Sequel to one single day:
Five years later, Felix and Marinette reunited in Paris.
Felix strode down the streets of Paris. At the age of twenty, he hadn't been back since that whole incident with Marinette, not that he hadn't wanted to. But when it came out that Hawkmoth had been defeated and he turned out to be Felix's own uncle was the villain that had caused havoc on the city, one small, cruel part of him had haughty thought that Adrien and his father weren't so perfect after all. But as soon as that thought had struck, guilt ate at him, only imagining what his cousin must have went through, finding out that his own father was a villain and his mother was kept in a glass coffin beneath the house. He had been certain that the news must have crushed his cousin. Felix had reached out, but he had never received a response.
So here he was, two years after the incident, looking for his idiot cousin. As stubborn as Adrien might be, Felix had found out that he was staying in an apartment in Paris, living with a girlfriend.
He never found out the girl's name, but a small part of him said that it must have been Marinette.
The thought alone made his heart ache.
So lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the person headed his way, also lost in her thoughts. The two of them collided and went stumbling back. Felix shout his hand out, grabbing the woman by the wrist and steadying her before she could go falling onto the sidewalk.
"I am so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going! I didn't mean-" The words died on his lips as soon as the woman stood and met his gaze with large, beautiful blue eyes. "Ma- Marinette...?"
Marinette stood there, looking rather stunned as she stared up at him. She had grown into a beautiful woman, her soft lips a beautiful rose, those jewel blue eyes of hers framed by long, dark lashes. She was about a head shorter than Felix, her shapely body clothed in a white blouse and black pencil shirt. She looked so.. So womanly, almost nothing like the stuttering girl he knew years ago.
"Wha- Felix? Is that you?" She sounded stunned as her hand tightened on the umbrella she was carrying. He wondered if she wanted to beat him with it. He wouldn't have stopped her. To his surprise, her face broke out into a breathtaking smile. "Felix, how are you? You're looking great.
Wait, weren't your eyes green when I last saw you?"
"I-I usually wore green contacts." He explained. His mother had always hated his grey-blue eyes, saying they weren't as perfect as Adrien's. So she had always forced him to wear contacts, and he had done so without complaint, until he had moved out of the house and moved into his own place.
He had felt so free. "You're looking great, I see you outgrew your pigtails."
"Yeah, I thought when I got into lycée, I could use a change." Marinette reached up and touched a lock of her dark hair, which now brushed against the base of her back. Felix had been right, she looked beautiful with her hair down.
Soon the two adults just stood there in awkward silence, not looking at each other. Cars drove by, and people brushed past. The silence was almost deafening to Felix, he wanted to continue this conversation, but didn't know where to take it. Besides, who would want to talk to a guy who hurt you so badly in the past?
"Would you want to grab a coffee?" Marinette reached out and gently touched his arm, the smile returning to her face. Felix felt the blood begin to pound through his veins, rushing to his ears, making him feel as if he were about to go deaf. Completely oblivious, Marinette continued to rush out the words. "I mean, you're probably busy, but I wanted to catch up, you know, since we haven't seen each other in so long."
"Coffee would be great." Felix spoke up before she could sputter out more and embarrass herself.
He took her hand without thinking, only to quickly drop it, visibly flinching. "I'm sorry."
"Felix..." Marinette stared up at him, reached out for him, but he stepped away.
"Let's go get that coffee, shall we?" He muttered, turning on his heel and walking away. His heart ached with every step, but he had to remind himself that she was with Adrien, and who would want a monster like Felix?
...
The two of them got their coffee and walked around as they drank and chatted. Marinette told him about how she was an up and coming designer in France, Clara Nightingale and Jagged Stone being the biggest amongst her celebrity clients. Felix had known she was the infamous MDC, a designer that had taken the world by storm with her designs that made anyone rush to buy them. He even had a few of her designs in his closet. Felix went on about telling her how his family had suffered much because of the scandal of Hawkmoth, that they were basically shunned by the world, even though they had had no part in what Gabriel had done. He had quit modeling, much to his relief, and now was still trying to figure his life out, to not be on the path his mother had tried to carve for him.
