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The atmosphere in the bar was as carefree as ever. People were singing and clapping along to his music, some even attempted to dance and, depending on their alcohol intake, almost didn‘t fall over.
Luka loved open-mic evenings like this. Every Saturday, he‘d gather some friends and entertain the crowd in his favorite bar with a variety of song covers and original pieces. Even if it wasn‘t a huge venue, which he would love to perform on one day, he enjoyed the familial feeling of it all as well.
But tonight, he was distracted. No amount of cheering and clapping managed to shake off that feeling that something wasn‘t right.
Marinette, despite promising she'd be there, still hadn‘t shown up.
Occasionally, while he was in the middle of his small performance, he’d see her step through the door to the small bar, take her usual seat at the bar and listen to his music with a tequila sunrise in her hand. The second he’d see her, his smile would grow just a tad wider and he’d wink at her, with her mirroring the smile and lifting her glass in the air to say ‚Good to see you‘. After a few more songs, he’d sneak in a small break and join her at the bar for a couple minutes for a quick chat. Luka never considered himself good with words, but he never had any trouble conversing with Marinette. The second she was near him, his heart found new ways to express itself through words and even if he did end up saying something awkward, Marinette never made fun of him. After all, she’d say, she wasn’t any different in that regard.
Those little moments with her were arguably the best part of open-mic nights for him. Enjoyable things always became more enjoyable when Marinette was around, so much he had learned throughout their years of being… more than friends but not quite lovers either.
Even after their break-up and return to just friends, they never really felt like just friends. A lingering touch here, a gaze held too long to deem appropriate for just friends there. Late-night-calls, casual hangouts neither had the courage to refer to as “dates”, secrets shared just between them.
Luka was brought back to reality when one of his bandmates gently shoved him. Their show was over, the crowd applauded as his band mates pulled him down by the shoulder to bow together.
Marinette was still nowhere to be seen.
Right as they walked off stage, Luka fished out his phone.
You didn‘t come to the bar, is everything okay?
The message didn‘t go through. He frowned. Was her phone dead?
„Oi, what are you just standing there?“ Dingo threw his arm around him. „Come on, it‘s time for our reward.“
„Drinks are on me tonight!“ Vivienne, their bassist, fished out her wallet.
„I‘m afraid I‘ll have to pass tonight.“
„Why?“ Nour, their lead singer, lifted an eyebrow. „Let me guess, trouble in paradise?“
The band grinned, Luka rolled his eyes.
„Just… have fun without me. I need to check on a friend.“
He could hear Dingo laugh behind him about the ‚friend label‘ with the others, but he couldn‘t be bothered with whatever they might be thinking about his relationship status.
Outside the bar, Sass flew out of his jacket.
“Ssssso you‘re worried about the guardian?”
„I just want to make sure she‘s okay. Scales slither!“
Moments later, Viperion jumped over the roof tops. Destination, Marinette‘s apartment. But even before he landed on the small balcony, he saw that there wasn’t any light coming from the inside. She wasn’t home.
She also still hadn’t texted him back. He started to become even more worried.
Agitated, he leaped to the next roof top and continued to search the city. After an agonizingly long time, he finally spotted her.
She was in her Ladybug suit, a few meters away was her partner Chat noir. Viperion kept his distance for now, because he could feel the atmosphere around was weirdly… tense.
Viperion narrowed his eyes. Ladybug looked down to the ground, hugging herself. Were those tears running down her face?
Meanwhile, Chat seemed agitated. He walked around the roof, his tail angrily whipping from side to side, his gloved hands in his hair, and right when Viperion decided to make his presence known, Ladybug turned to the cat hero.
“Chat, please understand—”
Chat noir hissed at her, which caused even Viperion to flinch. He had seen the hero angry before but this… this was different.
“I don’t want to see you ever again, you traitor!” Chat yelled, then pulled out his baton and leapt off the roof into the night. Just moments after, Ladybug broke down, loud sob penetrating the cold night air.
What on earth just happened?
Ladybug didn’t look up when Viperion appeared next to her, slowly kneeling down to her level and carefully reaching a hand out in her direction.
“Ladybug? What happened?”
