"Is that the last one?" Felix asked impatiently as all of Marinette's clothing, personal items, and her dozens of supplies for her online shop have finally been loaded in another car, with just those items. But the apologetic smile on her face said otherwise. He heaved a tired sigh, realising how he underestimated the amount of things she needed to move to another country, additionally the items from her online shop. She held up two more bags, one was a small hand bag of her things, while the other was another trolley.

"This is has my sewing, knitting, and crocheting materials," she pointed out. "And my patterns, jewels, sequences, fluffy stuffings, sketching pads, pens, pencils, charcoal, oil pastel, brushes, erasers, knead, water colour, calligraphy-

She continued listing all the art materials she had in it, which made Felix's shoulders sag, and his hand cover his face, massaging his temples. Marinette cocked an eyebrow at his reaction as a satisfied smirk formed on her face. Felix looked up at her once she stopped, making her snicker at their predicament. She grabbed both items and passed by him saying, "What were you expecting? Just a sewing machine?"

He would be lying if he said he didn't. He underestimated the amount of things she had and needed. But seeing as how she lived in Agreste mansion for nearly two years makes a lot of sense. He took the items and placed them into the other car, while she went back to her parents. She stood in front of the couple feeling like a little kid one more time. It's as if they were sending her off on her first day of school. The Dupain-Cheng couple felt the same way.

At this moment the only way they knew to express this feeling was to wrap each other around their arms holding their little family close to their hearts. Sabine held her daughter by the waist tightly, scared of letting her go, Marinette burying her face against her mother's shoulder, while her hand tugged at her father's sleeve like a child, and Tom holding them all together in his arms. It was as if goodbye couldn't come out of their lips and remained unspoken, lodged in their throats, in the way that gave them the option to swallow it down or hurl it out of their mouths. They held back the additions of tears threatening to roll out, this forced them to break up the sad parting hug.

Tom had his hand on his daughter's shoulder, while his wife had her hands in her own. He looked proudly into the young lady's eyes, realizing how much time has passed as his eye sight could no longer hold candle to the one he had in her youth, but even without it he could still see the beautiful woman she had grown up to be.

"Go out there and do your best like you always do, super Marinette," he uttered finding these childish words the only words he can tell her right now. Marinette smiled graciously looking into his dull gray eyes filled with pride.

"We are proud of how far you have come. Now your dreams are almost coming true, don't ever let them go," her mother added as she brought their hands to her forehead wanting to feel her one last time. Her now graying hair cascading over her face in an ever so elegant way as it had always been.

"I won't ever let you guys down. You are the best parents I could ever have," Marinette felt like choking up while she held onto them closely. But the overwhelming emotions got the better of her, making her throw herself back into the safety of their arms where she will always be welcomed. She grasped them one more time while she sobbed out, "I love you guys so much!"

Felix watched this family parting from afar while he leaned against his car patiently. He smirked at the sappiness of the family, but couldn't help but appreciate the display, given that he also had his fair share of affectionate parents in the form of his mother. When they parted for the last time, she waved good bye as she walked to her car. He was already there waiting with the door open. She forced a sad smile as a thank you for him as she got into the car. He nodded in reply and closed the door for her. She strapped herself in and now she was off to the terminal.

But before he could leave he turned to the pair first and gave them his card saying, "If you need to contact me for any reason concerning Marinette, my line is always open." Tom took it with a curt nod while Sabine asked him sassily, "Isn't this the part where you promise us you'll take care of her?"

He snickered a little at her statement, but answered nonetheless, "I doubt she would want to have the likes of me 'taking care' of her. She can take care of herself, she has enough support to do that even without me."

...

A tear rolled down the young designer's cheek once they were blocks away from her home. Everything is happening so fast now that she's actually living in another country to pursue her dreams.

Everything was happening so fast now that she finally stopped to let everything sink in. A week ago she was still playing house with Adrien, while they planned venues for their wedding and dreams. Now she's in a car on the way to live her dreams without him. She couldn't help but feel lonely without him in it, but a small tap on her lap broke that melancholy in her mind. A soft smile stretched on her face as she thanked the tiny friend reminding her that she's not alone.

