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As soon as the honey-sweet, berry-fresh taste of the fig hit Luka's tongue, he knew that this was the bakery for him.
The fig macaron was perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of sugar to counteract the bitterness of the almond. The Dupain-Chengs knew their pastries.
He moaned quietly, his eyelids fluttering closed, and Mrs. Cheng laughed.
“That good, huh?” she said, and Luka opened his eyes only to nod rapidly.
He mumbled his assent through a bite of cookie, the hand not holding the macaron coming up to capture the crumbs. There was no way he was going to waste any of this. It was literally the best treat he’d eaten in all of his twenty-three years.
Luka had canvassed the entire city looking for a bakery that could make his special fig macarons, and when he’d arrived at the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, Luka had thought the store was cute but underwhelming.
How wrong he was.
His mistaken impression came before he’d tried their food. Amazingly, Tom and Sabine had fig macarons in stock, baked fresh that morning, and Luka had jumped on the chance to try one.
They did not disappoint him. Not at all.
Luka instantly became a regular at the patisserie, stopping by twice a month to pick up a dozen fig macarons and something else different each time. He joked with Sabine, who had quickly become one of his favorite people, and enjoyed her good-natured ribbing of him.
“Luka!” Sabine greeted him as he stepped through the bakery’s doorway on one of his twice-monthly visits. “Hello! You’re right on time; the fig macarons just came out of the oven.”
Luka placed a hand over his heart, gasping. “Sabine, you didn’t! You did! You timed the baking for my arrival?”
Sabine patted his smooth cheek. “Anything for my favorite customer.” She turned to a tray of macarons and plucked one up to offer him with a cheeky grin.
Luka laughed and accepted the cookie, mouth watering. “I bet you say that to all the boys.”
“Only the handsome ones,” Sabine said, watching him carefully for his reaction.
The fig macaron was still warm when Luka bit into it. The tender, ripe fruit was delectable, making its own syrupy liqueur, which drizzled onto his tongue. “Mmph,” he moaned, his eyes rolling back into his head.
He couldn’t just nibble; he had to stuff the whole thing into his mouth after the first bite. Sabine’s macarons were not something he could eat with any restraint.
She laughed, as she always did, and started placing the rest of the dozen macarons into a box for him. “Planning to try anything new?”
“Sure,” Luka said, brightening. “What do you recommend?”
“How about the pistachio baklava fingers?” Sabine said, sealing the box with a Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie sticker. “They have an orange and cardamom syrup.”
“Those sound delicious,” Luka said, smiling at her as he fished his wallet out of the back pocket of his strategically-ripped, dark-washed jeans. “I’ll take a half-dozen of those as well.”
Sabine fetched the baklava rolls for him and sealed them in a box and then rung him up at the register. She looked like she had something to say, so Luka waited patiently for her to hand him his card.
“So,” Sabine said, and Luka knew that whatever she wanted, it was probably a good thing for him. “You know I have a daughter, right?”
Luka’s smile fell. He’d have to turn this daughter down; his heart was starting to belong to a certain mouse he’d been chasing across the city for two and a half weeks.
He didn’t know where he stood with the girl behind the Mouse mask, and he wanted to learn more about her before committing himself--or changing gears to someone else. “You’ve mentioned her a time or two, yes.”
“She’s single,” Sabine said, and Luka’s heart sank. She started pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Would you like to see a picture?”
Luka knew he shouldn’t be indulging the woman. He didn’t want to give her hope that he’d date her daughter. But Sabine was already turning the screen to face him.
And who he saw stopped his heart.
It was her.
Multimouse stared back at him, her pretty, pink, kissable lips curved into a smile. He’d recognize those beautiful, blue eyes anywhere. Her inky, black strands weren’t done up in space buns--she wore them in pigtails instead--but he itched to run his fingers through them.
She was flashing a peace sign, clearly holding the camera in her other hand and taking a selfie. He could almost see the pink and gray gradient of the Mouse mask resting above her nose and lining her eyes.
Luka choked as if there were a bone in his throat. Sabine’s eyes widened in alarm as she tugged the phone away. “Are you okay, Luka?”
He nodded, drumming his fist against his chest. “Just a dry mouth. From the, uh, fig macaron, probably.”
