Author's Note: Hey there! I have caught the Bug sooo hard…. I love this series so much, and I hope it shows. Please be nice to me as I haven't written anything in a LONG time. :) Bug out!
Update: edited for some minor errors like hair- and eyecolors.
Marinette leaned her head hard against the shower wall as the warm water flowed through her hair and flung it down over her eyes. A rivulet close to her ear tickled, but she ignored it because of the almost physical pain she was in. She felt like Despair Bair was clinging to her, but tried to will it away. The Ladybug herself knew the danger of dwelling on negative emotions in the City of Love ever since Hawk Moth had commenced his attacks. Plus… an akuma coming for her would be her worst nightmare realized.
"I don't get it, Tikki!" She shouted softly through the shower wall glass once she had control of her dark feelings. The girl shook the water off and promptly finished bathing, trying to ignore the stabs of longing that shot through her as she thought of her two crushes. One obsession had been brewing for a while, but that didn't seem to dull the intensity of her newest fascination. He was even more fascinating because she knew almost nothing about him.
Of course Tikki, bless her, knew exactly what Marinette was talking about. "Marinette, you never know what's going to happen," Marinette's Kwami said cheerfully as the superhero wrapped her hair in a towel and threw on her robe. Tikki spun in a circle with gusto. "That's the beauty of the future. The possibilities are endless!"
"Yes, endless… but it would just be so much easier if I knew what was going to happen!" Marinette groaned. "I don't know who I'm supposed to be with. The gelato man said my love's eyes are green, right? Only one of them has green eyes… but it doesn't feel right that the other one would be ruled out so easily."
"The future is not limited!" Tikki was very optimistic. "You make your own future. One man's prediction about who your love is doesn't make it so."
Marinette managed a small half-smile, one side of her face curling slightly. Suddenly, clarity struck her. She had friends with ideas, too! "I think we might need some backup on this one."
"Nice robe, Marinette!" Through the phone's livecalling app, Marinette watched as Alya covered her mouth while giggling. Rose's blonde hair was barely in the frame, and they were sitting in front of a bookcase filled with periodicals.
"OOH!" Rose squealed, her attention caught, edging into the picture next to Alya. She squinted at Marinette's bright red cloth with black dots. "Where can I get one?"
Marinette's cheeks colored slightly as her eyes wandered down to her Ladybug robe. "Oops. I was so excited to call you, I forgot to get dressed. I promise I will change before you come over!"
"What's going on, Mari?" Alya asked.
"I need your advice... " Marinette paused. "I am clueless as to what to do regarding my… ahm…"
"Ladies, no calling in the library please!" A passing librarian chided Alya and Rose, not unkindly.
"Oops," Alya mumbled. She walked a few paces away and switched the call to audio only. "Sorry, Marinette, Rose and I are working on our Physics project," she whispered. "I'll come over after that ASAP! I'm so pumped to hear! Don't leave a thing out!" Alya smiled into the phone and hung up.
Marinette mirrored her best friend's expression and clutched the phone to her heart. "We just might figure this out!"
Ding-dong!
"Aah!" Marinette shrieked. Tikki laughed, then hid away so the other humans wouldn't see her.
Thudthudthudthudthud. 'That was fast!' Marinette thought about the sound of pounding feet on the stairs.
The trapdoor to Marinette's room flew open as Alya's thick hair followed by her brilliant grin flew into the room. Rose followed closely on her heels.
"Oh, Marinette!" Rose sang. "I hope it's okay that I came! I'm just so inspired by looooove!"
Marinette giggled, and blushed. "Sure, Rose. I could use all the help I can get."
Alya and Rose made themselves comfortable, taking seats on Marinette's bed. They knew they could be here for a while.
Marinette rolled her desk chair over and formed a triangle with the other girls. "Ladies… what do I dooooo?!"
Alya's grin seemed plastered to her face, but it widened. "I have an idea!"
The three girls crowded around the chart on Marinette's desk.
'Adrien'. 'Luka'. The chart was divided neatly down the middle and laterally in half. 'Pros'. 'Cons.'
So far the chart read:
'Adrien - Pros: Beautiful. Plays piano. Already friends. In Mari's class. Kind.
Cons: Over-possessive dad. Mari can't talk to him.'
'Luka - Pros: Beautiful. Plays guitar. Can put Mari at ease. Gave Mari a gift already. Kind.
Cons: Disorganized mother. Mari can't talk to him.'
"Ugh," Alya tapped the pen to her chin. "These lists are nearly identical, girl!"
