AN: This is a bit of a follow-up to "The Life and Times of the Heroes of Europe," chapter 12 ("The Pub").

Felix stood up from his desk and stretched his shoulders to either side, stifling a yawn. "Oh, man," he groaned. "This stupid project is trying to kill my weekend," he grumbled.

"How terrible for you," Bri observed wryly, glancing up from her position lounging on the couch while studying something on her tablet. "You have to work on a sales proposal for your cousin's fashion house where you can expect to make a decent commission off of the sales, and it might cut into your weekend. You realize Anne works on her feet 30-plus hours a week, right?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "That's her business," he pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. "Mother isn't about to charge her rent to stay with us, and it's not like you really need to keep your campus apartment if you're living with us." Bri frowned, and Felix's stomach churned. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, wringing his hands. "Did–did I say something wrong?"

She pursed her lips and sighed heavily. "No – I guess not?" She furrowed her brows in thought. "It's just – I think it still hasn't really sunk in. Us, I mean – the fact that I could actually call this… well… home… if I wanted." She gestured toward his bedroom with one hand, taking in her dresser and vanity, the desk next to Felix's, the bed twice the size of the one in her bedroom at the flat, the intermingled clothing strewn around the room.

He swallowed nervously. "Do you want to? Call it home, I mean? Living with us?"

Slowly she nodded, her cheeks starting to turn a faint pink. "I–I do. I really do want to call this home – with you, I mean."

Crossing to the couch, Felix knelt next to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug which she returned with vigor. Pressing a kiss to her lips, he whispered, "I want to make this work, also." He kissed her again. "Here – being with you – this just feels right. And I promise you, whatever happens, whatever it takes, I'm on board for all of it."

She blushed, hugging him back tightly. "I am, too," she assured him. "The two of us – plus your mom, plus Anne." She batted her eyelashes. "So… do you still want to go and 'have a pint with the lads'?" she asked, a husky tone to her voice.

Felix gulped. "Um…"

Bri leaned closer, placing her forehead against his. Her lips brushed against his lips, and he leaned in for more. Suddenly, however, she smirked and pushed him away. "Uh, uh, uh. You go and have fun," she told him. "Just remember what's waiting for you here."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to come along?"

A shadow passed across her eyes. "With those three you were with last time?" she asked dubiously. "I'll pass."

"But they're cool!" he insisted. "Come on, Bri! It'll be fun!"

She shook her head. "No, I'm happy they're your friends, but I'd rather not. Besides, your mom said she'd make tea and popcorn and we would start Downton Abbey tonight."

"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed heavily and shrugged. "Okay," he agreed. "You have fun with that."

She squeezed his hand. "Same."

A couple minutes later, Felix left Bri alone in the bedroom, jogged down to the Hero Study, activated the portal ring, and hopped through it into Bri's workshop, only a few blocks from O'Shea's, the pub where Aaron, Charlie, and John had told him to meet them this evening. He sighed, trying to push down his anxiety. This was going to be fun – he had hardly seen them between Tarascon and the end of the school year, and he had been so busy helping manage the London outlet for the Agreste Fashion House that he hadn't gotten a chance to join them at the pub since the summer started. After they had been his closest friends through school, it felt so strange to have gone so long without seeing them.

It would be fun to catch up.

Entering the bar, he glanced around to search for his friends. The bar was fairly crowded on this Friday night, with almost all of the tables taken and only a couple spots available at the bar. Standing behind the bar and pouring a beer, Anne glanced up and met his eye, giving him a brisk nod without pausing her work. He gave her a small wave, just as an arm waving on the far side of the room caught his attention. Moving in that direction, he slid into the open seat at his friends' table and picked up the extra Guinness, clinking it against Aaron's in a toast.

"Hey! Glad you could make it, Graham!" Aaron greeted him, grinning.

"Same," Felix agreed, taking a pull from his mug. "Seems like it's been forever."

"Just about," Charlie observed, raising an eyebrow. "First you were ditching us practically every weekend last year… then you disappeared for an entire month-plus at the end of the year! What was up with that?"

