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Chirp!
Chirp!
Marinette groaned at the sound of her text notification. Only three people were cleared to pass her do-not-disturb settings and interrupt her sleep: her parents, and Luka. His schedule was weird, and she hated missing him when he called or messaged.
They weren't even official. Starting a long-distance relationship had seemed like asking for trouble, so it had been years of mutually reciprocated pining for both of them.
Juleka liked to say that they were idiots, and she was probably right.
She grabbed her phone and forced her eyelids open.
Not her parents. So, not an emergency.
Marinette squinted blurry eyes at her phone- it was just after 3 am. It wouldn’t be all that odd if she didn’t know that Luka was in Europe, but he was scheduled to play in Glasgow tomorrow. His time zone should be nearly the same as hers. So why on earth was Luka texting at this ungodly hour?
She tapped the notification and opened the text.
She read it and rubbed her eyes. She read it again and her heart sped up.
Okay.
Well, in that case.
They should do something about that. They probably should have ages ago.
A plan started to form in her mind- impulsive? Yes, but it wasn’t the first time she’d thought about something along the same lines. It was the first time Luka had been so vocal about his desires though.
Luka didn't make drinking to the point of drunkenness a frequent habit, but it seemed possible that this was one of those rare times. She took a screenshot of the message and rolled back over to return to sleep. There was no way she'd be able to pull this off otherwise.
Her plans for the day had changed, and as soon as the sun was up, she had calls to make.
Juleka was most certainly right. They were idiots.
Luka stared at the text he’d just sent. That was… not inappropriate exactly, but definitely against their unspoken rules, and he should not have sent it. He’d wound down from the last concert by playing Marinette’s melody before he went to bed and woken up in the middle of the night sleep-drunk and wished that their almost-relationship was more. So much more. The message was the truth, and the sentiment behind it ached within him. He should have fought for a long-distance relationship. Should have found a way to make it work. The memory of their last goodbye burned in his mind and ghosted against his lips.
Luka contemplated the text for a second before running an aggressive hand through his hair. It would be good to discuss his thoughts, but not like this. With a couple of quick taps of his screen, he deleted the message. He wouldn’t blindside her. Marinette deserved better and the last thing he wanted was to play with her heart. He loved her too much for that. With a groan he rolled over and went back to sleep.
Marinette woke up feeling hazy with sleep, but with it came the need to do something. The text! She grabbed her phone and looked at the screenshot. It was real. She had a call to make.
“Penny? I need a favor.”
Once the details were ironed out, Marinette turned her attention to her wardrobe. She didn’t have time to create something new, but she could manage a few quick alterations before her flight.
Silver studs changed the entire look of a white blouse. And while it pained her a little to damage them, her white jeans looked fabulous once she’d artfully shredded them at the knee and thigh. The whole ensemble was a careful balance of ethereal white with a rock n’ roll aesthetic. Her pink and black motorcycle boots would have to do, and a black studded belt would tie it together. Hot pink hair chalk was thrown into her bag as well- she didn’t have time for a real dye job.
She used her best handwriting for the sign. It wouldn’t work if it was illegible. Penny had said that she would convince the lighting techs to make it possible for Luka to see their signs at the right moment. There were no guarantees, so she just had to hope for a little bit of luck.
The flight wasn't terribly long, but she needed every minute of the day to prepare for the concert. So, Marinette found herself sliding tiny beads onto her needle as quickly as possible and carefully wove the colors together in a simple pattern. She lost a few beads to the aisle of the plane and while she did make significant progress, she vowed never to bead in the air again- it was too stressful. Sketching was a much better plane pastime. But desperate times called for desperate measures and while she wasn’t desperate per se, she was determined.
She ran through her mental checklist of everything that she needed to get done. Penny would meet her on the ground and she would have a few hours to finish the last of the beading before everyone else arrived and they left for the concert. It would be a night to remember- one way or another.
Penny was amazing. Their seats were perfect. Marinette was flanked by her parents and the stadium was packed. The energy from the crowd was already so high that it was on the verge of explosion- and the house lights had only just dimmed.
On the other side of her Papa, Rose was vibrating with anticipation - she had helped Tom with his sign- and now that they had found their shared passion (meddling in other people's romance) they were practically besties.
