The title of this chapter is funnier if you look at the AO3 post where I could actually include the meme Marinette sends Félix.
On Monday morning, Chat was part of the opening bakers at the shop. His pastries were getting better quickly.
"Don't you want to take these with you to share with your friends at school," Tom tried to insist to Félix when he tried to leave to get ready for school without taking his freshly baked pastries.
"I'm afraid it could mess with identity stuff more than I'm comfortable with," Félix said with a faint blush across his cheeks. "You should send them to school with Mari. I'm sure her friends would enjoy them just as much as mine would." He looked at the clock on the oven.
"I really have to get going," he said, putting his apron in it's spot. He gave Sabine a kiss on her cheek and Tom gave him a pat on his back.
"Have a good day at school, son. Enjoy being Félix Cloche."
"I always do. Love you both," he called out as he practically sprinted up the stairs.
"Love you too," he could faintly hear as he left their range. He felt like he was part of a family and it filled him with joy. He was running a minute or two late, but it probably wouldn't throw off his schedule too much. He went into the bathroom and got dressed in his darkest blue jeans and a red t-shirt for school. He transformed before he went into the living room, knowing it would be super suspicious if Adrien and Félix wore the same clothes regularly.
He got to the school as Chat Noir, using an alcove on the second story to transform back to Adrien. He prepared himself to put on his model smile, but it wasn't necessary. This was the busiest he'd ever been, but it was also the happiest he'd ever been. He could only hope that Marinette's parents were able to convince her to bring in Félix's pastries.
When she walked in, she was on time and less frazzled than she had been even last week. She was holding a box of pastries. "Are these some of Félix's," Nino asked, "Alya has been talking about them for like 24 hours straight but I didn't have time to stop by before school."
Marinette picked up her pain aux amandes and Alya picked up her pain au chocolat. "Split," Marinette requested, desperate to try all of Felix's new creations. Alya agreed and they traded halves of their pastries. The pain aux amandes had espresso mixed into the dough instead of some of the water. The pain au chocolat used a chili chocolate which caused the pastry to have a delicious little kick to it.
"I cannot believe he did this," Marinette practically groaned at the taste of the pastry.
"Marinette. I need you to marry him. As soon as possible." Obviously, Alya's comment wasn't meant to be serious, but Adrien was filled with hope when he heard it. He was surprised to see that Marinette didn't even react, no matter how much of an offhand remark it was meant to be. Marinette already had a plan to marry him.
If Félix's father was going to be 1) a jerk, 2) practically non-existent, or 3) anything less than Tom Dupain, Marinette's plan was to reveal identities after the ball, then go in on her birthday, June 1, and marry that boy with no qualms. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't think she could make any sensible words come out of her mouth, so she just filled her open mouth with the pastry still in her hand.
'I plan to,' was the only thought she could get through her brain.
"If I don't, maman and papa are going to adopt him. You're not going to lose your favorite baker that easily."
"Favorite baker," Alya repeated, shocked. "That may be true, but do not let your parents know. They'd been my favorites for so long, but this combination of flavors is unmatched and I cannot stop thinking about it. That goes for all of you," she added, directed toward the boys, "if any of you tell Tom and Sabine that I have a new favorite baker, I will fight all three of you. And I'll win."
Marinette finished the last piece of her pastry and her stomach felt full, but her heart felt strangely empty. She no longer had a piece of Félix with her. No matter how small it was, the piece of pastry meant a lot to her because it was a piece of him that she had at school with her. An extra little boost, courtesy of her knight.
She still had another few minutes before class, so she went searching through her photo gallery for the perfect thing to send him.
'No thoughts. Head empty. Stomach full. Pastry box, also empty.'
'Really, though, My friends and I loved your pastries. Maman insisted I take them to school and she was right. You're like a pastry genius. Hope you have a great day, Fé. '
Marinette saw Adrien try to sneakily take out his phone. She could see that someone had apparently sent him three messages in a row which, kind of a lot, but go off.
'Glad you enjoyed, princess. Tell your friends I'll make them whenever they want.'
They kept up a steady stream of conversation through the day, but it wasn't really anything important. More of just small talk about what was happening in their days at school. She told him about the fact that they had an akuma drill during their Science class and Chat mentioned a fire drill during his English class.
The rest of the week was roughly the same, Marinette would bring one of Félix's new to-die-for creations, she and Alya would fawn over them while Adrien and Nino would enjoy them normally, like disrespectful heathens, and she would text him about how good they were and make small talk throughout the day.
On Thursday, emM. Bell/em returned from his business trip, so Félix had to return there from his stay with the Dupain-Chengs. Tom and Sabine figured it was for the best, for two nights at least. If they didn't have him there to open on Friday, he would be able to stay out later at the dance with Marinette. They also didn't plan for him to open on Saturday, so he could stay out with Marinette with no pressure from his job at the bakery.
