Chapter Text
Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God . Luka’s confession rang through Marinette’s head, playing a non-stop loop of the sweet, romantic words he had expressed earlier that day. She had never expected Luka to become akumatized -- he was one of the most laid-back, peaceful people she knew -- but to become akumatized because of her, and how much he cared about her...It had her thoughts in a jumble and her heart racing. Not to mention he had confessed to her not once but twice , using the same exact words.Luka must have composed that confession and memorized it to the point of being able to recall it even when he was a supervillain. Marinette immensely preferred Luka’s confession over Silencer’s.
As soon as she got home, Marinette flopped on her bed and buried her face in her pillow.
“Ugh, Tikki, what am I gonna DO?” She groaned. The red kwami flew up and rubbed her paws soothingly on her Chosen’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, Marinette. It’ll all work out.”
“How do you know that Tikki? Luka just declared his love for me, but you know I’m in love with Adrien!”
The kwami shook her head in exasperation, then nuzzled her head against Marinette’s cheek.
“Maybe it’s time to consider other options?” She suggested softly, “I know you have feelings for Adrien, but Luka adores you so much. Why not at least give him a chance?”
Marinette was quiet for a moment as she considered her Kwami’s words. “Nope! No way. You know there’s only one statue that makes my compass go wild,” she sighed, picturing her charming prince in her mind.
Her Kwami giggled, “That’s not what I see. You were so happy when Silencer confessed and you thought Luka may feel the same way. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen your eyes light up so quickly.”
Marinette flushed, her earlier excitement coming back to her, which only added to the confusion in her mind. She tried her best to straighten out her thoughts, but it was like trying to sew using a broken machine - every time she tried to get it in order, the machine jammed and she was left with a tangled mess. Tikki watched the emotions playing out on Marinette’s face and sighed.
“Oh Marinette. You heard for yourself that Adrien is in love with someone else. Why not give yourself a shot at happiness with another person?”
Marinette opened her mouth in rebuttal, but found herself at a loss for words. Her mouth snapped shut and she grumbled, her Kwami giggling in amusement.
“You don’t have to rush into anything right away. Just take it slow, and give him a shot. Who knows, maybe there’s another prince who can sweep you off your feet?” The Kwami winked at Marinette, causing her to flounder and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she fought for something to say.
“I don’t know Tikki… I’ll think about it.”
“I’m sure that’s all that Luka wants.” Tikki said, kissing Marinette’s cheek with a light butterfly kiss.
Marinette nodded and felt her heart warm at the thought. Tomorrow....tomorrow would be a new day.
~~~~
“Hey, Mari,” a deep voice murmured right beside her ear, startling Marinette. She jumped, moving away from her desk, dropping her pen and interrupting her conversation with Alya. She flushed, looked up, and felt herblush deepen as her eyes met Luka’s electric blues.
“La--Luka!” she exclaimed in surprise. She glanced to the side to avoid his gaze, resisting the urge to hide her face in her hands.
Luka chuckled, leaning back and folding his arms. “Hi there, Ma-ma--Marinette.”
“What’s up?” She asked, trying in vain to calm her racing heart.
“Oh, nothing much.” A smile appeared on his face. “ Just wanted to see if you would like to see a movie with me after school.”
Marinette found her eyes drawn beyond Luka, unintentionally locking gazes with a pair of brilliant, forest green eyes. She snapped her eyes back to Luka’s and spluttered for a moment, her hands starting to frantically wave as she fumbled for something to say.
Oh crap, say something Marinette, anything!
“No thanks!”
Marinette felt the blood drain from her face as she watched Luka’s expression fall, his eyes becoming downcast and shoulders slumping. Distraught at his expression, she scrambled for words. “I mean! I’d love to, but... um, you see...m-my parents already asked me to help out at the bakery after school. I’m sorry, Luka. Maybe next time?”
Luka sighed before giving her his signature charming smile. “Sure thing, Marinette. Let me know when you’re free next, okay?”
“S-sure! I’ll let you know as soon as I’m available.” Marinette smiled, although on the inside she was screeching at herself. Luka grinned and nodded, giving her another pat on the head before leaving her classroom.
Marinette groaned as soon as he had left the room, laying her head on the table.
“Oh my god, girl. That was like the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Alya bit her lip and winced.
“Please tell me that didn’t just happen.” Marinette whined, shame eating its way into her heart and spreading guilt throughout her body.
“Oh, it happened. And let me tell you, the second-hand embarrassment is killing almost everyone in the class.” Alya said, placing a sympathetic hand on her best friend’s shoulder.
Marinette chanced a glance around the room, finding most of her classmate’s eyes were on her. She immediately ducked her head to avoid any eye contact, her cheeks flaming.
“Juleka in particular looks disappointed. She must know how much Luka likes you.” Alya commented.
“God, don’t remind me,” Marinette resisted the urge to look at Juleka, dreading that she’d be met with sad, despondent eyes. Or worse, judging eyes - Juleka cared deeply for her brother and here she was, hurting him in full view of his sister. She felt terrible.
“Mari, why are you so against being with Luka?” Alya asked, her eyebrows creased in concern. “You told me about his confession, and although it wasn’t straightforward, he obviously likes you a lot. Why not give him a chance?”
Why does everyone keep saying that? Marinette’s eyes were drawn again to the boy in front of her with hair that shone like sunlight. She shook her head, trying to clear her racing thoughts, but it was no use. They fractured and scrambled, flitting away to join a thousand other tessellating thoughts as soon as she tried to focus on one.
“I...I don’t know. I really l-like Luka, truly I do, but I can’t just... give up so easily. I still really really like Adrien.” she whispered into Alya’s ear, hoping her voice was quiet enough that no one else could hear.