Marinette knew Rose had contraband. Glitter-filled confetti poppers were almost definitely not allowed in the venue. But Penny had granted permission rather grudgingly (even offering to smooth things over with the venue management if needed) and Marinette was counting on the attention. Just this once.
The house was suddenly draped in darkness as the stage lights went live and Luka's opening guitar riff blasted from the speakers. The crowd lost its mind. Marinette grinned widely when the roving lights stilled and Luka was revealed. He was wearing his kilt. He rarely wore it on tour— only in Scotland in fact— and she loved him in it. His black tee was missing its sleeves- his lean muscles were on full display, and the gray and black tartan under a silver-studded sporran looked as badass as his motorcycle boots. The blue of his hair and eyes stood in dramatic contrast to his monochromatic clothes. He looked incredible. She felt suddenly nervous, this wasn’t her first concert- and she might be one of many using a sign to make the same request.
Marinette tried to put her plan out of her mind for a moment. She wanted to enjoy the music. Appreciate the showmanship. It had been a while since she'd made it to one of Luka’s concerts. She danced and cheered with everyone else during the first half of the performance. Her sign would wait. Once Luka had fully immersed himself into the concert, he would be able to take in the audience with greater attention to detail. She was waiting for the last song before the intermission.
No one could read an audience like Luka. He had a way of focusing on the people, of seeing them as well as could be done under the bright lights. He always seemed to know when to let the music ebb for a break before going all out again.
Marinette's secret weapon was Juleka. Situated on the other side of Rose, Juleka could tell when Luka started to pick up on the shift in the crowd. It didn’t feel that long before she stretched across both Rose and Tom to tap Marinette's shoulder.
“Now!” She was impossible to hear, but the meaning was clear and Marinette hopped onto her seat and held her sign up high over her head. This was it.
It was her response to his three am text.
The one that had been deleted by the time she woke up a couple of hours after he sent it.
Drunk Luka was an honest and uninhibited Luka.
She knew that even though he hadn't meant for her to see it, he had meant it.
🎸Luka : The fact that you are not my wife bothers me at least once every day
Jagged was on the other side of her Maman, whooping and hollering. Papa's sign depicted an elaborately drawn cake, coated in glitter glue. And Rose's shimmering, sparkling confetti caught the lights and drew Luka’s attention right to them. Just like they’d planned.
Marinette knew the moment he recognized exactly who she was and what her sign said. Because for the first time in history, Luka faltered on stage.
Luka had never thought his fondest dream coming true would result in the real-life appearance of his most persistent nightmare.
He’d seen Back to the Future when he was a kid. For weeks he’d dreamt that his hands had disappeared, leaving him unable to play. The dream had mostly faded, but occasionally—especially before playing a new set—it would show up again.
No, his hands hadn’t faded, but the result was the same. He couldn’t play. Marinette was glowing under the pulsing search lights asking— no insisting —that he MARRY HER.
So, he faltered. He lost his pace and his place on the strings and couldn’t get his hands to obey him. The discordant sound gave way to silence as he gave up, swung his guitar behind him, and strode up the mic. “Marinette?”
Confusion and a nervous sort of anticipation rippled through the crowd and several spotlights came to rest on the girl asking him to marry her- and it was most definitely Marinette. The cameras caught up and her smiling face appeared on the giant screens behind him.
The audience took up a chant as soon as her sign was visible.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”
Luka motioned for the crowd to calm down and the chanting slowly shifted to a dull roar. He leaned close to the mic and met her eyes the best he could at the distance. He kept his voice as low and intimate as he could, choosing to let the sound system carry his words, “I would love to marry you, Marinette.”
The noise was deafening. The audience lost their collective minds, but all Luka could see was the grin that lit up the face of his fiancée.
The chanting shifted, and it took Luka a minute to figure out what they were saying, the clapping and stomping all but drowned out the words.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
The chant swelled and filled the space in a wild cacophony.
Marinette’s face was a rosy pink on the big screen, but she was smiling so widely that Luka thought she might split in two. He set the mic into its stand and growled into it. “What do you say, will you kiss me, Mari?”
Marinette nodded and Luka jumped off the stage. His fans parted enough for him to make his way to where Marinette—and both of their families—waited.
