So, I saw this piece of fanart that I liked, so obviously I had to write about it! It's a Reverse Crush AU set in the PV Universe!
I dedicate this fic to the wonderful artist Josie (Backup Betwinkler). She made fanart of what it would look like with a reverse crush in the PV universe, and even put in how she thought it would be like. If fact, it's the very piece of art that's the cover image of this story.
When I read it, this instantly popped into my head. So enjoy!
It was no secret that Felix Agreste didn't have much experience in the ways of social interaction. He was homeschooled by the most elite tutors for as long as he could remember. So his father's sudden decision to enlist him in public school came as a shock. However, Felix didn't fear it. His intelligence exceeded the curriculum, guaranteeing him top marks in his courses. He felt no need to socialize with other students. Being successful in her academic and extracurricular endeavors was enough for him. But one day, that mindset completely changed.
It was a sunny afternoon when Felix was a little early to his literature class. He sat in his usual seat, pulling a book out of his bag before setting it down next to him. He often read to pass the time, and it gave him a sort of escape from the hustle and bustle of other students' lives. About 20 minutes later, students began pouring into the classroom, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. But Felix stayed quiet, isolated, and kept reading the words on the pages in front of him.
"Alright class," the teacher announced, "Today we'll be—"
But she was cut off when the door slammed open and a young girl ran, or rather stumbled and tripped, into the classroom. She landed flat on her stomach, so her face was hidden from everyone's view. Her long pigtails stood on end from the shock of the impact and then slumped back down a few seconds later.
"Ah, Miss Cheng," the teacher said with amusement, "so nice of you to join us. Well, it was only by a minute, so I won't dock you. Now take your seat, please."
"Classic Bridgette," Felix heard a guy behind him mutter.
"Clumsy as ever," a girl across the way snickered.
An angelic giggle filled the room. The blonde prodigy dared to peek from behind his novel to see what the fuss was about, and suddenly his world stopped turning on its axis. The girl at standing at the front of the room was sunshine personified. Her inky blue pigtails expressively moved, as if attached to her raw emotions. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she lifted herself off the ground and brushed herself off. Her very aura radiated purity and cheer; something someone as cursed as him didn't deserve to even be near. But it felt like she was the type of person who would listen without judgement as he spewed out all his problems, and her presence alone would wash the sadness away. Bridgette Cheng—he deduced that was her name—scratched the back of her head with a giggle.
"Yes, Miss Bustier," she said with her melodic voice, causing Felix to grip the area of his dress shirt that was over his heart for reasons he didn't understand.
She took her seat behind him—how had he not noticed her before now—and fumbled to pull out her tablet from her pink backpack. Her carefree disposition immersed the room as the teacher went on to lecture about the poetry in the Elizabethan Era. But Felix couldn't even begin to focus. He unconsciously clenched and unclenched his hand that had the cursed cat ring on it, looking ahead but not seeing anything. Behind him, he could hear her every squeal of delight, every hum of confusion, every breath her breathed. His heart thumped harshly in his chest. Was he sick? He was fine when he left the house that morning.
The shrill sound of the school bell broke the Agreste heir out of his musings. He sighed and stood up, gathering his things and heading out with the rest of the class. He made it all the way to the courtyard when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Felix turned his head to face a brunette boy.
"So what's your deal?" the guy asked out of nowhere.
"Excuse me?" the blonde question in return, coming off colder than intended.
"You don't talk much," the brunette answered, ticking off his points with his fingers, "you avoid people regularly, and for a teenager, you dress a little too fancy. Then again, I should expect as much from an elite, huh?"
Felix found it unnecessary to respond to what he believed was a taunt. He turned on his heel, fully prepared to walk away from an unwanted confrontation, when the hand was back on his shoulder. He scowled and shrugged the hand off, the guy's actions starting to grate on his nerves. But before he could say anything, someone else beat him to it.
"What's going on here?" a sweet voice questioned. It was her. She walked up and looked between him and the brunette. "Claude?"
"I'm just trying to talk to the guy," the boy, whose name was apparently Claude, answered while pointing his thumb at Felix.
"That didn't look like just talking to me," Bridgette scolded.
"Come on, Bri! He's always giving the cold shoulder and dressing like he's above us. I wanted to know if he was the typical rich kid."
I give a cold shoulder? Felix pondered to himself.
"That's enough," Bridgette firmly stated, shocking the two boys as she stood between them. "So what? Maybe it takes him a while to get comfortable around new people. This is the first school he's ever been to and being in a brand new place can be scary. I should know. And I think the way he dresses is just fine and very distinguished." The blunette huffed and crossing her arms, an obvious sign that her words weren't up for discussion.
"Alright, alright," Claude said, backing up. "I know better than to get on your bad side." Then he left, leaving Bridgette and Felix alone under a tree.
"That's better," Bridgette said to no one and then turned to face him, offering a smile. A small jolt shot through the blonde at her small gesture, causing him to stiffen up and his face to go blank. "I hope he didn't give you too much trouble. He's never been good around money in general."
Felix's mind drew a blank on what to say next. So, on pure instinct from years of dealing with arrogant and self-important elitists that valued a strong will above all else, he blurted, "I could've handled it myself." This caused Bridgette's small to fall into a confused frown, and Felix found himself wishing the smile would come back. He unconsciously leaned his hand against the tree for support as his heart beat wildly in his ribcage, just about ready to burst. It was just his luck that he unknowingly caused his cursed ring to make contact with the tree.
"I'm sorry, I just—ouch!" The pigtailed girl gave a yelp as an apple fell on her head. But as she rubbed her head, she laughed off the pain. "Well, that was unlucky. But as I was—ow!" Another apple fell on her head. "Maybe it's best if I stay out of range." She backed away quickly, no longer standing under the tree, and Felix instantly felt a longing to be closer to her. "I'm sorry for the trouble then." Bridgette gripped the straps of her backpack and walked off school grounds, leaving Felix alone with his thoughts.
"Oh la la~" a tiny voice sang mockingly. Well, he was alone with his thoughts and an annoying kwami. "Not even a month and you already have a crush~"
"Don't be ridiculous," the blonde denied and turned his head away with a huff.
But deep down, he knew he was just lying to himself. He made a fist and stared at his ring for a while. Plagg told him that he needed a willing kiss from Ladybug, his hero partner that he hadn't met yet, to get rid of the ring and the curse attached to it. But with this new development, kissing Ladybug felt like a betrayal of some sort. Just imagining it made him want to stick a knife through his heart. He looked up to where Bridgette Cheng had gone, a resolve set in his mind.
He officially knew he was in love the moment she defended him without knowing him on any sort of scale—he knows because when someone brought up the Gabriel fashion label to her, she said she never heard of it before. She was a kind soul that took her own unlucky days in stride, looking on the bright side. She had her own brand of good luck too, apparently. Maybe that would be enough to counteract this curse. Because he just couldn't bring himself to want to kiss Ladybug now.
So what do you think? Feedback is always appreciated. I love reading comments on my world.
We seriously need for fanart of the Reverse Crush AU in our lives. I looked it up and there weren't too many results. It'd bee cute to see more art of Adrien (as Adrien) fawning over Marinette with a lovestruck expression when she's not looking. That would be cute.
I just wanted to put this out there. It'll probably be a two or three-shot. I'll figure it out. Until next time!