When friendship promises to become something more, could a sudden departure separate Félix and Marinette forever. A Felinette AU Inspired by the DTIYS by @kellhy_miraculous on Instagram

When Marinette was eleven years old, she was told that she should make friends with Félix Fathom. Marinette did not want to be friends with Félix. Marinette did not like Félix and she was pretty sure Félix did not like her either considering he seemed to have preferred to sit alone rather than talk to her.

Marinette's mother, Lady Sabine had taken Marinette along with her to England to visit her old friend Lady Amelie for three whole weeks in and for the last two weeks Marinette had been bored to distraction. The De Vanily Estate was huge, and the gardens were beautiful but it had rained most of the time that they had been there and Félix was just no fun at all.

When Lady Amelie told Félix (who was two whole years older!) he needed to come out of his room and entertain Marinette, his idea of a good time was to take her to the library and read to her out loud. Up until now there hadn't been much else to do with all the rain, but today it had finally stopped raining and Marinette desperately wanted to go outside and play. Plus the poem Félix was reading was starting to give her the heebie-jeebies. What was that about a raven again?

As Marinette looked out the window she could see Félix's golden retriever Flaimidable chasing pigeons. She found herself envying the dog being so happy and carefree out in the sun.

"Let's go outside." Marinette suddenly said, interrupting Félix's reading. The blond boy looked up from his red leather notebook confused with a small frown between his brows.

"I haven't finished reading this yet." He stated in annoyance. "This is the most interesting part."

Marinette flounced onto the cushion beside him where they had been sitting crossed legged on the floor. "Don't be such an old bore Félix." She teased. "Lady Amelie said when I arrived that you would play with me and all you have done is hide in your room or read. Just look outside." She continued, pointing out the window to where the water fountain was. "The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the garden looks so pretty. I want to go out and see it."

Félix watched her with quiet reserve. He wasn't used to having his attention demanded like this. In fact he wasn't all that used to being around anyone his own age and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Let me just finish this passage and..."

"I don't want to hear anymore of your creepy poem." Marinette exclaimed, standing up and stomping her foot.

"Creepy?" Félix asked, astonished.

"Yes, creepy. I want to play and I'll go play without you."

"But I'm trying to help you." Félix insisted. Marinette sat back on her feet with her arms folded.

"What do you mean?" She pouted.

"I mean my mother wanted me to help you with your English. Your pronunciation is terrible."

Félix had no time to react before Marinette was up on her feet and storming out the door. A few moments later he saw her out by the fountain throwing a ball and chasing it with Flairmidable. He let out a long sigh. He'd stuffed up again. So much for making friends.

Taking himself to the music room, Félix sat down at the piano and proceeded to work through his Chopin. He found playing the piano relaxing and he had hoped to show this particular piece to Marinette.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he had noticed that it was getting a little darker outside. Lady Sabine and his mother had not returned yet from their journey into town, but more importantly he had noticed Marinette had not returned yet either.

Leaving his piano, Félix went outside and found Flaimidable running towards him. Félix may not have been able to read people very well, but he could definitely read his dog, and could tell something was wrong.

"Where's Marinette boy?" He asked his pet. Flairmidable barked and wagged his tail, turning and heading down the path, past the fountain. Félix grabbed a lantern as the sun had begun to dip on the horizon and followed his dog down the path and towards the maze hedge. Félix needed to find Marinette - his mother would be extremely angry if anything happened to her on his watch. But it was more than that though. Although Marinette and he hadn't exactly seen eye to eye, he had begun to become used to her smile over the last two weeks. He certainly didn't want to see anything happen to her.

Approaching where the garden maze was, Félix could hear what sounded like soft crying. Flairmidable ran along the hedge and barked.

"Marinette?" Félix called out. The crying only got louder, but at least he could follow the sound. It didn't take all that long for him to find the girl curled up next to a rose bush in one of the maze's dead ends. She was hugging her knees with her face buried in her arms, her frilly pink dress pooling around her.

Félix wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't used to dealing with crying people, let alone a girl.

