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Adrien knocks on the door before entering Felix’s room. The brother in question raises his head from the book he was skimming on the edge of his bed. He raises an eyebrow.
“Can I help you with something?”
“Yes, yes you can. See, Marinette wants to have dinner tonight.”
“Right.”
“But she got talking to Dick, aka Nightwing, and uh they changed their mind a little. Turns out we are going to a fair!”
Felix places his book beside him as he turns to look directly at his brother. Despite being twins, Felix has striking blue eyes whilst Adrien has green. The pair’s silent staring lasts an awfully long minute.
“What’s the catch, Adrien?”
“Marinette invited her girlfriends and Wally overheard so he is joining us.”
“That sounds perfectly fine. Do you need help picking out an outfit? I don’t recall ever taking you there before.”
“No, no.”
Felix gets up. He walks to his brother, places a hand on his shoulder then sighs before giving him a genuine smile. Despite his antics, Felix cannot help but love his brother unconditionally. He may be nuisance, though, he’s Felix’s nuisance and he is not one to shy away from hiding a body or two if need be. Lila could use a friend after all.
“You want me to go so you aren’t alone?”
“Yes, but that’s not the main reason. It will be me, my boyfriend, Marinette, her girlfriends, and Dick.”
“That sounds like a lovely time. He should be able to show you around. He was part of a circus, was he not?”
Adrien forcefully facepalms. Felix shrugs in confusion.
“I want you to go so Dick isn’t alone!”
The silence in the room is deafening. Felix blinks as his cheeks slightly blush in embarrassment. How could he have missed that?
Adrien rubs his elbow while looking toward the floor. He must have thought he made Felix mad. With a slight shake of his head, Felix throws Adrien into a hug. Adrien perks up.
“How about we get dressed?”
“Ooo are we going out Master?”
Adrien and Felix turn to the little peacock as they fly around the pair. Plagg yawns as he stretches out on Felix’s pillow.
“Go have fun kid. I’m staying here. I like cheese but his puns are a bit too sharp for my liking.”
“Don’t forget who you belong to Plagg. If I come back and find all the cheese is gone, I will hand deliver you to Tikki myself.”
Felix’s threat causes Plagg’s fur to stand on end. He shakes his head in agreement as Felix points at him. Adrien laughs as he skips out of the room with Duusu in tow.
“Perhaps I could dress for the occasion. I wonder if Marinette would let me bring a certain friend.”
Felix smiles at Plagg before entering his closet to pick out his base attire.
Once he is done, he picks up the phone and dials Marinette. They chat for approximately two minutes before hanging up. She did end up agreeing to let Felix bring along a friend.
Was the only reason because Mari was happy to have Felix join the group again? Maybe, though Felix ignored that. As much as he loved helping Marinette and Adrien defeat Hawkmoth and Volpina, especially Volpina, he has solemnly hung out with them since.
He felt left out considering how well his brother and the young fashion designer get along. He is an outcast despite the duo always trying to include him. It was not for a lack of trying on their end.
Tonight, however, Felix was going to get over that. There will be more than just Marinette and Adrien, plus he will have a designated person to speak to. Come to think of it, Felix has never met or heard the two youngers talk about a Dick before. Though that makes more sense for Marinette than Adrien.
After Felix gathers his things, he gives Plagg a piece of cheese then exits his room to find Adrien. He’s sitting in his room in the same attire from his invitation. Felix is the one to facepalm this time.
“Adrien, could you not choose what to wear? I figure we are to meet them soon.”
“I was thinking either this one or perhaps this one.”
Adrien holds up two different Hawaiian shirts and solid color shorts. Felix cannot help but let a smile escape as he pairs the brighter yellow Hawaiian shirt with the white shorts. Adrien quickly changes.
The duo hurry down the stairwell, then out the front door. Felix jumps into his car, Adrien claiming shotgun. After both are buckled, Felix pulls to the end of the driveway. He turns to go left.
“Wait, we need to go pick them up.”
Felix blinks. He was expected to pick up someone?
“How many?”
