Work Text:
The tip of her tongue was poking out between her lips as Marinette focused on completing the final flourishes of the small cake on the workbench in front of her. Just…one…more…swish…and…done! She pulled back, that bit of tongue disappearing into her mouth as a wide, toothy grin split her face.
The cake was perfect.
The base coat was a beautiful blend of blue and white that looked like foamy ocean waves, and mixing the icing in her piping bag had created a lovely ombre shell around the top. Pink icing in her nicest handwriting – just dark enough to be seen against the pale blues and whites, but still light enough to be her – spelled out a simple message along the top of the cake: Just wanted you to know…
And when Luka pulled away that top layer of icing, a little paper with another message would be revealed underneath.
A message she’d been dying to tell him for…well. Since she had run away from him under that bridge almost three years ago. Since longer, really.
But…
She shook her head, clearing it of any negative thoughts. She couldn’t afford…except she could. These days. Now that the Butterfly had finally been reclaimed, Gabriel Agreste was dead, and the psychopath that was Lila Rossi (or whatever the hell her real name was) was behind bars…it was safe to have those thoughts again. Those feelings.
…but this was about Luka, and she didn’t want any negative thoughts attached to Luka. Luka was…Luka was magic, and light, and a simple tune floating on a gentle breeze in the summer air, and second chances, and…
She put the piping bag down with a little more force than was necessary, and she winced a little when icing squirted out of the tip. She reached for her rag and wiped off the table before turning to grab a box for the cake.
She wasn’t going to get distracted by something silly like regret.
Not this time.
She’d been wanting to talk to Luka about the possibility of trying again for a while now, but…something always came up. He got pulled away, or she chickened out, or it wasn’t the right time, or…but he’d be leaving tomorrow. For a summer tour. Which wasn’t all that long, in the long run, but it was still a good two, three months apart, and Marinette was determined to let him know how she felt – how she still felt – before he got on that bus in the morning.
Or…well. Maybe after he got on the bus. Because on the slight chance that he didn’t feel the same – which she didn’t think was true, but…but just in case, she was going to ask him to look at the cake after he was on the bus. And then she could…
…spend the entire summer freaking the hell out over what his answer would be.
Maybe it wasn’t the best plan…
…but it was the only plan she had, and it was too late to back out now. It was easier, telling him…not exactly to his face. Just in case. Just in case she was about to embarrass herself to death.
And the hidden message cakes were cute! And she had made sure to use his favorite flavors – chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting, just like those disgusting ‘snowball’ treats he brought back from his US tours! And when he peeled back that top layer of icing…
“I love you,” she whispered, closing the lid and pressing a soft kiss to the top of the box. She bit her lip when she pulled back and saw the shiny remnants of her lip gloss on the lid.
It was going to go right this time.
It had to.
– V –
Luka tried not to fidget as he glanced at his phone for the…fourth time in two minutes.
The screen was still painfully empty.
No alerts. No notifications. No messages stating she was on her way (he hoped) or running late (she was). Just her smiling-just-a-bit-too-wide, sun-kissed face looking back at him from that picture he had taken in LA last year, when Jay had been filming that TV cameo and they’d flown her out for the weekend.
…it had been the best weekend of his life.
She had just recovered the Butterfly the month before, and she had needed the break. And he had needed to see her, to know she was all right, that…they’d spent most of that weekend on the beach while Jagged had terrorized everyone on set, her head in his lap as she’d snoozed and he’d played her…anything, really, but mostly stupid little love songs.
A lot of them turned into stupid little love songs, when he was playing for her.
It would have been the perfect time to tell her…but she had been running hard since she was thirteen, and she had been exhausted, and while he was pretty sure she wasn’t opposed to the idea of revisiting Them it just hadn’t been the time.
It had been a long year of Not the Time, honestly, and now he was about to get on a bus and leave, again, and she…
“I made it!”
He nearly dropped his phone as he jumped up at the shout. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes, and a grin split his face as he saw Marinette bolting towards the bus. Jagged barked out a laugh behind him, but he ignored it as Marinette shoved a box in Juleka’s hands and leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck as she tucked her face against his chest.
“…made it,” she panted, squeezing him tight as she tried to catch her breath. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face against her shoulder.
“You made it,” he said softly, and she hummed as she squeezed him even tighter. Like she didn’t want to let go. Like he didn’t want her to let him go. “You made it.”
