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“What do ya mean ya don’t want to eat this, lad? It’s a celebration day for us and above all, it’s yer favorite.”
It had started the night of the music festival.
Luka glared at the plate of Italian Beef, a frown marring his features. Ma was right, the dish was his favorite. In fact, any dish with onions in it was a simple delight. But for some reason, he now had an urge to throw the damned beef in the trash and never see it again.
Pushing his plate away, Luka sighed. “I dunno, Ma. I just… where’s the nearest basin again?”
“But it’s onions. You like onions,” Juleka spoke up.
“Correction: liked,” Luka replied, before pushing the dish further away and leaning back in his chair. “Right now, the very sight of them is making me want to throw up.”
“Laddie, it's celebration day! We always make Italian Beef, and you relish it.” Anarka spoke up in an authoritative tone, causing Luka to look up. “And y’know we don’t tolerate wastage in this house. So right now, you eat what you got on yer plate.”
“I know, Ma. But I just don’t want to.” Luka got up from his chair and picked up his guitar. “I guess I will just go out and eat something. I’m sorry I ruined the dinner.”
Ignoring his mom’s calls, Luka climbed out to the deck of Liberty. As he got off the houseboat and onto the dock, he quickly worked his way up the footpath. His mind was in a turmoil. He couldn’t understand his sudden disgust for onions; he loved them like crazy. Dishes without onions had seemed so bland. But now even the smell of them made him gag.
Searching around for some affordable fast food joint, Luka found himself getting irritated with his stupid condition. The music festival had been one wild ride and with the adrenaline of the day finally subsiding, he found himself growing tired and hungrier with every passing minute. Fast food without onions was unheard of, and given his dilemma, he really couldn’t eat anything substantial off the menu. After a lot of calculations and internal cursing, he (or rather his hunger) finally managed to convince himself to dine on a big block of strawberry ice cream that night, hoping the sugar content could keep him going for the time being.
He dug into his ice cream, relishing the sugary delight despite its insubstantiality. Having something in his stomach made him feel better and energized, and Luka didn’t mind missing the festive treat. After all, ice cream could count as a treat too, right?
Eating the last scoop of the cold delight, Luka chucked the carton in the nearby trashcan and let out a sigh. And that was when his eyes caught sight of something colorful against the grey walls.
A flower.
The Couffaine boy peered at the tiny flower with curiosity, his hand coming up to feel its petals. The flower was soft, the flower was beautiful. The flower was a delight to see. It was colourful and looked absolutely… tasty.
Luka wondered how it would feel like in his mouth.
Looking around and finding no one, the boy weighed his chances. The flower was irresistible and Luka felt totally drawn to it. But was eating a flower actually something sensible?
Then again, sensibility and Boat Kid couldn’t exist in one sentence.
Plucking the flower, Luka shoved it into his mouth.
The flower was as soft on his tongue as he had imagined it to be. And juicy too. The nectar was the right amount of sweet and tangy, and the stalk wasn’t bad eith--
“THE HECK?! ”
Abruptly turning around, Luka found an astonished Juleka staring at him with eyes blown wide, jaw slack open. Her gaze dropped from his face to his mouth, causing Luka to gulp the now crushed flower.
Well, nearly gulp.
The tasty flower was too dry.
Luka coughed and choked and spluttered, causing Juleka to rush over to him and pound him on the back. As he recovered from his coughing fit, his sister pointed at her own mouth in astonishment. Luka reached over his mouth to find a leaf sticking on his lips.
Oh well.
This was going to be a fun explanation.
“Oh my god, that’s… that’s downright hilarious!” Ladybug wheezed in delight before letting out a small yelp as she overbalanced herself, nearly toppling off the roof. Viperion caught her just in time, helping her straighten up again. Muttering a small thanks to him, Ladybug let out another chuckle as she held her stomach, her other hand coming up to rest on the snake hero’s left shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry,” the heroine giggled, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes before looking up at Viperion. “But I can’t help it. It’s just too funny! I just...I can’t even imagine Juleka’s reaction to that. How did you explain it to her?”
