Felix Month

Marinette sat between them and was sketching a new idea but even she looked up for a second and frowned at him. "It does seem overly cruel. Your uncle has lost his wife, Adrien's mother, I'm sure his wedding ring is even more important to him now."

He sighed. Why did he have to answer in the first place? He could have just dodged that question. But no, in some way he had hoped Adrien would agree to do it. Since the scandal he had become a bit more rebellious and outspoken. Or maybe he had hoped Marinette would help him convince his cousin, since she knew that- No, she didn’t know. He had always planned to tell her that family legend, but he never ended up doing so. There was something interfering every time. Maybe now was the opportunity he had waited for.

“First of all, that ring isn’t Gabriel’s anything. It is one of the Graham da Vanily twin rings, it was never meant to be worn by him,” he explained slowly, organizing his thoughts to explain everything in the right order.

“There is an old legend about these rings in my family, our family, but it seems like your mother didn’t bother to tell you. I’m not surprised, I don’t think she believed in it. The rings are equally a blessing and a curse. They are a blessing if they are worn by the rightful owners and a curse to anyone else who is foolish enough to desire them for themselves.”

“So, why would you want me to take it then?” Adrien still frowned at his cousin.

“Just listen, I hope you will get my point yourself.” Felix took a deep breath and concentrated on the story again. “These rings were also called the Roman Rings once, but they don’t have anything to do with the city or the Roman Empire. This relates more to the curse. The curse is still called the Remus Curse. It’s not that old, but I guess back then it was the best example of a twin killing the other twin they could think of. The legend tells of twins who created the rings together as a token of their bond. It says they were as devoted to each other as only twins can be. The success of one was the success of the other and the hardship of the other was the hardship of the first. Together they prevailed against any odds. They both found a partner and were happy with their lives. Until the partner of one twin got worried whether the inheritance of their spouse would be enough for their children, so they convinced the twin to kill their sibling and their family, so they could get their fortune.”

“No! They didn’t kill them for money, did they?” interjected Marinette, who had stopped drawing. Felix just glanced shortly at her. He felt a bit bad that this story would not have a happy ending. After all, it was the origin story of a family curse. Maybe that was the reason why he hadn’t told her until now. He couldn’t look too long into her widened bluebell eyes otherwise he would actually feel compelled to change the story.

“They did. Not immediately, the legend says it took a lot of time for their spouse to convince them-”

“Why didn’t the spouse kill the other twin if they wanted it so badly?” Adrien asked.

“I don’t know for sure, but my best guess is that the twin would have known it would be the spouse. They would have lost everything. The twin had a better shot at killing their sibling,” Felix answered, but he didn’t stop and returned to telling the story.

“Finally they did end up killing the other twin. With their dying words they cursed them to lose everything. The twin was so distraught by what they had done, that they surrendered to the authorities. They really lost everything, including their life. The conniving spouse was exposed and either spent their life in prison or was executed as well. The spouse of the murdered twin was a kind and just soul and they knew a fair bit about magic including curses. They realised soon that the whole family of the twin had been cursed, although their children were innocent. They couldn’t reverse the curse, but they could change it.”

“Like Sleeping Beauty,” Adrien interjected again. “The last fairy was able to change the curse of the uninvited fairy into sleep instead of death.”

“Yes, something like that,” Felix answered curtly. He was a bit miffed that he was interrupted once again. But at least his cousin was listening.

“They were able to bind the curse to the rings, so it wouldn’t target random family members. The twin rings were meant to be worn by twins - either in blood, like our mothers, or they had to have something else in common. There would be one pair in each generation. It is pretty obvious that we are the twins of our generation.”

“But I don’t want to be cursed!”

“I’m not done with the story, Adrien! Like I said, they changed the curse and added a blessing. The original twins had been very close, the tragic end didn’t eradicate all the good times they had together. So, the blessing was that as long as the future pairs of twins wouldn’t betray each other and would wear the rings, they would thrive and be successful. But if a twin decided not to wear the ring or to betray the other twin in any form, they would fall to the curse. And if someone, who wasn’t meant to, wore one or both rings, they would be met with the same fate.”

“But,” Marinette finally piped up. Felix could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “But if this curse targets anyone who isn’t one of the fated twins, correct?” Felix nodded. “Then, what about Monsieur Agreste? I mean, he has to have been wearing that ring since his wedding and until recently he seemed to be doing pretty well. Why would the curse wait for so long?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think the curse might be toying with him. Before he married my aunt he didn’t have anything else. He was an orphan without any family, he didn’t have any friends or fortune worth mentioning. He met my aunt at the set for a movie. He had just started to work in the costume department of Graham Films.”

Felix looked to Adrien. His cousin had fallen silent. He looked a bit conflicted, but not yet convinced.

“This is how my mother told me the story and since aunt Emilie isn’t here to tell her version, we will have to trust her: Our grandparents weren’t thrilled that their daughter wanted to marry Gabriel, but they were willing to support him with his own fashion label if he would take Emilie’s last name after the wedding. At first he might have thought about it, because he named his brand Gabriel and not Agreste. But someone in the family must have said something along the lines that he wouldn’t be able to make it otherwise. He was so offended by that that he swore to make the name Agreste known around the world. And to do that he insisted on having the famous twin rings as his wedding rings. He obviously didn’t believe in the curse. Mother told me that her sister came to her and begged her to give up her ring, but my mother does believe in the curse and she didn’t want her sister to be targeted, so she refused. After that Emilie must have stolen the ring at some point. Mother tried to convince her to not wear the rings anymore. She had betrayed her and the curse would befall her and Gabriel. I assume after the whole debacle with the last name he didn’t want to have too much to do with the rest of the family any more. For many years nothing happened. But for the curse to take everything from Gabriel, he had to have something first.”

For a moment all three were silent. Felix stared away, he watched some pigeons looking for scraps the tourists might have left behind. He didn’t want to look at his cousin and his crush. After all, he more or less just told them that Adrien’s mother had disappeared because of some curse.

“I don’t know what exactly happened to my mother,” Adrien finally said with a raspy voice, “but to blame a curse for it, sounds like the unlikeliest reason of all. I don’t believe in curses either and I wouldn’t have thought that you would, Felix.”

“You live in a city terrorized by a villain that creates monsters with magical butterflies. A city that is protected by a furry menace and a teenager with a magical yo-yo. But a curse is unlikely?”

Adrien winced and glared down his shirt. Marinette glanced at her purse before returning her attention to him.

“He has a point. If heroes and villains are real, why not a curse?” the designer finally pointed out. She had closed her sketchbook and tapped with her pencil on it.

“But, even if all of this is true, what use would Monsieur Agreste’s ring be? Madame Agreste probably has the other one and no one knows where she is. The rings still couldn’t be worn by the fated twins.”

Felix slowly took off the chain he wore around his neck and showed off the ring he stole when he last visited.

That had been right after he made amends with the DJ. And as nice as it was to get along with Nino, simply by the law of the enemy of my enemy, he still had a long way to go. He knew that. He just had no idea how to continue.

“Well, your little stunt got Alya, Juleka, and Rosé akumatized. You already did something for Alya, which by the way is another stunt I will get both of you back for. As soon as I have more time,” Marinette declared, threateningly brandishing one of her colouring pencils like a sword. A very short cyan-blue sword. “But anyway, I’d advise you to continue with them. Although it probably doesn’t matter which one goes first. Rosé would probably be a bit more open, but I guess Juleka would be easier on you.”

“Rosé is the bubbly pink … girl? And Juleka is her goth friend?” he asked as he continued to note down what materials Marinette already had and how much. He barely stopped himself from using any derogatory term for the small blond and very, very pink classmate. The girl had too much energy, always talking and gesticulating. Her voice was so high and she was talking practically all the time and just everything about her was so … so … very not English. There was no better way to describe her.

Yeah, choosing her as his next target would not go well.

“So, Juleka it is,” he announced and turned to his friend. Since the theme for the silent auction was decided and Marinette said, she was fine with designing the costumes for everyone - fine his ass, he didn’t want her to do it, but nobody even took a second to listen to his very relatable concerns … -, she had been designing almost non-stop. And right now she just hummed as she added some accents to Max’s futuristic dolphin suit.

“I said,” Felix tried again leaning slightly over her, blocking the light, “I’ll continue with Juleka.”

“I heard you the first time and Felix, I swear to whatever unholy deity is willing to listen, probably Plagg, Trixx or Xuppu-”

“Not unholy,” the monkey kwami interjected. He sat on one of the ceiling beams and was doodling a few of his former holders’ transformations. Most of the kwamis had been very excited about the theme. Just Kaalki sat on Marinette’s bed, eating sugar cubes, watching interviews with celebrities and was all around sulking. And making nasty remarks about the dolphin kwami going by the name of Flipp.

“- if you don’t step out of my light, I will tie you up, throw you over my shoulder like one of our bags of flour, climb up onto my balcony and let you dangle there as if our house is a donkey and you’re the carrot. And don’t think I wouldn’t do that.”

On one hand, Felix knew it was a serious threat. On the other the mental image alone almost had him daring her to do as she said. But hanging from her balcony he wouldn’t get anything done and in the end, she would only regret what she said, since she just had a very short temper while designing. And he knew that. So, he stepped back and she turned back to her sketch with a slight huff, but he caught the little smile she unsuccessfully tried to hide.

“Fine. But, please, just tell me what I should do for Juleka,” he complained as he turned back to her materials.

“What makes you think I know?”

The blond snorted at that. “Of course you do! She’s your friend and you’re a bit scary with how much you know about your friends.” It was true. Marinette knew a lot about her friends. She even wrote their events down in her planner and now that he was in charge of her schedule she had him memorise those events as well so if he planned possible events that not only included both of them but also other classmates, nothing would coincide. But that wasn't a half-bad idea! Quickly he pulled out his phone to check his calendar app for any events Juleka had going on.

“You mean, like how I know that you’re hungry but won’t ask for the pain au chocolat with the dark chocolate Papa made especially for you, because you want to eat it with your five o’clock tea later and won’t allow your stomach to dictate when you eat something?” Felix looked up from his phone and stared at the girl. She just shrugged. “You have checked the time at least five times in the last half hour and that’s only what I have witnessed,” she explained. “Plus, I could almost see the saliva run down your chin when Papa told you about your favourite pastry.”

