Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Luka laid back on his bed, arms behind his head, staring at the boathouse ceiling with half-closed eyes. Juleka practiced on their father's old base guitar in the room next door, the thin walls did nothing to insulate the sound. His baby sister’s confidence had grown by leaps and bounds over the past few months. She no longer had to keep the secret about Rose's immune suppressed health. Their parents were getting along sort of — they actually had a relationship with their father, Jagged Stone. Juleka had been called by Ladybug a couple of times as Purple Tigress to fight against Shadow Moth. He'd never seen his twin so comfortable and in her element.

Luka was at peace with what happened between him and Marinette. It had been two months since they broke up. He’d written some pretty epic lyrics, but otherwise tried to maintain his usual optimistic attitude. Ever since Wishmaker, he understood that Marinette was in fact Ladybug. It explained all her terrible excuses and her chronic tardiness. The best birthday present he received had been her ending her blatant avoidance of him. He knew that she blamed herself about the couple of times he became Akumatized. He couldn't help that he had strong emotions about Marinette. And while they’d broken up, this emotions hadn’t just ceased to exist.

She was Marinette — sweet, thoughtful, creative, adorable, beautiful Marinette. There was nothing he enjoyed more than riding through the streets of Paris on his bike with her thin arms wrapped around his waist or sitting on his bed, strumming his guitar and just talking with her. Though, he was also coming to enjoy the times he helped her save Paris — when she came to him with Sass’ bracelet and asked for his assistance. She was so confident and sure of herself as Ladybug.

His and Juleka's birthday party had been the first time in a long while that he'd seen her as Marinette and him as Luka. They’d seen each other quite a bit under the guise of their Super Hero personas— it did seem that she requested his assistance much more often than the other Miraculous holders— aside from Chat Noir of course.

While he'd been sad to not be visited as Luka, being called into action as Viperion knowing Ladybug was Marinette had made the whole situation tolerable. He wanted to be her harbor in stormy weather. He was glad that she depended on him at least as Superheroes.

He still wasn't sure exactly what had happened two weeks ago. Sass had used his powers to go back in time without a holder. As Sass' most frequent holder, Luka shared a special bond with the kwami and had a memory of receiving the call from Marinette telling him to go to her bedroom and find her sewing kit. He knew he'd been the one to ask Sass to reverse the flow of time — back to when Ladybug and Cat Noir were supposed to reveal their civilian identities. It seemed most logical to assume that if Marinette and Adrien were to find out they were in fact Ladybug and Chat Noir that somehow Shadow Moth found a way to defeat them.

The question was — did it make them vulnerable to Shadow Moth because they were distracted by a teen love affair, or was Shadow Moth close to one of them. He still strongly suspected Gabriel Agreste was the supervillain. Ladybug had ruled him out as he'd been akumatized at least on three different occasions. The fashion icon just seemed to Luka to have a negative vibe, but what did he know about overprotective parents? His mother was a free spirit and his dad was a stranger — but that had started to change.

Luka's phone chimed indicating a text message.

Lazily, Luka stretched his arm out and grabbed his phone off the nearby desk. His stomach fluttered with butterflies of anticipation as he saw Marinette’s name and picture fill the tiny screen.

“Luka! Hi! I got a moped electric scooter for my birthday! I’m not totally confident riding on my own and I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you please consider going on a ride with me while I practice? Oh, this is Marinette!”

He chuckled, reading her text a second time. No typos, no grammar errors. How long had it taken her to type it out? He suspected a while. Her adding her name at the end was superfluous. Did she really think he didn’t have her contact saved to his phone? Did she not know she was saved as his “favorite” and that he had lyrics to the song he wrote about her saved in the notes section? Or that in the address section her family bakery and home was linked to his favorite in maps?

Did she not know he had an entire album in his google photos dedicated specifically to her? Images of them at the ice rink, having ice cream on the bridge, riding on his moped, with the band on the houseboat, in the costume room at his dad’s last concert, at the picnic they had two months ago before the breakup? Her face had been his wallpaper for months. He thought about changing it after she ended things, but his feelings for her hadn’t changed — why should he? If she were to happen to see it — well, he did enjoy watching her cheeks tint in a pink blush.

Thumbs flying over the keyboard on his phone's screen, Luka consented to the impromptu hang-out session. He had to remind himself that they were just friends. It was hard to ignore the song that played through his mind anytime he thought of Marinette. Unrequited loves were hard, but it didn't make him love her any less.

“Good afternoon, Marinette! I would love to join you for your inaugural driving session. I can be at your place in twenty minutes. Want to get dinner after? Luka.” He added a blue guitar emoji, a motorcycle emoji, and a sunset emoji. He couldn’t resist adding his own name, he didn’t want her to feel embarrassed when she re-read the conversation a thousand times later. He didn’t want her to second guess herself.

He laughed as the dots showed her typing, then they deleted, they started again. Knowing it could take a while, he got dressed. He grabbed the navy blue shirt that Marinette had made him for his birthday and changed his shorts for a pair of pants. He added combat boots, just in case it was a bit of a rough ride. Then he grabbed a leather jacket — it was cool enough in the evenings that it would be tolerable. He didn’t know if Marinette had any protective jacket, so he might need to let her borrow it.

His phone chimed again and he read her message. It was a bunch of emojis. A heart bursting with a rainbow, a unicorn, the moon, a dinner plate, and a carousel.
With a smile on his face, Luka shoved his phone in his pocket and headed out. “Hey Mom, Juleka, I won’t be home for dinner. I’m meeting Marinette. She just got a moped for her birthday and was hoping for some tutorials from me.”

His mom’s eyes shown with a familiar knowing glint behind her glasses. She was a very observant woman — it’s where Luka inherited his intuition. “That’s fine, dear. Tomorrow’s Sunday, so you can stay out as long as you like. Just remember, I’m not ready to be a grandma!”

Luka rolled his eyes. “We’re just friends, Mom.” He caught Juleka’s hesitant excitement. “I’ll tell you everything if you want,” he promised his baby sister.

“It’s her birthday today and she asked to spend it with you,” Juleka pointed out in her quiet voice. She never stuttered with him, but she spoke at a very low volume. Luka was used to it and had attuned his hearing to her years ago.

Luka’s lip twitched with a half-smile. “I know.”

“Don’t blow it.” Juleka’s lips twitched in a tease.

He straddled his long, lean legs over his moped and before he settled his helmet over his inky black hair with electric blue tips. He looked back at his twin. “I won’t!” He was about to take off when he noticed someone driving towards their dock. He took off his helmet and waited as a familiar woman with a pink helmet drove very slowly on a pink moped.

Her balance looked pretty stable, but once again, he could identify the problem from afar. Marinette was nervous and unconfident.
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Marinette drove cautiously towards the boathouse. She was grateful the pink helmet she wore had a visor to block out the setting sun's rays, but also hid her bloodshot eyes. She'd finally mustered up the courage to confess her feelings to Adrien earlier that afternoon. Needless to say, it didn't go as she'd hoped.

It was terrible of her to reach out to Luka, but it was either him or Chat Noir. Since she'd practiced her confession for “Buttercup” with Chat Noir, she didn't want him to feel bad about how she blew her chances with Adrien. Ladybug depended on him being at the top of his game. Alya was so Team Adrien, she couldn't deal with the disappointment her best friend would feel.

That left her best buddy/ex-boyfriend Luka. He was friends with both her and Adrien, and he was always such a calming influence. She knew she'd feel better after talking to him. And he'd been sincere in wanting her to reach out to him when she needed, but then would he have false hope now that things didn't work out with Adrien? Was it false hope? She would not treat him like a consolation prize.

It was a fine July evening and it was her birthday, she was going to gift herself with not overthinking things.

Her thoughts cut off short as she parked outside the dock and saw Luka waiting there, wind tossing his dark blue-tipped hair about. He was so very handsome and maybe if she'd met him first, she never would have felt the crushing disappointment of today. The orange of the setting sun backlit him like a spotlight on the stage. He could be every bit a superstar like his father.

Marinette eased into a stop near him. Luka plucked the helmet off his bike and settled it on his head. "That was a good stop," he complimented. “I thought I would meet at your place. You didn’t tell me you were already almost here.”

“I meant to, but I deleted that message and I only had so much time to type while I was at the light and then I was almost here. And it’s pink," Marinette pointed out. "You won't mind riding on the back of a pink moped?"

Luka laughed softly, his smile easy and his eyes kind. "I won't mind riding on the back with you." His eyes scrutinized her face behind the visor. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not yet. I just want to ride around." Marinette waited until Luka climbed on the scooter behind her. She was grateful for his easy-going nature and steady friendship. She knew she was a terrible girlfriend to him, but he'd been a perfect boyfriend to her. His strong arms banded securely around her waist and it felt nice — even if it was just for balance.

And while she broke up with him two months ago, ironically she’d actually spent more time with him now as Ladybug and Viperion than they had when they were dating.
Marinette didn't have a particular destination in mind and was surprised to find herself driving back towards the bakery. She parked across the street from her home at Place des Vosges. They climbed off the scooter. Luka removed his helmet, but Marinette hesitated, not sure if her face was still swollen from crying.

"It's generally more comfortable without your helmet," Luka said, a slight smile tugging his lips. His hair was a little wild- sticking up all over the place as the mid-summer’s warm breeze caught it.

With a deep sigh, Marinette removed her helmed, setting it carefully inside the compartment under her seat. She quickly rubbed her hands over her face, hoping for the best. She turned towards Luka and his eyes darkened in concern immediately.

He offered his hand and Marinette took it out of habit. "Let's go check out the carousel." It was one of their favorite pastimes when they dated — Luka would meet her at the bakery and they'd hang out at the neighborhood park riding the carousel for hours - talking about nothing and everything.

"I did it. I finally confessed my feelings to Adrien," Marinette admitted. She glanced briefly at Luka, but looked away when he met her gaze with those patient, kind cyan eyes. "It didn't go well."

"Was it one of your elaborate plans or were you straight forward?" Luka asked. "You've had plenty of your elaborate plans go haywire."

"I told him I'd been in love with him for a while. That I was always so nervous around him, my words come out a jumbled mess and I often make a fool of myself. That life was too short to wonder - what if? And I told him I wanted to be more than friends." She paused, taking a deep breath to tell Luka everything. "I wanted with him what my parents have. What Alya and Nino have with each other," Marinette whispered. "I wanted a future with him where we shared a pet hamster."

Luka gritted his back teeth- there was jealousy and yet also sadness, but it passed quickly, he wasn't about to let himself be Akumatized again. “A hamster, huh?” He knew that Marinette loved Adrien, even during the time they dated, she loved Adrien. When he had been Akumatized last time, wanting to know her secret, which led to their breakup, everyone he questioned said her big secret was the crush on Adrien Agreste. He'd made his peace with it. He'd settled for being her backup. When he learned her secret, that she was actually Ladybug, it made him love her more.

"I'm glad you finally confessed," Luka said, honestly glad she was straight-forward instead of involved in another bizarre plot to gain Adrien's attention. The poor guy was probably constantly confused by Marinette's antics.

Marinette buried her face in her hands. "He just wants to be friends," she mumbled.

A large part of Luka was pleased that Adrien didn't reciprocate Marinette's feelings. She never acted like herself around his bandmate. He would have been surprised if Adrien wasn't a bit overwhelmed, especially given how socially inept he was, having been practically kept locked away in his family's mansion by his overly protective and manipulative father, Gabriel Agreste.

"Maybe now you can act more like yourself around him," Luka suggested. "The pressure is gone and he'll fall for you more naturally — instead of some far-fetched scheme like project Buttercup." He took Marinette's hand and started to lead them towards the carousel, picking out their favorite steeds.

Marinette groaned. "Juleka told you about that?"

"It's hard to keep things from your twin on a houseboat," Luka admitted. They settled onto the golden lion and the purple unicorn. "What did he say, exactly?"

"He said that I was one of his dearest friends and he cared about me a great deal. However, he doesn't feel he's in a point in his life where he can date." Marinette began waving her arms as she spoke, but quickly latched onto the center pole of her unicorn when the carousel began to rotate. "There is too much going on with his father and he's not recovered enough from the loss of his mother. It had been a mistake when he tried dating Kagami and it made him realize he's just not ready for any sort of romantic relationships."

"That sounds reasonable," Luka said. They rode the carousel in silence, listening to the soft music playing over the speakers. When it ended, he held his hand to help Marinette down, as her unicorn had ended high in the air. Marinette fell against Luka's chest and then with only a moment of hesitancy, hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her back and tried to be the buddy she needed while she soaked his shirtfront with warm tears. "Not all teenagers are ready to date and you'd still have the problem of missing your own dates and having to make weird excuses."

Marinette looked up at him and seemed to realize she'd been crying all over her ex-boyfriend. "Are you saying you don't think I'm ready to date?"

Luka led them off the carousel and towards a bench. "I'm saying that when we dated, you really struggled to balance your obligations. Being the son of Gabriel Agreste can't be easy," Luka explained. “You’d both be running out on each other."

"But Adrien is so sad," Marinette lamented. "I really thought that maybe I could help him find happiness."

"You still can, but as his friend— for now. He could develop feelings for you — or he might already have them, but not be ready for a relationship — which is what he told you," Luka said. "He never said he wasn't interested in you. He's fifteen years old Marinette, cut him some slack."

Marinette chuckled. "You're only saying that because you turned sixteen before the rest of us," she teased.

Luka grinned, his bright blue eyes sparkling with humor. "Guilty."

"At least I tried," Marinette said, straightening her shoulders resolutely - in that way she did that he loved to watch. "I can move on. Focus on other things now." She stared out towards the west, the last rays of the setting sun fading. "Oh! It's getting late. Are you hungry? I'm sure my parents' won't mind setting an extra place for you."

"Are you sure? Your parents might get the wrong idea," Luka said. "Don't turn me into your rebound. I’d be okay grabbing a pizza together.”
Marinette gaped at him. "Rebound? Luka! No!"

He held his hands up, palms facing her placatingly. "I'm teasing. I'd love to have dinner with your family." As they walked alongside each other towards the bakery, occasionally bumping shoulders, Luka thought to himself, 'If you love someone let them go. If they come back to you -it was meant to be. If they move on, they were never yours.'

He really hoped somehow Marinette would find her way back to him.

"I'm sorry that things didn't work out like you imagined," Luka said. "However, I'm very proud of you for having the courage to be straight-forward about your feelings."

"I learned that from you.” Marinette opened the door to the bakery and smiled at her mother. "Maman, Luka will be joining us for dinner if that's okay."

Sabine looked up as she closed up the pastry display case for the evening. "Tonight is your father's turn to make dinner and he always makes plenty." She smiled at both Marinette and Luka. "So glad to have you over again, Luka." It was obvious she wanted to ask if they were a couple again, but was resisting.

"Thank you, ma'am," Luka said politely. “It’s always nice to invited.”

“It's no trouble, why don't you two go hang out in Marinette's room? Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes,” Sabine said with a warm smile.

Luka had the strangest sense of deja vu as they climbed the stairs to the attic bedroom. His gaze swept automatically towards the sewing box by the desk. There was something important about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He kept some of his memories during Second Chance, but not all of them. He’d go crazy if he did that.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, her eyes shifted nervously towards the sewing kit.

"I've just got a strange sense of deja vu is all," Luka admitted. It probably had to do with his connection to Sass. He wasn't sure what had happened a few weeks ago, but thought that the next time he bonded with Sass he might remember.

As the Miraculous wearer of the Snake, he often dealt with overlapping memories as time re-wrote itself. The last time he'd been in Marinette's room, he'd had no idea she was Ladybug. Knowing her true identity, he saw her room differently. He could sense Sass, but he suspected the other kwami were watching him and Marinette with interest, especially with the way she kept flicking her hand back and forth as if she were shooing away tiny flying creatures.

Luka resisted the urge to grin. Maybe Marinette would consent to let him keep his Miraculous. He’d love to see the whole picture.
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"Luka's here? But I thought you were confessing your feelings for Adrien!" Fluff complained. Marinette shooed the kwami away from her face.

"Personally, I feel Luka is a more steady partner," Kaalki huffed.

"Both are fine humans," Sass said, as he'd worked with both. "Though, I do feel a stronger affinity for Mr. Couffaine. Can he please go on patrol tonight?" The snake hovered right over Luka's shoulder eagerly.

It took so much will power to not answer back to the kwami. Marinette already made a fool of herself in front of Adrien today. She didn't want to look foolish in front of Luka too. She had remembered to tuck away her obsessive wall of Adrien before she left the house earlier. Plastered on her wall were sketches from her fashion designs and photos of her friends — including a few of her and Luka. She picked up her sketch book and brought it over to Luka. "I did a few more designs for Kitty Section. Would you like to look over them while we wait?"

Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Viperion included on patrol that night. She dreaded eventually having to tell Chat Noir how abysmal her confession to Buttercup went. But she rarely interacted with the superhero of destruction as her civilian self. She needed to make sure her alter ego didn't share with her partner that her love interest wasn't interested in her — it would give him false hope about Ladybug and she didn't want to do that to him.
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"Plagg! What am I going to do?" Adrien cried out, plopping back on his bed. "I'm Buttercup!"

"You could just give her a chance," Plagg said. "Since Ladybug isn't interested, why not go out with her?"

"Because I'm a terrible boyfriend. Poor Kagami. I made her life miserable." Adrien looked over at the table where Plagg hovered over three different exotic cheeses trying to decide which to eat. "I can't do that to Marinette. She's been such a good friend to me and yet she doesn't even really know me. Everyone thinks I'm quiet, polite Adrien Agreste. But I'm silly and I like teasing and I love doing acrobatics through the rooftops of Paris!" He took his pillow and held it over his mouth and screamed. "I'm such a terrible friend! No wonder she and Luka broke up! He must hate me."

Plagg began munching on his favorite cheese of the three, Camembert. "Luka doesn't hate you. He's a good friend to both you and Marinette."

"Why would she choose me over him? He's got everything figured out. I'm just lost. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life outside of whatever my father has planned," Adrien lamented. "Luka's dad is Jagged Stone and he adores Marinette! My father treats her like the hired help."

"Do you liiiiiiike her?" Plagg asked.

"I never thought about her like that before," Adrien confessed. "She's a good person, such a big heart, so very kind and a loyal friend. And of course she's pretty, but she's always so awkward around me. I can't imagine trying to be in a relationship where we can't even converse without things getting awkward. And there's just too much I need to sort through on my own. I just want to focus on my work, school, and trying to reconnect with my father."