“Oh, no! Do you need a glass of water?”
Luka held up a hand. “No, no, I’ll be fine,” he rasped. He tried to give Sabine a reassuring smile. “C-Can I see the picture again?”
He was almost shy now, feeling like a voyeur. He was seeing something forbidden, taboo, something he should not be seeing. Luka was peeking under her mask without permission.
That was wrong. She hadn’t given him explicit permission to find her.
But she hadn’t made an explicit request to not be found, either.
Unease rippled across Luka’s brain, warring with his intoxicated exhilaration.
This is wrong, I shouldn’t be doing this--
Sabine gladly turned the screen to him again. The image of Multimouse smiled up at him. She’s adorable, Luka thought. I have to meet her.
“Does she come by the bakery often?” Luka asked, picking up the macaron and baklava boxes to give his shaking hands something to grip.
Sabine’s eyes twinkled. “Sometimes. Not as often as she used to, but she stops by to help out occasionally.”
“What’s her name?” The words fell from his lips before he thought about them. But he had to know.
“Marinette,” Sabine said, grinning. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Luka Couffaine fell for Marinette Dupain-Cheng--and fell hard.
***
The next chase was… interesting. Viperion tried to tell Multimouse that her mother had blown her cover, but humiliation made his words dry up. He’d wronged her by looking at her picture again, and he didn’t know how to make it up to her.
He knew her name.
And she knew nothing about him.
Plus, every time he caught her, the slamming of her heart in his ears lit the fire of desire in his gut, and he covered her mouth with his rather than talking.
He had to tell her. He had to.
But she was so bloody distracting.
Multimouse’s legs wrapped around his hips, squeezing them in her powerful thighs. She moaned into his mouth, fisting her hands in his hair. Viperion could barely maintain a conscious thought, much less chastise himself for kissing her instead of telling her what he needed to.
He sucked on her lower lip, gently scraping the plump flesh with his teeth and making her gasp. Viperion shoved their chests together, pressing her back into the wall he was holding her against. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, delighting in the taste of her: strawberries and sugar.
Tell her, tell her, tell her…
Viperion’s thoughts beat in his head like a drum, intrusive and off-putting. Couldn’t he just kiss her a little longer?
No. He had to do the right thing.
Viperion abruptly broke the kiss, peering into her blown eyes. Sweat beaded on his temples, and a drop rolled down his cheek. He licked his kiss-swollen lips. Viperion opened his mouth to say something, but she smashed her mouth against his again, cupping his cheeks.
He pulled back with a soft snarl, which seemed to startle her. Her heart rate ratcheted up in his enhanced hearing, and her cheeks paled. She didn’t let go of him, though.
“Multimouse,” he croaked, his voice sounding like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing up against each other. “I… I…”
Viperion screamed in his head. His pulse matched hers, but from panic and not arousal.
“Your… Your m--”
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t tell her.
Shame consumed him. He looked away from her, his eyes tight.
“Viperion?” The breathy quality of her voice turned him on all over again. He wanted her to call his name. He wanted to get to know her. He wanted to build a life with her.
And if he didn’t tell her he’d found her, he’d never get to do any of that.
Viperion stared deep into her beautiful, bluebell eyes and opened his mouth.
“Can I find you?” he blurted.
What? he thought, desperately clinging on to the vestiges of his dignity as his face flamed. That’s not what I meant to say!
Multimouse’s eyes widened. For a moment, she looked like she was about to squirm off his hips and bolt again.
Viperion cursed himself. He knew he should have just told her before the chase, when the delicious pressure of her body against his wasn’t so stupidly distracting.
But then she nodded.
Viperion’s heart soared. He kissed her on the cheek, wrapping her up in his arms in a tender embrace. She tentatively held him back, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulder blades.
Beaming, he set her down. “Thank you,” he whispered, brushing his lips against her forehead. Then his latent desire to pursue her flared to life again. He growled. “Run.”
She ran.
***
Luka was frustrated.
After he’d received Multimouse’s permission to find her, he’d gone to the bakery every day for a week.
But she never showed.
Sabine had taken pity on him eventually and had given him Marinette’s number. Now he was sitting cross-legged on his bed one Wednesday afternoon, holding his phone in one hand and gripping his bare foot with the other, trying to keep it from jiggling.