"Hey." He said crouching down on one knee in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Mfffmmfmsmfmdns" was all he could hear muffled from her.

"I can't even understand you." He said flatly, trying to tug an arm away from her face. "Now what's the matter? Why are you crying?"

Marinette sniffed and lifted her head a little. "I was playing with Flaimidable when the ball rolled into the maze. I came in to look for it but then a raven squawked at me and I screamed because your poem scared me and I ran into the maze and got lost and I think I scared Flaimidable and then I sat here and... and..." she started to choke and cry again. "All you want to do is read or hide away in your room. You didn't even want to play with me or be my friend because my English is bad."

Félix took out his handkerchief and handed it to her. Marinette took it without looking at him and held it to her eyes.

"I'm sorry Marinette." Félix apologised. "I wasn't trying to upset you. I really thought I was helping you. I don't get to read poetry out loud and The Raven is one of my favourites. One day I hope to be able to write poems like that."

He wasn't sure Marinette was actually hearing him over her continued howling. He really needed to find a way to make her stop crying. Then he got an idea. Reaching out, Félix pulled off one of the yellow roses from the bush next to them and held it out in front of her. "Please, accept this as an apology." He said, his voice kinder.

Marinette looked up and saw the flower. She looked up at Félix's emerald eyes before looking back at the perfect rose in his hand.

"Sometimes when you are upset, it's good to focus on something else." Félix smiled as she took the flower from him. "These are some of my mother's favourite flowers and they have a lovely perfume."

Marinette held the flower to her nose and breathed in its scent. "It's very pretty." Marinette sniffed, wiping her nose and eyes with Félix's handkerchief.

"It is." Félix agreed. "And I do want to be your friend Marinette, I... I just don't know how."

Marinette looked back up at him and could see something in his eyes she hadn't seen before. Behind that cold and aloof exterior was someone kind and sweet and maybe just a little bit lost.

"I can show you how." Marinette offered with a soft smile. "Because I want to be your friend too."

He offered her his hand and held onto hers as they walked back to the Estate House, Flaimidable running excited beside them.