Felix audibly clapped the cover of his smartphone case shut and put his phone away. She was correct, of course, but he felt petty and unwilling to give her this win. “Just so you know, pain au chocolat is not my favourite. I like the mocha macarons better.”

“Oh? That’s good to hear, then I’ll give the pain au chocolat to Adrien tomorrow.”

Felix hissed at that. “Over my cold dead body!” he growled quite irritated but he instantly felt a bit soothed when he heard Marinette’s soft giggles. Of course, she wouldn’t do that. He knew that, but still, he was a bit miffed at the thought she might give something to someone else that was meant for him. Whether it be a pastry or his place in her life.

“Actually, this is just more proof, that you definitely know what I should do for your friend,” he tried to get back to the original topic. Marinette just hummed noncommittally. “Please, Marinette? You know, I need your help to do this making-amends-stuff. And it’s also a bit your fault I’m in this predicament.”

“Okay, first off: I did not tell you to make that stupid bet. That’s on you. You made a mistake and I hope you learned from it and it better not be to make sure that the odds are even more in your favour the next time-”

“Was there any other lesson to learn from that?”

Marinette heavily breathed through her nose when he interrupted her, so he decided to not add anything and to just let her say her part for now.

“Anyway, what I wanted to say is, that a part of this making-amends-stuff, as you called it, is that it should show that you are trying to be a better person. I will help you at some point, but first, you will have to put in some work. This is more than some homework you can finish and not think about again. Try to find out what Juleka’s fantasy is and what you could do to make her happy. Happy and grateful enough so she might accept that the bad behaviour from your last visit is not who you are.”

Having said what she wanted to say, Marinette turned back to her sketch and narrowed her eyes as she critically looked it over. She was done with their discussion.

***

Talking to Juleka turned out harder than he thought. He tried to start a conversation but she just mumbled something unintelligible and hid behind her hair. And Marinette just gave him an amused grin and a slightly raised eyebrow, letting him know that she still expected him to make an effort to find out what Juleka would like himself. Maybe he should pay for a few lessons of confidence training? She could definitely use it!

At the end of their lunch break, he still hadn’t made any progress and he was ready to ask Adrien to give him another punishment. He would get nowhere like this.

“You could use some help, am I right?” he heard a high voice ask and turned to the source. The pink flower girl, Rosé, stood there and gave him a small smile. The kind of smile someone gave out of embarrassment when they weren’t sure whether to smile or even say something.

“Yes, I could use some help, but Marinette has this idea that I have to put in the effort before she considers helping me.” He sighed and pulled an overly dramatic grimace. “Why is she one of my favourite people again?”

Rosé giggled and relaxed her posture slightly. “Probably because she sent me a message last night. Hey, Rosé, tomorrow Felix will try to find out what he could do for Juleka to make amends with her. I want him to try on his own at first, but if he hasn’t been successful when lunch is over, could you help him? He’s not a bad person, I promise. If you can’t trust him, trust me with this. Have a good night, see you tomorrow, Mari,” she read the message and looked back up. “Well, you don’t look like you had any success, so here I am. Also, you’re stressing out Juls with your attempts to approach her. Maybe we could meet at the library after school and brainstorm an idea?”

“That should be possible. I’ll just inform Marinette that I’ll come over later than planned. She’ll probably design first anyway and we can finish homework later.”

Rosé smiled and nodded. “Okay, see you then, Felix,” she bid goodbye and returned to her friend group. Finally a silver lining! And in the end, Marinette had helped him anyway, even if it was indirect. It was actually scarily smart. Before now he had thought Rosé was annoying, but now that he had talked to her, she didn’t seem that bad. Quirky and excitable maybe and if he had to spend long periods of time with her she would certainly be unbearably annoying after a while, but she seemed to be alright if he only had to interact with her for a limited amount of time. He wouldn’t have known that if Marinette hadn’t sent her his way.

Felix grabbed his bag and went to find his friend to tell her: Well played!

***

"Do you really think a new instrument is the best we can come up with?" Felix frowned as he looked at the list of ideas Rosé and he had come up with. He learned that Juleka liked music and played several instruments like everyone else in her family, although she preferred the bass guitar. She liked make-up and styling and had dyed her hair in different colours in the past.

"I guess it's the best thing that's possible and not just some fantasy," Rosé answered doodling a little cute kitty next to the list of ideas. "A fantasy?" What did she mean by that? In a city that got attacked by a magical supervillain and his butterflies almost daily - and got saved by two teenagers with magical jewellery just as often - he would think anything fantastical wouldn't seem quite as out of reach. "You know, if you have another idea, just say it. Even if you don't think there's anything I can do. Maybe we can think of something that's close enough or I can make sure to at least turn a part of this fantasy into reality," he offered after he had a few moments to think about it.

"Are you sure?"

Felix gave her a small self-assured grin. "I better be!"

Rosé giggled at that and began to tell him about the curse her girlfriend only recently broke.

***

“What do you say?” It was a bit later in the afternoon and Felix had just told Marinette about the idea Rosé and he had come up with. “That should be possible, right?”

Marinette sat at her desk but turned to face him. She fiddled around with some ballpoint pen, rolling it thoughtfully between her thumb and her index finger.

“Maybe,” she finally answered, “but the last time Juleka tried to model for me, she got very nervous. Alya was a bit pushy because she convinced Adrien to help out as well and that’s why we had a time limit. In the end, I was pushed to model with him and Juleka got akumatized. Do you have any plan for what to do if Juleka gets anxious again?”

“Well, not inviting these two might be a good start for now.” He didn’t intend to have them there, but this just confirmed his thoughts on the matter. “I could also take the shots myself. I have some experience behind a camera and I imagine having a professional photographer there would mean more stress to her. I could even try to not be seen by her.”

“You mean, you would hide in the bushes and on trees?” Marinette asked slowly. She gave him a look as flat as a sheet of paper. And to be honest, hearing it like this, it sounded … weird in the best case.

“No, I think I better not do that.”

“No,” Marinette agreed sagely, “you better not.”

***

Felix wasn’t sure how he thought Juleka would react, but he didn’t expect her to look like a cornered little bunny.

“You- you want me to model some of Marinette’s designs? Don’t you remember, what happened last time?”

“Oh Juls,” Rosé whispered and hugged her friend. “That’s exactly why we want to have a do-over! Don’t let that one bad memory stop you from doing something you really want to do!”

“We hope to create a less stressful situation this time,” Felix offered. “It would be just you, Rosé, Marinette, and I. I will also shoot the photos. So, there will only be people you have at least talked to already. This could be the foundation of a portfolio if you want to do more modelling gigs. Also …” Felix looked around and after not seeing the lying girl anywhere near them, he leaned a bit in and lowered his voice, “considering other people who confidently model and who have less than half as much reason to be as confident in their looks as you should be, you really should do this. Always remember: If you would like to do something but you wonder if you are qualified enough, rest assured that there is at least one unqualified person who does exactly this.”

Juleka still looked a bit hesitant, but finally, she nodded.

***

Felix should have known. Of course, it would have just been too easy, if they could just get to the location and take the photos.

Some students from her brother’s school recognised Juleka and immediately crowded around her. Rosé was so excited for her friend, she told them about the photoshoot and they asked if they could stay. They wanted to help and watch.

After all this excitement Juleka’s confidence took a nose-dive. She was nervous and stiff and looked like she was forced to do this at gunpoint. Felix only took half a dozen pictures before he decided this didn’t make any sense.

“The only fantasy I see in these pictures is her fantasy of running away and hiding,” Felix whispered as he stood next to Marinette and showed her the pictures. His friend gave them a critical look, but finally, she sighed and gave him the camera back.

“Well, at least they seem to be genuinely supportive. That’s not the worst-case scenario. But maybe we should still reschedule?”

Felix shook his head. “We won’t have enough time if we don’t get the pictures by the end of the week.”

Marinette frowned at him. “Why the time limit?” she wanted to know. Felix hadn’t told her, but he had sort of planned another surprise for Juleka, but he hadn’t told anyone. He didn’t want to put more pressure on Juleka or disappoint any hopes he might spark, should it not work out as he planned. But maybe he should tell Marinette now?

“The modelling agency you work with has a youth program and I know someone working there because he used to work for my acting agency. I showed him the class photo and he agreed to take a look at Juleka’s portfolio. And if he could get the portfolio by the end of the week, he might be able to get Juleka into their summer program. This would-”

“Felix, I have to interrupt you.”

Marinette cut him off with a raised hand and a pensive expression. “We don’t even know if Juleka would want this. I agree, it’s an amazing opportunity and Juleka deserves this chance. I appreciate how much thought and work you put into this and I’m sure Juleka would, too.”

“But-?”

Marinette’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. “Still,” she continued, emphasising the word to point out that she was not using a but, “I think you should talk to her before you show the pictures to anyone else. She’s surrounded by people who support her and she is this anxious. Could you imagine how violated she might feel if she learns afterwards that some stranger saw the photos without her consent?”

Felix couldn’t precisely understand why Juleka might be hurt. He was usually ecstatic when he learned people saw his work. But Marinette knew the girl better. Maybe she really wouldn’t want that. The boy decided he should talk to Juleka first, but when he looked around he couldn’t see her anywhere.

“Mari.”

“Give me a moment, I’m texting Luka. I’m sure he can calm her down.”

“Amazing idea. Maybe he can also tell us where she likes to hide?”

The young designer looked up and let her gaze wander over everyone present as well. She couldn’t find her friend but only a moment later they both noticed something else. “Merde!”

“With baked beans on toast,” Felix added with a nod. “Alright, you find a place for your glam up and I try to find our model before Mothbreath does.” With this Felix followed the little black butterfly. It was surprising enough that nobody else seemed to notice the akuma. Rosé talked to those other students about the band she and Juleka played in. If he had to guess, he would say she tried to keep their attention from her friend. Only, Rosé did it too well, so she didn’t notice anyone leaving.

Felix followed one of the paths for a bit until he found a hair clip near the edge of the grass. It was black and pretty simplistic, but he was sure he had watched earlier as Rosé used this clip to keep Julekas hair out of her face.

He looked around and noticed that there was a shortcut towards the toilets if he walked over the grass compared to the gravel path. Of course, an upset girl would run to the toilet. He should have learned this from Marinette by now!

With a deep sigh, Felix cursed Hawk Moth and public toilets and the fact that he would still do what he had to do. To put one over on Mothbreath and so Juleka wouldn’t be reminded of past traumatic events.