"How hard can modeling be?" Plagg asked.

"Not that work, our work - you and me," Adrien explained. "Besides, I'm trying to act like myself around Ladybug. I wouldn't be able to truly give my heart to anyone else while I feel this way about Ladybug."

Plagg groaned.

Adrien grabbed his phone and scrolled through until he got to Marinette’s name.

‘I’m really sorry about this afternoon. I hope you know you can still talk to me about anything. I’ll see you at school on Monday. Sleep well.’ Feeling satisfied by the text, Adrien hit send.

He stared at his phone for five minutes. When there was no response he scrolled through his contacts and pulled up Luka’s name.

‘Hey man, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate your friendship. I never meant to get in the way between you and Marinette. I really think you two are great together and I hope she realizes that before it’s too late.’ Adrien hit send. 'Maybe we can hang out tomorrow on the houseboat. I’d love to play some tunes.’

Luka responded with a photo of Marinette’s pink helmet. ‘She got a moped for her birthday. I’m making sure she doesn’t crash. She’ll be okay eventually. You shouldn’t feel pressured just because someone likes you. If you’re not ready, you gotta speak your truth. I plan to sleep in tomorrow. Should be good after two if you want to come over.’

Adrien stared at Luka’s text message. “She’s with Luka,” he said feeling incredulous. He looked at Plagg accusingly. “Why is she with Luka?”

Plagg shrugged. “Maybe because he’s interested in something other than friendship?”

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien leapt out his balcony and hoped he’d find something on patrol. It was a Saturday night in Paris — surely someone needed his help.
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There were no Akuma alerts, the news was mundane with a focus on the upcoming spring storm expected to arrive in the next couple of days and the bi-annual pet-adoption drive that would be hosted at the local pet store. Without an emergency to rush off towards, Marinette gave Luka her undivided attention. She’d gone through her sketch book with him and shown him her latest designs. He’d commented on certain aspects and she asked his opinions — he always had good ones. It had been comfortable sitting on the floor next to each other, thumbing through her work.

They’d only spent about twenty minutes hanging out in her room before her mother called to let them know dinner was ready.

Dinner was a typical Dupain-Cheng feast. “You should have another serving,” Sabine suggested, holding a spoon laden with a dollop of broccoli cheddar casserole.

Luka smiled and held his hands over his stomach. “I can’t eat another bite, Mrs. Cheng. I really appreciate this delicious meal, Mr. Dupain,” he said inclining his head towards Tom.

“We’re just happy to have Marinette’s friends over. She’s always so busy these days, running off to her different projects. I’m just glad that bully Chloe has stopped harassing her. The incident with the pool last year?” Tom shook his head in anger, his green eyes glimmered in ire. “No one should mess with such a sweet, kind-hearted person like Marinette.” He flashed a smile at Luka. “I hear she spends a lot of time with your band?”

“She’s designed all our costumes and is a real inspiration,” Luka said. He glanced at Marinette. He didn’t know about this pool incident, maybe he’d see if she might explain it to him. “I never get nervous when I look into the crowd and see Marinette’s presence.” He picked up his glass of water and sipped. “I’m happy to help with the dishes once everyone is done.”

“Non-sense!” Tom protested. “Sure! You and Marinette can do the dishes,” Sabine agreed simultaneously.

Marinette laughed. “Can Luka stay a little longer? Maybe play some video games?” She looked over at him, her bright periwinkle eyes wide. “I mean—if you want to, of course. You don’t have to!”

“That sounds fun.” Luka smiled softly. He picked up his empty plate and Marinette’s and then started for the kitchen, remembering where it was from previous visits. “I’ll get started. Do you want me to put away the left-overs?”

“I’ll do that,” Marinette answered, following after him.

They worked in tandem, storing the left overs, soaking, scrubbing, rinsing and drying the dishes, silverware, pots and pans. Their heights complimented one another — he could easily reach over her head when needed and she could fit in front of him. Occasionally, the smell of her jasmine shampoo tickled Luka’s nose. It took all his willpower not to bury his face in those dark tresses. He could already feel a song being written about just that.

He flicked a handful of bubbles onto Marinette’s nose playfully and she swiped it off and settled it onto his cheek.

Luka chuckled and with his arms deep in the sink, leaned over and wiped the bubble on her shoulder with his face.

Marinette shook her head. “You’re silly,” she whispered pausing a moment to dry her shoulder.

“What happened at the pool last year?” Luka asked quietly. “If you want to talk about it.”

She stared down at the glass in her hand and slowly started drying it. “I used to have a crush on this boy that loved swimming— it was my first crush. So I had suggested that we hang out at the pool. Well, for some reason, Chloe enjoys picking on me — she pulls strings at the school to make sure we’re in the same class every year. She found out about the crush — I’m not really sure how. Probably Sabrina overheard or something. She had the boy help her — he’s not very smart and he thought it was a funny joke. They’d gone to the animal feed store and gathered those live insects you feed to snakes? Stashed the opened bag in the locker I was using. I still have nightmares about the swarm of insects and I was so embarrassed.”

“That’s not funny nor is it a joke. It wasn’t that this boy wasn’t smart, Marinette. He was unkind.” Luka felt his temper flare. He was more versed in the tortures of the notorious bully Chloe — Juleka was a frequent target of the pompous brat as well. He wanted to protect Marinette, but he couldn’t go back in time. Maybe he could help her understand. “And Chloe is jealous of you. You have two parents that love you and you have this glow about you— this melody that lights up every room you walk in.”

“I’ve been jumpy ever since. I wasn’t really such a klutz until after that incident. And that’s also the reason for my meticulous plans. I try to anticipate all the things that could go wrong and plan accordingly— contingency after contingency. I haven’t been able to swim at that pool since then either.” Marinette shook her head. “It’s silly. It was just a bunch of bugs.”

That ability to plan meticulously and adapt was one of the reasons she was an excellent superhero. “There’s a really nice beach my family visits every Spring. Maybe next time, you come with us?” Luka suggested. “Juleka always brings Rose.”

“I would like that. I haven’t been to the beach since I was a little girl and we visited my Dad’s family in Italy.” Marinette dried off the last of the dishes and Luka drained the sink. “Come on, let’s go play the newest tournament-stye fighting game. My dad just got it last week and I haven’t had a chance to try it yet.”

“Sure,” Luka agreed. “Will your parents be playing too?”

“No, Papa is too competitive. I don’t want to take it too serious. Let’s just have fun.” Marinette grabbed hold of Luka’s wrist and led him to the family room. They played video games for an hour. Whenever they fought the best out of three matches, inevitably Luka would win one and she’d win two. She started to suspect that he kept throwing the third match because he definitely had impressive dexterity and hand-eye-coordination from years playing the guitar.

He was always more interested in the experience of playing than in winning.

“Marinette, I should probably head home. It’s getting late.” Luka stood and brushed his hands down the front of his pants, looking at the clock on the wall with a regretful crease furrowing his brow. His hands were a little damp from holding the video game controller so tight. She’d been a merciless opponent. “It’s going to take me some time to walk— so. Thanks for a pleasant evening, I enjoyed myself.”

“Walk? No! I’ll drive you!” Marinette rushed to her feet and started for her keys.

“You’re not experienced enough to drive at night on your own. Maybe after a few more practices during the day.” Luka smiled and laid his hand gently on her shoulder. “It’s fine. I like the night breeze. Since it’s supposed to rain starting the next few days, I won’t have much opportunity.”

“Or, you can stay?” Marinette suggested, raising her hands and covering his. “I have a sleeping bag and we can make a pallet on the floor — that’s what I do when Alya spends the night.”

Amusement danced in those light aqua eyes. “I’m not sure your parents will appreciate a guy spending the night, Marinette,” Luka explained patiently. “Even if they’ve tolerated me fairly well so far.”

“Non-sense, Luka!” Marinette’s bear of a father, Tom, entered the room, his large form obscuring the light from the window and cast them into darkness. “I trust you — you’re always such a nice young man. You’ve helped our bakery so many times with deliveries and you always take such good care of Marinette. She couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend! Just remember, I have good hearing.” Tom chuckled and slapped his hand on Luka’s shoulder, knocking the teen to the side a little with the force. “So don’t try anything.”

“Papa!” Marinette’s cheeks were crimson in embarrassment.

Luka didn’t correct that he was no longer the boyfriend. He’d be more than happy to accept the title once more. “Thank you, Mr. Dupain. I’ll just text my mom to let her know I’ll be home in the morning.”

“I’ll bake you fresh pastries to bring to your mother and sister!” Tom suggested with his green eyes flashing excitedly. “But, in the morning, because it is way past this baker’s bedtime.”

Marinette’s mother walked into the living room with her arms laden with bedding tucked inside a turquoise laundry basket. “Here’s a couple of thick blankets for you Luka and actually, you left an outfit here weeks ago. It’s been freshly laundered so you can change if you want — take a shower. Just relax. We’re downstairs if you need us.” The friendly smile she flashed dispelled all concerns of any parental disapproval.

The two friends watched Tom and Sabine retreat into their bedroom and practically left the teens to their own devices.

Marinette stared at her parents closed door. “I cannot believe my parents have no issue with you staying the night. I’d already gone through a litany of reasons why they should allow it — ready to argue our case— and they didn’t even ask!”

“It’s because they trust you.” Luka lifted the laundry basket Sabine had left on the floor. “Then if you don’t mind, you lead and I’ll follow.” He grinned down at her. “We might as well start our slumber party.”

They climbed up the stairs into Marinette’s attic bedroom. She settled on her bed and Luka stretched out on the floor with his pallet. He’d already texted his mom — she told him not to bother coming home before noon. Luka turned on the music app on his phone and they relaxed while listening to some songs together.

“Do you want to hang out tomorrow?” Marinette asked. She really wasn’t ready to relive her embarrassing rejection with any of her other friends. Luka wouldn’t make her talk about it again. And it was always nice to be around him — assuming Hawk Moth didn’t interfere.

“Sure, if you’re not tired of me by then,” Luka answered casually. “We could go ice skating, but it’s usually pretty crowded on Sundays.” He drummed his fingers absently across his stomach and noted his chipped nails. “Or we could go get manicures and pedicures?”

“You do mani-pedis?” Marinette giggled and then covered her mouth, worried she’d hurt his feelings. “I’ve never actually had one before.”

“Sure.” Luka yawned and belatedly covered his mouth. “Mom has been taking me and Juleka since our eighth birthday.”

“The bakery is usually pretty busy on Sunday mornings with all the delivery app requests,” Marinette cautioned.

“I’d be happy to help you make the deliveries,” Luka volunteered. “The nail saloon I usually visit doesn’t open until ten on Sundays anyways. The breakfast rush should be over by then.”

Marinette tossed her pillow towards Luka and he caught it with ease. “You don’t have to be so nice, you know?” She felt her eyes well up with tears and wiped at them angrily, looking away from him towards where the box containing the Miraculous was hidden away. “I was a terrible girlfriend to you and you’re still being the best friend ever!”

Luka said nothing and all she could hear was her own ragged breathing. Then she felt the edge of the bed shift under his weight as Luka sat next to her. He slipped his arms around her and held her against him. “Marinette, I’m not mad at you and I still think you’re the most amazing girl I know. Maybe you need to not worry about being anyone’s girlfriend and just be you.”

She turned into him and buried her face against his neck, breathing in the comforting scent of sea breeze that seemed to radiate from his skin. “The whole reason I broke up with you was because I didn’t want to keep lying to you,” Marinette confessed. She leaned back to look into those lovely aqua eyes.

Luka raised a dark eyebrow. “Oh? It’s not because I’m not Adrien?”

Marinette shook her head. “I still liked you —- of course, I have feelings for you! You’re kind, smart, creative, gorgeous.” She sighed. “You’re the only person I’ve ever felt completely comfortable around. You know, even if Adrien had accepted my confession, it wouldn’t have fixed my problem. I’d have ended up lying to him too.”

“If you weren’t worried about revealing your secret identity, it would be a lot easier, Marinette.” Luka glanced towards where the Miraculous box was tucked away. “You realize as Viperon, I retain countless memories. I’ve seen a thousand possibilities and countless algorithms that go awry. But, even before you entrusted me with Sass, I have recognized you for several months now.”

“What are you saying, Luka?” Marinette chewed her bottom lip.

“I’m saying I know you’re the Guardian of the Miraculous, Marinette. I know you spend most of your nights and half of your days with Chat Noir trying to keep Paris safe.” Luka took hold of Marinette’s small hands inside his large ones, his thumbs rubbing absent circles over her knuckles. “I’m saying you don’t have to continue to carry all the weight on your shoulders alone.”

“Do you want to keep the Miraculous of the Snake?” Marinette asked quietly.

“If you need me to,” Luka said. “I’m at your disposal. You’re the guardian. But I want you to think of me as your shield. If I can’t be your boyfriend, then i want to be your protector. I’m definitely your friend.”

She looked to the side and smiled faintly before nodding. “Well, Sass wants to be reunited with you.” She pulled her hands from his grasp and stretched across her bed and opened a hidden compartment before removing the Snake Miraculous and handed the small lacquered box to Luka.

He opened the familiar box and slipped the bracelet over his wrist. “Hello, Sass,” Luka greeted with a gentle smile.

“Welcome my old friend.” The snake miraculous flew around Luka and then as if in unison the other kwami ventured out of their storage and swarmed the two friends — talking at once and so excited to have another human to converse.
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Marinette laid in her bed, snug under her covers on her side, watching Luka’s sleeping form a few feet away on the floor of her room. He looked so calm and peaceful, his dark hair obscuring half his face. He slept on his back with his arms tucked under the pillow under his head.

She grabbed her phone to check to make sure there were no Akuma alerts and then settled back. Her mind was racing with all the emotional turmoil of the day. She’d confessed to Adrien and been rejected. She drove to Luka’s boathouse and they’d ridden around Paris. Then she’d spent all evening and night with her ex-boyfriend.

Then she learned he knew her secret identity — no wonder he wasn’t mad about her lies. And wasn’t that the whole reason she broke up with him? And now she’d entrusted him with the Miraculous of the Snake — permanently. And there was the added benefit of when he donned the Snake, he didn’t time out because the Miraculous considered Luka an adult.

“I can hear you thinking, Marinette. It’s late. You really need to get some sleep,” Luka said, never opening his eyes, but aware of her anyway.

“How do you do that?”

Luka cracked one eye open to look at her sleepily. “Because I can hear your music. You’re just full of nervous energy.”

“Well, maybe I need a good night kiss,” Marinette suggested teasingly. She didn’t think he’d take her seriously. They were just going to be friends, right?

Luka’s eyes opened completely and he stared at the ceiling for a few precious heartbeats. “Marinette, do you want me to kiss you?” He shifted his gaze back to her, all mirth gone from his face, his expression unreadable.

“I—yes. I think I do, Luka.” Marinette swallowed bravely. With Luka, there were no panic attacks, no sweaty palms, no stuttered words — just a rapid beating of her heart.

Luka sat up and crawled to the side of Marinette’s bed, on his knees his face aligned with hers as she lay on her side. He traced his hand through her loose hair and cupped her cheek. “Good night, Marinette.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against hers for a fleeting moment. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Marinette smiled at him hesitantly, her lips still tingling for his touch. “Good night, Luka.”

He pulled away and laid back in his sleeping bag, back in his previous position. “And Marinette, if you want a hamster. You should just get one — we can visit the pet store tomorrow.”

“It sounds like we’ll be having a busy day,” Marinette mused. “Deliveries, manicures, pet-store. I’m sure we’ll need to eat at some point. The drive back to the boathouse.” She ticked off the items on her fingers, watching him the whole time and enjoying the transcendent look of the moon’s beams dancing on the light blue tips of his hair.

“Or we can do absolutely nothing together.” Luka looked back over at her, his aqua eyes intense with adoration— for her. “If I’m with you — it will be a great day.”

“Luka, I don’t think I want to just be your friend,” Marinette said softly.

“I’m okay with not just being your friend either,” Luka agreed.
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The soft glow of sunrise illuminated Marinette’s bedroom in a warm yellow through her Eastern facing balcony. She opened her sleep-heavy eyes and sat up abruptly as she remembered just who spent the night. Luka’s bedroll was empty and she could hear the sound of the shower running in her bathroom.

Which meant that her very handsome former boyfriend was naked only a few meters away. Marinette’s cheeks grew hot with the imagery and she grabbed her brush and tried to smooth out the tangles of her bedhead. Yesterday morning, her mother, father, and paternal grandparents had sang her happy birthday over a large strawberry muffin shortly after breakfast. She’d made her wish — to find true love!

Her phone had been chiming with texts from her friends wishing her a happy birthday, but one in particular had excited her over-eager heart. Adrien had asked if there was anything she’d like to do with him for her birthday! His father was in London for the weekend and since it had been a while since they’d hung out he wanted to make it up to her.

Marinette had waited eagerly for Adrien and his driver to pick her up for a visit to the Museum of Art. They’d strolled side by side, with the Gorilla bodyguard trailing behind. She’d only fumbled over her words a few times and Adrien had chuckled nervously at some of her attempted jokes. At least she hadn’t tripped or crashed into any of the ancient artwork.

Standing in front of the Ancient Egyptian exhibit, having learned of Pharaoh Hatshepsut and her love for the Grand Architect Senemut, she’d been reminded of her role as Ladybug and her partner Chat Noir. She’d read in some of the older manuscripts about previous barriers of the Ladybug Miraculous dating back to Ancient Egypt. She knew Tikki was actually older than the solar system, so there may have been Miraculous users on other planets in other galaxies — she would never know. After contemplating the mysteries of the universe, Marinette felt brave enough to finally confess her feelings for Adrien. Because in the grand scheme of things, that should have been only a minor obstacle.

Project Buttercup had been an epic fail and the awkward car ride home only sufficed for them to both stew in their mutual misery. But, when she got home, her family distracted her almost immediately with her big gift— her very own moped! She would never have to rely on someone else for her transportation and soon she’d have such freedom!

Her grandparents had left shortly afterwards and then her father had recommended she ask Luka to help her practice driving.

And somehow, that had ended up in her spending the entire evening in the company her former boyfriend. Not only had it not been awkward — somehow it never was with Luka — but it had managed to one-eighty her entire birthday experience. She wasn’t even disappointed in Adrien’s rejection anymore.

