"You need to leave!" Chat Noir had stormed into Félix's (his) villa without a care if Kagami was in there.

Félix looked up from his phone, his face devoid of all emotion. "No."

"Félix, come on. You've had your fun. Now leave us to it." With what had happened last night in the Mr and Mrs Valentine Island contest, they couldn't both continue staying here. Someone needed to go, and it wasn't going to be him.

"Had my fun?" his cousin hissed, low and aggressively. "You're the one who decided to bring feathers into the conversation."

"What have feathers got to do with anything?"

Félix went to speak. His mouth opened then closed abruptly. Before opening it again and finally speaking. "Are you trying to sell me out?"

"Says the one who made a joke about my mother!" They stood, staring at each other, and Chat Noir was close to charging over and taking Félix down. He could do it! Félix was a weed in comparison—all book smarts without anything to back it up. "You need to leave before I make you leave."

"We had a deal, remember. If you weren't so competitive we wouldn't be having this issue right now!"

Chat Noir felt his jaw tighten. "Apologise!" he demanded, only to be met with the huff of his cousin.

"Make me!"

Chat Noir felt his fist clench as he stepped forward, and Félix held his hands up in front of him to defend himself from the incoming attack.

"Kagami's sleeping," Félix said, standing up from his bar stool, hands still raised. It was then that Adrien realised the lack of clothing on Félix's part, or should he say parts. His cousin stood in front of him, bottom as bare as the day he was born.

"For goodness sake, have at least a little bit of dignity." Chat Noir slammed his hands over his eyes and turned away from his cousin. Dear Lord, nobody wanted to see that!

Félix's voice was full of amusement. "If my girl wants the body, it would be rude of me to ignore her."

"Too much information!"

"Oh, come on. You wanted her once as well." He heard Félix moving around the room, obviously picking up some of the clothing that had been thrown around in a haste he didn't want to think about. "By the way, I hope you don't mind, but I plan on marrying your ex."

"Be my guest," Chat Noir mumbled, almost jumping out of his skin as a hand tapped him on the shoulder. Pulling his arms away from his face, he noticed Félix standing in front of him in grey cotton shorts and a white vest. His grey cotton shorts and white vest. "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

Félix shrugged. "You left some in the wardrobe, and they looked comfortable."

"But they're mine."

"Don't get so tetchy! I'm only stealing your clothes, you have millions of these things. It's not like I'm stealing your girlfriend—again. To be honest, she sounds pretty into you at the moment, too."

He could feel his face begin to glow, the heat radiating from him a thousand degrees hotter than the sun. "We were just...I was...she wanted..."

Félix held up a hand. "Let's go for a walk. You can apologise as we go."

He rolled his eyes at Félix. He was one of his best friends, yet infuriated him more than anyone else—including Plagg.

Hesitantly, Chat Noir studied the back of his cousin, considering the best option. Should he follow him and find out what he had to say, or stand here like a buffoon having no idea what his next step should be.

"Two seconds. Plagg, claws in."

Plagg flew from his spot in Adrien's ring and froze in front of his face.

"Be careful, Kid. I'm still not sure I trust him."

Adrien looked beyond his kwami to where Félix stood at the doorway. Plagg was right, Félix had given him reason, time and time again, to not trust him, but there was a big difference now. Kagami trusted him, and Adrien trusted Kagami's judgement more than he trusted his own. If she trusted Félix there was no reason to doubt her. Plus, he was going to get an apology out of the guy—even if it killed him.

But he also trusted Plagg, literally, with his life. "I promise I'll be careful. But everyone deserves a second chance...right?"

Plagg sighed, the drooped shoulders almost a sure sign of defeat. "I trust you, Kid. Carry on, but be careful."

"Plagg, claws out." The green light shone over him before he called for his power down, heading outside the villa and meeting Félix on the terrace. "So, where did you want to go?"

Félix shrugged. "Maybe down to the beach. There's a cove or something that's meant to be quite a spectacle."

Chat Noir laughed. "Are you going to kill me or something?"

"Sure," Félix responded, leading the way through the trees and down towards the beach. "I mean, it's not like you have superpowers that could turn me to ash with a single word."

"I won't have to consider it if you apologise."

They stood at the top of the steep staircase, Chat Noir crossing his arms over his chest and waiting. Waiting for the apology he wasn't sure would come.

A sigh of defeat was followed by a quick "I'm sorry" from Félix. "Your turn."

Unfolding his arms, he offered an olive branch in the shape of a hand. "I'm sorry, too."

Félix looked at it suspiciously before moving slowly to shake it in an unspoken gentleman's settlement: 'If you do it again, I'm going to punch you in the face.'

