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Luka did not like to meddle. He preferred to observe, taking in and blending in with the world around him. Always going with the flow. Meditation had largely been the reason for his unending calmness. He was in tune with the world and the people in it, a silent vigil to its vastness. Meddling only upset that balance, made things worse.
But he had no choice.
There was very little he wouldn’t do for Marinette’s sake. This seemed like such a small price to pay to see her radiant smile again, to see her pretty blue eyes glowing with joy. It had been so long since he’d seen her truly happy and he wanted desperately to get that smile back on her face.
And he knew there was only one way he was going to be able to do that.
Adrien was expecting him. It wasn’t often that the blonde model was free to hang out but Luka had insisted they really needed to talk and eventually he’d been penciled into the complex Agreste household schedule.
“Luka,” Adrien greeted him at the door. He seemed well and truly pleased to have someone over. Luka wished he were here under better circumstances but Adrien seemed utterly oblivious to his solemn attitude.
“My room?” Adrien asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Luka nodded and followed Adrien up the staircase.
“So,” Adrien said cheerfully. “Do you like video games? I have Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Or we could jam out. I’ve got my piano.” He looked back at Luka in dismay. “You didn’t bring your guitar?”
Luka shook his head and pursed his lips. Adrien seemed to finally catch onto the mood and he turned rather meek.
"I-have I upset you? Is that why you’re here?" Adrien closed the door as they crossed the threshold to his room.
Luka smiled weakly. “No, of course not. I’m not upset with you Adrien.”
Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck. "So...you said there was something you needed to talk to me about. What is it?"
Luka pulled in a deep breath, trying not to let his nerves get the best of him. He had to approach this delicately if he wanted to get it right.
“I wanted to talk to you about Marinette actually.”
Adrien smiled but seemed rather confused. So he really was that oblivious then. “Marinette?” he asked. “What about her?”
Luka twisted one of his wristbands around, fidgeting as he tried to think of the most tactful way to say this. “She-well…” he grimaced.
Adriens eyebrows only furrowed more. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah I mean, well maybe not actually,” Luka admitted. “Have you noticed that she’s been pretty sad lately?”
Adrien looked rather alarmed by this. “Sad?’ He said distressed. “No I didn’t notice. She’s always so optimistic and helpful in class. And I mean, we do talk sometimes but she’s really shy so I guess I don’t always catch what she’s trying to say.”
Luka bit his tongue so he didn’t say out loud what he was really thinking. “Yeah, well, I just hate seeing her like that,” he admitted. “And I was hoping you could help me cheer her up.”
“Yes anything,” Adrien said immediately. Luka had to admit; Adrien did ultimately have a good heart. He could see why Marinette liked him so much even if the thought was somewhat irritating.
Luka hesitated again, not sure how best to approach this next part. The last thing he wanted to do was betray Marinette’s trust and give away her feelings. But if he could just give Adrien a nudge in the right direction...
Luka bit his lip contemplatively and then said in a leading sort of way, ‘There’s, umm, a dance coming up at your school right?’
Adrien nodded slowly, like he was quite unsure where this was going. Luka resisted the urge to face palm.
“I bet Marinette would like to go to the dance,” he added.
“Yeah,” Adrien drug the word out. “I’m not really sure where you’re going with this.”
Luka closed his eyes in mild frustration. “Don’t you think she might like to be asked by...someone? It might really cheer her up if she had a date to the dance.”
Luka almost breathed a sigh of relief when he opened his eyes and finally found understanding dawning on Adrien’s face.
“Ohhhhh,” he said, dragging the word out.
“Yeah,” Luka grumbled, trying not to think about how far he was digging his own grave here. It would only be a matter of time now before Adrien and Marinette were an item and he was left to nurse his own broken heart. Oh well, he’d known when he’d taken this path what was coming for him. He’d made peace with it. At least she’d be happy, that was all he really wanted in the end.
Adrien brightened. “You’re right I bet that would cheer her up!” he said enthusiastically. “I think I know exactly what you mean now.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Luka said smiling weakly.