Felix shrugged, taking an easy breath and quirking an eyebrow. "What can I say? My time is in demand. Mother was sick; what else was I supposed to do?" It wasn't their best lie, but it was the story his mother had used back in April, so it was the one he had to stick with.

"Yeah, I heard that," John acknowledged, nodding. "How is she now?"

Felix smiled. "Worlds better," he assured him. In all honesty, the lie hadn't been a total fabrication; his mother had gone through a difficult few weeks while the three of them had been in Paris and Angola, though she had come through it well by the time they returned. "The doctor thinks it must have been that same sickness that was going around most of last year; once those heroes defeated the Tarasque, it cleared right up." That, at least, was the truth!

"Well, cheers to them," Aaron called, raising his glass.

"Indeed."

"So will we be seeing more of you this year at University?" asked John curiously. "They did let you into Oxford, yeah?"

Felix scoffed. "Of course they did – no Graham de Vanily gets snubbed by Oxford!" He shrugged. "Though I'm not sure how much time I'll really have for it," he admitted. "Work will probably keep me occupied–"

"You're working for your cousin?" Charlie asked, cocking his head. "How's that working out, working for Hawk Moth Design?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha," he retorted drily. "Very funny two years ago, I'm sure." He sighed. Improved the Agreste reputation may be, but some things might never change. Finally, he shrugged noncommittally. "It's fine. Adrien is a competent manager, and he has an excellent design team."

Aaron snorted. "It doesn't exactly hurt matters that he's sleeping with one of them…"

Felix frowned, his eyes narrowing.

"She is a cute little thing," Charlie mused, stroking his chin. "Though I can't say I pictured your fashion model cousin with a girl so… ordinary."

Felix shook his head ruefully. "Having gotten to know her over the last year or so, I assure you, Marinette is many things, but 'ordinary' is not one of them!"

John hummed. "I always figured he and that Bourgeois girl would end up an item: they would unite two of the biggest fashion names in France."

"No way that was ever going to happen!" Felix snorted, making a face. "Chloe's like a sister; Adrien, at least, never saw her as anything other than that."

Charlie shrugged noncommittally. "I guess tastes can differ," he observed. "But speaking of–" He nodded toward the bar, and Felix turned to follow his gaze. A dozen or so girls, several of whom Felix recognized from Bri's building, had just come in and crowded around the bar, chatting with Anne. Charlie grinned. "University girls. So… which one do you think is the hottest?"

"Definitely the brunette on the end," John replied promptly. "Ten easily."

Aaron scoffed. "Please; at best she's a six. Now that blonde? She's at least a nine."

Charlie shook his head. "Give me the short thing talking to the barmaid," he commented. "I'd call her the only ten in the group. Although," he mused, raising an eyebrow, "she still can't hold a candle to that gorgeous redhead behind the bar!"

"When are you going to give that dumb crush a rest?" Aaron joked, shaking his head ruefully. He elbowed Charlie in the ribs. "There's no way she's interested in you!"

"What, you don't think so?"

"No," Felix interjected, frowning. "I know she's not interested in you."

Charlie cocked his head, giving Felix an annoyed look. "Yeah? And what makes you the expert?"

"Because," he replied, "out of the four of us, I'm the only one who's ever had a normal conversation with her!"

Charlie scoffed. "No way; you're pulling my leg." Felix raised an eyebrow in challenge. Charlie's jaw dropped, and he blinked in disbelief. "Wait – really? You're–you're being serious?" He flushed. "Did–did you put in a good word for me?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you put in all the words you needed that first time we were in here," he told him.

"How do you know that?"

"Because she told her flatmate – my girlfriend."

Aaron stared at him in shock. "No way – are you shitting me?"

Felix shook his head, grinning proudly. "I'm dead serious."

"Yeah? How long has that been going on for?" John demanded.

Felix shrugged. "A little over a month – before the summer started."

"What, while you were home from school?" Aaron wondered, cocking his head to one side.

Felix nodded. "Around then."

Charlie snorted. "And she's stuck around," he deadpanned.