Luka paused for just a beat as he approached- she looked amazing. From her riding boots to the metal studded blouse, she looked like the bride of rock and roll. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, “You really mean it?”
Marinette nodded furiously and he claimed her with a kiss. It felt like a seal- or a promise. A promise he couldn’t wait to keep.
It wasn’t their first kiss.
“You know I wish things were different. That we could….” Luka trailed off.
Marinette nodded, “I know. I miss you when you're gone. Calls aren't the same.”
Luka glanced at the airport with a grimace before he turned back to her. “I love what I do, but I hate leaving.”
Marinette felt tears slip down her face. She hadn't wanted to hold him back. But she hated letting him go. “I'll be here whenever you're in town. Don't forget, I'm your number one fan.”
“I'm yours, too.”
Something about the way he said he was hers, and not just her fan or her friend brought up all the feelings she had been trying to keep tamped down. She loved him. She just didn’t know how to make it fit into their lives.
She couldn't tell who moved first, but Luka's hands were in her hair and his lips were devouring hers. She could taste the salt of their tears on his lips and it reminded her that he was leaving. Again. And that was why this couldn't be.
Marinette pulled away, but her hand lingered for a second, holding him close as she whispered, “Be safe.” Then she released him and walked away.
That first kiss had been bittersweet. A thing to keep hidden away. A lament of what could—or even should —be, but wasn't. They had never spoken of it or acknowledged it in all their conversations since.
This kiss was a promise. A fulfillment of dreams. Marinette was only slightly conscious of the crowd—not to mention her parents—when the sweetness started to shift to something desperate and hungry. Luka’s lips sought to deepen their connection. She pulled back just a little and Luka’s blush told her he hadn’t been thinking of their audience either.
He gulped, “Please tell me you have a plan.”
Marinette laughed, she couldn't help it. He knew her so well. “I do, but it's impulsive, and entirely up to you to decide if we go through with it or not.”
Luka studied her for a second, and without a sign of hesitation, he nodded.
Marinette would have liked him to know what he was agreeing to, but it was too late. They weren’t alone.
Jagged threw his arm around Luka and crowed in victory. “Alright boy-o! Let's get this show on the road!”
Penny appeared out of nowhere with a small security team and their whole party was led onstage. The cameras tracked their progress through the screaming crowd, showcasing the unexpected turn of events on the giant screens.
Luka had a strange feeling he should have asked for clarification before agreeing to Mari’s plan. Jagged had taken the microphone as soon as they were on stage, and the look in his eye told Luka that he might have agreed to something bigger than he'd originally thought.
He leaned down and whispered in his fiancée's ear. “What did I just agree to?”
“We’re getting married.”
Yeah, he'd caught that… wait. “Now?”
“Now.” Marinette grabbed his hand and looked him dead in the eyes. “Unless you don't wa-”
Luka interrupted her with another kiss. “I do want to. I've wanted this forever.”
Jagged turned to the audience with a grin and sang out to the crowd, “Can I get a witness to the marriage of this couple?!”
The audience went wild. Too bad he could only marry her once, it was one hell of a crowd-pleaser.
“Alright! Let’s get this party started.” Luka hadn't known Jagged was licensed to marry them, but if anything wasn’t on the up and up- he would be more than happy to sort that out later.
Jagged turned and looked at them seriously—well, as seriously as an old rocker in striped pants could look—and began the ceremony. He started with Luka.
“Do you, Luka Couffaine, take rockin' Marinette to be your wife?”
“I do.” Luka was beaming .
“Do you promise to stick with her forever, and never look at another woman so long as you live?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
Jagged turned to Mari, “Do you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, take my guitar-toting kid, Luka Couffaine, to be your husband?”
“I do.” The grin that suddenly split her face as it all became real matched Luka’s in its intensity.
“Do you promise to love him, and ignore all the other louts out there for the rest of your life?”
“Yes… I mean, I do,” Marinette promised.
Jagged held up a sheet of paper. “I've got some vows here, if you want to be traditional. But this is your chance to say whatever needs to be said.”
Luka turned to Marinette and took her hands in his and spoke softly, reverently- It didn’t matter that they had never talked about getting married. He’d been thinking about this moment for a while.
