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Luka waited, too nervous to even pluck the strings of his guitar. Instead, his hand was wrapped tightly around the neck while he sat with bated breath.
He could see Juleka's furrowed brow over the edge of the paper, making him more nervous with every passing second.
Finally, she looked up, sighing the moment she saw how tense he was.
"Well?" He leaned forward in expectation. He'd spent ages trying to get it right.
Juleka scowled at him. "First, breathe, brother dear. My advice will be useless if you faint on me."
"Couffaines don't faint." Luka scoffed.
Juleka leaned back, crossing her arms. "Go ahead, prove me right. Keep holding that breath."
Luka groaned, but he did suck in a breath, then he released it slowly. It only took a moment for him to fall into an easy count. Four breaths in, five out. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It should have been his first instinct. He'd been meditating for years. But this seemed so much bigger than—everything.
After a moment, Juleka offered him a soft smile. "Better?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Good. Now," Juleka held out the page, meeting his eyes. "Are you sure you want to say this?"
Luka sucked in another breath. "That's why I wrote it down."
Juleka handed him the page covered in his neatest handwriting. "Luka, it's good you wrote it down. And I think she'd love to see this… as a letter… maybe on her wedding day. It's just a lot as a proposal. Speeches aren't really your forte."
Luka sagged. She had some good points. It was why he'd chanced sharing it with her. "But—"
"If you must, sing it instead. But propose like a normal person and let her answer first. You don't want to confuse her."
He nodded slowly. A letter was good. Something she could have in writing forever. And he could rework the overall sentiment to music for their reception. And trying to get all of those words out in the right order while waiting for her to answer the question…
Juleka was right.
He sighed. "Okay."
Jules smiled at him. "Try to keep the proposal under a dozen words, and I'm sure Marinette will say yes. Don't give her a chance to get confused or nervous."
"Right." He knew that. He glanced at the page in his hand. "I just want it to be something she'll remember for the rest of her life."
"She loves you, idiot. That's why she'll remember it forever. Not because of a ten-minute speech."
Luka grinned. Yeah, she did. "Okay."