He didn’t usually storm the ladies’ room, but this also wasn’t a usual situation. He was faster than the akuma and skidded in front of a still pretty upset Juleka.

“Not her!” he hissed, watching the flying pattern of the black insect. “Not today!”

Felix heard the scared sobs Juleka tried to suppress. As if the butterfly could hear her and take control of her if she was too loud.

“Juleka, please listen to my voice,” he begged while internally praying that Ladybug would soon appear. “Take deep breaths. Concentrate on your breath on the feeling of your lungs expanding when you breathe in and contracting when you breathe out. You’re doing great! Ok, Juleka, do you think, you can listen? Hawk Moth can only control you if you think the power he offers is the only way out for you. Do you understand me? You don’t need his power. I think the fact that you are here is proof that you are so much stronger than he is. Do you want to hear my theory on why he mainly akumatizes teens and children?” Felix didn’t wait for an answer. Giving the girl something else to focus on seemed to be as good a plan as anything else.

“Teens and children haven’t had the chance to learn a few important life lessons. It’s a lot more likely that a situation seems hopeless to them. Hawk Moth thinks they are the best targets. Easy victims. I don’t think you’re a victim and I’m offended Mothbreath would dare to think this!”

A surprised little laugh sounded behind him and Felix felt a tiny part relax slightly.

“Mothbreath?” Juleka whispered.

“Yeah. I’m also convinced the akumas are created by his burps.” This was improvised, but he heard the girl giggle softly. The dark butterfly seemed to be scandalised by his words and left the restroom through a window. Felix felt himself finally relax. He was confident that Ladybug would be able to do the rest.

“Thank you. I … I really didn’t want to be akumatized again. I just get so anxious when so many people expect something from me. What if I disappoint them? Rosé and Luka’s friends were so excited for me and you organised everything and Mari agreed to let me model some of her designs. And my dad loves her designs and I just know that he would make this big deal about this. And if I end up having this portfolio and people immediately see through me and know I’m not an actual model? After all, most pictures of me end up being awful!”

No, no, you can’t get upset again, just when I was able to calm you down a bit! Felix tried frantically to come up with an idea.

“I just don’t want to disappoint everyone if I can’t do it,” Juleka added faintly not knowing how her words sparked an idea in the blond boy. Felix remembered himself saying something very similar many years ago. Reaching a decision he carefully looked out the door and saw Ladybug de-akumatizing that pigeon guy and joking with her cat boy. Seems as if Hawk Moth had to use the akuma one way or another and the pigeon guy was the only other option. He hoped Mothbreath bumped his tiny toe when he kicked something, angry about his newest loss and his stupidity.

“Look, over there is a bench, let’s sit for a moment,” he offered and pointed to a wooden bench not far away. Juleka nodded and followed him there. He took a moment to sort through his thoughts.

“Many years ago, when I had my first acting role, I said something similar. I was afraid I wouldn’t get it right and would be replaced by another, more experienced child actor, which would surely disappoint my family. One of the assistant cameramen found me and sat down with me. He told me that even though people may think otherwise, a camera doesn’t capture reality. This goes for acting and modelling. Shortly after my aunt disappeared, there was an interview and a photoshoot with Adrien. In the interview, they praised how brave my cousin was, because he could still smile for the camera. I like to think that I know my cousin well enough to know that he didn’t feel like smiling or brave in any way and this interview is just another reason I owe my uncle a kick in the crotch. He hid and mostly still hides in his obscenely large house and Adrien had to manage on his own, while the media hunted him down because stories and pictures of the son of the mysteriously vanished wife of a failed designer sold well.” He took a deep breath, to get back on topic.

“What I’m trying to say is, that in front of a camera, you can be whoever you want to be. It’s not Juleka, the girl who had a photo curse. When you’re in front of the camera, it’s Juleka, the model. If it would help you, you can have a pseudonym.”

“Do you have a pseudonym?”

“No,” he answered but pulled a piece of cloth out. “Back then, a friend gave me a piece of cloth she had used to practise stitching. I could hide it in the pocket of my costume. With it, I had an easier time getting into character.”

“Was Mari this friend?” she asked and finally there was a soft smile on her lips. She knew the answer, which is why Felix only smirked but didn’t answer. She snorted at that. “So, who are you playing if you have it with you now?”

“Initially I thought I would play the photographer, but it seems I also picked up the role of a civilian hero and your coach. This reminds me …”

Felix raised the hand in which he still held the hair clip she lost earlier.

“I think you lost this. It’s not a talisman made by Marinette, but then again, what else is? And I’m sure, Rosé will be more than happy to supply you with your own talisman. May I?” Felix didn’t comment on how Juleka blushed when he mentioned her girlfriend. Instead, he motioned to the hair that was hiding half her face. He leaned forward and fixed the hair clip so her hair would be held back.

“See? Now I can only see the model of today’s photoshoot. Before we go back, Marinette scolded me and told me, I should tell you before: I know someone working for a modelling agency with a youth program because he worked for my acting agency when I started out. He said he would be happy to take a look at the photos we shoot today and maybe he could get you into their summer program if we can show him the photos by the end of the week. Initially, I only wanted to tell you if everything worked out, but Marinette thought it’s more important that you are okay with someone else seeing your photos. What do you think?” Felix watched her and carefully tried to take note of every twitch that might tell him if she felt uncomfortable with the idea. Of course, he wanted to respect her wishes and if she didn’t dare to outright tell him, she didn’t like the idea, he wanted to be able to offer her a way out.

But he was worried for no reason because he could see determination steel her face and she gave him a brave nod. “That sounds like an amazing opportunity, Felix. Thank you. But, you know, now I really expect you to shoot amazing pics!” She gave him a small smirk and he returned it as he stood up.

“Perfect! Then let’s return to the location!”

***

When Felix saw his uncle later that day he was walking with a limp and when he asked his cousin what happened, he told him that Garbiel had bumped his tiny toe somewhere.

"Sorry to interrupt. Ivan, could you take a look at this? I can't help myself, I feel as if I have forgotten something," he explained and placed everything in front of the other boy. Ivan let go of Mylene who he had embraced right before Felix had come over. He as well as his girlfriend leaned over the papers, the notebook, and the tablet.

"I can't see anything you might have forgotten. As far as I can tell, you've thought of everything. The venue, the catering, the personnel, the guests," he listed and pushed everything back over to Felix. "I don't know what might be missing. Maybe you forgot something else? Is there any birthday you should have remembered?"

Felix shook his head. There were only very few people whose birthday was important to him on a personal level. His grandparents' assistants took care of everyone important for business reasons and told him when he had to sign a present.

"What about Sabrina?" Mylene suddenly asked. Both boys gave her a confused look. "Sabrina?" he finally probed when she failed to offer any more explanation.

"Yeah, your bet with Adrien, you remember? As far as I can tell, you already did something for everyone else, except for Sabrina."

Mylene was correct. He had mentally put a check behind the punishment for the bet and completely forgotten that there was still one last person. He probably didn't remember, because Sabrina was always around Chloe and didn't seem to have much personality beyond her role as Chloe's sidekick. He felt a bit ashamed to admit, he had unconsciously not considered her as her own person.

"I think that might be it. Thank you, Mylene for reminding me. I shall go and correct this immediately," he announced, packed his stuff and turned to leave.

"Need help with that?" Ivan called after him and Felix gave him a small shake of his head over his shoulder. "Probably, but I really should at least try first. Pray that Chloe doesn't annoy me enough for me to do something reckless. We really need that venue."

***

Chloe Bourgeois was undoubtedly the most obnoxious, annoying, insufferable, infuriating, immature, horrible, despicable, outrageously vile brat to ever walk the face of the earth! At least this was Felix's very objective opinion.

Marinette had been pretty confused when he had stormed into her room and exclaimed, "Calm me down or I'm afraid you'll have to de-akumatize me because I'm done and more than willing to end that scion of a mangy mutt and a hornet!"

Marinette didn't hesitate and only a moment later Felix found himself lying on the chaise lounge with his head bedded on Marinette's lap. She hummed softly and gently brushed with her fingers through his hair. It was a heavenly feeling and Felix felt himself calm down and his eyes closed almost instantly. This was nice. Maybe he should get enraged more often if this was the payout.

For a few minutes, he simply didn't think of anything and just enjoyed being spoiled by his not-quite-yet-but-maybe-hopefully-soon-girlfriend. He planned to officially ask her at the gala after her show. She would have a bit more time then since everything would be over and the holidays would start only a week later. He wished he could invite her to stay at one of his family's estates, maybe the one he taught her horseback riding at. But he realised that she would rather stay in Paris and not leave for several weeks, even though she could use the horse miraculous to come back at any time.

"Do you want to tell me what happened that got you so upset?" she finally asked. Felix didn't reply right away. The sensation of her fingernails scratching gently over his scalp was extremely distracting. "Chloe Bourgeois has to be my most formidable foe," he finally answered, "which I feel insulted by since she's everything but formidable."

"Ah," he could hear Marinette's amused smile in her voice, he didn't need to see it, but he opened his eyes to sneak a glimpse nonetheless, "your arch-nemesis." Felix snorted at that. "Chloe isn't important enough to be an arch nemesis, more like a minor antagonist. She's a nuisance."

"I wouldn't have thought that a nuisance would be capable of getting you this riled up," she teased. But since she didn't stop her ministations Felix didn't mind. "I'd say Gabriel is my arch nemesis. And one day I will deal him a fatal blow."

"No murdering your uncle," Marinette stipulated, but didn't comment on this any further. Instead, she started to gently tug on his hair. "If I'm done with Hawk Moth before you're done with Gabriel, I'll even help you."

"I don't need to murder him. I just want him to suffer and regret everything he did to Adrien, my aunt and my family. I'll get a lot more satisfaction out of that." He didn't want to create a martyr. Adrien would never be free of Gabriel’s ghost if he died too soon, he would always feel morally obligated to do what his father would expect of him.

"So, Chloe made herself a nuisance. How exactly did she provoke your anger this time?" Felix sighed and tried to sit up, but Marinette just raised a brow and he obediently relaxed again.

