Work Text:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away or so they say, and Nathan was well-versed in the subject. When it came to getting rid of his brother Félix, throwing the fruit at his head worked wonders, and that’s why he’d sacrificed a lovely piece of his lunch to scare off the aspiring medical worker, who’d interrupted his quality time with his friends to ask him about his coracobrachialis.
As if Nathan knew what it was! (He did know, though he would never admit it to anyone, and especially not in front of his friends. Flaunting knowledge about the human body was not cool!)
Because it worked on his brother, Nathan had hoped the trick would work on Marinette, too, though he went about it more discreetly. While his brother was a total wimp and Nathan could count on him not to be a tattletale, girls were another story completely. As much as they liked him, they never hesitated to get him in trouble with the teachers when he crossed a line. That’s why he didn’t want any stinky girl along for the ride!
Alone, like a stray cat, he could do whatever he wanted without having to constantly worry about the consequences.
The red apple missed Marinette’s head completely, even though he’d timed its fall perfectly because she tripped over a tree root, which had slithered out of seemingly nowhere. It reminded Nathan of the plant girl on their superhero team, who could summon vines as well as whispers with a single melody.
Marinette caught herself, avoiding a face-forward collision with the ground, but not before the boy's name slipped from her lips. Her voice was obnoxiously loud and made him wince. He spun around, eyebrow twitching to confront her.
“Cheng, how many times do I have to tell you? Leave. Me. Alone.”
Taken aback by the harshness in his voice, Marinette faltered. She nervously hid the tickets in her hand behind her back, stuffing them sneakily in her pocket, pretending not to be bothered.
He was in a bad mood! Asking him on a date was no longer a good idea!
She backtracked in her mind: what was her backup plan again? Surely she had one. She always had a plan B, if not plan C, D, and right down to the Z on the most catastrophe-prone days.
“Are you coming to see the cheer practice later?” popped from her lips the instant she recalled the session scheduled for the afternoon. She enlaced her fingers behind her back to stop herself from needlessly fidgeting—he hated when she did that!—and smiled widely, waiting for an answer.
Nathan heard a rustle in the tree above them. He stepped aside, catching the pippin that should not have fallen in the first place—it was too early for that—in his hand. He inspected it for foul play. There were no apparent signs but he had a gut feeling. It said the plant girl was nearby and for some reason messing with his head.
(Unbeknownst to him, he was right, though the girl would later deny being anywhere near the park at that time to keep her civilian identity secret. She was simply helping out one of her best friends after all!)
“Cheer practice?”
“Uh-uh!” Marinette nodded excitedly, hearts in her eyes, as she swooned on the inside over how cool he was, impressed by the way he had captured the apple mid-fall. With skills like that, he could bring food to the table for the entire family!
Nathan pondered the apple, fantasizing yet again about throwing it at her head. It would sound hollow, like an empty wooden box, with absolutely nothing inside.
He sighed.
“Why would I go to the cheer practice?” He glared at her.
Marinette burned with embarrassment, her cheeks turning redder and redder. Nathan looked at her and raised the apple to compare the shades: almost a perfect match.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
An idea began to take shape in his head. He could get rid of both this annoying little girl, whose silly little crush on him was painfully obvious, and his pest of a younger brother, who considered him a fascinating specimen of the human species. Two birds with one stone!
The brightest smile Marinette had ever seen on his face crossed his mouth. Dazzled, she didn’t question it at all when from between the rows of pearly white teeth, his voice sizzled out, smoking hot like the rest of his handsome being and said,
“Sure, I’ll be there.”
With that, Nathan turned around and continued on his way. After a couple of steps, he threw the apple over his shoulder. Marinette caught it despite being startled, jumping up to retrieve it as though by instinct. She would be the first to catch anything he threw, even a pair of stinky socks!
She would keep the apple forever! (Forever meaning for as long as it took her to realize how silly she was being; she wasn't too crazy in love with him.)
She held it to her chest like a treasure worth protecting, imprinting the moment to her memory.
The school bell rang, calling all students back for another lesson. Marinette jerked from her daze, torn between following Nathan to see what he was up to and returning to class. The good in her won out: she chose the latter.
~🍎~
The afternoon cheer practice rolled around faster than Nathan could come up with a proper plan. Confident he could improvise well enough under pressure, should either of the two pawns he was about to play realize what he was trying to do, he was dead set on accomplishing finally getting some peace and quiet.
He met up with his brother at the stairs and informed the boy about the change of plan. Instead of going straight home, they were going to check out the girls’ cheer practice.
“There’s someone I want you to meet,” he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his pants, stretching them out. His expression remained nondescript, a perfect mask to hide his true intentions behind.
Félix grimaced, not at all eager about the change. “But you promised to show me some exercises to train my hamstrings today!”
“I did, didn’t I?” Nathan ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back. He’d agreed so that Félix would back off and leave him to his training regime, carefully put together with the thought of running on rooftops and climbing walls in mind. His gym trainer assumed he was into parkour, whereas in reality, Nathan only wanted to be better for his lady. “We can do that tomorrow.”
“That’s what you said the day before yesterday.” Félix’s voice had an accusatory note, though he was merely stating a fact. He leaned on a wooden cane for support, as they moved through the busy hallways out to the courtyard, where the cheer practice was held. Nathan made way for them, the crowd parting in front of him as though he were a king heading for his throne. “What is so important that we have to do it today?”
Nathan stopped in his tracks, turned around, and grabbed Félix by the shoulders.
“I need your help with a girl.”
“I—I’m not…” Félix’s eyes widened in surprise before he quietly admitted. “I don’t know anything about girls.”