“My alarm didn’t go off,” she said. “I stayed up too late finishing…and when I set the alarm…ugh, I set the laundry alarm, Luka. And then Maman was waking me up and –”
“Hey, hey,” he said, pulling back and running his hands along her arms. “It’s ok. Breathe. You made it.”
“Barely, baby girl!” Jagged called from behind him, and he barked out another laugh when Luka flipped him off. Marinette giggled, and he chuckled as he reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear.
…it would be so easy.
To just…kiss her.
Give her a proper goodbye.
…but he had promised Rose he wouldn’t.
“Luka Llewellyn Couffaine, are you insane?!” she had squawked at him the night before. “You can’t just kiss her and then…oh, nope out for two months! What are you thinking? That’s the worst thing you could do!”
…it didn’t feel like it, with the way she was looking up at him and her lips seemed to be shining with that extra bit of gloss and God, was that strawberry he smelled?
He wanted to kiss her.
He wanted so bad to kiss her.
But he just pulled her into another hug instead.
“I’m gonna miss you,” he whispered by her ear, and she hummed as she hugged him back.
“Have fun, but not too much fun, ok?” she said. “Not so much fun that you don’t wanna come back,”
“Never,” he chuckled. He swallowed, choking back what he really wanted to say. “Not…not when I have so much to come home to.”
She hummed and squeezed him tighter, and he wondered if she got it. If she knew what he wanted to say but time wouldn’t allow.
She…she had to, right?
“All right! Roll out!” Jagged called, waving his arm. “Everyone on the bus in five!”
“Jay!” Luka cried, turning back to him, and the rocker gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Sorry, kid – you know how Penny is about schedules! She’s already got that stick up her ass twisted over some traffic reports!” he called. Luka just groaned, and Jagged gave Marinette a final wave before hopping into the bus. Luka groaned even louder – not that Jagged would be able to hear it from the bus – as he turned back to her.
“It’s not fair,” he sighed. “I need more time.”
“Sorry. If I hadn’t been so late…” she started, but he shook his head and pulled her into another hug.
“Stop that,” he said. “You made it. At least…God, can’t he just wait?”
“It’s Penny, not Jagged, so of course not,” she sighed,
“Still not fair,” he said. He frowned as she stepped back. “She could still have a heart. She knows…”
“Stop it. You love her – we both do – and she’s just trying to help. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, because you’ll…you’ll be back before you know it,” she said, looking up at him with a smile that was only a little watery. She squeezed his hands and turned towards Juleka. He hadn’t even realized his sister had been standing off to the side, watching them. Juleka gave him an encouraging smile and held a yellow box out to them. Marinette took it and handed it to him with a nervous smile. “H-here. I. Um. I made you a treat. For the road.”
His eyebrows lifted as he took the box, and when he went to lift the lid and she smacked at his fingers they rose even higher. She was blushing, her cheeks a lovely shade of rosy pink as she looked away from him.
“Don’t…don’t open it yet, ok?” she asked. She swallowed and looked back at him. “Later? Once…once you’re on the bus?”
“…yeah, ok. Sure,” he said, nodding. They heard another shout behind them, and he groaned as he looked back and saw Penny waving at him. “I gotta…”
“Go,” she said. She braced herself on his arm and leaned up, her lips brushing against the underside of his jaw in a brief parting kiss. He swallowed thickly as she pulled away, and she gave him an encouraging smile. “Go. I’ll be here when you get back. And…and hey. I’m only a text away, right?”
“Right,” he said, nodding stiffly. He pulled her into one last hug before he stepped back and slung his guitar case over his shoulder. His bags were already on the bus. “I’ll see you soon?”
“Before you know it. It’ll go by in a blink,” she giggled, and his smile softened as he turned and climbed onto the bus.
…except, as he sat down, he did blink, and when he looked out the window Marinette was still there, waving goodbye with his sister. He sighed and dropped his head back against the window, waving just in case they could see him (he was pretty sure the windows were tinted enough that they couldn’t).
He blinked again, and he was still facing two months away from her – and, even worse, he still knew it.
It was going to be a long summer…
– V –
Traffic was crawling out of the city – some construction or beautification holdup the Mayor had started the day before – and Luka found himself tapping his fingers against his knee as he leaned against the window, staring at the cars not moving ahead of them. The little bakery box was on the bench beside him, and he kept glancing at it.
