A/N: I hope you enjoy and that if you do, you drop a review.
It had been two weeks since school started, he transferred to the Collège Françoise Dupont and since the Chocolate incident. And if Félix hadn't really believed the barmy chocolatier back then, he certainly believed her now that his beautiful, silky grey shirt was stained with black coffee. It seeped into the fabric, coloring it a murky brown. He clenched his fist in order to contain himself.
"I'm so sorry!" Marinette apologized, her eyes were wide in terror. "I didn't see you coming! Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Félix!"
It was the third time this week that this happened, second time that it was his new classmate Marinette who spilled coffee on his pristine clothes.
"It's…" unforgivable, you fucking klutz. He breathed in deeply. "Fine." Next to him, Adrien smiled widely. Knowing how Marinette would react, Félix grabbed the coffee cup from her hands before she could drop it and placed it on their desk.
"I'm going to clean up." He stood up to leave the classroom. On his way out, he tripped over his untied shoelaces. His cheeks flushed red in anger and he pushed Alya and Nino out of his way. The couple looked after him curiously. To say Félix hadn't blended in was an understatement. Everyone tried to act nice around him. No one was openly hostile towards him either. There was only one person in the class aside from his cousin that was still making an effort to be his friend – Pigtails.
He fixed himself up in the boys' bathroom, happy that he'd been smart enough to pack an extra shirt. This streak of bad luck was infuriating, but there were things he could anticipate – like Marinette making a mess.
"You okay?" Adrien asked from the doorway. Apparently, he had decided to follow him. "Marinette really means well."
"Does she now?" His voice was cold.
"Of course! She's the nicest girl in our class, don't you think?"
Félix studied his cousin's face with no obvious interest. "Is she now?" he said, as he fixed his tie in front of the mirror. He didn't miss Adrien's smile. "Are you in love with her or something?"
It was amazing how his smile both widened and grew awkward at the same time. "She's just a friend."
"Huh."
Félix walked past him right as the bell rang. Half a step ahead of Adrien, he was the first to enter the classroom. His regular seat was taken by Chloé who was filing a nail. The only free seats were thus next to Chloé's annoying friend Sabrina and (his eyes quickly scanned the room) next to Pigtails way up in the last row.
"Hi, Marinette," he gave her a strained smile, slumping down in the seat next to her. The girl jumped, surprised and flattered at the same time. When Chloé had occupied his seat, she had assumed like everyone else that he would just tell her to move. Félix wasn't sure why he hadn't done that, but when Adrien gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up from the other side of the classroom, he wished he had.
"Oh, h-hi, Félix!" she smiled as tensely as he had. "I'm, uh, I'm really sorry about before…" she rambled on, taken momentarily by his green eyes.
"I said it's fine," the blonde snapped, irritated. His voice was loud enough to make her jump. He glared at the flustered girl. He added almost inaudibly: "Take a hint already. We're not friends."
Marinette frowned. It didn't feel right. She didn't like Félix very much, but leaving him alone was just wrong. Hesitantly, she reached into her bag and pulled up a small box. She had intended to snack on it during lunch, but she could always run back to the bakery, if she wanted to. Quietly, she pushed it over to Félix.
"Here. You obviously need it more than I do."
"I don't want it." Félix didn't even look at the gift.
Marinette smiled, turning her attention to their teacher who had just entered. "And I don't care."
When the class ended, she was the first to stand up. She squeezed past Félix who was taking his sweet time and stopped at Alya's desk to ask her about homework? Unable to resist his curiosity, Félix took this moment to peek into the box. It was the largest chocolate macaron that he had ever seen. Checking to see if anyone was paying attention and confirming that no one was, he slipped it into his bag with a satisfied smirk.
"Wanna come over tonight? I'm working on this design and I need your help with something… Ah!" Marinette dropped her books in surprise. Something had touched her back. It was a brief and not particularly unpleasant. She glanced over her shoulder in panic. Félix looked at her with pity. The girl's cheeks reddened.