The heroine needed a few moments before her sobs allowed her to speak.
“Viperion? Why are you here?”
“I haven’t heard from you all evening and I was getting worried because you didn’t text me...”
Ladybug slowly looked away. “Right. I swear I meant to come to the bar, but… but…”
Another sob escaped her and then she threw herself into Viperion's arms, crying into his shoulder. Viperion immediately wrapped his arms around her and instinctively pulled her closer and stroked her hair. All of her sobs broke his heart a little more.
It took a long while until Ladybug’s sobbing died down a little.
“Spots off.”
The transformation washed over her, leaving her in a… oh wow. Was this a new dress? Viperion was fairly certain this had to be a new creation of hers. The dress was rather short with thin straps, the teal color matching that of his suit perfectly. Not to mention how much of her back it revealed… oh, this was definitely a new dress, he would’ve remembered a look like that.
Viperion shook his head, this was really not the fucking time, get it together!
Tikki hovered over Marinette’s head, looking just as deflated as her holder.
“We got held up on our way,” the small kwami explained. “And… well, one thing led to another and…”
“Chat knows the truth.”
Viperion’s eyes widened as he looked back to the woman in his arms. She had pushed herself up, sitting up straight, hands folded in her lap and staring at the ground.
“I’ve told him the truth about Monarch, about the day he fell, about my lie… I’ve told him everything.”
Viperion opened his mouth to say something, but all he could get out was a quiet “Oh”.
“He… didn’t take it well,” Marinette continued.
“I’ve figured…”
God, he wished he had his guitar with him right about now with how much at a loss of words he felt. This was… a fucking huge deal.
Viperion had known about Gabriel Agreste for just over a week. The night after the grand fight against Chrysialis, the second holder of the butterfly, the heroes had held a small celebration for their victory of obtaining the butterfly miraculous and finally putting an end to the reign of butterfly terrorists in Paris. Viperion couldn’t help but notice how Ladybug, despite her victory, seemed very tense throughout the evening, especially when Chat noir would converse with her.
Of course, he had asked her whether everything was okay. She had offered him a poor excuse of a lie that everything was, in fact, fine, both knowing that she wasn’t very convincing.
He had decided to not push any further. If Marinette wanted to open up towards him, he would.
Just the next day, she did. That had already been a tough situation for him, so he couldn’t possibly imagine how Chat must’ve felt.
Next to him, Marinette started shivering. Viperion got up.
“How about I take you home?”
There weren't any protests from her side, so he scooped her up and leapt off.
a week prior
Luka didn’t have to wait long after knocking on her apartment door before it opened. Marinette greeted him with a weak smile and a bise on his cheeks.
“Can I offer you some tea?”
Luka smiled. “Sure, thank you.”
He accompanied her to her small kitchen, watching her prepare their beverages and a few minutes later, he was comfortably sitting on her couch, taking a sip from his black tea and almost burning his tongue. Marinette sat down in the armchair across from him.
“I won’t beat around the bush,” Marinette began, her fingertips tapping against her own cup. “The truth is, I… I’ve lied about a pretty significant thing.”
Luka leaned slightly forward, giving her all his attention. He could feel how nervous she was, but there was also an air of determination surrounding her.
“The truth is… I know the true identity of the original holder of the Butterfly.”
“You mean Monarch?”
Marinette nodded. “And it’s… how do I put this…”
The tapping against her cup became faster.
“It’s… pretty upsetting… especially for Adrien.”
Luka tilted his head a little. “Upsetting how?”
Marinette took a deep breath. “Do you remember the press conference? Where I told the story about how Gabriel Agreste saved my life by sacrificing himself? That story wasn’t true. Gabriel didn’t die to save me.”
Marinette bit her lips.
"The truth is.. Gabriel wasn’t a hero at all. Gabriel was Monarch.”
Somewhere in the apartment, a pin dropped to the floor.
Luka was officially rendered speechless, and Marinette took the opportunity to tell him the whole story. How she had tried to talk some sense to Gabriel, to have him change his ways and be there for his son only to ultimately betray her, asking to let Adrien remember the times he tried to be a good father. About her fears to hurt him, to have him akumatized.