“Marinette.” Luka paused to collect his thoughts and caressed the back of her hand, “You are the most amazing girl. You're the song that's been stuck in my head since we met, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll love you till the end of time. And that's a promise, a choice I'll make every day of my life. My heart is yours.”
Marinette fought back tears of joy, and had to work to speak around the lump in her throat.
“Luka. You've always been patient with me. And it's a good thing you've had so much practice because I'm sure you'll need it.” She took a breath when Luka chuckled softly. “ I love you. I love you with my whole being and I don't want anyone else but you. I am all in. For all time. I can’t wait to see where the world takes us.”
Jagged nodded, looking suspiciously damp-eyed, but he turned to the audience.
“If anyone wants to object, please see an usher or member of security, and they'll escort you out.” He eyed the crowd with exaggerated wariness and waggled his eyebrows, but no one moved, “That's what I thought.”
“Okay! The last thing we need are the rings! Who’s got ‘em?”
Luka looked panicked for a brief second, but Marinette squeezed his hand with a smile. She had this. Juleka stepped forward and handed the narrower of the two beaded rings she’d made that day— the blue and black one—to Luka. He examined it for a second looking a little wonderstruck.
“Do I need to hold your hand, or can you manage this bit?” Jagged asked rather saucily.
Luka rolled his eyes at his father, then smiled at Marinette and slid the ring onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
Juleka handed Marinette the pink and black one, it was double the width of hers. She hoped he was as excited to wear her colors as she was to wear his. She glanced up at him and slid the ring onto his finger and the anticipation and eagerness in his eyes dispelled her brief uneasiness. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
“Yeah!” Jagged pumped the air before he turned his attention back to the bride and groom. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride- and take your time. It's not as if there's anything else going on.”
Laughter rippled through the arena, and Luka kissed Marinette through his smile. They were both grinning too widely to make it a proper kiss, but that didn’t stop Marinette from feeling a little breathless. After a moment, Luka dipped her dramatically, causing her to laugh. Then he scooped her up into his arms and spun her around exultantly.
She could just hear him, “I can’t believe you’re mine!”
“Believe it!” Marinette felt giddy and euphoric and was smiling so hard her face was beginning to hurt.
The crowd cheered ecstatically and Tom swept them both into a breathless hug. In seconds they were passed from one family member to another for hugs and well wishes.
Jagged, who had managed to get his hands on a guitar, started riffing a bit - playing them off the stage.
“All right! We've had our fun! I'll keep you lot entertained long enough for the groom to recover, then he can finish this show!”
Luka reluctantly released Marinette, and let Penny herd them to the wings.
Jagged kept his promise and rocked them off stage with his own special rendition of a classic rock love song…
🎵
I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There’s a chance we could make it now
We’ll be rocking ’til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love
🎵
Luka swung his guitar back into place and jumped back into performance mode. It took an impromptu guitar battle to wrest the stage back from Jagged, but Luka finally finished the show.
The concert hall was strangely quiet as the equipment was packed up. The technicians and roadies handled most things, but Luka always carried his guitar with him. They slipped out once Claire was safely packed up and Luka turned a wonderstruck expression to Marinette.
“Now what?”
Marinette giggled. It had been nearly twenty-four hours since she saw Luka’s text and she was feeling a little punch drunk on the whirlwind of it all. “Buy me breakfast, and take me home?”
Luka squeezed her, “Home is a hotel room right now.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s traditional for a honeymoon, Luka.” Marinette reminded him.
“Right…Not much of a honeymoon, I’ve got three more weeks of this. We do nothing but play, eat, sleep, travel, rinse and repeat.”
“I am not implying that you’re getting out of taking me on a proper honeymoon later, but if you don’t mind- I think I’d like to stick by you for the rest of the tour.”
“Mind?! Marinette, nothing could beat having you around.”
“So, breakfast then?”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Well, yes. But you woke me up at 3 am, it's my turn to mess with your sleep.”
“Darling, you can keep me up as often as you want.”
Marinette certainly planned to keep him up for a while yet, but she liked this too. Luka held her close as they walked, stealing quick kisses every few minutes. It wasn’t long before he started singing softly in her ear, stealing her heart all over again.
🎵
At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
🎶