Disclaimer: I do not own Radiata Stories, Felix, Marietta or any other character in the said game. So please, do not sue me for theft.
A/N: As of this point in this fic, I'm officially moving the rating from K plus to T. Some scenes of this chapter are not meant for the younger crowd.

Felix trailed behind Marietta as they went to the apartment building. He was keeping watch for any shady characters that may be lurking around. It was strange if you were there to look at it. The distance between the Institute and the apartment building was no farther than a whole street block. Marietta occasionally turned back to glance at Felix. She found what he's doing really funny, as he kept watch for what he calls "shameless scoundrels". Marietta saw him walking really cautiously, checking in every direction.

"You know, where we're going isn't exactly miles away." Marietta joshed suddenly. "No one's gonna attack us, Felix. Try to relax." Felix sighed, his shoulders dropping.

"It's just that, I've seen a lot of nasty faces skulking around lately…" Felix explained. He recalled seeing people, mostly from the Void Community, prowling the streets of Radiata more often now. And he even caught some of them trying to fish out his laundry from the clothesline in his apartment yard. Felix shrugged.

"You can stop worrying now. We're here." Marietta laughed, turning the knob of the entrance door. Both of them entered the Leopearl Apartments building and ascended up the first flight of stairs.

"So, which room do you reside in?" Felix asked while going up the stairs behind Marietta.

"Room 201." Marietta answered. Just then, it hit her. Earlier today, her alarm clock exploded and left her room to lie in a big mess. Marietta stopped a while. "Oh no! I completely forgot!" She exclaimed suddenly, running ahead of Felix and quickly reaching the second floor landing.

"Huh? Marietta, wait!" Felix said, chasing after her up the remaining steps. Marietta reached the last door of the level and quickly opened it. She dropped her books after being greeted by the great mess that is her apartment room.

"Really…this just isn't my day. Ohh…" Marietta sadly muttered under her breath. Felix caught up to her afterwards, panting a bit. He noticed Marietta standing frozen in front of her apartment room and decided to check things out.

"Marietta, what's wrong?" Felix asked, going to Marietta. All the girl could do was lift a finger and point into the interior of Room 201. Felix became as still as Marietta, eyes wide open. "What happened here?" Felix asked her, seeing how every bit of furniture out of place and scattered inside the room. "It looks like a smilodon mangled your room…"

"No, it's more on the lines of 'exploding alarm clock'." Marietta said, letting out a sigh. Felix chuckled a bit.

"Jill, huh?" he asked.

"Yup." Marietta responded, going into her room. She tossed her pile of books on a nearby table and raised her arms. "Well…here we are- Casa de Marietta. Make yourself at home." Marietta said, her voice devoid of all feeling except for sarcasm. A picture hanging on the wall fell on the floor with a crash. Felix couldn't say anything except for an awkward, "Erm". He then broke the silence by offering to help Marietta with fixing up.

"Say…do you mind if I help you with your furniture?" Felix offered shyly, as Marietta went to the room's small kitchen. Marietta opened the refrigerator (A/N: I'm not really sure if they do have fridges in Radiata, but hey…) and pulled out a small, chilled bottle.

"Huh? No, no. I got this." Marietta responded, twisting the bottle cap open. "It's gonna way too much trouble for you anyway…" She added.

"No, I insist. By the looks of your room, I say you could use a helping hand." Felix said, looking around the disarrayed room.

"It's just too much bother. You should get going." Marietta took a big gulp out of the small bottle, immediately halving its content. "Ahh! I'm so glad they made this Celestial Nectar Juice. It kinda gives you that extra boost and it makes you feel alive!" Felix didn't seem to catch the statement about the juice.

"Are you absolutely sure you can handle your chore?" Felix asked again. Marietta nodded, finishing the remaining half of the juice and raising a thumb. Felix was disappointed because Marietta won't let him help her. "Hmm, OK. If you say so." Felix said, heading slowly towards the staircase. But then he stopped and turned around when he heard his name.

"Felix!" Marietta said, going out of her room and running to him. Felix faced her and smiled. "I just wanna say, thanks…y'know, for walking me home and making sure no 'shameless scoundrels' came after me." Marietta imitated Felix when she gave emphasis to "shameless scoundrels".

