Title: "A Kick in the Head"
Author: Veritas Found
Characters/Pairings: Dewey Couffaine, Harmony Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen
Summary: Luka wakes up in the dirt with a bunch of kids he doesn't know freaking out over him. He thought it was an akuma. His daughter (daughter?!) says their new horse just kicked him in the head.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes/Warnings: OK SO. I don't even know what this fic is anymore. xD It started as Woof's birthday fic. There was talk about a time travel fic, and she brought up some stuff, and it started as that, then the House Band invaded and Truth happened and somewhere this took a hard left turn and just like swan dove into the courtyard of the Gracie Mews? I don't even know anymore. I'm sorry, Woof. I will figure out something for you. xD This was also supposed to be SHORT (I was gonna sprint fic this), but…clearly. And Part 2's already in the works, because Luka and Marinette still had Things To Say. Oops.
…I should have known, as soon as I thought Timey-Wimey Fic, this would happen. Willpower. I have none. xD
"A Kick in the Head"
Part 1: To…the Future!
It all happened so fast.
Luka had barely seen the akuma – and of course it was an akuma, because what normal person dressed in spandex and had green skin and shot lasers out of their hands? – barreling down the street towards them before he was moving. He'd barely had time to move.
"Marinette, watch out!" he hollered, grabbing her shoulder and spinning, tugging her against his chest as he stepped in the way of the blast – and then he was pretty sure he was on his back, the wind knocked out of him as he blinked up at…
…a roof?
Hadn't they been walking down the street? Where was the sky? Where…?
And then he became aware of the voices: a high-pitched, panicky shouting and a calmer, deeper voice barking out orders over the repeated chants of oh my God oh my God oh my God!
"…et Maman!" the calmer voice snapped. Luka blinked a few more times as his vision swam, and then a girl maybe a few years younger than him was leaning over his face. Her hair was obviously bleached, but he could see black ends sticking out of the messy bun at the back of her head. Familiar blue eyes – eyes that were scrunched in concern – peered down at him. He heard a scrambling and tried to lift his head – he assumed it was the other person running off – but a sharp pain had him groaning and dropping it back to the ground. He lifted his hand and gingerly touched the aching spot towards the back. His hair felt damp, and when he pulled his hand away his fingers were bloody.
"…shit," he mumbled, and the girl's frown deepened.
"Swear jar," she said. He blinked and looked back at her, dropping his hand to his chest and frowning. "Are you ok, Papa?"
…Papa?
"Uh…I…" he started to say, but he groaned as his head started throbbing again. He closed his eyes and tried to relax when the room started spinning. "Hold on."
"Keep your eyes open!" the girl ordered, shaking him, and he groaned at the jostling.
"Can't," he said through gritted teeth. His stomach lurched unpleasantly. "I'm gonna be sick…"
"MELLIE, HURRY!" the girl screamed, and he winced again. She turned back to him, her hands fisting anxiously in the fabric of his shirt. "Hold on, Papa. Mellie's getting help. You're ok."
"Who?" he asked after a moment, taking a breath as his stomach settled a little. The girl backed up a little when he finally pushed himself up, her hands hovering anxiously over him. He reached up to rub at his forehead and groaned again. "What the hell hap…" he started, but then his eyes shot open and he looked around, remembering. The akuma. "Marinette! Where's Marinette?!"
"Mari…Maman?" the girl asked, and his brow furrowed in confusion as he forced himself to look back at her instead of around the…were they in a barn? What the hell had even happened? "She's inside with Clara. Mellie's getting her. It's ok, Papa – stop moving so much!"
"Why do you…ugh," he groaned, reaching back to touch the injured part of his head again. Damn, it hurt… "I'm not your dad. Stop calling me that."
The girl sucked in a breath, and he looked back at her to find her eyes were filling with tears. She was blinking rapidly, trying her best to keep them from falling.
