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Luka was only half-awake when he stumbled out into the kitchen. Well, no, that wasn’t entirely accurate.
He had been half-awake the night before, when he’d stumbled in around three to find his wife sleeping on the couch, the lamp by her head clicked to the lowest setting. She had been waiting up for him, but there had been delays and traffic and dead phone batteries and an unfortunate incident with airport security that had led to him coming home much later than they’d discussed, so of course she was sleeping.
He had already been expecting to get in late, even before the delays, and he had told her not to wait up for him. Harmony still had school in the morning, and he was pretty sure Marinette had an early meeting. She always tried to take off the day after he came home from a long tour, but there was an important new client with a crazy schedule who could only meet her the next day. And so they had agreed he’d see her later, after they were both rested. He hadn’t wanted her to miss her sleep for him.
Of course she hadn’t listened to him, or at least had tried not to. He wasn’t entirely happy about it, but he couldn’t deny that it had warmed his heart all the same to see her there, attempting to be there for him.
She hadn’t woken when he’d bent to kiss her forehead. She also hadn’t woken when he’d scooped her up, his bags momentarily forgotten at the foot of the couch, and shambled towards their room with her in his arms. He’d paused only momentarily to peek in on their sleeping girls, but he was exhausted and didn’t want to wake anyone up for cuddles he wasn’t sure he’d be able to deliver, so he’d left the girls sleeping, carried their maman into their room, and collapsed on their bed behind her.
He had been sleeping by the time she woke up.
And now it wasn’t much later, but something had woken him – he still wasn’t sure if it was his bladder or the giggles coming from down the hall – and their bed was entirely too empty for his liking. So after stopping in their ensuite, he’d followed the giggles out to the kitchen, still shambling because he was still only kind of half-awake.
…probably more like a quarter awake.
Jetlag was definitely involved either way.
He found his wife standing at the stove, laughing at something as she flipped a crepe. He could feel his smile turning stupid as he shuffled over to her. She didn’t pause in her task as he wrapped his arms around her and tucked his face against her neck – crepes were a delicate process, and she couldn’t, he knew, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel a little put-out. His hands smoothed over her stomach as he pressed a kiss to the join of her shoulder, and she hummed as she leaned her head back against him. His smile turned into a bit of a smirk as one of his hands slipped lower and around, finding the edge of her ass and pinching.
His smirk grew when she squeaked and jumped back against him, sending the crepe flying in the process.
“L-Luka!” she scolded, but he just chuckled and openly groped her, his hand smoothing against her ass and squeezing as he nibbled on her neck. “Stop it!”
She had hissed the words, but they didn’t fully sink in until he heard the giggling behind them. He straightened, smiling easily at the big blue eyes grinning at them from the counter.
“…whoops,” he said, grinning at Marinette. She glared at him like she knew there wasn’t a single repentant bone in his body. There really wasn’t. “Didn’t see her there, Squeaks.”
“…Luka!” she hissed, her eyes going wide and pink staining her cheeks.
It was an old nickname, and one she absolutely hated – more than she had ever hated the Ma-Ma-Marinette one. But really, she had no one to blame but herself: she was the one who was so sensitive, who jumped at her own shadow, and who made those adorable little squeaking sounds whenever he…
She made another one as he moved his hand to a more respectable spot and pinched her hip in the process. She tried to stomp back on his foot, but he just raised his hand to her chin and guided her mouth to his.
The fight left her as she sank back against him.
“Ewwwwww, Papa!” Melody whined from the counter, but she was still giggling like the little instigator she was. “That’s gisdusting!”
“Y-yeah, Papa,” Marinette said, rolling her eyes as he pecked another kiss against her lips. “Gis…oh no, breakfast!”
He felt slightly guilty when the smell of smoke hit their noses and they turned back to the pan to find the crepe she had been making was…not so much a crepe anymore. After she had sent it flying, it had landed half in the pan and half on the handle, and its edges had caught fire. The bit in the pan was definitely darker than she had intended (…burnt; it was burnt). She sighed and nudged him with her hip, pushing him back as she lifted the pan from the stove. She blew on the burning bits to put the fire out and gave him an annoyed little scowl.
“I’d say this one’s yours, but I wouldn’t even make Hawkmoth eat it,” she sighed, carrying it over the bin and flipping the ruined crepe inside. Melody giggled, and he slipped away from Marinette to give their little one her own overdue Welcome Home Snuggles. Marinette slapped at his butt with the pan as he went, and he winced when she just barely hit him. The damn thing was hot.
“Missed you, too, darning,” he said, giving her his best roguish grin. She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as he scooped Melody up. Her tiny arms immediately wrapped around his neck, and he hummed as he kissed the side of her head. “Hey, Songbird. Miss me?”
