Work Text:
Traffic was light this time of night, but the city wasn't quite still. There was a blurry quality to the street lamps that Luka wasn't sure if he should attribute to the time of day, the couple of drinks he'd had, or sheer tiredness. His hand was warm where Marinette held on to him. They paused for a second at the crossroads—from there, they had to go in opposite directions. Luka turned them towards the flat Marinette shared with Juleka and Rose. She fell into step beside him but shook her head.
She leaned into his shoulder. "It's late. You shouldn't have to go home alone."
"Neither should you." Luka retorted. "One of us has to go home alone after dropping the other off, and you know it'll be me."
Her head tilted up as she blinked a little sleepily at him. Wine always made her drowsy. Drowsy and adorable. "Hmm. You're right. We should go home together."
The Liberty was lonely with Ma away, and the idea of taking Marinette home to stay was too good to ignore.
"Ok. Weird way to propose, but yes." He'd meant it as a joke, sort of. Testing the waters while he planned the perfect proposal for the ring he had almost paid off. She was supposed to laugh. Maybe give him a little shove, which would be the perfect reason to grab hold of her for a quick kiss.
She blinked at him. He waited for a laugh that didn't come.
"Huh."
Luka stopped walking, pulling his girlfriend to face him. He tipped her chin up, surprised to see her eyes racing with what had to be a dozen plans. "Mari? What's going through that beautiful mind of yours?"
"I'm tryin to figure out what to do first."
He fell into problem-solving mode, ready to help Marinette with whatever was filling her mind. "Okay. Options? Go."
"We just got engaged."
Luka blinked. Wait. For real? Barely daring to breathe, he nodded. He wasn't going to ruin the best thing that had ever accidentally happened to him.
"We should kiss, right? Or do we call my parents first? What about a ring? I don—"
Luka wrapped his arms around her, lifted her from the ground, and kissed her, silencing the panic. Marinette's hands found purchase in his hair as her legs wrapped around his waist.
Both of them were panting by the time his hold relaxed.
"Right. Kissing first." Luka managed a breathless laugh before kissing her again. He loved her so much.
The Liberty was vastly better with Marinette on it. Even better when she was in his bed, curled up in his arms, dead to the world while early sunshine streamed in to highlight the contours of her face and shoulders.
Her list of things to do had fallen by the wayside when he kissed her. But she would pick it up again as surely as she would pull her dress back on once she was awake.
If she was seriously ready to be engaged, and not in a state of post-alcohol regret, he would take her to the jewelry store and make the final payment on the ring he had chosen for her months ago. He would kiss her again once it was in its place on her finger, then walk her to the bakery. Tom and Sabine would shower them with congratulations, hugs, and 'it's about time'. Then he would kiss her again. Actually, kissing Marinette every time they broke the news sounded like a good idea. They could tell everyone they passed on the street. Just as soon as he got that ring on her finger.
Marinette twisted in his arms, the blankets falling away as she rolled to face him. Still thinking about kissing her while she wore his ring, he absentmindedly tugged the blanket up to keep her warm, rubbing gentle circles over the smooth skin of her bare shoulder.
Laughter shook Marinette's body before he heard the sound—one of his favorite melodies. He looked down to see his fiancée smiling up at him.
"Morning, gorgeous." She was stunning. Her hair was wild from sleep and love, and the golden light of morning painted her skin. Eyes still heavy with sleep looked at him without regret of any kind.
"Hey," She grinned, giggling, "Husband to be."
Luka loved the sound of that. He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, careful not to get too carried away. "Do you want to see your ring?"
The last of her lingering sleepiness slipped off of her like her dress had last night. Her eyes went wide. "My what?"
Luka chuckled, peppering her face with light kisses. "Your engagement ring. It's still at the jewelry store, but we can pick it up today—if you want."
Marinette stared at him for a moment.
He started to feel nervous. "I know you didn't mean to propose—"
Marinette pressed a finger to his lips, shushing him. "You're right. I didn't, and even though you were joking, you wanted it to be real. And Luka, I do want to marry you. I wasn't about to waste an opportunity like that."
Luka kissed the finger still pressed over his mouth. "So we are engaged, and you do want your ring?"
She nodded quickly. "Yes. Very much so."
Luka sighed dramatically, throwing the blankets off both of them. "I guess that means we have to get up."
"Yes. You have to tell Papa and Maman that they get to plan a cake and everything."
"Happily. But you should know…I am going to kiss the hell out of you every time you admit you agreed to marry me."
"Luka!" Marinette laughed, "You can't do that."
He frowned. "Why not?"
"Because you agreed to marry me."
Luka couldn't argue with that, because he had. "Well, I still get to kiss you."
"Why do you think I proposed?" Marinette laughed at the look on his face, but he didn't mind one bit. He was getting married.