“Only two. They are just down the road anyway. Go right.”
Felix follows Adrien’s instructions. Just as he said, they were only five minutes down the road. However, he did get wrong how many people were there. There were three, not two. Meaning they would all have to squeeze into the back. Luckily, Felix keeps his car clean.
He pulls up to the trio. Only one is familiar to him. Adrien’s boyfriend, Wally West. The other two, another red head and black-haired young man. All three seem to be close. Perhaps Dick had found a date, so Felix was not needed after all.
Felix hides his slight pain as he waits for the group to hop in. To his surprise, Adrien hops in the back with the two red heads, leaving the front for the bluebell.
Felix checks to make sure that everyone is settled before driving off to meet with Marinette. As they go, the boys in the back conversate while they calmly go down the road. Felix stays silent until the one to his side decides to start a conversation.
“So, you’re Adrien’s brother. He’s mentioned you a few times. I’m Dick Grayson.”
‘Grayson. Where had he heard that name before. Besides…’
“Felix, Felix Fathom. You are one of Bruce Wayne’s wards, right? The first of many.”
“Yes. I have three brothers so far. Damian, Tim, and Jason. Jason will be meeting us at the fair tonight. I’ll introduce him to you. Oh yeah, Speedy. You should introduce yourself.”
Felix spares a glance to the back seat. The unfamiliar red head looks up. He stares at Dick as he rolls his eyes.
“Don’t mind the guy in the front seat. He’s a real dick. I’m Roy Harper. Nice to meet you.”
The car goes into chaos as Dick and Roy throw playful insults at each other. Neither of them giving up. Wally and Adrien eat popcorn that they got from seemingly nowhere as they watch. Felix focuses on getting them safely to the fair.
They arrive at the fairgrounds and happen to park right next to Marinette’s car.
In Marinette’s car is three other people. One of which, Felix has no knowledge of. Yet another redhead though his hair was dyed a black with a natural white. He has a weird aura to him.
Steph and Cass, the two girlfriends of Marinette which he knew, get out of the car first. The man follows behind the girls as they join the crew Felix drove with him.
It becomes clear to Felix that Roy was not Dick’s date when he goes over to the yet to be named man and locks hands with him. That gives Felix a sense of relief which he barely notices.
“Hey Felix! Thank you for picking the boys up for us. Jason was out with us prepping. Figured it would be easier to bring him with us.”
“I’m just their baggage.”
“Jay! You are more than our baggage. You’re our bag carriers.”
Felix shakes his head at the interaction as he strays away from the group to go to the entrance of the fair. He is a little startled when a hand lands on his shoulder. He whips his head around to see Dick walking beside him.
“Do you want to head in? They’re busy catching up and planning their activities. Marinette already talked to me beforehand to let me know about meeting up at the end of the day for fireworks.”
“Do you not want to be with them?”
“Oh no, I just know they’ll be a while and it seems you want to go in. I’m sure we can find something to do.”
Felix lets a smile escape as he nods to Dick. The two start their way to the entrance booth when Marinette runs up to the duo. She takes Felix’s hand and places something in it.
“I wanted to catch you before you went in in case we don’t catch up until later. I know you wanted that. Have fun you two!”
Marinette winks at Felix as she runs back to her group. He fails to notice the small blush come to his cheek because of his attention is given to securing a familiar friend’s miraculous to the inside of his cuff. He does a fake away by placing his hand in his pocket to make Dick not suspect it.
With the straightening of his posture, Felix leads the two to the ticket entrance then into the fairgrounds. Immediately, Felix notices Dick’s interest in the animals so he leads him in that direction.
It was a nice change for Felix to be out in an environment not so familiar to him yet not completely new. Sure, he had only been to a fair twice before but never with anyone other than Marinette. Seeing someone interested in the animals like himself was nice. Most people beeline to either the rides or food.
Felix smiles as Dick lights up as the calves lick his fingers. He pets the back of the calf currently sucking on Dick’s hand, trying to avoid getting sticky. When Dick is finally satisfied, they wash their hands in the hand wash station then head off towards the Midway.
