Welcome back to another chapter of Chat Chanceux. There's not a lot of action but I just wanted to make sure that the brothers were well taken care of emotionally before we proceed to the next stage of the story. Leave a review and puns! From here on there would probably be less Akuma attacks because I cannot write action scenes to save my life. Hope you guys understand!
Master Fu's Shop - One Week Ago
"Adrien, how long have you known?" Felix sits across his brother at Master Fu's dining table. Plagg was in the room with Tikki who sat vigil by Marinette's bedside. Adrien had yet to confess his secret identity with his brother.
The two sat in tense silence. Master Fu had wandered away to collect some ingredients for a potion to aid Marinette's recovery.
"I only found out today." Adrien whispers. Half-heartedly poking his food, that Master Fu had prepared, with his chopsticks. His mind was clearly on his still unconscious partner who slumbered in the room above his head.
Adrien who had years of experience in standing still as a model had resorted to tapping his foot while Felix observed his younger brother. The tension in the air almost tangible.
"How did you find out about Marinette's whereabouts?" Felix places his chopsticks on the table next to his bowl. Giving up even trying to stomach any more of the food in front of him.
He couldn't even taste them. The idea of Marinette lying unconscious weighed heavily in his gut.
Genius or not, Felix had never managed to master the use of the Asian eating utensil. Not for the lack of trying. Marinette had spent many an evening attempting to teach him. The Dupain-Cheng family joining in the good-natured teasing of their blond addition to the family.
"Felix… I have a Kwami." Adrien lifts his eyes to look at his brother.
His brother who was in love with Marinette. The same Marinette who was Ladybug. The Ladybug that he had spent the past two years fighting Akuma with. The same Marinette he had sworn his love to on that very first day she had come flying into his arm.
Felix was in love with Marinette.
Marinette was Ladybug.
Adrien was Chat Noir.
Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug.
Adrien was in love with Marinette.
Adrien and Felix were in love with the same person.
Marinette had never returned Chat Noir's affections.
No, that wasn't true. Ladybug had asked him, Chat Noir, to find her - and he had. He had held her in his arms for only a single minute before she was cruelly ripped from his grasp. By an Akuma. By Papillon.
Every moment he remembered seeing Felix and Marinette shared. How the two cuddled as if it were nothing but the norm between the two of them. The stab of jealousy he felt every time Marinette would beam up to Felix. The way she used to beam at him.
Felix took only a minute to process the information. Blue-grey eyes widened. Fingers clenched. His breathing increased rapidly as all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell in place.
"Boys?" A small voice called out from the door.
Tikki had expected many things when Adrien finally came out to Felix on his alter ego. She had stayed out of sight, waiting to break apart the brothers if need be. The image of Felix lashing out at Marinette when he had first learned of her identity seemed like it was just yesterday.
Time passed differently when you were a god. Days were like hours, months were like days. Years simply pass in the blink of an eye. The image of Felix crying on the chaise while Marinette looked up at him with her own tearful eyes burned in her memories.
She had heard the clatter of the chair falling and had flown into the room expecting to pull apart an angry Felix.
But here Felix was, sobbing heavily into his brother's shoulder as he clutched the smaller boy in his arms. Felix had not felt such fear since Marinette had revealed her identity. The same anxiety and fear rushed through his veins.
His brother was Chat Noir.
His brother.
Wasn't father supposed to keep Adrien safe? Wasn't Adrien the most protected teenager in Paris. The boy had his own security guard chauffeuring him everywhere he went. Adrien barely had even a moment alone.
Except here his brother was.
The same green eyes as Chat Noir. The same blond hair.
Now that Adrien had revealed his identity, the Kwami magic had been removed and the striking similarities between the two of them felt like a slap in the face.
Why were the two most important people in his life in such grave danger? Would he lose them like he had lost his mother? Would he lose his brother just as well? As Ladybug, he had seen it up close when Chat Noir had been blasted point blank by Bomb Voyage.
He had never thought about it further at the time, his mind too consumed in battle. That was his brother that was being blasted around in the park with nothing but a super suit as his only defence.
Only a super suit protected his brother from death. For the past two years, his brother and Marinette had nothing but a magically reinforced costume protecting them in great peril.
It was Adrien who was visiting Marinette in the dead of night.
It was Adrien who had been jumping between Marinette and danger without thinking of his own well-being.
It was Chat Noir who was in love with Ladybug. It was Adrien who was in love with Marinette.
The same Marinette who was in love with Adrien.
Before he could continue down the spiralling thoughts Tikki flew in front of Felix and touched his cheek with a tiny paw. Blinking at the tiny god in front of him, he caught sight of his brother who had his own tears in his green eyes.