He wasn’t hungry, not really. Maybe snackish, but it was more a bored snackish than a hungry snackish.
It was curiosity more than anything. He didn’t actually want to eat whatever was in the box, not yet, but he was terribly curious about whatever it could possibly be. It wouldn’t be the first time Marinette had sent him off with treats, but those boxes were usually longer and flatter and stuffed with an assortment of goods (usually his favorites, with a few extra tossed in in case he was inclined to share).
This looked…like something else.
It kinda looked like a cake box. Just…smaller.
…she’d never sent him off with a cake before.
“What’cha got there, kid?” Jagged called from the seats around the little table towards the back of the bus. He looked up to find his dad was slouched onto the table, his chin propped on his arms and grinning at him. Beside him, Penny was talking softly to someone on her phone while she sorted through a stack of papers. She glanced up at Jagged’s question, though, a knowing little smile curling her lips at the sight of the box in Luka’s hands. Like she already knew what Marinette had planned – which she probably did. Penny and Marinette tended to be in cahoots more often than not. “Kinda rude, you ask me. Not bringing stuff for everyone – and what about poor ol’ Fang? She loves their macarons.”
“Marinette ain’t trying to get in Fang’s pants now, is she?” Crusher called from the other side of the bus, and Luka nearly dropped the damn box as he whipped around and snapped at him.
“Crusher!” he shouted, but the asshole just grinned at him while Jagged howled in the back.
“Not sorry, kid,” Crusher said, waggling his eyebrows at him. “You two have been dancing around each other for years now. When you gonna make an honest woman out of her, huh?”
“Shut the hell up,” Luka groaned, resting his elbows on his knees and slouching forward. A moment later, he felt someone sit down beside him and bump their elbow into his shoulder. “Crusher, I swear to God –”
“Easy, Lu,” Pierre said, and Luka looked up to find him nodding at the box. “What’d she bring you? You’ve got us all curious now.”
Luka looked back at the box, his expression relaxing at the familiar sight of the T&S logo on the top. He brushed his thumb along the embossing, took a breath, and pulled the lid back.
Sure enough, there was a cake inside. It was a small one – just enough to maybe share with someone else, if he was so inclined (he wasn’t) – and simple in design. The base was white, and a smattering of purple frosting had been smeared across the top to create a sort of galaxy ombre effect. It looked pretty cool, especially with the edible glitter around it. What really got him, though, was the simple lettering spelling out a message along the cake.
You are in my thoughts, the cake said, with the last word piped along the bottom after a gap from the other words.
“Awww,” Pierre said, bumping his shoulder against his again. “That’s sweet, Lu.”
“Yeah…” Luka said, smiling as the words sank in. And it was. It was so sweet, and he loved it, but…there was something…
There was a little strip of wax paper sticking off to the side of the cake, right next to the gap. And something was tickling at his memory, something Marinette had shown him a few weeks back, something…
“Look it up if you don’t believe me!” she laughed, bumping him back with her hip as he peered over her shoulder at the cake she was decorating. She had taken a little strip of edible paper, one declaring IT’S A BOY, and covered it with a longer strip of wax paper that hung off the edges of the cake before applying a layer of icing to the top. “It’s a big thing on socials right now, and isn’t this better than shooting confetti cannons off everywhere?”
“Rose would argue that point,” he chuckled, stepping closer as he wrapped his arms around her middle. “You know how she feels about confetti.”
“Well, when her and Juleka decide to have a baby, we’ll make sure they get both,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Glitter cannons and a cake that says –”
“’Congratulations, it’s the spawn of darkness?’” he quipped. She fell back against him, laughing, and he grinned as he took the piping bag from her before she could ruin the cake. The couple would be there soon to pick it up. She wouldn’t have time to restart now if she messed it up. “Easy.”
“Jerk,” she laughed, grinning at him. “That is your sister. Just wait until you start having kids – she’ll tell me to put ‘Congratulations, it’s a Stupid’ or something on your cake.”
…he had laughed it off, at the time, but only to stop himself from saying it would be their cake and Juleka would probably be telling Tom the message, since Tom wouldn’t let her make her own gender reveal cake. It just…hadn’t felt like the right time. The right thing to say.
She had been so relaxed.
