Chapter Twenty-Four: Tears

A/N: Writer's Block decided to come out and play during this chapter so it ended up being shorter than preferred. But at the same time, it's more than 1,000 words so it's not totally bad. Sorry, I jut can't write dates since I've never been on one.

TheStrangeClaireBean: Yeah, sorry about size. That's gonna be a minor issue for a while...

ChristiRose15: Bit off more than I can chew? Probably...

mayuralover: Hopefully...

black nemo hime: Yeah, you're probably right...

Kiq-San: I'm absolutely honored that my story motivated you to stay in this wonderful fandom!

Bug Out!

Tears: (verb) Be in a state of uncertainty between two conflicting opinions or parties

If only love could be as simple as one date and boom you're in love. If only. When Marinette met Luka for the very first time, she had to admit: she had a tiny crush on him. Sure, she still loved Adrien at the time, but once they had skated together at the ice rink, Marinette knew he would hold a special place in her heart. It only got worse once Marinette assumed she got over Adrien. Maybe that's why it took her so long to show any side of affection to Chat Noir, because she was unconsciously thinking of Luka.

The cafe was quaint and quiet. Marinette would hang out with her friends there often. After ordering food, Marinette glanced away from her date, not wanting to say anything stupid.

"So.." she laughed sheepishly "How's the band?"

Luka smiled, looking down. "We're doing great! We have a concert this weekend."

Marinette grinned. "I'm, uh, proud of you guys."

After a few more minutes of silence, Luka cleared his throat. "So, uh, I saw you made a hat for Adrien during the Fashion Week show."

Dang it, Luka. Why'd you have to mention Adrien?

"Y-Yeah, I did. D-Did you like it?"

"I personally think it was incredible, Marinette! You've got real talent!

She giggled."T-Thanks Luka."

Luckily, no further small talk was needed as food was finally ready. Picking up two trays, Marinette walked over to their table, before tripping. She gasped as plates of food and herself flew up into the air. Next thing she knows, Marinette falls onto a warm presence: Luka.

"Heh heh… Thanks for catching me, Luka." Luka smiled, before frowning at the shattered plates.

"Oh no!" Marinette gaped. "I'm so sorry! I'll, uh, go order another."

"I got this." he said chivalrously, waving some cash. "Lunch is on me."

After 20 minutes of awkward munching, Marinette opened her phone. 12:55pm.

"Heh heh, well look at that! We've got uh, 5 minutes till class start! Well, I don't know about you but I have Parisian History and I gotta go!" she pointed towards the door she was now next to. "Thanks for the meal, L-Luka! B-Bye!"

And as she exited the cafe, the only person to see her slump against the wall and hold back her tears was Chat Noir.

If her tears shown any significance, Marinette was torn. As awkward as her first date was, she liked Luka. As cold as he was now, Marinette still held affections for Adrien. And although the two have been fighting, Marinette couldn't let go of Chat Noir.

Chat Noir had respected Marinette's privacy for weeks now. He waited patiently for the opportunity to strike. Even without sound, Marinette and Luka's luncheon seemed tremendously awkward- even more than his and Marinette's date almost a month ago. When Marinette left and began to cry on the side of the building, Chat knew his moment has come.

Maybe he should have confronted her right then and there and tell her it was okay. Maybe then he would've gotten a friendlier greeting.

Marinette was quiet when classes resumed. Although Luka was on the other side of the courtyard, the bluenette made it her sworn duty to avoid him like the Plague. Luka obviously got the memo and was deflated by this, only confiding to his sister, Juleka, when it was absolutely necessary.

"Marinette?" she squeaked in surprise, previously watching Luka from afar.

"Are you spying on the Couffaines?"

"What? N-No!" Marinette scoffed. "Of course not! What do you take me for? A creep?"

"What did Luka do to you?" Adrien asked, ignoring her previous question.

Marinette dropped. "How did you know I was looking at Luka?"

"Heh heh, lucky guess?" he shrugged.

"I shouldn't be telling this to you," she mumbled, as if he wasn't supposed to hear. "Well you see, Luka kinda sorta asked me out on a lunch date I accepted, of course. But it was beyond awkward! I thought we had things in common, but I couldn't think of anything to say! I dropped our food and when I tried to pay for another, Luka stopped me and did it himself! As friendly of a gesture that was, I felt inferior and I may have ran and never looked back."

Adrien exhaled. "Wow."

"I know…"

"Is that why you've been avoiding him since lunch period ended?" Marinette nodded. "You should go talk to him. If you tell him you were worried you freaked him out, he'd understand.'

Adrien didn't even know why he was helping Marinette's reputation with Luka. His appreciation relied on Marinette's saddened mood, as horrible as it seemed.

"Are you sure? Because the last time I acted like a doofus on a date I… let's just say we're not on the best of terms."

Adrien faltered. Marinette was talking about him. "Oh, really? Who did you go out with?"

"It was the date with Chat Noir I told you about. It was insane, like no time to explain insane!"

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Sorta. It's a bit difficult to contact a superhero. And, pray tell why I'm still telling you all this, I at first considered him as something more, but not I feel stupid." Marinette laughed to herself. "When I think about it, I don't think I ever had a chance anyway. He loves Ladybug, and I should've respected that."

Adrien looked away and sighed. "You should, uh, talk to Chat when you can. I may not know him personally, but Chat would appreciate the apology. As of Luka, tell him you didn't mean any harm. I don't mean to be some sort of unclear oracle, but the rest is up to you, Marinette. Good luck."

Marinette smiled smally. "We never did get to talk about what happened in the closet. But just so you know, I really do care about you Adrien. More than you think."

He sighed. But exactly how much?

Marinette gazed aimlessly from her balcony. It had been a few weeks since she had. After what went down with Chat Noir, she decided to avoid going up there, in order to avoid him. She was supposed to be a lucky ladybug, so why did her luck suck so much?

The one time she decided to use her balcony, was the time Chat Noir finally decided to arrive.

THUMP!

"Hey, Marinette."

She held back a tear. I thought ladybugs were supposed to be lucky…

"It's been a while, Chat."

Hicc!

"Welcome back."

A/N: Looking at this chapter, that end quote referenced the Steven Universe Diamond Days promo... oops.

And yes I ended it there. I take pride in ending it there.