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"I don't understand why you don't like it."
Marinette sighed and frowned at their coffee table. It was a good table. It suited the space, Luka loved it. There was no reason not to like it. But ever since he'd brought it home, it had given her a headache. Well, sort of. It gave her the memory of a headache.
They had had the coffee table for two weeks and the feeling hadn't gone away.
She rubbed the back of her head absently while she tried to explain how it made her feel. "It's not that I don't like it, because objectively, it's a great table." She admitted.
Luka was looking at her worriedly now. She winced and pulled her hand away from the back of her head. There was an old scar there that ached sometimes, but she couldn't quite remember how she'd gotten it. There was a hazy feeling whenever she thought of it, similar to the hazy almost-headache she got when she thought about the coffee table.
"In fact—"
A bright light and a sudden shriek interrupted them. Marinette yelled instinctively, "Catch her!"
The moment Luka caught the girl who had somehow fallen into their living room, Marinette's headache flared and disappeared, but her stomach twisted. She turned abruptly to hurl the remnants of her lunch into the nearest waste bin.
Luka had spent years following Ladybug's orders, and even longer following Marinette's lead. So when his wife told him to 'catch her', even though they were alone in the house while the kids were at school, he did.
What happened was inexplicable. Or would have been for most people.
When Luka looked down to see who he'd caught, he found himself holding his wife. Only she wasn't his wife yet. The Marinette in his arms looked young, not much older than his oldest daughter.
He'd been around time mishaps often enough that he managed to stay calm, maybe too calm considering his actual wife was puking and the little Mari in his arms had just gotten a good look at who had broken her fall.
"Yeeeeaahhh!"
Luka winced when she screamed in his face and abruptly set her down, away from the coffee table that would have been a terrible place to land. She looked from him to the table and back.
"Thanks. Ummm. That would have hurt. Probably. Those are wicked-looking corners."
Marinette, his wife, had run from the room with the bin at the same time that Marinette, not his wife, had screamed. She finally returned with a glass of water in her shaking hand.
"Are you okay?" Luka wanted to pull her close, but the little Mari was staring at both of them with wide eyes, and his wife was still looking a little green.
Marinette, his wife, shook her head. "Weird memory shifts. Can I borrow Sass for a second?"
Marinette, not his wife, shrieked again. There had been a time when he had found all of her quirky mannerisms endearing; he was glad she had mostly outgrown the panicked screams.
"You know?! About Sass and the miraculous?" She turned on her older self. "You aren't supposed to tell anyone! Just because he kissed me last night, doesn't mean—"
Luka interrupted. "I did not kiss you last night! You're just a kid."
She rolled her eyes. "Not you now, you then! You are way too old—"
Marinette lurched toward him. "Luka. Sass, please. Mini-me. You do not want to start calling us old right now."
Luka handed over the bracelet, watching worriedly as his wife slipped it over her wrist. Sass should be able to counter the ill-effects of the shifting memories. Something the little Marinette said tripped a memory of his own.
Her fingers were laced in his, even though they had arrived back at her door several minutes ago. They had still been talking at first, but now there was only quiet as they gazed at each other. The night was over, but it had been a perfect date, and Luka didn't want to let go. Marinette's face and ears were growing pinker the longer she looked up at him, and he couldn't resist the urge to send her over the edge to fully red.
"Can I kiss you goodnight?"
Her face flamed red and Luka smiled even wider at the sight. But even better than the neon blush was the way she nodded before tipping her face up to his. He didn't let go of her hand, but used his free hand to gently support her neck as he met her lips, pulling her into him and holding her close.
He pulled back after a few seconds, amazed and a little dazed, but wanting this moment to be a soft, gentle memory. She was exquisite. And she was staring at him with wide eyes, heaving chest, and lips parted in something between shock and wonder. He had been helpless to resist pulling her close again, seeking out that gap in her lips to taste her like he only ever dreamed of. There were no words to describe the feelings that overflowed within him. Only music.
When she whimpered against his lips, Luka wrapped both of his arms around her, holding her in a tight hug as she panted against his neck.
It had been torture to let her go. To turn his back on her door and walk away. Even knowing that he would see her the next day, he'd been gone for Marinette for two years already, but after a kiss like that? He was lost, and happy to be so.
The next morning Chat Noir had single-handedly fought an akuma that displaced people in time, and while Ladybug had shown up at the last second to purify the akuma and cast the cure, she had been off somehow. When Luka had finally caught up to Marinette, she was tired and confused, rambling about the hospital and a dream where he had kissed her.
She had a doctor's note that confirmed a mild concussion with instructions for rest and a lot of questions. Luka had had questions, too; the note was post-dated by more than ten years. But he had forgotten that detail by the time she was feeling better. Marinette had insisted that he kiss her again, because the last one still felt like a dream, and well, his mind had let quite a lot slip through the cracks in his quest to make sure she didn't forget another kiss.
He shook his head. That hadn't happened. But it had. He glanced at the Marinettes in the room and back at the coffee table. His Mari was taking deep breaths and looking considerably better. Sass was curled up on her shoulder, patting her hair gently, but his eyes were on little Mari, and he was laughing. Of course the little time monster thought this was all hilarious.
The little (she wasn't that much shorter than his wife, but she was considerably younger) Marinette's attention was darting all over—between the room, each of them, Sass, and back again—while nervously wringing her hands.
Time had changed. He could feel it, track what he knew of it thanks to his years with Sass, but Marinette's past had been altered right in front of her. No wonder she got sick.
This little Marinette hadn't landed on the coffee table and hit her head, she wasn't going to spend her temporal shift in a hospital. She was—
The Marinette who wasn't his wife darted across the room to look at a family photo. Should he stop her? He glanced at Sass, but the little punk was watching little Mari with dancing eyes. She shrieked again before dashing behind his wife, blushing bright red.