"I'm sorry... About your uncle." Marinette whispered, taking a sip of her coffee loaded with sugar. Felix rose a brow at her, and she flushed. "I mean, it must have hurt, to realize that he was a villain."
"I couldn't care less about my uncle. He was a selfish bastard that only thought about himself and his needs, he didn't care about anyone else. His goals as Hawkmoth made that very clear. I just hope Adrien had gotten that memo." He shrugged, tossing his now empty cup in a nearby trash can. Marinette chugged down the remainder of her coffee before doing the same. "How is my cousin, by the way? I couldn't get a hold of him."
"Oh... I haven't seen Adrien in two years, since... Since his father was arrested." Mari whispered, fiddling with her hands as she stared down at her boots.
"What? I thought you were living with him..."
"What?" The word came out in a laugh when Marinette met his gaze. There was an amused twinkle in her eyes. "Where in the world did you hear that?"
"W-well, I heard that he was living with a girlfriend. Since you're in love with him, I only assumed..." Felix trailed off, closing his eyes tightly in regret.
"Felix..."
He remained quiet.
"Felix, look at me."
He opened his eyes, and realized where they were standing.
On the very bridge where he had kissed her and had hurt her so greatly.
Regret came rushing back.
"Felix, I stopped loving Adrien years ago. I... I fell in love with someone else. I realized that Adrien would never see me as anything more than just a friend." She whispered as she reached out and took his hand.
Marinette thought back to the final battle with Hawkmoth, to Chat Noir's reaction when Ladybug, as the Guardian of the Miraculous, had ripped the pin out of Hawkmoth's shirt and Gabriel Agreste had been sitting in his place. He saw the despair in pain in his eyes, and it clicked who her partner had been. But she had remained silent, letting the police take the man away, and had done her best to comfort the sobbing Chat Noir.
A week later, he had messaged her, telling her to meet him at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She had, and he had demanded that since Hawkmoth had been defeated, they should reveal their identities to each other. They weren't in any danger anymore, what was the point with the secrets now?
Ladybug had smiled sadly at him, but agreed. Grinning. Chat Noir dropped his transformation and Adrien held out his arms wide, as if to make a spectacle of what Ladybug already knew. But the confirmation had only made the wounds on her heart sting more.
"Isn't it amazing, my lady? Now we can finally be together, like we were destined to be! We can live happily ever after now, and have a big wedding, as well as-"
"Adrien, I can't love you. I don't love you, because you don't love me." Marinette smiled sadly at the model. He turned to her, a look of confusion on his face.
"What do you mean, my lady? I've always said that I love you, I never once lied." He urged, reaching out for her hand. But she took a step back, widening the distance between them.
"Because you said to me that you could never love me. That I was only a friend, and that was all I could ever be." She whispered, meeting his gaze. She watched the wheels spin in his head, before the horror filled his eyes and he slowly shook his head.
"No... Please, no, don't tell me..."
A flash of pink light and Marinette stood before him, a bittersweet smile on her face. Adrien looked ill as he reached out for her.
"I'm sorry, kitty, but... I was in love with you. With you, Adrien, I have been since the first day we met. But on the day Felix came, I realized that you'd never love me for me. You were too lost in a fantasy of Ladybug that even if I told you who I was, you'd never want me. You'd only want Ladybug."
"No... No, my lady, I love you!" Adrien frantically grabbed her hand, pulling her close. "This is all Felix's fault! He was always jealous of me, because everyone compared him to me! He was saying stuff because he was jealous, my lady, whatever he said was a lie!"
"He didn't say anything! In fact, I think he was more honest with me, even when he was pretending to be you!" Marinette snapped as she tried to tear herself free from his grasp, to no avail.