"…sorry," he said, though he wasn't quite sure what he was apologizing for. He wasn't her dad – he was barely eighteen! He wasn't anyone's dad! She sniffled, and he sighed as he pressed his hand against his wound. It felt like it was bleeding a lot, but head wounds usually did. "I just…there was an akuma. I was with my friend. I need –"
She sucked in a sharp breath, but before she could say anything – or before he could ask again where Marinette was – another voice, this one slightly familiar, was shouting his name.
He looked up, and the room started spinning again.
He wasn't entirely sure it was the probable concussion this time, though.
Marinette was running towards him, but she wasn't…Marinette. He was pretty sure it was Marinette, at least, because he was also pretty sure he would know her anywhere. It's just this Marinette was…older. She wasn't much taller, but her body was…fuller? (Which was the politest word he could think of without his hormones freaking out like some jackass. Because his Marinette's chest and ass definitely weren't that…a-hem.) Her features were more defined, like her face had aged and lost the baby fat. Her hair was also…shorter. The pigtails were gone, but…the pixie cut looked incredible. She looked incredible.
And she was kneeling beside him, her hands brushing his own aside as worried blue eyes inspected his head, and then her manicured fingers were gripping his chin and turning his face towards her, and she was watching his eyes and…
"What happened?" she asked, and he swallowed thickly because he honestly wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything past the minute or so before she'd run over to him.
…Luka wasn't shallow. He didn't love Marinette because of her physical appearance. Granted, he had always found her attractive, but the attraction wasn't why he had fallen in love with her. It hadn't hurt, but it wasn't why. Still, there was definitely an attraction, and he was still an eighteen-year-old guy, and Marinette was still the hottest girl he knew, and this Marinette wasn't doing anything to disprove that fact (had her lips always been that full?), and…and she had asked him a question. Shit, what had she asked him again?
"Akuma," he squawked, and God, did his voice just crack like he was thirteen and seeing a pretty girl for the first time? Her eyebrows soared, and the girl from earlier coughed.
"Charlie kicked him," she said. She was wringing her hands in her hoodie again. "There was a mouse or something in the hay, and it spooked him, and Papa was trying to settle him, and Charlie kicked him, and –"
"Sweetie, calm down," Marinette said, turning towards the girl. She reached out and grasped the sides of her face, pulling her head towards her to kiss her forehead. "He's ok. He's going to be fine. Believe me, he's been through worse. Go get the first aid kit and set it up in the kitchen for me?"
"Yes, Maman," the girl said quietly. She shot him one more worried look before leaning over to whisper (not very quietly, with how worked up she was) in Marinette's ear, "He…he said he wasn't Papa."
"He's fine, sweetie," Marinette said again, her voice a bit firmer. She kissed the girl's cheek and patted her arm. "Go on."
Except before she could turn away from Marinette, another kid came barreling between them and crashed into his chest, screaming as he knocked him back into the dirt hard enough that Luka was pretty sure he saw stars.
"…ow," he mumbled as the kid – a boy? – grabbed two little fistfuls of his shirt and shook. He pushed himself up on his elbows and blinked at the kid. Tears were streaming down his panic-stricken face.
"Papa! Papa, you can't do it! Don't send him away, Papa! Pleeeeeease!" the boy cried, shaking him with every wail. Luka groaned as his head rattled, and Marinette reached forward to try and pull the boy off of him.
"Dewey, stop!" she said firmly, but the boy – Dewey? – was inconsolable. He turned his huge, teary eyes on Marinette. She wiped them away, frowning at him. "Sweetheart, what on earth's gotten into you?"
"L-Lou…Louie said…" he sniffled, and Marinette pursed her lips as the girl groaned.
"What did that dummy tell you now?" she sighed.
