cheek and Marinette felt her face and neck flare with heat as a light jolt of pleasant electricity ran through her body at the touch.
She felt that she didn’t want to move away, and her body froze in place. But there was still weakness in her legs from the previous anxiety, and standing on her toes Marinette swayed, but was immediately grabbed by her shoulders with strong hands and kept in balance and in the same place – where Felix’s face was still very close to hers
Her body instantly remembered his previous embrace and ached to relax in his arms, and Marinette resisted this desire with great difficulty, – no one promised to keep holding her further, besides, the school day was about to begin...
But her main sensation now wasn’t even her aching body, but Felix’s rapid breathing, which Marinette now felt on her skin, because he slowly turned his head to her and their parted lips breathed into each other. His warm breath rushing into her respiratory system made Marinette dizzy, and her half-lidded eyes closed completely.
“Feli…” She began, not sure why she needed to say his name, but she couldn’t finish it because his lips touched hers.
Felix shuddered and sucked in a sharp breath, no longer moving away from her, then his teeth gently cupped her bottom lip and pulled it slightly towards him, and when Marinette leaned to him, – more willing to get closer than to save the stolen lip, – his teeth were again replaced with his lips, and Felix took possession of her lips, and tongue, and the space of her mouth, – with the same refined insolence with which he seemed to take possession of everything he desired.
But Marinette wasn’t thinking about that at all, but about what a happy, intoxicating feeling it was – to be the one he desired...
Felix kissed her persistently and tenderly, with the impudence of an opponent and the attentiveness of a life mentor, with the passion of a lover and with the care of the dearest person in the world, – and Marinette quickly forgot every doubt and concern that she felt about him, finding herself in a completely new world, – with a person, revealed to her from a entirely different side, – which she always wanted to see in him but never expected to find...
When there was no air left in her lungs from the long kiss, Felix pulled away from her slightly, also catching his breath, but not releasing her from his hands, – only clasping them again behind Marinette’s back in a soft protective ring. “Promise me not to open your present until tomorrow.” He said quietly with a faint, mysterious smile, then leaned to her again to steal another short kiss from her lips.
Marinette smiled back, looking at him with happy eyes. “Promise.” She said, and stretching her arms at the sides of his neck, pulled Felix back towards her.
Now that she knew the taste of his lips, such a short kiss was no longer enough for her.