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starlit-dreaming · 2 months ago

Text

[ch5] élémentaire

Fandom: MLB Main Ship: Felinette Side Ships: MarcNath, Julerose, eventual Chlogami, past Lukanette TL;DR: HBIC Marinette + Rich Marinette + ML Salt Fic + Canon Divergence

Main Fic: élémentaire 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [5] | 6

Side Fics: J'adore — 1/2 | 2/2

Summary:

There once was a school called "École primaire d'élite de Notre Dame" — Notre Dame’s Elite Elementary School. It was ruled by three people and divided into three factions. A fair Emperor named Félix known for his calculating intellect, a charming Queen known as Chloé known for her cruel reign of terror, and a mirthful Majesty called Marinette known for her uplifting smiles and genuine kindness. They were called "Les Trois Primaires" — The Three Primaries.

Tag List:

@jjmjjktth @smolplantmum @always-on-a-sugar-high @fan-written @vixen-uchiha @fanfics-and-fangirling @marvel--unsolved @starlightshield @lady-bee-fechin @draco-kasai @weirdo-with-no-beardo @idontwannaexistsopleasekillme @blep-23

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v. muguet blanc

————————————————————

Reunions are the worst.

Alix would rather sit through another romcom slumber party with the girls in the class (and yes, even if it included Lila, who gave her headaches since she did nothing but breathe lies and tall tales) than sit at the same table with Félix Graham de Vanily and Chloé Bourgeois of all people. Unfortunately, it wasn’t her choice in the matter, neither was it Marinette’s.

No, this meeting was completely in Chloé’s control.

How annoying.

She doesn’t bother hiding her displeasure — she could be subtle, she could pretend that the sight of them doesn’t piss her off, but she doesn’t. Marinette and Rose could deal with the social niceties because Alix has had more than enough of dealing with that sort of crap at family gatherings and parties.

“What a pleasant surprise,” Marinette said with a smile. It was not a kind smile, nor was this surprise pleasant at all. If Alix wasn’t so annoyed with the situation, she probably would’ve snorted at that — Marinette had always hated lies, and yet here she was, straight up lying just to keep up with appearances and everyone at this table knew it. “Have you been planning on this for a while, Félix?”

“Something like that,” Félix responded back with an equally fake smile as he took his seat beside her and Claude. “You look well, Marinette.”

Alix side-eyed him before looking back over to Marinette as if it were the world’s most riveting back and forth.

“Did you think I wouldn’t be?” she asked, eyes narrowing at him.

If Alix knew Marinette just as well as she used to, it seemed almost challenging.

“Last time, you were rather different,” he politely said. “The difference is astoundingly obvious, so naturally, I was taken aback.”

“Well. Maybe if you hadn’t decided to impersonate a certain famous person we all know and antagonized everyone in my class, including me, and instead chose to meet us properly, things wouldn’t have been so drastically different,” Marinette practically seethed behind her smile.

Even Alix could tell that she was still angry… or maybe just annoyed and frustrated, and a bit embarrassed from what happened. She knew that Marinette confessed to Adrien during the incident, and yet Adrien was as oblivious as always. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened between Marinette and Félix. Not to mention all those rude videos with Adrien’s face…

“Perhaps I would’ve reconsidered if—”

Chloé interrupted, making her displeasure loud and known, “Ugh, you’re being ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous! Stop being so dramatic and just get straight to the point,” she rolled her eyes before looking at her nails. “Do us all a favour and stop wasting our time.”

“Oh, I do apologize, Your Highness,” Félix drawled as he gave Chloé an unamused glance. “Forgive me for wasting your time, when you haven’t deigned to give me a single explanation as to why this meeting was arranged to begin with.” And for wasting my time, but that part went unsaid and was simply and heavily implied by his tone of voice.

Alix didn’t know if that should’ve been surprising or not. Or maybe this was just some sort of scheme between Chloé and Félix to bother Marinette, considering that they weren’t very happy about Marinette’s disbandment in the first place. Granted, Félix had no choice with his moving, but he did have Claude who unofficially handled things as always — their information network was as strong as ever if not better, even if no one verbally acknowledged it, and some of his influence involved multiple schools. Meanwhile, Chloé was more or less bored without anyone challenging her authority as time went on, and her faction somewhat crumbled away without her interest (granted, that didn’t change the fact that she still had followers who adored her cruelty). Sabrina was the only one still keeping tabs on the faction, but nothing more.