Had gaining Adrien’s affection just been a goal? Were her feelings less genuine than she thought? Did she just want to make her lonely friend feel loved? If that was the case, she could do that as his friend.

“Good morning, Marinette!” Tikki greeted landing on her pillow. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling okay.” She smiled down at her crimson kwami.

Both her cell phone and her yoyo communicator had messages. She checked her yoyo first and found a voice message from her partner Chat Noir.

“Hello milady! I’m wrapping up patrol, sorry I missed you. Pretty quiet tonight. It’s not nearly as fun prowling around the city without you. Hope to see you tomorrow!”

Marinette felt a twinge of guilt for not checking on her partner. There had been no Akuma alerts and he hadn’t called requesting help, so it was fine.

“It’s okay to take a night to yourself every once in a while, Marinette,” Tikki said, her soprano soothing.

“You’ve worked with a lot of Ladybugs over the centuries, Tikki.” Marinette wanted to ask how she stacked up, but she didn’t want confirmation that she was subpar.

Tikki settled on Marinette’s shoulder and hugged her neck. “You’re the youngest holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. You’re brave and creative and caring. I’m honored to be working with you.” She angled Marinette’s face towards the bathroom. and she heard the faint sound of Luka singing in the shower. “It’s happened before that the Snake discovers the holder of the Ladybug — it almost always happens The Snake can only be managed by someone with an extreme strong sense of awareness.”

“What about when Ladybug and Chat Noir discover each other’s identities?” Marinette asked.

“Why don’t you ask, Luka? If it’s already happened, he would know,” Tikki said.

Marinette fell back against her pillow and listened to Luka singing. She didn’t recognize the song, nor the melody. Was he making it up? She picked up her phone and scrolled through the text messages.

The one from Alya was a bunch of good luck four-leaf clovers and crossed-finger emojis. 🍀 🍀 🍀 🤞 🤞 🤞

Juleka had texted her: 'You and Luka have fun tonight. Why don’t you come over Sunday evening? I invited Rose and the four of us can watch a scary movie on the Liberty. There will be that buttery popcorn you like!' 🍿 🎥

And there had been one from Adrien— it had been sent pretty late, around nine the night before. 'Hey, Marinette. I hope you’re not too disappointed in me. I had hoped our time together on your birthday would be a pleasant memory, but I’m afraid I messed that up. You are a wonderful girl and any guy would be lucky to have you. I’m sorry I can’t be that guy. There’s just too much for me to deal with at the moment with my father. You can ask Kagami, I’m not boyfriend material. I texted Luka earlier, I know he was going to visit you. As your friend, I think you should focus on the best guy either of us know. He never stopped being your biggest supporter. Hopefully, we’ll still be okay for lunch together at school on Monday. Zhù nǐ yīqiè shùnlì.'

Marinette felt her eyes well-up with tears. Adrien’s message had been very considerate and his closing phrase had been written in Mandarin, telling her to ‘Be well.’

The door to the bathroom opened and thick, steamy air with the familiar scent of her jasmine body wash waifed into her room. Luka stood there with a towel tied around his waist and another towel in his hands drying his blue-tipped hair. “Good morning.” He flashed his gentle smile at her. “How are you feeling, Marinette? I hope you don’t mind I used your shower gel.”

“As long as you don’t mind smelling like jasmine all day,” Marinette teased with a shy returning smile. His bare chest was leanly muscled and there was a very faint feathering of dark hair leading from his belly button to disappear below the towel. She looked down at her hands, feeling her ears burn. He was merely finishing his shower and she was busy objectifying him.

“I’ve always been partial to the scent.” Luka finished drying his hair and hung the towel on the hook on the bathroom wall. He walked towards the laundry basket and gathered the clothes Sabine has left for him. “Forgot my clothes,” he murmured before retreating to the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Marinette fanned herself with her hand. She needed to start getting ready for the bakery deliveries. The normal delivery guy was on vacation and she’d volunteered to try out her new moped. She’d felt fairly confident in her ability to operate the small motorcycle — at least during the daylight and when traffic was light. And Luka had kindly volunteered to assist.

She rolled out of bed and started to gather her clothes for the day. She wiped her hand down her face making sure she was truly awake. Did Luka really stay the night? Did she really have her first kiss— in her room — with Luka Couffaine?

The handsome musician emerged from the bathroom again, but this time fully dressed with only slightly damp hair. “I’m going to go downstairs and see if your parents need any help.” His miraculous bracelet on his wrist caught the morning light.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Marinette chanced a look up and met Luka’s warm aqua gaze. Was it greedy to hope for another kiss? Maybe sometime later that day — after her teeth were brushed. “I enjoyed your singing— in the shower.”

Luka chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “You heard that, huh? It’s just something I’m working on. Every time I’m around you, that’s the melody I hear.” He flashed her one more smile and then opened the trap door and descended downstairs.

Marinette snatched up her phone and messaged Alya. She sent a series of heart emojis, a guitar, and the image of sunset. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 🎸 🌇
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Tom and Sabine had been working hard in the bakery since four in the morning. They were both wide awake when Luka joined them. “Good morning,” he greeted.

“Did you sleep well?” Tom asked. “I know that floor can be hard, but with a young back like yours it shouldn’t have been too uncomfortable.”

“The blankets were cushion enough,” Luka assured them. “I’m used to sleeping on a boat, so it was a little different adjusting to solid ground.” He noted the stacks of boxes. “Are these the deliveries for this morning?”

“Yes, I’ve already arranged them geographically. These are the ones ready to go. It should take about a half-dozen trips,” Sabine said, apologetically. “I”m sorry you kids have to work on your morning off.”

“It’s hardly work when I get to spend time with Marinette.” Luka shrugged off their concern. He read the addresses on the first group of boxes and then started to load them into the basket that would attach to Marinette’s moped. “This one isn’t far from the Liberty. I could pick up my bike and we’d double our speed. What’s the delivery window?”

“The next two hours,” Tom said. “I’ll keep most of the pastries on the warmer and won’t finish boxing them up until you two are ready to deliver.”

“That won’t be enough time to pick up my bike and circle back.” He sat at one of the unoccupied tables. The bakery wouldn’t officially open for another two hours. “We’ll make do with Marinette’s bike.” Luka started to drum his fingers across the tabletop and hummed absently — the same song he’d been singing in the shower.

“So did you two make up?” Sabine asked, pulling the chair across from him and joining him at the table. She set a pastry in front of him along with a cup of green tea.

“I certainly hope so,” Luka said. He ate the breakfast and enjoyed the fact that he didn’t have to prepare it himself. He loved his mother, but cooking was not her forte. Until he learned his way around the kitchen, he’d grown up eating cold cereal and pop tarts for breakfast. “She’s a special girl.”

Marinette’s parents exchanged knowing glances.

“Good morning!” Marinette greeted as she hopped into her boots and joined them. “I”m ready! Luka and I can start the deliveries.” She flashed a confident smile at Luka. “You okay eating breakfast when we get back? Or do you need something now?”

He gestured towards his empty plate. “I just finished. Do you need something?”

She took a cup of green tea that her mother offered and downed it, only grimacing slightly at the hot liquid that scalded her throat. “Nope! I’m good!” She leaned over and kissed her father’s cheek and then hugged her mother.

Luka picked up the first batch of deliveries and they started their rounds. He enjoyed riding behind Marinette, the tips of her dark hair peeked out from her helmet and he amused himself watching the wispy hairs flutter in the wind. He enjoyed the feel of her back pressed flush against his chest. He could hold her for hours. She drove a little fast, but she’d already grown more confident in managing the moped compared to the day before.

He carried the boxes to the clients and was met with warm smiles and eager bellies. The Dupain-Cheng bakery had quite a list of loyal, happy repeat customers. Exactly an hour and a half after they started, the duo completed all their deliveries. The traffic had been lighter than usual.

“Time for you to eat, Marinette,” Luka said once they returned to the bakery. “Then we can go have that mani-pedi.”

She nodded. “Oh, Juleka sent a text. She invited me to join you guys for popcorn and a movie on the Liberty tonight.”

“If you’re not sick of me by then,” Luka agreed. “I’ll pick you up around five and drop you home after the movie. That way you won’t have to drive at night.” He followed Marinette into the family kitchen, outside of the public bakery. While she ate her own breakfast, he sat next to her at the bar. “Adrien asked to hang out with me this afternoon. Will you be okay seeing him? I can make it so you don’t cross paths. It’s your birthday weekend — your wish is my command.”

Marinette finished her pastry before answering. “Either way. He sent me a text yesterday too. I think we’ll be fine around each other.” She poked his shoulder and flashed him a shy smile. “He’s not the one I’m hoping to kiss later today.”

Luka smiled back at her. “I wonder who that lucky person is?”
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Marinette giggled as she placed her bare feet into the warm water at the nail salon. The jets of water tickled. Luka smiled over at her in the leather massaging chair next to hers. She had picked a pale pink for her fingernails but opted to leave her toenails unpainted, following Luka’s suggestion.

“Do you paint your nails because you like the Rockstar look?” Marinette asked.

Luka shook his head. “While it is somewhat fashionable — your designer eyes would see that. I do it for a more functional reason. It helps strengthen my nails, keeps them from splitting when I’m playing my guitar.”

The salon workers returned and the two ladies began chatting with each other quietly while they worked massaging and trimming the couple’s nails. Marinette flinched when the woman took what looked like a cheese grater and ran it over the soles of her feet.

“I didn’t realize you were so ticklish,” Luka murmured, watching her with amusement twinkling in this aqua eyes.

“I didn’t know I was,” Marinette said through clenched teeth. It took all her willpower to keep from squirming in her chair.

“My favorite part are the warm, smooth river stones. You’ll see. And the wax casing they do — it’s probably going to tickle you as well.” Luka smiled at her apologetically. “You can hold my hand if it gets too much. Our fingernails should be dry by now.”

He extended his hand to her and Marinette took it, not because her nerves in her feet were tingling, but because Luka was the boy that didn’t ask for anything. And the hope reflect in his eyes when he extended his hand tugged at her heartstrings. And it felt nice to hold hands with a boy she cared about.

Feeling freshly scrubbed, her nails a pale pink, and her calf muscles and feet very relaxed after a very thorough massage, Marinette walked along the sidewalk with Luka, holding his hand still, but now with their fingers entwined.

The pet store wasn’t a far walk from the nail salon. Marinette felt positively pretty and girly walking next to the tall, lean musician. The pet store had opened fairly early that morning due to the biannual adoption program that was in full swing.

There was a black cat with green eyes that drew her attention, but she turned away from it purposely. She really hoped Chat Noir wouldn’t ask her about Project Buttercup next time they spoke. Luka led her to the aisle with the hamsters and she watched the cute, furry creatures running on their wheels and sleeping in a huddle under tiny shelters.

“You know, having a pet right now, might be more responsibility than you have time for,” Luka pointed out. “You have quite a few creatures you’re looking over as it is.” He referenced the kwamis. He led her further into the store to one of the back walls full of glass cases with snakes inside. He placed his free hand over the glass partition and the snake inside poked its head towards him in curiosity.

“Are you thinking of getting a pet?” Marinette asked. She watched the mesmerized look that passed between Luka and the green and gold reptile.

“No time soon, but wouldn’t it be cool to have a snake during a concert? Dad has his crocodile.” Luka trailed off and shook his head. “That would be selfish and impractical though. The loud noises and vibrations would be extremely disturbing to a snake.” He leaned away from the wall and glanced once more over the store and the people milling about.

“I think we should go,” Marinette suggested.

Luka nodded. He squeezed her hand and they walked back outside in the direction of her moped. “I know humans and animals can comfort each other, but it seems unfair that those animals are being judged on whether they are worthy or not to be picked as a pet. What sort of process are the humans vetted under to see if they can care for an animal properly?”

“I had never really thought of it like that,” Marinette murmured.

“I think that one day, when I’m on my own and not living in a boathouse, I’d like a dog or a cat — rescued from a shelter.” He smiled down at her and brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of her knuckles. “Though, I wouldn’t mind a hamster either— one day.”
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The houseboat was empty when Luka waved back at Marinette.  He watched from the dock as she vanished into the distance until he couldn’t see any more pink.  She’s progressed quickly in her skills on the motorbike.  He hoped that meant they’d see each other more often.

Likely his mother and sister went to get some fresh groceries.  It was the Sunday afternoon routine for his family.  He ambled towards the kitchen and found the sink full of dirty dishes.  No one in his family was particularly tidy.  He’d often had the stray t-shirt tossed on his bedroom floor, but the kitchen and the bathroom — he was a firm believer they needed to be clean at all times.

Luka got to work on righting the kitchen.  He wondered if his father was a tidy person or if he had staff to clean up after him. While he soaked the dishes in soapy water, Luka began to hum.  It was an upbeat tune, just like his mood.

His kwami, Sass, flew into view and hovered to his right.  “It’s good to have you back, Sass.”

“It’sssss good to be back, Luka,” Sass answered.  As the de facto kwami leader of the Miracle Box, the Miraculous of Intuition bonded best with natural-born leaders. “It issss always difficult to find someone wisssse enough to use my powerssss. The burden of so many memoriessss is often difficult for humans.”

“I can see that.  You have to decide when to rewind time and when to let it ride,” Luka mused.  “It’s hard to know when you need to let go of something.”

“How are you feeling?” Sass fluttered about the sink, peering into the soapy depths.  

“Are you hungry?” Luka asked, avoiding the question.  He was trying to not think too deeply about how he felt.  He just knew he was in a good mood after spending so much time in Marinette’s company.  “There’s still some food in the pantry.”

For much of his life, Luka had tried to stay calm and meditate on the soothing sounds of the river.  His mother was an amazing woman and his sister was kind and funny.  Luka had felt anger— so much of it.  As he grew up without having any idea of his father’s identity, it had left him feeling unmoored and adrift.  It was so strange that it ended up being his father’s music that brought him a sense connection to the world around him.  Discovering music led to Luka’s discovery of peace.  And that mutual love for Jagged Stone brought him Marinette.  Now, he knew who his father was — but it didn’t change who Luka was.  It was just another pleasant connection to another human.  And his love for Marinette — the instant connection to her — he would reshape the world for her.  So, unfortunately, he also understood Shadow Moth’s motivation.

“Perhapsssss later.” Sass moved to settle on Luka’s shoulder and leaned against his neck.  “I know you have strong feelingsssss for Marinette.  Are you okay?”

Luka focused on rinsing the dishes and placing them in the drainer.  “I’ve been in love with Marinette from the moment I first saw her.  It was just my bad timing that she’d fallen in love like that with someone else first.  My feelings for her haven’t changed, but I hope that with her trusting me — completely — we’ll have a better chance for a healthy partnership.  We’ve always had fun around each other.”  He shut off the water and dried his hands.  “She’s the inspiration for half my songs.  Even when we’re not together, just being around her helps me feel at peace.”  He smiled faintly as he pictured her in his mind — dark hair pulled back, bright blue eyes shining in excitement as she showed him her latest fashion design, her watching him perform on stage with her hands clasped over her chest.

“What about Chat Noir?” Sass asked, his voice laced with concern.  “There’ssss only been one time in the history of the Zodiac Miraculoussss where my holder and the Ladybug holder end up together.  It’s almost alwayssss the Cat she endssss up with.  Tikki and Plagg are bound to one another — it’s hard for their userssss to not feel the same.”

Luka moved to the breakfast table and sat down heavily in the wooden chair.  It was a thick seaworthy wood - Teak.  Those four chairs were his mother’s prized possessions.  “I’ve seen Chat flirt with Ladybug and Marinette confessed to Adrien yesterday.”  He folded his arms over the table and cushioned his head over his forearms.  “Are you saying their attraction was influenced by Tikki and Plagg?”

Sass nodded.  “That is my susssspicion.”

“What about the time Ladybug and your previous holder ended up together?” Luka asked.  “I don’t think my relationship should be dictated by precedent.  I’m me and Marinette is Marinette.”

“In that time, long ago, the two holdersss knew each other prior to obtaining the Miraculous,” Sass explained.  “They already had a connection.  But even so, once the Cat Miraculoussss was entrusted to another, Ladybug gravitated to him.  It was only after his death that she and the Snake were finally together — though they did remain close throughout.”

Luka chuckled.  “So he bided his time too, huh?”

“I sssssuppose ssssso.”

“After that cat user passed, did the serpent combine powers with the cat later?” Luka asked.

“Ssssometimessss,” Sass agreed.  “Ladybug’s powers work best that way.  But the current Chat Noir is not a good holder for my powers.  He failed twenty-five thousand nine hundred and thirteen times before you were given back the Ouroboros bracelet to correct a situation.  Though, one time he managed in two times to correct a problem.  He issss not you.”

Luka remembered just a few weeks ago when Shadow Moth had defeated both Ladybug and Chat Noir.  Sass had found Luka and explained the consequences of using the Absolute Power.  Luka had given Sass permission to go back and prevent that fate.  It was an odd feeling to save the world and have no one remember you did it — except for the Snake Miraculous and Luka themselves.  

“Let’s get you some food.”  Luka rose from the table.  “Then I’m taking a nap.  Adrien will be here in about an hour.  I have a feeling he’s going to want to talk.”

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Independence.  There as nothing quite like it.  Marinette felt confident on her moped— at least during the day.  Twice, she’d driven out to The Liberty to pick up or drop off Luka.  With him behind her, she’d made all the deliveries for the bakery.  She could do it!  Both Luka and her parents had asked that she limit herself to driving only during the day for now.  After a few weeks, she could drive without restriction.

Since the night was usually busy with Ladybug patrols, Marinette didn’t have any issues with that condition.  Her mobile phone kept chiming with messages from Alya.  Her friend desperately wanted an explanation, but Marinette just wanted to relax in her bedroom, stare at the ceiling, and enjoy her freshly painted pink fingernails.

“You know, Marinette,” Tikki said, coming to rest on her pillow.  “You haven’t looked this peaceful in a long time.”

“Do the Miraculous users for Ladybug and the Cat always end up involved romantically, Tikki?”  She looked over at her crimson kwami.  “I don’t want to hurt Luka again.”

Tikki flew into the air and her antenna twitched thoughtfully.  “Usually, but not always.  There was this time in ancient Egypt where Ladybug and the Snake Miraculous user were together.”

“Oh?” Marinette sat up, eager to hear the story.  She’d just gone to the museum with Adrien the day before.  The Egyptian exhibit had captured her interest.  “Can you tell me more?”