"You should be more careful," he commented dryly.
"I… you… mine fault…" Marinette breathed in deeply. "It wasn't my fault, you… you… Argh!"
"Certainly wasn't mine either," shrugged the blonde, moving on. He passed Adrien, who was rushing to help the bluenette with her books. Félix leaned against the wall and waited for the situation unfold. He had been thinking during the class. About his three kind acts. There wasn't really anyone he liked enough to be kind to. That's when the inspiration struck him.
"Are you okay?" Adrien squatted and picked up their physics textbook. "Félix didn't do anything bad, did he? He's still getting used to other people…" He reached out to pick up a notebook. Unfortunately, Marinette was doing the same.
The moment her fingers brushed his was, for the lack of a better word, miraculous.
"Ah!" She pulled her hand back, hugging it to her chest, eyes wider than before and cheeks the color of ripe strawberries.
"Here you are!" Adrien held her things out to her with a smile. The pink on his cheeks was barely noticeable, but attentive as Félix was, he didn't miss it. He smirked knowingly.
Marinette managed to stutter: "Th-thanks!" unable to look away from his mesmerizing eyes. Alya slapped her on the back to get her to snap out of it.
"Marinette and I are going to the bakery for lunch, if you'd like to come?"
Adrien glanced at Félix who was leaning against the door frame. He looked gloomy, so Adrien turned back towards the girls apologetically. Alya was the first to notice the hesitation in his eyes.
"Félix is invited too, obviously," she added cheerfully. "You know Marinette doesn't mind."
Adrien's gaze fell on Marinette again. She blushed deeply before nodding, not trusting her words to come out right.
Félix decided to interrupt before he could agree for both of them. "We're going to get some chocolate." He wiggled his eyebrows at the girls, as if daring them to oppose to them. Adrien rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, unfortunately, I promised him we'll do that," he explained to the girls. "He spent the entire weekend, gushing about this amazing chocolatier somewhere in Marais. You wouldn't believe it, but this guy just loves chocolate!"
Félix frowned. Adrien was volunteering too much information to his taste. What made matters worse was that Marinette laughed at it. Félix felt anger rise, but forced it down. Instead, he grabbed his face and forced her to look at him. Marinette's laughter stopped immediately. Félix let his hand drop before anyone else could react.
"Pigtails, you like chocolate?" He thought about the macaron in his bag.
"Um, it's good I guess?" Marinette answered, still startled. Her jaw hurt a little from what Félix had done. She shrugged to shake it off. "I like sweets. So yeah, I like chocolate. But you know, I'm a baker's daughter. So I guess I'm a bit more partial to baked stuff."
"Baked stuff, huh." Félix reflected on it for a moment. Silence settled in their small group, as he offered no further comment, although everyone expected him to say something, anything really to explain why he even bothered asking. Marinette felt his intense gaze on her.
"You're a strange girl, Dupain-Cheng," he said finally. "We're leaving." He pulled Adrien by his wrist towards the exit. His cousin struggled to keep his balance.
"What was that about, Félix?" Adrien demanded as soon as they were out of the earshot. "I am happy you are showing interest in our classmates, but you should try to be nicer."
"Not classmates, Marinette." Félix corrected, watching for his cousin's reaction. Adrien rolled his eyes.
"My point still stands. It wouldn't hurt you to be a bit nicer, if you want to be her friend."
"Who said anything about being friends?" Félix smiled mischievously. Adrien stopped mid-step and looked at him. For some reason, he didn't like the sound of it. "Come on now. Your driver's here."
"Hold on, what do you mean?" Adrien grabbed him by the collar. "I swear, if you're thinking of hurting Marinette, then I must ask you to stop."
"What? Are you two a thing or something?"
"I told you, she's a very good friend." Adrien bit his lip, as if he wanted to add something. "And as her friend, I can't watch you break her heart."
"It's not like I said anything." Félix shrugged and got in the car. "You're the one who filled the blanks."
