Felix Graham De Vanily had been staying and working with the Agreste family for the last six months. Having finished his Masters in Fine Arts the year before, it made sense to spend some time with his uncle. Who just so happened to be a world renowned fashion designer.
After all, in this business it was who you know, not what you know. And Felix wasn't above using his family ties to get what he wanted. Not that the young man knew what exactly it was he wanted in life yet. But the money that came with the fashion industry was sure to help when he found it.
He was just lucky he had a creative streak that was easily applied to his designs. So here he was, not even two years out of university and about to launch his own line.
Gabrielle had suggested he start small, making a name for himself first, getting the attention of the public. And that's exactly what he did, combining his talent in fashion with his love for all things physical.
Which led to him being up before the sun, in the middle of fucking winter. Freezing his ass off for the first shoot of his new athleisure line. Felix smirked as he watched the shoot unfold; at least he wasn't Adrien right now! He would no doubt owe his cousin big time.
The blonde supermodel looked pissed, coffee cup in hand he spoke to the photographer. More than likely working out the best angles for the shoot. Even with the various space heaters around the set, and bundled up in tracksuit pants and a hoodie. -Not exactly what you would expect a budding designer to wear- Felix could still feel the chill.
So he was sure Adrien must be damn near freezing, in a pair of running shorts and a singlet top. It was cruel really, but they wanted it to look like he was just a normal guy, out for an early morning run. The thought made him scoff, Adrien was anything but average, or normal.
And still, that was why they chose him. Anything with Adrien's face on it was a hot commodity right now, his success had only grown as he did. Again, one of the benefits of calling in family favours. Some might call it cheating, Felix called it playing smart.
…
Marinette flicked her hair over her shoulder, despite the high ponytail she had put it in, it still managed to get in her way. She had planned on braiding it, but as usual she was running late.
The young woman ran a hand down her plaid skirt, brushing a crease from it. Once again, glad she had picked out her clothes the night before. She was quite pleased with her choice too, it kept her warm enough while still being vogue, if she did say so herself.
A black scoop neck sweater, paired with a high waisted plaid skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. A pair of thigh high black suede boots and a tan trench coat completed the look, taking it from borderline inappropriate, to trendy. She wasn't a fashion student for nothing.
Even though Marinette was among the top students in her class, it meant very little when it came to internships. Which meant that right now she was handing out coffee to the more important people on set. In other words, almost everyone else.
That was the deal with an internship though, you did the dirty work, to have the privilege of the experience. To the budding young designer it was absolutely worth it. Because really, where else would one get the chance to be up close and personal with fashion's biggest names and newest sensations.
Like today, a debut shoot for a new designer being promoted by Gabrielle Agreste himself. It wasn't the first fashion shoot Marinette had been to, but it was certainly one of the most prestigious and thankfully so far it was going smoothly.
"Hey coffee girl! Over here."
Marinette ground her teeth, just because she was passing out coffee did not mean she was "coffee girl". Plastering a fake smile on her face the young woman spun to face the person that called out to her, taking a step before she was fully turned around.
Only to slam straight into a warm, solid mass, spilling the last cup of coffee all down her front. "Perfect! Biggest photo shoot I've been to and my dumb ass runs straight into a heater. I don't even have a change of clothes! Oh God I hope Adrien didn't see me!"
Mortified and more than a little frustrated with herself, Marinette rambled away. A bad habit she had developed in high school. That sometimes helped calm her down when she was stressed.
"Oh, sorry, are you okay?"
That was, it helped calm her down when there was no one around to hear her doing it. A gentle hand clutched her shoulder, holding her steady. Apparently it was not a heater she had run into, but a person. A very familiar sounding person.
The flustered young woman looked up to the voice and let out a strangled noise, when she saw who was looking down at her "Adrien?"
"Ahh no, not quite." The person lent down close to Marinette's ear before he spoke again. "But don't worry you're safe, he's over with the photographer and didn't see a thing."
No, he was right, not quite Adrien. But he was close, eerily close. The man, who still had a hand on her shoulder, looked older than Adrien. His jaw more defined, features sharper. It was hard to tell while he was leaning forward but, he seemed shorter too. He shared the same vivid green eyes as Adrien though, an older brother perhaps?
Marinette gawked at the man, did she really know that little about Adrien, that she didn't even notice he had a brother. Wow she was pathetic.
"Umm, are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" The man questioned nervously, no doubt put off by the young woman's prolonged vacant expression.
"Yeah. No, I'm, I'm good thanks. Great. Perfect!" Jesus she was rambling again, always with the rambling. Marinette chided herself, shaking her head and forcing a polite smile.
Apparently it wasn't very convincing, the man frowned at her as he straightened himself. He kept his hand on her shoulder as he looked around them, searching. Marinette watched as his eyes narrowed, no doubt spotting what he was looking for.