Felix raised a shaky hand and wiped a stray tear from Adrien's cheek, Adrien didn't need anyone yelling at him for being reckless. Felix was sure without a doubt that Adrien was more than aware of the dangers of being a superhero.
His brother had been so isolated and alone while growing up. In some ways, it had been worse than what Felix had been through because Adrien didn't have Marinette as a crutch. Adrien only had his room and the occasional company of the young Mlle Bourgeois.
The freedom provided by wearing the Miraculous was addictive, Felix had only activated the magic once and already he was itching to try it again. While sitting at Marinette's bedside he had removed the clip-on earrings and placed them back in Marinette's lobes. Where they belonged.
Adrien took the chance to cling on to his elder brother, his own sobs joining the older blond. Relief was overwhelming as he finally had somebody who knew. Knew what he went through at home. Knew the joy - the freedom, that he got from being Chat Noir.
Tikki turned and flew off, she didn't want to disturb the brothers as they had a moment. Turning at the door, she bumped into Master Fu, who gave her a kind smile. Tikki looked up at the Master, eyes bright.
"Will they be ok?" Tikki asked hesitantly.
"They will be." Master Fu nodded sagely, holding a hand out so that Tikki could rest and hitch a ride back to Marinette's room.
As Marinette slept, Tikki made herself comfortable, resting right above Marinette's heart. Allowing her Chosen's heartbeat to lull her into a dreamless sleep. Her chosen had been healed in the nick of time. How lucky.
Marinette had many wounds from the explosions that detonated in such close contact to her. The biggest had been a piece of wood that had been lodged in her side, tearing through her intestines. The piece of wood had stopped the blood from escaping, however, Wayzz had told her how the moment that they removed the obstruction, Marinette lost a lot of blood at an alarming rate.
She had flatlined once, and only the quick thinking of the Master who had poured a healing potion on to the wound, before performing CPR on the young girl had saved her.
Tikki allowed the strong heartbeat of her Chosen to echo through her very being. It had been a while since they last had such a close call. Luckily Felix had cast the Miraculous Cure in the nick of time.
Hearing a shuffling coming from somewhere above her, Tikki opened a single eye and saw Plagg resting on the top of Marinette's head. The God of Destruction gave a sympathetic look Tikki's way before turning away.
Resting tired green eyes, Plagg purred softly. Tikki smiled at the gesture. This was the grumpy God's way of showing support. It was not the first time either of their chosen were hurt. It would not be the last.
But it was nice how Plagg was willing to provide even the smallest bit of comfort. Closing her eye again, Tikki went to sleep, concentrating her innate magic to work its power in healing Marinette.
The Agreste brothers bid their goodbyes, Adrien had been due home hours ago and was sure to catch a serious lecture from their Father. They had decided for Adrien to feed their Father a story of how he had been separated from his friends, got injured before he was found by Felix.
The Master simply smiled and informed them to drop by in the morning if they wanted to check up on Marinette.
"Will she be awake?" Adrien asked hopefully. Hands clutching the straps of his bag in a tight grip.
"I do not know. Her wounds are healed but a human body does not always recover from such a traumatic experience without repercussions." Master Fu shook his head sadly. "I will be informing her parents tonight. It will be up to them if Marinette will remain here in my store or at home."
Felix nodded and gave a quiet 'Goodbye, Master Fu.' before pulling his brother away. His brother who could not stop staring at the window that belonged to the room that held Marinette's sleeping body.
Adrien had stopped by Marinette's room before leaving, picking up a grumbling Plagg and giving Marinette a forehead kiss goodbye. Felix had done the same, whispering something so softly that even Adrien couldn't pick up. He noted how Plagg's ears twitched but despite giving the Kwami a questioning look, Plagg looked away and settled himself in Adrien's bag, presumably going back to sleep.
When Adrien stepped foot into his house, it could never truly be a home - not since the passing of his mother, he had expected the stern features of his father greeting him at the top of the staircase. His father truly did have a flair for the dramatic.
But the lights of the hall were empty, no upset father. No Nathalie even. Entering his room, he set his bag down and opened the mini fridge that sat below his desk, removing a slice of camembert for Plagg.
Plagg floated sleepily from Adrien's bag, perking up immediately when he sniffed the pungent aroma of his favourite food. Where had everyone gone? He charged his phone, when had it died? And wandered away to take a shower. Washing away the metaphorical stress he had felt throughout the day.
Plagg watched as his Chosen somewhat swayed unsteadily into the bathroom. Observing how bone-tired Adrien was. The boy barely awake as he did his nightly cleaning ritual that humans seemed so fond of.
