Adrien was undeniably an idiot. Going on a delivery with Marinette in broad daylight—well, better daylight than moonlight—where he could easily be seen together with her was reckless enough. But to go to Montparnasse of all places was a kind of idiocy Félix had not thought his brother to be capable of. In his quest to get closer to the human girl, he had accompanied her to the one place in Paris where he was almost guaranteed to encounter another one of his kind. With the small corner of Bretagne culture in France's capital came no few of the fair folk, who felt more at home among the Celtic surroundings.
Forgetting that was a feat all on its own, but then going to no other place than onto the front porch of Mélusine's was unforgivable. Taken, it had been Félix himself who had gone there regularly in the past half year to get rowan berries, St. John's wort and other herbs and trinkets for the critical days, but Adrien knew about it nonetheless. He knew where the shop was and the least he could have done was to change the side of the street so Marinette would not notice it due to his presence. What he had done instead was to notice it and then drag her away from it after she had seen it.
Félix knew the humans and so he knew that they were too curious for their own good. Even if Marinette would not seek it out directly, it was just a question of time before she would find herself in Montparnasse again and remember the strange antique shop. The damage had been done. Whatever Félix or Adrien could say to discourage her to go, would just fuel her curiosity.
"Mélusine is nice. Maybe nothing bad will happen," Adrien mumbled desperately from his perch on the highest bookshelf where he was wallowing in endless regret.
"She is a halfling," Félix replied and took another sip of the coffee he desperately needed. The day had been long and absolutely dreadful. No wonder Adrien had begged for a break.
"We are halflings!" Adrien stubbornly hissed and Félix heard the unmistakable sound of claws on wood.
"We are the young and naïve exception."
"But she's half human too. Like us!"
"Be that as it may," Félix said as he turned around to look at Adrien who just defiantly stared back. "When it is not Mélusine, then it will be another fair one, halfling or otherwise. Her shop is a safe place from this world of iron and lies and many use it as a sanctuary. Can you imagine what would happen if they found a human there? Needless to say, that the things Mélusine sells would even make the most oblivious person suspicious."
Adrien was quiet after that, except for the occasional scratching sound when he ran his claws against the wood in frustration.
"I screwed up!" he lamented eventually and jumped down from the shelf in favour of pacing up and down the second level of their bedroom with his tail lashing wildly.
"At last, something we can agree on," Félix said with a roll of his eyes, but did not miss the glare Adrien threw him.
"We can't just leave her helpless like this! They'll curse her or kidnap her or…or…" Adrien did not dare to speak his thoughts out loud but he also did not have to. Both of them knew of the ugly consequences.
Félix eventually let out a sigh and leaned back against the bookshelf. He would have much rather preferred to sit on the couch or even lie down on the bed, but his brother needed attention and he was willing to give it to him. For the moment at least. So, there he sat, with his almost empty Starbucks cup—he had worked hard for that coffee and obtaining it had included no small amount of trickery—and listened to his brother's panicked rambles. It was high time for an intervention.
"Calm down. She does not know anything yet and she will be fine as long as she does not find the shop again." The probability of this utopian outcome to actually happen was low, but by Danu, Adrien was going to tear the room apart again if he did not stop worrying. Some positivity was hopefully going to prevent that.
"Félix, I know that it would be safer if neither of us would see her again, but…she is the only human friend I have," Adrien eventually admitted and stopped in front of Félix, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. It was quite selfish of his brother to bring the girl in danger just because he liked her. Then again, faeries were selfish creatures and if Marinette could make Adrien happy, then Félix would tolerate her.
"You really like her that much?"
"Yes! She is super nice and—"
"Don't start with that again. Please." Félix rubbed his temples, already feeling a headache coming, though that was more from the bright lights at the photoshoot than from the current conversation. He doubted he could listen to one of Adrien's 'Marinette is so nice!' speeches again without the throbbing getting worse.
"At least she is not connected to any fey magic anymore," Félix sighed in relief. He really did not need a repeat of Midsummer.
Adrien, to his surprise, ducked down in shame at his words.
"Actually…I…uh…kind of placed a blessing on their house today?"
Félix almost knocked his head on the bookshelf as he jumped up.
"You did what!? Are you crazy!?"
Adrien very wisely dashed to the other side of the second level and jumped on the banister.
"I'm sorry! It's a subtle blessing, I swear! It's good luck, they'll be fine! No one is going to notice!"
"Why Adrien? Just why!?" The headache made itself known with a throbbing at the back of Félix's head and he ran his hand down his face in exasperation. He knew his brother had meant well, but it would not hurt him to think a couple of steps ahead for once.