“No,” she said, making Marinette snort. Melody still snuggled closer, letting out a happy sigh when he squeezed her tight. “You go ‘way too much, Papa.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, Songbird.”
“Can we have pancakes?” she asked. Marinette made a little, indignant squeak in protest, and he chuckled as he patted Melody’s back.
“Maybe tomorrow,” he said. “Maman’s making something better.”
“Maman always makes something better,” Marinette huffed. She put a plate down on the counter, and Luka had to admit it did look worlds better than anything he could ever make: crème-filled crepes topped with fresh strawberries with a scrambled egg on the side. God, he missed her cooking when he was away. “Now put her down so she can eat, songbird.”
He grinned at her as he put Melody back in her seat, and once their girl was distracted with playing with her strawberries he pulled her aside for another kiss.
“Missed you,” he murmured against her lips.
“You still look half-dead on your feet,” she said, brushing his bangs back and frowning at the shadows under his eyes. “What time did you get in?”
“Late,” he said, tucking his face against her neck and taking a deep breath. “You were asleep. When do you have to leave for you meeting?”
“It was rescheduled for next week. Something about a family emergency. You should still be sleeping, Lu,” she said, scratching at his scalp. “You really do look awful. Do you want a plate, or do you want more sleep?”
“I want more you,” he said. His hand had started towards her ass again, and she sucked in a breath as her hand shot down to catch his wrist. She squeezed and glared at him, but he was still smiling as he stole another kiss.
“Have me later,” she whispered, glancing back at Melody. When she looked back at him, there was a smirk playing at her lips. He leaned in to kiss it off her, and she started to giggle – until he got his hand free and pinched her ass again, making her squeak again. “Luka!”
“Squeaks,” he chuckled. He sighed and leaned his forehead on hers, brushing their noses together. “Fine. Sleep first. You later?”
“Once the girls are down for the night, I’m all yours,” she promised, kissing him again. It hardly seemed fair, as after the girls were down seemed an eternity away, but he’d take it. Harmony hadn’t even gotten her Welcome Home Snuggles yet.
“Deal,” he said, stealing another kiss. Melody giggled, but when he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow she was playing innocent, concentrating a little too hard on her plate. He shook his head before pecking a kiss against Marinette’s cheek. “Wake me if you need me.”
“Please,” she tutted, going back to the stove as he moved away. She shot him a grin over her shoulder. “It’s Mellie. How much trouble can we possibly get into?”
He shook his head as he chuckled, paused to give Melody one last kiss on the back of her head while he reminded her to mind her maman, and headed back to bed.
– V –
Because really.
Marinette should have known better.
Her daughter was a Couffaine, after all, and one named after her Granarchy to boot.
The day had started well enough, but when Melody’s playing started to get too loud (and Marinette started to worry about her waking Luka up) she had offered a trip to the park. After all, it was a gorgeous day out, and what better way to use up some of their little songbird’s excess energy?
The park was relatively empty for that time of day. There were a few other adults who had apparently had the same idea, walking around with strollers and children too young to be in school yet, and a few seniors occupying the benches. A pair of older gentlemen were sitting near the fountain, playing chess, and there was a grandma on the bench under a tree knitting while her grandbaby took a nap in the stroller beside her. On another bench, a woman that reminded her of M. Ramier sat feeding a small cluster of pigeons.
Melody, of course, had no interest in any of them and had flown towards the little play area as soon as it came in sight. The sandbox was near the woman with the birds, and Marinette offered her a friendly smile as she followed behind her little spitfire.
“Good morning,” she said in greeting, drawing the woman’s attention. She looked up with a friendly smile, and Marinette touched a hand to the back of the bench. “Do you mind if I join you? My daughter’s just over there, and I want to keep an eye on her.”
“Of course, dear,” the woman said. She placed the bag of bread crumbs on her lap and held out a hand. “Annette.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Annette. I’m Marinette,” she said with a smile, taking her hand and shaking it. She sat down and nodded towards Melody, who, once she noticed Marinette had a new friend and was looking at her, started back towards her. “And this is Melody.”
“HI!” Melody shouted, waving her hand enthusiastically. The waving stopped abruptly as she frowned. “Maman. It’s Mellie.”
“Of course, baby,” Marinette laughed, shaking her head. She grinned at Annette. “Sorry. Mellie.”
“Marinette and Mellie. It’s lovely to meet you,” Annette said with a laugh, but that only made Melody’s nose scrunch more.