He hadn’t wanted to ruin that with something messy and complicated like feelings.
“Hey, what’s…oh! Is that one of those hidden message cakes?” Jagged asked, and Luka jumped back into Pierre as his dad was suddenly right beside him, bouncing and grinning as he stared at the cake. “What’s the message, Lu? What’s it say?”
“I…I don’t know,” he said, looking back at the cake.
“Well, go on!” Crusher said, and when had he walked over to loom over him like that? “We wanna know what it says!”
“If it’s a secret message, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the message was for me and not everyone on the damn bus?” he asked, looking up at them.
“Nah,” Jagged said, waving him off. “Mari-girl’s chill. She knew we’d wanna see it, too. So go on – rip it off!”
Luka sighed and reached for the tab. As much as he wanted to deny it, Jagged was probably right. Not about her being chill – she was anything but, most times – but Marinette had to have known there would be nothing private about…
He froze when the top layer of icing peeled back.
Because the cake didn’t just say he was in her thoughts.
It said he was in her inappropriate thoughts.
And that…that…
There was a long, awkward moment of silence as they all stared down at the cake. At the revealed word. And processed the implications of said word.
“…guys?” Penny called, and that one word was like the match striking the powder keg. Jay fell into him, howling, as Crusher fell back on his ass, barely catching himself on the opposite bench on the way. The box dropped from Luka’s hands, and some quick action on Pierre’s part barely caught it before it smashed on Crusher’s feet. “What…oh, goodness…”
Because of course none of them had been able to answer her, so she had come over to see the damn cake for herself, and…and…
…he was in Marinette’s thoughts.
Her inappropriate thoughts.
…fuck.
She was in his inappropriate thoughts, too.
“Fuck this,” Luka said, snatching the box back from Pierre as he stood. He jumped over Crusher and darted towards the front of the bus.
“Luka!” Penny called, though she didn’t sound nearly as irritated as she usually did when one of them were pulling what he was about to pull. He caught himself on the pole by the door, swinging around to lift an eyebrow at her. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she was trying to look stern, but even she couldn’t stop the smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. “Oh, fine. We’re not going anywhere yet anyway. We’ll circle back as soon as we can, pick you up at the bakery, and find an alternate route. I’m giving you half an hour.”
“…thanks, Pen,” he said, his smile splitting his face, and she rolled her eyes as she waved him off. Hank chuckled and opened the door.
“Go get her, kid,” he said, his mustache twitching as he leaned on the wheel. Jagged shouted something inappropriate at him, or at least started to – until Penny kicked at him to shut him up. Luka barely saw it before he was out the door.
Jagged’s inappropriate thoughts weren’t the ones he was currently concerned about, anyway.
– V –
The bakery was quiet.
Too quiet, even for a Thursday.
The breakfast rush was over, most of the orders for the day had been picked up, and business was slow. There was some traffic jam clogging things up a few blocks away, but even the foot traffic was slow. It was just too nice a day out, and nobody was interested in stopping by for a quick snack just yet.
Her parents had told her she didn’t have to stay, once she had come back. She could hang out with Juleka, maybe? Except Juleka was Luka’s sister, and as much as she loved her friend seeing her right now just reminded her that Luka was on a bus on his way out of town and she had blown her chance, again.
Besides, Rose had whisked her off for an impromptu date once the bus had rolled out, anyway.
…and Luka hadn’t texted her yet.
Not that she’d expected him to!
It’s just…
She had hoped…when he opened the box and saw the cake…
But maybe he hadn’t yet?
Maybe…
She groaned and dropped her head on the counter, thunking her forehead against the cool surface a few times for good measure.
She was so dumb!
Of course he had opened it already – Jagged had probably pressured him into looking at it the second the doors closed! And Luka had thought it was stupid, and probably didn’t know how to tell her she was stupid, and –
She shrieked and jumped up as the door burst open, the bell above jangling hard enough at the disruption that it flew off its little hook and rolled across the floor. Luka was standing there, the cake box in hand, doubled over and panting like he had just sprinted across the entire city to get there.
…depending on where the bus had been, he actually might have.
“L-Lu…Luka?” she squeaked. “What…but…you’re supposed to be…what are you doing?”
He shook his head, still gulping down breaths. He held up his hand briefly before bracing it against his knee. After another moment, he pushed himself up and grinned at her.