“Today I was reminded that there is still one classmate left before I can call my punishment finished. I completely forgot that Sabrina is her own person and not simply an extension of Chloe,” he recounted his earlier revelation. Marinette just hummed in understanding and continued with her almost rhythmical tugging. “I went to talk to Sabrina, but thanks to Chloe I had no chance to have a conversation. Sabrina didn’t dare to acknowledge me after Chloe told her to act as if I was not there. In the end, Chloe even said I should do something else for her since that’s what Sabrina would want. And I really don’t want to do anything else for her.”

“Understandable. Sabrina might be the hardest person to do something nice for. Of course, the nicest thing would be distance to Chloe, so both of them can do some growing on their own, but you and I know that that’s not going to happen. And I don’t think Sabrina would call that as doing something nice either.” Marinette lifted one hand and rummaged around in some box on the desk. “But I think there is still something that can be done. And since Sabrina is especially hard, I’ll help you.”

"You will? Thank you! I have no-" Felix had sat up and stopped when he caught himself in the mirror and the strands of hair Marinette still held between her fingers.

"Did … did you braid my hair?" he asked bewildered. Marinette leaned forward and fixed the small braid with the hairpin she had just pulled out of the box on her desk and whispered, "I regret nothing."

***

“We could have met him at your place.”

“We could have. But the probability of Sabrina and Chloe coming here is zero,” Marinette retorted. She took a step back and gave the coffee table in his parlour a critical once-over. After a moment she stepped over to the floor-to-ceiling window and pulled a small side table over, so it would stand slightly to the left while she opened the right wing of the window. Felix observed her pulling the sheer curtain back over the opened half of the window, so it would blow in the gentle late spring breeze. Finally, she turned around and took the vase with the fresh flower bouquet she insisted on buying and placed it on the side table instead of the coffee table. Afterwards, she rearranged the pastries.

“The coffee table looked too cluttered,” she explained when she caught his perplexed face. This made him snort, “Well, you plundered half of the bakery display.”

“Most of that was for your mom and Ines for using your apartment for the meeting. At least a little compensation for the trouble. I know what Officer Raincomprix prefers, after all, he’s a regular at our bakery.”

Felix made the wise decision to not engage any further in this argument. Marinette had promised to help him with his last atonement and he knew how much she cared for details and perfection. And he also knew how she could get a bit snappish when there wasn’t anything else she could prepare to ensure said perfection. He was glad that he was one of the few people she felt comfortable enough around to not mask her nervousness with a grimace of a smile. And a snappish Marinette was still better for her than a spiralling Marinette. He could deal with that.

A knock sounded and after Marinette called Ines, their housekeeper opened the door to let them know that Officer Raincomprix had arrived.

“Thank you, Ines. Please let him enter.” Felix stood up again to step next to Marinette who now had a pleasant smile on her lips. Sabrina’s father stepped into the room and the housekeeper closed the door behind him.

“Thank you so much for coming, Officer Raincomprix,” Marinette immediately greeted him. Felix came up next to her to shake the hand of his guest.

“Please take a seat. Would you prefer coffee or tea or something else?” Felix asked. He fell effortlessly into the role of a host, after all, he had several lessons teaching him etiquette.

“Coffee, please. Black,” the man added after a moment. He seemed a bit nervous and awkward as he eyed the pastries but didn’t dare to take one.

“Feel free to help yourself to some pastries,” he offered the man after filling his cup with coffee. After serving the guest he filled Marinette’s cup with coffee but left enough space so she could fill it with some milk and sugar, although he knew she wouldn’t add the horrendous amount she usually preferred. It was unbecoming to add too much sugar when the drink wasn’t prepared in private.

He filled his own cup with black tea and added a splash of milk.

“You wanted to talk about Sabrina?” the man opened the conversation. He had a croissant on his plate but besides putting it there he hadn’t touched it or his coffee. Marinette paused in stirring her cup of coffee, then put her spoon down and gave Officer Raincomprix a reassuring smile.

“Sabrina is not in trouble, Officer Raincomprix. I asked you here on behalf of Felix.” She tilted her head slightly in his direction and he nodded. “Felix joined the class several weeks ago and on his first day, he lost a bet. The price for losing that bet was to do something nice for every member of the class. The only one, he hasn’t done anything for yet is Sabrina. Since she is always around Chloe Felix hasn’t been able to get to know her like the other classmates, which is why I asked you here. Maybe you could tell him a bit about Sabrina or something that would make her happy?”

The man seemed to relax at that. More than that, he seemed exceptionally excited about the opportunity to talk about his daughter and Felix could easily see how much he adored her. He learned that Roger Raincomprix had raised his daughter mostly on his own. Sabrina’s mother, a woman going by the name of Cecile Morel, was a successful ballet dancer. Whenever she was in Paris she would call, but she usually had engagements elsewhere.

“Cecile loves Sabrina. I know this and I’m sure Sabrina knows, too. But she is also very free-spirited and needs to roam and amaze people with her talent all around the globe. She would wilt away if she had to stay put. It wasn’t easy to tell her to follow her passion, but back then we were constantly fighting and that was even worse for Sabrina.”

"Do you think Sabrina misses her mother?" Marinette asked in a gentle voice. Felix didn't contribute a lot to the conversation. He preferred to listen and think. He probably wouldn't be able to convince Sabrina's mother to stay, going by what her father told them. But maybe it was a possibility to at least bring her back regularly? Although Felix's preferred profession was acting for movies and television shows, he had some contacts in the field of theatre and stage performance. But his idea would take some time. Getting someone a recurring engagement at the state ballet would be hard. Potentially even harder than getting someone a spot on the ensemble. He couldn't decide that. Marinette and he would only be able to use their influence to heavily encourage the artistic director to engage Sabrina's mother more often.

"I think she misses her at least a bit, but she usually doesn't talk about her a lot," the man replied. Marinette nodded. "I can imagine. I had no idea until now that her mother is a professional dancer, but I know that Sabrina would like to join the dance club at school. I once heard her and Chloe talk about that."

Felix noticed Marinette's suddenly stormy look. She had a lot more patience with Chloe than he did, but it still angered her that one word from the mayor's daughter would deter Sabrina from doing something she wanted to do.

Officer Raincomprix nodded slowly. "I am glad she has a friend," he started, "and I also think that Chloe needs a friend. I'm just questioning whether this friend has to be my Sabrina. I just hope Sabrina finds new friends at the lycée. Maybe some friends who won't simply override her wishes. I already know that she and Chloe will go to different schools. That was a huge discussion at home, but the deciding factor was that she wants to study law to become a judge one day."

After that, there wasn't much new information and finally, Officer Raincomprix announced that he had to leave.

"Please take some pastries with you. I have seen Sabrina eye the raspberry vanilla and the honeydew macarons the last time I've seen her at our bakery. Maybe you would like to take a few so she can try them?" Marinette offered, playing the perfect host once more. The man thanked her and packed a few macarons, a croissant and a pain au chocolat into a box. They accompanied him to the door and returned to the parlour to discuss what they learned.

"So, I assume you won't try to get her an internship with one of your lawyers?” Marinette placed a mocha macaron in front of him and arranged the leftover sweets in a way nobody could tell that some were already missing.

“It would have to do something with law, but considering how her father talked about it, I’m led to believe that her reason for pursuing a law degree is a yearning for justice and not the fine art of verbal and psychological warfare our lawyers practise. If that was something she liked she probably would have no issue asserting herself against Chloe.” Felix shook his head. “No, I would like to try to give her the chance to spend more time with her mother. But I think I might need your help for this.”

He looked at her and Marinette sat down and let him know to continue.

“I was thinking that maybe we could invite her mother to dance at the gala after the fashion show. If I remember correctly the artistic director of the Parisian State Ballet is a guest as well as the director of the Parisian Institute for the Performing Arts. Of course, we can’t make either of them engage her or make her take a possible offer. But we could mention to the art director how awed we are by her talent and how disappointing it is that she isn’t performing in Paris more often and maybe the director of the institute would consider engaging her as a guest lecturer.”

Marinette tilted her head slightly and nodded slowly.

“Try to contact her. Ask her if she would be willing to perform at the gala and tell her that of course she would be invited to the silent auction and the fashion show before the gala as well. You can mention that Sabrina and her father would also be invited. If I heard correctly she doesn’t necessarily try to avoid her daughter, she just finds work more often elsewhere. And since it’s already a bit on short notice, this might convince her. If your mother doesn’t want you to use your staff to fly her in or your money to buy her a plane ticket and a hotel room if she wants to stay at a hotel, I know my family would be fine with it. I’m sure you can make all the necessary arrangements.”

She stood up and stretched a bit. “Do you think you need more help from me?” she asked. Felix shook his head and stood up, too. “I think I’m fine and can do everything else,” he told her and pulled her for a half-hug into his side. “Thank you for helping me with this. I would have had no idea how to go about Sabrina.” He leaned over and gave her a small peck on her cheek. The smaller girl looked up at him and gave him a self-satisfied grin. “You’re welcome!” she smirked, returned the peck and then stepped out of his hug to take the two massive plates full of sweets and pastries.

“Now, eat your macaron! I made a batch of mocha macarons, especially for you,” she ordered and left the room. If someone asked him later how she opened the door although both her hands were occupied by heavy plates, he wouldn’t be able to answer. And Marinette would try to prevent anyone from revealing her mysteries.

Luck is kind of a funny thing, seeming to flip flop between screwing Felix over or giving him the best day of his life.

This however, was an interesting case. He had been drinking his usual mid day coffee, no big deal, until he heard a familiar (and obnoxiously loud) voice mingling with three others.

And of course, the loudest one had to be the ‘Silent Vigilante’ Kid Mime himself, Claude Guillaume. The dramatic irony made Felix scoff, not even taking into account that he saw through that mask he wore in an instant.

So obvious, it was hilarious.

“You’re kidding!” Claude exclaimed, seemingly at Marinette, who was mid sentence when Felix could actually hear them. “You actually got a look at Ladybug while she was fighting?!”

The mention of Paris’s spotted heroine caught Felix’s attention. The ring on his finger thankfully wasn’t noticeable, or at least, people didn’t actively look at it.

That protected further suspicion that Chat Noir — the extremely unlucky, but also suave and kinda sneaky Chat Noir — was actually Felix Sphinx the entire time.

Thankfully, said disguise also worked on Ladybug. He’d be ashamed for lying to her so much, but if it meant he could be rid of this curse then… What choice did he have, but to lie?