“So,” Adrien said clasping his hands together. “How are you going to ask her?”
Lukas entire face blanched. “W-what?”
“Marinette,” Adrien said slowly. “You like her right? Nino said that Alya was pretty sure you were crushing hard on her. So, how are you going to ask her to the dance? I’m assuming you came here for advice since I’m Marinette’s friend?”
Luka stared at Adrien his mouth hanging open.
Adrien blinked. “Are you okay, Luka? You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“I’m not-“ he said, but his voice came out faint even to his own ears. He cleared his throat. “I’m not-I’m not embarrassed about my feelings for Marinette. But you’ve misunderstood me.”
“How so?”
“I meant for you to ask Marinette to the dance.”
“Me!” Adrien squeaked. ‘Why would I ask Marinette to the dance? You’re the one that likes her. And I’m pretty sure she’d say yes. You both get along so well.’
Lukas chuckled mirthlessly, his heart panging. If only what Adrien said were true. “Marinette doesn’t have feelings for me, Adrien.”
“How do you know unless you try,” Adrien demanded.
“Marinette is well aware of how I feel about her. Trust me, I know she doesn’t feel the same.”
“But,” Adrien said, his distress mounting. “But she’s over at the liberty all the time. And she talks to Alya about you constantly in class. I know she likes you too.”
Luka’s mouth went dry and his heart fluttered. Did she really talk about him all the time? Or was Adrien exaggerating? What did it mean if she did? No, he couldn’t think about all of that. He needed to focus. He would just end up getting his hopes up.
“I’m telling you I know for a fact she doesn’t,” Luka stressed again. “Just-Adrien I can’t tell you why, but I really, really think you should be the one to ask her to the dance.”
Adrien looked skeptical. “This doesn’t really make any sense to me.”
Luka tugged on his wristband hard wishing he’d brought his guitar after all if only to give something for his hands to do. “It doesn’t have to make sense right now, but it will.”
“And you really think it’ll help lift Marinette’s spirits if I go to the dance with her?”
Luka nodded. “I do.”
“And,” Adrien continued. “It’s not going to hurt you if I take Marinette to the dance?”
Luka hesitated, surprised by the question. He thought about how happy Marinette would be and let out a wistful sigh. “No,” he said softly. “If she’s happy then no.”
Adrien shrugged. “Okay then. I guess I’ll do it.”
Luka nodded and then set his hands on Adrien’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Take care of her. Please.”
The intensity of his gaze must have startled Adrien because he reeled a little bit. “Uhh, yeah I mean I’m sure it will be fun! Marinette’s a great friend.”
Luka winced and dropped his hands away. “What I mean is,’ he said, his voice strained. “Is-is try to make her feel special at the dance.”
“Okay,” Adrien agreed easily. “Sure, yeah I’m sure I can do that.”
Luka didn’t feel quite as confident that he could if he was determined to continue referring to Marinette as his friend in every sentence he mentioned her name in. Oh well. It was a start at least and what he was confident in was that one date was all it would take for Adrien to realize how extraordinary Marinette was.
“Thanks Adrien,” Luka said. “I owe you one.”
“No problem. So Ultimate Mecha Strike?”
Luka contemplated the offer and then smiled impishly. “Yeah I wouldn’t mind kicking your butt in video games.” If he were perfectly honest with himself, decking it out with Adrien, even virtually, seemed like an excellent way to blow off some steam right about now.
Adrien smirked. “Marinette’s really good at this game you know. Maybe if you got really good too you could impress her”
Luka shuttered in on himself. “Uhh, lets maybe not talk about Marinette anymore if that’s okay.” Luka could be calm and rational, but he was only human. He had a breaking point and Adrien was toeing the line of it now.
“Oh, sorry yeah that’s fine.”
“So Ultimate Mecha Strike,” he prompted when Adrien continued staring at him a little too thoughtfully for his tastes.
This seemed to jolt Adrien into action and soon they were sprawled out on the couch, mashing away at buttons as the afternoon trudged on.