Tikki settled on her shoulder.  “The Ladybug at that time was originally a princess when she first acquired the Miraculous. Eventually, she became the Pharaoh.”

“A woman Pharaoh?” Marinette’s pulse began to race.  “Was it Pharaoh Hatshepsut?” She’d been the second female pharaoh and was of the Eighteenth dynasty.  She’d lived thirty-six hundred years ago.

Tikki nodded.  “She was very wise and creative.”

“And the Grand Architect Senemut was the Snake Miraculous holder?” Marinette asked.  

“Architect, Royal Tutor, Chief Counselor to the Pharaoh, the best friend ever.”  Tikki smiled in memory. “Maybe we can visit their mortuary temples off the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari.  They should still be in good condition.  Senemut was extremely meticulous in his planning.”  She sighed happily. “Luka does remind me of Sene.”

Marinette snatched up her phone and scrolled past the messages from Alya and started typing Luka.

‘Hey!  I was talking to a friend about ancient Egypt.  I’ve got to tell you the story about Pharaoh Hatshepsut and her Chief Architect Senemut.  There’s an exhibit about them at the museum.  Maybe we can check it out.’    

Marinette stared at her phone while Luka tapped out his response.  Those familiar little dots showed up immediately.  It felt nice that he started answering her text immediately.

‘Hey Ma-Ma-Marinette!  You literally just dropped me off only an hour ago.  I gotta admit to feeling flattered that you’re already thinking of me.  We can talk more about it this evening.  Maybe we can even hop on an airplane during the summer break.  Luxor is only a five hour plane ride from Paris.  I’m spending a few weeks with Dad next month and he said he’d take me anywhere in the world I wanna go — I wanna go anywhere with you.’

Marinette felt her cheeks warm with a blush.  Would her parents let her travel to another country with Luka under the supervision of Jagged Stone?  Would she be able to protect Paris from abroad?  She could travel pretty fast these days in her Ladybug form with the various modifications of evolution she’d created once she applied the knowledge from the grimoire— as long as the notifications about Akumatizations worked, it should be possible.

Another text appeared.  It was a photo of Luka and Adrien sitting together on the Liberty’s deck shooting her the Victory sign.  Marinette dropped her phone in shock.  She knew they were friends, but her ex-boyfriend/current boyfriend  hanging out with the boy she’d spent the past school year crushing on that had rejected her was still a difficult thing to process.  She glanced towards her wall where she’d removed her shrine to Adrien.  

Given the comfort she felt in Luka’s presence, she wasn’t surprised that Adrien too found joy in the musician’s company.

She flipped on her photo printer and sent the image.  Moments later, she had a four by six photo of her two favorite guys.  “Just add Chat Noir and you’ll have my three best guy friends,” she murmured. 

‘I literally just printed that photo and put it on my wall.’ Marinette texted back.

‘We’re just missing your beautiful melody.’  Luka sent back.  ‘I’ll pick you up in a few hours. Take it easy and rest up.’

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“So.” 

“So, yeah.  I guess we’re cool then, huh?” Adrien chuckled after Luka sent Marinette the selfie of the two of them.  

 “We’re always cool, Adrien,” Luka assured him.  He tucked his phone into his pocket and picked his guitar back up.  Yesterday evening and that morning was officially the longest he’d been away from the instrument.  “Did you want to talk about it?”

Adrien leaned his head against the wall.  “I didn’t realize she had such strong feelings for me.  I mean — I always thought you two were really great together.  It was only when she was dating you that she didn’t act anxious and awkward around me and I really started to consider her one of my best friends.”

Luka began to strum his guitar.  “She liked you first. Marinette cannot move on from one idea to another until she’s done everything to see if the first idea will work.”  He smiled at Adrien.  “Her melody is much calmer now.”

“You’re a lucky man, Luka,” Adrien murmured.  

“How’s it going with your father?” Luka saw the exhaustion sat heavy on his younger friend’s shoulders.   

“He’s still as strict as ever.  His hair is white and no longer blond these days.  He’s obsessed with making tasteless pancakes.”  Adrien chuckled with a sad smile.  “And he’s been spending time in London a lot.  It’s good when he’s gone.  Nathalie has been very lenient.  She says it’s what Mother would have wanted.”

“So what are you wanting to do these days?” Luka asked.  He set aside his guitar, crossed his arms behind his head, and leaned against the wall like his friend.  “The summer break will be here soon.  Are you going to London with your dad?” 

“Maybe, but I don’t know.  I don’t really like leaving Paris.  I can get overwhelmed when I travel,” Adrien admitted.  “Honestly, I was hoping to spend most of the summer either here with you or hanging with Nino or Max.”  He sighed.  “It’s awkward with fencing now that Kagami and I broke up.  We’re still friends, but her mother has been extremely pushy.  I thought it would be nice to spend more time hanging with Marinette, but after yesterday…”

“People have to shoot their shot, Adrien.  You don’t always hit the target.  You just find a new song.  You’re welcome to hang out with us on the Liberty.  Jagged wants me to accompany him on some of his travels this summer.  He has a gig in Rio de Janeiro in a couple of months, but otherwise it’s pretty chill.”

“That’s really far from Paris.”  Adrien twisted the onyx ring on his finger.  

“You can travel, Adrien.  You don’t have to be in Paris to work,” Luka pointed out.

Adrien turned towards Luka slowly, realizing he’d been playing with his ring.  He caught the silver glint of the metal bracelet on Luka’s wrist.  “That’s an interesting bracelet you have.”

“Yes, it is,” Luka agreed.  

Chapter Text

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The power of the Miraculous was strong. The Guardian was aware of multiple identities of the user and often times the Snake Miraculous user was aware just due to the plethora of memories and timelines they experienced. So while Adrien remembered being the Snake himself a few times, he couldn’t say for sure if Luka’s Ouroboros bracelet was the same or not.

“Are you?” Adrien asked, his face contorted in a mixture of conflicting emotions. “Viperion?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“We are both Miraculous users,” Luka confirmed. “The current Guardian has decided to allow me to keep the Snake permanently.” He smiled faintly, he and Sass really were quite good friends.

“Then— do you know Ladybug’s identity too?” Adrien was a little too eager.

Luka began to strum on his guitar and let Adrien’s excitement cool down. “You’ve found out each other’s secret identity seven times now,” Luka explained. “Every time, the world was destroyed.” He met Adrien’s gaze. “I know, because I’m the one that had to fix it. Every time.”

“Seven times?” Adrien slumped back against the wall. “What happened? Do I turn into Chat Blanc?”

“A couple of times.” Luka started to pick up the tune to something more up beat. “But it always works out, so don’t fret, Adrien. At least you don’t have to make up lame excuses around me.” He glanced over and caught Adrien’s eye. “You’re a pretty terrible liar.”

The blond laughed nervously. “I suppose that’s true!” He rubbed the tension in the back of his neck. “Will you be picking up more patrols then?”

Luka shrugged. “If needed.” He started humming the tune to the song he’d been working on for Marinette. He was calling it Rewrite the Stars. He didn’t think it was Marinette and Adrien knowing each other’s identities that caused their loss against Shadow Moth. He suspected it was the change in their dynamic — they were too distracted in their mutual crush whenever they got together. It had been hard to watch them implode — every single time.

“That song, it’s really nice,” Adrien marveled.

“You want to jam out?” Luka asked. “We can work on that piece about the Queen Bee.”

Adrien laughed. “I thought that was a joke song.”

Luka shrugged. “Maybe, but it had a catchy beat. And songs about villains can beeee fun too.” He wasn’t a huge fan of Chloe, but he could see the girl was in pain. Part of him felt sorry for her, but the bigger part was irritated by her antics. He would have preferred if she didn’t lash out her pain on his girlfriend and baby sister. It was probably a good thing they were at different schools. “She’s your friend.”

“Sometimes, I really wonder if she is. The things she does to Marinette — it’s really bad, and she’s never apologetic,” Adrien pointed out. “But Ladybug keeps trying to give her chances. And when that happens, she sometimes shows a glimmer of the kind girl I remember from when we were little.”

“An absentee parent isn’t really an excuse for cruelty,” Luka pointed out. He set aside his guitar and turned towards Adrien directly. “Here’s the deal. A few of the times when our side loses, it’s because Chloe helps Shadow Hawk. We have to find a way to keep her from betraying everyone— repeatedly. And you’re the only person she seems to respect.” Maybe it was a little selfish on his part, but he didn’t mind encouraging Adrien towards Chloe.

“I just don’t see her that way,” Adrien confessed. “I’m not interested in being anyone’s boyfriend.”

“Then just be you,” Luka agreed. Though, while Adrien wasn’t ready to be a boyfriend, he refrained from pointing out that Chat Noir was a complete charmer that constantly flirted with Ladybug. “I’m just saying, if you drop Chloe completely, she turns to the dark side— every time.”

“More people are Akumatized because of her, than anyone else,” Adrien pointed out. Ironically, while Chloe adored Adrien, she couldn’t stand Chat Noir— the latter representing his true personality. He smiled wide and stretched out his body, legs kicked out far, his calves taut. His latest fencing class had been grueling. “I have to say, it’s nice being able to talk about this to someone!”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Luka murmured. “To help everyone sort out their issues.”

“Maybe you can be a therapist or something?” Adrien suggested.

Luka hummed absently. “Isn’t that what all musicians are? Music soothes the soul, my friend.” He absently strummed his guitar to the stanza he’d written for Queen Bee and smirked when Adrien groaned. But the blond’s silence grew and Luka glanced back at him, the younger teen was still worried about something. “What else is going on?”

Adrien sighed, his shoulders slumped defeated. “Father wants to send me to London next school year. I’ve just barely made friends and I have my other gig and now I’m going to end up on the other side of the channel.”

“Have you let your father know how you feel?” Luka couldn’t imagine a parent forcing their child to move to another country. “Is it a boarding school?”

“He knows how I feel. He thinks my friends are the wrong type. He absolutely abhors Nino and Marinette. I think as long as I was dating Kagami he was okay with me here.” Adrien ran his fingers through his fine, blond hair skewing it more than usual. “Chloe is being sent there as well.”

“Oh?” Luka let a small, knowing smile turn up the corners of his lips. “Is she now?”

Adrien shoved Luka in the shoulder and then both laughed. “You’re just afraid I’m going to steal away Marinette if I stick around.”

A deep, throated chuckled escaped Luka at the threat. “You’ve made it clear you’re not interested and besides, I’m not stepping back this time. She’s finally got her rose-colored lenses off and is seeing past you. Marinette is the rain and I am the storm. You are the sun, Adrien. We share your sky, but never at the same time.”

Emerald eyes blinked back at him in astonishment. “How do you do that? Just — off the top of your head?”

Luka started strumming again, this time a catchy repeating sound that imitated the rain falling on the river. His favorite sound to lull him into a calm state. “I’m a genius.”

Adrien snorted. Then he glanced out the window of the ship. “Maybe you are.”

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It was late afternoon when the rumble of Luka’s motorbike caught Marinette’s attention. She’d been sitting on her balcony, enjoying the smell of the boxed flowers and watching the birds flutter about. She sprang to her feet and peered over the railing and felt her heart race as the familiar blue moped sped towards her home.

Marinette grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and rushed down the stairs.

“Honey, you know we like Luka. Just, maybe you need to give him some space,” Sabine suggested. “Tomorrow is a school day, so you both need a goodnight’s rest. I expect you home by nine thirty.”

“Maman! We go to different schools. And before yesterday, it had been weeks since we’d last spent time together. We have plenty of space.” Marinette brushed her lips over her mother’s cheek absently and shot out the front door just as Luka parked. Marinette was done with given the dark haired musician space.

“Hey, there my Muse. Really to go?” Luka shifted his feet to redistribute his weight evenly, but remained straddling the bike. The skinny jeans he worse accentuated the lean muscles of his thighs.

“Luka!” Marinette smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. It took all her willpower not to lick her lips as her gaze drifted from his helmet to the tantalizing view of his legs. She had her bag slung over one shoulder and held her helmet in her free hand. “You made good time!”

“I didn’t catch any lights.” Luka took off his helmet and shook out his aqua tipped midnight hair, his blue eyes never leaving her face. Marinette’s eyes snapped up to meet his— mesmerized. “Our boy Adrien’s still at the boat house. Is that going to be okay? I can text and ask him to leave if you’re not cool with it.”

Marinette stuck her helmet on and Luka did the same. “It’s fine,” she said, her voice muffled by the helmet. She’d just make sure to keep Luka between them at all times. And if her brain visualized a half-naked Luka with Marinette clinging to one arm and Adrien to the other, she ignored that imagery. He was just rockstar material — that’s why she was imaging such things, right?

It felt good to ride behind Luka. She looked forward to having the confidence of riding her own motorbike to his home in the future even the dusk. Though for now, an excuse to press her chest against her boyfriend’s lean back and band her arms around his waist was worth accepting not having full autonomy.

The landscape passed in a blur of color. Pedestrians meeting Andres for their ice cream, lovers holding hands strolling through the streets, children playing bocce ball in the park. Before she knew, they were parked on the dock just outside of The Liberty.

Juleka greeted them on the dock. Her long, dark hair covering half her face, arms crossed over her chest and foot tapping impatiently.

Luka removed his helmet and shook out his hair. Marinette took hers off and finger combed her own dark hair. “Are we late? Why do you look so irritated?” He stepped off the bike and with his hands on Marinette’s waist, helped her off — though it was completely unnecessary. And by the look in his aqua eyes when he met her gaze with a slight smirk on his lips, they both knew it was unnecessary.

“Anarka is having one of her days,” Juleka whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” Luka whispered back. “It’s to be expected. Today’s the anniversary of Grandpierre’s death. We just have to give Mom space. She’ll want dinner in her room and a bottle of Whiskey. I have a bottle of The Low Flying Bird stashed in the back pantry closet. I ordered it directly from Scotland a few weeks ago for this.”

“Oh.” Juleka’s expression softened. “I had forgotten about that.”

“And when did you start calling Mom Anarka?” Luka asked. He reached for Marinette’s hand and once they were palm to palm, Marinette threaded her fingers through his long dextrous fingers. He glanced down for a moment, a brief flicker of surprise and then joy in his gaze.

“Since you spent the night at Marinette’s last night,” Juleka explained. She smiled at her classmate. “She was going on about her children being all grown up and they should call her by her given name since they were all equals in this family.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Luka promised. He squeezed Marinette’s hand. “I’d prefer to continue calling her mom, but it’s important to respect people’s preferred names.”

The trio walked up the ramp and found Adrien and Rose standing over the keyboard and while he played a few tunes he was trying out, she was humming along. The two blonds looked up at the same time and smiled at the three.

“Welcome back, Luka,” Adrien said. The tips of his ears were crimson in contrast to his pale skin. She was glad he felt nervous too. “It’s good to see you, Marinette.”

“Likewise,” Marinette answered, comforted when Luka squeezed her hand again.

Juleka continued towards the kitchen and returned a moment later with a bottle of whiskey in her hands.

“I need to check on my mom, get her settled in her room.” Luka released Marinette’s hand and smiled down at her softly. “Are you going to be okay with them?”

She nodded and forced a smile. “We’re all friends. But, maybe I can help with dinner?”

“It’s all ready, just warming in the oven,” Luka explained. “But if you and Juleka want to set it out, that would be great. Thanks, Marinette.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Then he took the bottle from his sister and hurried to check on his mother in the back of the boathouse.

Rose squealed, her hands clasped together over her heart. “You and Luka are back together! That’s so sweet!” She looked over at Adrien briefly. “Adrien told me while Luka was picking you guys up, but I didn’t believe it— until now! You are both so cute!”

“The perfect couple,” Adrien chimed in, his smile forced.

“Um, I guess,” Marinette said, feeling nervous under the scrutiny of her friends.

Juleka draped her arm over Marinette’s shoulder and leaned close to her ear. “Now that you and Luka are together — I hope for real this time — I think our classmates’ interest in your love life will start to diminish.” She looked over at her girlfriend. “But Rose will continue to be your number one supporter. And I just want to ask that you not hurt my brother again.”

“I will never hurt him again, intentionally,” Marinette vowed. “And if I hurt him unintentionally, I will be sure to apologize profusely.”

“And he would forgive you — over and over.” Juleka’s lips were so close to Marinette’s ear, she could feel the brush of them again her skin. “He’s in love with you, Mari. He seems cool and calm, but he’s a raging storm ready to happen. And if you hurt him again, I will probably be Akumatized and he will be unlikely to forgive me if I intentionally hurt you.”

Marinette chuckled nervously. “Good to know! I’ll remember!” She forced herself away from Juleka and started for the kitchen. “I’ll just go take dinner out of the oven.”

“I’ll help,” Adrien volunteered. As he walked alongside Marinette he dipped his head down slightly to be close to her ear, practically the same distance Juleka had been moments ago. “Are you okay? Was Juleka threatening you?”

“She didn’t say anything I wasn’t already thinking.” Marinette squared off her shoulders resolutely and pushed past the saloon style doors into the kitchen. She grabbed the green and white polkadot pot holders from the counter and removed the two dishes from the oven. It smelled delightful. “Wow.”

“Yeah, Luka and I made dinner.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Normally, the staff does all the cooking at the house, so this was the first time I’ve even really helped make anything.” He chuckled. “That probably sounds weird to you since you’ve probably been baking since you could walk.”

“Since I could sit up,” Marinette corrected. “I’ve got a picture of me sitting on the counter as a baby helping Papa roll out the dough with flour all over me.” She giggled at the memory. As she placed the dishes on the ceramic hotplates on the table she looked back up at Adrien. “Hey, you’re not crushing on my boyfriend are you?”

He laughed, but his ears were still red tinged. “While I admit, if I were to crush on a guy it would definitely be Luka, I’m just overwhelmed today. I felt so bad about yesterday with you and Kagami is still angry with me. And Chloe is constantly blowing up my phone. And then I realized that I’m the reason you and Luka broke up in the first place.” He pulled out one of the chairs and sat down with a defeated slouch. “I just feel so bad about it all.” He braced his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands.

Marinette busied herself setting the table — the placemats, dishes, silverware, napkins, pitcher of lemonade, glasses. “Don’t feel bad about me and Luka. That was my fault entirely. I just had to see things from a different perspective.” She smiled across at him. “We’re good, Adrien. I’m good with being friends with you.” Seeing a half-naked Luka step out of her bathroom hours ago was enough to make her forget any crush— even if it was on the blond heartthrob sitting across from her.