Friday started off the exact same as literally every other school Friday in the history of Fridays with school. Marinette was feeling fine. Happy it was Friday, bummed because she still had class. She was glad she could go to the dance with Chat, but she really wished he had been there that morning.
She didn't usually get to see him before school, but she liked to see his things near the couch. He wasn't messy, but the quickly folded blankets and bag in the corner were evidence that he was going to be there when she got home. That was kind of the case on that Friday. He was coming to her house at 17h30 to help her get ready, then get himself ready before the dance at 19h.
He was officially in charge of three things that night: 1) zipping her dress so she wouldn't lose any of the gems, 2) making sure the clip in her hair was facing the right direction for it to be seen, and 3) keeping her from falling over herself, figuratively and literally.
Marinette held Félix's arm while they descended the staircase from her bedroom. Marinette only really stumbled once but it wasn't too bad. As he always did when she was Ladybug, he was able to catch her like it was nothing.
"You two look so sweet together," Sabine cooed when they got into hearing range. "Look at how nice your outfits are." Marinette tried to suppress her blush so that her parents could take pictures of the two of them.
She held up the box containing his boutonniere out to him and in response he held up her corsage to present to her. Sabine was able to take a few nice pictures of Marinette pinning the boutonniere on Félix's lapel and a few of Chat lifting Marinette's hand to put on her corsage. After putting it on her, he gave the back of her knuckles a quick kiss.
Even in her heels, Marinette barely came up to Félix's chin. After years of modeling, he had picked up a thing or two about how to make a garment look extra photogenic.
"I think your dress would look lovely in motion. Can we try for a few pictures of you twirling," he held up her hand to try to provide support while her mother captured photos of her creation. In addition, they took a photo like a couple of normal teenagers going to a normal dance, just like anyone else at her school.
It felt like Sabine took pictures for hours, but it was probably only about 10 minutes.
"We're going to be late," he said after he checked the time, "we have to get going, princess." They walked out the front door to the apartment, and Félix saw the number of stairs she'd need to descend in heels. "Do you want me to carry you," he offered politely. She blushed.
"I'll be fine, minou," she told him, "as long as you hold my hand." She was trying to flirt, but she was worried it came across sounding like a child pleading for attention.
"Always," he said. He descended the stairs slowly, one step ahead of her, holding her hand as a balance while they walked. "Your design really did come out gorgeous, Marinette," he complimented earnestly.
"Thank you, Félix. I appreciate how willing you were to coordinate outfits with me." She blushed this time, unable to stop the pink growing across her cheeks.
The two spoke casually while they walked down the staircase. None of it was serious, but it was definitely them and that was enough for her. When they arrived at the bottom of the staircase, there was merely a door between Marinette's bare shoulders and the probably chilly Parisian April air.
"Wait here," he told her before he stepped outside. He confirmed that the car he scheduled was where he had planned to be picked up. The driver came out to open the car door for them and Félix went back to the door to get Marinette and escort her to the car.
The driver waited while Félix helped Marinette into the car, then he closed the door. Félix and the driver both went around to the other side of the car and the driver opened the door for Félix as well.
"Don't you think this might be a little fancy for a lycée dance," Marinette asked him quietly. Félix shook his head.
"Not at all. You, Mari, deserve to be treated like the princess you are and I'm going to make sure that's what you get. Buttercup is going to have a lot to live up to." He winked at her and she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out of her.
She was surprised that Félix had gotten a car for their arrival at the dance, but when she saw the crowds outside the hotel, she realized maybe she shouldn't have been.
"Breathe," he reminded her when they approached the red carpet that Chloé had assigned a hotel employee to set out for their ball.
A car let out 4 students in front of them and their car pulled up to the carpet. "I'll get the doors, Jacques," Félix said to the driver. Jacques nodded in understanding. Félix got out on his side, then went around to Marinette's side and opened the door for her to get out. He held out an arm for her to use to steady herself.
Félix closed the door after she got out and waved off the car. He extended his elbow for her to take and she took a deep breath like he had suggested. She linked her forearm through his elbow and he escorted her into the dance.
It felt like they were in front of the cameras for 100 meters before they entered the hotel, but Marinette knew that the entire red carpet was a maximum of ten meters from the curb to the front door. When they arrived inside, Mme. Bustier was at the counter, checking off that everyone arriving was a student or a maximum of one (1) outside guest of a student.
She looked at Marinette's student ID, then handed it back to her. "I hope that you both have a lovely time," Mme. Bustier told her before waving her through to the ball itself. When they passed through the doorway behind her, she and Félix were standing at the top of a grand staircase. It seemed like the whole school was looking at her, waiting for her to fall, hurt herself, or break something. She was glad that they weren't being announced when they walked in.