Luka leaned back against the couch, letting out a long exhale. “Okay. Wow, that’s… that’s a lot to take in. I’m not sure what to say.”
“I am not proud of how I handled things. At all.” Marinette had pulled her legs to her torso. “And I am not asking for compassion or pity. I know that I messed up big time, and even if I am scared of how he’ll react… I still owe him. I will tell him, when I’ve found the right words… and the courage.”
Luka let out a sign, stood up from the couch and leaned against the arm chair, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe he’ll understand. I mean, you didn’t have bad intentions…”
“Please don’t.” Marinette had let out a bitter laugh, removing his hand. “Don’t sugarcoat it. I lied, Luka, and there’s no excuse for it.”
“Marinette…”
“I just… I already question whether it’s okay to tell you before I tell him.”
She got up and brought her cup into the kitchen, clearly in an attempt to escape the situation. Luka decided to give her the space.
She returned after more time than necessary to put an empty mug away.
“So yeah. That’s why I was a little weird at the party.”
Luka nodded. “I see.”
He didn’t stay much longer afterwards. After that bombshell, neither was sure what else to say, and going back to idle smalltalk didn’t feel right, either. So Luka excused himself, and Marinette let him go.
On his way back to his own apartment, he hoped that no matter what would happen, things would somehow work out for her.
Viperion landed in a small alley near her apartment where he dropped the transformation. Neither had said a word the whole way home. He figured she’d just need someone around without having to explain anything, and Luka was more than willing to oblige.
He’d do anything for her.
“How about a cup of tea?” Luka offered as they stepped through the door, but Marinette shook her head, taking her heels off.
“Thanks for bringing me home, I appreciate it.”
“Hey, it’s nothing,” Viperion smiled. “You know I’m always there for you if you need me.”
Marinette didn’t look at him, hugging herself tightly.
“Do you… want me to stay with you for a while?”
Defeated, she shook her head. He couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by it.
“Then is it okay if I check up on you tomorrow?”
“Why?”
Luka blinked, perplexed. “What do you mean why? Because I’m worried for you and I want to make sure you’re okay.”
She turned around to face him. “Luka… the one anyone should worry about it Chat. I broke him tonight because of this stupid secret. I fucked up and you are here worrying about how I feel?”
Luka was taken aback, not sure how to answer that.
“Please, just… you should leave me alone. It’s better if you stay away from me.”
Luka studied her features. He had never seen her so broken, so fragile, so incredibly vulnerable and he wanted nothing more than to mend her pain. That’s just the kind of person that he was. But he wouldn’t cross her boundaries.
She turned away and walked to the couch. “I’m sorry, Luka. Thank you again for bringing me home.”
“Marinette.”
She stopped in her tracks, turning to him again.
“Please let me stop by tomorrow.”
Marinette hesitated, looking him up and down, not looking convinced. “Don’t waste your time—”
“Please. We don’t have to talk about anything that happened if you don’t want to, I just… I want to know that you are doing okay. Please don’t push me away.”
Marinette looked at him for a long time, then sighed. “If you want to.”
****
Luka made good on his promise and visited her the next day. Despite wanting to make sure Marinette was doing okay, he never overstayed his welcome, and he could sense that his long time friend wasn’t in the mood for company most days.
Admittedly, it weighed heavy on him, but he chose not to take it personally, given the circumstances. Marinette was mourning a close friendship of years, after all.
It was a week later when, to his surprise, Marinette was actually calling him and asking him to come over. Soon enough, Viperion landed on her small balcony and Marinette promptly let him in.
“Luka,” she greeted him as he detransformed.
To his surprise, it wasn’t just Tikki sitting on her shoulder, but Plagg as well.
“Haven’t ssssseen you in a while, Plagg,” Sass greeted the black kwami.
“Yeah, well, my holder resigned, as you can imagine,” Plagg sighed. “He released me to deliver the news to the guardian.”
Marinette lifted her hand to pet the small creature.
“He’s leaving the country under a false name and asked us not to look for him.”
“I understand,” Luka said and took a seat on the couch. Marinette did the same, sitting down next to him. The kwamis exchanged looks amongst each other and nodded.