They walk around for a bit until a stand catches their eye. Felix beats Dick to commenting.
“That’s a lot of chocolate.”
“It looks so good! Do you want some Felix? Wait, do you like chocolate?”
“Of course. I live with Adrien. It is nearly impossible to not like chocolate.”
Dick goes ahead and buys a few boxes of various chocolate types. Felix accepts the piece of chocolate as the two continue their hike through the crowd.
They manage to make their way to the games. The first one they decide to try is ring toss. A simple game. You take a bucket of small plastic rings and try to get it on the bottles. A special-colored bottle in the middle will give you a different prize.
“Hey Felix, can I hold your hand?”
It takes Felix a second to process the question posed to him. After considering the words of his brother, Felix finds courage to answer Dick’s question with an action. He reaches over and grabs Dick’s hand in his own.
To say Dick was stunned, would be a clear understatement because his man blew a gasket at Felix’s actions. He did not know how to properly react, so he continues holding onto Dick’s hand.
“I know I asked, but this is not what I meant. I just wanted to clear the chocolate off your fingers, but this is even better.”
Dick shines a now confident smile toward Felix as he starts to throw rings with his free hand. Felix cannot help but return it as he joins Dick. With the very last ring in the basket, Felix captures the central special bottle.
The worker hands Felix a dual plushie of Ladybug and Chat Noir as their respective animal counterparts. Felix sheds a smirk as he holds the Chat plushie out to Dick. He raises an eyebrow.
“Is that for me?”
“Yes, I owe you for the chocolate, after all. Consider it a gift as well as a thank you.”
Dick lights up for yet another time that afternoon, much to Felix’s delight. Even though he would never admit it, or so he thinks, Felix was having an amazing time out. He would have to thank Marinette and Adrien for the invitation after the fireworks. Speaking of the fireworks…
The pair head over to the designated spot that Marinette had given Dick before the couples went off. Not surprising to Felix, Marinette and her girlfriends were the first ones there whilst Adrien, Jason, Roy, and Wally had yet to show up.
“Aww that’s a cute plush Felix! Did Dick win it for you?”
Steph elbows Dick as Felix watches. Marinette shakes her head at her girlfriend as the rest of the crew join.
“Felix won it himself. Look! I have the matching of Chat. Aren’t they cute?”
Dick flips his hiking bag around, grabs the plushie then shows it off to everyone. The choir of “awws” and “adorable” cause Felix to get a slight bit of embarrassment. Only two of them knew about him being Noir but it still got to him.
“I didn’t know the states knew about Ladybug and Chat Noir. They have plushies for them.”
“I’m surprised too. I thought only the people of Paris knew about them. Seeing as the Justice League never got involved, I’m surprised word got out.”
Marinette and Adrien share the same look of wonder. Steph runs to her girlfriend with a surprised look.
“Who are Ladybug and Chat Noir?”
Now the whole group was a circle of confusion. In an effort to avoid talking about it further, mostly because knowledge of the miraculous did not need to be publicly given, Felix call their attention back.
“It’s getting dark. We best claim our spots.”
“Felix is right. We wouldn’t want to miss out on the show.”
Marinette leads the charge and the group head to find a spot. It seemed the place was bare. The couples went off on their own.
The fireworks go off as the couples watch. Marinette with Steph and Cass, Adrien with Wally, Jason, and Roy, leaving only Dick and Felix. The couples get close and embrace each other. Felix gathers up the courage to grab ahold of Dick’s hand.
Dick happily accepts, pulling Felix in close. He tilts Felix’s face up to meet his own. The two share a lasting kiss. The breath is taken from their lungs as they interlock. When they finally release, shock hits them.
*Boom*
The last of the fireworks pop off as Jason and Roy collapse to the ground. Dick rushes over to his brother, worry dripping down his face. Felix takes a step back in horror as his foot hits something sticky.
He looks down. Bright, shiny, crimson stains his shoe. His breath heavies as he traces its trail. No. No, no, no, no. Please no.