"Harmony," Marinette reprimanded softly. Luka's head was spinning, and he was pretty sure it wasn't from Charlie kicking him. The girl – Harmony – kept calling him Papa. And she'd called Marinette Maman. Which meant, if he was understanding things right, she was their…daughter? His and Marinette's daughter? And there had been another voice – Harmony had mentioned two other girls? Mellie and Clara? Marinette had been with Clara, Harmony had said, so was she another kid or was she an adult? And now the boy – Dewey – had also mentioned a Louie. And Charlie, the one that had kicked him? Was he another kid?
…how…how many kids did they have?
But Dewey was still rambling on, which…yeah. He was definitely Marinette's kid. God, that was awesome…Marinette's kid? And his?
They had kids? Together?
"Louie and Huey said KK said bad horses go to the glue shop and turn into glue, and we always need more glue for Maman or Mellie or Huey, and since Charlie broke Papa's head he had to go, and I like Charlie, Papa! He's not a bad horse – he didn't mean to kick you, and you can't send him away, and –" Dewey cried, but he stopped when Luka held a hand up. The boy's mouth screwed shut, but Luka could tell he was desperate to continue pleading his – or Charlie's, he supposed – case.
"Wait…Charlie's a horse?" he asked, blinking at Dewey. He looked at Marinette, whose eyebrows had nearly disappeared beneath her bangs. "Not another kid?"
"Charlie's your latest rescue project, yes," Marinette said with a laugh. She reached out and gingerly touched his head. "How hard did that stupid horse kick you, anyway?"
"But…" Luka started, looking back at the teary-eyed kid on his lap. He'd mentioned a few names – Louie, yeah, but…Huey and KK? He looked back at Marinette and hoped he wasn't smiling too wide. He felt dizzy. He had to be dreaming. There was no way any of this was real. "How…how many kids do we have, Ma-Ma-Marinette?"
"Oh, no," she laughed, lightly flicking his forehead and making him chuckle. "Don't you go getting any ideas just because Clara's almost three, Couffaine. I told you she was the last one."
"…I wouldn't mind a baby sister," Dewey said, and Marinette laughed as she hoisted him up by his armpits. She set him on his feet beside her and kissed his forehead before ruffling his dark hair.
"And don't you start – you have plenty of brothers and sisters," she said. She winked at him. "And don't you worry about Charlie, either. I'm sure it was an accident that your Papa brought on himself."
Luka grunted, wanting to argue that point but not entirely certain he could, but before he could say anything Harmony was mumbling, "Please don't run away with the horse, Dew…"
"Go back inside and help Harmony with the first aid kit?" Marinette asked, shooting Harmony a warning look. He wondered if the boy – Dewey – ran away with animals a lot. Marinette had called the horse his latest 'rescue project'. (Which…was another thought for another time, because his head was still swimming with Harmony and Mellie and Clara and Huey and Louie and Dewey and KK and…)
"Yes, Maman," Dewey said. Harmony shot Luka one last worried look before she took Dewey's hand and led him back inside. With the kids – their kids, holy shit they had kids – gone, Marinette turned back to him.
"…they're ours?" he asked, a little breathlessly, and her smile slipped. He sat up fully, wincing as his head throbbed. Her fingers were back in his hair, pulling his head towards her as she parted his hair to better inspect the wound. "They're beautiful, Mari…agh!"
"Of course they're ours, Luka," she tutted, smoothing his hair away from the gash. She hummed, her tone concerned. "All six of them – we make beautiful children together."
…he was blaming his blush on what she'd just said and not the fact that his face was inches away from her chest.
"…which you would know, if you were my Luka," she said, and he yelped when she tugged on a bit of hair near his wound. She gently pushed him back, her hand sliding around to cup his cheek. Her thumb brushed beneath his eye, and he swallowed at the soft look she was giving him. "But you're not my Luka, are you? You mentioned an akuma?"
"Y-yeah," he said, nodding as much as he was able with how she was holding his face. "We were…there was a street fair, and then this akuma showed up. It blasted us. I was trying to get you out of the way. I got hit."