Adrien looked up and smiled at her, not his supermodel smile, but the shy boy that was feeling happiness smile. “You know, this is probably the first conversation we’ve shared when you didn’t stutter over your words to me. It’s nice.”

She laughed— that was definitely true. She hated how her awkwardness spiked whenever she previously tried to speak with him. “I guess, I just had to get my foot out of my mouth.”

The kitchen door swung open again and Luka entered, a note of surprise on his face at seeing the two together that quickly faded. “Mom’s tucked away for bed with her nightcap.” He pulled out the chair next to Marinette and joined them. “Thanks for setting the table.”

“Thanks for cooking, Luka,” Adrien said. “I was just telling Marinette how you know your way around the kitchen.”

“Ah, it’s not that big of a deal. It was either learn to cook or starve, so you know—.” Luka shrugged, as humble as ever.

“Papa must sense the fellow chef within you,” Marinette teased. “No wonder he likes you so much!”

“Ah.” Luka grimaced. “Tom will be disappointed that I’m terrible at baking.” He used the serving spoon to dish out the food onto their plates.”

“I don’t think anyone could ever be disappointed in you, Luka,” Adrien argued. His emerald eyes warm as they looked at Luka.

“I’m just as human as you two,” Luka protested, a slight shrug as if he were a little uncomfortable with being praised.

“Are you though?” Marinette asked, leaning closer to him. She could feel the warm of his upper arm where it brushed hers, heat seeping through their thin shirts. “You’ve been the least villainous Akumatized villain I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, I’ve never even seen you get Akumatized, Marinette! You have a firm grip on your emotions,” Adrien pointed out. “And that’s extra impressive since you are Chloe’s number one punching bag.”

“Juleka and Rose will be here shortly.” Luka abruptly changed the topic out of dangerous territory. “They needed a moment. I’m pretty sure they just wanted to make out.” He laughed softly, his eyes twinkled in amusement that absolutely warmed Marinette’s heart. She leaned closer to him and he turned to her and kissed her cheek absently.

She practically melted off the chair right to the floor.

“Geez, get a room,” Adrien muttered, clearly flustered as well.
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Dinner had been a nice affair, once Luka steered the topic away from how wonderful he was — seriously Marinette and Adrien both sang his praises a little too much. He felt guilty. He’d seen the realities when the two of them were together — the definitely loved each other, but they also definitely caused the world to be destroyed. Was it selfish that he wanted to take this chance with Marinette? He wanted to scoop her up in his arms, run away, and never look back.

“Are you okay?” Marinette raised her head from his upper arm. She’d been snuggled up against him on the couch, her legs drawn up under her and clutched onto his arm.

What Luka really wanted to do was draw her into his lab and hold her for the two hour movie, but that seemed rude given the present company. And he didn’t want to make her nervous. “Of course, it’s just a tense movie, you know?”

Marinette nodded and rested her cheek against him again. He could feel her breasts pressed softly against his arm and it took all his concentration to focus on the movie.

“I’m going to get some more water. Anyone need anything?” Adrien asked.

“I’m good,” Marinette murmured. Luka’s lip twitched at her tone. He shook his head. His sister and Rose asked for water as well and his keyboard player vanished to the back of the boat.

“Oh! This is the best part!” Juleka leaned forwards excited and Rose covered her eyes and squealed.

Marinette buried her face against his shoulder. “I can’t look. Tell me when it’s over.”

Luka pulled his arm from under her and slid it around her upper back and drew her against his chest in a new position. Marinette glanced up briefly, confusion on her face. “Sorry, my arm was going numb.”

Her sky-blue eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Luka!”

“Shhh.” Luka pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “The goriest part of the movie is coming up, you probably want to hide your eyes again.”

She nodded and pressed her face against his chest, her hand fisted in his shirt front. When Adrien walked back in he met Luka’s gaze and nodded. And then he sat on the floor a few feet away and handed the water bottles to the girls.
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Chapter Text

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Towards the end of the movie, it began to rain. And while Luka had offered all the guests a chance to sleep over, Gorilla had already been on his way and had driven Adrien and Marinette home. They sat next to each other in the backseat, staring out their respective windows as the rain fell in thick sheets around them.

“Father is sending me to boarding school in London next year,” Adrien blurted out.

Marinette turned towards him abruptly, her eyes wide in shock and dismay. “No! Why?”

Adrien kept his gaze locked on the window, but Marinette could see his face in the reflection. “He thinks I’m hanging with the wrong crowd. He doesn’t like Nino or you. Chloe is the only classmate he approves of,” Adrien explained, his voice growing quieter by each spoke word. He turned towards Marinette and his normally bright green eyes glistened with tears. “And she’s the worse! You and Nina are the best! I don’t understand him at all. And the band, it’s the most fun of all. I can just lose myself in the music. I can’t sing like the others can, but they make me feel included. And you’re always there with Luka. I’m so glad you and Luka are back together— I felt so awful being the reason for you not being together.”

“Oh, Adrien,” Marinette whispered, her heart breaking for her friend/former-crush. She reached out and drew him towards her. Adrien clutched to her waist and he laid his face against her shoulder, warm tears soaking the material. She rubbed her hand soothing up his back. “I will always care about you — I don’t care where you are. We found each other in China didn’t we? And we have the upcoming summer break—that lasts for two months! London is just a train ride away from Paris. Your dad is probably just worried about you because of all the attacks by Shadow Moth.”

“I actually hate him,” Adrien whispered. “And I’m not allowed to hate him because I’ll get Akumatized. Shadow Moth ruins everything. Ladybug and Chat Noir have got to defeat him. The longer he’s around the more life in Paris is disrupted.”

“They will defeat him,” Marinette promised.

Adrien started to laugh. It was a quiet chuckle at first and then when he pulled away from Marinette his face red from the effort. At the look of concern on her face, he waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sorry. It’s just kind of funny. After our awkward date and me breaking your heart, now you’re back with Luka and being around you — I’m more comfortable than ever.” He rubbed his forehead and his laughter died off. “You’re very pretty, Marinette. But, something in you transforms when you’re with Luka — you become radiantly beautiful. Him too— when you guys weren’t together there was this deep sadness within him and now he practically glows.”

Marinette gaped at her friend. He thought she was radiantly beautiful and that Luka glowed? She shook her head briefly, in an effort to clear her thoughts. “That’s very poetic, Adrien. I’m sorry, I couldn’t make you glow.”

Adrien reached for her hand and stared down, focused on their fingers. “I don’t think anyone can make me glow, Marinette. Kagami tried. You and Luka try. Nino tries. My glow died when my mother died. And whatever embers I have left become smothered under my father’s tyranny.”

“You could file for emancipation,” Marinette suggested softly.

“He’s still my father and he needs help. I can suffer a while yet.” He looked up and squeezed her hand. “As long as my friends don’t give up on me.”

“We won’t. No matter what, Adrien,” Marinette vowed.

Gorilla parked outside of the Dupain-Cheng residence. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Adrien said, releasing her hand.

“And we have all summer, Adrien. Maybe Shadow Hawk will be defeated by then!” Marinette smiled at him brightly and Adrien forced a weak smile in return. “And even if he’s not, you’re allowed to feel things.” She lifted her purse and showed the charm that Adrien had given her. “Your’s helps me.”

Adrien’s smile widened and grew more sincere. “And yours has helped me, Marinette. Goodnight.”
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OoO

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There was a good chance that Marinette would have slept in again if Luka hadn’t called her early in the morning to make sure she was awake.

“Mrng,” Marinette mumbled sliding her thumb up the screen of her phone to answer.

“Good morning, my my Marinette!” Luka greeted, his aqua eyes bright and energetic as he changed his teasing name for her into something a bit more possessive. “Rise and shine! I’ll be outside your house in twenty minutes to take you to school.”

“Twenty minutes? Luka?” Marinette sat up abruptly and started to sooth her hair, it was probably sticking up everywhere. “You’re bringing me to school? I can drive myself, you don’t have to bother.”

“It’s not a bother, Mari. And it gives me a chance to have your arms around me to start my day.” Luka pouted visibly over the screen. “You don’t want me to start my day feeling sad do you? I would be very broken-hearted if I don’t get to see you off to school.”

“Then I’ll see you in twenty minutes,” Marinette promised, feeling suddenly awake. She did not want to disappoint Luka!

“Nineteen minutes, see you!” Luka disconnected and Marinette whirled around and rushed to the bathroom to start the day.

She managed to run down the stairs without tripping over herself. At the landing, her parents greeted her with a pastry she devoured and she guzzled the green tea her mother handed her.

“Have a good day, Marinette,” Sabine said, smiling serenely.

“Luka’s already out front,” Tom added. “He’s so punctual! Such a good boy!”

“You knew he was coming?” Marinette asked, leaning over and tying her shoes carefully. They’d become loose on her flight down the stairs.

“Of course! He called to ask if it was okay to take you to school and pick you up afterwards,” Tom said, folding his arms over his chest. “He’s so considerate!”

Marinette pulled the shoestring taut and smiled up at her parents. “Yes, he is.” She stood, kissed her mom and dad on the cheek and rushed out to find Luka waiting for her patiently, with his helmet in the crook of his arm and her's balanced on the seat behind him.

“You seem energetic this morning, my Muse,” Luka said smiling up her. He reached out and brushed his calloused fingertips across her cheek and cradled her face gently. “I can already feel a song forming in my heart.”

Marinette held her hand over his briefly. His hands were so much bigger than hers! She smiled shyly at him. “Thank you for bringing me to school — on time.” She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed the back of his fingers.

“I haven’t gotten you there yet,” Luka pointed out with a laugh in his smile and a lightness twinkling his yes. “Get on before we’re late now for gazing into each other’s eyes too long.”

“Yes, Monsieur Luka,” Marinette teased, slipping behind him on the bike and together they secured their helmets. Then they shot off into the Parisian streets towards her school. Marinette enjoyed the sensation of Luka’s strong back against her front and her arms held on tight to his narrow waist. Maybe she was perfectly capable of driving herself to school in the mornings now, but this way was better for the environment, smaller carbon footprint. Naturally, Marinette was very concerned about protecting the environment.

“We’re here, Mari,” Luka said, laughing a little when he’d parked and her arms were still snug around him. “Not that I’m complaining, but the whole point was to avoid you being tardy.”

“Right.” Marinette reluctantly disentangled herself from her boyfriend and placed her helmet inside the seat compartment. “What about your sister and Rose?”

“Rose’s parents drive them to school together every morning. They are probably already in the class.” Luka didn’t stand, but he did remove his helmet and they were the same height in this position. “Can I have a kiss for good luck? I have a quiz today.”

“Luka! I didn’t know you’d have a test today!” Marinette hugged him fiercely. “I wouldn’t have bothered you all weekend if I knew you needed to study!”

He laughed. “Mari, I have a quiz every Monday. It’s fine, I was just teasing you!”

Marinette cradled his face between her hands and after biting her lower lip briefly in nervousness, leaned forwards and captured his mouth with hers. Luka eagerly returned the kiss, pulling her lower lip into his mouth teasingly before he leaned back with a boyish grin.

“Have a good day, Marinette. I’ll pick you up after school. Text me during lunch, let me know if you’d like to do anything this evening in particular. Otherwise, I’ll come up with something,” Luka said. “And text me if you feel like it. I’ll try to resist blowing up your phone.” He gestured towards the building. “Go on, I’ll stay until I see you’ve made it inside.”

“I don’t want you to be late,” Marinette worried.

“My school doesn’t start for another twenty minutes. Surely, you won’t be that slow,” Luka teased.

“Right, sorry,” Marinette smiled again and then holding the straps of her backpack turned away from him and jogged towards the school. She didn’t miss the gaping, shocked faces of her classmates. Adrien had been standing with Nino and he gave her a casual wave which she returned — he was the only one not shocked.

“Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe screeched petulantly. “Who is that?”

Marinette ignored her and turned back towards the parking lot. Luka lifted his hand in a salute and she waved back shyly and watched as he drove away.

“Leave her alone, Chloe,” Adrien said, coming to Marinette’s side. “He’s her boyfriend and one of my best friends.”

“But I’m still your best friend, right?” Nino asked, flanking Adrien’s other side.

“Sure,” Adrien said, smiling at his classmate. He met Marinette’s eyes briefly.

“Alya is going to be so upset she’s running late,” Nino said with a chuckle. “That was pretty steamy, Marinette! I didn’t know you had it in you!”

“With the right person, anyone can be confident,” Adrien answered for her. “Excuse us, Chloe.”

It was strange walking into school that morning feeling so confident. Not once did Marinette stumble. She had to check her sleeve twice to make sure she was actually herself and not in her Ladybug form. “I’m going to ask Nathaniel something,” she said once they reached their classroom. She waved at Juleka and Rose, both girls waved back with knowing smiles on their faces.

“Oh, hey, Marinette,” Nathaniel greeted when she stood in front of his desk.

“Hi, Nate, I was hoping I could get your help with a project,” Marinette started. By the interested in light in the comic artist’s eyes, she felt the courage to continue. “I want to write out a comic adventure for my boyfriend and was hoping you could help me with the illustrations. I can draw still figures pretty decent for my designs, but I don’t really know how to create a comic.”

“That sounds awesome! What’s the subject?” Nate opened his journal and prepared to take notes.

“Ancient Egypt. A couple of super heroes.” Marinette smiled shyly. “I wanted to see if you were interested first. I can write out the general idea later.”

“Which superheroes? Any of the Miraculous?” Nathaniel asked. “Ladybug and Chat Noir perhaps?”

“I was thinking more Ladybug and Viperion,” Marinette clarified. “Though it’s okay if Chat Noir is an ally. I really can’t imagine Ladybug without him.”

“Got it. I’ve already got some ideas,” Nathaniel assured her. “What’s your time table?”

“Oh, maybe a month or two?” Marinette noticed Alya rush into the room and look up at her with wide curious eyes behind her glasses. “I gotta get in my seat. Thank you, Nate!” She hurried down the steps and was about to sit next to Alya when Lyla seemed to appear out of nowhere and took her spot.

“You can sit next to me,” Nathaniel offered. “I’ll brainstorm with Marc once you give me a rough draft of the story.” He pointed out the rough sketch he’d already started. It was of Ladybug and Viperion in their current costumes. “I’ll figure out how to give them an Egyptian flare.”

“You already just now drew that?” Marinette was in awe.

Nate’s pale cheeks bloomed in crimson. “Um, no. I drew this about two months ago. They were just so pretty together.”

“I agree,” Marinette said, her voice taking on a dreamy quality.

Nate leaned close. “Marc and I ship Ladybug and Viperion. But don’t tell anyone else.”

“I think you’re the perfect person for this project,” Marinette said, resisting an ear-splitting smile.

As Ms Bustier started her lecture, everyone could overhear Chloe complaining in a loud whisper to Sabrina about how her mother was planning to send her off the London this summer. “Could you believe that? That place only speaks English!”

“Chloe, please, can you keep from chatting with your friends during my lecture?” Ms Bustier asked, rubbing at her pregnant belly nervously.

“I think my dilemma is slightly more important than learning about conjugation of verbs,” Chloe huffed. “And also, I think we should talk about Dupain-Cheng! She came to school on the back of a motorbike with some hot boy I have never seen before!” The blond queen bee whirled around and glared first at Lyla and then became confused until she spotted Marinette in the back of the class next to Nate. She pointed accusingly at the class representative. “Is trying to take my Adriekins not enough for you Dupain-Cheng! Now you have to go after hot strange boys?”

“Chloe, I think that’s enough,” Ms Bustier tried again.

Chloe whirled on her. “Do you? Well, why don’t I call my father and see which topic of discussion should be priority?”

The teacher blanched in fear of the mayor’s threat. Crossing Chloe could very well mean she could lose her job.

“Chloe, shut up,” Adrien spoke up, surprising everyone with the steel in his voice. He looked back at Marinette briefly and she shot him an encouraging thumb’s up. It seemed enough to give him confidence to continue. “I would like to hear with Ms Bustier has to teach us. And just so you know, Marinette is my very good friend. And her boyfriend is my very good friend. I suggest you not bother either one of them if you wish to remain friends with me.” He smiled at the teacher. “Please, Ms Bustier, if you’ll continue.”

A grateful sighed passed their teacher’s lips and she began her lecture anew.

Marinette jotted down notes while Nate sketched out several images of Ladybug and Viperion in their current costumes as well as some with ancient Egyptian modifications. Though, Marinette didn’t miss the curious looks from Alya or the venomous ones from Chloe or Lyla.

However, she quickly forgot about that when her phone vibrated and she saw a couple of heart emojis 💙 💙 from Luka and a picture of him holding up his quiz with a perfect 💯 written in red across the top.

She texted back twice as many heart emojis 💞 💕 and took a quick selfie with Nate holding up a sketch he’d done of their superhero selves.

Luka texted back. ‘Stay out of trouble. I’ll see you in a few hours.’
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At the Music and Arts upper school, the schedule was significantly less structured than the lower grade. It had been one of Luka’s favorite aspects. He was respectful enough of other’s time that he made it a priority to be punctual, but when he didn’t have a schedule to keep — life was so much sweeter.

He laid back in the grassy courtyard while one of his fellow musicians played the violin for their class— a Mozart medley. Classical music wasn’t really his preference, but if he had to choose a musical from the eighteenth century to jam out to— it would be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. An amused smile spread across his lips at the familiar twinkle-twinkle little star.

His guitar laid beside him, his arms folded under his head and he watched the northern front start to darken the cerulean sky. The fluffy white clouds of a few hours ago were now being replaced by progressively darker versions. He just needed it to hold out until after he got Marinette home. Though, if it rained, he knew Tom and Sabine wouldn’t let him leave — so if he timed it just right…

Luka’s smile grew broader.

Summer couldn’t get here soon enough!

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He shot a selfie of himself with his guitar beside him, his blue-black hair fanned out, relaxing on the lush, green lawn. He texted Marinette the image without any words.

Almost immediately she sent back the emoji with hearts in their eyes. 😍

Satisfied, Luka shoved his phone back into his pocket and prayed for rain.
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OoO

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It seemed that no matter how hard Marinette tried, she and Alya hadn't been able to talk that day. They’d been assigned lab partners and Lyla had immediately been paired up with Alya. Which was fine, Marinette had continued to work with Nate. She got along with the majority of the class and considered almost everyone a friend.

