Work Text:
Another Luka VS. Félix one-shot! I think the title is self-explanatory, but here we go with a synopsis, anyway:
Marinette is being forced to date Félix Graham de Vanily by his mother Amélie, and suffice to say, she isn't happy. He mistreats her and she's almost always crying, angrily ranting, or both as a result.
Her one confidant is her long-time guy-friend (and crush), Luka Couffaine, who decides enough is enough and decides to confess his own feelings for her in song.
The characters are aged up by about 4-5 years, so Marinette's about 18-19 here. I guess there's a bit of a Chat Blanc situation where a relationship is being messed with by an antagonist.
Like I said, self-explanatory title, but here's the song lyric credits anyway:
Song(s) included, with/without Modifications:
Treat You Better - Shawn Mendes (Because this is just too fitting for its own good ^_^)
Jerkface Loser Boyfriend - Emily Osment
It was after dark in Paris, France, at the movie theater in the center of the town, where there was a big premier and big to-do going on.
Inside the theater, there were decorations and advertising material for the film. The story was a darker take on "The Frog Prince" with some elements of "King Bluebeard" mixed in, including the frog wasn't letting up on getting what he wanted - outright relentless.
Marinette, a girl with fair skin, blue eyes, raven hair worn down, was wearing a pink cocktail dress with black flats, a black cardigan sweater with a front breast pocket and some subtle makeup, including pink lipstick, was walking around the room. She had a flute glass of orange juice in her hand, and she didn't look very happy.
She looked around at all the people in the room, and they were mostly high-ranking film executives. One woman in particular stood out. She was a tall woman wearing a black pantsuit with white accents, had blonde hair in a side plait braid, and had green eyes. Marinette felt a few shivers crawl around her skin and she resisted the urge to shudder loudly.
"Marinette, there you are." A voice said.
Marinette turned around to see another source of her trouble.
Next to her was a young man wearing a long-sleeved, light gray dress shirt underneath a dark gray vest, with matching dark dress pants, shoes, and a necktie. He had blonde hair that was heavily combed down, bright green eyes, and he had tan skin. He seemed to have a perpetual frown on his face.
"Félix." Marinette said with a neutral tone.
"Come on Marinette," Félix said, annoyed. "You're here at a huge film premier. Smile!"
"Why should I smile when I'm not happy?" Marinette asked through gritted teeth.
"You know what will happen to you and your family if you make a scene." Félix replied, a threat underlying his tone.
Marinette swallowed a lump in her throat.
"Mom's about to look." Félix said as he noticed his mom was mingling with some of the other guests.
Félix wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulder and he pulled her closer. He put on a fake smile, and used his eyes to gesture to Marinette to do the same. Marinette put on a small smile and looked at Félix with eyes that seemed happy and smitten with him, but deep down, they were hiding the disgust and fear she held.
"Why yes, my son is here. In fact, he's here with his absolutely adorable girlfriend, Marinette. There they are!" Amélie said, as she gestured over to Marinette.
Félix immediately gave a charming smile towards his mom while he kept hugging Marinette by the shoulder. He also planted a kiss on her cheek, meanwhile she was trying her best not to give in to her urges and shove him away.
Amélie came over to the "couple" and she said, "Oh, Marinette, you look so good in that dress!"
"Thank you." Marinette said, trying to keep her tone upbeat.
"Honestly, why don't you take up my offer to support you and transfer to a school exclusively for the arts?" Amélie asked, her tone as saccharine and fake as her personality. "And you can not only hone your craft, you can get acquainted with more of your peers in the upper-class! You'll be going places!"
"Um... I don't like the idea of leaving my friends behind." Marinette confessed, while thinking, 'Especially one person in particular...'
"I see. Well, friends are important." Amélie said, her fake smile still there.
Marinette could easily tell that Amélie was upset with Marinette's choice, but was still trying to put on appearances.
"I need to keep making my rounds. You two lovebirds have a good time." Amélie giggled before walking away.
Marinette sighed before taking another sip of her juice... Only for Félix to take her flute out of her hands.
"Félix, what are you-?" Marinette asked before seeing Félix was giving her his usual scowl for a split-second. He held out a deviled egg with crab and hollandaise sauce topped with chives.