They made their way down the rocky path before descending the stairs, which led to the private beach. It had been ages since he'd properly spent any time with Félix, and, he hated to admit, he missed it. They'd always been close as children. Himself, Félix, and Chloé would spend ample amounts of time together as their parents gathered to do whatever adults did at that point. Adrien couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't met Kagami through all of this, especially with the amount of time Tomoe spent around their mansion now.

"This way." Félix made his way across the sand towards a selection of rocks in the corner, guiding Chat Noir around them and into a small cove. It was very quiet and quaint, but the thought was still there that maybe Félix had found the perfect place to dispose of a body.

His cousin sat on a rock before picking up a small one, throwing it out into the sea with a satisfying plop. "I've got to say cousin, you have good taste in resorts. This one is quite the treat." Treat. Yeah right! This has been nothing but hell since he'd arrived... Okay, not all of it had been hell; there were some heavenly bits.

"We need to end this. I need to tell her who I am, or at least tell her you're you."

Félix sat in silence for a moment, playing with the stone in his hand, passing it from one to the other before rolling it in between his thumb and forefinger. The glare he held was strong, unfazed. Almost like he was looking into his soul. "You know who she is, don't you?"

Folding his arms over his chest, Chat Noir wasn't sure if it was for his protection or his partners. "And so what if I do?"

Félix remained still for a moment before shaking his head and standing. He walked over to the edge of the cove and threw the stone as far as he could. "What's love mean to you, Chat Noir?"

"Devotion. Intimacy. Romance. Trust. You?"

Bending his knees, Félix bent to the ground, picking up another stone and bouncing it in his hand–tossing it up and catching it before launching it into the sea. "I've never felt this way before, Adrien. Kagami is just...special. I just want to be with her all the time. She makes me smile. She sends my head and my heart spinning, and I just want to make her happy. I've never wanted to make someone happy before. Love affects everyone differently, I get that, but there's one thing that's the same between you and me—"

"What's that?" Chat Noir interrupted, moving to stand beside him, his hands hanging at his sides.

"We both become obsessive."

Adrien continued standing in silence. The hush of waves, brushed in and out of the cave, caressing the rocks in a soft and soothing melody of time moving forward.

"Do you know who she is? Do you know who Ladybug is?" Chat Noir asked, a slight tremor in his voice.

Félix picked up another rock and launched it, with Chat Noir following.

Chat Noir smiled as his rock bypassed his cousin's.

"If you two had been any louder yesterday afternoon, maybe I would."

Chat Noir felt his cheeks heat. He turned away and headed back to the rocks, sitting down on a large one and trying to tone down the furnace igniting on his face.

"No need to be embarrassed," Félix laughed, moving his way over to sit down beside Chat Noir. "Was that your first time?"

With a mighty groan, Chat Noir covered his face and dropped it between his legs.

"I'll take that as a yes. Listen, I'm not here to judge. I'm just...curious."

"If you really must know then, yes, she was...she is..."

Félix moved closer, joining Chat Noir on his rock and clamping a hand on his shoulder. "It's about time," he cackled. "So, you want to reveal your identity because you now know hers, but if I'm here, it's going to make things complicated."

Chat Noir nodded. "That about sums it up."

Gentle splashes sprinkled water over them as they sat looking out on the Mediterranean Sea. It was so calm and peaceful here. If only things weren't so complicated. Chat Noir's mind was swirling, and, although she promised it didn't matter who he was—all that mattered was that he loved her unconditionally both inside and outside of the mask—he couldn't help worrying that she was going to feel betrayed.

"Does the deal still stand?" Félix asked, his voice barely heard over the crashing of waves.

The deal. Of course he'd still want to have 'the deal'. "If you and Kagami leave right now, I'll give you whatever you need."

He turned his attention to Félix, watching his cousin pout in obvious thought.

"I'm not ready to go quite yet. You know as soon as we get home it's all going to go back to normal shit, and I won't get to spend time with Kagami." Félix was looking out over the sea, a serene look on his face that Chat Noir had never seen before. "You know her mother only allowed her here because she thinks she's with you. Your father's apparently really happy about it too."

Guilt crept over Chat Noir. Félix was right. This was his only chance to be with Kagami without Gabriel or Tomoe getting involved. It was clear neither of them liked Félix, but it was equally clear Kagami adored Félix. But, as much as he wanted his cousin and friend to have their happily ever after, he wanted his own, too.

"He wouldn't be so happy if we embarrassed him." Chat Noir's sudden train of thought was so coated in Félix vibes it terrified him, but the idea would work—he had no doubts about it.

Félix moved his attention to Chat Noir's face, his own eyes widening.

"We both know my father holds our name to a high standard."

Félix's shocked expression transformed itself into a wide, obnoxious grin. "It'd be a shame if that was ruined at the last hurdle."

Reading each other the way they always had, they formed an alliance with one enemy in mind: Gabriel Agreste.