"Plus," Rose sighed, "It's not very romantic to put love on a list like this. I thought this was going to be more passionate!"
Marinette frowned. "True," she agreed. "But it seems I can't trust my feelings. They haven't really gotten me anywhere so far!"
"Yes they have, girl!" Alya disagreed. "A friendship is a great foundation to start building a real relationship."
"That's not very romantic either," Rose sighed. "But I have to agree. Though friends is ALL Adrien sees Mari as, and that could be a Con. She has been banished to the friendzone!" She pursed her lips.
"Yes… but you can't count is as both a Pro and a Con, because then they'd cancel each other out. Friendship is already a Pro for Adrien," Alya added. "Plus, for Luka, aren't 'gave Mari a gift already' and 'kind' too similar? And Adrien gave her a gift too!" She pointed out. "The lucky charm on her birthday."
The hairs on the back of Marinette's neck stood up as Alya said the words 'Lucky Charm', which is how the superhero heard it. She knew Alya didn't mean the words as a connection to Ladybug, but Marinette still fought to keep her cool.
"I don't know," Rose countered. "That was expected of Adrien because it was her birthday! On the other hand, Marinette gave Adrien her charm spontaneously, just like Luka gave Marinette that Jagged Stone guitar pick spontaneously. Sooo romantic!" She cooed, face glazing over while a small smirk appeared on her lips.
Alya rolled her eyes slightly but couldn't keep the corners of her lips from turning up. "Adrien is also the same age. That seems like a Pro to me."
"No way!" Rose disagreed again. "Luka is older, which means he is more mature. Everyone knows that being older is a Pro!"
"Agh, this is so hard." Marinette shook her head. "So we have one vote for Adrien and one vote for Luka. And I am undecided."
"Mari, I'm not necessarily pro- or con-anyone. I just want you to be happy!" Alya's face smoothed as she gazed earnestly at her best friend.
"Me too, Marinette, me too!" Rose bounced up and down. "Just follow your heart! It's sooo-"
"Romantic!" The three girls finished at the same time, Alya and Marinette shouting with glee to join in on Rose's favorite phrase. The three eyed each other and immediately broke down into hysterical laughter.
The weekend promptly ended, as weekends tend to do. The happy memory seemed like a long time ago on Monday morning as Marinette trudged back to school with the rest of her classmates. She hadn't seen her friends yet as she walked up the stairs to the building, pondering her conundrum anew.
"...minor key," Luka's disembodied voice floated over towards her. Already at the top of the stairs, Marinette instantly stopped in her tracks and spun around to see Luka heading down the street with… Adrien! Thankfully no one was behind her so she could examine the pair at length. "I find that is more easily conveys emotion than the major key in stuff I've written," Luka continued.
Adrien turned his head to admire his new acquaintance. "You've written stuff already? So cool!"
Marinette gaped in horror. Her two crushes were friends?! How could this happen?
"Thanks, Adrien!" Luka glanced at the younger boy briefly and returned his attention to the path ahead. His brilliant blue eyes trained on Marinette's figure, who was still a distance away. She made eye contact with him briefly before hyperventilating and sprinting to Miss Bustier's class. Adrien and Luka looked at each other. Luka couldn't help smiling. "She's a funny girl, isn't she, that Marinette?"
"What was that about?" Adrien looked genuinely confused.
Luka burst out laughing. "You really don't know? You're funny too, my friend." He winked at Adrien before speeding away in his own direction. "Gotta get to class. I'll see you later!"
Adrien ran a hand through his blond mane. "Any ideas, Plagg?" He asked his Kwami softly.
"Uuuugh," Marinette groaned and planted her face firmly into her desk. Alya, already seated for class, patted her friend on the back.
"It's ok, Marinette, just keep your cool. Just get through the day one breath at a time. At least Luka isn't in our class too!"
Alya could see her best friend's blush creeping across her cheeks even as her head was faced down. "Oops. I was trying to comfort you, not make it worse!"
"It's ok, Alya," Marinette said sadly. "I know." She raised her head to rest it on her hand glumly. She couldn't look at Adrien as he walked into the room and took a seat next to Nino. Alya and Nino exchanged a glance.
This was going to be a long day.
The last bell of the day finally rang out, and a pang of relief washed through Marinette. Thankfully, she didn't have to speak to Adrien all day. Normally she would hate that, but today it seemed like a blessing. Marinette and Alya headed for the door, as usual, one of the first groups out of the classroom.