Luka was trying very hard not to think about what he’d just done. If he did, the chords he was strumming would inevitably turn melancholy. And then Juleka would get worried and pry as she always did and he really didn’t want to have to explain-
“What did you do to Marinette,” Juleka demanded as she bursts into his room, the door banging against the wall.
Luka winced. “Nothing,” he said hastily. “What’s wrong, is she okay?”
Juleka’s eyes were flaming. “She just called me. She’s coming over now. Said she needs to talk to you. She sounded pissed, Luka.”
“I-“ Luka floundered unsure what to say.
“Whatever it was you really fucked up. I’m not bailing you out. Mari’s on the war path.”
Luka set his guitar aside and stood up. “I didn’t think this would upset her,” he said flummoxed. “Why would this have upset her?”
Julekas eyes narrowed. “Luka what did you-“
Angry footstep sounded off above them and Luka’s heart went to his throat as Marinette came storming down. If Juleka looked angry then Marinette looked positively furious as she brushed past Juleka and shoved her phone into his face.
He reeled backwards shocked. “M-Marinette?”
“Read it,” she said through gritted teeth.
Hi Marinette. Luka told me you’ve been down and said he thought it would cheer you up if we went to the dance together. What do you say?
Luka groaned. Adrien was an even bigger idiot than he’d thought. He was going to kill him.
But first-
He looked cautiously at Marinette’s face to find tears gathering in the corners of her eyes and Luka suddenly felt like the biggest asshole to have ever lived.
“Oh Marinette.” He fluttered his hands, wanting to comfort her but afraid that he was the very last person she wanted to be comforted by.
“W-why would you do this?”
Luka watched out of the corner of his eye as a very overwhelmed Juleka slowly started backing out of the room.
Fighting down the lump in his throat, Luka looked back into Marinette’s eyes. “I-this wasn’t how this was supposed to go.”
“So you didn’t tell Adrien to ask me to the dance? You didn’t tell him I was sad and the only thing that would cheer me up was him asking me out?”
Luka grimaced. When she put it like that there wasn’t much he could deny.
Marinette’s lip trembled. “I don’t get it. Tell me why you did this.”
Honesty. That was all he had left to give her. He hoped their friendship could survive this, hoped she wouldn’t lose her trust in him. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she did.
“I thought it would make you happy,” he said running his hand through his hair nervously. “I’ve hated how sad you’ve seemed and I thought if I just gave Adrien a little push-“
Marinette snorted, ‘little huh.’
Luka wavered. “I didn’t-I swear I didn’t say anything about your feelings-“
Marinette winced and looked away.
“-I just implied it might cheer you up if he asked is all. I didn’t think he’d, well, lay it all out quite so literally when he did ask you.”
Looking back, he should have realized whom he was dealing with.
When Marinette stayed silent Luka withered even further. “I’m really sorry if that counts for anything. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you. Quite the opposite really.”
Marinette sniffed and looked up at him with red eyes. “I’m still confused why you did it.” Her voice went small. “Don’t you...like me?
Luke blinked and then almost affronted, said, “Of course I do.”
Marinette wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Like as more than a friend, I mean.”
“Yes,” Luka said immediately. “Yes, I do. I thought you knew that?”
Marinette wrung her fingers together. “I do. I mean I did. I just- if you like me why would you try and set me up with Adrien?”
Luka stared at her incredulous. “To make you happy, of course. I want you to have it all, Marinette. Everything you could ever want.”
“At your own expense though?”
Luka felt his cheeks heat up under her sudden studious appraisal and he had to look away. “Yeah I guess.”
Marinette blew out a frustrated breath. “Why? Why would you hurt yourself like that?”
He couldn’t understand what she was so hung up on. They’d already been over all this. “Didn’t I tell you once that I would be really happy for you if things worked out with Adrien?”
“Yeah well, I guess I just never pictured you actively trying to make it happen either,” she grumbled.
Luka’s brow furrowed. There was something he wasn’t getting here. “What’s this really about, Marinette?”