Felix struggles to breathe. Nooroo comes out of hiding to comfort his wielder. That helps Felix to focus a bit more but that can only help so much.
Only a few yards away, Adrien and Wally are intwined in a pool of red. Deep, deep red. Felix holds back his tears as he fights the urge to run to his brother. Something. No someone. Had to have done this.
They were going to pay. Shit. Felix frantically looks to find Marinette and her girlfriends. They had gone off a little way to have privacy during the show. He had to find them.
“Hey Asshole! Are you looking for someone? I was just reconnecting with an old friend of mine and her girlfriends. I would love to stay and chat, but you have some cleaning up to do. Oh, you better be quick. Wouldn’t want the local authorities to see Felix Fathom murdered innocent children now, would we?”
Felix breaks as he sees a blood-stained peacock miraculous accompanied by the fox, stained as well, in the hands of the impossible.
He goes to spring into action but sirens in the distance cause him to hesitate for a moment. That is just long enough for Lila to bound away, leaving Felix and Dick to themselves amongst the bodies.
“Felix.”
How he heard her, he does not have an answer for but picks up on Marinette’s voice. She is laying beside Cass and Steph. Steph had no pulse, but Cass still has a quite faint one. Marinette barely has the strength to speak.
He kneels beside her, ignoring the blood as it covers his knees. He holds her in his arms.
“I should have known. She was looking for Tikki. It’s no longer safe for me to be guardian. It is time.”
Felix’s eyes open wide. The emotions already flowing through him caused his ability to shield them to not exist. Tears finally start a river.
“No, hold on Marinette. I refuse to lose either of you. I can’t. You’re all I have left.”
She reaches up to Felix’s face. He cannot help but let out a bittersweet smile as he chokes a bit on his tears.
“You are not alone Felix. You made friends with me once; You can do it again. There are people here for you. Trust them Felix. I love you.”
Felix’s face falls as Marinette does. Her breath leaves her, and the familiar object of the miracle box appears in his arms where he was holding Marinette. Nooroo comes out of hiding once more to help ground Felix.
His tears stop. With a new sense of drive, Felix gets back into his strategic and protective self.
The first thing he does is focus on the miracle box. It shapes itself into a handheld makeup case with a mirror. He glances over the miraculous to assess what may be missing. The lack of Tikki worries him greatly.
Not only did Felix not have Plagg, because he thought leaving him home would allow him one evening without destruction, but he was without Tikki. Where is she if she is not in the miracle box? No… If Marinette has been wearing Tikki’s earrings, then the Liar would have taken them alongside the peacock.
He assesses that Marinette and Cass were going to be stable long enough for him to take a better look at his brother. When he gets to Adrien, Felix gasps. Wally is still alive somehow. He has Adrien in his lap as his tears flow.
“West, I will need an explanation later, but will you be well enough to stand on your own soon?”
Wally nods in response. Felix lets another tear shed as leaves his brother in the safety of Wally. It is what he would want.
Felix hears the sirens get closer. He quickens his pace to find Dick. He is still alongside his brother and Roy. Once again, Felix is surprised to see one of the two be alive. Roy is barely hanging on in Dick’s arms.
“Grayson, I don’t want to go but I can’t be here when the police arrive. She had this planned. I must go. I’m sorry. I can explain later. You need time with your brother. Wally is slowly recovering. He can help you explain to the police. Marinette is alive, she’s hanging on somehow and so is Cassandra. Stephanie and Adrien, however… Please make sure they are careful with the bodies. I don’t deserve to have your trust so soon. All I can do is trust you.”
Felix hesitates for a moment. He allows his eyes to linger on Dick as he sneaks away in the shadows. Once Felix loses his eyes, he never looks back. He did not have it in him. Seeing his brother again so soon would only cause himself more pain.
When he gets home, he will have to bring up. There would be no avoiding it. Plagg must know. They must find Tikki and make sure she’s alright. He owed Marinette that. He owed *them* it.
With a heavy breath, Felix transforms.
“Nooroo, let’s fly.”