Not that Alix didn’t do anything in the time between the disbandment and now, but she couldn’t do everything on her own. Besides, Marinette highly valued friendships (and that involved their class), while the other leaders had their own values that didn’t rely on building up amicable friendships.

Without Marinette at the heart of things, it just never felt the same.

That’s not to say that the other leaders didn’t have friends of their own. She’s damn sure that without Claude’s cheerful and charismatic personality, Félix wouldn’t consider the Quantic Kids as friends to begin with. As for Chloé, she was the type who regularly acted rude to hide her fondness for some (case in point: Sabrina), and she’s half-certain that Adrien was pushed into being her friend.

“Chloé won, I lost, that’s all,” Marinette flatly stated, dropping the false pretense and getting straight to the point. This was the faction leader that she missed seeing — straight to the point and no roundabout words, with an attitude that screamed that she was in charge. “I plan on reviving my faction, since yours and Chloé’s are still around.”

And now comes the unwanted thoughts and opinions from people that Alix would much rather go without hearing from for nearly a decade:

“That’s a surprise,” Félix commented, resting his chin against the palm of his hand as he looked at Marinette with a thoughtful stare. “I was starting to suspect that this day would never come. Naturally, I suppose congratulations are in order, even if it initially results in a loss on your behalf. You truly are a fortunate person, Marinette, because Claude informed me that you still have quite the following despite the disbandment.”

…

Um… what?

Was he… being civil with her?

And did he compliment her in some way? Maybe she was reading too much into that.

Alix blinked, dumbfounded as she glanced over to the others in the room. Sabrina also looked taken aback, while Claude was rubbing his head as if he had a headache. Chloé didn’t seem interested in the conversation anymore, with how she was now on her phone.

She knew that Félix and Marinette were on… okay-ish? Familiar? Friendly? Terms. At least, compared with Chloé, but that wasn’t a competition. Marinette used to have a crush on him and wanted to be close to him, while Félix treated her like a business partner and nothing more. Still, Alix was certain that he was going to be insufferable at least, and it certainly seemed like he was until Chloé spoke up after getting fed up with it.

With how they acted towards Marinette back then, and especially with how Félix acted with the uh… Adrien incident a few months back, she was expecting a verbal showdown.

Not… whatever this was.

“Well. The day’s here,” Marinette flatly stated. “If you have an issue with my faction’s revival, I’d rather hear it now than later.”

“Hmm…” Félix smiled, and Alix couldn’t help but feel goosebumps at how strange he was acting compared to the boy in her memories because she was starting to think that maybe he’s been scheming something this whole time. Fucking rich elite kids and their fake ass attitudes. “Truthfully, this works out quite nicely. I’ve been hoping to reach a compromise about this today, actually.”

What the fuck?

Chloé scowled at that, finally looking at him, “Excuse me? You wanted nothing to do with this meeting until literally an hour ago!”

“People change,” Félix stated amicably. “And circumstances call for it. And again, if I must remind you, you told me nothing.”

Chloé wrinkled her nose, seeming to loathe this random change of heart wholeheartedly. Alix, unfortunately, agreed with her — that sounded like absolute bullshit.

It was then that Alix noticed the look of disbelief on Claude’s face. Clearly, he was just as skeptical as everyone in the room.

If even Claude, his right-hand man, didn’t know, then something must be going on.

What was he planning?

“…really now,” Marinette raised a brow. “Considering how you mocked me the last time we… met. I’m surprised that you’re so willing to move past it.”

“Sometimes shock can bring out an unpleasant side of us,” he says calmly. “I admit that I was being rather… petty. Particularly to Adrien, as he showed no remorse for not being there for me in the time of my grief when I was there for him when his mother went missing, and I felt spiteful. You and everyone else just happened to get caught in the crossfire.”