"Ahaha, do not mention it, Marietta!" Felix laughed heartily, his eyes happy and clear. Marietta laughed along with him. Felix liked to see her happy. It suits her personality- bubbly and cheerful. "Goodnight."

"Yeah, goodnight." Marietta said, tilting her head a bit. Felix went off towards the stairs, while Marietta headed back into her room. But as soon as Marietta stepped back inside, she was overcome by the same shock. There stood in front if her, the disarrayed apartment room 201.

"Oh…poo!" Marietta exclaimed, eyes wide in alarm. (A/N: I wish I could make Marietta say the bad s-word, but this is a K plus fic, so I had to settle with "poo".) Felix, however, was heading down the stairs with a small smile on his face.

"Three, two," Felix counted down, folding his fingers with each number. "One."

"FEEELIIIX!" Came Marietta's distressed voice immediately. Felix shook his head while smiling and turned around to see that Marietta chased after him. She stood at the topmost step, panting a bit. "Could you…uh…lend me a hand?" Asked Marietta sheepishly. Felix nodded, with a bit of a satisfied smirk on his face.

-----

"What exactly…happened…urgh…here?" Felix asked while pushing a cabinet towards a corner. He took in some air and wiped some sweat from his forehead. Marietta was busy throwing the dirty sheets into the washing machine (A/N: Again, I don't know if they HAVE washing machines there…) in the tiny laundry room.

"Well, it's kind of a long story. But to make it short," Marietta said, sorting the colored pillowcases from the white sheets. "I volunteered to test the exploding clock, it worked, and now we're cleaning the mess it made." Felix laughed, finally getting the cabinet secure in a corner. Marietta put some detergent inside the washing machine and began to launder the soiled sheets.

"Does this mean you won't be doing anymore volunteer testing?" Felix asked, dragging a chair.

"Considering what happened to this place, then I'd have to say no." Marietta jested, leaving the laundry room to help Felix with the furniture. She saw him trying to move the large closet to its proper place. Felix was having a hard time moving it. Marietta quickly came to his aid. "Oh, careful! This one's heavy."

"Thank you." Felix said gratefully, as they pushed the big closet towards the wall. Felix got rid of the dust in his hands afterwards. Marietta checked the clock to see that almost an hour has passed.

"Hey, it's almost nine. Shouldn't you be going home?" Marietta asked afterwards. She then went back to the laundry room to get some clean sheets from the cabinets there. Felix then started to move the bed to its proper place.

"I should, but are you going to manage?" Felix asked Marietta, shoving the bed towards the wall. Marietta carried a pile of clean blankets, sheets and pillowcases in her hands and walked towards the bed.

"Yeah, I guess so. All the heavy stuff are put back into place anyway." Marietta said, looking over the pile of folded sheets. Felix didn't say anything as he finished up with pushing the bed. "Felix, thanks for all your help." Said Marietta, as she headed towards the bed to dress up the bare mattress in fresh sheets.

"Don't mention it. I was glad to help." Felix answered. Because of the pile of sheets and pillowcases, Marietta didn't see a loose fold on a rug near the bed. Her foot was caught in the fold and sent her tripping over to the bed.

"OHH! Look out!" She yelled to Felix, who was standing in front of the bed and oblivious of her mishap. "Felix!"

"Huh?- Aaah!" Felix exclaimed, but it was too late. Marietta accidentally knocked Felix backwards due to her stumble. The sheets she was holding escaped from her hands and opened up in the air. Felix fell on the bed's soft mattress with Marietta following after him. Marietta fell on top of Felix, who was now lying on his back on the mattress.

Felix looked at his chest and saw Marietta's head resting on it…and her whole body on his.

The sheets drifted down slowly around them, like tufts of clouds descending from the sky. Felix felt a strange tingling sensation forming on his skin. Goosebumps. He was getting goose pimples all over, and feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand. But it wasn't a sign of repulsion or fright. It was more of tenseness. Felix never had a girl this close to him in all his life, and to make things more uneasy, that girl had to be Marietta. Felix could feel her delicate form breathing and giving off a warmth that slightly soothed his anxiety. Marietta looked up at him, realizing that she is lying on the young man's body. As a lady, Marietta thought of immediately getting off him, but then something prevented her- a strong pull of emotion. Felix and Marietta's stares met and intertwined in one unbreakable connection. Marietta could feel Felix's heart pounding wild and rapid.

