When Félix was two, Adrien came into his life.
Honestly, the newly named elder sibling thought he looked like a chicken nugget when he first saw Adrien cradled in his mother's arms.
But after Gabriel picked him up and set him down next to his mother and saw the bundle in her arms, he almost instantly fell in love. Those big green eyes were just like his mother's, and the blond tuft of hair continued to be the signature in the Agreste family. He smiled brightly, looking up at his father, whose lips were curved up as well.
He promised to be the best older brother Adrien would ever ask for.
When Félix was three, Adrien crawled over to him willingly for the first time.
The family was relaxing in the living room, Elaine curled up at her husband's side, glad that Gabriel wasn't bombarded with work. Both adults held a glass of red wine in their hands, their watchful eyes hovering over the two young boys lounging on the carpeted floor.
Félix had busied himself with a coloring book when he felt a pat on his thigh, his icy eyes looking down at the young blond who was climbing his way onto the older boy's lap, gurgles leaving his lips. Félix helped him settle, kissing the top of Adrien's head as the child grabbed a crayon in his fist.
And broke it, promptly causing the floodgates to open and Félix to panic.
Félix was five when he realized that Adrien was smarter than he looked.
Gabriel had locked himself in his office again and Elaine decided to take it upon herself to watch the boys, Adrien sitting on her lap while his brother practiced his violin playing. "Petit, why don't you take a break?" Elaine asked, seeing the weariness seeping into her son's features.
"I can't, mama," he replied. "You know père won't be happy if I don't play for the time he wants me to."
"But you're tired."
"Félix," Adrien called, and the older boy looked at the young blond. "Can you please take a break?"
He couldn't deny his brother and his wishes.
When he was ten, Félix and Adrien began modeling for their father.
Elaine wasn't happy that both her sons were homeschooled, and now that they began posing in front of cameras she wasn't any happier.
Ten was also the age where Félix would sometimes stay awake at night when his parents would begin arguing, Adrien huddled into his side, finally asleep after crying because of the constant yelling. The only thing he could do was hold his brother close and cover his ears, listening to their mother defend them by saying that they didn't have any rights.
The following mornings were the hardest, when the brothers would walk into the dining room to see Elaine sitting alone, head buried in her hands. Defeat was in the air, and Félix wished his father wasn't so stubborn.
When Félix was twelve, Plagg awakened him as Chat Noir.
The black cat kwami had much too expensive a taste for camembert, but Félix still found the idea of being a superhero to be exciting. Something about running across rooftops with the wind blowing through his freed hair was liberating.
And then he met Ladybug, a young girl—so young that Plagg had voiced his disappointment in the ladybug kwami—that Chat Noir ultimately began to love working with. His destroying Cataclysm was the perfect yang to her birthing Lucky Charm.
He couldn't tell Adrien. The poor young blond was fortunate that akumas only attacked during the night for the first few months. Le Papillon must have then realized that he'd create more damage during the day, so attacks began popping up when the sun was out, and Félix had to start coming up with excuses to try and get out of his violin lessons.
But then that left his nights free to keep Adrien safe in his arms as they slept, the arguments between Elaine and Gabriel becoming more and more heated.
He was thirteen when he met Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Elaine, Adrien and Félix escaped the mansion and visited the Boulangerie Patisserie, the warm air of the bakery enveloping the three blonds. There was a petite Chinese woman at the counter, a young girl about Adrien's age next to her. Félix looked at her carefully as they approached the counter, taking in her dark hair and bluebell eyes.
His heart stopped in his chest when she smiled and greeted them.
Ladybug.
When Félix was fourteen, Elaine left.
There was no note. No explaination. She was just gone. He cried, but not as much as Adrien did when he found out.
The night before Adrien's twelfth birthday, Chat Noir told Ladybug—told Marinette—that he knew who she was, before flying off back to the Agreste mansion without listening to her response.
The morning after, Adrien awoke to find Félix's signature silver ring on his nightstand and a note with an apology.
Félix was gone too.
He kept tabs on the LadyBlog even after he left. At fifteen, he was surprised to see a new Chat Noir fighting alongside his precious coccinelle, their moves graceful and tactical.
Briefly, he wondered if the new Chat Noir knew who Ladybug was behind her mask, he'd been her partner for years, but he'd never reached the level of synchronization that the two superheroes on the screen had. He wanted to curse at the new miraculous wielder.
He wanted his partner back.
He kept contact with Nathalie until he was nineteen.
Félix begged her to not reveal his location to his younger brother ("I'm in the country, not too far from Paris, but far enough."). Nathalie seemed to have complied with his request, and since then she's been telling him how the youngest Agreste has been doing, whether it be in school, or at shoots, or whatever.
He always tensed whenever the secretary mentioned a, 'Mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng' and how she and Adrien were getting close. He was happy that Adrien was getting into what seemed to be a really happy relationship, but he couldn't help the pang of guilt in his heart.