“You tried to ruin his reputation and friendships,” Alix finally spoke up, incredulous. “That’s not something to just go “sorry dude, my bad” and expect people to forgive you.”

“And?” Félix raised a brow, an annoyed look shot in her direction. Now he’s the asshole from her memories — he never did like Alix, and it’s possible that the fact never changed. “Where exactly did I imply that I expected forgiveness when I’ve done nothing for it? Frankly speaking, I don’t care if your classmates loathe me for it. In fact, I would welcome their blatant disregard because if they so easily believe a fake, then naturally they are not worth a moment of my time to begin with.”

“Then… I guess that’ll be it for now,” Marinette said, calm as she wryly smiled. “When are you going back to the UK?”

“No need to worry,” Félix smiled. “I will be moving back to Paris, and will be transferring to your school in an official capacity.”

What.

——————————

The Dupain-Cheng living room was as warm as Nino remembers it. He can smell the baked bread and treats coming from the downstairs bakery, and Monsieur Dupain stood in the kitchen, warming something up on the stove.

Nino hadn’t spoken yet from his seat on the sofa, and he finally stopped crying (something that’s been going on since he first arrived at the Dupain-Cheng bakery). It was Madame Cheng who ushered him into the bakery’s kitchen, and it was Monsieur Dupain who immediately gave him a warm and big hug before bringing him to the living room, wrapping a comforting weighted blanket around his shoulders, and told him that he’ll be back in a moment and—

And yeah, Nino remembers why he loves the Dupain-Cheng Family as if they were a second home. They were there for him when his parents divorced, they were there for him when his brother was born, and he ended up upset because all of his mom’s free time was spent on a little brother he didn’t want back then, and now here they were, there for him again. Madame Cheng only gave him a single glance to know that something was wrong and Monsieur Dupain gave the best hugs that could remedy the stress even if it was temporary.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he was just… worried that they weren’t a permanent fixture in his life. That they weren’t going to be there for him if he dated someone other than Marinette. Maybe that was why he stopped regularly visiting, maybe that was why he fell for Marinette years ago, maybe, maybe—

“Hot cocoa?” Monsieur Dupain smiled gently, interrupting the guilty thoughts and holding the cup for him.

He blinks away the leftover tears with little success as he takes the warm cup into his hands. It’s warm to the touch, but not scalding hot — it’s… comforting.

And it’s, well, it’s not quiet. There’s the distant hustle from the bakery downstairs, muffled voices and clattering noises of kitchen equipment from the part-timers. He’s not alone, either, and he feels warm, and as he takes a sip of his drink, the tears start to fall once again.

He places the cup onto the coffee table, and he feels like a little kid again, crying to Monsieur Dupain again just like he did when Chloé started picking on him back then and Marinette had brought him to her house for the first time. Just like he did the first time he fell off his bike in the nearby park, and Monsieur Dupain helped him disinfect his scraped knee. Just like he did, when it was Father’s Day and Marinette urged him to make a Father’s Day card for Monsieur Dupain who accepted it with a warm hug, a bright smile, and teary eyes.

Just like back then, when his parents were arguing back and forth so he’d run to Marinette’s home. And the time when Olivier packed his bags, left papers on the table for his mom, and never came back home.

And the time when his parents finalized the divorce, and he was at Marinette’s house more than being at home with his always working mom and later a baby Chris.

Why did he start dating Alya to begin with? Sure, she’s great and the most stubborn yet confident girl he’s ever known, and she’s one of the prettiest people in his life, but romantic relationships suck. His own family was proof of that! He chose to take a chance, thinking that him and Alya could handle whatever came their way, that they could overcome every challenge together.

Maybe Marinette’s fairytale hopes and dreams started to affect him somewhere along the way. Maybe it was because he wanted to believe that love actually existed, because his feelings for Alya were so strong that it was a nice thought, that maybe it was true.

But this was reality. He’s just another kid with a broken heart who just wants to be left alone.

Monsieur Dupain is patient and kind as he brings over a tissue box and a small mesh wastebasket. Nino reaches for the tissues, blowing out his nose as his eyes burn from crying.

