#recommencer

Ils sont là, tous les deux — l’un dans l’étreinte, l’autre sous la pluie.

L’un retient le monde dans ses bras, l’autre le laisse filer dans l’ombre.

Mais dans les deux, il y a ce battement :

le besoin d’un corps contre le sien,

le vertige d’un départ,

et cette lumière qui ne sait plus à qui elle appartient.

On aime, on perd, on recommence —

et parfois, on reste juste là,

trempé d’absence,

coloré d’un amour qui ne sait pas s’il est encore là ou déjà ailleurs.

Les-portes-du-sud

Please listen to Kate Stables and Mina Tindle sing a version of "Started Again" (from This is the Kit's 2020 album Off Off On) translated into French. Though British in origin, Stables and her family live in Paris where friend Tindle is relatively well-known as a French folk artist. Tindle is married to Bryce Dessner, songwriter and guitarist for the band The National.

“Tu te dis: «Personne ne voit» / Chaque rocher tu portes avec émoi / Choisir et n’pas choisir d'être libre / Recommencer (Recommencer) / C’est comme ça que tu sais (C'est comme ça que tu sais) / L’univers, le libère seulement / Un présage, une corneille / Qui noire et gauche s’envole avec ton cœur / Dis-moi en fait c’que tu voulais …”

Working title. Taking place after the end of Recommencer (spoilers, Lila gets taken down and everyone is mostly friends again), Nino and Kim decide to take it upon themselves as Marinette’s childhood friends, recently restored back to close friend status, to interview each of her many, many, many suitors, to make sure none of them will hurt or have bad intentions with Marinette, lest the two boys hunt them down.

This snippet features the one and only Félix Culpa, thus I’ll only tag Felinette for now.

—————

This... was the interview they were most worried about. Félix Culpa. Sure, he was probably one of Marinette’s best friends at her new school, and Kim and Nino both agreed that any friend of Mari’s was a friend of theirs! But... As Nino eloquently put it ‘Dude’s intimidating.’ He was crazy rich, and crazy connected. Like Marinette and Chloé combined. Like all the stuff Lila claimed but... not lies.

Nino wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t a bit scared that if they didn’t do this right, Félix would blacklist them from every event in Paris, no, France. Still, these interviews were for Marinette’s sake! To make sure her suitors and... suitettes? Were good for her. It was their job as Marinette’s childhood best friends to make sure their girl was safe and happy. Because let’s face it, Alya’s standards were a little low.

And here they were, invited to Rosenhart’s fancy library, sitting across from the tall, thin blonde, who stared at them like he was already bored.

...Or maybe that was just Félix’s face.

Nino let Kim lead this one, taking a sip of his coffee. He was gonna need it.

“So... Culpa. What are your intentions with Marinette?” Kim’s voice was strong, but Nino had known him long enough to know that Kim was shaking in his hoodie.

“I’m glad you asked. My intention is to woo her. Give her gifts and court her, with a slow pace, and let us come into a relationship naturally. I don’t want to rush her, and am ready and willing to wait until she’s ready for the pressure that comes with being the partner of the Culpa heir.” He said, businesslike, but amiable. According to Marinette and some of her more sociable Rosenhart companions, he was always like this. So far, so good. Kim nodded, and Nino took a slower sip of coffee.

“Uh huh...” Kim goaded, memorizing the details in his head.

“And when the time is right... I intend to marry Marinette.”