"And ended up here, at the same time my Luka was being viciously attacked by his new horse," Marinette sighed. She stood and held out her hands to help him up. He was relieved when the barn only slightly spun at the movement. "Poor little rock star. He's going to be in such a mood when he gets home."
"…has this happened before?" he asked. Marinette shrugged and smiled. He swallowed thickly when he looked down at her: she was still a good head, head and a half shorter than him.
"A few times," she said. She poked his chest and winked at him. "You're time-sensitive, I'm afraid. My fault for saddling you with Sass. There have been a few incidents where you've been sent here. Time-themed akumas targeting you and all that. It's been a while, though…I was pregnant with Dewey the last time it happened. We hadn't moved out to the farm yet."
He shook his head, more than a bit dazed. It seemed he had ten more questions for every answer she gave him.
"…how many?" he asked, his attention snagging at the mention of Marinette being pregnant with one of their kids. She tilted her head to the side.
"How many times has this happened? I'm not sure, Lu," she said with a shrug. He sucked in a breath at the ease and familiarity with which she called him Lu. Like it was natural. Normal. Like she was present enough in his life to give him nicknames and endearments. "A few? I don't think you've told me about all of them, and I was only with you the once. You've always had your secrets when it comes to the timelines."
He visibly balked at that, the mention of secrets still too raw on his heart. Her hand was on his cheek again, and he knew she must have misunderstood his reaction.
"You have to, Luka," she said, brushing her thumb against his cheek. "Some of the things you've seen…the akumas only get harder. Stronger. You carry more than any of us, even me. You don't always tell me everything because you can't. To make you relive those moments…you've seen me die, Luka. I could never do that to you."
"…you know I was Viperion," he said, and her brow furrowed as her eyes searched his own. He was resolutely ignoring the other bit of what she'd said, about…he couldn't think of her like that. He couldn't imagine a future where he ever had to see that. "You…ok. Coming back to that. I meant…I meant how many kids, not…how do you know I was Viperion?"
"Six," she said, tapping his nose and refocusing his mind from the rapid spiral he was quickly descending into. "Harmony, Melody, Huey and Louie, Dewey, and Clara. KK is Dingo's hell spawn – and believe me, we're going to have words about that glue thing."
"You…you know Dingo?" he asked, swallowing again. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Her face just scrunched in confusion.
"…of course I know Dingo. I'm your wife, Luka. We've been together since I was sixteen. Of course I know him. We're stuck with that idiot 'til death do we part," she said, rolling her eyes. But then she focused on him again, her eyes narrowing. He was having trouble focusing on that – sixteen, she'd said? "Luka…how old are you? When are you from?"
"Eighteen," he said, and her eyebrows soared. Her mouth dropped open in a surprised oh. "Barely eighteen. We…honestly, Marinette, where we are right now it's hard to believe any of this is even possible."
"Truth…" she murmured, her face falling when he flinched away from her. "Oh, Luka. Luka, no. Don't…"
He sucked in a breath when she gave a little hop, her arms wrapping tight around his neck to pull him down to her. One of her hands tangled in his hair, narrowly missing his wound, as the other fisted in his shirt. When she pressed her face against his neck, it felt hot and…wet? Was she…was she crying?
"Never think that, Luka," she said fiercely, pulling him closer. His hands hovered awkwardly at her sides, unsure of where to go and if it was all right to hold her in return. "We are so possible. What happened back then…you'll understand soon. None of it was your fault, and I never meant…I never wanted…I love you, Luka Couffaine. I am so stupid in love with you."
"M-Marinette…" he gasped. She pulled away, but she grasped his face with both hands and held him level with her. He swallowed thickly at the fierce look in her eyes.
"Don't doubt me, Couffaine," she said, her fingers pressing into his cheeks. "I don't manage to stay away from you for very long, even though I should have known better…I need you, Luka. I always have. You're my anchor. You always have been."