“We broke up,” he says, feeling all choked up as he tosses the tissue into the wastebasket. He tugs on the sleeve of his hoodie, wiping his tear-stained face with it and tries not to feel so small like the kid he used to be. “And—and she called me a—”

A cheater.

She called him a cheater.

And it’s then, at that moment of anguish, that he realizes why the statement hurts more than anything.

Because Olivier is a cheater, and Nino had sworn to himself that he would never grow up to be that type of man no matter how much he starts to look like him as he gets older. He cuts his hair, covering it with his red cap just for being the same colour, hell, he first started wearing glasses just because his grandmother once commented that he has Olivier’s eye shape!

When he became a teen, his mom always told him that he should never cheat on anyone. Don’t break a girl’s heart just to have them cry over you, don’t trust a girl if she tells you not to worry about someone.

Don’t be like your father, she would often say.

On and on, he would hear those things throughout his life. Would his mom even trust him, if he told her that Alya accused him of cheating?

He’s scared that she wouldn’t.

She liked Alya and she always suggested inviting her over for dinner. His mom treated his ex like a daughter she always wanted, and that was a good thing.

Until now. Would his mom still love him for breaking up with Alya? What if she can’t bear to look at him, like back then when he actually tried to grow his hair out for just a little? Would she look at him and see Olivier in him?

He never cheated on Alya, but the accusation was too painful.

“She called me a cheater.”

The words come out quiet and hushed, almost a scathing curse. His mom would always worry if she was raising him and Chris right, or if they’d end up like Olivier — he knows the hushed conversations that she had with granny when she thought they were asleep.

“She—Al—” he chokes, his voice unwilling to cooperate as he pushes through with wavering tones. “She didn’t believe me.”

And it’s then, that Monsieur Dupain pulls him in for a big, warm hug. His tears burn anew, and he hugs back, holding on for dear life.

He stomps down the urge to voice out his thoughts aloud: “Why did Alya believe Lila over me?” “Why did Adrien have to fall for a two-faced girl?” “Why couldn’t Olivier be more like you?” “Why did Lila have to transfer into our class back then? Why, why, why — the questions flood his mind.

“I know you would never do something like that, Nino,” Monsieur Dupain reassured, voice calm and soothing and filled with so much concern that Nino feels like he’s drowning in his feelings. “You’ve grown up to be an outstanding young man. I look at you, and I see a bright soul who cherishes his family and would do whatever he can to help them. I see a young man who focuses on what’s important, who feels guilt so deeply when he’s wronged someone, and does whatever possible to make amends.”

“R-really…?”

“One hundred percent. You are so much stronger than you think, filled with so much love and loyalty in your heart,” he sniffs. “I’m sorry that she couldn’t see it, but we all do.”

“D-do you really think so…?” comes the muffled question.

“I know so,” the baker’s statement comes with a gentle squeeze — warm and reassuring and present. “I’ve watched you grow up since you were a child, growing into the young man you are today.” It had to be true, with how certain he sounded. “And I’m so proud of you, son. We love you, and you will always be deserving of that love.”

It’s a sudden relief that crashes into him, setting his tears pouring even harder than he thought possible, burying his head into the baker’s black apron and he just… cries. He lets out all the tears from the stress of the past several hours. The years of tears, the years of guilt.

He can’t speak, hoping that his hug conveys his gratitude at those words as he cries and cries.

And Thomas Dupain lets him, as if it’s okay to feel heartbroken.

That it’s okay to have that reassurance.

For weeks, the guilt of choosing Alya over Marinette had haunted him to this very day. The guilt for still caring about his now ex-girlfriend, despite the pain she’s inflicted on him remained. The guilt of hiding behind his shell, when he knows that he’s better than this, that he did what was right. He’s sad, and it hurts, it hurts, and it hurts.

And despite being granted a second chance, he’s still scared to face Marinette. He’s scared that she’ll question his choices, that the years of trust they have is gone after what he’s done. That she won’t treat him like a friend anymore.

(But the biggest thing that makes him feel guilty, is the relief in knowing that Thomas Dupain will always be his dad, despite all of Nino’s mistakes.)