Félix was sad when Marinette left a few days later. They had been inseparable for the rest of the visit, but Félix promised to write to her and Marinette was looking forward to their next holiday together.

~~~~~
When Marinette was fourteen she was beyond excited. Usually her and her mother would travel to England to visit Félix and Amelie, but this year they would be coming to Paris.

Happily, Marinette had made a list of all the places she loved that she wanted to show him, including the Palace of Versailles which was a special request from Félix.

Marinette sat down at her dresser and opened her drawer, finding inside the pressed yellow rose Félix had given her three years earlier. Sure she had seen him many times since then, and more recently a few months ago at the winter festival, but it was Spring now and Paris was always so lovely at this time of year.

Félix and Amelie were actually supposed to have come the week prior, but something had come up which had delayed them. No matter, Marinette mused to herself. They still had plenty of... ACHOO!!

Marinette's pet cat Plagg practically startled off the pillow he had been sleeping on. Marinette quickly went over to him and patted his head to sooth him. "I'm so sorry my little gremlin." She said before letting out another squeakier sneeze. Plagg was unimpressed, leaving his pillow to find refuge in another part of the house. Marinette sneezed a third time into her handkerchief.

"It's fine." She said to herself. "I'm sure it's just allergies."

Unfortunately it was not allergies as her fever later attested to. Marinette could cry. All her plans with Félix were now ruined. Around mid morning the next day she could hear them when their carriage arrived and her mother and father went out to greet them and explain that Marinette was sick. There seemed to have been a lot of hushed whispers and Marinette wondered what that was about. As much as she wanted to get up, her head would swim the moment she tried to even sit up, so she had no alternative but to lay back down and sleep.

By afternoon the next day, Marinette's fever finally had broken and Félix was allowed to go into Marinette's room and visit her. She was still quite tired, but she had told her mother that she would really like the company.

Félix came in a little shyly. He had never been in a girls room before, and her room was certainly very pink, just like Marinette's cheek. Maybe that was just a side effect from the fever and not from the blush pink rose he was holding in his hand alongside his red leather notebook.

"How are you feeling, little Raven?" He asked, handing her the rose. She blushed a little at hearing aloud the nickname he had given her in his letters - a throwback to the day they had become friends. "I chose the right colour for you I think, it matches your decor."

Marinette smiled at him and smelled the roses sweet scent. "How did you know pink was my favourite colour?"

"Lucky guess." Félix chuckled, pulling up a chair next to her bed. "You didn't answer me though, how are you?"

"I'm alright now." Marinette said, her voice melancholy. "I had so many plans for us to do and places for us to see and now I'm on bed rest."

"I know." Félix chuckled. "I received your rather detailed itinerary in your last letter."

"But now we won't be able to do any of them. Between me being stuck in bed and your shortened visit." She let out a disappointed sigh. "If only you had been here last week as you had originally intended."

Marinette said that more in jest, but her heart hurt at the deflated look on Felix's face. "Félix..." She said softly. "Is something wrong?"

Félix fiddled with the notebook that was sitting on his lap. "My Father has gone back to America." He said evenly.

"Oh, will he be gone for long?" Marinette asked innocently. Félix looked her in the eyes and could see she didn't understand what he meant.

"He isn't coming back, Marinette." He replied, dropping his eyes back to his lap. "He's filed for a divorce. He owns a range there with several thousand head of cattle and he wants me to go with him and learn the ranching business. He... he said he wants to turn me into a real man and not the teetotaler disappointing snob I was becoming."

Marinette could barely conceal her gasp. Is that really how his father spoke to him? She couldn't imagine it. "I'm so sorry Félix." She said with genuine compassion. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "I don't want to move to America." He then took one of her hands in his. "If I did, I might never be able to come back. I'd never see you again."

Marinette could feel her cheeks heating up at the way he was looking at her. Félix was always very guarded with his words, even his letters were often very formal in nature, but there were times when his regard for her would catch her mind unexpectedly.

"I see you bought your notebook with you." She asked, trying to shift the focus off her. "Are you still reading Poe?"

Félix shook his head. "I came across some poems by Percy Shelly and I wrote a few out that I thought you might like to hear. You'd like him. His poems are far less scary." He teased with a wink.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a small smirk on her lips which made him laugh. "I'd love to hear them." Marinette said. "But I would love to hear yours too. When are you going to read me a poem you wrote?"

It was a rare thing for Félix to ever blush. Usually he could talk anyone under the table on any topic. Marinette often marveled at the breadth and depth of Felix's knowledge, but when it came to his own writings, he was much more bashful.

"Soon." He said cryptically. "When I'm ready, you'll be the first to know. Deal?"

"It's a deal." Marinette beamed. "And I'll hold you to it."

The two of them laughed and Félix opened his notebook and began to read. Marinette snuggled back into her pillow and closed her eyes. As much as she loved receiving Felix's letters, there was something so very comforting about listening to the sound of his voice.

~~~~~

On Marinette's sixteenth birthday her parents hosted an afternoon garden party to celebrate. All of her friends were there, many from well to do families from across Paris, but the only person Marinette wanted to see was her quiet Englishman and best friend.

She had received a letter from him that he and his mother would be coming. He had promised, and he said he had a special gift for her too. Of course the best gift of all would be his presence. She hadn't seen Fèlix for almost four months and she had something very important that she wanted to tell him.

"Has Fèlix not arrived yet dear?" Sabine asked, seeing how anxious her daughter looked. Marinette shook her head. "Well, perhaps the train was delayed. I'm sure he will be here soon enough. Don't forget your guests, my dear, and do enjoy your special day."

Marinette nodded, but her heart was heavy. Perhaps she just needed a distraction while she waited. Her friends Kagami and Alya suggested they set up a game of croquet with Luka, Nathaniel and Max. While Marinette was very much enjoying the game and spending time with her friends, she couldn't help frequently looking towards the patio for Félix.

"You seem distracted." Luka said as the game finished. Nathaniel was declared the winner, but Marinette had hardly noticed.