Alya was telling a funny story about her twin sisters' latest tantrum and Marinette was really into it. So engrossed she was, she didn't notice where she was walking until- WHAM!
"Oof-" Marinette ran squarely into someone. Before she could lose her balance, hands gripped her arms and held her steady.
"Marinette!" Luka said happily. "I've been waiting for you, I admit, but this greeting isn't exactly what I had in-" Marinette stiffened at the sound of his voice, and he must have noticed it. He stepped away from her and let his hands fall, expression concerned.
The anxiety made its way like a cold wave through her body, clutching at her throat. "W-w-waiting for ME? Oh, ah, um, that's so do of you to nice. I mean, nice of you to me. I mean," Marinette squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. She hated the easy blush that rose to her face once again.
Alya's face had split into a smile the moment the saw the pair together. "I'll catch you later Mari, I've got to babysit tonight!"
"ALYA! Um, byee!" Marinette's eyes flew open, pleading her friend to stay with a look which Alya cheerfully ignored as she sped away.
"Senior class let out a few minutes early today, so I figured I might get a chance to talk with you," Luka explained. His face was a serene mask. "Would you care to walk with me for a minute, Marinette?"
He looked like the patron saint of rock music with his dyed tips, guitar, and black nails. The vision of him standing there, so patient and understanding, made her heart swell. "Y-yes," she choked out.
She got the feeling he was trying not to chuckle as he slowly ambled towards the exit of the school. She fell in naturally beside him. Trying to keep her cool, she groped for a subject. "So… how is your family doing after the akuma attack?" Then mentally kicked herself, thinking that might be too risky of a subject for only their second real conversation.
He didn't seem to mind. "Hmm… surprisingly well, actually. We already had to recover from the Juleka episode before, so Mom going through it wasn't as bad. Mom is pretty 'go with the flow', as you know, so I think that helped. Since that was over two weeks ago, it's almost like ancient history to her."
"Ah… yes!" Marinette agreed, trying to think of something nice to say about Mrs. Couffaine. "She's… she's…"
Surprisingly, the older boy laughed. "I know that she's a bit different from your disciplined and orderly parents - or at least how disciplined and orderly I would imagine two entrepreneurs who run their own business would be. I've really got to stop by the bakery sometime," he mused unrelatedly.
Marinette grimaced reflexively. The thought of Luka meeting her parents was mildly horrifying. "OH! YES, THE BAKERY!… the bakery… visit… you… sometime... "
Luka let out a breath slowly. They had reached the bottom of the stairs. It was a beautiful day outside, slightly overcast so that the sun wasn't blinding, but still bright enough to enjoy the scenery. "Why don't we sit for a minute, Mari?" He plopped onto the concrete of the bottom step after unslinging his guitar so it wouldn't get crushed behind him.
Her breath caught as the familiar nickname came from the boy she didn't know. She sat down hard. He seemed to read her mood immediately. "Is that ok, Marinette? Sorry, I didn't mean to presume." His brilliant eyes searched her face.
She lost her cool again under the scrutiny. "Oh…. oh, yes, that's ok- it's just that my friends call me that - NOT that you're NOT a friend, I just, I would totally love to be your friend...I mean… uugh."
"I make you nervous, don't I?" He gazed at her in concern. "I don't mind, I just don't want to make you uncomfortable."
She found that once the awkwardness was spoken aloud, acknowledged by the target of her emotions, it helped to dissipate the tension she felt. The anxiety melted away, much like the time he had played his guitar for her, leaving a companionable serenity between them. She could tell, between this encounter and the last, that the boy felt a deep empathy for her. It's almost like they were on the same wavelength. "Wow," she breathed. "You seem amazing at reading me."
He grinned. "My mom tells me I can sense others' emotions easily, and that it's a gift from her side of the family. But honestly, you're an open book." He looked away from her out into the street, surveying the world.
She visibly relaxed, especially now that he wasn't looking directly at her. They sat in a companionable silence for a few moments. "What… did you want to talk to me about?" Marinette eventually asked before her courage failed her.
Luka smiled. "I wanted to know if you want to hang out sometime!"
Marinette was shocked. 'Was it really that easy?' She thought. "I would love to!"
A/n: Teehee! I love these two together. Obsessed. LOL. I'm hoping to update a companion story to this one about their first "date"/hanging out. Stay tuned for that!
The actual Chart in this story was inspired by a happening with my Bestie and all her dating options she had once. As you can imagine, much hilarity ensued then, too.