"Marietta…I…" He muttered, but didn't say anything else. A rush of emotion filled Felix's heart, fusing with the rivers of blood that flow through his veins. Unknown to him though, Marietta was experiencing the same sensation. It was a feeling neither of them experienced before; something so magical and new. The feeling made both Felix and Marietta happy, but it was a joy that cannot be described in any word known to man. A joy that abounded in their hearts that they never knew they could feel. But that was until now that they are together like this. Felix smiled lovingly at the redheaded girl. He placed his hand gently on Marietta's back, slowly inching upwards to feel the perfectly sculpted contours of her shoulders. Marietta was trembling, but she enjoyed the sweet gentleness of Felix's touch. She didn't slap his hand away. She didn't want to. Felix trailed his hand down Marietta's arm, envisioning how soft and fair it must be if it was free from the garment she wore. Marietta watched as he moved his hand to her beautiful face, caressing it tenderly. Marietta was sort of unaware of what she was doing when she took her own hand and put it on Felix's, pressing the latter's hand harder on her face. The silver-haired man used his free hand to trail the sunken arch in Marietta's back, silently admiring how it was beautifully carved out; like a work of angels. Marietta shivered.

"So beautiful…" She heard him murmur, gliding his hand down the bend. Marietta could feel Felix's hot breath on her face, probably brought about by tension and anxiety. Marietta put both of her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself a little upwards, so that she was on all fours on top of Felix. Marietta's face was directly above Felix's as they exchanged loving smiles with each other. Soon, there was silence. The two of them could hear the beat of each other's heart, drumming rhythmically with each other. They both knew that this was a sign. It was ecstasy in a whole different level. That sign made them realize that there is something special blossoming between the two of them, and they couldn't find it in their selves to ignore it. It was an attraction neither of them expected to happen. Blood rushed faster through their veins as their breaths got heavier and warmer against each other. Marietta could feel droplets of sweat trailing down the side of her face as she opened her mouth to say something to Felix.

"On second thought…" Marietta breathed out her words, touching Felix's smooth alabaster-skinned face. Felix had a slightly mischievous smile on his face.

"May be I should…" He said quite playfully. Marietta neared her face to his and traced a finger down his lips.

"Stay a while...?" She intended to finish the sentence for him, but ended up asking him a question instead.

The smile on Felix's face grew as Marietta held his face in her hands. The silver-haired man took hold of her slender waist, sliding his hands along the smooth curves of her body. Their faces were barely an inch away, when finally, after a short moment, the gap between them was closed. Felix felt Marietta's full, rose-colored lips make contact with his mouth, placing a soft, chaste kiss. The kiss was so light and pure, that neither of them could feel the tension. But they didn't mind that. The moment was too perfect to be spoiled by silly ponderings. Despite the wispy kiss, both of them could feel the warm touch of the other. Marietta could feel Felix's hands gliding along her back and waist, tracing the fragile curves with his gentle fingers. Marietta's hands slid along the side of Felix's face, tracing his neck and feeling the crooks of his collar bone. Felix smiled while kissing, making it somehow hard to continue. Soon, the delicate kissing turned into a serious exchange of love. They joined in a kiss; their mouths open and letting their tongues playfully explore and experience each other's essence. Felix could taste something cool and fresh in Marietta's mouth. Peppermint, he thought as he savored the piercing iciness of the mint. Marietta enjoyed the feeling of having to kiss someone. It was not like anything she experienced before. It was tense and sultry, seeing as they both sweat pretty hard while exchanging the kiss. She gave into it with all she has, not regretting every moment that passes by.

But then, even though they didn't want to, they eventually had to end their pleasure session. After a while of discovering each other with a kiss, both of them disconnected and started to gasp hungrily for air. Marietta panted on Felix's chest, taking in every available gust of air there is. Felix tilted his head sideward, dampening the mattress with sweat from his face. Marietta jadedly giggled, gasping for breath with every laugh. Felix put some stray strands of red hair behind Marietta's ear and hugged his new lover affectionately. They were tired, but the experience felt so damn good that they didn't mind their fatigue. They both looked at each other with satisfied gleams in their eyes, somehow hoping that they could repeat the awesome encounter. A tired Felix then opened his mouth to say something.

"I'd love to, my dear." Felix answered dotingly to Marietta's last question. "I'd love to." Marietta couldn't be any happier at her lover's response.