"It'll be fine Marinette, you'll be living your dream and you'll be with us," Tikki proudly reminded her. She thanked her constant companion, admitting how much she doesn't know what she'd do without her. The kwami laughed, exclaiming, "I can't wait to see London again. It's been a while since we've been there!"

"You're right, I wonder how Rose is doing. Last I heard she's documenting and is the head of the volunteers for those that got hit by a cyclone," Marinette wondered, hoping to see the reporter again.

A ringing sound from her phone called off the train of thought. She promptly picked it up hoping to hold back any more tears when she read the caller ID.

"Salut Alya," she called out first hoping to hide her blues.

"Salut mon amie!" Alya's cheerful voice chirped from the other line. A wave of relief with a mix of sadness washed over her upon hearing her voice, while the intern continued, "Ugh, I'm just so annoyed right now, cuz my superiors aren't going to allow me to use my break early just to see you off. I know I said I would but it seems like I could only call you now."

"It's alright, just hearing your voice is fine for me," Marinette laughed a little at her want and need to see her off. But she was slightly disappointed to not being able to say goodbye to her best friend.

"I guess they saved that asshole from me. I can't promise that I wouldn't jump on the privileged rich boy the moment I see him," Alya grumbled away, making her laugh more at the thought of an angry Alya ripping the stone cold Felix apart in front of crowds of passengers. If that doesn't scream a news headline, then they'd be terrible reporters for it.

"I'll send him your regards and his safety," she teased, joining in the fun.

"Make sure to grab his ear while you do it," Alya instructed as she checked the time.

"My break's almost done. Good luck out there. Always stay safe and don't forget to call me when you're feeling down, OK? Don't just keep things to yourself. I'm always here to listen," she closed her statement feeling sad now that she'll be a country away.

"I will, don't worry I'll make time. Good bye Alya, thanks for everything," Marinette replied feeling her emotions well up once more.

"Good bye Marinette, see you soon," a hopeful smile etched on the young journalist's face.

The call ended just as the car arrived at her destination. She composed herself and placed on a white cloche hat as she fixed the collar of her blue trenchcoat dress, before putting on some sunglasses. She took her bags as the driver opened the door for her. She considered herself lucky for not having any reporter trailing behind her. Although she knew there were some who recognized her, especially Adrien's fans.

She remains vigilant over this as she paced towards the entrance of the train. She got into her cabin, thanking her stars once more for not having to deal with any fans going up to her questioning her reason for leaving or even their relationship. Perhaps this was one of the good things of Lila's charm, having all the attention on her gives Marinette the freedom to sneak out of the spotlight. She placed her items overhead and sat down comfortably in the cushioned seats. She took out her phone and some wireless earbuds to listen to another French to English online class to get her ready for her arrival.

She leaned back against the seat trying to relax. She mouthed the words spoken to get herself used to it, hopefully. It had only been ten minutes when she saw Felix board the train as well. They made eye contact for a split second, before he took a seat two rows in front of her.

It really is happening, she thought to herself while patiently waiting for the journey to begin.

...

Marinette took all of her things from the compartment and dragged it out of the train. Outside, Felix already had one of the employees help him with her luggage. He saw her coming out and waved her towards him, as if she wasn't already on the way there.

"Où aller ensuite?" she queried upon arrival, yet instead of answering her question he gave her a look before turning away. Puzzled, she glared at his ignorance and started calling him once more to catch his attention. It then occurred to her why, making her purse her lips hoping the sound would come out right.

"Where are we going to next?" she asked a lot quicker than her first time studying the language. This time he answered her, "You actually do speak English. I thought you'd have some thick French accent."

She was not impressed with what he said, retorting, "Like I said I have taken classes, I'm just not fluent at it. I practice my pronunciations with Adrien."

"I'm just teasing, love. No need to get too tense," he kidded as he took the trolley bag from her before she could say anything. She sighed and let it be as he lead them out of the terminal, where their ride was waiting. They stuffed all of her things inside one of the vehicles, while the rest were in the other one. She was going into the less crowded one, but Felix told her they should have lunch first. This caught her off guard as she quickly took the trolley out with her. He raised an eyebrow at her peculiar behavior as he asked, "I think it would be best to have your things delivered there now."