“Excuse us, we’ll… loot the kitchen,” Plagg announced, flying away. Tikki rolled her eyes. “I’ll protect your kitchen”. She followed the black kwami, Sass joining her.
Luka and Marinette were left alone, a heavy silence around them.
“I already had a feeling this would happen,” Marinette broke the silence. “When I told him… I’ve never seen him so disappointed in my life.”
Luka perked up. This was the first time Marinette actually talked about what happened between her and Chat.
“He didn’t initially believe me,” she continued. “He told me to stop making jokes. It took a minute for him to understand that I was being serious. And then… well… he asked why I kept the secret for so long… or why I even kept it in the first place… and I couldn't give him my reasoning. It was as if the words were stuck in my throat, refusing to come out.” She pulled her knees to her chest. “God, he looked so hurt. I only told him that he has every right to be angry with me and…”
Luka turned to her, sliding an arm behind her back. “I’m sorry.”
Marinette shook her head. “Don’t be. I knew it was coming.” A sob escaped her and just like a few nights prior, she pressed her face into his shoulder and started crying. Luka’s hand immediately found its way to her head, gently stroking her hair.
“ I knew he wouldn’t and I know I wouldn’t deserve it, but deep down… I hoped that he would maybe understand… God, what am I saying? Why can’t I stop crying?”
He held her as close as possible, stroking her hair.
“Marinette, you’re allowed to mourn a lost friendship.”
She cried even harder at that and clung to Luka like her life depended on it.
She wiped the tears away. “That’s the thing, I don’t feel like I am allowed to. I’m not the victim, he’s right to cut me off and I could’ve prevented all that if I had just been honest from the start.”
She slowly looked up at him. “The thing is, I couldn’t even tell him why I lied for so long. I told myself it was for his own good, but in reality, I had no right to keep the truth from him. I wish I could’ve realized that sooner… but I lie all the time. No matter what intentions I had, it doesn’t change the fact that I am a dirty little liar. I hurt the people around me, I keep them at arms length, especially Chat. And no matter how much I don’t want to do that, I just… can’t seem to stop and—”
“Stop, Marinette.”
Luka had grabbed her by the shoulders, looking at her with determination. “Even if you keep blaming yourself for everything that happened… I know you’re trying your best. You always have. But you’ve also been given this insane responsibility of protecting the city and getting the butterfly miraculous back at such a young age without any proper training… anyone would’ve made questionable choices. You were thrown into an impossible situation.”
Marinette’s eyes widened at his words, then she let out a chuckle.“I sometimes can’t believe you.”
Luka tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“Last week when you asked for permission to check up on me, I didn’t understand why. I know how you feel about liars and I'm the biggest one out there. I wanted to tell you to stop caring so much about me.”
“Mari…”
“And yet I couldn’t, because no matter how much I would've wanted to deny it, I was really grateful you were there. So… thank you.”
She leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug that he reciprocated.
“Oh Mari… I meant it when I said I’m always there.”
“For someone who claims to hate liars, I don’t think you hate me nearly enough. You also were on the receiving end of that several times.”
Now it was his turn to chuckle. “I could never hate you. Adrien made his choice after having all the cards on the table and we all have to accept that. But I also made mine a long time ago. I‘ve known you for years, I know your strengths and your faults and none of them ever made me want to push you away.”
He moved slightly away so that he could see her face. Her eyes and cheeks were red from all the crying and he laid a hand on her hot cheek, stroking it with his thumb.
“So don’t ever think I would want to leave you.”
Marinette smiled. “That does mean a lot to me. Even though I have trouble fully believing that.”
“Then I’ll prove it to you until you do.”
That made Marinette genuinely smile, her eyes sparkling up at him with a hopeful glimmer. Despite the puffy cheeks, he couldn’t help but be reminded of how breathtakingly beautiful her smile was and his heart did a small jump.
“Besides, wouldn’t it be hypocritical of me to judge you for lying? After all, I kept the fact that I knew yours and Chat’s identities from you for about half a year.”
“Oh, don’t remind me.” Marinette wiped her face with one hand. “You ended up having to leave the country. I was crushed, we all were.”