The snake hero chuckled, shaking his head lightly. “I didn’t need to. Turns out, she had already figured out something was fishy the moment I declared my hatred for onions. And my ‘hunting of an innocent flower’ just solidified her explanations.”
“Hunting of an innocent flower, good lord,” Ladybug let out another giggle before her stance turned slightly serious. “If I know right, onions are snake repellents. Do you think…”
Viperion shook his head in denial. “No. She didn’t connect it like that. Moreover, it was after a month or so that Viperion made his debut so..I don’t think it has to do with the Miraculous.”
“Then what does it have to deal with?”
Viperion remained silent for a moment. He didn’t want to tell the real reason, didn’t want to mess things up. However, seeing no way out, Viperion simply sighed. “Soulmates.”
Her silence served as an indication for him to continue.
Viperion kicked at the air, before turning his gaze to the city of lights that lay in front of him. “It’s some sort of weird rare connection that activated when I first met my soulmate. Apparently, I started liking what my soulmate loves to eat. And whoever she is, she started liking my favorite food.”
“You mean onions?” For some reason, Ladybug’s voice was highly guarded.
“Yep. And we both dislike what we earlier liked, so…” Viperion let out another sigh. “I miss eating onions. Like, I have thankfully developed some tolerance to the smell and can eat an onion ring or two, but I want to relish them like I used to.”
“Isn’t there any way to cure it?”
“Apparently, I have to kiss her,” Viperion mirthlessly chuckled as he picked up a hibiscus from the small basket he had brought, popping the flower in his mouth. He ignored Ladybug’s strangled sound; Viperion was too used to being looked at like some idiot whenever he ate them. A profound silence stretched between the two heroes, and Viperion tried his best to not break it with his munching.
However, the flower was too tasty to give a damn.
“Why do you refer to your soulmate as a ‘her’?” Ladybug’s voice completely shattered the remaining traces of silence. “I mean, they necessarily aren’t a girl, right?”
“I already know who she is.”
Ladybug stiffened as she looked at him quizzically. Viperion weighed the chances in his head. He knew what he was signing up for, and he didn’t want to mess up the friendship he had with the superheroine, but circumstances simply didn't seem to be in his favor. “I only interacted with two new people that day -- one was the girl I love and the other was you. Aaanddd--”
“And?”
Viperion paused, his hand stopping near his mouth, another hibiscus held comically in it. He looked at Ladybug, then at the flower in his hand, then back at Ladybug, eyebrow quirked up in a “are you serious?” expression.
Ladybug looked confusedly at him for a moment, before her eyes literally bugged out as she let out an incomprehensible noise. Viperion immediately hurried to calm her down. “I mean! It’s just an assumption based on the qualities your miraculous gives you and you don’t necessarily like--”
“You!” Ladybug screamed out, causing the snake hero to flinch away. However, the heroine simply grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards herself, her stormy bluebell eyes inches away from his terrified teals. “You are the reason why I moved from detesting onions to loving them!”
“I-what?!” Viperion squeaked out, before clearing his throat. “I mean, REALLY?! YOU DETESTED ONIONS?! ”
“I DID!”
“But whyyyyyy?!” Viperion let out a whine. “Onions are so good!”
“THAT’S NOT THE POINT! Why do I have to deal with morons?!”
“But why don’t you understand? Onions are so good!” If Viperion couldn’t eat onions, he would make others know the joy of eating that vegetable. “They are tangy, and flavory, and savory. And have you tried them in dishes? They taste so wonde -MMPH! ”
Only to be silenced by a pair of lips slamming on his own.
His eyes widened in surprise as soft lips moved over his own, and before he knew what was happening, Ladybug pulled away.
She let his collar go and grabbed the flower from his hand, popping it into her mouth. Viperion remained standing where he was, gawking at her like a stupid fellow.