“It’s not very much, Claude! Don’t get your hopes up!” Marinette replied, trying not to sound nervous. “I couldn’t even see who she was fighting!”

The other two people with her, Alan and Allegra, weren’t too bothered by Claude’s nosiness. Exactly how they weren’t annoyed was mystifying.

Allegra — or as the public knows her, Melodie. Another identity that Felix saw through like glass. Her powers came from her flute, which oh so coincidentally, Allegra had mastered only three days after joining her lycées band class.

And then there was one.

Alan, aka Mercury. Another situation similar to the likes of Melodie. Alan was near perfect at track, athletics, the whole nine yards — literally. His agility and speed in anything was unmatched. No doubt, he was Mercury, the lightning fast hero of endurance.

Felix three, secret identities zero.

They had continued to talk amongst themselves about Ladybug and he continued to mostly half listen, until something began to stir in Felix’s mind.

He couldn’t place Ladybug’s identity. It seemed reasonable at first, because when he was Chat, she’d go on and on about not saying who they were for one reason or another. Which, to be fair, he did agree with.

It was just kind of annoying because he was able to crack the code on all three other heroes… but not her.

He couldn’t figure her out, and it was the most annoying and saddening thing. If he never knew who she is, he’d never get this ring off him… wouldn’t he?

That… actually gave him an idea.

Tonight, as Chat, he’d ask to know who she is. To be rid of this curse… and of keeping his feelings secret.

— — —

Chat Noir stood on one of the Eiffel Tower’s beams, hands behind his back. This was it. This was the moment he’d know where he’d know and put this stress behind him.

“Chat?” Ah, there she was. “You said you wanted to talk about something?”

“Yeah, I do. I want to know, Ladybug… are you scared of revealing your identity?”

Chat felt her flinch without even turning around, not surprised at the lack of a response.

“Um…why do you ask?” came her sheepish reply.

“Because, Ladybug…” Chat finally turned around, his expression somewhat serious. “I want to tell you who I am, but only if you’re okay with doing the same.”

“Chat, I… I’m not so sure about this. What if Papillon finds out and uses that against us?”

“It won’t matter, because I’ll be with you every step of the way. I trust you with my life, and I hope you feel the same. We’re a team, after all.”

Chat saw Ladybug’s expression brighten up, as if she were about to cry from how sweet that was. She took in a breath, and looked at her partner.

“Ok, I trust you, but let’s make it a surprise.” That grin she got on her face made his heart melt. She closed her eyes, followed by Chat doing the same.

“Ready for this?” She asked.

“Ready.”

“Okay…” He heard her transformation fade, but didn’t open his eyes until he felt himself de-transform as well.

Then, when Felix opened his eyes and was met with his classmate, Marinette Cheng… he felt his heart catch in his throat, rendered speechless.

Marinette had met his gaze for half a second before her face went as red as her suit. She couldn’t even think of what to say to him…

Felix… was Chat Noir.

Marinette… was Ladybug.

They had been so close, for this long, and neither of them realized it.

“… I’m so stupid…” was the first thing that came out of Felix’s mouth post-reveal.

“Wh-what do you mean? You’re not—”

“Except I am!” Felix retorted as he unconsciously began to pace back and forth, a common occurrence when he went on long winded speeches. “I am stupid because I just— couldn’t piece together that you were Ladybug!”

Felix’s ring sparking with dark energy went unnoticed by him, but not by Marinette who swallowed her fear to bring attention to it.

“Um, Felix…?”

He kept pacing and talking, as if he didn’t even hear Marinette’s voice of concern or the beam below them beginning to creak as if decaying.

“I mean, you have the same hair, the same voice, the way you’re always so confident and just- argh!! It was so frustrating not knowing who you were and yet the answer was literally right in front of me!” He slapped himself on the forehead three times in succession as if to punish himself for his ignorance. “Idiot, idiot, idiot!!”

“Uhh, Felix?” Marinette repeated insistently, sweating bullets as the metal beneath them began to groan with wear.

“Kid Mime was easy, Melodie was easy, Mercury was easy, but I never would’ve guessed that you of all people was—” Felix’s tirade was cut off as the ground wore away, sending them both careening to their possible demise. “LADYBUG!”

Quick as a flash, Ladybug appeared once again and caught Felix before he could transform himself.

The broken beam was still midway through its fall, and Ladybug produced a string of light from her spotted satchel. The string snaked itself around the beam, pulling it back up to the tower and enveloping it in light, which faded to reveal the tower had been fixed.

Sighing with relief, Ladybug carried Felix to an alley, de-transforming afterwards. “Are you okay…?”

For once, Felix had nothing to say. He wasn’t injured, but still… The shock from Marinette being Ladybug was a lot to process.

“Yeah, I’m fine Mariii— Umm…” he found himself tongue tied and beet red now that he was brought back to the present. He cleared his throat, as if to compose himself. “I’m fine now, and thank you…”

“What happened back there…?”

Felix felt a knot rise in his throat as Marinette hypothesized what happened, sighing with defeat knowing it’s now or never. He really didn’t want to tell her what happened in that context…

“I’m… I’m cursed.” Felix admitted, his head down in shame.

“Wh… what?!”

“My ring. It cursed me with bad luck. Can’t take it off unless I want to experience a living hell for the rest of my life.”

“Felix, I…”

“That’s why, as…” he gulped, trying to ease his worries before they turned into tears. “As…Chat Noir, I always tried to pursue a relationship with you, with Ladybug… a kiss from her would break it.”

Marinette cautiously stepped closer, Tikki floating freely by her side. The distance between her and the man of her dreams was beginning to narrow.

“But… now that I know Ladybug was you, and you know Chat Noir was… well, me, I understand if you don’t want to be around someone as selfish as me anymore.” He paused to take a breath in a vain attempt to compose himself again. “I know I wouldn’t want to either…”

Marinette hadn’t been aware of how close she got to him, her cheeks tinted pink as Felix finally let the cold facade melt away. He really was being honest with her…

Looking up at her crush of months on end, Marinette closed the distance between them with a kiss, catching Felix off guard for a moment before he returned the gesture. He ran his hand through her hair, truly taking in the moment that almost didn’t feel real.

Once the kiss broke away, Felix found himself staring at her, still caught in the moment and waiting for his heart to catch up with his mind.

He had so many things to say, yet he remained flustered into silence.

“It’s okay, Felix. I understand, and… I couldn’t be happier to know that you are Chat Noir.” Her warm smile set his heart ablaze with a newfound love.

Was this whole relationship thing supposed to feel like fluttering in his stomach? What was he supposed to say?

“I… um… uh… thank you?” His words sounded awkward and quiet, making Marinette laugh at how tongue tied he was. He was a man of few words, but that was by choice. Never before had he expected to be this flustered after accomplishing what he set out to do.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Marinette quipped, snickering with the cheesiest grin imaginable.

“Hah…” That joke was awful… but here he was, stifling a laugh anyway. “Good one...”

It was in that moment of silence that Felix took a moment to look at his ring, casually leaning against a wall to test if any of the balconies above fell or if any cars would pass by and completely soak him…

Nothing.

Nothing happened! It was broken!

Felix twirled Marinette around which then turned into a hug, barely able to contain his laughter from the sheer relief he felt.

“I can’t thank you enough!!”

Marinette returned the gesture, Tikki looking at them with starry eyes as Plagg fake retched.

This overwhelming joy he felt. It was so alien, but… he liked it. He liked being able to feel this good again…

These fluttering butterflies in his stomach, the fire in his heart… he could get used to it.

“So… um… what now?” Marinette asked, a spark of eagerness in her eyes.

“Hm… well, I know someone wanted to ask me out to a movie before all this. So, why not?”

“I’d like that…”

Walking out of the alley with arms locked, Felix and Marinette looked at one another with a love that they never could’ve predicted.

"Look at the new pajamas your maman made." He held up the outfits. "Here's a Ladybug one for you, Arielle and a Chat Noir for you, Lawrence."

Arielle crossed her arms defiantly. "No."

Félix blinked. "What?"

"I want Chat Noir." The little girl pointed to the onesie. "I want pawsies."

"Okay, then Lawrence would you like to wear the Ladybug—" He was interrupted by a tug on the hem of his shirt, with a pleading chubby-cheeked Lawrence shaking his head.

Félix was flattered, yes, but he knew the twins wouldn't back down until they got what they wanted. "You can't both wear the Chat Noir one and maman hasn't made an extra," he reasoned, "Look, the Ladybug pajamas are nice! She's my favorite hero. Don't you want the wings—"

"Chat. Noir." Arielle scowled. Lawrence's bottom lip quivered.

"Let's see here. What if one of you wears the Chat Noir tonight and the other will get it tomorrow?" Félix proposed, pulling back the onesie from Arielle's grabbing fingers.

"I want to wear it tonight, papa," Arielle whined. Her brother repeated the same sentiment, but in a quieter voice.

Félix sighed inwardly. The twins were usually cooperative, joined at the hip in their sneaky schemes. But when they fought over something, it was difficult to make the problem go away. That was why he and Marinette avoided playing favorites and made sure the twins had the same rewards, the same things. Unfortunately, this was overlooked in the onesie dilemma.

Two pairs of blue eyes stared at him expectantly, waiting for his next course of action.

"We can settle this with a duel!" Arielle shot Lawrence a snobby look. The boy clutched his pillow, pouting.

"Ari, kitten." Félix gave her a reproachful look. "What about this: you will both wear your regular pajamas tonight and not the onesies, until maman can make an extra Chat Noir."

"Nooo!" The two chorused.

Arielle jumped off the bed, marched over to her drawers and rummaged through it. Félix watched as she pulled out a crumpled bill from her knitted purse. She held it out to her father. "Five euros for the onesie."

Félix stared. "Ho—How do you know about bribery?"

His mind momentarily drifted towards his eldest.

Arielle looked through her purse. "I can add another five. Take it or leave it."

"I'll leave it then."

She looked absolutely distraught.

"Kitten, we don't carelessly offer money to get what we want." Félix gently took her purse and put it back. He picked her up to carry her back to the bed.

"But we're rich." Arielle pointed out as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

"Just because we're wealthy, it doesn't mean we can throw or flaunt it around," Félix lectured, running a hand through his hair. They really ought to monitor Blaise's interactions with the children.

"I—I don't have money, papa, but I'll do more chores," Lawrence sniffed.

