The next day, Adrien shyly avoided Marinette with such determination and speed that even Kim and Alix were gobsmacked. While Felix was pestering Bridgette discretely with question after question regarding sexual positions, the female anatomy, and of course the menstrual cycle. Seeing as said subjects were only briefly mentioned in passing in the articles he had found. Bridgette and Marinette, to their good luck, were very patient with the boys. Bridgette more so than Marinette in Marinette's own opinion. Seeing as she was calmly answering every single question that Felix had without much reservation, while all Marinette had to put up with was Adrien suddenly avoiding her as if she has the Plague. Finally, by the time Lunch came around and Adrien took Nino and ran away from her in blinding speed, Marinette approached Bridgette and Felix at last.
"... The point is, the presence of the cycle during sex being an obstacle or not really only depends on the woman's comfort or discomfort at having sex while on her cycle." Marinette caught the tail end of Bridgette's answer to a question from Felix.
"I see... That makes a lot of sense now." Felix answered with a pensive expression as he processed the new information.
"Felix? Bridgette?" Marinette greeted.
"Hello." Felix greeted amiably enough.
"Hey Sweets. What's up?" Bridgette greeted warmly but relaxedly.
Marinette sighed tiredly, "Adrien usually never really notices me much, but now he's outright avoiding me as if I have the plague. I was wondering if you guys have any clue as to why and how I can fix it... It's getting pretty ridiculous."
Bridgette looked away from Marinette to avoid cracking up while Felix openly laughed in amusement.
"He is such a dork!" Felix said amusedly before answering Marinette's question calmly.
"He researched sex with me yesterday afternoon once he got home. Uncle is really strict in his views of sex being wrong and shameful or something like that, so I was researching the topic seeing as when my mother was alive I never sat down and talked with her about it. When Adrien found out my reason, he remembered that he hadn't gotten a talk or any education about sex to begin with and decided to try and research with me."
Marinette was gobsmacked and Bridgette tried valiantly once more to not laugh.
"Why is he avoiding me because of research on sex?" Marinette asked in confusion.
Felix and Bridgette glanced at each other before simply shaking their heads at her.
"It's not my place to say if I knew for certain, and I truthfully have not a single clue as to why he's being such a dorky idiot around you." Felix answered truthfully but flatly for himself.
Bridgette smiled awkwardly, "I don't have a clue either, but maybe just give him space for a little while so he can work through whatever is on his mind. Besides, you have your own problems to deal with remember?"
Marinette groaned in annoyance as she remembered.
"Ugh! Don't remind me!"
Bridgette rolled her eyes good naturedly, "I wouldn't be a good cousin if I didn't remind you. Besides, you can't avoid it. You have to deal with it. All of it."
Felix was confused, "What does she have to deal with, if I can ask?"
Marinette pouted as she answered, "Aside from my enormous crush on Adrien, I also kinda like this boy named Luka- Juleka's Brother- and there's also the fact that I also kinda like Chat Noir to boot."
Felix was internally screaming and laughing all at once.
Bridgette simply rolled her eyes good naturedly, "Honestly, at the rate you're going even Kagami will have a crush on you. You're just too sweet, Sweets."
Marinette groaned in despair.
Felix laughed along with Bridgette as Marinette's pout intensified before Ms. Bustier approached Bridgette kindly.
"Bridgette, could I speak with you and Felix in private please?" Bustier asked.
Marinette took the unexpected approach as a perfect excuse to get away from the teasing and hunt down a certain blonde dork.
"What can we do for you, Miss Bustier?" Greeted Bridgette amiably to the teacher.
Bustier smiled happily at them assuring them nothing was wrong, "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, you two, the school's attempt at holding a talent show isn't getting any attention from the student body that is needed for it to be held and the faculty is out of ways to garner attention to it, so we were wondering if you two would be willing to enter the talent show and motivate other students to join the show."
Bridgette and Felix were hesitant and Bustier smiled assuringly.