"I know, except for these. I have... expensive materials inside and I don't want them breaking while on the way," she made up an excuse as her heart was pounding in her ears when she remembered that the miracle box was inside. She was surprised when he left her off the hook. She didn't ask any further, instead she followed his steps to a restaurant nearby. She tried to stay in step with him as her eyes wandered around curiously. She couldn't help but feel entranced by the new country that she hadn't visited in a while. But it turns out this form of distraction can prove lethal when she nearly rammed into a post.

"Ouch!" she yelped in pain as she stared at the large post with a picture of an all too familiar model. She glared at it angrily before moving past it. She heard snickering from her companion in front, enjoying the pain she just felt.

"Twenty four years of walking and you still haven't got it right," he jested in an amused tone.

"Do you find joy in other people's suffering?" she snapped back in irritation. But a sly smile flashed before her as he answered, "Of course I do. It makes me feel better about myself."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny. It's not like you don't ha—

She wasn't able to finish that sentence as he pulled her closer to him, when he noticed she nearly rammed into a person.

"Watch out, you clutz," he called out as he pulled her by the arm towards him. She stumbled a little as she tried to get back on her feet. She scoffed at his brutish solution and was about to break free from his grasp. However, he merely adjusted her arm on his in a gentlemanly manner.

"I'd rather not have you running into things every single time," he pointed out to her. She conceded but with slight hesitation, "Are you sure," she glanced around, "that no one would... um, what's the word? Noticed?"

"It's notice, you're using the past tense, while you're referring to the present," he corrects her, "And no, no one would notice here. I'm not that of a popular face." With that they entered the restaurant without a problem.

They were guided to a table beside a small wall with plants growing on top. The pair sat opposite each other as they were handed the menu. Felix scanned through it without a problem as he made a decision. He looked at Marinette, opposite to him, looking at the menus with ferocity. She was reading it thoroughly while trying to understand the amount they would provide and the price it would be in Euros. She noticed that the prices here are higher than those at home. A hint of a smile crossed his face as he thought to himself, I really shouldn't think that she's that clueless.

She reached a verdict to her meal signaling him to start ordering. They placed their orders and waited for their food to arrive. For now the best course would be light conversation.

"How far is your loft from the establishment?" she asked hoping to fill the silence. He glanced at her replying, "It's around the same distance as the Trocadéro to the end of the Grand Palais. It'll be more or less 15 minutes to get there." She nodded and then asked what the loft would be like, such as the appliances and rooms available. She continued to ask more questions about her living space, then the location, the city, nearly everything she deemed she needed to know, mixing a few words with French when she forgot their English counterparts.

"Why don't you wait and find out once we get there?" he cut in to another question she was going to pose. It felt more like an interrogation than a conversation, with her holding the light above him trying to get out any information needed. She caught on after he interjected and realized her mistake.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I'm trying to practice my English. I got carried away," she bit her lip to try and stop her from adding more.

"I can see that, but even the words you choose sound more bookish than conversational," he points out, furthering their language lesson. "You lack any adverbs to add any character to yourself compared to how you speak French. Although that will take time before you can comfortably do that."

"You say that when you use technical words all the time," she grumbled to herself in French. But his face quickly shifted from shock to embarrassment to calm. This made her grin not really guilty that he heard it. They fell into a victorious silence, but luckily the food arrived not keeping them any longer. They focused on the sustenance in front of them, choosing to eat in silence. A good thing for Felix since he enjoyed eating in silence, as for Marinette she didn't get to hear his remarks any longer.

...

Marinette's jaw dropped at the large expanse she calls the living space. Her head spun at how large the living area was as it opened to the kitchen and dining room. She pulled her trolley and placed it beside the grey couch as she took in the white walls and view. She walked to the porch, opening the door to it and gliding her hands over the chairs outside with plants outlining the porch. She can't help but feel like this is too much for her to stay in. She turned around to see that Felix had another pompous grin on his face.