"What, don't tell me you actually love that monster! He lied to you, my lady, he didn't care about you for a second! He used you for a cruel joke, then when he got caught, he played all sorrowful, but he'll always be the same, selfish, pompous asshole of a cousin that I had, who acts out like a brat because he's jealous!" Adrien gave Marinette a hard shake. "I love you, he doesn't! He probably doesn't even remember you, most likely trailing along some other girls for a laugh! You're nothing to him!"
"Adrien, you're hurting me, stop!" Marinette felt hot tears prick her eyes at Adrien's words, but knew they weren't true. If it had all been a joke, he wouldn't have taken the time to come to her home and apologize, right? He had cared in a way... Right?
"I love you, Ladybug!" He shouted, sounding frantic now.
And Marinette stared at him with large, teary eyes, before a bittersweet smile spread across her face. She hugged him, holding him close, before moving to grasp his hand. Adrien visibly relaxed.
"You see, my lady? I love you more than anything, I'll do anything to protect you, as your knight in shining armor..." He whispered.
"I'm so sorry, kitty." She whispered back, taking a step away,his ring firmly in her grasp. Her blue eyes then hardened and she transformed back into Ladybug. "As the Guardian of the Miraculous, I hereby strip you, Adrien Agreste, of your Miraculous. While you fought nobly, you have never taken your duties seriously. You often treated it as a game. I understand, Adrien, why you did it. It was a freedom to you, but you never fully realized how big of a job it was. Hawkmoth is now defeated, and Paris is finally at peace. I thank you for your aide, Adrien."
"N-no, you can't do that! I am the true Black Cat holder, we are soulmates! We are meant to be, Ladybug, please!" The boy begged, reaching out for the ring, only for Ladybug to jump up onto the railing, keeping the ring out of his reach.
"You were never a true Black Cat, Adrien. I'm sorry, I really am... But I think right now, with all that has happened, it is too much for you. You've become unhinged due to grief, and I wish you well, and hope you build yourself a lovely, peaceful future, Adrien.."
Adrien screamed after her as she left him on the Eiffel Tower. Later that night, she cried herself to sleep. He had tried to get the ring back, but things got so intense, she had threatened to get a restraining order. Adrien had backed off right then and there.
Marinette blinked, being brought back to the present, before she shrugged, her smile sad, but she gave Felix's hand a squeeze.
"I found myself thinking about someone else. Someone who I really shouldn't have. I thought I didn't know him, since he lied to me, but then I thought back to my conversations with him on the date he took me on. About how he loved classic literature, how he loved big dogs and wanted as many as he could get, once he got his own place. A guy who probably felt... So Neglected, because everyone was comparing him to the cousin they thought was so perfect, when he actually wasn't."
Felix felt his throat tighten and his eyes burn as sudden tears welled up. Then he cupped her cheek in his hand.
"Mari... I thought about you every day since I left. I hurt you so badly, Marinette, I was awful and selfish and spiteful. My family never lets me live it down, yet you're here, so nice and forgiving... Why? Why are you forgiving me, I don't deserve that forgiveness!" Felix was thick with tears as he pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers.
"I don't know. But... You could definitely make it up to me, by letting me know you. The real you. Not Adrien, not the Felix your family tried to mould you into, just you."
"How a-about a date?" Felix whispered, a shaky laugh leaving him. "A movie, and some ice cream?"
"I think that sounds great." Marinette beamed, but glanced up when thunder boomed overhead.
Rain began to pour, and both broke out into laughter. "Here, hold on."
Marinette opened the black umbrella and held it over the two of them. Felix smiled, and pulled Marinette against him. Sharing a smile, he pulled the woman who had taken a hold of his heart into a warm kiss, a kiss that meant he wanted to build something with her. Something genuine and true.
Her returning the kiss made his heart soar and he knew he had found someone who finally wanted him, Felix Agreste, for himself.
And he only had one single chance to make things right.
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