Marinette was Ladybug. He'd fallen in love with Ladybug.
Which in turn, meant Félix had inadvertently fallen in love with Marinette.
Félix returned to Paris when he was twenty.
His hair was slicked back, he made sure to wear his finest clothes, and he stood up straight—anything and everything he could do to impress his father, he would do. He rang the doorbell, flinching only slightly when the camera shot out of the wall to look him up and down. And before he could introduce himself, it shot back in and the door opened, a stunned Nathalie standing in the way, hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. "Félix," she sobbed as she ushered him in. "Welcome home."
She turned away from him and pulled out her cell phone, dialing a few numbers and holding it against her ear. "Adrien, please come downstairs," she quickly said before she hung up and began dialing anew. "Monsieur Agreste, please come to the foyer, there is someone here to see you."
Félix tensed when he saw a familiar messy blond head appear from the side, wide green eyes meeting his. The older Agreste child could feel tears pricking in the corner of his eyes as he smiled softly. "Petit," he called, using Elaine's old nickname.
The run from Adrien's spot to Félix's arms was more like a sprint from a bear, but the taller blond hugged his brother just as tight, the pair sobbing as they fell to their knees, unable to keep themselves up. Adrien's desperate sobs of, "Oh, Félix, it's really you," and, "I missed you so much," were like a soft serenade in Félix's ears.
He barely heard the sharp intake of air followed by an aired out call of his name, "Félix."
There was a strict rule of 'no running in the house' that Adrien clearly broke just moments before, but the rapid sound of feet pounding against linoleum surprised Félix, just as much as the strong arms wrapped around his frame did. "My son, my dearest angel."
Félix patted Gabriel's arm. "Père, I'm home."
He decided to pick Adrien up from school the next day as a surprise.
The Gorilla had been more than willing to bring Félix along. When they arrived at the school, Félix stepped out and stood by the limousine, catching the eye of many bystanders.
When Adrien stepped out of the school, they barely looked at each other before Adrien ran over to him. And as the younger blond began rattling about his day at school, Félix couldn't pay attention, his gaze fixated on the bluebell eyes still by the main doors.
Ladybug visited him later that night.
Marinette visited him later that night.
He was sitting in his room when the superhero landed, her blue eyes staring into his green, before releasing her transformation. They barely managed to hold a full conversation before Plagg barged in, flying up to Félix's face and yelling at him, revealing to the older boy that Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.
To say Félix was disappointed was an understatement. The reason he left was to keep his younger brother safe, and to find out that that same brother was running around Paris fighting akumas wasn't very reassuring.
The three of them made a mutual agreement to talk in the morning, Marinette and Adrien crashing in Félix's bed for the night. Félix gently kissed Adrien's forehead, whispering his love, and went around to slide into the bed behind Marinette. He pressed his lips against her hair and removed her hair ties, wishing her a goodnight.
At twenty-one, he watched Ladybug and Chat Noir take down Le Papillon via the LadyBlog.
Meaning, he watched them take down Gabriel Agreste and send him to prison on the accounts of possessing innocent citizens.
The pair of superheroes returned to Félix's room and collapsed on his bed as their transformations dropped. "The butterfly kwami was set free," Marinette said, rolling over onto her back. "Le Papillon won't be around anymore."
"That means our time here is done," Tikki said sadly, landing on Marinette's knee as the girl sat up. Plagg flew down next to her. "We were only to awaken our chosen when Le Papillon was wrecking havoc. Now that he's been put away and Nooroo is off to find another chosen, there is no need for a Ladybug and Chat Noir."
"And I honestly kinda miss Master Fu and Wyazz," Plagg said.
"So you're leaving?" Félix asked, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the kwamis.
"Yes," Plagg said. He looked up at Adrien. "I'm gonna miss you, kid. You were one of the better ones."
"Just like you were one of the sweeter ones, Marinette," Tikki said sadly. "I'll miss you."
And then, after the two returned their miraculouses, the kwamis left to go wherever kwamis went.
Adrien asked Marientte to move into the Agreste mansion when Félix was twenty-two and the proud head of the name.
The older brother had no qualms about Marinette coming to live with them—as long as it was okay with her parents, it was fine with him. He helped her pack her things and move them into her room in the large house, laughing through it all.
Later that year, Adrien asked Marinette to marry him.
She said yes.
Tom Dupain-Cheng requested that Félix be the one to walk Marinette down the aisle.
At twenty-three, the head of the Agreste name was shocked. "It's a father's right to walk his daughter down the aisle and hand her off to her husband," he reasoned.
"Yes, but I've seen how she is. You're more than her friend, Félix. You're very important to her, and I think she'd be honored if you walked her. I'll still have the first dance, of course."
"I—" Félix took in a deep breath. "I can't take that away from you, sir."