——————————

The living room is quiet as Sabine Cheng climbs up into the living room and kitchen.

There, she finds her husband gently shuffling over to lay Nino’s head against the sofa’s pillows. His red baseball cap and glasses resting on the table next to an abandoned cup of cocoa. Tom tucks Nino in, and he moves to take the drink and heads to the kitchen, quickly dimming the lights that shined on Nino’s face.

Sabine softly breathes. She tries not to feel angry and upset at seeing the track of tears on Nino’s face.

She tried, but she feels upset anyways.

Tom brings the cup to the sink, his eyes a bit watery with a sad expression on his face. Her husband was always the more empathetic person between the two of them, but he tended to cry whenever it came down to her and their daughter. He cried when Sabine proposed to him, he cried at their wedding, he cried when Marinette was born, he cried when Marinette said her first “I love you’s” to them. Then, there were times when they couldn’t do much about a few kids teasing their daughter about her Asian heritage, when they both realized that they were failing Marinette as parents for not realizing the stress caused by all her responsibilities when she was only twelve and in sixième, and now, he was crying for Nino, their godson.

Sabine walks up to him, her footsteps a pitter patter against the wood floorings. He turns to look at her, and she smiles at him, holding out her arms for a hug to which he immediately goes for.

Tom sighed, a sad smile on his face as he wrapped her in his arms, shoulders untensing as he rested his chin atop her head. He doesn’t say anything, but she can imagine quite easily that his eyes are closed, and he sighs again. Even if he says nothing, she knows that there’s just so much on his mind, and a hug alone helps even a tiniest bit.

He and Marinette shared that in common — both of them can get rather stuck in their thoughts.

“You know,” she softly says, patting Tom’s back. “There’s a saying that sighing drives away happiness and good fortune. It’s considered very bad luck.”

“And I recall hearing my lovely wife respond to that with: According to who? I think sighing is a good thing as we breathe away the stress, worries, and bad thoughts in our bodies.”

Even if she couldn’t see his face, she knew he was smiling just from the way he said it. A win in her book for the time being.

“How is he?” Sabine softly asks, pulling back just enough to see Tom’s weary face.

“Better than before,” Tom frowned, glancing over to Nino who was fast asleep, “He hasn’t said much, but he said enough.” His voice drops to a whisper, not wanting to even risk the chance of being heard if Nino was half-asleep. “Alya broke up with him. She thinks he cheated on her.”

What.

Sabine blinked, looking up at her husband who gave her a knowing look paired with a wry smile.

Nino Lahiffe, a cheater? Their Nino? Nino of all people!

“I know,” Tom grimly nodded. “Obviously, we know it’s impossible. Sophia raised him better than that. We raised him better than that.”

“But it’s still devastating for him to hear it,” she nodded, pursing her lips. “Should I tell Sophia? Maybe we should ask her to let him stay the night. Or, we could keep an eye on Chris for her so she can focus on Nino?”

“I think you should only tell her he’s staying for dinner for now, maybe mention that he’s upset about his breakup,” Tom brushed a strand of her hair before tucking it behind her ear. “We can ask Nino if he wants us to talk to her instead about what happened, or if he wants to do it by himself. He might need a bit of time; he’s scared to tell her.”

“Why would he be scared to talk to her? Sophia would understand what he’s going through.”

“From what I can tell, he thinks she won’t believe him.”

“I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t trust him — Nino’s never given any of us a reason to think otherwise,” she wrinkles her nose, pausing as she takes in the sight of Tom frowning, with his brows still pinched with concern in his eyes. “Is there something else?”

“I’m not sure if everything’s entirely okay between him and Marinette now that he’s broken up with Alya. I know he’s been hanging out with Marinette again, but…”

“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Sabine rubbed his arm, giving him a reassuring smile. “When I dropped off her laundry the other day, I noticed that she’s been redecorating her room lately — there’s a lot of pictures taken down from her wall, most of them being Adrien, but some being Alya. And, if Alya did talk to her, claiming he cheated, I doubt Marinette would accept that accusation without question.”