"They were kind to me! They gave me food, shelter and even an umbrella! It's unfair to not give anything back."
Félix just stared at his brother for a minute. A staring contest he eventually lost as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "I'll go to the bakery tomorrow and look if your blessing did any damage." He fixed the black cat with and neutral glare again and Adrien had the decency to look guilty.
"You're too impatient. If you want this to work out and not get her killed in the process, you have to stop doing fey things. I know it's annoying and weird, but be human. Ignore your instincts and just do not use any more magic. That means no blessings, curses, enchantments, charms or otherwise. It would have been better to wait until Samhain with the blessing so it wouldn't have backfired on you."
"I don't care about it backfiring on me. I can take some bad luck," Adrien said stubbornly.
"Maybe you care about it backfiring on Marinette then? Because everyone you're close to will be caught up in that bad luck of yours."
"Oh…"
"Look, I'm not mad at you and nothing happened yet, but it could also be better. All I'm asking of you is to be more careful and to think things through before you do them. And no more magic."
This was a mistake, Félix knew that deep down despite what conclusion Adrien and he had come to the previous evening. Yet he felt like he owed it to the girl for keeping his brother safe on Midsummer. A favour for a favour. Fair as fair. Even though she knew of neither favour.
It was still wrong.
Adrien and he were part of the Unseelie Court after all. They were born into it, though not properly raised to act the part. Cat Sidhe were unlucky creatures that belonged into the darkness of the night, hidden away from the world. Bells—church bells and small ones alike—hurt their ears and they could not see perfectly well in daylight. Even if they tore themselves free from the Court and became solitary fae—which would not bring any benefits anyway—they would always be misfortunate. They could act as Seelie as they wanted, but as Cat Sidhe they would never belong into the Seelie Court.
Walking down the street at noon in summer made Félix realise once again how out of place he felt among people in the Paris daylight. Things were all the same here. People acted predictable and were shocked when something outside of the norm happened. This was why Félix did not like to talk to most folks. He was outside of the norm and his blatant questioning of their normal served only as an occasional amusement.
Confusion was not as satisfactory a reaction as shock or even anger was, but he simply lacked the interest to dig deep enough to find random people's true weak points and address them. To hit a nerve was always interesting because the reaction was often a surprise. Just like opening a present. The unpredictability of those kinds of reactions was the only comfort he had among this monotone world.
When he met Marinette, Félix's worldview had needed some adjusting. She had pleasantly surprised him during the short conversation they have had two days before and he started to understand why his kind felt drawn to artists. She was thinking outside the box and even more than that. Except of being drawn in by Adrien's initial kind attempt at friendship and his natural charm, she had practically spat everything right back at him and proceeded to hate him. It had no doubt been the highlight of Félix's summer to see his brother's sunshine attitude fail for the first time ever. That she had eventually forgiven him and was giving this dangerous friendship a try also spoke for her.
Félix was not dreading the visit to the bakery like he had expected he would, no, he was actually looking forward to it. How would this girl surprise him this time and what conversation would they hold? The mystery of it intrigued him.
However, there was still the problem of the blessing and the bad luck it had given Adrien. He really did not want harm to come to Marinette, but there was still this tiny part in him that blamed her for his brother's literally unfortunate situation. On the other hand, it was nice to see Adrien genuinely happy for the first time in what felt like forever. Their cold house stifled them both, but Félix had watched as his brother wilted away like a flower that did not get enough sunlight. He needed to interact with people his age even if they were human. It was healthy.
"Welcome, what can I get for you…Félix?" Marinette said as he entered the bakery, only looking up as she had already finished her default greeting. She threw him a smile that wasn't the strained, forcefully polite one he was used to receiving. It was odd, in a way, to have someone take a liking to him despite his tries to stay distant.
"Good afternoon, Marinette," he said with a nod.
"It's barely one."
"Still after noon," Félix shrugged and started to study the cake display.
"Adrien told me you would come back for the coffee cake so I saved a piece for you just in case. Only if you want it of course," Marinette said, which made his attention snap back to the girl.
"That is very considerate of you. Thanks." Félix accepted the plate on which lay a generously big slice of the same cake he had also gotten two days prior.
"Latte Macchiato like last time as well?" Marinette asked, already making her way to the coffee machine and Félix had to admit that he was impressed that she remembered his order.
"Yes, that would be perfect."