"Come on, there's more to see," he told her, gesturing to the rest of the loft. She rolled her eyes is his arrogant look but followed him in for the tour. They started with the first floor, still littered with her things as his started explaining the layout the first floor, "This floor consists of your living space connecting to the dining room good for hosting parties," he points out all the times as in the kitchen are up-to-date with an island and a bar. I asked the housekeeper to stock up the place for you," he mentioned, opening the fridge to show her the stock. "She'll be coming by every Friday to clean up. So if you want some places you don't want her in just tell me."
She asked, "Am I allowed to lock my room then? I don't like people in my things." He nodded and explained that she's still going to meet the housekeeper this Friday. She felt relieved by this, thinking it would be safe for her to leave the miracle box in the room.

"We have and extra room here that could be your work space," he brought the tour to the room under the staircase, it had a small bathroom at the very back of it with two doors, one to access it from the kitchen, and another through the office itself.

"It's really beautiful," she complimented as she touched the empty cabinets. This time a soft smile crowned his face, but he immediately hid it with a cough while ushering her up the stairs. Thankfully for him, she didn't see it, which made it confusing for her when he started pushing her out of the room. She shrugs off his unpredictable behaviour, thinking that it was just him being, well, him. They entered the first living space that now houses a gum equipment.

"This used to be the sitting room for this floor," he spoke as they walked. "I had it changed to gym when I'd want to work out by myself." She looked around setting her eyes on a specialized shelf that had different weight for the barbells and dumbbells, a yoga mat on top, and a skipping rope hanging on its side. The other larger equipment were the treadmill, pull-up bar, sit up bench, bench press, air bike, and boxing bag.
He glanced behind him to find her curiously tinkering over the equipment. An understanding hum emitted from his lips as he called out to her, "You're free to use it if you want. You will be staying here anyway." She stopped her sightseeing and turned back to face him whilst signaling, "Et où—where will my room be?"

He nudged his head across the hall while explaining the other extra room, "This is a guest room," he opened the door to the guestroom. "In case I have someone over when I retreat here. But you'll be staying in the main room, which is more accommodating than this." He gestured for her to open the door herself. She complied and was astonished with what she saw.
It was an elegant gray room with a king sized bed in the middle of the room with two cushioned chairs with matching pillows, and a glass table on the opposite of it. She stepped in and opened the bathroom which had black tiles and cabinets, while sink, walls, and tub was a polished white, and a small creative chandelier brightened up the room. There was a large mirror adjacent the sink, which surprised the young girl a little when she saw her reflection from the corner of her eye.

"C'est très grand! Jolie!" she exclaimed in a mixture of awe and confusion. Felix couldn't help but giggle at her starry eyed look, letting her off the hook when she burst in French.

"Why don't you check out the closet?" he told her as he opens the door inside the bathroom. Her eyes widened in surprise knowing that the door in the bathroom apparently led to the closet. She entered said room to find it was lined with shelves for both clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry.

"This, this is too much!" she cried not used to the rather luxurious living space. He cocked an eyebrow at her, confused by her overwhelmed expression.

"Didn't you live with Adrien? Aren't you used to this amount of wealth?" he blurted out.

"I did, but Adrien didn't shove this amount of wealth to my face. He tried to make me feel comfortable bit by bit," she defended, going back to her native tongue.

"How much is the rent?"

"Nine hundred and eighty pounds, or €1, 150," he answered smugly, knowing well enough that she can't afford it. Evidently, her jaw dropped to the floor as she weighed the price of it all.

"Don't worry," said the privileged one, "I'll be paying your living expense, but food and gas is on you. I'm already giving you this much allowance, all I ask in return is you pay it back with that amazing talent of yours," he reminded her of the reason for her stay.

"But do I really need this much space when I'm just starting out?" she questioned him pointing at the extravagance of it all.
"To protect you from the press? Yes," he answered walking out of the room. "Come one, we've got some unpacking to do."