"I want you to, Félix." Tom turned the blond toward Marinette and her mother, who were quietly going over the details of the wedding while Adrien was munching on some croissants. "I've seen how happy you make her. I still remember that look you had in your eye when you first came in here with your mother."
Félix opened his mouth to retort. "Please, son. You'd make her so happy."
He couldn't bring himself to say no.
A light knock sounded on the door before Félix pushed it open, his gaze settling on each of the occupants of the room.
Marinette was peacefully resting in the hospital bed, head lolled to the side, while Adrien sat in a chair next to her, a bundle of blankets in his arms. He glanced up at his brother and beckoned him forward, repositioning the blankets a bit. "Emma, it's time to meet your uncle Félix," he whispered.
"Oh, she's beautiful," Félix breathed when he got a good look at the baby's face. Kinda looks like a chicken nugget, though. "She's got your hair." He gently ran his finger's over Emma's patch of blonde.
"And Marinette's eyes," Adrien whispered. "Do you want to hold her?"
"M-me?" The older blond stood up straight. "I've never—"
"I'll show you, here." Adrien quickly explained how to support a baby and soon enough Emma was cradled in Félix's arms. The nine months of Marinette complaining and eating nothing but camembert and pickles was so worth the bluebell eyes that peered up at him.
At twenty-five, he'd become a proud uncle.
He was twenty-six when Elaine returned.
She stood in the foyer, a magazine in her hand, opened to a page where the headline read, "Agreste family expands! Meet Emma Elaine Agreste!" in bold lettering. She'd aged, but she'd done so beautifully. "I can see a lot has changed," she remarked, looking at Marinette, who held little Emma in her arms. "You must be Adrien's wife. Thank you for taking care of my boys, but it looks like you could use a little girl help."
"Mama," Adrien breathed, before running down the stairs and into her awaiting arms. "You're staying?"
"Of course, petit."
Félix followed into Elaine's embrace soon after.
"Oncle!"
"What is it, Emma?"
The six-year old blonde climbed up onto Félix, using him as leverage as he sat at his desk looking over some paperwork. "What are you doing?"
"Work," he replied.
"So you don't have time to play with me?"
Félix's pen hesitated. He and Adrien vowed to never be like their father. When their mother returned they wanted to show her how much different they were from Gabriel Agreste. Gone were the rules and strict schedules. Nathalie was still around, but she was more free than before and wasn't needed to be so uptight. Emma went to public school right from the start.
"Whoever said that, ange?" he grinned, taking her into his arms and tossing her into the air, laughing.
Félix was thirty-eight when a new Ladybug and Chat Noir emerged from shadows.
Marinette was practically jumping in her seat. "Look! Ladybug's a boy this time!"
"Chatte Noire is a female this time, huh," Adrien muttered, looking at the television screen as the two heroes fought off an akumatized villain. "That must mean Le Papillon was also awakened again."
"I kinda wonder who the newest pair are behind their masks," Marinette wondered aloud. "Maybe they're one of Emma's friends!"
Félix watched the screen as Chatte Noire looked into the camera, her blue eyes piercing the lens and he smiled to himself. He knew Adrien and Marinette were pretty clueless when it came to secret identities (and he was too, but only when Adrien was involved. That was more of a denial tactic though), but he knew a little more than they did.
That night, he awoke to some hustle and bustle down in the kitchen. Quietly slipping out of bed, he made his way down, stopping at the door as he heard a hushed voice say, "Maybe we don't have any camembert in the house!"
His hunch was right, he mused to himself as he pushed the door open, startling the young blonde teenager. "Oncle! You scared me."
"I'm sorry, Emma." Félix walked over to the fridge, pushing aside a few jars and containers before he pulled out a plate of the smelly cheese. Old and rotten, just like a certain someone liked it.
A black ball zoomed out from behind Emma's shoulder, attaching himself to Félix's cheek. "Oh, mimi, thank goodness you're here! I would've starved without you!"
Félix chuckled. "It's nice to see you, too, Plagg."
"Oncle?" Emma asked carefully, as the black cat kwami landed next to the plate and began eating.
"Let me see your hand," the older man said, and the girl extended her arm. Félix ran his fingers across the silver ring. "It's the same as always. Plagg, what is with you and bringing my family bad luck?"
"You've got good hearts." Another swallow of cheese. "I couldn't resist."
"I'm sure Marinette and Adrien would love to hear about this, and we have a lot to explain to Emma." Félix smiled gently. "But it's late and you have school tomorrow. Now you know that you don't have to hide this glutton anymore."
Emma smiled back. "Were you a Chat Noir?"
Félix sighed, the pad of his index finger resting on Plagg's head. "Once, many years ago."
author's notes:
if you don't believe gabriel is le papillon i want you to message me so we can fight
i love félix to death. i honestly used to not like him but for some reason he grew on me
cross posted on AO3: EternalWhiteRose