"I'm sorry." Marinette apologised. "I didn't mean to be rude."

"You're not being rude, Marinette." Luka said kindly. "But I can see your mind is elsewhere. Don't want to talk about it?"

Marinette had always found Luka in tune and attentive to her feelings. A gifted musician, Luka was the son of an old friend of her mother's who had only moved back to Paris from Calais around a year ago. She had gotten along with Luka like a house on fire. He was calm and very wise and she felt comfortable talking to him about anything, much like she would with her childhood friend Nathaniel.

"Félix promised he would be here today." She eventually said. "I guess I'm just a little anxious to see him again."

"I understand." Luka nodded. "But it's also your sweet sixteen, and you deserve to enjoy your party. Come on, Alya is organising some more party games and they wouldn't be the same without the birthday girl."

As the afternoon wore on Sabine called Marinette over to where her father was talking to what appeared to be a courier wearing signet of the De Vanily estate. Once the man left, Tom passed a small parcel with a letter to Marinette.

"This just arrived from Félix." Tom said, not making eye contact with his daughter. "You might want to read it inside."

Marinette's stomach sank as she took the package and sat in her sitting room. A letter and a parcel from Félix could only mean one thing... he's not coming.

Opening the letter with shaking hands the first thing she saw was "My Darling Marinette." She could already feel tears welling in her eyes. He always started his letter as "Dear Marinette" never as my darling.

My Darling Marinette,

I write this letter to you with a heavy heart. I am at Southampton waiting to board a transatlantic ocean liner for New York and then continuing the long journey by rail to Texas.

I received word that my father died suddenly and, as his only son, I am compelled to see to his affairs and the running of the Fathom Ranch. Believe me when I tell you, this is the last thing I want to be doing, but I don't have a choice.

I cannot guess how long I will be gone, or if I will ever see you again, the thought of which is more than I can contemplate, but know that I will always hold the memories of our times together close to my heart.

Please accept this humble gift. I have bookmarked one of my poems for you. I had hoped to read it to you today, but alas fate had other ideas.

I will write to you when I can, and hope you will continue to reply. Your friendship has always been the most important of my life.

Always your humble servant
Félix

Putting down the letter, Marinette blinked away tears as she tore away the simple brown paper from her gift. A soft gasp left her lips when she found in her hands Fèlix's red leather notebook. He had gifted her his most prized possession filled with his favourite poems and passages.

She ran her fingers over its embossed cover, the initials FF printed on the bottom right hand corner and the blue tassel of a bookmark hanging from the top. Opening the marked page, Marinette found an untitled prose dedicated "to my little Raven"

And when the shards of light, soft and pure,
Dance in her blue bell eyes.
I find my heart taking on a life of its own,
The feelings strange, unfamiliar.

I see you now, as though for the first time
My purpose clear, a heart renewed.
I hear the sounds of you, at first faintly, then distinctly, those sweet refrains
Whisper them and my heart will hear.

You heat up the coldness of my universe
The memories of your voice I carry locked inside
This once lonely heart given a reason
The waves of you crashing on the shore of my soul.

How do I go on without you
My little Raven amore.

Marinette's heart couldn't take anymore, her sobs crying out and the tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she slid off the chair and onto the floor. Had this been the way Fèlix had planned to tell her that he felt the same way she felt for him? Will he ever know how much her heart had longed to hear such whispered words from his lips?

Behind her she heard the frantic footsteps of her friends before Alya and Kagami flanked around her.

"What happened? What's wrong?" They asked. Marinette could barely form words.