As he sat down on the only table and set down his plate, another customer entered the bakery. He did not pay the newcomer much mind—he just flinched slightly at the unpleasant sound of the bell—and instead took out the book he had brought with him.
Poetry was one of the few things in his life that Félix could truly appreciate. The fact alone that only people with an open mind could truly understand the meaning behind most of the poems was appealing. It felt natural to him, just like songs, trickery and riddles did. A little piece of his fae side that stretched into his human life. Not rarely had it served as a comfort in difficult situations and calmed him down.
A cup of coffee being set down in front of him and Marinette's voice drew him out of a poem about a moonlit meadow.
"Not everyone gets summer vacation, so prepare to witness the rush hour."
"I will keep it in mind," Félix replied with a nod and noticed that the customer from before was gone now, leaving the bakery empty except for Marinette, him and who he presumed was her father in the back.
"I mean, it probably will be pretty noisy in here and if you want to have a quiet place to read we can also go upstairs. You don't have to of course, but it's an option." Félix raised an eyebrow at her shy rambles. Those were new.
"While I appreciate the offer, don't you think it is unwise to let strangers into your home without supervision?"
"Oh, I would be upstairs too. I'm only filling in for Maman while she makes lunch."
The offer was tempting but also unnerving. He did not visit human homes very often and while he knew the etiquette by heart, he still was afraid of accidentally offending Marinette in some way. Adrien would never forgive him if that happened.
"I would hate to inconvenience you with my presence," Félix said. By the way Marinette snorted and tried to smother a laugh, he probably had either said something ridiculous for human standards or had sounded too formal.
"You're not a bother, don't worry. I was just going to work on some designs anyway. If you want we can also save the cake for later and you can eat lunch with me. Only if you want to, you really don't have to!"
Her reassurances if he was alright with her propositions was a very welcome change to being ordered around. For the first time in a while, a decision was left up to him. No wonder Adrien had felt compelled to give her a blessing.
The blessing! Félix had almost forgotten about it. Though first, he had to not completely ruin this conversation. Afterwards he would investigate if his brother had accidentally doomed the Dupain-Chengs.
"That is a very generous offer."
"It's really nothing," Marinette replied and shuffled nervously on the spot.
"Think about it," she added when the door opened again and she rushed back behind the counter to take the new customer's order.
Félix did think about it. Accepting food or beverages from humans always held the risk of being poisoned. Not on purpose of course, but there were certain herbs that were harmless to humans but problematic to him. He would not die from it, but it would make him very ill for a few days. Was the risk worth it?
Well, on the other hand he could just ask if certain things were in the food and just say that he was allergic to them. It was a half-lie but it would work. Then he could still decide if he wanted to eat it or not. It also would make Adrien jealous, which would be amusing to see.
Speaking of his brother, Félix knew he should investigate the blessing before he forgot why he was there in the first place or was interrupted again. So, he let the noise of the conversation Marinette held with the customer drift into the background and focused on the magic in the air instead.
Adrien had not been kidding when he had said it was subtle, since Félix had not been able to pick up anything at all so far. Only when he closed his eyes and concentrated did he sense the familiar hum of Adrien's magic in the walls of the building. He was certain no one other than him would even remotely notice it.
It certainly was not because Adrien was particularly skilled—he wasn't—but rather because he had no practice in blessings whatsoever and did not know how to cast one properly. The blessing was weak, which meant that its effects would also be minimal. Not even an attentive fae would notice the difference in the baker family's luck. Félix only noticed it at all because Adrien's magic was as familiar to him as his own shadow. The effects of the blessing were basically non-existent though.
Well, it's the thought that counts.
The good news of that was that Adrien's bad luck would also be extremely minimal, which meant he would not be a danger to Marinette.
"Lunch is ready," a voice suddenly called from the back and Félix, who had been in a slight trance, opened his eyes again. He saw an Asian woman—undoubtedly Marinette's mother—descend the stairs just as Marinette handed back change to a customer.
"Thanks, Maman," Marinette said and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned back to him.
"Félix?" she asked, suddenly seeming unsure of herself. It probably was impolite to refuse her kind offer anyway.
"Oh, so you are Adrien's brother!" Marinette's mother suddenly exclaimed in delight before Félix could even say a word. "He has told us a lot about you."
Félix sighed. "I feared that he has."
"Oh, it's all good things, dear," she said with a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring and approached him. "My name is Sabine, by the way. Feel free to use it."
The irony of the wording was not lost on Félix and he had to bite back an amused smirk. Another fair one would have probably used such an opportunity for an enchantment, but Félix had no use for tricks like that at the moment.