…he…kind of looked like a crazy person.
“You, too,” he panted. She blinked.
“…what?” she asked, confused. He laughed, the sound breathless, and crossed the bakery to her. He dropped the box by the register before reaching for her, and she gasped as he pulled her close. “Lu-Luka!”
“You, too,” he said again, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. He tipped her head back, and before she could ask him what he meant he was kissing her.
Like…really kissing her.
Backing-her-up-against-the-back-counter-and-bending-her-over-it kissing her. His hand slipped around to cup the back of her head, and the other braced against the counter to keep them steady, which she supposed was a good thing. Her knees felt like they were about to give out on her, anyway. Her hands fisted in his shirt, and when she sighed against his lips he wasted no time in deepening the kiss. He probably would have gone on kissing her, too, if not for the throat that was suddenly clearing beside them. She squeaked and jerked back, but Luka didn’t move aside from casting a not-really-repentant-enough grin her papa’s way. Tom was grinning back at them, though, and all he really did was mutter an about damn time, son before disappearing into the back. A manic giggle burst out of her, and Luka’s answering chuckle burned against her neck. He skimmed his nose along her jaw, humming as he…as he…he was nuzzling her.
She…had been expecting a text. A phone call, if she was lucky. Not…not…
Oh, goodness…
“You’re in my thoughts, too,” he said. He moved to her ear, his voice dropping to a whisper that definitely made her knees wobble as he added: “…and not just the inappropriate ones.”
She sucked in a breath as she slumped back against the counter, gripping onto his shirt like it was the only thing keeping her upright. He chuckled and started brushing his lips against her neck, peppering little kissed along every bit of exposed skin he could find.
…and it was the start of summer, and hot, so…there was more than he usually could. Find. Of her skin, that is. Her…
“What?” she asked, blinking at him. “I-I mean…yay? I think?”
“The cake,” he chuckled, nipping at her shoulder. She hissed his name, and he grinned up at her. “What? You started it. I was just going to say I love you. Maybe kiss you goodbye. You’re the one who went all…inappropriate on me.”
“How was that inappropriate?” she asked, pushing at his shoulders until he moved back. He was still grinning at her like an absolute idiot, and it was hard not to grin back. “It was sweet! It…wasn’t it sweet?”
“…I mean, it’s a cake, so yeah, but…” he chuckled, and she frowned as he reached behind him to grab at the box. He kept his arm looped around her back and moved to lean on the counter beside her. He flicked the lid open with his thumb, and her eyes widened when she saw the cake inside.
She…had given him the wrong cake.
The woman that had ordered that cake was stopping in later that evening for…but it was sitting there in Luka’s hands, the icing lifted away to say…
“…oh my God,” she squeaked. He frowned when he saw her expression.
“Mari?” he asked. “It’s…it’s ok. I mean, it’s a bit more direct than I would have expected from you – you’re usually not that…but, I mean, message received. I’m not upset. Clearly I’m not upset.”
“…but I am!” she cried, twisting to look up at him with wide eyes. “Luka, that’s not your cake!”
“…what?” he asked, and she groaned as she grabbed the box and spun away from him, hurrying into the back. “Marinette!”
“Papa! Maman! Oh, I messed up! I messed up!” Marinette cried. She dropped the cake in front of Sabine, who blinked at the open box while Marinette ducked her face behind her hands. “I grabbed Mlle. Blanc’s cake instead of Luka’s!”
“Oh, my…” her maman had the nerve to laugh, and she groaned as she tugged on her hair.
“Maman!” she cried.
“Marinette, it’s…it’s ok,” Luka said, following after her. He laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing, and she groaned again. “It’s not…it…fuck. I’m so sorry. Rose said I shouldn’t kiss you, and –”
“What?” she asked, whipping around to face him. He looked about as upset as she felt, but he didn’t get it and she had a feeling he was upset for an entirely different reason, the idiot. “No! I want you to kiss me! I mean…that’s not…I am very much ok with the kissing me!”
“Really now?” she barely heard her papa chuckle, right before her maman hissed his name.
“It’s just that…that wasn’t your cake, and it wasn’t what I was trying to tell you, though…maybe…I mean, it’s not that it’s not true, but…” she started, her mind spiraling as the panic properly set in. Luka’s expression relaxed as he stepped closer, his hand cupping her cheek as he chuckled.