Before she knew what was happening he was guiding her around people and tables, now with a hand on each shoulder. Still in a daze the young woman didn't protest until finally she was all but pushed onto a seat.
"Did you hit your head? Let me look at your eyes." The man crouched down in front of Marinette, concern still creasing his features. From that position it was easier to see the differences between Adrien and the not quite Adrien.
The man in front of her didn't have the same golden skin as Adrien, his was paler and his hair darker. There were other slight differences too, his lips were thinner, not that that was saying much. Adrien had fuller lips than any one man needed.
"No, really I'm fine. I'm sorry." Marinette moved to get up, but froze as someone else spoke, joining the two of them.
"Hey Felix, is everything okay?" The real Adrien stood next to the man that was holding Mari hostage in the chair. With the two of them side by side, the young woman noticed she had been right. Felix was shorter than his brother, but he was also broader. Where Adrien had lean, athletic muscles, Felix had more mass to them, more shape.
Mari couldn't help but wonder if he was a model too? Surely she would have heard of him if he was, why would Gabrielle use one of his sons to represent his brand and not the other? It didn't make sense.
"Ah, I don't think so, I think she's hit her head. She isn't making much sense." Felix stood up straight, looking from Adrien back to Marinette with concern.
The coffee soaked young woman could have died of shame when Adrien laughed, clapping the other man on the back. "Felix, this is Marinette, Marinette, this is Felix. I'm sure she's fine, Marinette is known for babbling. Isn't that right Mari?"
"Umm, yeah I guess? But I'm fine, I smell like coffee but I'm fine." Marinette lifted her stained skirt in emphasis, anything to keep her hands busy and avoid eye contact.
"See, told you. I went to school with Mari, we used to hang out occasionally." Adrien placed his hand back on the other man's shoulder, almost like he was reassuring him.
The model then turned his attention back to Marinette. "Mari, this is my cousin, it's his fashion line that I'm modeling today. So you can thank him that we're all out here freezing our asses off, waiting for the sun to rise."
Cousins, that made sense. It explained why she had never heard of, or seen him before. And apparently a love for fashion ran in the family. Felix looked young for having launched his own line -Something Mari was more than a little envious about. He also didn't look like the typical fashion designer, especially not in what he was currently wearing. Even if it was an athleisure line, you didn't typically see designers out in public in trackpants.
"Excuse us Mari, the photographer wants to speak to Felix. I'll try to talk to you later, okay? It was good to see you." Adrien waved as he led his cousin back towards the blinding bright lights of the photo shoot.
"Well, that could have gone better." The young woman muttered. Half to herself, half to her Kwami hidden in the breast pocket of her trench coat. Who no doubt, heard the entire exchange.
…
"So, the infamous, serious Felix is hitting it off with the notoriously clumsy, erratic Marinette Dupan-Chang huh? Who'd have thought?" Adrien ribbed his cousin with his elbow as the two walked towards the photographer.
"Please, I honestly thought there was something wrong with her. Like a concussion or something, she slammed into me pretty hard."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Adrien rolled his eyes, adding an extra layer to his sarcasm, as the men came to a stop in front of the photographer. The Italian woman looked less than impressed, barking into her phone in her native tongue.
Noticing the two men before her she ended the call abruptly, not bothering with goodbyes. Adrien was glad he wasn't on the other end of that call, Sofia could be savage when she wanted to be. He had worked with her enough time to ignite her anger on more than one occasion.
"So apparently our female model is now unavailable. Something about car trouble or some lame ass excuse." The blonde woman looked between the two men.
"We can just reschedule then?" Felix stated the solution as if it was as simple as that, he still had lots to learn about the industry.
Adrien managed to just barely hold back his snort of laughter when the woman threw her hands up in the air, exclaiming in Italian. "I leave this afternoon for Milan, for a week! We cannot reschedule, not if you want your line to launch in time."
Having had more experience with this kind of thing, Adrien spoke up for Felix, who was no doubt still recovering from Sofia's dressing down. "What do you suggest then? Do you have someone else we can call in?"
The photographer shook her head, "no. They wouldn't be here in time." She closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples, clearly over the day already.
"Just… find me a girl that's on set already. Make sure she has long hair, and looks like she at least knows what a gym is. She will need to fit into the clothes we have on set. Apart from that,It's your choice. It doesn't matter, no one will be looking at her anyway, not while he's in the photo." Sophia gestured to Adrien with a flick of her hand, then went back to adjusting lights and various other equipment.
Felix looked to Adrien. "Well? What do you think? You know most of these people better than I do?"
Adrien smirked, time to play matchmaker for his cousin. Now that he thought about it he wasn't sure Felix had ever had a girlfriend. Hell he didn't even talk about regular friends -not that Adrien was much better, but he at least had his side gig as Chat Noir.
"I think I know someone that fits the bill."
…