"Eat." Félix said under his breath, a look that combined passion and hunger in his eyes.
"Félix, you know I'm not a fan of crab - OMPH!" Marinette began to protest, only for Félix to stuff the egg in her mouth.
Marinette chewed the egg (all but gagging at the taste of the crab), meanwhile Félix was smiling at her. Marinette looked around and saw that people watching them, commenting on how "cute" they were, amongst other endearing comments.
Marinette swallowed her bite before sighing.
was sitting in her seat in the theater. Her body was reclining, with her elbow on the armrest and her hand on her face. Her eyes were askance and she looked like a petulant child that was being forced to stay at the dinner table if she didn't eat her vegetables.
She glanced up at the screen and saw the scene where the frog prince was all but blackmailing the princess into accepting his help. She glanced back at the boy next to her, mentally saying, 'Just like what's going through my life right now...'
She sighed, rolled her eyes, and looked away. Apparently her "date" heard her and not-so-gently jabbed her with his elbow.
"Hey! Félix, that hurt." Marinette whispered in a hiss at him.
He glared at her out of his peripheral vision and his scowl got worse.
"At least act like you're enjoying yourself, Marinette." He hissed under his breath at her.
Marinette rolled her eyes before going back to her sitting position.
"Why am I even here?" Marinette asked.
"You're my girl," Félix said. "Need I remind you of where you stand?"
Marinette sighed before saying, "No."
She looked back up and continue to watch the movie, and she saw a scene where the frog prince was once again threatening the princess in order for her to fulfill her end of the deal, but she wasn't having it. In fact, she was about to cry.
Marinette sighed quietly, also near tears due to how much she could empathize with the heroine.
Once the movie was over, Marinette made her way out of the theater room and started walking down the halls to leave. No one else was there, and Marinette had her phone out so she could call for a ride and head home.
'At least this farce is over for the night...' Marinette thought, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Marinette! What are you doing?!" Félix barked from behind.
Marinette panicked and turned to face her "boyfriend", who was approaching her, his stone face still there.
"Leaving, what else? The movie's over." Marinette said.
Félix roughly grabbed her the arm before saying, "You're not going anywhere!"
"Let go of me!" Marinette cried, trying to yank her arm back, only for Félix to pull her forward.
"Listen up! If you don't obey, you're gonna suffer the consequences for it!" Félix shouted at her, his face almost nose-to-nose with her.
"Back off!" Marinette shouted back, trying to push him away.
Félix only squeezed Marinette's arm harder as she tried to leave.
"Mom's waiting for us! We need to get over there and act like the couple we are!" Félix stated as he began dragging Marinette away, only causing her physical pain.
"You're hurting me!" Marinette yelped, tears about to leak from her face.
"Don't care." Félix scoffed.
"Stop! Please!" Marinette begged.
"I'll stop when you start behaving appropriately." Félix began as he kept bringing Marinette over to where his mother was.
"I said "NO"!" Marinette shouted as she yanked her hand out of her Félix's grip and took off down the halls, crying.
"Marinette! Get back here, you little...!" Félix hollered back as he ran after her.
Marinette saw a crowd of movie-goers up ahead. She ducked into the swarm of people and out of Félix's sight. Marinette ran out of the movie theater, and she saw a taxi.
"Taxi!" Marinette hollered, and the car stopped right at the curb. She jumped into the back seat. "Take me to the Seine, please?"
"Oui, mademoiselle!" The driver said to her before putting the foot on the gas and leaving.
Marinette silenced her phone before putting it in her purse. She watched the city skyline go by, but she was quietly crying, the tears streaming down her face and ruining her makeup.
She looked out the window and thought, 'There's only one person who can help me feel better right now...'
About ten minutes later, Marinette reached her destination at the Seine, where a chaotic boat was docked.
"Thank you." Marinette said as she got out of the taxi and walked down the stairs to the Seine.
She looked at her phone and saw that there were multiple missed phone calls and messages from Félix, and a few stray ones from her friends. The voicemail messages from Félix were demanding where she was, while her friends were texting and checking up on her.
She responded to a few of her friends' messages, but ignored Félix's. She put her phone back in her bag before walking up to the gangplank, tears still dripping down her face.
