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“You’re kind of cute, you know. Only kind of.”
He snorted. “'Only' kind of? Are you sure about that?”
It was moments like this that made Marinette really hate how easily persuaded she was.
Somehow she found herself with Félix Fathom on her bedroom floor and the worst part was that she invited him there. She called him, asked him to come over, let him in the door, got him upstairs, and yet it wasn’t until this very moment that she started to regret it.
She wasn’t sure how she let Kagami talk her into this. Ladybug barely had time to sleep, let alone study. After flunking her previous three tests, landing herself with just barely-passing grades, getting an earful from both of her parents, and complaining to her girl friends that she couldn’t make heads nor tails of the material no matter how hard she tried, Kagami insisted on letting Félix tutor her and… well, here they were.
Sure, he was the youngest graduate in England. Yes, he was incredibly intelligent. Yes, he was the most qualified for the job. And yes, she did need a study partner. Did that mean she particularly wanted him in her room lecturing her, in that obnoxiously grating voice, on a bright Sunday afternoon? Not quite.
Because despite the fact they were on good terms nowadays, if you asked Marinette she would tell you that they had some sort of game between them. With Félix, there was no such thing as a straightforward conversation. She was sure he always had some ulterior motive. It was the only explanation for why he liked to play mind games with her specifically, though why her was a mystery.
She never won the game. She could never cracked his code. But just once, she wanted to knock that smug look off his pretty face.
Even so, she still wasn’t quite sure how the conversation went from chemical compounds to this. It must have been after he made some off-handed comment about the pictures of friends on her wall: how a few of the faces had been covered sadly by stickers, or perhaps the stray photo of Adrien that fell under her desk when she took most of the others down. It didn’t matter much.
“Well, yeah. If it weren’t for your off-putting— ugh, your everything else, you might actually be cute.” She tapped an index finger against her crossed arm. “What? What’s so wrong with that?”
Félix smirked. “I just find that funny coming from the girl who was completely smitten with my completely identical cousin up until he broke your heart two months ago.”
Right. That. It turned out Adrien liked another girl and he had to let Marinette down gently— and after she had finally worked up the courage to say more than three syllables to him, too. Just her luck.
Marinette stammered, her face flushed hot. “I— well— looks aren’t everything!” She had to admit that they certainly helped, though. He was incredibly good-looking; another one of his feats, she supposed. Oh, and Adrien was too.
He dropped the smile in favor of a pout. “Right. Because you were so in love with his personality.”
“I was! He’s”—she counted on her fingers—“charming, funny, polite, eco-conscious, sweet, talented—”
“And apparently you’re still not over him.”
She scoffed. “I am absolutely over him. I’m so over him, he doesn’t even cross my mind. I wasn’t even thinking about him until you brought it up.”
“If you insist.”
With a groan, she pivoted back to her desk and returned focus to her textbook. Silence washed over the room, gentle sounds from the streets below drifting in through the window. She tried to ignore him and instead work on her homework in peace, but it didn’t help; the conversation lingered in her mind.
There he went again with his shenanigans, dripping in sarcasm. And in fact, she did insist! Adrien was just a passing fantasy that never would have worked out and she knew it. Who was Félix to say otherwise? But she attempted to push down the rant. They weren’t here to argue.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t let it go either. He spoke first, gently— from the corner of her eye, she could vaguely make out the movement of him inching closer, leaning against the ladder. “Well, regardless, you have plenty of people throwing themselves at your feet. I’m sure you’ll find someone much better.”
She rolled her eyes, though he didn’t see it. Her pencil tapped against the desk. “Right. Like you should care. There’s some sort of trick here, isn’t there?”
It was his turn to scoff. Marinette craned her head to look at him, the sunlight from the window casting a halo around his soft golden hair. “I’m not evil , Marinette. There’s no trick. I genuinely do want to see you happy. You shouldn’t be caught up on a guy who doesn’t even give you the time of day, even if that guy is Adrien. He’s—as his cousin, I love him, but as your friend, I’m telling you he’s clueless.”
Surely, another one of his games. “Seriously, why do you care?”
“I’m just saying!” He threw a hand in the air for emphasis. “I care for you. You’re smart, talented, brave. You’ll have no problem finding someone else. I don’t see why you’re so hung up on Adrien of all people. You could have anyone you want.”
Oh. She blinked, and everything fell into place.
“Are you… jealous ?”
“Jealous?” Félix blushed pink to the tips of his ears. “Of course I’m not.”
She hadn’t even considered Félix like that until then, but suddenly it all made sense. The mutual teasing, the sarcasm, the pushiness. Of course. There was no game. There was never a game. He had been flirting (or trying to, in his own way) for weeks and she didn’t even see it. It was kind of pathetic of him, really. Maybe even sweet.
A smug grin crossed her face.
“What’s that for?”
She laughed in disbelief. “You’re right. There are plenty of people throwing themselves at my feet!”
“I’m not— I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He looked away, almost ashamedly.
Marinette tilted her head tauntingly, grin widening. “You don’t? What were you just saying, that you care about me and how I’m smart and talented and brave and cute and funny?”
“I think you’re putting words in my mouth.” He straightened his posture, eyes darting everywhere except her. “And anyway, we’ve gotten sidetracked. We should get back to your studies. What problem are you on?”
“The one where you’re clearly jealous of my crush on Adrien and trying to pretend that you’re not,” she said bluntly.
“I— That’s not in the textbook.”
“No, it isn’t.”
She waited for a response, but it never came, only awkward silence sat in its place. They had seemingly reached an impasse.
No, there was no game. But Marinette was determined to win; what she was winning, she wasn’t quite sure yet. Her smile fell. “You’ve got it all wrong, you know. I don’t like him anymore. I really have moved on.”
“I…” Félix started, but trailed off. She looked at him as if to tell him to continue, and he did so with a sigh; though whatever he intended to say, he changed his mind and settled on something else. “I’m just here to help you with your work. That’s all. We don’t have to talk about it.”
“But I want to. I meant what I said. When you’re not trying to run circles around me, you are really cute,” she said quietly.
“Running circles? I…” He gave a stern look. “Marinette, don’t toy with me like this.”
“I’m not toying with you. Actually, I thought you were messing with me. If you had just said something—”
“I wasn’t trying to mess with you, I just— I didn’t know how to talk to you. Look, I shouldn’t have brought it up, I already know you won’t reciprocate.”
“Who said I wouldn’t?” She rose to her feet. “Or did you assume that, too?”
“Are you joking?” he asked as she padded towards him. Félix’s deep green eyes stayed glued to the floor in front of him, ever thoughtful and furrowed, but upon seeing the tips of her shoes and realizing how close she suddenly was, they met hers and softened.
She was close enough to feel him breathing, then, and once she had found her opening, Marinette closed the gap between them. Their lips met. He was taken aback, but quickly melted into her touch, warm and gentle and kind. It was brief, but when they parted, he was speechless.
Finally, she thought, I won.
“No jokes, no tricks. Not anymore. Promise?” A smile played at her mouth. He nodded shyly. “Good. Because we really should get back to studying."