"He's gone." She managed to utter, handing the letter to Alya. "Félix is gone and I never told him what he meant to me. Now I might never see him again."

~~~~~

One of the most exciting things about turning eighteen is that you get invited to make your debut. The downside of it is that Marinette's parents were also expecting her to now find a husband, especially after she had already turned Luka down.

Since that night of her sixteenth birthday, Marinette had tried to face the prospect that Félix was gone and might never come back. In an attempt to heal her bruised heart, she had spent much of her time with Luka.

Luka was easy to be around and easy to talk to, and somewhere in the back of her head she knew he was someone she should fall in love with. She had tried, really she had, and yet when the time came and Luka had dropped to one knee she couldn't say yes. Instead she broke his heart.

No matter what Marinette had told herself, she couldn't let go of Félix. He had worked his way unbidden and unrestrained into the very depth of her soul and she couldn't give Luka the kind of love that he deserved. It wouldn't have been fair to him. While her parents might remind her that she is their only daughter and that she needed to marry well, she wasn't sure she could ever fully commit to anyone that wasn't her introverted Englishman with a poetic soul.

After greeting her friends and drinking some champagne, most of everyone else took to the ballroom dance floor. Many of her friends had found their soulmates, Alya with Nino, Ivan with Mylène... even Luka had moved on from her rejection to Kagami. She was happy for them. She would champion her friends on in their love stories, even if her own only involves lonely nights with Plagg, and her dreams of what could have been.

Marinette found a seat slightly concealed by a large pot plant and continued her people watching until a chair was unexpectedly pulled up beside her and her lanky artist friend sat down. "Are you planning to be a wallflower all night?" He asked.

Marinette's eyes lit up to see one of her closest childhood friends. "Nate." She said, leaning over to give Nathaniel a hug. "I didn't know you were going to be here. When did you get back to Paris?"

"A few days ago." He replied. "I stopped by Florence and Naples on my way back from my art tour, but I didn't want to miss tonight."

Marinette was a little ashamed to admit, but it was nice to be sitting with someone who had also attended alone. Nathaniel had been one of her first friends and had always had a keen interest in her sketches and designs. It helped her to feel a little less inadequate not to be sitting alone.

"So are we hiding from anyone in particular?" Nathaniel asked with an amused smile, tapping the leaves that were draping very close to their heads.

"Myself I guess." Marinette answered. "I'm sure you heard about what happened with Luka and I know people have been whispering about it now that he is here with someone else and I'm... well still sitting on the wall."

"I don't know about that." Nate shrugged. "It's not like you worry about what other people think and I thought you liked dancing. It would be a shame not to see that lovely gown of yours do a turn on the ballroom floor." Nathaniel smiled broadly. "One of your designs?"

Marinette nodded at the red head. She had chosen blue for her gown because it was Félix's favourite colour, not that she had told him what she was wearing.

After he had gone to America, Félix had written to her almost immediately telling her all about his new life in Texas... and how much he disliked it, or more specifically his father's business partner. She could only begin to imagine the wide open spaces and dusty plains he described. While they had continued to correspond, the mail was painfully slow and letters were often few and far in between. She had written to him over three months ago to say she was making her debut tonight, but she couldn't guess how long a reply might be. It had been months since she received his last letter.

Deep down, she feared that perhaps the rumours she had heard were true that Félix was set to marry the daughter of his late father's business partner. It would make sense of course, but she buried that thought deep down. She wouldn't think of it tonight. Tonight, she's going to enjoy herself with one of her dearest friends.

"I'm not really much of a dancer." She admitted with a chuckle. "But I guess I could be game if you are."

"That a girl." Nate grinned, offering Marinette his arm. "The prettiest girl at the ball shouldn't be spending her night hiding behind a plant."

Gliding gracefully across the floor, Marinette hadn't realised what a wonderful dancer Nathaniel was. When she complemented him he just laughed and waved it off, preferring to tell her instead about his trip and the people he had met... or at least about a special person he had met.

"I'm so happy for you, Nate." Marinette smiled, but Nathaniel could see that there was still sadness behind those eyes.

"You don't have to be." Nathaniel said, twirling her around before bringing her back into a hold. "I know how hard it can be when you are separated from the person you most want to be with."