“This is so messed up… I just… follow me.” Saying so, Ladybug swung off the roof.
Viperion just watched her retreating figure, his hands coming over his lips. He could taste the strawberry lip gloss and feel the heat in his cheeks. And he didn’t know what the hell had just happened.
The love of his life was Marinette. Soulmates or not, he had come to accept that Ladybug and him were just friends.
He was supposed to be someone filling up for Chat when the latter couldn’t show up on patrols. He was supposed to be Ladybug’s soundboard: talking to her when she needed him, whether it was sharing jokes or stressful events.
He wasn’t supposed to kiss her.
Well, technically, it was she who kissed him, but the problem still remained.
She wasn’t supposed to kiss him!
Ladybug and him were just friends. Friends do not kiss each other on the lips. And he was in love with Marinette, he could not return Ladybug’s feelings, no matter how much his heart broke at that.
What was he going to do?
His lyre chimed, causing him to jump in surprise. He picked up the incoming call from Ladybug and placed the device next to his ear.
That had been a mistake, for it immediately blared to life.
“ VIPERION! ” Ladybug’s voice boomed out of the communicator, and Viperion nearly threw the device off the roof. “Are you coming or should I drag you around Paris wrapped in my yo-yo?!”
“I am! I am!” Saying so, he cut the call and sighed.
It was time to face the music. Literally.
Viperion landed down on the darkened Dupain-Cheng balcony, totally confused. The GPS had shown him that this was the place, but why did Ladybug decide to land here?
Something soft hit him in the face. Surprised, he picked the thing up from the floor. It was a hibiscus flower.
“Glad to see you could make it here, Luka.”
Viperion immediately turned to the source of voice, his advanced senses detecting someone standing there. The sound was definitely Ladybug’s. However, whether she was suited or not was the question.
“Ladybug?”
The girl sighed. “Yeah, that’s me. Now tell me, can you eat that flower?”
Viperion looked down at the hibiscus in his hand. For some reason, he didn’t feel the urge to gobble up the entire thing in one go. He took a tentative bit of the petal and immediately spat the damned thing out.
“Yuck! It’s gross!” The hero exclaimed, spluttering. “No, I can’t eat it!”
“And the onion rings by your side?” came Ladybug’s question. Viperion looked around to find the same beside him.
There had been a plate of onion rings by his side and he hadn’t realised?!
He picked up one ring and put it in his mouth. And his eyes immediately filled with tears.
He could actually relish his favorite food after such a long time!
Grabbing the plate, Viperion popped the onion rings into his mouth, munching on them happily. Ladybug’s chuckle caught his attention, causing him to blush.
“I’m glad the kiss worked, Luka.”
“Thank you so much Ladybug! You don’t know how happy I am and-- wait,” he gulped the food down as he looked at the heroine inquisitively, “The kiss didn’t mean anything?”
There was silence on the other end, before Ladybug let out a sigh. “The day I started liking onions, I knew I had interacted with my soulmate. But who they were, I couldn’t say.”
Viperion put the plate aside, giving Ladybug his full attention.
“I knew it wasn’t my former crush: he loves passion-fruit macarons. I asked Chat, and turned out it wasn’t him either: Chat has a sweet tooth and he had started liking spicy things despite his low tolerance. And I don’t like spice so--”
“You weren’t his soulmate,” Viperion whispered.
“Nope.” Ladybug let out another sigh. “Going around asking for everyone’s favorite food sounded weird, so I didn’t do that. Plus, I missed my flowers and hated onions with my heart. I was eager to know who was the cause of this entire mess in my life. Turns out it was you...and I’m glad of that.”
Viperion could hear the smile in her voice, and he took one tentative step towards her. “I’m sorry for being the cause of your dilemma, Ladybug. But this still doesn’t answer my question. ‘Cause you see, there is someone else who has a claim over my heart.”
He heard her breath hitch, and that alone gave him his answer, Ladybug did have feelings for him.
“I-I see.”