Below deck in one of the cabins, a young man with blue hair, blue eyes, and dark clothing was sitting on his bed, playing his guitar.
*RAPID FOOTSTEPS, CRYING, ETC.*
He recognized the pattern, yet he continued to sit on the bed.
"*Sniff*... Hi, Luka." Marinette said.
Luka put his guitar down and looked up. He saw Marinette but he frowned when he saw with her wrecked makeup, her sad face, and her tears continuing to saturate her eyes and cheeks. While he wasn't surprised to see her crying, it still hurt to see.
"Marinette. Let me guess: again?" Luka asked, a worried look growing on his face. Marinette put her bag down and ran over to him, all but forcing herself to hug him. "What did that prick do this time?"
Marinette didn't answer, merely taking out her phone and playing a video recording. Luka watched carefully as he saw the young, well-dressed blonde shouting at Marinette, getting in her space, screaming in her face, roughly handling her by grabbing her arm and squeezing it too much. He could see Marinette was shouting for him to let go before he began dragging her away to somewhere.
Luka looked in complete shock as he watched the whole video, and he looked at Marinette's arm to see it was red with some obvious bruising beginning to show.
"I can't believe he did that," Luka scoffed as he patted the spot next to him. Marinette took this invitation to sit down next to him. "That's crossing the line. Why didn't you break up with him right there and then?"
"You know why," Marinette said, a tear dropping down her face. "If I break up with Félix, they'll make me out to be the villain in this story when they go public with it. The bakery will be ruined."
Marinette kept quietly crying, her tears running down her face, causing her mascara to keep running. Seeing how sad she was, Luka began playing his guitar, which wasn't unusual. But Marinette realized that the tune wasn't like Luka's usual songs, so that got her attention.
"I won't lie to you," Luka sang to Marinette. She looked at him out of her peripheral while moving her head slightly. "I know he's just not right for you."
Marinette sighed silently and mouthed out, "That's the truth."
Luka kept strumming his guitar and he sang to her, "And you can tell me if I'm off, but I see it on your face when you say that he's the one that you want."
The two of them winced at the irony of that line.
"And you're spending all your time in this wrong situation, and any time you want it to stop..." Luka sang before Marinette turned to face him fully.
"I know I can treat you better than he can! And any girl like you deserves a gentleman!" Luka crooned while Marinette looked at him in surprise. "Tell me, why are we wastin' time on all your wasted cryin' when you should be with me instead?"
Marinette looked askance from Luka, unable to answer what was obviously a rhetorical question.
"I know I can treat you better, better than he can!" Luka sang as he sat down next to Marinette and looked at her in a worried, sad expression. "I'll stop time for you the second you say you'd like me to."
Marinette looked back at him with a hopeful expression, all but asking him if he was telling the truth.
"I just wanna give you the loving that you're missing. Baby just to wake up with you, would be everything I need, and this could be so different. Tell me what you wanna do." Luka sang to her, his eyes filled with reassurance he was being honest with her.
Marinette smiled in response, because she knew one thing about Luka: his eyes never lied to her.
"'Cause I know I can treat you better than he can!" Luka sang, his face turning into a scowl at the thought of Félix's mistreatment. "And any girl like you deserves a gentleman! Tell me, why are we wastin' time on all your wasted cryin' when you should be with me instead?"
Marinette shrugged at the question, unsure how to find a simple answer.
"I know I can treat you better. Better than he can. Better than he can." Luka sang, as he put his guitar down and hugged her close.
Marinette began quietly crying in his chest, fed up with Félix's abuse and having to put on the farce of "dating" him. If she had the chance, she'd dump his ass, but so far she had no opportunity to do it without making a scene.
"Give me a sign, take my hand, we'll be fine. Promise I won't let you down," Luka sang as he pulled away and held her hands into his own, looking her in the eyes. "Just know that you don't have to do this alone. Promise I'll never let you down."
Marinette wiped her face with the back of her hand, not caring that her mascara was running more and her makeup was even more smudged than when she first came in.
"Cause I know I can treat you better than he can. And any girl like you deserves a gentleman," Luka sang, smiling at her and rubbing her head to soothe her. "Tell me why are we wastin' time on all your wasted cryin' when you should be with me instead?"