No magic near this family unless you want to doom them.
Sabine held out a hand for him to shake and he took it, appreciating the formal gesture. From what Adrien had told him of the woman he had half-feared a hug.
"Félix Agreste," he replied. "Marinette invited me to eat lunch with her and I hope that it is not a bother."
"Of course it isn't! Go on up, there should be enough for all of us," Sabine said with a smile—another honest one. This would take some getting used to.
Marinette, who had indecisively settled to wait for him at the base of the stairs, gave him an awkward grin.
"Maman is a great cook, so I'm sure you'll like whatever she made."
Félix hummed as he joined her at the stairs, coffee and plate with the slice of cake in both hands. Marinette offered to carry it for him, but he declined with a shake of his head.
"I feel like I need to point out that I'm allergic so some herbs and Adrien is too."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Why would she be sorry about that? "Which herbs are you allergic to?"
Where should he start? Probably the most common ones would do.
"St. John's wort, rosemary, mints and we also don't do too well with oatmeal and things that are overly salty."
"Is the salt thing really an allergy or just a preference?" Marinette asked with an arched eyebrow.
"The latter, though I thought it would be helpful for you to know," Félix admitted. Salt would not do him any harm, but he still preferred sweet to salty food.
The rest of the way upstairs was spent in silence.
"Well, Maman made spring rolls, so there should be several flavours. We can try to pick something for you that is not too salty," Marinette said as she approached the oven where said spring rolls were kept to keep them warm. She motioned Félix to sit down at the kitchen table while she retrieved them.
Félix set down his coffee cup and slice of cake but did not yet sit down. Instead, he decided to take a look around. The living room was just as Adrien had described it, when also smaller than Félix had imagined it to be. Then again, it was a commendable size for a home this close to the Eiffel tower. That could not be cheap.
"You have a nice home," Félix eventually said with an appreciative nod. Marinette, who had deeply contemplated the spring rolls as if her life would depend on which one she would pick, turned around and smiled.
"Thank you. Adrien said something similar yesterday."
"I hope he…err…behaved. We don't visit other peoples' homes often."
"He was a perfect guest, even though I beat him at Mario Kart several times in a row," Marinette said with a grin and turned back to the spring rolls. She then picked two of them with a fork and put them on a plate.
"Here, those should not be too salty for you and it's just vegetables inside. Is that alright or are you allergic to carrots too?"
"It sounds perfect, thank you," Félix said and accepted the plate and a napkin.
"You're supposed to eat them with a piece of lettuce and add some mint, but we're out of lettuce and you're allergic to mint, so I hope it's alright like this? I can also give you chopsticks or a fork if that's better?"
It had been quite a long time since anyone but Adrien had been this considerate about him, especially concerning small stuff like his preferred way to eat a spring roll.
"A napkin is fine."
They both proceeded to eat their spring rolls in silence. What Marinette had said about her mother's cooking skills more than held true. Maybe his personal chef could learn a thing or two from Sabine.
When Félix finally got to drink his coffee and eat his cake, he started to hear quite the noise from downstairs. Probably the rush hour Marinette had mentioned before. Now he was very glad to have agreed to eat lunch with her instead of staying downstairs.
"Is it okay if I leave you down here for a moment?" Marinette had finished washing both of their plates and now stood at the base of the staircase which Félix presumed led up to her room. "I just need to get my sketchbook and pencils from upstairs."
Félix just nodded and she immediately sped up the stairs, tripping on one of the steps and then hurriedly continued like nothing had happened.
Well, so much for the blessing bringing good luck.
Adrien definitely would have to practice with blessings if he wanted to try anything of this sort again and actually let it make a difference. Not that he should. Félix still thought that it would be best to leave Marinette completely alone magic-wise so that the folk wouldn't notice her.
"You can also sit down on the sofa if you like. It's more comfortable than the chairs," Marinette said when she came back down the stairs, a sketch book and a box—which he presumed was full of pencils—held under her arm.
Félix did as suggested, sitting down at the side of the couch closest to the door. Not that he planned on fleeing, but he was simply more comfortable with having as many options open to him as possible.
Marinette sat down with a polite distance to him, spreading the contents of the box on the sofa to her right. He was slightly impressed with the sheer variety of coloured pencils she owned. It must be around two hundred or even more, neatly sorted into several colour palettes. One of them consisted of several shades of yellow while five of the pencils looked absolutely identical to each other. How she was able to keep them apart was a mystery to him.