"No, I will not be accepting exchanges for the onesie, regardless if it's in cash or service." Félix caressed the top of the boy's head.

"I have no choice but to use my last resort." Arielle clenched her fists.

"Which is?"

Her gaze turned sharp. "Bwackmail."

"No, don't try that." He did not even want to know what his daughter had as 'blackmail material'. Félix glanced at his ring, leaning forwards. "I may have a solution for this, but I'll have to step outside and check on something first. Is that okay?"

"Are you gonna make us duel?" Arielle asked.

"No, kitten." Félix stood up. "Wait here and don't fight."

He slipped out of the bedroom, staying near the door in case the kids stirred up trouble. His thumb subconsciously rubbed over his ring.

He lowered his voice into a whisper. "Plagg—"

"No!"

"Really? Not even in exchange for some Epoisse de Bourgogne? Or Stinking Bishop?"

Plagg's tail twitched.

"Torta Del Casar? Limburger?"

"Oh fine!" The kwami gave in. "I'll let you know right now that this is a bad idea!"

"Don't tell me something I already know." Félix narrowed his eyes. "Can you change the suit into something more comfy? With paws?"

Plagg huffed. "Yeah, yeah, I'll try."

Félix went back to find the twins buzzing with anticipation. He knelt in front of them.

"I found another Chat Noir onesie for one of you to wear," he said. "It's magic."

"Magic?" Lawrence gaped.

Félix nodded. "Yes, magic. Now, which one of you—"

"I want it!" Arielle raised her hand, bouncing.

"I want it too." Lawrence smiled shyly.

"We'll have to settle this fairly then," Félix explained, putting a slight seriousness into his words. "You will play rock-paper-scissors, the winner will wear the magic onesie tonight and the other will have maman's onesie, and tomorrow you'll trade."

The twins fiddled with the sheets, pondering.

"Do you accept the terms?" Félix tilted his head.

"I accept," said Arielle.

"Me too," Lawrence whispered.

Félix acted as the referee for them. The twins held out their hands, Félix chanted the words, and they drew out their choices. Lawrence put out a rock, while Arielle chose scissors.

Arielle turned to him, panic-stricken. "Best of three!"

Félix looked at Lawrence. "Lawrence, do you agree to a best of three?"

The boy bit his lip and nodded.

They tried again, and after the rounds, Arielle emerged as the champion. The girl cheered at her victory. Fortunately, Lawrence was calm about his loss. Félix helped him into the Chat Noir onesie Marinette made, reassuring him that he'd get his turn the following day.

Félix fidgeted with his ring. "For the magic onesie to work, you both have to close your eyes."

"Why?" Arielle wrinkled her nose.

"Or else the magic won't work."

"That's silly." Still, they obediently closed their eyes.

After making sure neither was peeking, Félix pulled off his ring as he waved Plagg over. He carefully put it on Arielle's finger, making sure it wasn't too tight or loose. "Don't open your eyes," he instructed, "Arielle, repeat after me. 'Plagg, claws out.'"

"Plagg, claws out!"

A green light spread in the room, which revealed a new suit on the little girl. It was similar to the other onesie, but had fluffier paws and more realistic cat ears perched on midnight black hair. Félix's heart melted at how adorable his kitten was. He silently thanked Plagg for making it perfect.

"You can open your eyes now," Félix said.

Arielle's eyes were now slitted catlike ones. She looked down on her outfit. "Wow! It's so cool papa!" She threw her arms around Félix's neck.

"I'm glad you like it, kitten." Félix smiled softly.

Even Lawrence was in a wonder-filled trance when he saw the suit. "I'll wear it tomorrow, won't I?" He pouted up at Félix.

"Of course," said Félix.

Arielle reached towards her back, pulling out the metal baton. "What's this?"

Félix's eyes widened as he took it from her. "It's, umm, a freebie. You don't need it right now—you'll be sleeping."

She gazed down at her hands, giggling. "Pawsies!"

"Félix?!"

Félix whipped around to see Marinette standing by the doorway with her mouth agape. Henri was nestled in her arms while Blaise sported an expression of amusement.

"Maman, look!" Arielle squealed. "Magic Chat Noir onesie!"

Marinette looked at her husband. "I was only out for a shopping trip and you . . ."

"Do what?" Félix stirred his cup of tea, summoning nonchalance into his mannerisms.

"Steal it of course!"

"What did I steal this time?" He drawled, sipping on his drink. "Ancient scrolls? The Elf King's crown? Your beloved coat? Please do enlighten me."

"Morning of yesterday." Adrien scowled. His Blessed necklaces gleamed and swayed. "You stole the Bloodtear Ruby from the Magic Hall's vault."

"Did I? How did you come to that conclusion?"

Adrien's face was turning red. "Of course it's you! There's no one else who could've stolen it, like all the other heists you pulled off!"

Paladins. They're all the same. Félix leaned back with a deadpan expression. They think they're the highest authority while they push around others to further their ideals. How wonderful. It annoyed him that it just had to be his cousin who was sent to confront him.

"I've always said the same thing each time you barge into my home," he said coolly. "You cannot accuse me with no evidence. You said I stole the Bloodtear Ruby. How did I steal it then? Is there anything left in the scene that implicates me? Do you have witnesses?"

Adrien clamped his mouth shut.

Félix waved his hand. "See? You don't have anything. If you're looking for an alibi, I'll tell you that I was here the entire day of yesterday."

The paladin narrowed his eyes, unrelenting. "How do you explain that red jewel hanging above your fireplace?"

"It's a replica. Blood rubies are the trend nowadays."

"And that painting on your wall that looks like Paon de l'ombre that was stolen two months ago?"

"I commissioned it from an anonymous artist." Félix grinned. "I'm rather fond of that painting."

"What about that Elven Flag in your kitchen that looks like the one that went missing the other day?"

"Coincidence. I adore the elves."

Adrien let out a long groan and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I don't get why you're doing this, Fé," he said softly. "You're already rich. Our family's rich. Why do you want more when you have enough? Is it because you want to prove you're good at something?"

"Excuse me?" Félix's voice cut into the air sharply.

"I don't want money." He sneered. "I have enough of that. I steal because I can. Because I enjoy it, the same way you enjoy being a slave to the House of Paladins. If you think my motive for thieving is as shallow as greed, think again."

"You couldn't have picked a better hobby other than breaking the law?"

"The laws you claim I break are only yours." A shadow cast over the thief's face. "You—people like you—force others into standards you deem 'perfect'. It's theft for you. It's only borrowing for me."

"So you do admit to theft." Adrien blinked rapidly at him.

"Again, Adrien. Proof."

Adrien slouched on his seat, turning a sour expression towards the stolen artifacts in Félix's abode. Legally, his hands were tied as long as he didn't have evidence, and setting Félix up just to get that evidence was inappropriate for a paladin to do.

Félix brushed the coat of dust on his vest. "Now if you're finished with your business here, feel free to leave. No—please leave and do not come back until you've gathered anything worth my time."

"Why? Are you planning your next heist?" Adrien's eyes strayed over to the papers scattered on the table. "Wait, you are!"

Before Félix could swiftly deny it, his cousin picked up one of the sheets. "The Edeiem Sword?" Adrien exclaimed. "You're planning to steal the Holy Sword?"

"You're looking at a sketch of it. I don't see where it says I'm going to steal it."

Adrien dropped the paper, eyes wide. "You can't steal the Edeiem!"

"Hm? Why not?"

"It's—it's—" The paladin sputtered. "It's the Edeiem! It cannot be stolen even if you tried. It belongs to the Grand Cathedral."

Félix clicked his tongue. "If you're so confident that it cannot be stolen, then why are you so worried?"

Adrien faltered. "Well, I—I . . ." His expression transformed into a grim one. "Listen . . . Fé . . . if you try to take it, you might be cursed. You can get hurt the moment you touch it or even die. It's designed to never leave the Grand Cathedral or the care of the House."

"For a Holy Knight, your knowledge is lacking." Félix shook his head. "I know about that already."

"And you're still planning to steal it?"

"A nice little challenge, is it not?"

The statements weren't false. The consequences of stealing the Edeiem Sword were severe, but the act itself was possible. It had its own built-in defenses that were (apparently) so secure that the Sword didn't require guards or protection magic around it.

"You're crazy." Adrien's little laugh was almost hysterical. "You're actually crazy. You're going to get caught and killed either way."

A smirk stretched out on Félix's lips. "Then wish me good luck in the afterlife, dear cousin."

---

Félix shoved his hands into his pockets as the lift descended into the underground. Unlike other artifacts, the Edeiem Sword was locked away beneath ground level, in a hollow space with nothing except a beam of Blessed Light from above to shine over the weapon. The only (convenient) way to get in was through the lift.

He rubbed his cheek as he thought. The paladins and priests would definitely intercept him once he went up. However, if there was an escape room within the cavern itself . . .

"Aha! You are stealing the sword!"

Félix stumbled forward, hissing at Adrien. "What are you doing here?"

He was decked out in a full knight gear, sword dangling by his waist. "To catch you in the act of course," said Adrien proudly.

Félix knew better. Adrien was there to keep him from doing anything foolish. Did he truly think that I'd dive headfirst into my death?

"I thought no one could teleport into this place." Félix slid over to the other corner of the lift.

"The distance of teleportation is limited," Adrien huffed. "I caught the lift just in time."

"How are you 'catching' me then? A single witness isn't valid for accusation." The thief crossed his arms.

Red took over the holy knight's face. "I'll—! I have other knights on guard at the Cathedral!"

"Uh huh."

"What do you mean? You're getting imprisoned! You can still turn back now before it's too late."

"I cannot bring the lift back; it has to touch the ground first." Félix peeked through the bars of the contraption. "We're getting closer."

"Are you seriously going to continue your heist as if I'm not here?!"

"You said it yourself."

The lift stopped with a whirr. Félix sauntered out after the door creaked open. The Blessed Light directed a beam from the top, creating a patch light that made the stone in the center glisten. Both Adrien and Félix stared at the rock.

Trickster - WIP - Fox!Félix AU - Tag: #Trickster AU - My main project (read: favorite child), an AU that starts with some of the Chameleon setup, but it’s completely non canon compliant with rewrites and rearrangements on the lore and timeline as well as characters’ overhaul. Felinette slow build with focus on developing other friendships too. Superhero, family, and school drama (there’s actually lots of drama here, wow).