"I don't mean to be a downer with your happy news." Marinette said, looking down at the ground. Nathaniel lifted her chin up and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't you cry, pretty lady." He said, seeing the familiar glint of a tear beginning to form. "I might not be able to give you romance, but I promise you, we can dance until your shoes fall off."

Twirling her out and around again, Marinette let out a laugh, attracting the attention of Luka and Kagami dancing near them. After another two dances, Marinette was completely puffed but she was finally smiling, so Nate was taking that as a small win. Taking Nathaniel's arm again, he escorted her over to the refreshment buffet where they chatted with Alya and Nino.

As Marinette sipped on her champagne, something caught her eye. The flash of a blue suit and a shot of blond hair disappeared behind the dancers. She paused, her glass just stopping shy of her lips. Was she seeing things?

"Marinette?" Alya asked, looking a little concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes?" Marinette squarked a little too loud. She cleared her throat and placed her glass back on the table. "I mean, I'm fine, I just thought I saw..."

Her words soon died on her tongue. As the couples on the dance floor parted she saw him standing there, her Félix. His brooding emerald eyes met hers and for a moment their eyes were fixed, as though in a trance before Marinette's feet did the unthinkable. She ran.

She could hear the sound of her name being called, but she kept running, holding up her dress so as not to fall on her face. Why she ran, she didn't know. She thought that if she ever saw Fèlix again she would be gracious and civil and not act as though her heart had been shattered into a million shards. She had told herself that she would have to accept he had most likely moved on... but it hurt. It hurt so much that all she could do was run. She couldn't bear the thought of hearing it from his own lips that he could never be hers.

Following the darkened garden path through an archway of flowers, Marinette came to a stop at a large water fountain in a place where the moon sparkled on the water. Everything was still all around her, but for the flow of the water and the trembling of her own hands. Her mind, uninvited, drifted back to the fountain at the De Vanily Estate where her and Félix had played with Flaimidable and he would read her poetry... only to help her with her English he would say, but she had known better.

"Marinette?" She heard behind her. She closed her eyes and willed her tears to stay at bay. She didn't want to cry in front of him.

"Please Marinette. Won't you even look at me?"

Marinette took a deep breath and slowly turned around, lifting up her blue bell eyes up to his emerald ones. His chest was still rising and falling quickly after having to run after her.

"There you are." Félix smiled, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her. "I might have expected I needed to chase after you, but I didn't think it would be literally. I'm sorry my presence upset you so much."

"I didn't mean to run." Marinette replied. "It's just you took me by surprise."

"I admit it wasn't until the last moment I was sure I would make it in time, but I had to see you."

Marinette turned her head away from him. "I'm sure that your intended would not be pleased to hear that."

Félix stepped closer to her. "My intended? I don't have an intended."

Marinette swung by back around to look at him. "You don't? But I heard..."

"Rumours." Félix interjected. "You heard rumours." He walked a few steps from her, twisting off a red rose from one of the large, ornate vases that flanked the fountain. "My father's partner has a daughter with whom he had grand plans to form a partnership through marriage. Apparently it was one of the things my parents had disagreed about when they divorced."

"I see." Marinette said, feeling a knot in her stomach. "What did you say?"

Félix turned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I told him I would sell him my share of the business instead." He stepped closer to her, the rose still in his hand between them. "I told him I couldn't marry his daughter, because I was in love with someone else."

He offered the flower out to her. Marinette tentatively reached her hand out to take it, their fingers gently brushing as she did. Her heart was beating so fast she was almost certain she could hear it.

"You... love someone else?" She asked. Felix's eyes gazed at her softly.

"You Marinette. I'm in love with you. I sold my father's ranch and came back because I couldn't be without you anymore."

"But Félix... the Ranch was your father's dream for you."

"Exactly." Félix replied, a touch of spite in his voice. "It was his dream. His, not mine. I'm not going to live in the shadow of a man that never cared about how I felt, only about what I could do for him." He gently caressed her cheek. "What I want is to spend the rest of my life by your side, if you'll have me."

Marinette could feel the tears welling in her eyes, but this time they were tears of pure joy.

"There is nowhere else I would want to be." Marinette replied.

Félix couldn't hold back anymore. He leaned in and claimed her lips upon his, the sweet taste of her like poetry in motion written on the blank pages of their future together.