She was at a loss of words, but nonetheless followed as he instructed. They started with sorting her things into where she'll be putting them.
"You can take these into the office over there," Marinette pointed to the one under the stairs. Felix nodded without complaint and grabbed the stacked boxes. She deliberated whether to add the unused cloths in her temporary office. But decided to bring to them to the walk in closet instead, there was a lot of room in there. She grabbed the box and brought it to the second floor. She placed it on the left side of the room, thinking she really wouldn't use all the space inside. Before she left, she tinkered around trying to find a safe place for the kwamis, she set a time limit of five minutes to find it while Felix was downstairs. She measured up the shelves to see if there's a false bottom somewhere. Three minutes, she checked all the shoe racks for ideas. Two minutes, it dawned to her that a false bottom could only exist in a place where they needed to hide something. The jewelry storage was a little problematic with how complex it was. One minute, maybe the answer was in the walls, she should just check it later. A heavy sigh escaped her lips when she chose to retreat. She opened the box to check it's contents, she cut through the tape then pulled out a satin sheet she bought last summer. She took it rather curiously once more since she hadn't seen it for a nearly year until yesterday's packing. But as she opened it something slipped out and landed on the floor.

Thump! A strange, irregular noise from the tile the item hit. She got down to check and realized that the tile's grout was slightly wider than the rest. She took the cutter from beside the box and tried to open it. She heard a click as the tile popped open. She removed it to find a small storage, just the right size for her 'sewing kit.' She turned her attention next to the item that fell, it was one of their couple rings for their third anniversary. Another wave of gloom washed over her, every time she thought she was moving on small things like this pops out of nowhere to remind her of the heartbreak. She heard footsteps approaching and pulled herself together, pushed back the tile, and wiped away her tears.

"Are you alright?" came Felix's concerned voice as he entered the room looking around. His eyes immediately landed on her sitting on the floor. She saw the concern in his eyes, probably worried she broke something. Or perhaps he knew about the secret storage, was he going to tell her not to use it? Multiple questions ran through her head completely ignoring him as he called out her name once more.

"Marinette, tu vas bien?" he called out again extending his hand to her. She quickly went back to her senses and assured him that she was fine, she just dropped something from inside the boxes. She took his hand as he helped her up. He eyed her suspiciously, as if he had a hunch on what happened, but let it be nonetheless. He lets go first and reminds her to be more careful next time, pointing out that there's still so much to do. She breathes in a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't poke any further.

Once everything has finally been in place, it was nearly eight already. Both where exhausted, each sprawled on their own couch.

"We're finally done," Marinette groaned into a pillow, tired yet happy that the work is done.

"We still need to have dinner. Good thing I ordered something," Felix whips out his phone to check how long till it will arrive

"Who said I'm inviting you to stay for dinner? By the way I hope it's chicken, I've been craving for it for a while now," she joked while giving her order.

"I own this place and you're basically a tenant. I can kick you out whenever I want," he replied. "And who said I was going to give you dinner? I just said we haven't eaten dinner yet," he points out as he lied on his side facing her. His face was met by a pillow thrown at him full force, before falling back on the couch.

"Whatever, I might as well empty your liquor instead," she answered, to what he assumed was sarcasm, yet she stood from her seat and went straight to his bar scanning the alcohol available. He followed her for fun, scanning the alcohol as well. She took a bottle of Cognac, clearly missing home. She placed the bottle on the island while she looked for the glasses. He took two coasters to keep the surface clean. She placed the glasses on top of them, then he poured the drinks.

"I thought you said you weren't inviting me for dinner?" he coyly asked as she took a glass of the alcohol.

"And I thought you said we weren't getting me dinner," she replied twirling the liquid in the glass.

"Touché," he grinned through the rim of the glass before drinking. After his sip he watched as Marinette poured herself another glass.

"Please don't tell me that you've suddenly become a bloody alcoholic as a coping mechanism," he asked recalling the times he saw her at the party where she never really downed that much alcohol, despite it just being wine. "Or were you always one," he opened the other possibility as she downed another glass for no reason. He watched as she forced a smile on her face denying what he just said.

"Come on, I drink like this whenever I'm with my friends and Alya," she defended herself placing the half empty glass back on the counter.

Lies, he thought to himself as memories of parties with Adrien's acquaintances reminded him that she would never go this heard without not complaining. He placed his hand over her drink as she was about to raise it to her lips again.