She pulled out her phone during their lab to set a timer for the next step of their experiment. She was immediately treated to Luka’s text. The image of him sprawled across the lawn immediately became her wallpaper. Reluctantly, she drew her attention away from the beauty that was her boyfriend and set the timer. Then out of habit, she checked the Akuma App that Max had created a few months ago. It was a huge asset and the need to patrol the streets every night had greatly diminished.

While it was fun to patrol with Chat, it wasn’t necessary to do it every single night. It was too hard to manage her regular life with her super life. She was sure Chat had the same problem. But, ever since she’d acquired the power of the Ladybug, she couldn’t imagine her life without Chat — Alya was supposed to be her best friend, but really it was the Kitty. And she was a little worried he’d be hurt to learn that Viperion would have his power permanently. Or maybe he would be relieved that a trusted ally would play a bigger role?

Alya and Nino were pretty regularly summoned and it would make sense if she let some of her friend keep a hold of their Miraculous on a regular basis. With summer coming — they’d all be spread out and it would be better response time with so many resources. And they might even be able to help out in places outside of Paris.

“What are you doing?” Nate whispered. He leaned over to glance at Marinette’s phone. “Ah, yeah, the Akuma App is really cool.”

He scooted his latest sketch towards her and she gasped at the visual of Ladybug and Viperion in Ancient Egyptian robes, bedecked in blue lapis and gold jewelry. The latest sketch showed the two of them pressed together chest to chest, staring into each other’s eyes with Ladybug’s arms banded around Viperion’s neck and his hands possessively settled on her hips. “Pretty hot, huh?”

Marinette licked her lips at the visual. “It’s fantastic.” The timer on her phone chimed and she silenced it.

Nate smiled faintly at the praise. Then he tucked his journal into his bag. “Time’s up, how’s the experiment?”

The three vials they’d created during chemistry had all shifted to different colors — red, green, blue. “Looks like we did it right.” Marinette sighed in relief. She started to scribble the final results on their paper.

“Ugh!” Chloe cried out in frustration.

Marinette glanced across the lab to see her often-times antagonist visibly upset about her three blue vials. Sabrina began to apologize profusely while Chloe stomped in anger. A quick scan of the rest of her classmates showed most everyone else completed the experiment successfully.

Their science teacher walked amongst the lab tables marking down the results of the students. She paused next to Chloe and Sabrina and frowned.

“Professor Mendeleiev! I shouldn’t even need to do this experiment!” Chloe cried out. “I’ll call Daddy. He’ll tell you it’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! I’m going to be going to school in London next term anyway!"

Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances at the unexpected proclamation. His expression was grim and hers was sympathetic.

“That would certainly make next year more pleasant,” Nate whispered.

“For us and the teachers,” Marinette agreed. The teacher had reached Alya and Lyla’s project. If Chloe wasn’t at their school in the fall, maybe it would make dealing with Lyla a little easier.

As soon as class was over, Chloe and Lyla both rushed off towards the bathroom and Marinette took the opportunity to finally meet up with Alya. They hooked elbows as they walked to their next class together.

“What is going on?” Alya hissed.

“Luka and I are back together. And Adrien and I are — good,” Marinette explained.

Alya’s eyes were large behind the lenses of her glasses. “There has to be more to it than that!”

There was a lot more to it than that— a lot of mixed up feelings and stubborn obsessions on Marinette’s part. “We talked it out and it works.” They sat next to each other in their homeroom and while Alya clearly had more to say, their attention was quickly diverted towards two of their classmates.

“We have decided to run for class representative, Ms Bustier!” Chloe proclaimed as she and Lyla stood at the front of the class.

The teacher dropped her chalk and stared between the two girls and Marinette. “There is less than two weeks of school left and there is already a class representative.”

“I need it to boost my resume,” Chloe insisted. She held up her jewel encrusted cell phone threateningly. “Need I call the Mayor?”

“Ms Bustier,” Marinette said holding up her hand. “I’m okay resigning. I already submitted everyone’s preferred areas of study for next term last week. It’s just a pretty title at this point.”

The look of pure hatred that Lyla shot Marinette was hard to ignore. If she’d been planning to torture her by taking away her elected position, then Marinette would take away that power by relinquishing it voluntarily.

Chloe stared at Marinette with her mouth gaping open in shock, eyes wide. “Dupain-Cheng? You’re just going to resign?”

Marinette smiled. “Sure, Chloe. I’d rather you have the title because you asked your fellow classmates, not because you called Daddy to whine.”

Chloe’s expression hardened and she shoved her phone into her purse.

“So, all in favor of Chloe taking over the role of class representative until the end of the year?” Ms Bustier asked.

There was a general confused consensus amongst the class, save one vote of dissension.

“I want to go on record as being against this,” Adrien proclaimed.

For a moment, a look of genuine hurt flashed across Chloe’s generally contrary face. And Marinette actually felt sorry for the entitled, pretty, spoiled new class representative.
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Luka stared out the window while his teacher continued to lecture about the principle laws of Physics. While his school was mostly focused on the arts, he did still have to take core curriculum. He made occasional notes, but otherwise, he enjoyed the scenery, it would rain within the hour. While some people had photographic memory, Luka enjoyed a phonographic memory. It was an incredibly useful talent for a musician. It came in handy when a day-dreamer needed to pay attention to lecture as well.

There was only nine more days of school and then it would be summer break. The idea of going on tour with his dad seemed even more exciting now that he was pretty sure he could convince Marinette’s parents to let her tag along.

He glanced down at his phone. Mari and Juleka’s friend Max had created an App that allowed the tracking of Akuma attacks. There hadn’t been one in several days and he knew the streak was too good to last.

The bell signaling the end of class and Luka inwardly cringed at its cacophonous screech. He quite eagerly shoved his notebook into his backpack, hurried to his locker to grab his guitar, and headed out of the building. After securing his guitar, he drove over to the other school campus to wait for Marinette.

He looked down at the time on his phone, only about two more minutes before the bell rang to conclude the school day. As he was looking at the time, he received a call. It was his grandmother in Scotland. He frowned, normally they would chat on Wednesday evenings. Why would she be calling on a Monday afternoon?

“Seanmhair?” Luka greeted calmly, using the Gaelic term his grandmother preferred. “How are you today?”

“Luka! Thank God, you answered!” Maisie Hurley — whose surname meant “sea tide”— greeted from across the channel. “You’re always such a good boy!”

“Of course, I answered. I’m picking up my leannan (Gaelic for sweetheart) from school. But her class won’t release for a couple of minutes,” Luka said.

Maisie gasped from the other end of the phone. “My dear Luka has a sweetheart! Is it that Marinette you told me about?”

“Yes, Seanmhair. But that’s not why you called me. Is everything okay?” Luka asked, smiling at the enthusiasm in his grandmother’s tone. He knew it was the anniversary of his grandfather’s death — his mother had spent the previous evening draining a bottle of expensive liquor.

“I want you to see me this summer,” Maisie explained. “I’m feeling haunted in this big ole castle all by my lonesome self and if you don’t want me to join your seanair (Gaelic for grandfather) in the grave anytime soon, I suggest you make arrangements.”

“I would love to see you, Seanmhair. However, my father was hoping that I would join him for his tour this summer,” Luka explained. “And I was planning to spend time with Marinette.”

“I just ask for a week or two of your time, my ogha (Gaelic for grandson). Don’t you have two months?” Maisie pointed out. “You can bring your leannan. I was hoping your mother and sister would want to come too.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Luka promised. The door to the school opened and he could see the dark hair of his girlfriend rush through them. “If I bring Marinette, then it’s only fair if Juleka brings Rose.”

Maisie sighed heavily on the other end of the phone. “So, it’s not a phase,” she said quietly.

“No, Seanmhair, it’s not a phase,” Luka agreed. “It’s part of who she is and if you’re going to make a big deal about it, I won’t be able to visit you.”

“I love you and your sister, Luka. I just want my oghaichean (Gaelic for grandchildren) to be happy. And your mother, she needs to remember what it’s like to stay on dryland for a few weeks. It’s not right for you all to be living on that riverboat,” Maisie chided.

“Okay, I’ll have Mom give you a call later. Tha mi gad ghadh (Gaelic for I love you),” Luka said, before ending the call.

“Who was that?” Marinette asked, catching up to him, breathing heavy and smiling big.

“Just talking to my grandmother in Gaelic,” Luka explained. “She wants me— us — to visit her for a few weeks this summer. Are you interested?”

“Where does she live?” Marinette asked.

“Invernes, up in the Highlands,” Luka answered. “It’s a beautiful place to go hiking. Tons of waterfalls.” Luka held out his arms and Marinette rushed into them and he held her close, enjoying the feel of her snug against him. “I’d like to take you to Fairy Glen Falls. Juleka and I used to hike there every summer when we were kids.”

Marinette pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled up at him. “If my parents are okay with it, I would love to go with you to Scotland. I’ve never been.”

Luka smiled and squeezed his arms around her. “Hop on, let’s get to your parents’ place before it starts to rain.”
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After classes were released, Adrien caught sight of Marinette and Luka riding off campus on the guitarist’s motorcycle before Gorilla drove him to the gym. He spent the next hour doing cross-training before the fencing team even brought out their swords.

Forward foot, parlay, thrust, back up. Adrien went through the motions and danced around Kagami in their match.

In an unexpected development, he actually beat her.

“You’re distracted,” Adrien pointed out when they stashed away their swords afterwards.

“Is it true? You’re moving to London?” Kagami asked. “Mother said something…,” she trailed off.

Adrien sighed. “Unfortunately. Father has enrolled me in boarding school for the Fall.”

“I see.” Kagami zipped up her red bag and secured it over her shoulders. “I — should probably tell you before you learn it from someone else, but — I’m seeing someone.”

“You are?” Adrien asked, surprised by the change of topic. Maybe she just didn’t want to talk about him moving across the pond in a few weeks.

“Yes. So feel free to pursue Marinette. I know the feelings between you two are strong,” Kagami said with an encouraging smile.

Adrien gaped at her. “I’m not pursuing Marinette. We’re friends. She is back with Luka and I’m really glad for them.” He scrutinized Kagami— her stiff posture, the tension in her shoulders and the frown on her face. “She and I talked and decided we made better friends. I’m not boyfriend material, Kagami. You more than anyone know that. But, who are you dating?”

Her dark eyes darted left and right, then she ducked her head close to his ear. “Your cousin, Felix.”

Adrien’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t even know he was here! How did that happen?”

Kagami shrugged. “We ran into each other at a charity a couple of weeks ago. He can be charming.”

“You should be careful not to trust him completely,” Adrien warned. Felix attended the boarding school that Adrien would be starting. He usually could only deal with his cousin in small doses. Felix had assumed his identity and done cruel things to his friends too many times over the past year.

“I don’t think you know him as well as you think you do.” Kagami’s dark eyes shown with affection as she thought about her boyfriend. “Are you really okay with Marinette and Luka?”

“I have enough to worry about with my father and boarding school,” Adrien pointed out. He gestured towards the gym behind them as they stood in the front foyer of the gym waiting for their rides. “I’m going to miss this place. And I’m going to miss being part of Kitty Section and hanging out with everyone on The Liberty.”

“I will speak to Mother. I could transfer to the boarding school in London if you’d like a friend. It would hardly be different than the boarding school here in Paris,” Kagami pointed out. “We could visit Paris together to see Marinette and Kitty Section.” She pointed towards their cars, next to each other in the parking lot. “Your fencing will become abysmal without someone like me to spar against.”

“It might not be a bad idea,” Adrien mused. “Currently, Felix and Chloe will be the only people I would know at the new school.” At least he wouldn’t have to deal with Lyla anymore. Though, he was already pretty stressed about how his change in geography would affect his superhero life. He could travel pretty vast distances fast these days with some of the modifications he and Ladybug had made to their Miraculous. And the Akuma App made physical patrols less necessary.

It began to sprinkle. With a casual wave, he started towards Gorilla. He’d hoped to go on patrol that night, just to clear his head. Unfortunately, his cat-like persona wasn’t a big fan of getting wet.

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A constant drizzle fell upon the city of Paris as the Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion patrolled during the night. Sitting three in a row halfway up the Eiffel Tower, Viperion played his lyre while Chat Noir twirled his condensed staff and Ladybug rocked her feet back and forth in rhythm to the melody.

When Ladybug had sent Chat Noir a message earlier in the evening that Viperior would be joining them on patrol he took the news rather well. He hadn’t complained at all that his alone-time with Ladybug would be interrupted. He’d actually seemed quite eager to work with the Snake Miraculous User again.

“It’s strange that it’s been so quiet lately,” Chat commented. “Hawk Moth hasn’t been very active. You don’t think he gave up?”

“Maybe the Akuma App has proved enough of a deterrent,” Ladybug suggested. She reached over and flicked the bell at Chat’s collar playfully. “Everyone is trying hard to keep their emotions on the positive side. He could just be plotting something truly devious and complicated.”

“The charms you’ve been passing out to the victims have been playing a role,” Chat pointed out. “Still, I wonder if all these quiet nights are to try and catch us off guard. Like you said, maybe he’s plotting something truly devious.” He stood and tapped the base of his staff on the support beam, laid his laced hands over it and propped his chin on the end as his emerald eyes scanned the horizon. “I hate the rain,” he grumbled.

“I don’t like it much either whenever I’m working with Plagg,” Ladybug admitted. “I’m considering entrusting the different Miraculous to their former welders.” Ladybug peered over at her two partners. Viperion met her gaze with a look of pure tranquility as he continued to strum his instrument. He wasn’t surprised by the announcement, he’d already known. She took a moment to let herself appreciate Luka’s body in the form-fitting bodysuit of his superhero uniform. It gave her a few ideas for stage costumes for his band. It also gave her other ideas, and when he caught her still staring at him and smiled slyly, sh quickly turned away with a fierce blush.

Chat glanced over, hopefully not noticing her blush, from where he leaned heavily on his extended bo-staff, his golden eyebrows furrowed in thought. “It’s not a bad idea. We could take shifts,” Chat said “They could contain the problem and then we could show up to resolve it, if for some reason we weren’t necessarily right there or if we were detained.”

“Exactly, they could buy us time, in case we ever have to leave the vicinity of Paris,” Ladybug reasoned. “And, it’s just not smart to have all the Miraculous locked up in the same place. It’s better to spread our resources out. I was thinking Rena Rouge and Carapace.”

“Not leave all our eggs in one basket. I can agree to those two. You’ve recruited them the most of everyone else,” Chat agreed, nodding. “Are you thinking of leaving Paris?” Chat asked, a little too casually.

“It might be nice to travel occasionally,” Ladybug answered, equally casually. “With the modifications we can apply to our kwami’s powers, it doesn’t take long to travel to different places on the globe.”

“And say, one of us had to move away from Paris, we could still be the defenders of our home,” Chat reasoned. He straightened and twirled his staff once more before condensing it down to its smaller form. “That’s perfect! Because, I mean, we will need to go to university at some point. We should start planning.”

Ladybug groaned, the chilly rain made her bones ache, and stretched behind her. “I really hope we’re not still facing the same supervillain at that time.”

“Don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll have a new one by then!” Chat teased with a chuckle.

“From what I have understood about the Miraculous,” Viperion interjected, his voice calm and thoughtful. “This is a lifelong commitment. There are other teams in other places, but I would think our territory might end up spreading throughout Europe at some point.”

“We’ll just have to make sure we have an agreement with whatever the local government is,” Ladybug reasoned. “Otherwise, we’ll be labeled as vigilantes instead of heroes.”

“So, would you two like to go visit Andre? Get some ice cream?” Chat suggested. He pointed his now extended staff into the distance. His tail twitched in anticipation.

“It’s late. He shouldn’t be on the streets anymore,” Ladybug pointed out. She sat up and followed the direction of Chat’s staff. Sure enough, the app on her phone lit up and an Akumatized Andre now roamed the streets. “I wonder if he was having a nightmare when he got akumatized.”

“Likely,” Chat agreed, as they started towards the area of commotion, Viperion flanking them, keeping up with their speed easily.
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The final bell signaled the end of the school day and of the school year. The students scattered as soon as class was dismissed. Some went immediately on their way and others lingered, not quite ready for the chapter of their academic career at Collège Françoise Dupont to be closed.

It was probably a stupid idea, but Adrien forced himself to approach his long-time friend, whom he wasn’t sure he even liked these days. Sensing his approach, Chloe immediately stashed away her bejeweled phone and clasped her hands together in front of her chest and batted her darkly mascara lashes at him while also stepping in front of her sycophant Sabrina.

“Oh! Adrikins!” Chloe cooed, in what she must have assumed was cute.

Inwardly, Adrien cringed. He looked past Chloe briefly, gaze shifting to the distance on his left and saw Marinette and Luka giving him the thumb’s up as the settled on the older boy’s motorbike. Hopefully, Chloe didn’t notice the waver in his attention. “Hey, Chloe. I was wondering if you’d like to get something to eat now. To celebrate the end of the school term.”

“Like a date?” Chloe asked, leaning towards him, a gleam in her eyes.

“More of a celebratory snack,” Adrien answered. “But it’s my treat, so I guess you could say a date.”

“Of course! Oh, Adrikins! I’m so excited!” Chloe looped her arm through Adrien’s and leaned against him. “Where are we going?”

“A frozen yogurt shop, it’s not too far from campus. We can walk.” Adrien tried to ignore the discomfort he felt at Chloe being so close to him. He did catch the angry scowl that Layla sent their way and was glad that it wasn’t addressed towards Marinette for once. Though, he didn’t even like Chloe being on the receiving end of such a menace’s attention. At least in London, the pathological liar wouldn’t be his problem anymore. “How are things at home?”

“Oh, the same as usual,” Chloe answered breezily.

“Your mom and sister are still in New York?” Adrien asked. “Won’t your dad be lonely with you going to London?” He heard the sound of Luka’s motorbike and saw Luka and Marinette pass them on the street and park around the back of the yogurt shop in the distance.

“Not really. He’s taking a leave of absence from the mayor’s office, leaving his deputy in charge while he plans to visit New York this summer. He said he wasn’t happy with all the stress of dealing with me being publicly known at Queen Bee,” Chloe answered haughtily. She sniffed. “It’s part of the reason he’s sending me to London.” She waved her hand dismissively. “He doesn’t want me so involved in the superhero business.”