“Should I call her?” He turned around to ask Sass, who lay on Luka’s pillow. “Should I… Should I find her?”
Sass gave him a sly smile in response, cracking one effervescent eye open. “I wish you would. You have me worried with all this hesitation and anxiety.”
Luka swallowed around his thick tongue. “But what if she doesn’t like me?”
“Ah,” Sass said, his smile turning enigmatic as he opened his other eye. “The question humans have been asking for centuries.” Luka grumbled, folding his arms, and Sass chuckled at him. “There’s no use in getting twisted up about potential, unreal eventualities. Take the plunge, Luka Couffaine. If it doesn’t work out, you can cross that bridge when you come to it.”
“Yeah,” Luka agreed, nodding rapidly. He drew a deep breath through his nose. “Okay. Okay. I can do this.”
“You can.”
Sass’ gentle encouragement saw Luka through. With shaking hands, he scrolled through his contact list and pressed the call button on ‘Multimouse.’
The phone rang. And rang. And rang.
“What if I’m interrupting her at school?” Luka whispered frantically to Sass. “What if she sees the unknown number and thinks I’m a creeper? What if--”
“Hello?” a female voice said on the other end of the line.
Luka yelped and tossed the phone onto the other side of the bed.
“Hello?”
Luka gestured wildly to Sass, as if asking him to pick up the phone. Sass gestured wildly back, pointing at the phone with a stern look.
“Hellooooo?”
She’s so cute, Luka thought, just adoring the sound of her voice. He picked up the phone and held it to his ear, breathing heavily.
And couldn’t say the words he wanted to say.
What was he going to say? ‘Oh, hey, I’m Viperion, come date me, please?’ ‘I stalk you around the city at night and ravish you, want to get coffee?’ ‘Please don’t mind me, I’m just a desperate sap with a miraculous who’s totally in love with you?’
He sat there, panting into the phone and watching Sass, who flailed his tiny, green flipper arms. His little kwami’s yellow eyes, normally narrowed to snake-like slits, were wide and panicked.
Luka bit his lip and sucked a breath over his teeth at the harsh, unexpected pain. He sighed, drastically trying to come up with something to say.
But then Marinette broke his heart.
“I’m hanging up now! Creep!”
The phone went silent. Luka dropped it into his lap.
Burying his face in his hands, he threw himself back on his pillow and groaned. “She thinks I’m a creep, Sass!”
Sass landed on his sternum and curled up into a ball. “Seems it’s time to cross that bridge.”
Luka sniffled. He didn’t deserve a girl like Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He couldn’t even pull his head out of his butt to have a conversation with her. And what was he doing?
“Sass,” Luka whined, lowering his hands to stare at his kwami. Luka’s lower lip quivered. “What do I do?”
Sass’ words were less than sympathetic, though his tone was gently inquisitive. “Are you going to mope about this for days?”
Tears welled in Luka’s eyes. “Of course I am. She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.” Sass hummed, vibrating Luka’s chest. “She doesn’t even know that was you.”
Hope bloomed behind Luka’s breastbone. He whispered, full of awe and reverence for the girl who’d captured his heart even while he captured her in their tantalizing, forbidden nights. “So I still have a chance?”
“Unless she’s blocked your number.”
Luka groaned again.
***
“I think I have a stalker,” Multimouse whispered into the darkness at the beginning of their next chase, holding her elbow.
Viperion snarled, making her take a step back. He glared at her feet, protectiveness flaring to life in his brain. Someone was stalking his Mouse? The twin desires to take care of her and to destroy all her enemies were fierce and all-consuming.
He raised his gaze to look her in the eye. The distraught Viperion clenched his fists at his sides and hissed through gritted teeth. “Who is it? I’ll kill them.”
Multimouse gasped, covering her mouth. “You don’t have to kill anyone!” she cried, and Viperion drew back, holding his hands up.
“I don’t actually mean kill them,” he murmured, trying to reassure her that he was relatively harmless. “What are they doing to you?”
Multimouse nibbled her lower lip. She seemed like she didn’t trust him and that hurt. “I mean, it was just one phone call. All they did was breathe heavily but it really freaked me out.”
