A/n: Hi again! :) I hope you enjoy this companion to The Chart. I had a bunch of fun writing it.
edit: Took out some repetitive words [is actually 5X necessary? actually, not LOL] & fixed minor grammatical errors.
Marinette studied her reflection in her bedroom mirror. Again. Same simple and well-constructed red dress, same shiny black hair tied into her customary pigtails. The dress, she figured, was a safe bet. Comfortable and cool. Not too casual and not too fancy. It was a sheath ending just above the knee, loose enough for good movement and the walking they were going to be doing. The bust was fitted and the sleeves were short and flowy.
For some reason, Marinette was trembling. The tremors had started about an hour ago, two hours before the time agreed upon by Luka and herself the day before. It wasn't a constant thing, just an intermittent shaking that lasted a few seconds longer than a normal shiver. But it was quite annoying, and she was certain that even her parents, who were downstairs, could hear her teeth chattering together.
Alya, bless her, was here, of course. She gave Marinette a final once-over. "Girl, you look great! Stop freaking out, you'll be fine!"
When Luka had asked to hang out, Marinette was elated. It was only later that she also became anxious. The whole idea was so vague. What was "hanging out"? Wasn't that what she had done with Adrien already? Why did this feel different? Luka and Marinette had a formal plan to "hang out" - he was to pick her up at her parents' house at a certain time, and then they would walk to dinner. When expressing her concerns to Alya, she had laughed and told Marinette to chill. Dating in today's world was so complicated - wait, was this a date?!
The black-haired girl groaned and flung herself onto her bed facedown. "That's the thing with this feeling, it seems like I can't," She confided to Alya. "I just can't stop freaking out. I don't know what's wrong with me. Is this even a date? He just called it 'hanging out'. What does that even mean? I should just cancel the whole thing."
Alya sighed, walking over to the bed and placing a hand on her hip. "It's going to be ok. I know you get nervous. I don't understand what it feels like first hand, but I know that the anxiety can cripple you and I can imagine how frustrating that could feel." She sat down beside her best friend in the world. "Whatever happens, it's going to be ok. And I will always be here for you afterwards to talk about it."
The black-haired girl snuggled close to her friend. "Ok. I'm going to do this. I do really like him," she said with a dreamy smile.
"I know," Alya replied, giving Marinette's arm a squeeze. "Now let's play some Ultimate Mecha Strike before he gets here, so you can relax for a bit."
Marinette found it hard to focus but was grateful for the distraction. Her father came up soon after, knocking on the trapdoor. "Hi honey! I have some fresh-baked croissants. Are you ready for your...meeting?" He grinned at his daugher.
"Dad!"
Luka was early.
The doorbell gave him away. Panic mixed with anticipation fluttered through her abdomen. Marinette had a last few words of encouragement from Alya before heading to the trapdoor. Alya, armed with a plate of the Dupain-Cheng baking, was going to stay behind in Marinette's room and work on some Ladyblog ideas. It was Friday evening, so they were planning a sleepover, and this way Alya could get the scoop right when Marinette returned. Marinette took a bit of comfort in the fact that if this went horribly, at least she could easily avoid Luka tomorrow.
A thin film of sweat clung to her hands and another tremor ran through her. She silently cursed to herself, trying to will her body to behave.
Her crush had cleaned up for the occasion, replacing his hoodie and T-shirt with a nicer plain white shirt and a black leather jacket with square silver studs on the upper sleeves and shoulders. His pants were tidy jeans, with no holes like his usual lived-in pair. His black nail polish was gone. She took slight amusement in the fact that he must have removed it with nail polish remover, knowing first hand how annoying that could be. His style wasn't showy, but it was fancier than his normal outfit. He still proudly displayed his own personal flair, however. He was definitely trying to impress her parents while simultaneously letting them see a bit of his quirkiness.
"Luka?" Mrs. Dupain-Cheng greeted the boy kindly as he stepped through the door. "We've heard so much about you!"
"Mom!" Marinette groaned from the top of the stairs. She started down the flight, smoothing the bottom of her dress self-consciously as she went. 'Oops,' she thought as she did so, hoping no sweat would be left on the bright red fabric.