Adrien didn’t point out that she was more involved in the supervillain business. If she was out of Paris, that might reduce the number of Akuma attacks since she was usually the instigator of so much negative energy amongst their peers. Though, she wasn’t responsible for all of them, as evidence by Andre the ice cream peddler. “It will be a good opportunity to see who you are, outside of Paris.”

“Is that what you’re planning to do?” Chloe asked.

“Paris makes me think of Mom. It might be good if I have a change of scenery. And Felix goes to the boarding school. We look so much alike, you’d think we were brothers instead of cousins.” Adrien pointed out the yogurt shop down the block. “It’s just over there.”

Chloe squealed and squeezed Adrien’s arm tighter. He grimaced, but forced his smile to remain in place.
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OoO

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“Are you sure about this?” Marinette asked worriedly glancing over her shoulder at the shop’s door. She could see Adrien and Chloe walking closer down the sidewalk, arm-in-arm. Seeing Adrien with another girl no longer bothered her, she truly had accepted their friendship. However, seeing the forced smile on his face, did make her heart sad.

Luka had led her into a corner booth in the back of the frozen yogurt shop, their backs to the door, making it hard to notice them from the entrance, especially with both of them wearing beanies over their hair. They’d each gotten a cup of frozen yogurt and sprinkled an assortment of fruits and candies on it. She had more candies and he had more fruits. Luka didn’t have too much of a sweet tooth compared to Marinette. He teased that the only thing sweet he needed in his life was her.

Marinette’s heart melted into a pile of goo. Luka was a better song-writer than his dad, and that was saying something.

“School is out for the summer. In a couple of months, you and I will be at the same academy studying our art and Adrien and Chloe will be at the overseas boarding school. I know we talked about joining my dad on his tour and seeing some of the temples from our predecessors in Egypt. We might still have time for that. But I have to go to Inverness and I want you there with me. Seanmhair has plenty of room for us and if we want to help Adrien get along with Chloe— this is one way to do it. And maybe it will help the two of you get along too.”

Marinette pouted, feeling very juvenile but unable to help herself. “I’m not the one that has problems getting along with others.”

“No, but you were the hero she worshipped,” Luka reminded her in a whisper. He kissed her cheek. “Trust me. It’s a good idea.” He leaned back and grinned, mischief twinkling in his eyes. “And if it’s not, it will be great inspiration for a song.” He chuckled. “Maybe an entire album!”

Marinette reached under the table for Luka’s hand and relaxed when he squeezed it in reassurance. She looked up, smile in place, as Adrien and Chloe slipped into their booth, their own cups of pink frozen yogurt plunking onto the linoleum tabletop. Chloe had been so mesmerized by Adrien’s company that she hadn’t noticed she was trapped against the wall with Adrien himself preventing her escape.

“Adrikins, what’s happening?” Chloe hissed.

“Luka! Marinette!” Adrien greeted happily and sincerely, relief flashing in his emerald eyes. “It’s so great to see you both here! What a coincidence?!”

“Adrien,” Marinette said with a genuine smile. “Hi, Chloe,” she added with false cheer. She gestured towards Luka. “This is Luka Couffaine, Juleka’s older brother.”

Chloe directed her attention and a thousand-watt smile towards the musician. “I am Chloe Bourgeois.” She held her hand towards him over the table expectantly. “I’m sure you’re charmed.”

“I am,” Luka agreed, ignoring Chloe’s hand and laying his arm over Marinette’s shoulders instead, pulling her closer to him in a possessive power move that made the heiress’ eye twitch. “Juleka has told me a bit about you over the years. Your dad is the mayor? Having a famous dad can be kind of rough.” He used his free hand to shove a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth.

Chloe snatched her hand away, cheeks burning in indignation as she turned towards Adrien. “That’s why Adrikins and I get along so well. My mother and his father are both famous designers. Our mothers were very dear friends. We’re of the upper echelon of European society.”

“Chloe, your yogurt is melting,” Marinette said quietly, earning a glare for her helpfulness. Luka squeezed her shoulder gently.

“So are you going to spend the summer with your dad, Luka?” Adrien asked, digging into his own desert. He glanced towards Marinette and grinned. “Wow. You were right Marinette, the buttered pecan is delicious!"

Luka released Marinette’s shoulders and drummed his fingers on the tabletop. He hadn’t actually invited Adrien up to Invernes yet, that was part of the reason for meeting. “Maybe part of the summer. The tour will go on for several months.”

“Tour?” Chloe asked, narrowed eyes between Luka and Adrien and completely ignoring Marinette. Which was fine, she was able to focus on eating the pistachio fro-yo sprinkled with gummy bears from her little pink cup.

“Yeah, Luka’s dad is Jagged Stone,” Adrien explained.

“What?” Chloe’s mouth dropped open and she openly gaped at Luka before shifting her attention to Marinette. “How are you involved with the son of Jagged Stone?”

“Mari and I have known each other for a couple of years now,” Luka explained before Marinette could. He turned towards his girlfriend and she found herself drowning inside those turquoise eyes of his. “We’ve dated off and on. We’re on now and forever more, if I have anything to say about it.”

Marinette smiled. “I think my parents have already picked out a wedding venue for us,” she teased.

Luka laughed. “I wouldn’t doubt it!”

“Ugh. Her parents are bakers,” Chloe sniffed.

“And your mom is a dress-maker,” Adrien pointed out. “And my dad is a tailor when you get down to it.” He nodded his chin at Luka. “And your parents are bards.”

“Actually,” Luka said, shifting his weight. “Technically, my mom is Scottish Nobility and with my seanair’s passing away, I’m a Laird.” He gestured between himself and Marinette. “We’ll be spending the first few weeks this summer at the family castle. Since you two are going to be settling into boarding school in London, I thought you might be interested in visiting.”

“Me too?” Chloe asked. “A castle in Scotland?”

Luka looked between Marinette and Adrien. “Well aren’t you a friend of Adrien and Marinette’s? I’ve only heard them say nice things about you.”

Chloe’s eyes bulged and her bright eyes flickered towards Marinette before she smiled broadly at Luka. “Of course. Why wouldn’t they say nice things about me? It would be ridiculous, utterly ridiculous to think otherwise!"
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Chapter Text

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It was the last night of the school year and it should have been an easy, stress free evening. Unfortunately, Nadja Chamack had texted Marinette and begged her to babysit Manon for a few hours. There was a last minute interview the reporter needed to record.

Coloring books were strewn about Marinette’s attic bedroom while the young girl, Manon, fluttered from one project to another. Marinette tried to read a few stories — normally Manon was a big fan, but this time nothing seemed to please the girl. She’d been very upset about her mother cancelling their plans for work.

So when Luka sent Marinette a text to check on her, she asked if he’d come over.

Luka: Hey, Mari. Miss me already? 💙

Marinette: So much! Feel like helping me babysit a rebellious, hyper seven year old? 🚸

Luka: I feel like using any excuse to be around you. Are you home? 💙 🏠 

Marinette: Yes. Please, help! 🙏😍

Luka: Be there in fifteen. ⌚ 🛵

She had a seven year old charge that needed to be entertained for the next two hours. And like the superstar boyfriend that he was, Luka had hurried over to Marinette’s house and was ready with his five-string guitar to woo and impress even the most prickly of hearts.

“But I don’t wanna color anymore, Marinette! That’s boring and I don’t want to listen to one of your stories! I’ve heard them all before!” Manon’s tiny fists flew to her hips and she glowered across the room at Marinette. “Why don’t we go to the park? I want to ride the carousel!”

“Your mother asked me to watch you here, Manon,” Marinette explained patiently. She was starting to wish she’d told Nadja she couldn’t watch Manon, but she really felt for the reporter. She’d always been helpful to Marinette when it came to how Ladybug was portrayed by the media. It really was kind of flattering to be trusted to watch over the local celebrity’s only child— even if Manon could be a bit much. She’d scared off other babysitters, but Marinette was a very stubborn woman when she needed to be.

The trap door to her bedroom began to be pushed open and the familiar sight of Luka’s black and blue hair sent Marinette’s heart racing. “You made it!” She cried, hurrying over and opening the door the rest of the way for him.

“Hi.” Luka grinned and leaned down to kiss Marinette’s cheek. All the while, Manon had dropped what she’d been playing with and stared at the teen with an open mouth. “You must be Manon. Marinette has told me all about you. I’m Luka, Marinette’s boyfriend.”.

Manon’s eyes grew wide as she continued to stare at Luka and then at Marinette. “You have a boyfriend?”

Marinette’s cheeks were pink from the kiss and she felt a little flustered by the easy sign of affection. She still wasn’t used to it. She moved to sit on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to her. “Would you like to sing? Luka plays the guitar.”

He pulled out the chair to Marinette’s desk and plopped it down in front of the bed, his knee brushed against Marinette’s. He held his guitar across his lap and looked over at Manon. “Do you have any particular songs that you like, Manon? Personally, I was always a fan of the ‘Going on a Lion Hunt’ song. Do you know that one?”

Manon hurried to sit next to Marinette, tucking her legs under her and leaning forward eagerly. “I’ve got my binoculars!”

Luka chuckled. “That’s the one.” He smiled at Marinette. “How about you, Mari? Do you know this one?”

“I can look it up on my phone.” Marinette started to reach for her phone, but Luka caught her hand. “Not necessary. Just listen to me, there’s quite a bit of repetition. You two will pick it up in no time.”

“We’re going on a lion hunt, going to catch a big one. I’m not scared!” Luka strummed his guitar in a simple melody and began the repetitive song.

They spent the next two hours in quiet company — singing, coloring, and then they’d read a couple of those books that Manon had heard a million times before. Because she hadn’t heard Luka read them — so that made them different.

When Nadja picked her up, she was disappointed to leave. “I don’t know how you manage to always keep her so happy.”

“I don’t,” Marinette protested. “But she’s a good girl. She just wants to spend more time with you.”

Nadja send Marinette payment for her babysitting efforts electronically through her bank. “I think she might have a bit of a crush on your boyfriend,” she whispered. They both glanced over to see Manon staring up at Luka with stars in her eyes.

“I can sympathize,” Marinette whispered back.

“What were you two talking about?” Luka asked, his hand splaying over the small of Marinette’s back as they watched the Chamacks drive away.

“Just about mine and Manon’s mutual crush over you,” Marinette said, looking up into his turquoise eyes. “Maman and Papa should be home soon. Their catering gig should be wrapping up.”

Luka turned Marinette to face him and he closed the door. He held a hand on each of her hips and braced his forehead against hers. “Would you like to make out before they get home?” He waggled his dark eyebrows playfully.

Marinette’s arms looped around his neck and she smiled up at him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
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OoO

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It was a quiet night on The Liberty. Luka had finished packing his suitcase, his backpack, and his five-string guitar was secured in its carrying case. Jagged had offered to fly Luka and his friends from Paris to London in his private jet and from there they’d take the train to Inverness. He and Marinette would be staying for the whole two weeks. Adrien would be there for a long weekend along with Chloe.

“Jules, are you sure? It’s a castle and there are beautiful places to hike. It’s like a faery wonderland. Just think of all the musical inspiration a place like that can evoke! Are you sure you don’t want to come?” He couldn’t help but try to convince his reticent sister to join in the adventure.

Juleka shook her head. “You’re the song-writer, Luka, not me.” Once it was known that Chloe would also be part of their trip, she wanted nothing to do with it. “Rose has a part-time job at a cafe, I’d like to stay in Paris to be near her.”

Luka wanted to argue more, try to encourage Juleka to join them.

There was an alert going off on their cell phones. An Akuma alert had passed. “Well, I — uh, I’m going to call Marinette. Make sure she’s okay,” Luka said, flashing his sister a quick smile. “See you back home?”

“Yeah, I’ll go check on Rose,” Juleka murmured quietly. “See you at dinner.”

Once he was tucked away in his bedroom, Luka summoned Sass. With his lyre strapped to his back, he hurried off to join Ladybug and Chat Noir against whatever trouble was plaguing Paris that evening.

It turned out to be a familiar, reoccurring Akumatized victim.

Throughout the battle, Luka only used Second Chance one. It had been a toddler who was denied a lollypop made into a giant whom wrecked Paris with its monstrous size. Ladybug had put everything to rights before long.

“Pound it!” Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion bumped their fists together.

Without thinking too much about it, Viperion slid his arm around Ladybug’s waist and pulled her against him for a hug. He didn’t miss the narrowed green eyes of their feline companion. He probably shouldn’t have been so affectionate with Marinette in her alter ego, but he couldn’t resist her. She was just too damn adorable, especially when her lucky charm ended up utilizing a giant mobile with cute little stars and flowers that spun around the angry toddler’s head and hypnotized him.

“Sometimes, I just wonder what he really wants,” Ladybug confessed. “Hawk Moth. If we found out what the wish he’s trying to achieve and explain how such a wish will cost something of equal value - I’m sure he’d understand.”

“Maybe he lost someone he loves,” Chat Noir suggested, stepping to Ladybug’s other side and looping his arm around her neck. She returned the gesture and angled away from Viperion. “But to bring back someone you love, the wish would take away someone else you love.’

“The person that would be brought back would be miserable knowing that their life was returned at the cost of someone else,” Ladybug added. She ducked out from under Chat Noir’s arm and started to take a couple of steps away from the other two. “I’ve got to head back. I was supposed to meet up with Rena Rouge and Carapace. I need to give them their Miraculous. Just send me a message if you need anything else,” she said gesturing towards her yoyo before she started to swing away.

Viperion and Chat Noir both watched her swing away through the alleys of Paris, disappearing into the distance obstructed by buildings.

Chat then started to leap up the Eiffel Tower, coming to a halt on scaffolding secured to the side for routine repairs. Viperion followed after him.

“It’s not right, Viperion,” Chat said, leaning on his bo-staff and peering down at the older youth.

“What’s not right?” Viperion asked. He adjusted the lyre across his back, resisted strumming it, and stared out into the distance from their vantage point.

“I don’t think you should be flirting with Ladybug,” Chat explained. “It’s not fair to Marinette.”

Viperion arched his eyebrow at that. For a moment he thought Chat was being ridiculous, but then remembered that Adrien hadn’t made the connection that Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. Whenever he did, the timeline would have to reset. At least, that had been the case previously. Luka conspicuously slid his bracelet into the timer position in case this conversation went south. Which, it likely would. “Because you have feelings for Ladybug?”

Chat twirled his staff and walked along the ledge of the scaffold precariously. He had amazing balance in his superhero form, though Adrien had impressive balance in his normal form as well from years of fencing. “Because you’re supposed to be the perfect boyfriend for Marinette and she’s my precious friend. And here you are flirting with Ladybug when you know how I feel about her.”

“Adrien,” Luka said, catching the boy off guard momentarily using his real name. “Ladybug and Marinette are the same person.” He waited for Adrien’s head to explode. He would use Second Chance in a little while, but he wondered if there was a way for them to know each other’s identities without everything going straight to hell in a hand basket.

Chat lost his balance momentarily, but readjusted and nimbly settled into a crouch, his green eyes wide in shock. “But, I love Ladybug and you love Marinette.” He frowned. “You said we’d found out before and it always ended poorly. Why are you telling me now?”

Luka held up his wrist with the ouroboros bracelet. “I’ll rewrite this moment in time. But I want to understand some things better.”

“I tried to use the ouroboros bracelet before. Thousands of re-writes and I couldn’t get it right,” Adrien confessed. “I still have nightmares of that battle. I remembered every single time and nobody else did.”

“Sass remembers. I remember all my times too. You’re meant to be the cat,” Luka agreed. “Though, there have been times when you and Marinette have swapped powers and you’d both been good in the alternate roles too. You’re always yourself when you’re donning powers. I rarely see this side of you when you’re being a civilian version of yourself.”

Adrien sat down on the scaffold, his legs dangled below him. “What do we do then? We both love the same girl, but two different versions.” He bit his lower lip. “And then, there’s the weirdness between the two of us,” he gestured vaguely between them.

“Weirdness? You mean the fact that you have a crush on me?” Luka asked gently.

Adrien’s cheeks burned crimson under his mask.

“It’s not a big deal, Chat. I care about you too. If you don’t mind, I’d like to try something before I go back in time,” Luka suggested. This was probably a bad idea, but he needed to know. Luka loved Marinette. And he knew that Marinette loved him. But, in spite of how much she would deny it now, she still loved Adrien. It was just an idea, but Luka needed to know if there was any chemistry between him and Adrien. He’d never felt particularly swayed by anyone’s gender when it came to interest. And honestly, before Marinette crossed his path that day on The Liberty, no one had ever caught his eye.

“What?” Adrien asked, tilting his face up towards Luka.

Viperon cradled Chat’s cheek in his palm and leaned down, brushing his lips against that of the other boy’s. It was different than kissing Marinette, but it was no less sweet and affectionate. He opened his eyes to see Chat’s eyes closed. They snapped open — a look of confusion and longing. “I can work with that,” Luka whispered, nodding his head.

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, frowning and reaching up to rub his fingertips over his swollen lips. “I won’t risk you hurting Marinette.”

“I won’t,” Luka promised, then he swiped his bracelet. “Second Chance.”

“It’s not right, Viperion,” Chat said, leaning on his bo-staff and peering down at the older youth.

“What’s not right?” Viperion asked. He adjusted the lyre across his back and stared out into the distance from their vantage point.

“I don’t think you should be flirting with Ladybug,” Chat explained. “It’s not fair to Marinette.”

“You’re right. I won’t do it again,” Luka promised. He’d intended for Adrien to try and focus on befriending Chloe, helping to heal the broken girl so that she’d stop contributing to Paris’ terrorism. But, maybe that was the wrong path to take.

Luka rubbed the back of hand over his un-kissed lips, but the memory was still sharp. Maybe the reason Marinette and Adrien always imploded was because they needed a balance— someone to stabilize them. Perhaps Luka was the glue needed to allow such transparency.

“Are you all packed up?” Luka asked, bracing his shoulder against one of the support beams of the tower.

Chat nodded. “I have an entire trunk full of things for the semester as well as a suitcase for our holiday and my backpack.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Chat,” Viperion said, holding his hand in a salute and then leaping down from the tower.

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OoO

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“Thank you so much, Jagged,” Marinette said, clasping her hands in front of her chest and bowing at her waist in gratitude. Their luggage was stashed away on the private plane and they were soon to take off from Paris. It would be a very short trip — only a ninety minute duration.