Almost a half hour later, Adrien exited the bathroom looking much more awake. With only a towel hung low around his hips, the teen made his way to his desk where he had left his phone. Plagg continued to observe his chosen as he picked up his phone and looked at the number of missed calls and messages that had accumulated throughout the day.
He dialled a number and held the phone next to his ear.
"Hello Nathalie, why are you and father in Nepal?" Plagg perked up at the information.
"I understand…" Adrien murmured.
"I was with Felix, I got separated from my friends during the Akuma attack. Felix found me after I fell and sprained my ankle. He took care of me." The voice on the other line, presumably M Agreste by how deep the distorted voice was, was loud and angry.
"Ladybug's cure fixed me, Father." Adrien's shoulder slumped.
"I'll keep to my schedule… Of course, Father." Adrien sighed. Hanging up the call, the blond teen fell onto his bed face first. Muffled by the mattress, Adrien let out a loud groan.
Plagg flew towards his charge and sat next to the mop of blond hair that was still damp. Careful not to get himself wet, the God prodded the teen.
"I don't think you want to go bed in only a towel, kid." Plagg continued to prod the teen.
Adrien groaned again before pushing himself up and walking over to his closet. Sighing as he picked out his favourite 'Ladyfan' shirt Marinette had gifted him for his birthday, he hugged the shirt to himself before putting it on.
Pulling on a pair of sleep pants, Adrien exited his closet and crawled into bed with a sigh. A million thoughts running through his head. How the girl that kept him grounded was also the same person who allowed him to fly high in the sky.
It was so stupid how he hadn't noticed that Marinette and Ladybug were the exact same person. Especially since they looked exactly the same. Marinette didn't even change her hairstyle. Scoffing to himself at the idea of the Miraculous Magic being so powerful.
His Lady had been his friend the entire time. She had even sat behind him during his entire year at Collège Françoise Dupont. Rubbing his face with his free hand, he scrolled through the ladyblog. That had no updates considering Alya was still in the hospital.
He sent a quick text to Nino - checking on his best friend's status, noting the time and not expecting a reply anytime soon. His heavy lids slid shut as he finally succumbed to sleep.
Felix stood pacing the floor of his apartment. Unable to keep still. He paced nervously, hands clasped at the small of his back. His phone was charging now, his father had called to confirm Adrien's alibi.
Marinette had yet to wake up. A quick phone call to Master Fu had confirmed it. Felix had also received a phone call from Marinette's parents. Who checked up on him. Felix made sure to share the same story of finding and helping the injured Adrien.
They praised Felix for his quick thinking, getting both Marinette and Adrien to a safe place and away from trouble. But Felix could hear the tension in their voices. As if they themselves did not quite believe their words.
Marinette would remain at Master Fu's residence until she woke up. Tom and Sabine didn't think moving their unconscious daughter when she was in the perfectly capable hands of Master Fu was very wise.
They had promised to drop by with enough breakfast for everybody in the morning. Even going so far as promising Felix his favourite ham and cheese croissants. Felix had tried his best to hold his tears back as he listened to the parents on the other end of the line.
His father had never done something like this for him.
He couldn't remember experiencing anything close to familial love after his mother had passed.
Felix had withdrawn into himself, had kept to his studies. Burying his heads in book after book. Thesis after thesis. Paper after paper. Felix had chosen to cut himself away from human contact. Until he had been forced to join the program to gain extracurricular grades.
Sighing, Felix sat heavily on his favourite armchair. Staring at the muted television that had been playing footage from today's incident. Not a lot of footage had been captured, in the account of all the smoke in the air from Bomb Voyage's attacks.
He did, however, manage to get a glimpse of himself swinging into the scene. The huge difference between his physique and Marinette's was striking. Yet it garnered nothing more than a small mention from the reporter, Nadya Chamack - the mother of the child that Marinette constantly babysat.
Truly the Miraculous Magic was mind boggling.
When the news ended Felix turned off the television and made his way to his bedroom. His apartment was a one bedroom apartment with a simple kitchen and living room. His bathroom was attached to the living room.
Marinette had yet to come over, Felix was more comfortable with visiting the bakery. Marinette hadn't questioned it after the second time Felix had refused entry into his apartment.
She had simply given him a knowing look, a soft smile and changed the subject.
He loved her. He had known for ages, but truly everytime Marinette smiled at him or laughed or even when she was pleading with sad blue eyes, Felix could not stop his heart from pounding. Marinette truly had been the light of his life. And now that she was unconscious with neither Master Fu nor Tikki having any idea when she would wake up, his world seemed bleak.
Getting of from the arm chair, Felix made his way to his bedroom to prepare himself for bed. Maybe tomorrow would bear better news.
Hope you've enjoyed this quiet chapter. Next chapter we will have finally have caught up with the present. AKA when Alya has finally woken up.