Chapter Text
“You know,” Luka said, “this time of year always reminds me of an old Scottish legend Ma used to tell me and Juleka when we were younger.”
“Oh? ”
They were at Parc de Bercy, occupying one of the benches amongst the changing leaves of autumn. Luka had been kind enough to escort Marinette through Bercy Village, in search of new fabrics from one of the many boutique shops in the area. The eye-catching colours of the trees had convinced the both of them to take detour and enjoy the foliage.
He nodded. “Mhmn. She used to tell us about the Ghillie Dhu.”
Marinette scrunched her nose, not wanting to butcher that pronunciation. “The what now?”
Luka chuckled, “The Ghillie Dhu.” He grabbed his acoustic from its resting place against the bench and began plucking the strings with a light, airy tune that set the mood. “On an evening, many moons ago, a village child wandered off into the woods while and ended up getting lost.
A quick breeze ruffled the leaves around them as he continued playing. “Suddenly, a dark haired man with moss and leaves for clothes appeared before the child. Alas, it was not a man, but a fairy, the Ghillie Dhu, that stood before the child. Though he was considered a wild kind of spirit, the Ghillie Dhu held a deep kindness in his heart. He took the child into his forest domain and kept them safe until the next morning when he safely guided them home.”
He let the last note ring out into the wind and Marinette gave him a satisfied applause.
“Excellent story telling as always, Monsieur Couffaine.”
“Thank you, thank you,” Luka bowed his head briefly before setting the guitar back against the bench
“I don’t think it’d be so bad though,” said Marinette. “Getting lost in a forest, especially if it looked like this!”
“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”
Luka turned his head from the scenery to give her a small smile, and Marinette swore her heart caught in her throat for a moment; The electric blue of his hair and hoodie contrasted brightly against the red foliage of the park. The light filtering through the leaves painted glowing patches of sun on his skin. Luka always appeared soft, not only within his personality, but his kind eyes and gentle demeanor.
Marinette often thought that Luka was too good for the world, but in that moment, he truly seemed otherworldly, like the fairy from the myth that had her utterly captivated.
“Yeah,” she exhaled. “It really is.”
Marinette was sure that her face matched the colour of the scenery when she placed her hand atop of his. She was only half sure she could see, out of the corner of her eyes, his face pink briefly when she nudged her fingers between his.
She was extra sure that Luka grew a little brighter when she gave his hand a gentle squeeze and let her head rest on his shoulder. Marinette would have thought she was in a dream, if not for the pressure of Luka’s thumb running against her skin that was definitely real and felt utterly right.
She felt the pressure of his head resting on top of hers and had to bite back what definitely would be a super embarrassing sigh.
“Do you, uh, wanna get back to shopping?” he asked.
“Mmn,” Marinette snuggled her head deeper into him. “I like where I am just fine.”