Back in the day, a few years back, Félix had enjoyed watching his father design. Seeing creations being brought to life was fascinating to him and he could not decide whether he took more enjoyment in watching the craft or seeing the finished product.
It was not like this anymore. His father's spark had slowly dimmed and after his mother's disappearance it had all but vanished. His designs nowadays had little to do with the artistic genius he had once been and instead seemed lifeless. Echoes of what they could have been. Works of wasted opportunities and sterile practicality.
Marinette's designs, on the other hand, were fresh and alive. She was young, creative and inventive, giving her creations an innocence he had rarely seen in the fashion world. Mostly because it was prone to mistakes. He could see flaws in her works, indications that she was not a designer yet but still learning. They would be fatal were she to try to make a name for herself with her current designs, but she wasn't. She designed not to become famous and successful, but just for herself. For the joy of creating something new she could call her own.
Félix was so immersed with watching Marinette draw that he almost forgot to read his book.
Poems of autumn leaves and sunshine eventually drew him back to his own small sanctuary though. Away from a mortal realm where things needed to make sense to be understood. In the words of poems, birds could talk, foxes could dance and life was looked at with another angle. Things that humans often did not understand were written down clear as day here and small everyday mysteries were solved in an elegant play of words.
"Félix?" Marinette's timid voice drew him out of this world again. How much time had passed? He honestly could not tell.
"Yes?" he said and looked up from his book. Judging by the three finished and coloured design concepts that lay on the coffee table, at least an hour or maybe two must have gone by since he had started reading.
"I don't mean to throw you out, really I don't, but when do you need to be home?"
That was an excellent question. He knew that he had free time scheduled starting at noon, but he had neglected to check for how long this free time was permitted. Adrien had fencing classes at that time and piano practice after that if he remembered correctly. Depending on what time it currently was, the latter might actually be over soon and the both of them would have classes with Nathalie afterwards. While Félix did not particularly care about those classes, he also did not want to leave Adrien alone like that, so he should get home timely.
He looked at his watch to find out that it was already half past four in the afternoon. How had that happened? Without noticing, he had sat in the Dupain-Cheng's living room for almost four hours. It also meant that classes had started half an hour ago and he was indeed late.
Smelt it!
"Half an hour ago," Félix admitted with a slight cringe. He quickly stood up from the sofa and threw Marinette and apologetic smile.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I really have to go home now. Leaving Adrien alone with Nathalie spells disaster and I'd rather not have to deal with the fallout of it." Said fallout would be a bored out of his mind Adrien that would in search for entertainment wreck their entire room. Again. Félix really did not envy the household staff that would have to tidy up the mess afterwards and he would rather prevent them from touching most of his stuff again.
"It's okay. Go and save him, I guess," Marinette said with a small smile.
"It's rather my sanity that needs to be saved, but I will tell him that you worried about his wellbeing." The slight teasing was usually something he reserved for his brother or few fellow fair folk—his behaviour towards humans was explicitly polite, as requested by his father—but he felt like Marinette could be an exception. It was probably the relaxed atmosphere that had driven him to do it, but being rewarded with a blush and incoherent stuttering as Marinette tried to defend herself, made it worth it.
"I won't tolerate your unpermitted absences anymore, so you are to join Adrien for this week's photoshoots."
"Unpermitted absences?" Félix just calmly replied with an arched eyebrow. "I had free time scheduled and I used it as I saw fit." Nevermind that he overshot it by over half an hour just yesterday.
"This free time of yours is not to be used to leave the mansion, let alone doing so as a cat."
"Well, it was not me who decided that an archway made out of iron would be a good idea, so you basically left me no other choice." He knew provoking his father like this was not a good idea even at the best of times, but he simply lacked the capacity to care at that moment.
The previous afternoon he had spent with Marinette had been one of the most relaxing ones he had had for a while and it had very much been worth it. He had also been able to reassure Adrien that no faerie would notice the blessing and that Marinette and her family were therefore safe for the time being.
"Enough of this nonsense," Gabriel said and the look he threw Félix would have severely frightened most people and made them bend to this man's will. Félix was not one of his father's employees or Adrien though. As soon as he had realised what he believed to be the cruel truth behind his father's actions on Midsummer, he had vowed to not take part in this game of manipulation anymore. He was a Cat Sidhe after all. He should bow to no human.
"You have half an hour to get ready for the photoshoot."
Félix then did something Gabriel had obviously not anticipated, judging by the surprised and at the same time disapproving look he threw his son: Félix started laughing.
There was no humour in his laugh and his eyes twinkled not with amusement but with malice. It was the laugh of a fair one before they played a cruel prank on a person.
