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Bursting Bubbles of Bad Luck Chapter 8

Miraculous Ladybug | 2019 | 1,817 | Ao3 | Prev | Masterlist | Next

November 18th-Frenemies

Dupain-Cheng was watching him again.

Felix did not know what he had done to get her attention but he wanted to be rid of it. Honestly, it was probably just because he was rich and famous. That was what it tended to be.

“She doesn’t drool over anyone else in your class,” Plagg pointed out glibly.

Felix, who had been pretending to read as he tried to spy on her in return, flinched. “Plagg,” he warned.

“She doesn’t! Maybe��she just wants to be friends.”

Felix scoffed. “I doubt it.” That didn’t happen.

“Ohh Felix!” Felix shot Plagg a look as though to say ‘this is your fault’. Plagg dove into the bench. Felix looked up at the interloper and smiled like he hated her. He nearly did.

“Rossi.”

“I was thinking-” she ran her fingers up his chest, and he shoved them off with contempt. “-maybe we could go get ice cream after class?”

“Not a chance,” Felix said coldly. Rossi frowned.

“Are you sure? It could be fun! Or we could go to a museum?”

“No.”

“What about-”

“I’m not going out with you, Rossi.”

For a moment, she looked like she hated him. Then she smiled and shrugged lightly. “Alright. Let me know if you change your mind.”

He’s not going to.

“Girls would bug you less if you had a girlfriend,” Plagg said, poking his head out of the bench. Felix glared.

“I am fifteen,” he snarled under his breath. “I don’t want a girlfriend.”

“Just because you’re old-”

“I am not old!”

Plagg blinked at him. “Huh. I was sure fourteen was marrying age.” He shrugged and took a bite of cheese. Felix hoped he choked. “Math isn’t my thing.”

Felix looked over at Lavillant. “Lavillant!”

She looked up with a smile. “Yes Felix?”

“Was there a time when people married in their teens?”

It shouldn’t have been possible, but she lit up. Lavillant’s resting face was The World Is Lovely as an expression instead of a scent, and her smile now was something like The Joy Of Life. It was impressive. Contagious too, as Felix found himself smiling back. “Oh yes! Before medicines and vaccines and hospitals were commonplace, it was very common to marry young. Although in their cases it wasn’t really young- few people would live past their thirties. They’d lived nearly half their life without love!”

Felix stared. “That sounds terrible.”

“I know right!” Lavillant squeaked. “Imagine if no one fell in love before they were forty! I’d be so lonely!”

That wasn’t the part Felix meant, but this conversation was going well so he wasn’t going to clarify.

“Plus a lot of women died in childbirth, so sometimes men would go through four or more wives before they died,” Dupain-Cheng added.

“And not all of the babies survived,” Couffaine pointed out quietly. “Labor had a high mortality rate.”

“I’m so happy we have doctors,” Le Chein said. Felix jumped, having missed him coming in.

A couple murmurs of assent passed around, and Mme. Bustier walked in.

Perfect timing.

***

“What did you get for seven?” Haprele asked.

“False,” Felix said at the same time as Dupain-Cheng. He glanced at her, and she sent him a cute little smile.

He hated it.

***

“Dupain-Cheng, wanna show me that book you were talking about? In the library?”

Marinette blinked at curseboy. He had never talked to her before, she didn’t think. What was he- oh. His smile was more fixed than usual, and he shot a meaningful glance to the side. Lila was storming up to them.

“I’d love to, Felix, come on.” She held out her hand and took off, dragging him with her.

The gloves he wore, that he’d worn the entire semester, were scratchy and worn, like they were trying to fall apart.

Destruction magic.

***

“Duck!”

Dupain-Cheng tackled him. Felix tumbled to the floor under her weight. Above their heads, a beam of terrifying light slammed into the wall. He glanced from it to her face in time to see her blue eyes turn yellow, and then violet when she looked up.

Just how many sorceressex lived in Paris?

She climbed off him and offered him a hand up. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he told her shortly. “Thank you. Yourself?”

She smiled, eyes bleeding back into blue. “I’m fine. But I’m going to go hide now.” She pointed at the hallway. The hallway that had half a wall missing and a rampaging akuma in it. He raised an eyebrow. She flushed.

Felix rolled his eyes. “I’ll just go hide this way then,” he said lightly. She grinned, a little guilty, but they parted ways. Her odd reaction stayed in his thoughts as he found a corner to transform in. Maybe she was trying to reclaim the akuma? Was that possible?

“Kid,” Plagg said warningly.

“Claws out,” Felix murmured. He needed to learn more about magic.

Something exploded in the courtyard.

Learning about magic could wait.

***

“You good, Mari?” Cesaire was asking when Felix entered. He found his eyes drawn to their bench, where Dupain-Cheng was elbow deep in her backpack.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to find my pen.”

“Here,” Felix said, dropping one of his onto her desk. She looked up and blushed furiously.

“Thanks, Felix,” she said. Her eyes didn’t change color.

“You’re welcome.” Now that he knew it could happen, he was hyperaware of it, and her.