As Marinette, she already lost. As Ladybug, she couldn’t afford to lose. So when a Trickster offered a hand in exchange for the foxtail pendant he already took, she couldn’t afford to lose it.

With Great Powers - WIP - Miraculous Gems AU - Tag: #Scaraverse - My second attempt at a canon rewrite that completely reworks the lore, setting, and characters’ backgrounds; borrowing Spiderman stories themes (that’s where the title comes from and Scaraverse is in reference to Spiderverse!), pre-3d concepts, and ideas and headcanons discussed in the felinette discord.

“OK, let’s do this one more time–”

Marinette Cheng is an anxiety filled teen under the apprenticeship of a scientist in the Sphinx Research Center and Labs.

Félix Sphinx is a punchbag disguised as a teen and the youngest son of the owner of one of Paris’ biggest research centers.

“–when unknown study subjects enter in contact with their DNA and they become Paris’ one and only superhero duo.”

Stray Cats - WIP - Runaway Brothers AU - Tag: #Stray Cats - Marinette and Félix are young adults while Adrien is Félix’s baby brother. A strangers to friends to lovers with brotherly love and found family story; it also turned out to have some superhero action with pre-3d concepts for the powers and a Butterfly Mafia from chap 4 onwards idmdkdidmd.

On a rainy night, customers ventured into Marinette’s shop and interrupt her while she was writing her essay—that she was totally going to finish if those stray cats hadn’t stormed in.

Symphony of Lights - Completed - Childhood Friends AU - Tag: #SoL AU - A short romantic fic focusing on Félix’s and Marinette’s reconnection during adulthood after years separated. Features some pre 3d Miraculous concepts and lots of indulgence with my autistic Félix and ADHD Marinette headcanons.

The Festival of Lights is soaring in the streets of Paris and Félix is enjoying it in a quiet corner of a café when a familiar face walks in.

Félix Can’t Communicate - Komi-san AU - Tag: #Komi Felix AU - The collective brainrot first spawned by @/kronehaze resulted in the creation of this series. Mostly felinette fluff based around Komi-san eps, but I also want to try some different storylines; featuring: Human kwamis as the school’s workers.

It’s hard for Félix to talk. He prefers listening. And sometimes, he wished someone would listen with him.

Sal’s Felinette Oneshots - All felinette, all AU, might be connected to something or each other; ranging from fluff, to humor, to angst, to hurt/comfort, to mixes of those; from G to M; established relationship, pre-relationship, more gen than romance, etc; around 500 words drabbles to oneshots past the 1k wordcount. Take your pick!

Rewritten Stories and Rearranged Songs - Fav & Mads AU - Tag: #Faverolle & Madamouselle - A series where I organize the oneshots I wrote for @/arcadeology’s Rooster!Felix and Mouse!Marinette AU. Featuring a completely (in-universe) rewrite of the magic system, Baby Brie as Marinette’s little sister, and much, much, more you can find in her blog.

In the year 2231, 200 years after the original series, Nou Paris witnesses a resurgence of magical activity when the Bee miraculous is awoken and starts causing chaos- their beautiful, green city slowly turning into one polluted by smog and black magic, as monsters born from the pollution rampages through Nou Paris’ streets.

(Summary snippet taken from the AU’s reference doc).

Other works:

My original pieces collection - Though I don’t have much interest in a longer original book, I like to write some original pieces from time to time. It’s also how I most experiment with writing styles.

Dropped in Seastone - WIP/Indefinite hiatus - A felinette fic based on the Seastone AU by @/arcadeology - currently paused as I focus on other projects but I’m still hoping to come back to it.

It Started with a Fox - A Lila Rossi character study with an experimental first person POV style.

Abandoned work:

Miraculous: Tales of Creation and Destruction - In case you’ll like to see my first attempt at a full canon rewrite. I’m still fond of it and think the writing holds up well enough; and some of the concepts I used here are things that I’d still like to implement in other fics, if given the chance.

"Félix?"

He almost yelped out loud when he felt a hand touch him. Thankfully, he was able to bite back a high-pitched scream and only jolt in place. He turned to meet a pair of bright eyes belonging to one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "Are you okay?" she asked.

A strained smile tugged on his lips. "Yes."

Of course that didn't convince her. She pressed a key on the laptop to pause the movie before flipping the lights on. Tension left Félix's body in an instant. "You should've told me," she said grimly. "You're scared of horror movies."

"Am not," he quickly retorted.

"Don't lie to me. You do."

He was scared. But she had been so excited to watch the movie with him, staring unflinchingly at the same scenes that took the life out of him. All the while she gave her own witty remarks about other ways the protagonists could've handled the situation.

Marinette took his hand in hers. He hadn't realized it had balled into a tight fist. "You should've told me," she soothed. "I wouldn't have played the movie."

"It's alright. I shouldn't have been uncomfortable." He pried the sheets from his legs to lend her more warmth. "It's only a movie."

"And that movie was scaring you." Her face scrunched up into a frown. "It doesn't matter if I want to watch. This night is supposed to be for the both of us."

Félix opened his mouth to protest but her lips caught his first, for a brief moment. "What about you pick a new one? Anything you like."

If he didn't want to restrain himself, he'd choose a crime documentary without blinking. But he considered that she wouldn't like that, so he browsed through the catalog of movies to find something they'd both like. "It's a two point five," he said while scanning over the titles.

"Two point five?" Amusement laced her tone. "Out of what?"

"Ten. The plot is unique for a horror movie, but the characters fall into the pattern of the usual tropes. Also, it has the potential for a psychological thrill but the directors chose to scatter random jump-scares and gore into it."

She hummed, mulling over his words. "Two for me."

"Why two?"

"It scared you."

He snorted softly, but felt warmth hugging his chest. He leaned back on the pillows again to hold her after he clicked 'play' on the next movie. 

--

When he came to think of it, he didn't know why he chose that movie. Perhaps it was because the synopsis made it sound sweet and simple, and a romantic comedy seemed befitting for a date night. As the movie progressed, he had nothing but disinterest and the same was evident in Marinette's poker face.

He knew there were romance movies out there that were done right. But the majority was always done wrong or wasn't his cup of tea. For him, the romance genre was supposed to make you feel. Get your emotions invested, coax out tears, make your thoughts stray to a special someone or have you wistfully longing for a relationship. The movie they watched barely ticked any boxes.

He nuzzled the side of her head. "Not good?"

Her expression soured. "Eck. Five out of ten. Only because I have a soft spot for rom-coms."

"One out of ten." He smiled. "We should be professional movie critics by now."

"We'll call our ratings Rotten Potatoes."

"Rotten Potatoes?" Félix said. "Why potatoes?"

Marinette shrugged. "Potatoes sound nice. And I have a craving for fries right now."

"You could've mentioned it earlier and I would've gotten you some."

She chuckled. "Nah, it's okay. Now, back to our critique!"

Félix looked back distastefully at the couple on the screen. "They shouldn't be able to fall in love so easily. Especially after a one night stand."

"I mean, that's pretty much the selling point of these kinds of movies," she said, "Two strangers experience a series of events that bring them closer, and then they have unbearable sexual tension, and then they kiss, and then it's happily ever after. That's so far from reality."

He nodded in agreement. "I think some ways these movies are framed leads to terrible expectations in romance. And based on where this is going, it looks like they're both going to be homeless at the end of the movie."

She laughed. "I guess that's the 'realistic' part." 

--

After completely abandoning the cheesy romance movie, they moved on to a genre they both agreed on: mystery. Unfortunately, they hadn't foreseen themselves yawning towards the middle of the movie, having already figured out the true culprit.

"They handle the flow really well." Marinette stretched her arms. "But, like, it's pretty obvious who's innocent and who's not."

"It's essentially the old man who did himself in," Félix said. "Chance and circumstances made things go downhill. If they had waited for medical help, the death wouldn't have occurred."

"But it's still the son's fault." She wrinkled her nose. "He attempted a murder and then actually committed one."

Félix found mysteries entertaining. Even with overused tropes and personalities, a good mystery always bore a creative masterpiece on the 'how's and 'why's. Plus a few twists and turns that made his eyebrows raise with intrigue. But sometimes he wished he wasn't able to piece it all together too quickly. "I would've enjoyed it better in book form," he thought out loud.

"I guess, but you'd solve the mystery halfway through all the same," said Marinette.

"Not if all the clues haven't been revealed yet."

"That's true. It was a 'meh' movie though. Rating?"

"Six."

"Oooh, I'd give it an eight at least."

--

Marinette's fingers glided over the mouse pad, in search of another movie to nitpick. She stopped on one that was clearly on the explicit side.

"Let's watch this." She grinned wildly.

"Ma—Marinette no."

"Marinette, yes." 

--

"It's time to settle this once and for all." Marinette put on a game face as she crossed her legs and shifted on the bed to face him. He noticed her toes wiggling under fuzzy socks.

"Umm, we haven't been 'settling' anything." He raised an eyebrow.

"No, we will!" She declared. "We shall decide . . . what is the best Disney movie ever?"

Félix blinked a few times. That topic certainly hadn't come up before and yet she seemed set on discussing it. "What gives you the assumption that I've watched enough to choose a 'best'?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No, don't tell me you haven't." She leaned closer to scrutinize him. "I know you have. You've watched a lot."

A faint heat crept up on his neck as he automatically recounted the movies he had watched, his specific insights on them, and the melodies in the songs. Not once did he mention being a fanatic to Marinette. But she saw through him. She always did.

"Don't be shy, Fe," she encouraged with a hint of teasing. "What's your favorite?"

He averted his gaze before mumbling, "Robin Hood."

"What was what?"

He repeated louder, cheeks aflame. "Robin Hood."

"So thievery."

"Borrowing," he corrected.

"Compulsive borrowing." Marinette put a finger to her lip. "It's an underrated choice. What makes it your favorite?"

"Well, there's the depiction of usurping a greedy and corrupt government headed by fools; the imagery of the injustice that's also prominent in real life; and the emphasis on cleverness and benevolence that rules above all," he explained. "Not to mention, the . . . the songs."

She listened excitedly. "Did it inspire you to learn sleight of hand?"

"Not really, but I got into a phase with archery."

"That's so cute!" She cooed, eyes shining brightly. "I have to get pictures from your mom."

He resisted a groan.

"You should totally cosplay at Haru's next party! I'll make an outfit for you!"

