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The roof of Le Grand Paris is awfully empty today, with even Chloe, lover of sunbathing, unusually absent. Not that Multimouse is complaining - she'll take the relative peace and quiet during a training session over Queen Bee's complaining any day.
A nice breeze settles over her as she watches over the city. Somewhere, near the school, she can hear a few kids getting out of their clubs and laughing at their newfound freedom. The world is theirs to explore, at least until the next day when they'd have to go back.
She can't help but enjoy it for herself. She loses herself to her thoughts until she hears a subtle landing behind her.
"You're here early," Viperion greets, "I thought we weren't starting for another fifteen minutes?"
"We can start now if you want," she says, "It would make things easier for me too."
"Sounds good to me. How should we do this?"
She takes out a small butterfly toy, placing it in his hand. "Activate Second Chance and then go ahead and hide this somewhere. When you return, I'll look for it. Once I find it or time starts running out, you reset and pick a new place to hide it. And we do a total of ten rounds"
He has no objections, doing just as she requests. Before she knows it, the ten rounds have passed, with him recapping each loop to her. It feels a lot like the way surgery has been described to her; done and over before she could even think about it. Except in this case, Viperion was the one who ended up with the whiplash rather than her.
He recalls each round with accurate detail, even if he isn’t able to recall every move she makes. Her first victory came from her spotting the butterfly on the window, and dropping down onto it by creating a chain of Multimice. Another round had her resolve the riddle of an answer that Viperion kept dropping on her. That’s the round he seems to gush about the most, his smile wider than ever, and brighter than the summer sun in the middle of the afternoon.
“...And I just couldn’t seem to beat you,” he says, “You won seven out of ten rounds. I’m not sure how I was even able to win three of them.”
His smile is still present, but something in his eyes settles down, like ocean waves that threatened to crash down now gently caressing sandy land.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she says, patting his shoulder, “You did really well.”
“You don’t have any way of knowing that.”
“Don’t I? You recalled each round and the conditions of my victories. And before you ask, I know you’re not lying. Ladybug wouldn’t have picked you if she wasn’t sure she could trust you, and we both know she doesn’t trust liars,” she explains, “So I trust that you did your best.”
A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, one that she’s used to seeing. It’s not quite the same as when Luka smiles at Marinette fondly for something she said or did, even if she messed up, but it’s friendly and inviting. She can’t help but return it, and next time she sees him, she’ll have to chastise him for making happiness so contagious.
“I’m glad,” he admits, staring down at his hand, “I know I’m not much of a front-line fighter like Chat Noir or Queen Bee are, and my power requires proper understanding and attention to detail to use well. If I don’t time it right, I could end up looping mindlessly and forget important details that lead to our victory.”
“You’re worried that you’ll get overwhelmed by your emotions?”
He regards her quietly before nodding. “If you knew me outside the suit, you might think I’m a pretty mellow, chill person. And I do what I can to stick to that. But there are days when I think Hawkmoth could take me and make me terrorize the city.”
There’s a faraway look in his eye, and she’s at a complete loss trying to interpret what it might mean. He’s always been the dreamy type, in more ways than one, a thought at which she blushes. But there’s no smile, and he’s not happy to be in this daze. It’s more as if he’s started to see a nightmare unfold before his very eyes.
She places a hand on his shoulder gently, coaxing him from the vision.
“I have your back. If anything happens to you, I’ll make sure to stop it.”
She’s never seen him so taken aback before, so caught off-guard.
“Thank you.”
--
There isn't a reason she should be as jittery as she is right now - she literally just saw Luka yesterday! And this hadn't been their first time on a date either, even if it had been a double date.
But here she is, trying to decide between three outfits, four if she mixed and matched pieces. When she finally decides that her best bet is a white halter top, a denim skirt and a black jacket, she scrambles to put it all on before rushing out the door, hoping to not trip over her own feet.
Something about walking to the park feel different. Perhaps it’s because there’s more of a skip in her walk, or how she seems to take in the scenery a bit more as she passes it by. The green of the grass pops out at her, and the blue skies above promise nothing less than a peaceful, fulfilling day. A flower stand is open nearby, selling daisies and sunflowers, and she’s never been happier to see such a joyous shade of yellow.
Spring is always a special time in Paris. More and more tourists come to the city to visit, with museums and restaurants gaining more business, and every park and street are filled to capacity with people looking for adventure. Thankfully, at this time of day, it seems that most people are still either fast asleep or enjoying a late breakfast at their hotels, immune to the wonders of nature outside.
He sits on the park bench, his bike parked next to him, and just as happy to see the sky be at peace. Contentedness shines in his eyes, and only grows stronger as he catches her strolling up to him.
“I think we picked the right day for this,” he says, allowing her to sit down, “It’s not so crowded yet, so the birds won’t mind sticking around here that much.”
“As long as we have birds to sketch, I’m quite alright. But it is rather nice and quiet today.”
Her pen dances across the page, copying each little detail of the bird and translating it into design. The feathers made up the design of a mini skirt, which she then decides to lengthen to one that falls a little past the knees. Not sure which she likes better, she leaves both and begins to design a white halter top to wear underneath a cardigan. She’s not sure if she likes black, brown or green to compliment the colors of the wood pigeon, so she redraws the piece and colors them to see the results.
Luka relaxes beside her, just taking in the sight of a Saturday morning at the park, and listening to the birds chirp. She wonders if perhaps that wasn’t why he left his guitar at home for the day. Actually, she’s started to see it with him less and less, and she hoped it hadn’t been because of an artist’s block of sorts, especially since the music festival is supposed to be happening again in a couple of weeks.
Still, there’s something oddly comforting about sitting in silence with Luka. There’s never a need to rush into a conversation, and she never feels judgmental eyes on her, begging her to say something and make things less awkward for him .
Perhaps that’s why she eventually finds herself leaning against his arm, too lost in thought to realize it until she finally looks up and finds him sleeping. Even asleep, he doesn’t make a single sound, and is completely still, as if moving would inconvenience her rather than himself.
She can’t blame him though. The spring sun offers heat without being overwhelming, making it the ideal temperature for an outdoor nap. When had been the last time she even took a nap? Juggling school, Ladybug duties, her hobbies and extracurriculars, she wondered how she even managed to get any sleep at all.
She stares out into space for a little too long, so content with the colors popping from the plants and sky, or consumed by the thought of the sky looking like a dome to a never-ending garden. Her eyes flutter shut, suddenly overwhelmed by these thoughts, and finds herself drifting off to sleep next to Luka, cradling her sketchbook against her chest.
---
“ Hey, Marinette?”
“Hm?”
“I think we fell asleep.”
“Mhm.”
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s ok.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I know it’s not the most exciting thing in the world to just fall asleep on the park bench when we’re hanging out.”
“A day off from excitement isn’t going to kill us. Opposite, really.”
“Well, if you insist. We can just sit and listen to the music of the world together.”
“Oh? Is that why you didn’t bring your guitar?”
“Well sorta. But also… I usually need it so people understand me. With you though… I feel like you get me without having to try so hard.”
“I hope we’re not dreaming. Because I feel the same way.”
“...Can you feel my hand? My fingers wrapped around yours?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, then this is real.”
“...Good.”