"Of course she has," Felix retorted, frowning. "Bri's different – she's important to me."

"Unlike all the other girls who were 'important to you'."

Aaron punched Charlie in the shoulder. "Leave him alone," he told him. Turning to Felix, he added, "I'm glad for you – really I am: a girlfriend, and a university girl to boot! So… tell us about her. What's this 'Bri' like?"

Felix grinned. "She's amazing – an engineering student at King's," he began. "She grew up in Paris but came over here for university. She's an inventor: a couple of her inventions are on the market already, and she's working on another one right now. She's brave, and kind, and funny, and–"

"And hot?" Charlie interjected, smirking.

"So beautiful," Felix answered. "Even when her hands are covered in grease and oil."

"I would've thought that'd be the best!" Aaron joked, fist-bumping with Charlie. Felix frowned.

"So, when are we gonna meet her?" John wondered.

Felix shrugged. "Not sure," he admitted. "I invited her to come tonight, but she decided not to come. Although, you've already seen her," he added, stifling a laugh. Aaron cocked his head in confusion. "Remember that first time we came here back in autumn?"

"How could I forget?" Charlie replied, grinning. "That was when I met my future wife!"

Felix gave him a deadpan look. "You almost got thrown out on your ass." Charlie scoffed, rolling his eyes

"Never mind that," Aaron interjected, waving his hand dismissively. "So she was here then?"

Felix nodded. "You remember the girl I was chatting with up at the bar?"

"You mean the one with the pink pixie cut?" asked John, brows furrowed in concentration.

"Pink?" wondered Charlie. "I'm pretty sure it was blue."

Felix shrugged. "Either way, yes. Her."

"Nice!" Aaron cheered approvingly, clapping Felix on the back. "Score! And you said you didn't get her name or number."

"Oh, not then," Felix told him, chuckling. "But I did eventually."

Charlie's eyes lit up mischievously. "So, spill."

Felix let out a breath. How much could he say without compromising one or both of them? "Well, we met in passing at first – before the bar, actually. Then we just kept bumping into each other around the city. We started spending time together. I brought her home to meet Mother; she introduced me to her father. And… what can I say? One thing led to another and last month we started dating."

"So the girl with the pink hair is 'bring home to Mother material'," Aaron deadpanned, arching an eyebrow. "Seems a little more 'crazy fling' material to me."

Felix shrugged. "What can I say? Mother absolutely adores her. And there's no way she's a 'fling'."

"Your mother is far more accepting than mine would be," John mused, shaking his head. "If I tried bringing home a girl like that, I think she would have a heart attack and throw the poor thing out!"

Felix scoffed. "The heart attack would be shock that you found a girl to date you!" he retorted.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Never mind all of that, my man," he told Felix, grinning and leaning forward eagerly. "You're leaving out the best part! Does the carpet match the drapes?"

Felix's mouth set in a thin line, his eyes flashed dangerously. Charlie's grin widened. A growl built in Felix's throat, and his fist darted out faster than thought, striking Charlie in the jaw. "You don't talk about my girlfriend that way," he seethed, glaring at him.

Charlie jumped back and stared at him in shock. Around them a small crowd of onlookers began to gather, including a few of the girls who had been talking with Anne. Charlie touched his jaw tenderly before his shock turned to anger. "Take it back."

Felix's nostrils flared. "No. Now you take it back."

"Seriously, calm down, Felix," Aaron told him, putting a hand on Felix's shoulder. "We're just messing around here; he didn't mean anything by it."

Felix frowned, jerking away from him. "That's how you always talk about women."

"Only the hot ones," Charlie interjected. Felix's eyes flashed. Charlie scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "It's a compliment!"

Sighing, Felix stood up from the table as the crowd parted around him. Bri was right – as usual. "It really is not," he told Charlie, tossing a couple bills on the table and meeting Anne's eye over the top of the crowd. His mouth set in a thin line as he stared down at his friends. "Now I'm going home to the beautiful woman who loves me; you can stay here and ogle some women who will only loathe you for it. Good night."