"Only if you're my Maid Marian." He held her to him to keep her from falling out of bed because of the excess energy.

"Deal." She looked up at him.

"I also like The Aristocats," he added, remembering the other movie he always watched with his family. One time, Cosette and Zee had also persuaded him to sit in with them to watch—he had to try his best to hide the fact that he had seen it more times than he could count.

"The Aristocats? Why?"

"It's about cats. What more can I say?" Each time he watched, he'd think about how cute the kittens were or how tasty crème de la crème à la Edgar looked on screen.

"Fair point." Marinette went back to leaning on her pillow. "Your favorites are worthy, but I still think Tangled is the best."

"Why do you think so?"

"I can go on and on about it! Their chemistry, Rapunzel's feistiness, the song numbers, the lantern scene, the humor!" She rambled. "Also the art and animation! It deserves to be in a museum, honestly."

"Well, I won't be backing down in any debate about Disney movies," Félix said. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "But this will probably take us hours, so I suggest we watch the two movies."

She pouted. "Fine, I concur. We'll do this another day, and I'm bringing Sib on my side."

They curled up against each other again, watching Robin Hood first and then Tangled afterwards (no, he was not softly humming along to the songs throughout the movie). Félix found himself enjoying Marinette's little comments, how she'd point out certain details even he hadn't spotted before. In return, he'd point out his favorite scenes, briefly reminiscing about his childhood.

The landscape had a medieval touch, straight out of a storybook or game. It was then when a voice from the heavens, who called himself 'the Dungeon Master' began introducing him as an ordinary warrior before listing off a series of numbers. After this, Felix found out three things:

First, he could communicate with said voice, which insisted to be called 'the DM'.

Second, he was alone and in possession of a bag with random (but ultimately useless) objects.

Third, it seemed that he had been roped into a live game of D&D.

The DM narrated him continuing down the dirt path. His legs moved outside of volition despite still being able to control some part of his will. Felix frowned when he halted in front of an ugly-looking cave.

"You need to enter the cave to get to the monster," the DM's voice boomed. "What will you do?"

Felix peered at the hole. No part of it was visible from the outside—not even a lick of sunlight illuminated the walls. He squinted his eyes. "I'll . . . throw a rock to see if there's anything dangerous inside."

"Go ahead and roll."

" What? " He scowled at the sky. "How would I fail throwing a mere rock? I don't need to roll for this."

"There is still a possibility. Please go ahead and roll."

". . . Fine."

A twenty-sided die appeared on the palm of his hand. He rolled it towards the ground. A one.

It rolled a one.

"Seriously?" He exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, you fail."

Felix involuntarily raised his arm, which was already holding a rock for some magical reason, and threw it at the cavern. It pathetically ricocheted off the edge and dropped to the soil.

She checked the book again. 

“Cherries?!” She exclaimed. “It needs cherries? I swear I read charred berries instead of cher—argh, damn it!” 

Angry footsteps towards the pantry made Félix stir from his sleep. He raised his head slowly, let out another series of coughs and flicked his tail. Tugging down the brim of her hat, Marinette picked up her familiar and set him down on her lap. “You’ve been out playing in the cold again, haven’t you?” she scolded. 

The cat let out an indignant meow, followed by another jumpy cough. He wriggled out of her hold and settled near the cauldron. “Alright, the medicine’s just about done,” the witch harrumphed. 

She tossed exactly three cherries towards the cauldron, which puffed out a pinkish smoke. Without batting an eyelash, Marinette stirred again whilst fanning the air. Finally, she lifted the ladle up to her lips and blew. “Okay, Félix, where are you?” She looked around. 

Félix’s tiny tail peeked out from the bottom of the recliner. Marinette gingerly pushed the chair aside and hauled the kitten up before he could escape. More coughs and hiccups in between bubbled up from his lungs. Fortunately, when she brought the potion near his mouth, he eagerly lapped it up. “Drink it up, kitty cat.” Marinette fed the entire portion. 

She set him down, gauging the effects of the potion. A recipe for cough medicine (specifically for black kittens) was the last thing she expected from the spellbook, but perhaps familiars got sick often enough for it to be a necessity. Félix hiccuped once, but no coughs followed. 

Marinette blew out a breath. “Good. All finished.” 

It wasn’t finished. 

As she turned away to clean up the cauldron, Marinette heard a shifting noise. Her eyes widened the moment she turned around. In Félix’s spot was a golden-haired man, with his steel eyes slitted and his figure hunched on hands and knees by the chair. The look on his face was that of utter disorientation. 

“Oh no.” Marinette all but ran towards the spellbook (nearly tripping over the hem of her dress) and snatched it up. “Thirty cherries instead of three?! What kind of—” 

She squinted at the fine print at the bottom of the page. “Disclaimer: errors in making the potion may lead to side effects . . . you’ve got to be kidding me!” 

Potion recipes were far from ‘logical’. Because there were many possible ingredients, the effects of most combinations were yet to be discovered. This was why it was important to follow the instructions down to a tee. 

“Now, you’ve really done it.” An unimpressed voice rang out. 

Marinette stared at her familiar-turned-human. Félix was examining his new body in distaste, nose twitching like whiskers. “Turn me back.” Félix frowned at her. 

“Wait a moment.” Marinette frowned back. She flipped the pages, burying her face into the book. Alas, the spellbook had nothing about turning a human back to an animal. 

She groaned. “It’s probably in the fourth volume. And I’m—” She counted with her fingers. “—Still forty-fourth in the library queue for that book!” 

“What?” Félix squeaked. “I want to turn back now!” 

“Maaaybe, you’ll last a few days as human—” 

“Mistress!” 

“I’ll find a way, don’t worry!” 

“Being human is terrible,” he whined. “Bring me back now!” 

“Ungrateful kitty. At least I cured you.” Marinette blew out the fire below the black cauldron. “Let’s get you clothes in the meantime.” 

---

Taking care of human Félix proved to be a lot harder than kitten Félix. He was already a cunning brat in his feline form, and now he wouldn’t let go of his animal habits. He’d lie down on the floor, stretch, and yawn. He’d jump up on shelves and cabinets to swipe knickknacks off their tops. He’d rub his face with his fist and blink slowly at her. 

And she knew he was doing it out of pettiness.

“Félix, get off the table.” Marinette set her hands on her hips, half-ready to swat him away with her broom. 

He stopped midway through leaning into his bowl. “Why?” 

“What do you mean why? Use your hands, a spoon, and a fork for goodness’ sake!” 

He crawled back down to his seat and curled and uncurled his hands. “Why do I have to use my hands when I can bend?” 

“Because you’re a human.” She placed a new centerpiece, a bowl of fruits and flowers, on the stained tablecloth. “For now at least.” 

But instead of attempting to use his hands, Félix ducked and began eating straight off the plate, dirtying his chin and the sides of his mouth. Marinette massaged the bridge of her nose. 

“When are you going to turn me back?” Félix asked. 

“Soon, so stop asking that every thirty minutes.” By ‘soon’, it would most likely take a couple more days. She had explained the situation to Sibyll, who agreed to let her borrow the book. Unfortunately, Sibyll was on leave and couldn’t give it until she returned. 

“I miss my tail.” Félix pouted. 

She could probably find a spell to summon a tail for him but she would never open that option, knowing it would be a hazard. 

“At least you’re not tracking fur anywhere anymore.” Marinette watched helplessly as he dunked his tongue on the bowl of water. She whispered a quick spell to immediately clean the lower half of his face.

“What’s wrong with my fur everywhere?” 

“It sticks to my things and makes me sneeze.” She took her own seat at the table to snack on some bread. Her legs swung on top of the floor, but not even a minute later, Félix had gone ahead and ventured under the table to bump his head against her knees and feet. 

“Seriously, Fé—” 

“But my fur is nice.” 

“Do you know how dangerous it will be if a single hair goes into the cauldron while I’m brewing?” She moved her legs away from him. “If it gets into a paralysis potion, the whole thing will explode.” 

Félix stuck his head out from the table, turning his nose up. “That’s not my problem.” 

“You gremlin!” 

He ignored her and emerged from the table fully to groom himself. Félix licked the back of his hand and ran it up and down his face and hair. Marinette stared with disinterest, wondering if she should give him a proper bath herself. 

---

After a long day out in the market and selling potions, Marinette lounged on her recliner, careful not to disturb Félix, who was positioned on the floor to imitate a cat loaf. There was one more day left of enduring his human form. Once he was back to normal, she’d vow to never let him contract an illness again. 

Right at the second she closed her eyes, she felt movement from him. Félix had stood up and was trying to sprawl across her lap. 

“Félix!” She jolted. “Stop, you’re going to break the chair!” 

“But I always sit on your lap.” 

“When you were a cat.” Her hands snuck under his back to get his weight off. “Now you’re huge.”

A tiny meow (or what sounded like a meow) gurgled at the back of his throat. Marinette suggested that he rest his head on top of her lap instead. Her hand slid down to stroke his hair, coaxing out loud purrs from his lips. 

“Mistress.” He nuzzled his cheek on her lap. 

“Yes?” 

“You’re stressed.” 

She scoffed. “I always am.” 

But running her fingers through his silky hair made it all better. She waited for a complaint, the usual whining from him, but he continued purring. When she rubbed the underside of his chin, a sigh sounded out. 

“That reminds me.” Marinette yawned. “I picked this up from the market.” 

She procured two bangles from her pocket, one patterned with witch hats and the other with bells. She slipped one onto her wrist and the other on his. 

“What’s that?” he asked. 

Materials for a mental link, she said with her mind, since we’re still working on ours. 

Witches with longtime familiars were able to establish a solid emotional and mental connection with them. This allowed the familiar to fully support their master or mistress. Marinette had had Félix for only a few months, and they were still working on making that bond. 

Ah, does this mean mistress will be in my head all the time? 

“Not all the time,” Marinette spoke. “We just need these bracelets to guide us to a proper mental link.” 

He brought his wrist up to look closely at the bangle. “But I can’t wear this on my paw when I turn back.” 

“Perhaps a collar for you will do.” 

A sound akin to a hiss broke out. “No collars!” 

“Fine, we’ll try to reduce that to something you can wear around your foot.” 

Félix settled his head comfortably on her lap once more, closing his eyes. Marinette’s own eyelids were fluttering close as she nodded off. 

The mental link opened again. 

When will you turn me back?