Marinette started pacing, tugging on the ends of her hair. She was muttering to herself but Luka couldn’t make out what she was saying.
Finally glancing at him out of the corner of her eye she said, “I told Adrien no.”
Luka should have felt relieved, should have felt elated by the news. Instead he felt upset. “Why would you do that?” He demanded.
Marinette blinked, clearly not having expected his anger. She shrunk a little.
When she said nothing, Luka continued, “Why would you waste your chance, Marinette? I just want you to be happy, damn it.’
He very rarely cursed and Marinette winced in response.
“I wouldn’t have been happy going with Adrien,” she said very, very quietly. So quietly that Luka almost didn’t catch it.
Anger was replaced immediately by disbelief. Luka scrunched up his face. “Is it because you’re worried that he’s going just because I asked him to? Because really I thought about that and I think once he goes on a date with you he’ll wake up and see how-“
“It’s not that,” she interrupted.
“I don’t understand.”
Marinette was blushing. The color spreading across her cheeks. She avoided his eyes as she said, “How would you have asked me, Luka?”
“What do you mean?” Luka asked slowly, his heart pounding hard at the question, afraid he’d misunderstood.
Marinette’s voice was wobbly with nerves as she said, “If you were being selfish for once, and not so annoyingly self-sacrificing, how would you have asked me to the dance?”
Luka could hardly believe what he was hearing, could hardly dare to hope that he wasn’t dreaming.
“You-you really want to know?”
“Please ask me, Luka.”
The air whooshed out of his lungs. “O-okay. Yeah-yeah I can do that,” he said.
Clearing his throat he hesitatingly took a step closer and when she stayed where she was, albeit staring determinedly at the ground, he closed the remaining distance between them.
Gently, as gently as he could muster he tilted her chin up with his fingers so that she was looking at him. Her face was terribly red and terribly beautiful and he felt an overwhelming amount of adoration for her fill him to the brim. His words came out easy, effortless after that.
“Marinette,” he said, loving the way she sucked in a breath at the sound of her name on his lips. “Will you do me the honor of going to your school dance with me?”
Marinette jolted forward and suddenly her lips were on his before he even knew what had happened. He made a muffled sound then closed his eyes, reaching blindly for her waist as she snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him senseless. The taste of her lips was like nothing he’d ever experienced. He was suddenly so overwhelmingly grateful that his plan had backfired. What an idiot he would have been, giving this up.
When Marinette pulled away her mouth swollen and kiss-bruised, Luka grinned so widely at her that his cheeks hurt. “Was that a yes?”
“Yes, you idiot,” she huffed. “But only if you stop trying to set me up with Adrien. Geez you’re about as bad as Alya.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he promised, chuckling. He tugged on her waist, gently easing her into a hug. He rested his head atop of hers, letting contentment settle deep into his bones.
Marinette snuggled closer.
“So what’s had you so down the past few weeks if not Adrien?” He whispered into the crown of her head.
Marinette made an embarrassed sort of noise. “I-I thought you’d moved on from me. Just as I was realizing my feelings for you. I thought I was too late.”
Luka pulled back incredulous. “Why the hell would you think that?”
“I don’t know, it just felt like you were always encouraging me towards Adrien and then, well this happened and I thought-I thought-“
Luka groaned. “I’m so sorry Marinette. I was just trying to be a good friend and not pressure you. I guess I took it a little too far, didn’t I?”
“Maybe a little,” she giggled. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of hearing her laugh.
“You’re amazing, Marinette. The most incredible girl I’ve ever met. I don’t think I could get over you if I tried.”
“Thank you Luka. I-I really like you too. I’m sorry it took so long for me to work it out.”
Luka hid his pleased smile in her hair.
On the bed, Marinette’s phone buzzed with a new message from Adrien. Neither Marinette nor Luka even noticed.
I understand! I thought it was strange when Luka asked me to ask you too. Do me a favor Marinette and maybe ask him to the dance yourself. I have this feeling he really wants to go with you!