“It’s not a problem, Marinette,” Jagged answered. “I would fly you all the way to the Highlands, but I’m afraid my Luka’s grandmother abhors me. And I think his grandfather would rise from the grave to try to kill me.” He grimaced. “They don’t much care for how things went between me and Anarka.”

“We really appreciate this, Dad,” Luka added. He moved to Marinette’s side, his arm slipped around her waist and gently encouraged her to straighten up again. “So the plan is in two weeks to fly out to join you on your tour?”

“Indeed. I should be done with America by then and in Brazil. Penny will make the arrangements.” Jagged gestured past Marinette and Luka towards Adrien and Chloe where they were sitting strapped in to their seats. “Should you wish to invite your friends, I can make accommodations.”

“Maybe just Adrien,” Luka said quietly. “It would be good to get Juleka and Rose to fly out with us. Jules and Chloe don’t get along. And maybe I can see if Ivan wants to come, that way all of Kitty Section would be there.”

“Anything for you, my boy,” Jagged said smiling down at Luka. He reached over towards Marinette’s low pig-tail and gave it a gentle tug. “You be good, Marinette. I can’t wait to welcome you into the family!”

“Dad,” Luka said with a grimace.

“What? I thought we were trying to honest about our feelings, Son,” Jagged protested. He grinned between the two of them. “I’m even working on a song about you two. I can’t wait for you to hear it!”

After Jagged left, the teens all settled around each other.

“Mr. Stone isn’t coming with us?” Chloe asked, watching as Jagged got off the plane.

“He has a flight to New York,” Luka explained. He focused on Adrien. “Once we land, we can have your things for the trip transported with mine and Mari’s for the train. We’ll have three hours between our arrival in London and our train’s departure. That should be enough time to get you two settled in to the dorms at the boarding school.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Chloe murmured, her tone bored as she stared down at her long, pink fingernails. Her gaze then drifted to Luka’s hands. “Your nails! They’re chipped! Let me paint them!”

“Uh, that’s okay,” Luka said, pulling his hands towards his lap and out of her sight.

Adrien reached into his backpack and pulled out the card game SkipBo. He placed it on the table between them. “I thought we could play some games to pass the time.”

“That’s a great idea, Adrien!” Marinette said, taking the cards and shuffling them before she started to pass them out. “I love this game.”

Adrien smiled at her. “Me too.”

“I don’t know if I can play with Luka’s nails being chipped. It’s going to be distracting,” Chloe complained.

Marinette leaned over and her lips brushed over Luka’s ear. “It was your idea to try to win her over with kindness.”

Luka let out a long-suffering sigh. “Very well, Chloe. You can touch up my nails.” He moved from the table for his guitar case and opened one of the zip-up compartments where he kept the polish. He sat next to Marinette, his hip brushing against hers as he laid his hands flat on the table.

With a squeal of delight, Chloe began to paint his nails. Adrien, Marinette, and Luka all shared a confused look at the heiress’ enthusiasm. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad having her tag along for the trip to the Highlands.
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Chapter Text

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London was definitely different than Paris. Adrien felt a little overwhelmed by the massive buildings, the overcast sky, and crowded streets. He was crammed into the back of a private SUV with his travel trunk in the back. He sat in the middle of the back bench seat with Luka on one side and Chloe on the other, Marinette sat in the front passenger seat. The SUV had brought them to the train station first so they could load store their things for the trip to Scotland. Then they started on the drive to the boarding school.

Marinette and Luka were planning to explore the public part of the campus while Adrien and Chloe checked into their respective dorms. It had been with a huge wave of relief that Adrien discovered that his roommate would be his cousin, Felix.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, wandering the campus?” Adrien asked. “I can see about getting you a guest pass to the dorms.”

“Marinette wouldn’t be allowed into the boys’ dorm,” Chloe argued primly. “And I’m not inviting her to my dorm.”

“We’re fine, Adrien. We’ll mostly stick close to the fountains. My dad told me that there’s a band performing there,” Luka said. “Come find us and we’ll head out from there.”

Chloe looped her arm through Adrien’s once they checked in with the registrar. “Those two are just too much,” she hissed.

“Chloe, I have a headache. Can you not talk,” Adrien groaned. He didn’t actually have a headache, but her voice was grating on his nerves. He thought she might be okay for a while, they had gotten along fine on the plane right. But as soon as they left the private airfield, she’d flipped a switch and was her usual disgruntled self. “You should try to reach out to Kagami. She was transferring here.”

“I’m not friends with Kagami,” Chloe huffed.

“Then you’ll need to make friends, Chloe. Your dad won’t be able to bully people into bending towards your will. And you cannot always cling to me,” Adrien warned. “You’ll attract people to you by being nice and not mean. And why were you flirting with Luka?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me,” Chloe countered. “Why are you being mean to me?”

“I’m not being mean. I’m …..Never mind,” Adrien grumbled. He was worried about his dad. He was worried about how he was supposed to protect Paris while he was living in London. And he was worried about how Luka was acting around Ladybug when he was supposed to be with Marinette. And he was worried about his own confusing feelings for Luka and was worried he was losing Ladybug at the same time.

He really hoped their trip up north would offer him the clarity he so needed.
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OoO

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The four teens had a private train car for the ten hour ride from London to Inverness. Chloe had flirted relentlessly with Luka, Adrien stared at the window looking lost, and Marinette tried hard not to bite her nails. Instead, she drew in her journal page after page of costume ideas of Kitty Section. Then she drew a sketch of Egyptian themed versions Ladybug, Viperion, and Chat Noir. Nate hadn’t quite finished the comic book he and Marc were working on for her, but she expected it to be done later that summer.

She was sitting next to Luka, his hand was resting flat over her thigh. It was warm and made her belly flutter. Yet, he sat across from Chloe and the blond woman just kept blatantly flirting. Luka would answer her, but he kept his tone neutral. He was overly polite. He never flirted back, but it still bothered Marinette. She closed her book and brought her hand over Luka’s. His attention snapped to her immediately with a ready smile.

“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be back,” Marinette said, excusing herself. Luka squeezed her thigh gently and then released her.

“I actually need the restroom too. I’ll walk you,” Luka said, standing and offering his hand to her.

Marinette could see the scowl on Chloe’s face and the faint smile on Adrien’s from his reflection in the window. She took his hand. “Okay.” They left the room together, saying nothing as they walked to the back of the train towards the restrooms three cars back.

“Are you okay?” Luka asked quietly. “We can get some snacks too while we’re out.”

“I’m okay, just a little hard being around Chloe is all. She’s acting like I don’t exist,” Marinette said.

“I honestly don’t care about Chloe,” Luka said. “But it is good for Adrien and her to work out their friendship.” They reached the bathrooms — it was a pair of unisex and Luka pushed them both inside one of the cramped rooms.

“What are you doing?” Marinette hissed.

Luka’s arms banded around her waist, holding her against him. “What I’ve been wanting to do for the past hour.” He dipped his head and pressed his lips against hers. “I love you so much, Mari,” Luka murmured, drawing back a little and then nipping her bottom lip.

“I love you too, Luka,” Marinette answered breathless.

“And I know you still love Adrien,” Luka added. She was about to protest, but he kissed her again. “It’s fine, Marinette. I’m going to tell you who Chat Noir is. And that — I kissed him. And if you’re open to it, I would be okay with a relationship between the three of us.”

Marinette was upset to learn he had kissed Chat but confused why he was talking about Adrien. And what did he mean? “What?”

Luka’s hands tightened around her waist. “Adrien is Chat Noir. I know in the past, everything fell apart when you both knew. But I don’t think that will be the case, because I’m involved directly — in your relationship. It didn’t work before because the two of you would become completely obsessed with each other — both behind the masks and without them.”

“Chat likes Ladybug,” Marinette whispered.

Luka nodded. “You two are connected.”

“I spoke to the kwamis. Usually the Miraculous of Ladybug and Cat are a couple, but sometimes it’s the Snake. There was a famous incarnation of our powers in ancient Egypt,” Marinette explained.

Luka held his finger over her lips. “Mari, I don’t care about ancient Egypt or what happened in another lifetime. This is our lifetime — here and now. And I want you. And Adrien wants you. And you want me and Adrien. And Adrien and I have chemistry. We could work.”

“Chloe is going to be so pissed,” Marinette whispered.

He pressed his forehead against hers. “It’s none of her business. She and Adrien will go back to London after this weekend. And you and I will focus on us. But it’s important for dealing with Hawk Moth that we know where we all are — if he attacks right now, we’d all have to scramble to get there.”

“Rena Rouge and Carapace can hold him off for a while,” Marinette assured him.

“I want to invite Adrien to join us in Brazil on Dad’s tour. Along with the rest of Kitty Section,” Luka said. “And next year, when we’re at the same school — would you consider learning an instrument? Would you like to be part of the band?”

Marinette grasped the front of Luka’s shirt. “Slow down, Luka. We don’t have to figure everything out.” She laughed. “Usually, I’m the one trying to plan everything out to the most asinine detail.”

Luka smirked. “Yeah, sorry,” he sighed. “I’m just nervous.” He looked past her towards the toilet. “Did you uh—-actually need to toilet?”

“Not really,” Marinette admitted, biting her lower lip.

“Alright,” Luka said, smiling down at her. “You want to make out instead?”

Marinette pushed him against the door, laid her palms gently on his cheeks, enjoying the feel of his stubble. “Let’s,” she agreed, standing on tip-toes and kissing him.

Twenty minutes later, with their arms laden with snacks, Marinette and Luka returned to their train car. Marinette’s lips were swollen from his kisses and Luka’s hair was wild from her fingers running through it.

Adrien laughed when they entered their compartment. “I’m glad I didn’t go looking for you two.”

“I don’t know. That could have been fun,” Luka added.

Adrien’s cheeks tinted pink and he looked back out the window. Chloe frowned but said nothing as she pulled out her bejeweled phone and started texting Sabrina.
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OoO

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Luka’s grandmother had a chauffeur waiting to transport them from the train station to the castle. They passed plenty of highland cattle with their shaggy burnt orange fur and their pronged- horns and sheep — lots and lots of sheep. When the castle finally fell into their purview, two thirds of it was magnificent and pristine gray stone with turrets reaching into the sky and ivy cascading down the walls. One third of it was a blackened ruin from a fire long ago.

“It’s a bed and breakfast, so we can all have our own rooms. There’s a falconry class we can schedule if we’re up for it. Seanmhair can ring up the instructor. I thought we could hire Fairy Glen Falls tomorrow,” Luka explained as the car parked in front of the castle.

“I’d be up for some falconry,” Marinette said.

Adrien had a slight grimace. “I might not be in the mood for falconry.” He rubbed his arm absently. “With my pigeon allergy I’m not sure I should be in close proximity to any birds.”

“I’ll give everyone a tour once we’ve all settled into our rooms,” Luka offered. “We can have dinner together and have an early night so we can go hiking in the morning.”

“Whatever,” Chloe said. “Is there a massage parlor at this castle? Or a place I can have a mani-pedi?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Luka said. He helped Marinette out of the car once they parked. Chloe climbed out next and stretched her arms high above her head. Then Luka offered his hand to Adrien and helped him. He kept hold of Adrien’s hand and Marinette’s hand briefly, gave them both a quick squeeze and then released them to start getting their belongings out of the trunk. The chauffeur also helping with their items.
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OoO

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The night before, Luka slept restlessly. Marinette knew about Adrien being Chat. And he needed to tell Adrien, without re-writing time. And then they needed to all have a discussion together. He could feel a song writing itself in the back of his mind with all the emotions he was feeling. He may have been humming the new tune, but he wasn’t quite ready to put words to it. He couldn’t have even if he wanted to!

“I don’t understand why I have to wear these dreadfully ugly things,” Chloe whined, gesturing towards the lace-up hiking boots she’d borrowed from the supply room.

The castle had an assortment of hiking gear for both the summer and winter months. While snowshoes weren’t necessary in June, the hiking boots definitely were. “If you don’t want to sprain your ankle, you need hiking boots.”

“Well if I sprain my ankle, someone will just need to carry me,” Chloe countered, hands on her hips and eyes locked on Luka.

He held his hands up. “Or you can just avoid getting injured all together,” Luka suggested.

“If you get hurt, I’ll carry you,” Adrien offered, smiling softly at Chloe.

She huffed. “I don’t know. You’ve been really rude to me lately.”

“Just wear the hiking boots and mind your step and no one will have to carry you,” Marinette pointed out. “But if you do sprain your ankle, then I’ll carry you!”

Chloe gasped. “Like hell you will!”

“Then don’t get hurt,” Marinette said, smiling sweetly.

“Maidin Mhaith!” Maisie Couffaine greeted. “Good morning!” She swept down the staircase, royal blue robes fluttered behind her.

Luka smiled at his grandmother. She really was quite the character. “Maidin Mhaith, Seanmhair!”

“It’s a good day to be checking the forest. Fair outside, clear skies. You should be able to avoid any rain storms. Did you pack swim suits? The Fairy Glen Falls are quite the romantic spot.” She waggled her gray eyebrows and the aquamarine eyes Luka inherited from her twinkled in mirth.

“We have some under our clothes,” Luka assured her. He shifted the straps of his bag more secure around his shoulders. He was used the weight of his guitar across his back, it was a little odd having a hiking backpack. It was a good forty extra pounds between the towels, snacks and water. Since he was the host, he thought it would be best for him to carry the gear. And it would be a good excuse to not be able to carry Chloe should she decide to injury herself. “And I have towels in my back pack so we can towel off afterwards.”

“That’s excellent, Ogha,” Maisie said. “Well you youth be off now.” She shooed them away. “Go have fun and don’t come back until your feet are so sore your blisters have blisters, you hear?”

Luka led the group out of the castle, along the trail towards the woods. Marinette walked alongside him, bumping shoulders with him in their proximity and he couldn’t help the smile on his lips.

“She’s not serious is she?” Marinette asked nervously.

“No. But if we do get blisters I also have a first aid kit in this monster of a pack of mine,” Luka said gesturing towards the gear.

“The air is so fresh here!” Adrien commented. He did a random cartwheel and burst out laughing. “I feel a bit like a little kid.”

“Great! Because I packed us a picnic too,” Luka said.

“Oh, is that a bee hive?” Chloe started towards the edge of the trail, a hive hung from a low branch of a sycamore tree. “What kind of tree is that?”

“It’s a sycamore, or a plane tree,” Luka answered.

“Do you miss being Queen Bee?” Marinette asked quietly.

Chloe turned around, the haughty expression on her face faded as she realized she was with three people that wouldn’t care about her putting on airs. She deflated. “Yes. I know I messed up. I think that’s the real reason Daddy has sent me to boarding school. He thinks my behavior had endangered Paris too often.”

“He’s not wrong,” Adrien said. “But it will also be good for you to explore somewhere new. I remember when we were younger, you were always eager to try new things.” He walked towards her and laid his hand gently over her shoulder. “Acting out won’t make your mom notice you. You have to start living your life for yourself, not trying to gain her attention.”

Chloe stepped away from Adrien’s touch and turned a glare towards Marinette. “Well my mother noticed you. Repeatedly. Asks why I don’t have a creative fashion design like that Marinette? Why didn’t I win the contest of Jagged Stone’s sunglasses or Gabrielle Agreste’s hat contest? Even that American half-sister of mine likes you!”

“So you bully me because you’re jealous I won a couple of fashion contests?” Marinette asked quietly. “And because I’m friends with Zoe?”

“And because your parents are disgustingly sweet and caring,” Chloe added.

They crossed over a bridge and the sound of water crashing into the distance drowned out anything further Chloe might have to say.

“We’re here,” Luka announced. He gestured to the north where the waterfalls were flowing. “This is a good spot for a group photo.” He shuck off his backpack and held out his phone with the camera app ready. Marinette slipped between his extended arm and settled against his chest while Adrien stood at his side with his arm casually over Chloe’s shoulders. They smiled and captured the moment. “Perfect for Insta,” Luka murmured. And he could crop out Chloe if she ended up being too annoying.

They spent the next four hours lounging by the waterfalls. Swimming, laughing, snacking, and singing. The whole experience had been a balm to the soul.
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OoO

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Marinette couldn’t sleep. She stood in her bedroom that looked like it was made for a princess with a four-poster canopy bed and elegantly carved wardrobe closet in the corner. An ornate mirror hung behind the fancy dresser and the antique lantern’s light flickered as it illuminated the room. She picked up her phone to check the time — it was late. Once more, she stared at the image Luka had texted her and Adrien. About an hour after their hike, Chloe had become impatient and stormed back to the castle, leaving the three of them alone together.

It was a shot of the trio with Luka in the middle and Marinette on his left and Adrien on his right as they laid on the ground smiling up at his phone. Marinette had been resting her head on Luka’s bare chest and Adrien had been resting his head on Luka’s shoulder. And Marinette and Adrien had been holding hands, joining them over Luka’s belly. It had felt so very natural and playful when they all ended up cuddling together.

Now that Marinette knew that Adrien was actually Chat Noir — her best friend. She felt way more comfortable around him. She wondered if he knew about her identity too or if he just felt more comfortable around her because of Luka.

There was a brisk knock at her door, so she set the phone back down and tugged her shaw tighter around her shoulders. She ambled over to answer it.

She was surprised to find both Luka and Adrien standing there. “Oh, um, hello. Is everything okay?”

“May we come in?” Luka asked.

Marinette nodded. She stepped back until she sat down on her bed. The boys sat on either side of her.

“So,” Adrien started. “I need to tell you something, Marinette.”

“I should probably tell you something as well,” she worried, biting her bottom lip. She knew he was Chat Noir. He was her best friend this whole time!

“I’m in love in Ladybug,” Adrien blurted out. His emerald eyes darted past her to Luka for a moment. “And I like Luka.”

“Oh,” Marinette didn’t quite know how to react to that. “Well, you see. I’m Ladybug.”

Adrien smiled faintly. “I know. And I’m Chat Noir. And the world isn’t going to dissolve into ash and despair now that we know.” He looked past her again. “Right, Luka?”

The blue-haired musician nodded. “Right. It will work out.”

They hadn’t stopped Hawk Moth yet. Adrien would be in London for the next several months. Marinette and Luka would spend the summer break between the castle in Inverness and Jagged’s Brazilian leg of the concert tour. It was decided that Adrien and the rest of Kitty Section would be part of the tour.

“So, how does this work?” Marinette asked, gesturing between the three of them.

Luka shrugged and answered them like the musician he was. “We’ll play it by ear.”

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