When Félix looked up at his father again, there was something dangerous in his expression which made Gabriel hesitate.
"You hoped to keep us inside and the rest of the folk outside with these iron gates? What, do you hope that by locking us in here, Adrien and I will become human? Is it human to be locked inside a house?" Félix's voice had taken on a mocking tone and the danger he emitted almost seemed graspable.
It held a certain thrill to talk back to his father in a non-human way. To remind him of who and what exactly he was dealing with. Perhaps Félix would regret this, but sometimes he was a creature of the present and consequences did not bother him then. Just because he could think ahead did not mean that he always did.
"Félix, stop this ridiculous temper tantrum of yours and go to your room to get ready," his father said. While his voice or expression did not let on to any difference to before, Félix noticed the small signs that he was getting through to him. The twitch of his eye, the clenched jaw, the tension of his body. Gabriel Agreste could deny things connected to the fair folk as much as he wanted, but he still knew of the dangers they brought.
Félix's fey grin fell into a threatening frown. "Consider this a warning. You know what you are dealing with here."
And just like that, the Cat Sidhe walked out of his father's office and back to Adrien's and his room. He did not even stop after he entered it.
"And, what did father say?" Adrien asked from where he was sitting at the desk, trying and mostly failing to thread dried rowan berries into a necklace. He was so concentrated to get the needle through a berry without breaking it that he did not even turn around to his brother.
"Unagreeable things," Félix said with a huff. The black ears on top his blond head flattened when he heard steps approach that were not Nathalie's.
"And that is my cue to leave."
"Wait, where are you going?" Adrien asked, but Félix had already shifted and jumped out of the window.
Regret was a nasty feeling. Félix did not regret trying to intimidate his father, but rather leaving Adrien behind to deal with the aftermath. He should have taken his brother with him but his instincts had screamed at him to flee. He did not want to deal with his father any more than he necessarily had to and the ridiculousness that would have probably followed his threat promised complications. Doing something incredibly stupid like cursing his father counted among these things and it was not a very farfetched thought either.
Félix had gone to the first place that had come to mind as an escape: Mélusine's. Being surrounded by faerie things was exactly what he needed at this moment. When he stood in front of the closed shop though, he remembered a little too late that she was always closed at daytime unless one made a bargain with her to open up during daylight hours once.
Wandering through the streets of Paris was not an appealing option either. Daylight and a mass of people both being the opposite of Félix's idea of relaxation.
There really was just one single place he could go to at this point.
So, it came that he found himself opening the familiar bakery's door and suppressed the cringe when the bell above it jingled.
"Welcome dear! What can I get for you?" Sabine said in a tone that indicated that she was very happy to see him. He still was not used to it. People just weren't happy to be in his company. It didn't happen! He usually was shunned and with how utterly boring and rude most people were, that was honestly a good thing.
Even though he had witnessed Sabine's cheerful and welcoming attitude the previous day already, he was still surprised to see it again. After all, she could have just played the cheerful mother previously to keep up a façade in front of her daughter. With that obviously not being the case after all, Félix felt an inexplicable and therefore irrational trust towards the woman. Inheritable honest and kind people did this to him, though they were as rare as they come.
Therefore, his next words were so unlike him that he had a hard time believing they came out of his mouth.
"Good morning, Madame Cheng. This might be an odd request, but can I hide here for the day?"
A few moments of silence passed in which Sabine's smile fell and for a second Félix thought she was going to deny him. The worried look on her face told another story though.
"Of course, you can!" she said as if the idea of denying him was absolutely ridiculous. Had he accidentally charmed her? He hoped not.
She motioned for him to follow her behind the counter into the back of the bakery where her husband—or at least he assumed it was her husband—was currently frosting a cake.
"Tom?" Sabine called and Félix guessed that this was the huge man's name.
"Yes?" Tom said and turned around. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Félix, but not in an unfriendly way. He walked over to the two of them and extended his huge hand to the boy.
"Hello young man, I'm Tom. What brings you here?" he said with a friendly smile and a pleasant, warm voice. It was so very different to the icy, clipped voice of his own father.
"I'm Félix Agreste," he introduced himself in the same way as he had introduced himself to Sabine the previous day. The answer to Tom's question though was hard to put into words.
"I…do not have anywhere else to go for the day." It was an answer that still lacked sufficient information, but the last thing he wanted to do was to tell those people about his home situation. May they be as kind and friendly as they were, but they were still basically strangers and his personal life was not their business.
To his endless relief, they seemed to understand him even without prodding for more details.