Viperion growled. Who dared to call his Mouse and freak her out?
“If they bother you again,” Viperion said lowly, “let me know.”
Multimouse finally uncurled her shoulders. She seemed to return to her normal, gently confident self again, which was heartening to see for him. She offered him a shy smile and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. “Want to start the chase?”
Now his instincts were flaring for an entirely different reason. Viperion stepped forward and cupped her cheek, only to whisper in her perfect ears, “Run.”
The pursuit was as fun as it always was. But Viperion was terribly distracted. He even allowed her to get away once, just so he could think.
Who would call her? Who would do such a thing? Viperion’s thoughts were a whirlwind, plaguing him even as he captured Multimouse’s lips. He pressed her hips into the soft grass of Tuileries Garden, hidden from prying eyes by a hedge, and kissed her senseless.
Who is it? Viperion thought, his tongue begging entrance to her mouth. With a gasp, she gladly opened to his seeking, taking what he offered even as he took hers.
Their kiss was ravenous, a push-and-pull dance known only to them, but even as he devoured her, he was thinking on how he could protect her. If they bother her again, how can I find them? he thought, growling against her as his knee parted her legs, forcing her to wrap them around his waist.
Who would just breathe heavily into a--Oh.
Viperion jerked his head up and abruptly broke the kiss, which made her gasp. “Viperion?” she asked, her chest heaving against his and exciting him--and distracting him--even further.
It was me! Shame lit up Viperion’s cheeks. He couldn’t just tell her that he was her stalker--that would make her panic!
“Um,” he stammered, his voice cracking like a prepubescent boy just hitting his stride rather than the 23-year-old virile male in his prime that he was. “Just thought of something.”
“What?” Multimouse murmured, her hair fanned out on the grass beneath her. “What upset you so much?”
“Can I still find you?” Viperion begged, staring down at her gorgeously-flushed cheeks and sweaty temples. Her eyes were bright and beautiful, shining with so much trust his heart swelled full enough to burst. “Please.”
Multimouse’s gaze softened at his humility. “Of course you can.”
Tension flowed out of Viperion’s body like water. Rather than holding himself above her, he allowed himself to rest fully on her, molding his body to hers. She embraced him back, burying her nose in his neck. Her hot, wet breaths striking him above the collar of his suit curled his toes.
He was so lucky to have her. He would never let anything take her away--not even his own foolishness.
“Thank you.”
***
And then, four and a half weeks after he’d first started stalking her and two and half weeks after he really started looking, Luka had found his Mouse.
She was standing near the ovens in her parents’ bakery, poking some macarons that he could smell from the door. Her hair was done up in space buns and she was covered in flour. Her cute, pink, little tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth, and Luka wanted nothing more than to tease that tongue with his own.
She’s here! Luka thought, tempted to jump up and down on the spot. She still hadn’t noticed him standing at the still-open door, it seemed, even though the bell had rung at his entry.
Okay, okay, he thought, running his hands through his hair. I can do this. I can talk to her.
He had to be suave. Self-possessed. Sophisticated.
He had to ooze confidence and charm, knocking her off her feet, so he could catch her and hold her in his arms just the way he wanted.
Luka wasn’t cut out for this. He wished he could talk to Sass.
The skittish Luka watched Marinette bustle about in the kitchen like she owned it, tasting one of the macarons. “Nope,” she said, seeming disappointed, and just the sound of her voice outside the mask sent a thrill through Luka. “Not even close.”
Channel yourself when you’re Viperion, Luka Couffaine. This is just another chase. Galvanizing himself into action, he shut the door, making the bell ring again, and prowled forward.
“Can I help… you?” she said, her beautiful, bluebell eyes widening at the last word. She smoothed her hands over her apron, appearing self-conscious about the flour. Luka just thought that being dusted in white powder made her look even cuter.
Apparently the look in his approving glance made her even more self-conscious, because she gripped her elbow. Luka stalked forward, taking even, measured steps, intent on letting her know he’d found her and making her truly his.
Noticing her eyes drawn to his hips, he put a little swing in them, so his stalk turned into more of a saunter. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, she’s checking me out! Yes!
He paused before the counter, licking his lips in what he hoped was a seductive manner but was really a wholly nervous habit. “A dozen fig macarons, please,” he murmured, trying for the gravelly tones of Viperion’s voice.