Marinette choked/giggled on her tears before giving Luka a smile. One that he hadn't seen on her in a long time.
"I know I can treat you better. Better than he can (Better than he can x3)." Luka continued, his voice getting softer and softer to help calm her down.
"Thanks, Luka... You always know how to cheer me up." Marinette said as she took a tissue and wiped her face.
Luka gave her a smile and he said, "You're welcome... But how long are you going to keep putting up with that asshole?"
Marinette sighed, saying, "I don't know. I can't break up with him, and if he dumps me, I'm still gonna suffer."
"I still can't believe how this whole thing started." Luka said, sighing in frustration.
"Yeah... One minute I'm just working on my designs, the next, Amélie barges into the bakery and demands that I start seeing her son." Marinette sighed, angrily.
"And what was her reasoning?" Luka asked, his tone telling Marinette that he needed a reminder.
"I honestly don't remember anymore," Marinette murmured. "What am I going to do?"
"We'll think of something, Marinette," Luka said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "We'll get you out of there, I promise."
Marinette looked at her phone before a proverbial lightbulb went off.
"Hey Luka, I actually have an idea..." Marinette said as she looked at Luka and she gave him her usual devious smile that came up whenever a plan was formulating in her mind.
Luka smiled back in response as Marinette started talking about Marinette's plans, with Luka paying rapt attention.
Marinette spent the evening at the houseboat, sleeping in one of the spare cabins that they had (with provided night clothes). After being well-rested, she and Luka made and ate breakfast consisting of croissants, jam, and tea with a side of scrambled eggs.
"Mm, this is delicious," Marinette said as she ate some eggs. "Thanks for letting me stay over last night."
"No problem. I could tell you needed a break," Luka replied after sipping some tea. "Once we're done, shall I bring you home?"
"Yes, please. My parents need my help today." Marinette said as she ate another croissant bite.
She looked up at Luka, who was eating his own croissant. Marinette's eyes zeroed in on his fingernails, which were painted black, well-trimmed, and his fingers were long, slender, and yet they were calloused from many years of playing guitar. Marinette glanced up at his face, which had some backlighting from the sunlight coming in from the porthole behind him. It highlighted his blue eyes, which were as pristine as the waters in the Maldives, and accentuated his matching blue hair.
Seeing his handsome, sun-backed profile made her heart skip a beat and her face warm up. Marinette smiled, holding back a smitten, wistful sigh. Luka looked back at her, their eyes met, and Luka chuckled as Marinette giggled in response.
After breakfast, Luka brought Marinette onto his motorcycle and he started riding towards her house. Marinette wrapped her arms around him and laid her face into his back. He chuckled in response as he continued driving his bike to the bakery.
As he pulled up to the curb in front of the small business...
"Marinette!" Sabine, Marinette's mother said, coming out of the bakery, followed by her giant of a husband, Tom.
"What happened last night?" Tom asked.
"Félix again." Luka said simply as he took off his helmet and looked at the parents.
"Honestly, you have to leave him, Marinette," Tom said as Marinette got off the bike and walked to her mother. "Don't worry about the bakery. It's not worth your suffering."
"I know, dad," Marinette said before looking at Luka. "We're working on it."
"Working on it, huh?" Sabine asked.
"Yep. There are already plenty of irons in the fire." Luka said, winking at Marinette, causing her to blush.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back. We need your help!" Tom said.
"Thanks for bringing her home, Luka." Sabine thanked.
"No problem. I'll see you later." Luka said before putting his helmet on and driving away.
Marinette sighed as she watched Luka drive away.
In the bakery, Marinette was working on some bread dough with her dad, who was doing the mixing. Her phone was on the counter where she was working, and she was starting to portion out the dough when it started going off.
Without checking the caller ID, Marinette swiped the screen to answer, pressed the speaker button, and she said, "Hello?"
"Where the fuck did you run off to last night?!" Félix demanded over the phone, causing Marinette's shoulders to slump down in despair. "Mom was asking where you went! I had to tell her you went home because your parents needed help today!"
"They do, so you it's not like you were lying," Marinette said as she continued rolling out bread dough. "Listen, I really can't talk right now! I have sourdough bread rolls to do!"