"Well, you are welcome to stay here," Tom said. "You can help me in the bakery if you like."
Félix guessed that helping in a bakery was a tempting offer to most kids his age, but for him it really wasn't. He might like the sweet goods, but the craft itself was beyond him. He could not even tell one end of a whisk from the other if he tried, making him more than just useless. The fair folk did not bake; creating things was not in their nature.
"I would probably rather hinder you than help, but thank you for the offer," Félix therefore politely declined.
"How about you join Marinette upstairs? I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," Sabine offered kindly, which sounded much more appealing.
Marinette was, in fact, not very thrilled to see him. When he opened the door to the apartment he found her sitting on the sofa with her sketch book lying unused on the coffee table in front of her while an episode of Doctor Who—Adrien had begged Félix to watch it with him a while ago—played on TV.
"Good morning," Félix said, but had not expected Marinette to jump and whirl around to him as if he was a Dullahan [L1] that had come to declare her imminent death.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly shocked by his sudden entrance. Well, to be fair, if someone he barely knew would just walk into his house and greet him while he was enjoying some peace and quiet, he would not be very pleased either.
"I don't know where else to go," he answered truthfully, similar to the answer he had given her parents. Just like them, Marinette seemed to understand immediately.
"Oh. I'm sorry about that," she said awkwardly and pulled the blanket closer around herself as if to hide from him.
"Your parents sent me up here," Félix added to somehow fill the awkward silence that had befallen them with just the sounds of the TV in the background.
"Of course they did," Marinette muttered quietly to herself and then took the remote to pause the episode.
"I…uh…am not really dressed for guests right now, so give me a minute," she said and stood up with the blanket clutched around herself.
"If you're more comfortable in your pyjamas, I really don't mind," Félix quickly said before she could disappear up the stairs. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel uncomfortable in her own home.
"My brother is a model, so I'm used to all sorts of clothes," he added as Marinette hesitated at the foot of the stairs. Eventually she shook her head.
"Still! I'll be right back!" she said and hurried upstairs as fast as the blanket allowed without her tripping.
Félix decided that staying put would be the best option to not make Marinette panic even more. He heard shuffling from upstairs and quiet curses as she tripped in her hurry.
When she eventually descended the staircase again, she wore a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a t-shirt with the Slytherin emblem on it. Félix could not help but comment on the latter.
"Well, that's a relief. I don't think I could have put up with another Hufflepuff."
An amused smile appeared on Marinette's face and he was glad for it.
Good. Make her feel comfortable again without charming her in any way.
"You like Harry Potter?" she asked as she ventured into the kitchen.
"You could say I do. The worldbuilding is impressive," Félix said with a shrug. He usually avoided fantasy fiction, because the inaccuracy concerning all things magic frustrated him. His mother had found excessive interest in this specific book series though and the memories he therefore connected to it made it an exception. It served as a nostalgic reminder of her from the days of his early childhood.
He remembered fondly how their mother, Adrien, and he had camped at the entrance of the mansion with pillows and blankets to wait for the delivery of the newest Harry Potter novel. Once it had arrived, she would let the two of them look at the cover art first and then let them take guesses about what was going to happen in the story based on what was depicted. Afterwards she would sit in her favourite chair in the living room and read it while both of them curled up on her lap. She had also read them chapters of the first book—the only one of the series they owned that was in French—as bedtime stories.
It was a memory too sacred to share with anyone else, since most would not understand it anyway or even call him silly. No, he preferred to keep memories of fond times untainted by keeping them to himself.
"We could marathon the movies if you like?" Marinette suggested while rummaging through the cupboards and the fridge.
"No, thank you. I personally prefer the books. I don't want to keep you from your Doctor Who marathon either."
At that, Marinette turned around to him with slight surprise. "You know the show?"
Félix rolled his eyes. "Try to have Adrien as a brother and not know nearly every popular TV show in existence." His glance then wandered to the ingredients Marinette had gathered. "What are you making there anyway?"
"French Toast," she declared. "You look like you haven't had breakfast yet and this does not include salt or herbs, but some sugar." She threw him a grin at the last one.
Well, Félix was not one to pass up free food…again.
"I suppose I can't say 'no' to that then," he said and a small smile tugged at his lips. "Though you really don't have to."
"I was planning to make myself something after this episode anyway. It's really no problem."
Félix then sat down on a chair at the kitchen table and watched with interest as Marinette mixed the ingredients, heated the pan and took one toast after another out of the toaster to pile them on a plate. After she had drenched three pieces in the mixture of eggs and milk—which did not look appetizing at all—and put them into the heated pan she turned around to him.