"Don't drink too much, we still haven't eaten yet," he casually reminded her, trying not to let her go overboard. She groaned at this but followed since he was right, and it's preferable to not  drink when you're hungry. She sighed and replied in an annoyed tone, "Fiiiiiiine. But how long am I supposed to wait?"

"Just for ten minutes it's not that long," he answered taking another sip from his cup.

"Hey, how come you get to drink and I can't?" she whined at him as she pulled his drink from him. Before he could answer there was a call from their order. He stood up and took his coat and wallet before leaving and warned her, "They're earlier than expected. I'm going down to get our food, and when I come back the Cognac is still at the same height and taste. Or else I'm taking the food straight to my place."

She made a mock salute as a reply and promise that she wouldn't touch the alcohol. But he couldn't take her word for it, especially seeing how she didn't hesitate to steal a bottle of tequila last time. Where was that bottle? Realization dawned on him as he paid for their food. He rushed to the lift wishing that it would go faster, once on the right floor he made a dash for the room sliding in the key. Lo and behold there she was drinking the tequila he had remembered. He sighed in defeat, angry at her for finding the loophole, but he respected the hustle. She smirked at his face, rather proud of her own work.

"Why do you have to be so goddamn smart all the time?" was the only thing he could say when he placed down their food.

"That's only because you're an idiot," she answered rather smugly as she took her meal. He rolled his eyes at this Marinette, since drunk Marinette is mean Marinette. His solution to this was to just keep quiet. Luckily for him, it worked the entire meal. Neither of them said a word to each other, which meant neither of them could swear at each other. At least that's what he thought the entire meal would go.

"Do you have anything stronger? I've taken piss stronger than this," she remarked rather gruffly, glaring at the empty bottle on the table.

"But you're the one who brought it," he answered calmly wanting to disengage now.

"Don't be a smartass and hand me over something better, crevad."

"Rather not, one bottle is enough for you."

"Fine, I'll get it myself then. Since that's the only thing I'm useful for. Doing everything myself. Planning, scheming and deciding whatever the fuck we were supposed to eat, just because you haven't made a single shitty decision your entire life," she spat out while reaching for the Cognac beside her.

"What? I was the one who ordered dinner tonight," he said rather confused by what she was saying.

"It's a onetime thing," she points her glass of alcohol at him as it spills a little. "I'm the head of the entire operation since none of you actually made a decent backup plan just in case mine busts."

"Wait, are you talking about Adrien?"

"No, I'm talking about Andre the ice cream man. Yes I'm talking about you shithead!"

She then continues her rambles about her marital life at him, as if he's the one at fault. He didn't even need to pretend to be Adrien when she's drunk at this point, she'll probably just assume that he is. He let her ramble on completely ignoring her cries and tears knowing she'll stop soon.

"I even planned our family together. Little Emma who looks like you, next Louis with your eyes, and our little Hugo who you said would look like me. Even our hamster and we'll name him whatever the hell we wanted to call him. Now they're all gone, even that stupid cat that's supposed to be mine!" Marinette rambled on before taking another drink, but this time Felix reacted. He furrowed his eyebrows at her, he stood up from his seat, and stood in front of her.

"What cat? Is the cat still with him?" he asked in concern and need to know. She raised an eyebrow at him, rather confused with what he said.

"What cat? We don't own a cat," she answered plainly.

"Earlier you said you had a cat. What's the cat's name?" he pressed.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't own a fucking cat, I fucked that idiot of a cat. Stop judging me! I'm not a furry!"

He gritted his teeth knowing he wouldn't get to confirm the answer. Instead he took his things and told her he was leaving, "Never mind forget I ever asked. I'll take my leave now. Rest well and don't open your door to strangers."

"I'm not an effing kid, I know what to do," she answered following him to the door. He sighed shaking his head at her drunken behaviour.

"Good night," he bid goodbye.

"Good riddance," she answered as she locked the door behind.

"God, he had a nice ass," she drunkenly smiled to herself.

Salut mon amie – Hi, my friend
Où aller ensuite – Where to next
C'est très grand! Jolie! – It's very big! Pretty!
Tu vas bien? – Are you alright?