"I assure you we didn't want to have to resort to asking you two to have any part in this, but the school board is requiring that the school holds a major public talent show to placate the investors and reassure the parents that the school does not boast a fake reputation for schooling talented students. Lila being exposed in the media as a terrorist and as having faked being talented in various ways needless to say caused quite a bit of damage to the school's already fragile reputation due to the large number of akumas that happen here."
Bridgette and Felix glanced at each other relentingly before nodding relieving their clearly stressed teacher.
"But only on the condition that we are unable to win." Felix added.
Bustier smiled understandingly, "That's perfectly understandable, you want everyone participating to have a fair chance at winning?"
Bridgette smiled and nodded, "I'm Starlight, and Felix is the current owner of the Graham De Vanily fortune. If we were permitted to win, everyone would be disheartened by the fact and would not want to join the show at all. Not to mention that if anyone did join, they would probably lose due to someone or other attempting to rig the contest in ourselves. We want for our appearance in the contest to be sort of like an intermission, kick off, or finale to the show that won't explicitly be a method for us to win or usurp victory from someone who wants and needs it."
Felix nodded, "We don't need or want to win the contest, we have no interest in winning anything really."
Bridgette laughed lightly, "Well he doesn't, I have my hopes and heart set on the Music Choice Awards in America this year. Particularly the Songwriter of the Year award. That trophy has been my baby for the last three years. I'm hoping for a fourth year."
Bustier laughed while Felix sent her a scolding look and Bridgette just mussed his hair amusedly and resumed her fiddling with her guitar.
"I'll let Mister Damocles know and get back to you two with more details." Bustier said kindly with hidden amusement.
The teens nodded and the teacher let them be to talk about what they would audition with and what they would perform.
| Several Days Later |
Bridgette entered the Agreste Mansion with Felix guiding her to his room.
The Gorilla, Marinette, and Nathalie were at a photoshoot for the next few hours if Bridgette remembered correctly and Gabriel Agreste was away on a business trip to Italy. Felix had invited her to come over earlier than planned to talk and had done so very seriously so she went. She didn't expect for him to kiss her suddenly against his closed bedroom door once inside the room.
When they parted for air from the pleasantly but surprisingly deep kiss, she looked at him in amused surprise.
"Is this your way of letting me know that you really do want to have sex with me?" Bridgette asked softly between heavy breaths.
Breathing heavily, he nodded in response.
Bridgette gently nudged him off of her and led the way to the edge of his bed where they sat down side by side. She smiled at him and he fisted the sheets of his bed to mask his flinching of shock.
"Why do you want to have sex with me?" Bridgette asked in surprise, "Not that I'm complaining."
Felix smirked kindly but tiredly at her, it was clear in his eyes that he was being truthful as he answered now.
"I'm attracted to you." He began earnestly, "I don't know how much, why, or even when I started feeling this way about you. I have never been very good at expressing my feelings, trusting others, and sub-sequentially extremely terrible at understanding feelings. I can recognize them vaguely, I am not immune to feelings like people claim that I am, but understanding them fully? That takes time and with feelings like my attraction to you, it takes time."
Bridgette smiled assuringly at him and gently squeezed the hand close to her own on the bed in encouragement.
"I know that there is something more than just physical attraction there, but I know that I'm not quite ready to dive into the deep end yet and that you do not want to pursue anything romantic with myself or anyone. So I won't pursue the topic further, not without any express consent from you to do so. However, sex? If you were to accept me and sex with me, then I definitely welcome the interaction. If you say no, I will also respect that, I am a gentleman." Felix explained.
Bridgette nodded in understanding before asking a question he didn't expect.
"Are you certain that you want your first time to be with me?"
Bridgette paused in surprise as she finally noted something about what he said.
"Wait... Did you say that you know that I do not want to pursue anything romantic with you or anyone?" Bridgette questioned.
He tensed in surprise as he realized he had said something he likely shouldn't have.
TBC