"Have you never made French Toast before?" she asked, obviously amused.
"No, and I also never saw anyone make it before. Now that I think about it, I think it has been a few years since I last had some."
He almost had to laugh at the scandalized look Marinette was throwing him.
"Maybe the toast got lost [L2] in the kitchen somewhere," he added which made Marinette snort. He just hoped she would not tell Adrien of it. If his brother found out that he had punned, he would never let Félix live it down.
"So, you never made French Toast, ever?" Félix was not sure whether she asked for clarification or just because she didn't know how to otherwise keep the conversation going. Maybe even both.
"I have never made anything edible, period."
It was hard to hold back a snort of laughter when Marinette turned to look at him as if he had grown a second head and, in the end, he did not manage to fully hold back his amused grin either.
"Alright, come here then," she said and pointed at the spot next to her with the spatula. Félix blinked.
What?
"I'll teach you how to make French Toast."
What!?
"That is a horrible idea," he said instead but walked over to her anyways.
"It's not hard. All you have to do is flip the toast until it's ready."
Félix had grown up with stories of Unseelie fae becoming literally undone by practicing craft. Then again, those had been stories Adrien and him had been told by their mother to keep them out of the kitchen and away from their father's drawing supplies. By now he knew that due to his human heritage he had nothing to fear. He would not die from flipping a toast!
"…" Félix still hoped that staring at the toast in the pan would suffice for now.
Turns out it didn't. Marinette quickly handed him a second spatula and then proceeded to instruct him how to flip a toast with it. The result was more than just pitiful. Félix stopped counting how often he had flipped a toast over the pan's border and in the end, he was sure that they had probably taken twice as long as it would have taken Marinette on her own to make the French Toast. He could not deny that it had been fun though.
Sitting on the sofa and watching Doctor Who while eating French Toast he had helped making was strangely satisfying as well. He felt as if he had earned this.
The day continued in a similar fashion. Marinette and Félix commented on the show while watching it and from time to time, Marinette would pick up her sketchbook to note ideas down or even make a few rough sketches. It was a different kind of peaceful than the previous afternoon, which they have spent in silence, but it was peaceful regardless.
They were watching an especially tense scene when Tom came upstairs in the early afternoon to make himself a sandwich. He made both of them jump with his entrance, which he, on the other hand, found absolutely hilarious. When Marinette suggested helping out in the bakery for her father, he brushed the idea aside, telling her to stay with Félix—though not before mentioning that the help wouldn't be welcomed.
With the promise of free baked goods added into the mix, Félix took advantage of the latter offer and left in the early evening with two chocolate croissants and a piece of strawberry cake in tow. All of it for Adrien of course. Carrying the heavy paper bag while being a cat and manoeuvring it through one of the bathroom windows was harder than he had thought though and he hoped that the cake had not suffered too much.
Adrien, who was righteously mad at Félix, was luckily very easy to placate with the bag from the bakery. It was also good to hear that their father had not given Adrien any punishment for Félix's bad behaviour. He was actually surprised since he had half-expected to find Adrien in a bell-collar again.
Early the next day, Félix left for the bakery before his father could catch him—and he also came prepared.
"Félix, with all due respect: You are crazy." Marinette delivered that line in a deadpan tone but she looked like she was about to fall over in shock.
"It's just so father doesn't track Adrien's credit card," Félix said with a shrug as he still held the bundle of notes out for Marinette to take.
"B-but, this is a fortune! I can't take that!"
It was? Huh, interesting.
"It's just three thousand euros."
"Just!?" she screeched in disbelief. Well, apparently it was a lot in her eyes. He would have to remember that.
"I know he's a model, but we will be looking for inconspicuous outfits here, not a made-to-measure suit! The stuff we'll buy will be relatively cheap." She gave the stack of notes a significant look.
"Well, probably just cheap in your understanding of monetary value" She huffed before begrudgingly taking it. Félix could not hold back the small victorious grin at that.
"Just so we're clear: I will give Adrien the money and he can do with it whatever he wants. It's his after all. I still don't get why you're giving it to me in the first place."
"Because Adrien will probably be so excited he will forget it altogether," Félix shrugged. "Just remind him that you have cash and he shouldn't use his credit card, then you'll be fine."
Holding the money, Marinette shook her head in disbelief, mumbling something about rich kids.
[L1]headless rider that comes to the houses of people who are going to die
[L2]"pain perdu" = French Toast = lost bread