“Mari,” he called, his voice soft, “breathe.”
She sucked in a breath, and he sighed as he pulled her against him.
“It was supposed to say I love you,” she mumbled, pressing her face against his chest. “I mean, yeah, sure, I guess you’re in my inappropriate thoughts, too, but…oh my God, who tells someone that?”
“Mlle. Blanc, apparently,” he chuckled, rubbing her back. He bent his head to her ear, mindful of her parents still watching them, and whispered: “…I didn’t mind hearing it, you know.”
“Well, sure, but that’s not what you were supposed to hear first!” she whined. She pushed away from him and rushed back out to the front, inspecting the boxes left on the pickup shelf. “I was trying to tell you…oh, no…Maman! Where’s…the box isn’t here!”
“I’m calling her now, dear,” Sabine called. “She came early, before you got back? We can fix this one and…yes, Chanelle! This is Sabine Cheng, from T&S? Yes, how…yes, I know…”
Marinette dropped to the floor with another groan. She pulled her legs up to her chest and ducked her head behind her knees.
“This is a disaster…” she groaned. She tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and then Luka was gently combing through her hair to tilt her head back. He was still smiling at her, but she didn’t understand why. “How could I grab the wrong cake? It was supposed to say…oh, I messed this whole thing up, Luka…”
“You didn’t mess anything up, Marinette,” he chuckled. He bent forward and kissed her forehead. “Honestly, it’s…it’s so you. Does it really surprise you?”
“But this was important!” she huffed, gesturing in the air beside her head. “It was perfect! The cake was chocolate marshmallow, and it was our colors, and when you peeled the icing back it was supposed to say I love you, because I needed you to know that and – mmf!”
…he was kissing her again. Crowding into her space, and when her legs dropped to the floor he crowded even closer. Her hands came up to catch his wrists, but he just kept kissing her. Like kissing her was the only thing that really mattered, like the cake and her confession and everything else was all just…details. Irrelevant details, if it all led to this.
Him kissing her.
Like…like he would have been happy with whatever the cake said, if it meant…
“For the record,” he breathed when he finally pulled away, “me, too. I love you, too.”
“Luka…” she gasped, and he chuckled as he kissed her again.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you for months now. It just…never felt like the right time, and then Rose was going off about how I couldn’t tell you and then just leave, and…I’m sorry I wasted so much time, Marinette,” he said. She shook her head, laughing weakly.
“I did, too, you dummy,” she said. “I thought…I was so scared you wouldn’t want to. Want me.”
“I always want you,” he said, and her giggle sounded a little manic in her ears.
“Well, ok, now I know that…” she said. He chuckled and kissed her again. “I just…I thought it would be easier. Telling you…and that way, if you were going to break my heart –”
“I’m never breaking your heart again,” he said. He was crowding against her again, tilting her head back and…she was pretty sure there was a cheap romance novel on Rose’s bookshelf that would describe what Luka was doing as ravishing. She was feeling pretty damn ravished, at least… “I didn’t want to the first time.”
“You didn’t get your cake,” she said, and he shook his head before kissing her again. Like he was trying to prove a point.
“Mari, I’m sure it would have been delicious, but I really don’t care,” he said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take Hank to get the bus back here, and I’d rather get as many kisses in as I can before Penny drags me off again.”
“But –!” she started just for him to cut her off with another kiss.
“Marinette,” he almost whined.
“If Penny’s all right with waiting, Mlle. Blanc will be here in about ten minutes,” her maman called from the back. “She had another errand to run, but she was already on her way back with the cake.”
She perked up a bit at that, but Luka just shook his head as he dropped onto the floor beside her and tugged her onto his lap. She squeaked and flailed a little, overbalancing and falling against him, but he didn’t seem to mind as he pulled her closer.
“Ma S,” he called, and Marinette’s eyes widened at how easily the name rolled off his tongue. “With all due respect, I really don’t care right now.”
Neither noticed Sabine poke her head around the wall, or the little smile that curled her lips when she saw why they were so thoroughly distracted. She left them huddled there behind the counter and slipped back into the kitchen, her phone already in hand.
“Yes, Penny?” she said quietly when the other woman answered. “Yes, he made it. Oh, a blown tire? Oh, dear. Another hour, you say? No, I don’t think they’ll mind at all…”