Recognize me! his brain screamed. Please, please figure it out!
Marinette sought out the dozen fig macarons Sabine had probably baked just that morning for his daily visit--he had so many fig macarons at home from his daily trips that he’d never be able to eat them all--and started placing them into a box.
Gosh, she’s cute, Luka thought, chuckling. His eyes widened when she almost dropped the box.
Marinette recovered her feet and stared at him for a moment. Desperate hope licked at Luka’s brain. Does she know? Is she figuring me out?
“U-Um, yes, so, a d-dozen fig macarons!” she stammered, setting the box on the counter before she really did drop it. “Is that all that bakery brings you into today?”
Time for a power move. She'll love this.
“Yep,” he said, opening the box and selecting a macaron in his long, thin fingers. Maintaining eye contact with Marientte, he took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “They’re my favorite.”
For his next move, he pretended she was in the mask, his Mouse, and he’d just cornered her. He curved his lips into a smirk. Judging from the gobsmacked look in her eyes, he knew he’d hit his mark.
Yaaaay, I did it! he thought, so happy he wanted to squeal. I’ve got her attention!
On impulse, Luka took her hand. She didn’t move, seeming spellbound. He normally paid with his card, but he wanted her to handle his euro bills. Handling paper currency rather than a virtual access to his bank account made it all seem so real, somehow. He was just lucky he carried cash today.
He pulled some euro notes out of his jacket pocket and placed them in her hand. Then he leaned forward and whispered in her perfect, tempting, little ears, brutally stuffing the urge to nip her. “Keep the change.”
He leaned back, hope filling his chest. Does she know?
It was as if a switch flicked on in her brain. The light of recognition glowed in her eyes. She knew him.
She knew him.
Yessss! Luka mentally cheered, barely keeping himself from pumping his fist.
Luka released her, stepping away. She gasped, which thrilled him. Okay, her move. Her move. He picked up the box of macarons and started turning away.
“Will I see you again soon?” she begged, and Luka couldn’t resist the silly grin on his face. He schooled his features into something more threatening before turning back to her.
“That depends,” he purred, “on whether you want to run.”
Marinette smiled.
***
“Your stalker,” Viperion confessed at the beginning of their chase, rubbing the back of his neck, “was me.”
Multimouse’s jaw dropped. Even one month after they’d started dating, he still found her the cutest girl to ever walk the earth.
Or run, as the case may be, given how often he pursued her.
They were taking the dating slow, going to coffee shops and roller skating on occasion, getting a feel for each other.
But the chase was always there. Luka looked forward to the time when they’d both feel comfortable making out outside of their masks.
“W-What?” Multimouse shrieked, hurting his ears. She pointed at him. “What the heck, Viperion? That creepy phone call was you?”
“Uh, yeah,” Viperion admitted, coughing into his fist. “I, um, got your phone number from your mom and got nervous when I called you.”
Multimouse facepalmed. “Are you serious?” she cried, shaking her head even as she held it. “After I confided in you, you were all ready to hunt down… yourself! I can’t believe you.”
Then she looked up sharply. “Wait, you got my number from my mom? You knew who I was before finding me in the bakery?”
Viperion held his hands out, trying to look as helpless as he felt. “Your mom blew your cover. Surprise?”
Multimouse groaned. “Ugggh. No wonder you were begging to find me.” She gave him a skeptical look, folding her arms. “You do know what this means, right?”
“Um,” Viperion said, his cheeks growing steadily hotter. “You’re mad at me?”
“Darn right I am,” Multimouse said, crossing over to him and poking him in the chest. “And do you know what happens when I get mad at you?”
Viperion gulped. He didn’t know where this conversation was going, but he liked it. “No?”
Multimouse smiled wickedly. “I get to punish you.”
“W-What?”
Multimouse’s grin turned toothy. “I get to chase you.”
Viperion laughed. “You get to chase me?”
Multimouse stared at him, her eyes gone frosty. A growl issued forth from her lips, a vicious snarl he didn’t think she was capable of. His stomach bottomed out. “You have thirty seconds,” she whispered, and that whisper was a threat and a promise. “Run.”
He ran.