"Oh. my. gosh. You have kids. He's seen me naked."
Luka nearly choked. He had not—not her—not really. He was over thirty! She was a kid! She couldn't go around saying shit like that. Especially in front of his wife.
"Oh, calm down. No one is going to see you naked for a few years yet." His Marinette declared with an exasperated roll of her eyes. Why was she encouraging this conversation?!
"Years?" Mini-nette asked, relaxing ever so slightly.
Luka watched them carefully. Marinette was sure to know what little her needed. If little-nette needed that assurance, then he was happy she was getting it.
"I promise."
"But last night. We kissed… and it was… it was…I didn't want him to stop."
Little Marinette was studiously ignoring him, her focus solely on her older self. His Marinette was watching him with a soft smile that made his insides feel gooey. "He is very good at kissing, and very patient."
Luka wasn't sure exactly how to feel. He didn't mind the stroke to his ego—he liked that Marinette loved his kisses, but— "It was never a hardship to wait until we were both ready for more than kissing."
The little "Eeeep!" that escaped mini-Mari made him chuckle. Had she really forgotten he could hear them? She looked so young, it was almost hard to believe she was sixteen, and that the younger him was okay with kissing her. His eyes darted to a recent photo of Mellie, their daughter was almost fourteen. He was not ready for this rapidly approaching parental milestone.
"How old will I—"
"I don't think we should answer that. History…" Luka wasn't sure how to finish. She hadn't experienced any of this the first time, her history had already been altered. There would be no weird doctor's note or concussion now. She would remember their first kiss…and still want him to refresh her memory. His concern turned into a smile as the parallel memory slotted into place, and he winked at his wife. She giggled, and little Marinette frowned.
"What's going on? When can I tell my Luka who I am—about the Ladybug thing, I mean? How did I get here, and how am I getting back?"
Marinette—his wife—patted little Mari on the shoulder. "You'll know. And, we probably need Fluff to get you back."
Mari—not his wife—glanced at him, "Before I go…Did, was it, did you—he like kissing me as much as I liked it?"
Luka took a half step back. This conversation didn't feel right, not with the childish version of his wife, but he could see the vulnerability in her eyes, so he nodded.
"You should ask him, he would answer you. But since he can't say this part yet, I remember thinking that our first kiss was better than anything, better than being Viperion and helping save Paris."
Her mouth fell open, but snapped shut when his Marinette laughed. "You'll get used to him being an honest sap all the time, eventually."
A glowing portal opened in the middle of the living room, and Bunnyx stepped out. "Alright, let's do thi—why is she awake?!"
Luka and Marinette just stared at her, but little Marinette flinched back.
"She was supposed to have a concussion…how on earth did you change this of all things?"
"I caught her when she fell," Luka answered, pointing at the table.
"You idiot. I told you about the furniture sale because it was supposed to be safe with you! It had time ooze all over it, and I needed to keep it out of dangerous hands—wait. The table is fine. The time wound is gone. You purified it." She leveled a glare at him. "How?"
Marinette—both of them—shrugged. "We didn't hit our head this time."
Luka shuddered when they spoke in unison. That was too weird. "Maybe you should take mini-nette home before anything else happens."
Bunnyx nodded and pointed to their guest. "Our Ladybug is supposed to fix things since that one is supposed to be wounded. I'm going to insist we keep as much the same as possible. Suit up, Bug. I'll drop little you off like last time while you sort Paris. We'll hop in as soon as Chat has it handled."
When Marinette suited up, Luka tried not to stare at her in front of Mini-nette. His wife's curves filled out that suit a little too well, and he didn't want his obvious desire for her to freak the kid out. Since that was something she thought (or worried) about.
Luka waited for the couple of seconds it took from his point of view for them to return, wondering if Marinette would go through with asking him about their kiss.
When the portal opened back up, he grinned at Marinette, but waited for Bunnyx to hop out and the portal to close.
"Thanks Alix. You always seem to know when to show up."
She laughed. "It's what I do." She glanced at both of them with a knowing grin before winking at him. "I know when to get out, too! Be good guys! Oh, and tell Sass to be more forthcoming the next time you end up with time-impacted furniture."
Alix left with a punch to his shoulder, but Marinette pressed a kiss to the spot as soon as the door closed behind her. "You know, if memory serves, that was one hell of a first kiss."
Luka blinked. "You asked me. Back then. I was shocked at how bold you were."
She smiled. "You said kissing me was better than music."
Luka grinned, pulling his wife flush to him. "It sure was—still is. You're a hell of a kisser."
She glanced at the table and laughed. "It doesn't hurt anymore. Must have been a ghost memory."
Luka chuckled. He'd almost forgotten how this had all started, but then he frowned. Marinette was still looking past him. "What is it?"
"I'm not as young as I used to be…not as slim as in my Ladybug days. You don't mind?"
Mind?! Luka let his hand slide lower. He loved her curves, loved the woman she had become, loved that they had lived so much of their lives together, that her body had created and nourished their children. She gasped lightly when he pinched her butt. He adored the way she still responded to his touch. "Marinette. I love you. This you, all of you. I'm not exactly twenty anymore, my Melody. My wife is too good a cook for my own good. Do you mind?"
She whipped her head to meet his eyes with a shocked expression. "Of course not! You're—"
Luka kissed her. It was far from the first time; the mind-numbing fireworks of years gone by had shifted, turning into hot burning coals, always ready for him to fan into flame. He had learned her secrets, knew how to make her sing with his hands and his lips. He coaxed a melody out of her, smiling into her lips as her body melted into his.
He wouldn't change a thing about the last (or the next!) sixteen years of his life. As long as his Marinette was by his side, he was happy.