“You’re right,” he presses a kiss to her head and smiles, shoulders untensing as he speaks fondly. “She’s always been our little miracle, always finding solutions to a problem since she was in élémentaire.”

“I’m just relieved that she’s out of her detective phase and wants to make clothes instead of delving into those dreadful conspiracy theories and solving cold cases to keep up her thinking process,” Sabine said with a huff. “She was always running around trying to get creative with her problem-solving and Detective Sauveterre still asks me if Marinette wants to apprentice under him whenever he stops by for his weekly sweets.”

Tom raised a brow, amused.

“Oh, hush, you know what I mean,” Sabine huffed, giving his shoulder a small pat.

“Our petite fleur is still the same as ever, Sabine. The difference is that she’s not coming home with glitter on her hands and hiding a thick binder in her school bag. In fact, I think she’s trying to help the heroes locate Papillon.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she sighed. “Nadja called the other day, telling me that Ladybug’s been regularly seen in our neighbourhood. Marinette still has that I-know-something-but-its-a-secret stutter and it’s always when a hero was involved.”

“Should we upgrade the security system in the bakery?” he suggested. “If Nadja heard about it, then that might invite nosy fans.”

“Maybe for the entrance to the house; we can revisit the rest later. We might need to talk to Marinette about us locking the bakery entryway down during work hours. Well, I’m going to go let Sophia know that Nino’s staying with us; will you be making dinner?”

“Yeah, it would be better for me to stay up here with Nino. He’ll need some comfort food after what happened, and I don’t want to leave him alone right now,” Tom kissed the top of Sabine’s head. “We should tell Marinette that he’s here.”

“Got it,” Sabine nodded. “Is Marinette still out? Or is she in her room right now?”

“She said she’ll be back by dinner.”

——————————

“Worst meeting of my life,” Alix groaned, roller skating backwards to look at Marinette as they walk down the hotel’s halls. “Now what?”

“As planned, we’ll set up a meeting with Félix and his faction to enlist their help in the near future, most likely when Félix gets settled down after his move.”

“…do we actually need their help?”

“No, but they’re the best choice for the least damage to everyone,” Marinette sighed. “I don’t want to go scorched earth on this. There’s no reason to. I just want to expose her and ensure that her mother learns the truth, and everyone else can rebuild what she destroyed.”

That was fair, but Alix had her suspicions that maybe Lila was worse than they thought. How else was she able to turn the class against Marinette in the beginning? Sure, Marinette had been a lot more passive than she thought, but her reputation was changed with a snap. When Alix finally got her shit together in the aftermath of Lila’s accusations against Marinette, she had been so easily convinced of Marinette’s jealousy before then. It was planned out, event after event, and it didn’t help that Lila could easily turn on the waterworks.

Overall, it was sloppy work when compared to Marinette and Félix, but that’s only in hindsight. Honestly, Alix was kind of hoping for scorched earth just because it’d be quite a show.

“Rose wants to,” she recalled, absent-minded as she thinks back to Rose and her fake smiles. Rose isn’t as passive as everyone assumed her to be.

At that, Marinette winced. “Juleka’s been affected, so Rose is compromising in order to prioritize her girlfriend. We both want Lila dealt with, and ideally, I don’t want Lila in Paris anymore while Papillon is still here. I especially don’t want to ruin lives just because of some girl who thinks of herself as a queen.”

“Rose won’t be happy about that,” Alix said thoughtfully. It was an obvious statement. In fact, the fact that Juleka was hurt would be even more of a reason for Rose to do something.

“No. She wouldn’t be,” Marinette nodded. “But there is a chance that she’ll get what she wants, it just depends on how people react. If something major goes wrong and I have to readjust some of my plans—” her phone chimes, causing her to stop and blink as she takes it out to read a text message. “Hm,” she frowned.

“Did something happen?”

“Nino and Alya broke up,” and that made her heart twist. They were both adorable together, and Marinette had hoped that their relationship would manage to pull through, but… Alya was firmly in Lila’s corner, and Nino was back on Marinette’s side despite all his guilt. She was thoroughly entranced by her, and Nino can be a bit too timid when it came to confrontations.

At least, it depended on the confrontation. He can stand up to parents, but never their peers.