Viperion felt absolutely bad for turning her down like that, and he racked his brains to find something, anything that could remove the heavy lull the conversation had fallen into. However, Ladybug saved him from the trouble.
“Luka?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s-it’s okay. I won’t mind us staying just… friends .” The sadness in her voice broke his heart, but he chose to stay silent. “I just… Can I know who she is? If you don’t mind?”
Viperion smiled despite himself. “It’s the girl whose balcony we’re on.”
Ladybug’s breath hitched, and he sensed her take a step towards him. “You-you mean Marinette? Marinette Dupain Cheng?”
“Yes.”
Ladybug walked towards him slowly and steadily, until he could practically feel the heat radiating off her. He looked down to find her bluebell eyes sparkling at him. Bluebell eyes that didn’t have a mask covering them. Bluebell eyes that, for some reason, had him completely floored. As if he never wanted this moment between them to break.
“Can you… can you please detransform?” She spoke in a voice so soft, Viperion nearly missed her words.
“Scales rest,” he whispered, afraid to shatter the unknown bubble he was trapped in.
Teal light filled the area, and that was when Luka heard Ladybug’s soft whisper to Tikki, asking the kwami to turn on the lights.
The fairy lights slowly came to life, illuminating the balcony the duo were on. And underneath the stars and in the ambient glow of the lights, Luka found himself staring at the love of his life.
His melody.
“Marinette?” He breathed out, his heart thudding in his ears.
“Luka,” came her soft reply.
“Where did Ladybug go?”
“I-What?!”
Luka couldn’t help himself from breaking down into a fit of chuckles.
“Oh my lord, that expression is just… priceless! Marine-OUCH! OUCH! SORRY!! Stop hitting me!”
“That’s for being a jerk!” Marinette wailed, before pulling him by the collar and kissing him full on the lips, catching him by surprise. “And that’s for the confession.”
For the second time that night, Luka was caught by surprise. As Marinette pulled away, he was staring at her with wide eyes, his hand automatically coming up to touch his lips. He could taste the strawberry lip gloss on his lips and felt the heat in his cheeks. Once again he didn’t know what to do.
“Luka? Are you okay?” Her voice broke him out of his trance.
“Marinetteeee,” Luka whined, “You kissed me two times without any warning and you expect me to be okay?”
She giggled, before taking a step towards him, her lips lifted in a smirk. “Well, don’t they say that third time’s the charm?”
He blinked at her, before smirking as his arms wrapped around her waist. He took the hibiscus from her hands and tossed it away. She knocked over the plate of onions in retaliation. Luka chuckled before pulling her close.
“Well, shall we test that out then, My melody?” He whispered against her ear, causing her to let out a breathy chuckle.
Soft lips pressed against his for the third time that night, catching him by surprise yet again. Not by the spontaneity of the kiss, but by how unique it was. Sweet as sugar, fruity as her lip gloss, tangy (and a little weird) as the hibiscus she had earlier had, yet completely Marinette . He sighed against her lips, feeling complete, and she let out a breathy giggle. He chuckled along with her, breaking the kiss.
“Wow,” Marinette let out a relieved sigh, catching Luka’s attention. “It was so... different!”
“Different as in?” He curiously asked, eyebrows quirked up in interest.
“Fruity, citrus, with that slight weird tinge of onions.”
“Onions are not weird, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Fight me on that, Luka Couffaine” she countered, cutely sticking her tongue out.
Luka laughed as he pulled her close to himself once again. She laid her head on his chest, giggling excitedly. Letting out a happy sigh, he gently crooked a finger under her chin, tipping her head up and finding himself lost in the lights and stars that danced in her eyes.
“You really want to fight on it, Viperion?” Marinette whispered in a tone that sent tingles down his spine. He let out a breathy laugh, looking at her through his bangs as he drew close to her.
“I might just make you understand my point with a night full of kisses, Ladybug.”
The fairy lights and the stars above them were the happy witness of her jovial affirmation.