"Don't worry about it, Marinette," Luka graciously maneuvered the potentially-awkward moment in Marinette's favor. "My mom already knows you, so it's nice to finally meet Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."
"Oh my," the baker tutted. "Please call me Sabine."
Mr. Dupain-Cheng took that as his cue to spring forward jovially, extending his hand which Luka accepted in a warm embrace. They pumped arms enthusiastically. "I really appreciate you stopping by," Marinette's dad gushed. "It's so nice to meet the first boy to take our little girl out."
"Dad!" Marinette exclaimed for the second time in a hour, mortified. She had reached the bottom of the stairs, unfortunately much more quickly than she would have liked.
"Do you want a croissant?" It was Mr. Dupain-Cheng's turn to repeat himself, this time directing the question at Luka. It seemed like a safe icebreaker.
"Honey," his wife interjected. "They probably want to save their appetites for their dinner." She was careful to avoid the word date.
"That's probably a good idea, although I'm definitely hoping to come back and try your baking some other day," Luka smiled serenely at the Dupain-Chengs. Marinette's heart melted.
"That would be lovely! You can try anything you want, on the house."
He grinned his thanks, then turned his attention to his date. "Marinette, I was hoping we could talk a bit before leaving for dinner." He had actually brought his guitar with him, she observed belatedly.
Her parents took this as a hint. "Tom," Mrs. Dupain-Cheng stated, "I forgot I had some urgent business to discuss with you in the other room," she gestured to the dark wooden door. "Would you please join me?" Her husband led the way, somewhat dejected. On the way out, she called, "Have fun! Call me if you need anything."
"We wi-ill," Marinette sang out through her gritted teeth. Her parents annoyed her at times, but she knew it was coming from a good place.
She followed his lead, heading to the couch to sit down. "Don't worry, Marinette. I know what it's like to be slightly overprotective of family," he confided as she was trying to determine exactly just how close to him to sit. His eyes were looking somewhere else.
"Y-your sister?" She guessed, giving up and just plopping down.
His cheeks flushed, ever so slightly. It looked good on him. "Yes," He said simply. "Anyway, that was nice of your parents to give us some space, but it wasn't necessary." When Marinette didn't respond, he continued. "This," unslung his guitar, "Was what I wanted to talk to you about. Would you like me to play you a riff from a song I'm working on? I figured I could leave my guitar here while we eat, and then come back and get it after I walked you home."
Finally galvanized into saying something, her face heated at the thought of him escorting her home. "S-sure," she managed. Another shiver made its way up her spine, through her neck and made her teeth chatter slightly. She tried desperately to at least keep her mouth closed so the sound wouldn't be so obvious.
If he noticed, he didn't comment. He was in his own zone now, eyes closed, and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence. And then she was transported to a different realm, a transcendent place of emotion. A chord was struck in her.
"That felt sad, very melancholy," Marinette commented when it was over. "But, it was still so beautiful, almost so much so that it hurt."
"I know what you mean," Luka replied. "Thank you for your kind words." The chatted softly for a few minutes about the various technical aspects of the song. Her parents ended up emerging from their hiding spot, giving up trying to stay out of the way, but what surprised her was that Marinette didn't mind. The adults bustled about the kitchen while the teens continued talking. When Marinette made a Jagged Stone reference, Luka grinned. Eventually, he looked at the clock. "We'd better get going, Mari," he suggested.
Time continued to fly. Before she knew it, they were at the restaurant. The conversation ebbed and flowed easily between them. Luka was excellent at listening, and he actually had her discussing herself for a while. When the hostess mentioned it was going to be a forty-five minute wait, neither of them batted an eye.
When they were summoned for an open table, Marinette was engrossed in telling the hilarious story of how she became the artist of the Rock Giant album cover. Luka was listening with rapt attention, an open expression of admiration on his face. When she described the finished French-flag Eiffel Tower sunglasses in detail, they both cracked up laughing.
"Oh crap," she finally said. "We've got to figure out what we want to eat!"