A part of him hated it, but another part was relieved for the distraction. He was still dusting things, although it didn’t happen for a while after akuma attacks. He probably used up the energy that way- he’d have to ask someone.

***

Marinette rolled over in her bed, restlessly flicking through her phone. It was late, but she wanted to do something. ADHD was terrible.

The Dead Fandoms Discord - Channel #Magic-Troubles

21:57

Snow Cone King: Can magic… overload?

Coracle Miracle: It can happen but doesn’t often - it’s a repression thing, I think?

My bedroom is full of little things to transfigure because if I don’t do it on purpose I’ll do it on accident.

Flutetastic: Blew out someone’s eardrums doing that once.

Speedster: I crashed into a wall. A lot of walls, actually. Mom says I once broke a window. It’s how they found out I was a sorcerer

Penny Could Kick Me: How much do you repress your magic?

That’s terrifying!

Coracle-Miracle: Ha

Haaaaaaaaaaa

Have you seen Paris? They can’t decide if we’re victims or all working with Hawkmoth

Snow Cone King: They actually think that?!

Coracle-Miracle: It’s certainly what people are saying.

Snow Cone King: That’s reprehensible.

Coracle-Miracle: Thanks, King.

***

“Oh Felix, there you are!”

Felix flinched, expecting Rossi to show up again. He’d gotten his parents involved, but she kept at it. The hand that grabbed his was smaller, though, and not followed by an octopus hug for him to shake off. “Hide me,” she hissed into his ear.

Felix blinked at Marinette. Her eyes were a neon green that looked sickly. He wasn’t sure what that meant but he doubted it was anything good. He forced a smile. “Marinette! I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“You didn’t say you invited a friend,” Dianora said, sounding betrayed and sad. Felix flinched.

He knelt down. “I didn’t,” he said softly.

Marinette let go of his hand. “He’s gone,” she said. “Thank you, Felix. Sorry about the interruption.”

“Interruption?” Dira asked suspiciously.

“I don’t have a buddy today,” Marinette admitted, looking straight at Dira. Grudgingly, Felix was impressed. Anyone who could accept children needed talked to as adults had some sense. “So when I noticed someone following me I looked for one instead.”

Dira squinted, and then looked between them. “Alright. You can stay.”

Marinette flushed, and jumped. “Oh no! Don’t worry about it, I’ll just wait another few minutes and slip away, I’ll be fine. I just needed to scare him away.”

“But you’re one of Felix’s friends?”

“Yes?” Felix wanted to facepalm. Marinette had no idea the trap she was walking into.

“So you should stay, and we’ll walk you home after!”

“What?” Marinette squeaked. “Oh no, no! I’m fine, you obviously already have plans-”

Felix rolled his eyes. Could she get any more fidgety? How could anyone stand to be that nice all the time? Someone was going to walk all over her. “Accept it,” Felix said, resigned. “Do you have other plans?”

“No, I just finished running deliveries for the bakery.”

“You work at a bakery?”

“My parents own it,” Marinette said proudly.

Felix raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. They’re good at it, I assume?”

“Yes,” Marinette said, a challenge in her gaze. Felix met it evenly.

“So she’s staying, right?” Dira asked. She tugged on Felix’s hand, and then turned to Marinette. “You are staying?”

“I- Felix?”

“We’ll make sure you get home on time. We’re chasing down Andre.”

Marinette grinned. Her eyes were blue again. “Sounds like a lot of fun. Let me tell my parents where I’ll be.”

Dira shrieked and bounced.

***

“Thanks for yesterday,” Marinette said, carefully setting the pen down on Felix’s desk. He looked up at her.

“You’re welcome.” He said. She could never tell his mood from his tone, it was a bit unsettling. “Just don’t go spreading rumors about us actually dating.”

Marinette puffed up, offended. “I would never!”

He scrutinized her for a moment, and Marinette wasn’t sure if her internal tirade on how unjust that would be was happening aloud too. He reached out and pushed the pen back towards her. “I’ll be your distraction, or excuse, whenever you need one, if you’ll do the same.”

Marinette drew up short. “I- uh, sure?”

He smirked and nudged the pen in her direction again. “Take it. Then we’ll always have an excuse to talk.”

She smiled, relaxing. “Thank you, Felix.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, picking up his book again. “Seriously, don’t.” He wasn’t even looking at her.

Marinette prepared to leave, but a gasp and thud drew her attention instead. She spun, and found Felix glaring at his hands. His gloves were gone, and the edges of the book were blackened.

Marinette reached forward before she was aware of it, changing the ash back to its previous form. “Here. I don’t-” she looked at the pile of dust that had been his gloves and grimaced. “I don’t think I can fix those, I’m sorry.”

He was looking at her askance. Marinette grimaced, curling in on herself. He’d been cursed- it would make sense if he didn’t like or trust magic and mages. Add in that Hawkmoth showed up soon after and her magic residue was still purple…

“Don’t worry about it,” Felix said softly, pulling another pair of gloves out of his bag. “Thank you, for the book.”

Marinette smiled again, although it was a little smaller this time. Softer. “Don’t mention it.”

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