"I don't care," Félix spat. "You need to listen and listen good! Tell me where you were after you left!"
"Over to a friend's house," Marinette said as she weighed out a ball of the dough before rolling it around in her hands to pre-shape it. "I needed to get away from you after you physically hurt me last night!"
"You'd better not have been over at that riffraff guitarist's filthy boat." Félix threatened.
"Like I said, I was over at a friend's house," Marinette repeated as she kept portioning and pre-shaping the dough balls. "And even if it was Luka, you can't control who I'm friends with!"
"Once again, I couldn't care less," Félix said. "I don't want you talking to him! Or that stupid journalist and her DJ boyfriend."
"And again, you can't control who my friends are!" Marinette shouted, throwing a dough ball onto the bench and beginning to shape it.
"I'm wasting my breath here," Félix said. "You know my birthday party is coming up in a few weeks, right?"
"Yes, and let me guess: you and your mom want me there?" Marinette questioned as she started transferring the dough to the peel.
"Exactly, and it's going to be a big affair." Félix informed her.
"Nothing less from the Graham de Vanily family." Marinette murmured sarcastically as she scored the pattern on the dough ball.
"Smartass," Félix scoffed. "Now remember your role."
Marinette groaned before saying, "Whatever, but I'm bringing a friend."
"Are you serious?" Félix asked. "I won't let-"
"It's either I bring a friend of mine along or I'm not going at all," Marinette said as she used the peel to slide the dough into the oven. "Those are my terms."
"...FINE, just be sure to show up." Félix conceded.
"So I can smile and clap like a performing seal, I get it," Marinette stated as she shut the oven door. "Now I really need to get going. This bread dough won't bake itself."
Before Félix to make more demands of her, she hung up and put her phone away.
"Félix ordering you around like a servant again?" Sabine asked as she came in.
"Yeah. It was about his birthday party." Marinette informed as she dusted her hands off.
"If things hadn't happened the way they did, you'd be happily dating Luka right now." Sabine said to her.
Marinette blushed before saying, "I know. Luka and I were just about to start dating when Amélie threatened us."
"At least Luka is still there to support you and he knows what's going on." Sabine said to comfort her.
"I know, mom. I know." Marinette said.
"Just one question: how are the irons in the fire?" Sabine questioned.
"Burning bright and hot, mom. Bright and hot." Marinette said, her devious smile on her face.
Sabine smiled in response.
After Marinette finished her chores in the house, she went up to her bedroom, and she was working on something on her computer, with her phone plugged in.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Marinette looked to the door and said, "Hello?"
"It's me." Luka said from below.
"Come in." Marinette said.
Luka opened up the hatch to the door and he climbed into her room, before saying, "Sorry I'm late. I had other deliveries."
"It's okay, Luka," Marinette said as she turned to him in her swivel chair. "I'm glad you came. Now we can set up this little trap."
Luka smiled and said, "It's a bit mean, but he's been so mean to you."
"I know. I definitely know how to put an end to this "romance" once and for all, and keep the damage my family and I have to work through to a minimum." Marinette said before standing up.
"And once it's over..." Luka said as he held his arms out to hold her. "I'll finally be able to treat you better."
Marinette let Luka hug her and she said, "Yes. Yes, you will."
Luka placed a kiss on her forehead. Marinette giggled in response.
"Now let's get to work. Félix's birthday party is coming up, and I wanna get this done." Marinette said as she turned back to her computer, with Luka coming closer to help...
When the day of Félix's birthday party came upon them, Marinette was wearing the same outfit as when she was at the film premier. For once, she had a genuine smile on her face as she was making the rounds.
Marinette thought.
"Marinette! Great to see you!" Amélie said as she approached the girl.
"Mme. Graham de Vanily." Marinette greeted, still trying to take a step back.
"I'm so glad you came to Félix's party! It would've been an absolute bore without you!" Amélie said, but her tone was clearly fake. "And that violinist you brought in is so talented!"
Marinette's smile grew bigger and she told her, "Thanks. And I can all but promise you things will get interesting when it's time for the presents. I'll need to borrow the portable TV stand for it."
"Why of course! Oh, this is so exciting!" Amélie said. "I'll go find Félix so you two can get all cuddly-cute with each other!"