The ride passed in silence. Adrien was seething inside. His cousin sported a neutral expression. Félix saw this as an experiment. He looked demonstratively out of the window, watching the scenery pass without uttering a single word, silently daring Adrien to protest. Surprisingly, he didn't.
Once the car pulled up in front of the shop, Adrien was first to get out. He noticed the shop's name – Marie's Garden – and the classic colors of it's exterior, brown and gold. Intricate patterns of vines decorated the door which opened after the slightest push to reveal a room full of chocolaty treats.
Félix pushed Adrien inside and took a look around, before going straight to his favorites. He had already perused the shop during previous visits. Adrien, however, was delighted. On one shelf, there were chocolates shaped like flowers. On another, neat rows of bees and ladybugs were arranged between tulips and daisies. His hand reached out for a ladybug, but it hit the glass covering.
Meanwhile, Félix grabbed his favorites (the truffles) and the first decent set that he laid his eyes on. He took them to the register, making the girl over there jump as he dumped them.
"Someone's got an appetite," commented Marie looking at the pile.
Félix shrugged indifferently. "It's a gift." Adrien's ears perked up at that.
"Who's the lucky girl?" Marie inquired. She studies his face with barely concealed interest. Did he think showering someone in chocolates counted as an act of kindness?
"No one special."
Adrien listened to their exchange. Questions swirled in his head and he felt something stir in his stomach.
"Is this for Marinette?" Something compelled him to ask. "I told you… don't play with her feelings."
"And who's to say I am?" Félix left his answer intentionally vague. Having handed Marie the money, he turned around. He looked Adrien straight in the eye. His intense gaze burned with something intense, something his cousin couldn't possibly name.
"Are you telling me that you honestly, sincerely like her?" The question slipped out with a frown on his face. Félix didn't answer immediately.
"So what if I do?" he asked quietly, disguising the bitter hate in his voice with seriousness. Pigtails irked him. He wouldn't put it past himself to push her down the stairs one day. "It has nothing to do with you."
"She's my friend," Adrien stressed. It was the third time he'd called Marinette a friend that day and Félix couldn't help but roll his eyes, hearing it one more time. "Of course it has to do with me. I told you. I don't want her to get hurt."
Marie chuckled to herself. Things were already interesting. The two boys were almost identical, so it was easy for her to conclude that the other boy was somehow related to Félix. She cleared her throat, earning a nasty look from Félix, and offered him the chocolates she had packed neatly into boxes. She wondered to herself which of these sweets he was planning to give as a gift to this mysterious friend of his relative. Years of observing customers had taught Marie how people picked out gifts for different people. The way Félix had chosen the chocolates indicated he was either extremely informed about the girl's preference or he just didn't care. But even so, Marie would not talk about it.
"Be a dear and put the pralines back where you took them," she called after Félix, when he turned to leave. "You know, the ones in your pocket." Her smirk rivaled the boy's who huffed in displeasure at being caught yet again.
"Now, what can I get you, dear?" she turned her attention to the other boy.
"Uh, can I get some of those ladybugs over there?" Adrien asked with an apologetic smile. "And I'm sorry about Félix. He hasn't really been himself since he lost his father."
"I can imagine. Don't worry, sweetie. Is there anything else you'd like?" Marie smiled sweetly.
"No, that's all. Thank you."
"Well, then… That's 6 euros." Compared to Félix's 60, it was a small sum to pay and Adrien covered it without a complaint.
"Thanks." Adrien put away the change and turned to leave, when Marie noticed the ring on his hand.
"Come again anytime!" She called after him. She was a second late, as the door closed and the blonde lad was out of sight.
"Hey, Choccolat. That was a miraculous, wasn't it?" To anyone in the shop, it would have looked like she was talking to no one in particular. "I suppose this confirms Master Fu is still here. We'll go there tomorrow."
An unhappy grunt accompanied the crumpled up chocolate wrapper that hit her head after that.