After, Luka, good for his word, walked her back to her parents' house. The sun had set and the effect was sobering on Marinette. The older boy had paid for dinner, and dessert, and had given her another gift on top of that. The small wrapped box was nestled safely in her purse for her to open later. The attention he had showed her was almost overwhelming after receiving so little scrutiny and affection from her other crush. She tried not to fidget under the pressure. Though she knew Luka wasn't a bad guy, it still seemed like the power dynamic was subtly skewed because he had done so much for her today. What would she be expected to do in return?
Sometime while walking, Luka broke the silence. "I like you a lot, Marinette," he began. "I know that dating isn't really a comfortable thing for you." Her pulse sped up. He had called it a date! "But I had an amazing time, and I really appreciate you giving it a shot. We don't have to do this again, but I do think that us spending more time together would make you more comfortable around me. Maybe we could try something more casual next time?" She could hear the hope in his voice.
To her surprise, she wasn't nervous anymore. "Yes! That sounds wonderful. You're wonderful," she blurted out before she knew what she was saying. She covered her hands with her mouth.
Luka smiled. "I think you're wonderful too, Marinette. I'm hoping this means you'll be replying to my texts in a more timely manner?" He winked at her. They'd exchanged numbers shortly after he had asked her to hang out.
"OH, uh… sorry about that," she said as she blushed slightly, recalling her immediate meltdown after he had texted her for the first time. He'd texted her a second time later in the week, but as she was agonizing over the proper response, an akuma had struck. Since she had read the message already and it wasn't marked as new, she'd forgotten to respond after returning to normal life.
"Don't worry about it," Luka chuckled, good-natured as ever, as they drew up alongside the bakery storefront. Marinette could tell the second-floor lights were on. The shop was closed for the night, but the surrounding city lights bathed the pair in a dim glow.
They turned to face each other...
….and here it came. It was finally time for The Moment. The Moment was the cliché when a couple arrived together back at the girl's house after the first date was over. If movies, pop culture, and social media were to be trusted, it was a defining instant that set the tone for the rest of the relationship. 'That's a lot of pressure just for one small point in time,' Marinette mused. But she realized, she was at a loss for what she wanted to happen. She had never kissed anyone… except to save Cat Noir, which Cat didn't even remember. This Moment felt... different, far more intimate and personal. Not done out of desperation in the heat of battle, but very intentional and slow. She could feel the tension between Luka and herself as she raised her eyes slowly towards his face. She tried not to freak out as anticipation shot through her.
"What now?" Marinette asked simply, gazing at him as innocently as a doe caught in headlights. Now Luka's heart was melting, if she was reading his eyes correctly.
He stepped in close and wrapped his arms around her slowly. It was so slowly that she definitely had time to get out of it if she wanted, but she reciprocated, half relieved and half alarmed. She relaxed into the hug as it lingered on, and he squeezed her close. He smelled faintly of musk and leather. She tightened her grip in turn, pressing her face into his chest. They fit perfectly together, her head tucked under his. Luka finally lowered his arms and she almost regretfully let go. He procured a single rose magically from some inner pocket of his; she was impressed that none of the petals were too badly crushed. He held it carefully between his long fingers before pressing it into her hand, closing hers around it with his own.
"I'll see you soon, Marinette," he breathed, looking surprised at himself as his hand reached to tug one of her pigtails playfully. The nerve endings on her scalp tingled in a pleasant way. His lip twitched and then he was on his way.
"Sounds great, Luka," she responded softly, not quite sure if he could hear her.
Once safely inside the inside of the front door of the bakery, she leaned back against it for stability, and slowly slid to the floor. She was giddy with elation. Luka was amazing!
And then her eyes landed on his guitar, stashed just inside the door for easy reach. 'Oops,' she thought. She giggled to herself as she sped up the stairs to tell Alya all about her night. 'He might be back sooner than I thought!'
A/n: I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was inspired by the awkwardness that was high-school me dating with extreme dating anxiety. LOL! Anyway, I love these two so much, I hope they become a real thing. I know it probably won't become canon, but we can hope :)
I do have a short drabble planned for what happens right after this story. I will upload to this story; all of these can stand alone but they're definitely better together.