As she toddled off, Marinette smile became a bit more devious, and she thought, 'Now to find my accomplice.'
Marinette looked to the edge of the ballroom and she saw a taller young man wearing a navy blue suit, and a matching navy blue and black derby hat. His back was to her, but Marinette could tell he was playing the violin. The song in question was Amy Beach's Violin Sonata.
Marinette slowly approached him and said, "You're like a snake, you know?"
"How so?" The youth chuckled while continuing his piece.
"You're good at blending into the background," Marinette praised. "Just like how a snake can camouflage itself to hide in its surroundings and hunt its prey."
"Thank you." He said as he looked up to reveal that the person was Luka.
"Glad you're here." Marinette said, looking at him with joy and relief in her eyes.
"I'm glad you invited me." Luka thanked as he kept playing the song.
Marinette giggled, and the sound of Luka's violin music comforted her.
"Marinette, I was wondering where you went off to." Félix stated as he found her.
Marinette turned to face him, her face neutral with an underlying sense of hostility.
"Félix. Happy Birthday." Marinette said.
"Thank you," Félix said before looking up and noticing who was talking to her. "You?"
"Yes, me." Luka said as he kept playing.
Félix roughly grabbed Marinette by the wrist and yanked her into his arms. Marinette resisted the urge to shout.
"Who the hell invited the likes of you to this party?!" Félix hissed.
"I did," Marinette said to Félix. "He's not just a great guitarist, he's top-notch on the violin. Your mom likes his music, and you're not hearing anyone else complain, are you?"
Félix rolled his eyes before saying, "Whatever. Listen, Luka, or whatever your name is, I don't care how good of a violinist you are. You'll never measure up to what I have in life. You'll always be nothing but a lowlife bilge rat."
Luka didn't answer, instead continuing to play the song, his usual smile on his face.
"Are you listening? I said you'll never amount to anything other than being a delivery driver and a crap guitarist." Félix asked, but again, no response but violin music.
Everyone in the area was watching.
"Wow, that young man is amazing!" "He's young, but he plays like a seasoned professional!" "Marinette made a great call, bringing him here!"
Félix scowled before saying, "Fine, be that way. Come on Marinette, let's go."
Félix started to leave, but Marinette said, "I think I'll be fine for a while. You're the guest of honor. I'm just your arm candy."
Félix scoffed as he went to leave.
"I'm impressed, Luka," Marinette said. "How'd you handle him and not let him get to you?"
"When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out." Luka said simply while continuing to play his music.
"Wish I was able to do that." Marinette giggled, blushing.
"Speaking of doing things, are you ready to put an end to your misery?" Luka asked under his breath.
Marinette smiled and said, "Yes."
Félix looked at them, all but glaring them down as he watched the two of them interact with each other.
"Félix, don't get so upset over the two of them," Amélie said to him. "It's not like that boy, as talented as he is, can truly treat her like the princess she is."
"Yeah," Félix said with a smile. "She knows her place."
A little more time into the party, everyone was eating cake (provided by the Dupain-Chengs) and mingling with each other. People were also sitting down and eating more of the cake as they were giving Félix his birthday presents.
Marinette was sitting next to Félix and watching as the staff were helping set up the portable flat-screen TV. She let her eyes wander towards where Luka was, and he was still standing and playing his violin. He and Marinette made eye contact, and she smiled at him.
Félix noticed and not-so-subtly nudged her before saying, "No ogling other men!"
"Okay, okay," Marinette said as she shook her head in annoyance. "Listen, it's almost my turn to give you your present."
Félix smiled and he said, "I'm looking forward to it, Marinette."
Marinette smiled back at him, and she said, "Oh, I'm sure you'll find it to be a present you'll never forget."
Félix's smile got conniving and cruel, and Marinette's smile remained unchanged.
"Okay everyone! My son's wonderful girlfriend is going to show us what she got him for his birthday!" Amélie cooed.
Marinette stood up and went to the TV. She took up a microphone and stood in front of it.
"Thanks, Mme. Graham de Vanily," Marinette said into the microphone. "Before I give Félix my present, I wanna say something to the birthday boy."
Marinette looked at Félix, and her happy smile turned into a scowl as she said, "We're done, Félix. You've been nothing but an asshole to me and I'm done putting up with it for the sake of my parents' livelihood."