“Yeah…” Luka scratched the back of his head. “I also… kind of lied about the reason I didn’t return for so long.”
Marinette raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“I was trying to get over you. When you and Adrien started dating, I was afraid I would get jealous and bitter and I figured the best thing to do was to get some space. And to be fully honest, I failed. No matter what I did, I never gotten rid of my feelings...”
Marinette’s eyes grew wider, and when Luka processed what he had just admitted, his did as well.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry, that was the worst moment to just throw that out there… please ignore that!”
“No, it’s fine.” Marinette insisted. “Just… uh...”
The both stared at each other for a second, then both averted their gaze to the floor, an uncomfortable silence surrounding the two. Luka mentally punched himself for his stupid mouth. What was he thinking just… saying that? Marinette deserved a way better confession than that. Then on a date, maybe at a nice restaurant with a pretty view and not… after her freaking mental breakdown.
He got up. “This was incredibly inappropriate, I’ll see myself out.”
“Wait!”
Marinette grabbed his hand and he turned to face her again. She got up and gave him a determined look. “Do you truly mean that?”
Luka blinked confused. “I… uh… yeah. I wouldn’t lie about that. Not anymore.”
Marinette nodded. A hint of a smile appeared on her lips. “That means a lot. I just… I don’t exactly feel deserving of your feelings at the moment, so… even t hough it’s selfish, I’d like to ask you to give me some time.”
“To process everything. Of course!” Luka took both her hands in his. “God, take all the time you need, don’t worry about my feelings! They’re not important”
Marinette chuckled. “That’s not… okay, that’s also included, but what I mean is, I want to be a person truly deserving of those feelings. Someone who’s not afraid to be honest and let people in more and… I want to be better, Luka. And then… I’ll tell you about mine.”
Now Luka was the one who felt like crying. His lips turned into a wide smile with how touched he was and he couldn’t stop himself from hugging Marinette again. She quickly wrapped her arms around him as well.
“Take your time to heal, Marinette,” Luka whispered. “And to learn how to love yourself again. I’ll be there for you on your journey. If you ever have trouble loving yourself, I’ll be there for youl.”
He could practically feel her smile. “And I’ll be there for you.”
About six months later
“I won’t walk into a tree? Or step into dog poo?”
“You’re not, I’m making sure of it,” Marinette laughed, pulling a blindfolded Luka behind her. “Besides, we’re almost there!”
Luka had only wore the blindfold for two minutes, and yet he had no idea where she was possibly taking him. That was until he heard the lapping of water.
“Is that the Seine?”
He could practically hear Marinette’s eye roll. “I swear, next time I’ll get your ear plugs as well.”
Luka laughed at that and soon enough, they came to a halt.
“Alright, you can look now.”
Luka pulled the blindfold away and spotted a blanket on the ground, a small basket on top.
“Is that…?”
“Surprise!” Marinette smiled up at him and pulled him towards the blanket. “A surprise picnic!”
“Aww!” Luka looked touched as Marinette pulled out several pastries from the basket. She handed him a muffin, which had ‘Be my Valentine?’ written on top with pink frosting.
“I figured you’d appreciate a nice little picnic for Valentine’s day!”
Luka chuckled. “You’re sweet, Marinette. So I take it you’re…?”
Marinette nodded and moved closer to him, their faces mere inches apart.
“Luka Couffaine, I want to thank you for always believing in me and supporting me all this time. I feel ready for the next step. If you’ll still have me, that is?”
Luka smiled. “Of course, my dear.”
He leaned in a little more, until their lips brushed against one another, careful at first, then bolder with every second. Her hand was in his hair, her breath against his skin and they only broke apart when they heard someone whistle at them.
They both blushed, looked at each other, then laughed.
“I forgot we’re in public!” Marinette laughed. “Maybe a picnic by the Seine wasn’t the smartest idea.”
“No, I think it’s perfect,” Luka replied and pulled her in for another kiss. At that moment, the outside world didn’t matter to him. The only important thing to him was seeing Marinette finding joy in her life again, and sharing that joy with him.
“I love you, Marinette.” He whispered against her lips and she pressed her forehead against his, grinning from ear to ear.
“I love you, too.”