“Is it really giving up though, or just shooting for someone better?”
Marinette found herself once again at a loss for words, and not because she was flustered. Her mouth opened and closed as she fought for something to say, but ultimately ended up snapping her jaw shut and burrowing her face into her arms. Alya, in sympathy, enveloped her friend in her arms and pulled her to her chest.
“Just give it some thought, Marinette,” Alya crooned as she stroked Marinette’s hair,“I know you like Luka; I’ve seen the way you look at him, but your feelings towards Adrien are holding you back. You’ve gotta let him go, girl. There’s someone better out there for you.” Alya murmured.
Marinette shook her head, her heart twisting in two. To her horror, she felt tears spark in her eyes, and she struggled to get herself under control. Alya felt the whine building in Marinette’s throat and continued to stroked her hair soothingly, whispering quiet words of reassurance as Marinette buried her face in her neck to hide her emotions.
The two remained like that until Madame Bustier walked in.
“Okay, Class. Let the lesson begin.”
~~~
Though Alya offered to walk her home that day, Marinette refused; she didn’t want to burden her. It had started to rain, and luckily Marinette had remembered an umbrella this time, but her friend had forgotten hers. .
“You have to babysit your sisters when you get home, right? Please don’t let me keep you.” As a silent thank you, Marinette handed her umbrella over to Alya, shaking her head when Alya tried to return it.
Alya hesitated before walking away from the school with a conflicted expression on her face. “You’ll call me if anything happens, right?” she asked, concern blowing her eyes wide.
“Of course. You’ll be the first person I alert if I’m ever akumatized.” Marinette promised, though she knew she would never let herself be akumatized in the first place. Alya smiled and nodded before turning and running towards her home.
“You know, Marinette, Alya has good reasons for worrying about you being akumatized.” A little red shape flew up from Marinette’s bag, flying in front of her face. Marinette’s head swivelled around, looking for potential witnesses, but found none. She sighed.
“You know I’d never let myself get Akumatized over something this small.” Marinette grumbled as she reached down and picked up her school bag, slinging it across her shoulders.
“It’s almost happened once or twice before. Just be careful, Marinette. You are the one in control of you emotions, not Hawk Moth.”
“I know.” Marinette sighed, scooping up the red Kwami and bringing her to her cheek. “Don’t worry. I won’t ever let myself be akumatized, you can trust me Tikki.”
Marinette suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she squeaked, hiding Tikki from sight as she shoved her hand into her purse. She looked up and was met with a shock of blue.
“Mind if I walk you home?” Luka asked, his voice soft.
Marinette, feeling bad for her behavior earlier, simply nodded her head. Luka smiled and opened his umbrella before stepping out into the rain, turning back to face her and holding the umbrella out, offering her cover beneath. She quickly moved forward under the dry space so she was pressed right up against the tall boy. As the two leisurely walked in the direction of the bakery, Marinette found herself chancing a glance up to look at Luka. His face was turned forward but she noticed a small smile lighting up his expression and how his left hand was casually placed in his jacket pocket. She was transfixed, tracing his features with her eyes. He really was handsome.
Suddenly, she noticed his eyes were staring back at her. She gasped, snapping her head away as her cheeks turned red. “S-sorry!” she exclaimed.
“For what?” Luka laughed, “I don’t mind if you stare at me, Marinette.” he winked and Marinette’s heart went into overdrive. The two walked in silence for a while, the sound of their footsteps splashing through puddles accompanied the sound of the rain.
“I love the rain.” Luka murmured.
Marinette’s head swiveled to meet Luka’s eyes. “Oh?” she tilted her head in curiosity, “Why is that?”
“Because whenever it rains, the whole mood of the city changes. It becomes something gentle, more peaceful. The rain cleanses the earth and creates its own symphony for the world to hear.” Luka smiled and closed his eyes, “I love the music the rain makes.”
Marinette gazed at him for a moment before smiling herself and looking towards the sky, watching as the raindrops splashed on the ground.
“You know, your song’s changed.” Luka casually said. He paused for a moment and Marinette struggled to find a response to his words. Fortunately, he continued speaking:
“It’s become more confident. I think you’re coming up on an important decision in your life, but I know you’re ready to handle it.” an affectionate grin spread across Luka’s face and he casually slipped the umbrella into his left hand and slung his right arm across Marinette’s shoulders. She jumped slightly at the contact, but ended up leaning into his embrace, their sides resting against each other. He was so warm, like a fresh croissant straight from the oven.
“I like the rain too.” she murmured, avoiding his gaze. “It always seems to bring people closer together.”
Luka grinned and squeezed her to him in an affectionate gesture. In no time at all the two had arrived back at the bakery. Marinette turned at the door to look up at Luka, an appreciative smile on her face.
“Thanks for walking me home, Luka.”
“Anytime, Mari.” Luka leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Marinette’s cheek before turning, raising the umbrella above him. He raised a hand casually and waved as he walked away. Marinette found herself waving back, watching as his form disappeared in the mist of the rain.
“You know, you can stop waving now.” came a small voice, Tikki flying up in front of Marinette’s face. Marinette squeaked and immediately snapped her arm down, embarrassment flushing her face.
“Sorry, guess I was lost in thought.” she pressed a cool hand to her warm cheek. Tikki giggled in amusement.
“Oh, Marinette. What are we going to do with you?” the Kwami shook her head in mock exasperation. “You poor, lovesick puppy.”
“Shush you!” Marinette said, scooping the red bug into her hand and back into the purse before entering the door to the bakery.
“I’m home!”