Everyone gasped at Marinette's declaration. Félix looked at her in shock and rage. He stood up, changed his look to sadness and confusion, and asked, "Marinette, chérie, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that it's time everyone sees exactly what kind of boyfriend you've been, you prick!" Marinette said as she took the remote and pressed play.
The video began playing some of Marinette's phone videos and recordings. Music began playing as the first scene was Félix pointing at Marinette while clearly yelling at her, an angry look on his face. Marinette was holding her cheek and she was trying not to look him in the eyes. The audio consisted of Félix firing off insults at her, threatening her, etc..
The spectators in the crowd were watching in horror.
"Take it away, Luka." Marinette said as Luka came up with his guitar in hand. He began playing quietly as Marinette took up her microphone.
"You've got the view of the river from the top floor of you mansion building," Marinette sang, a bitter glare on her face towards Félix as the video kept playing. "But every time we're together, it's all about you and your stare in the mirror."
The video feed showed Félix taking Marinette's sketchpad and tearing out one of her favorite designs, saying her designs were crap. Marinette screamed as he tore the sketch into pieces.
The next scene was Marinette and Félix at another function. She was trying to talk to him about something interesting, but he was too busy entertaining a guest.
"You never ask what I'm thinking! You never even try because you're always so preoccupied," Marinette sang. "It's really funny how you act out, every time we go out and you all but demand a table."
The crowd gawked in disgust.
"I'd really like to break up with you - how can I do it when you're just so cruel?" Marinette asked in song as Luka turned things up on his guitar.
As Luka did a windmill on his guitar, Marinette continued on the song.
"You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother! You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother!" Marinette sang as she used her body language to convey how fed up she was.
Félix was red in the face with embarrassment and rage, as was Amélie.
"I keep meaning to get rid of you. For some reason I, I just never do. Cause you're my little jerkface loser boyfriend. Loser boyfriend, little loser boyfriend!" Marinette sang while glaring them down, reminding them of the "some reason" she didn't break up with Félix earlier.
The movie clip featured Félix quietly berating Marinette at one of the earlier events, including him often leaving her alone or forcing her to talk to people she was uncomfortable around.
"You roll your eyes when I'm angry, or you walk the other way, and make me play the hostess." Marinette sang.
The next scene had Marinette with a small cake for two with a candle on it that was lit. She looked pretty sad, and she had her cheeks in her hands as she looked at her phone, not sure where Félix was.
"You're with execs on my birthday. Well, I knew that you'd forget, so I wrote it on my phone, prick!" Marinette said before remembering that Luka came by with a song as a birthday present.
Everyone in the room gave Félix the stink-eye - how could he forget his girlfriend's birthday?!
"Yes, I can hear what you're saying! Cause you talk so loud and your laugh is so annoying!" Marinette sang as the movie played Félix laughing maniacally at a particular creepy scene in a movie he chose, meanwhile Marinette was hiding her face in a pillow.
Luka looked at the scene and sadly watched Marinette look unhappy and uncomfortable.
"And I'm running out of patience with this conversation - please get over your self-fascination!" Marinette sang as rolled her eyes. "I'd really like to end things with you! How can I do it when you're just so cruel?"
Marinette did a spin and continued to dance while the movie kept playing scenes of Félix's mistreatment and Marinette's misery.
"You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother!" Marinette sang as she sashayed closer to Félix, calling him out. "You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother!"
Luka kept playing his guitar, looking at Marinette in admiration as she kept calling Félix out, meanwhile the crowd was looking at Marinette in sympathy and the Graham de Vanilys in rage.
"I keep meaning to cut ties with you! For some reason I, I just never do, cause you're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! Loser boyfriend, little loser boyfriend!" Marinette sang.
Luka played a few more notes on his guitar.
"You drive me crazy, but you won't let me say goodbye! You're very scary, but you won't let me set you aside! It isn't fair that every time that I try, you stare me down with those cruel, green eyes!" Marinette sang.
She looked at the scene in a combination of annoyance and fatigue, before asking in song, "Why?"
Marinette looked back up and pointed at Félix before continuing her song, meanwhile Luka was asking himself the same question.