“Oh. Bummer,” Alix awkwardly shifted. She wasn’t the most interested in romance compared to everyone, but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to the effects it had on people. “I kinda expected him to be quiet and lay low for a while. What did he text you, anyway?”

“It wasn’t him. Maman told me,” Marinette clarified. “He must’ve spoken to Alya first.”

Starting with Alya was surprising. She expected him to confide in Adrien, in hopes to enlist his help in convincing Alya. Adrien knows that Lila’s lying, and Marinette had no patience to try and explain why that was harmful to her and their class as a whole, and the whiplash between wanting to rage and wanting to forgive was a headache to deal with. Nino, on the other hand, has that endless patience among her close friends, and he doesn’t let infatuation play a part. This meant that Nino was the best person to explain to Adrien why the high road didn’t apply to this situation, although this was also part of Marinette’s own vindication.

Even if Alya was still being fed lies directly by Lila, having both Adrien and Nino taking the initiative to talk to her would plant a seed of doubt, and their odds of convincing her would be better. Marinette wouldn’t have any involvement in the matter, and Alya would want to get back at Lila for lying to her. The fallout between the two was a gamble, but Alya can be quite vindicated.

Still, it was Marinette’s oversight. She should’ve spoken to Nino on who to go to first, and now he’s been hurt by her own inaction.

Alix didn’t say anything in response to that. Truthfully, everyone in their inner circle knew how much Nino adored Marinette’s parents. Out of everyone, he had the closest relationship with Thomas Dupain, and with the lack of a father in his life, it was fairly obvious that he was projecting what relationship he wished that he had.

If Nino was at Marinette’s house, however, that meant some things had gone wrong.

“We might end up having an Akuma later today,” Marinette sighed. “Alya would definitely throw a wrench into our timeline.”

“Will we need to change up the plan?”

“I hope not,” Marinette tilted her head in consideration. “I put so much planning into something that would work out for everyone in the class. If Alya blows up before the birthday party, it’ll be an absolute disaster and she’ll probably face a defamation lawsuit if she posts a little too much on her blog. It’s going to be a headache to rework everything, not to mention that it’d have to be on the fly.”

Alix shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, “Well, I guess Rose might get what she wants after all, then.”

Marinette felt a twinge of pity for their classmates who were hoodwinked by Lila. She wanted to make sure they would be able to get back up on their feet when the lies were revealed. Rose didn’t care — love can be blinding, and Rose was very angry at what Juleka experienced. Maybe she’ll calm down with time, but Rose could hold onto grudges for so long.

They both reach a halt in front of the elevator.

“For now, we’ll play it by ear,” Marinette stated as Alix pressed the button for the elevator.

“Marinette,” Félix calmly called out, taking slow strides as he approached them. “May I have a moment of your time?”

Alix made eye contact with Marinette, who blinked dumbfoundedly at the sudden request. As Marinette processed the words, Alix weighed the pros and cons of stepping away or staying.

On one hand, Alix was going to need to leave anyway to avoid being seen in public with Marinette. An elevator ride should be more than enough time to put in some distance, especially if Alix roller skated away while Marinette got on the elevator. On the other hand, Alix wanted to know what was going to be said verbatim, especially considering that Marinette used to like Félix, but that wasn’t a good enough excuse for either of them. Marinette would give her a bunch of displeased looks, but she’ll forgive her.

Félix, however, might scheme to make some things difficult or unpleasant for her. He could probably throw a family party and specifically invite Alix and her mother, and then Alix would be expected to play nice and dress up in a dress because it’s a Graham de Vanily party.

It would be more of a hassle than it’s worth…

And, judging by the brief frown on Marinette’s face, she thought so, too.

“You can go ahead, Alix,” Marinette said, speaking calmly without a hint of displeasure as the elevator doors opened up. “I needed to talk to him, anyway.”

Alix nodded, taking a glance back to Félix — Claude wasn’t with him — and promptly stepped onto the elevator.

What the hell was with that smug smile on his face?

#fic: elementaire #fic: élémentaire #wynter writes #hbic marinette #ml salt fic #felinette

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