“It’s not Marinette,” she huffed. Marinette looked back at her, an eyebrow raised. She had said it with all the authority of a kid not quite five who knew everything there was to the world, and she waited patiently for Melody to correct their new friend by informing Annette that her name was Maman, not Marinette. What tumbled out of her baby’s mouth instead was: “You’re Squeaks. Papa says, because you squeak when he –”
…in all her years of akuma fighting, she had never moved so fast.
She wasn’t sure if the sound that came out of her mouth was more of a squeak or a shriek as she dove for Melody, her hand slapping against her baby’s mouth before she could finish that sentence. Her eyes were wide and her face flaming as she gawked at Annette in mortification. Annette stared back at her for a moment, her own eyes wide as she blinked and tried to process what she had just heard – what she had just been about to hear – and then she was throwing her head back with a loud, raucous laugh that reminded Marinette of the Captain. Breadcrumbs scattered at her feet as she raised her hand to her heart. She was still laughing as she turned her head back to Marinette.
“Oh, bless,” she wheezed, raising her hand a bit higher to wipe at her eyes. “Does he now?”
Melody would have chirped yep! if Marinette hadn’t been muffling her, so instead she just shook her head all too enthusiastically.
Kill me now, Marinette thought with a mental groan.
She was going to have Words for her dear husband when they got home.
– V –
Much later – after they had gotten home and she’d fetched Harmony from school and Luka had woken up and Welcome Home Snuggles had been had and dinner had been eaten and just one more bedtime story, pleeeease, Papa – Marinette decided that her dear husband was an actual, for real Idiot.
…or maybe just an asshole.
It was hard to tell some days.
She had barely finished telling him the story of meeting their new friend in the park when he’d fallen back on their bed, laughing. She had been standing by their dresser, taking her earrings off, and had been watching him through the mirror as he sat on the bed listening. He had blinked at her once, realized what Melody had almost blabbed to a complete stranger, and then had just…lost it.
Asshole, she decided.
He was definitely an asshole.
“Luka!” she…hissed, because it was definitely not a whine and anything louder would be sure to wake the girls up. “It’s not funny!”
“Oh, it’s so funny,” he wheezed, an arm thrown across his eyes as his laughter died off. He raised his head a little, grinning at her, and she rolled her eyes before crossing over to him. “It’s downright hilarious.”
His grin turned a little roguish, that stupid Rock Star smile that was plastered on magazines and was known to make panties drop around the world. She was a little proud to say it had been her smile first, and the photographers never managed to capture the full intensity of it, except…
“Squeaks,” he said, and there it was. She hopped onto the bed – onto him – with an indignant little huff that was definitely not a squeak, catching his hands before he could reach for her and pinning them to the bed. It didn’t seem to phase him: he was still grinning at her like the idiot – asshole – he was. “Ok, this is better.”
“You are incorrigible, Couffaine,” she tutted, “and a horrible influence on our impressionable young daughters.”
“I’m a wonderful influence on our daughters,” he chuckled. He tried to lift his hands, but she wasn’t about to let him go so easily. He bent a knee instead, bringing it up to tap against her rear. She rolled her eyes as his smile softened. “Hey. Someone hasn’t gotten any Welcome Home Snuggles yet.”
…that was true. He’d woken up after Harmony had come home, and the girls had monopolized all of his snuggles since then, leaving none for their poor maman.
“I don’t want them,” she huffed, even if that wasn’t entirely true. “Not until you learn some manners and teach your daughter not to embarrass her poor maman in public.”
He laughed at that, dropping his head back on the bed.
“Darning, I hate to tell you, but I think we’ve got many years of that kid embarrassing us both yet,” he said. “At least…Annette, you said? At least she had a good spirit about it.”
“She didn’t need to know about our sex life, Luka,” Marinette huffed.
“For all she knows, you’re Squeaks because you’re jumpy,” he said. Marinette lifted a brow, and he shrugged. “It’s a little true.”
“It’s – mmf!” she squeaked, because he had twisted his hands under hers to push himself up, cutting her off with a heated kiss. “Ch…cheater…”
“I love your squeaks, you know,” he said, running his nose along her jaw. “I’d love to hear some more. Right now, if you’d be so inclined.”
“I should tell you no,” she huffed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she sat back on his lap. “You’re an asshole, and assholes don’t deserve squeaks.”
“No, I’m a Luka,” he said. He had pushed himself up, and his hands found her waist as his lips found her shoulder. “And don’t Lukas deserve Marinettes?”
He was grinning at her again, and she rolled her eyes as she combed a hand through his hair. And really, how could she say no to him, when he put it like that?
“…fine,” she sighed, her eyes closing with a smile as his lips returned to her neck and his hands slid down to cup her ass, pulling her closer. She held his head against her chest, a sound that was definitely not a squeak escaping her when his teeth grazed along the lacy edge of her bra. “I suppose they do.”