Nathan pressed his arms down. “I know.”
“Y-you do?” Félix squirmed, cheeks flooding with warmth. His hand gripped the cane’s handle tightly, as though he was willing to do anything but let it go; if it fell, he would face the struggle of having to ask someone to pick it up for him.
Nathan released him. “Of course.” He composed himself. “But it’s time you learned. And I’ve got just the right girl for you.”
“I—I don’t—”
“Nonsense,” Nathan waved his protest off. “Trust me. You’ll adore her. She’s purrfect for you.”
Félix didn’t dare to protest against it, lest Nathan drags him over to this girl by force, which would leave an unforgettable first impression on them both. Félix wanted to avoid it at all costs. He was shameful enough on his own, with his injured leg and less-than-perfect grades. Compared to Nathan, he was no good at all! Embarrassing their family by further humiliating them was out of the question!
“So, who is this girl?” he asked, his heart doing somersaults in his chest. He pretended to be disinterested, mimicking his brother’s casual nonchalance the best he could.
“You’ll see.”
Nathan didn’t have to feign disinterest. All he cared about was the success of his plan.
Félix, however, needed more information. Desperately, if he was not going to make a fool out of himself upon meeting the girl.
“So why do you need my help again?”
“There’s this girl I like,” Nathan said, coming up with the details on the spot. “ But you know how our father is, right?”
Félix nodded. Their father would not approve of dilly-dallying.
“So I need you to go out with this other girl,” Nathan continued. “To take father’s attention off of me and my lady.”
“AH!” Félix made a connection in his brain. “Like in that movie?”
Nathan looked at him, as though he were stupid. “What movie?”
“The one playing on TV last night… What was its name?” Félix hummed, trying to recall it. His eyes lit up with excitement. “I got it! 10 Things I Hate About You!”
Romcoms were his favorite after animations. Though he would never publicly admit it, he found them more entertaining than the action-packed dramas his brother preferred.
Nathan gagged. He did not care about romance at all. He could not understand how people could stand it. In his opinion, if two people were in love, they were in love, no theatrics needed.
He ruffled Félix's hair so hard it shook the younger boy off balance. “Get your head out of your fairy tales. Real life is nothing like that.”
Félix struggled to stay standing. He pulled his neck in like a turtle retracting its head into its shell. He dared not argue.
“Come on,” Nathan urged him to continue, and though a sharp pain shot through Félix’s healing leg, they moved on as though nothing was amiss. Nathan didn’t know better and Félix didn’t tell.
The courtyard was bustling with groups of girls dressed in tops and skirts, all shorter than the strict school regulations allowed, and boys in sleeveless shirts and shorts, all longer than the strict school regulations required. Nathan’s indifferent gaze passed over the crowd, eyes as sharp as those of a bird of prey. He didn’t have to search for long.
Marinette noticed him first. She dropped her water bottle and her towel, tripping over them as she rushed over, waving frantically at her favorite blonde. She called his name and Nathan did his best not to cringe when she fell, landing in the dirt in front of them.
Face aflame, she got up and patted down her clothes, brushing off the dust and soil, with a radiant smile on her face. It unnerved Félix.
“Hi, Nathan!”
“Cheng.” Nathan pushed Félix forward. “Meet my little brother, Félix. Félix, Marinette Cheng.”
What unnerved Félix more than the girl’s smile was the once-over she gave him. Marinette’s eyes flickered over his body, and Félix instinctively puffed up his chest, knowing it would not be enough to prove he and Nathan were family.
He could not read her expression, except when it turned quizzical and she tilted her head, looking at Nathan in confusion.
“Your brother?”
Nathan nodded solemnly. “And he’s new here, so he could use a friend. I was hoping you’d show him around or something.”
Félix could have said it was bullshit but he was too dumbfounded to do so.
“Sure!” Marinette agreed, eager to help out her future boyfriend.
“Cool! Great!” Nathan spun around, just as eager to get away. The city was waiting for him! “See you around then. Gotta go. Bye!”
Marinette gaped after him until Félix cleared his throat, his nervousness returning now that his brother was gone.
His cheeks pinkened, adding blotches of color to his otherwise sickly skin. He rubbed his face to even out the redness. By the time Marinette turned to him, sighing longingly as though it hurt to tear her eyes away from Nathan, he looked almost normal.
They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. Neither knew what to say.
“Is your brother always so… so…?” Marinette gestured grandly.
“Perfect?” Félix supplied, understanding perfectly.
Marinette nodded enthusiastically. Félix recognized himself in her quivering lips, as she held her tongue, and her sparkling eyes, full of stars and adultation.
“Right?!”
She grabbed his hands, and he let her, dazzled by the the way she lit up, like a firework in the night sky. His cane fell with a loud thud but neither heard it.
“His proportions are flawless!”
“Our family doctor said he has the perfect muscle and body fat balance!”
“His hair is so shiny! I've never seen him with split ends!”
Félix's head bobbed ferociously up and down in agreement. Tears of happiness formed in his eyes. He felt seen.
“You get me!!” They exclaimed at the same time.
And everything else fell in place, too.
~🍎~
The next day, Nathan was surprised to see them, sitting together at the cafeteria table, vibrating with the force of a thousand bees, as they discussed… something.
Both had notebooks open in front of them, as though comparing notes, but Nathan knew the two didn't have any classes together.
On one hand, it made him very happy. It was high time Félix made another friend. On the other, it seemed too good to be true.
Like a sinking stone falling to the bottom of a deep lake, a bad feeling settled in Nathan's stomach.