"You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother! You're my little jerkface loser boyfriend! You suck major, I don't know why I bother!" Marinette sang as the movie kept playing, with one scene having Félix all but force Marinette into a dress that she didn't like.
Marinette looked Félix dead in the eye as he stood up to try protesting and getting Marinette to stop, but she put her hand out to give him the "stop" gesture before pointing to the video screen, which display Félix slapping her in the face.
"I keep meaning to get rid of you! For some reason I, I just never do, cause you're my jerkface loser boyfriend! Loser boyfriend, little loser boyfriend!" Marinette sang.
She walked around him in time with the music.
She turned back to him and sang, "Loser boyfriend, loser boyfriend! Little loser boyfriend!"
She flipped the bird at him on the last note, just as the movie wrapped up.
Félix was completely red in the face, and he was snarling and growling at the girl. He grabbed at her and shouted, "You little bitch! You realize how much your parents are going to suffer now?!"
Marinette put her hand up and said, "Stop. You're making my case for me by acting like this."
Félix looked around and saw everyone was glaring at him, and some of them were murmuring about it.
Félix didn't comply, instead stomping towards her and said, "Do you have any idea how humiliating this is?! You're ruining my reputation! My family's reputation!"
"Just like you did to her!" Luka said as he put his guitar down and stepped between Félix and Marinette. "Marinette wasn't doing anything but minding her own business when your mother went and threatened the bakery."
Everyone gasped once more.
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Félix asked, trying to save face.
"Don't lie," Marinette said. "I was just minding my own business, getting ready to go out on a date with Luka when your mom barged in and threatened to use her connections to ruin my parents' reputation to force the bakery to close down if I didn't start going out with you!"
"If I remember right, it's because you wanted your son to have a girlfriend for the sake of image," Luka stated as he walked towards Marinette and hugged her close to him. "After all, what better girl for your son than a girl that both Audrey Bourgeois and your brother-in-law have praised?"
"Amélie did that?!" "Why?!" "Why put an innocent girl through that kind of hell?!"
"You'll pay for this, Marinette!" Félix roared as he started charging at her.
Luka once again blocked him and said, "No. If anyone's gonna suffer consequences, it's you."
"He's right!" "Mme. Graham de Vanily, I'm pulling any and all funding after this!" "Allowing your son to treat a lady like that is unacceptable!"
With everyone roaring and shouting injustice at the Graham de Vanilys, Marinette snuggled up to Luka and she asked, "Shall we go?"
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Luka said as he took up both of his instruments and the two of them began to leave the venue.
"Thanks for backing me up, Luka," Marinette said as they went into the awaiting taxi. "You're the best."
"You're welcome. Now that that asshole's out of your life, shall we go on a date?" Luka asked.
"Yes. A real date." Marinette giggled as she leaned forward and kissed Luka on the lips.
The pair moaned in bliss as Luka took her hands into his own. The taxi driver stifled a giggle as she watched them from the rearview mirror before focusing her eyes back on the road.
They broke away, and the taxi rode off into the night, back to the Seine to where Luka's boat was.
Okay, that's it for this one! I'm not the best at writing toxic/unhealthy relationships, so I'm sorry if this isn't realistic.
If you caught it, there was a reference to the song "Dead Mom" from Beetlejuice the Musical in here.
I also quoted the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (may she rest in power) when I had Luka say, "When a thoughtless or unkind word is spoken, best tune out."
Now, I haven't seen Mr. Pigeon 72 OR Sole Crusher yet. I'm waiting on these episodes to air in English before anything else, so I can watch them all in the right order. I'm also waiting on Miraculous Shanghai to air in English (I have it on DVR!).
Besides, I've already seen that 3-minute clip on Optigami and I'm already nervous/scared about what's gonna happen! For better or worse, this show has a tendency to hide surprises.
And the fact that each episode this season has "a bomb equivalent to the impacts of Chat Blanc" is already tying my stomach into knots like a pretzel! "Truth" was heartbreaking enough - I'm a big Lukanette shipper! Are we ever gonna get an episode where we can actually breathe?!
*Takes a huge, deep breath to calm down* Anyway, that's the end of my rant. Comments (as long as they're spoiler-free) are welcome for this story!