"I've never doubted you, Marinette," he said, his hands finally settling on her wrists. He squeezed them, maybe a bit tighter than he meant to, but she just smiled in return. "I know…I know you…myyou…I mean…the past you, not my you –"
"Your me," she said fiercely, pulling him closer to rest her forehead against his own. He sucked in a breath, and a little smile curled her lips. "Always your me, Luka. Always."
"My you…my you is dealing with a lot," he said, his voice shaky. He took a breath to try and steady himself, but it didn't really work. The feel of her forehead against his own, her hands on his face, was doing more to ground him than his usual breathing exercises. "I understand that. It's why I told you – her – that I'd be there when she's ready."
"Some secrets are bigger than one person, Luka," she said, her eyes closing as she took her own breath. His lips twitched at the familiarity of it, and he wondered if the breathing was something she'd picked up from him. "It wasn't my secret to tell, but it also wasn't a secret I could carry alone. Please be patient with her. She won't make you wait long."
His grip tightened on her wrists, and a helpless little chuckle left him.
"I…I kinda really want to kiss you right now," he confessed, and the giggle she made was one of the most beautiful sounds he'd ever heard, "but also…"
"Our first kiss should be with Mini Me, not Big Me," she teased, winking at him. He chuckled again, and she leaned in to press a kiss against his cheek – just like his her, the her he knew, had done thousands of times before. "Soon enough, little snake. That breakup is barely a blip in our history. You have so much good ahead of you, Luka Couffaine. So much Chaos."
He choked on a laugh at that, but her words had left his head spinning – or maybe that was the concussion. Still, a warm feeling of hope had blossomed in his chest, and before he could stop himself he was bending over her, his arms encircling her slight frame – God, she was still so tiny – to pull her close in a fierce hug. It didn't matter that she wasn't technically his Marinette, if this Marinette was still years in his future: her arms around him still felt like home. He tucked his face against her shoulder and breathed her in, and despite the new smells – of earth and straw and a perfume he didn't recognize – she still smelled like Marinette underneath it all. That lingering scent of vanilla she never seemed to be able to shake that he had always associated with the bakery, the charcoals and inks that so often stained her fingers, that something he could never quite place but was always so distinctly Marinette. It was comforting, knowing that – even with all the time and changes ahead of them – some things would stay the same.
He was just starting to feel steady again when a quiet giggle rose from his chest.
"What?" he asked, and he smiled when he felt her nose rub into his shirt as she shook her head.
"Nothing," she said, her voice muffled. She pulled back a little and grinned up at him. "It's just…Viperion. God, I haven't heard that name in ages. Harmony bears the Snake now, but you haven't gone by Viperion since…"
"Miracle Queen," he said, trying to keep the shadow of bitterness out of his voice. "When Chloé outed all of the temporary heroes. But…" he paused, his brow furrowing, caught again on the problem that Marinette knew about Viperion. Ladybug had always been so firm on the Secret Identities rule, though, and he would never betray Ladybug's trust, not even for…would he tell his wife? He knew Rena Rouge and Carapace were dating and had known the each other's identity because of that, but…Marinette was still smiling patiently at him. Her eyebrows lifted as she dipped her head towards him, and something in the back of his mind – something he had known, or at least suspected – for a while now clicked into place. His eyes widened when she winked at him. "…oh."
"Soon enough, little snake," she said, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek again. "Now, come on. You're still bleeding everywhere, and I would like my husband patched up before he really traumatizes the children. Though…the twins will probably just try to one up you and see who can bleed more. I am not in the mood for a hospital visit today, Luka."
"…twins?" he asked, but she just winked at him before taking his hand and tugging him towards the doors. He heard the horse snort behind them, but he was too distracted by the smile Marinette was giving him to pay the stupid horse any mind. "Twins?"
"Wanna meet them?" she teased, and he nodded dumbly as he walked after her.
…or, at least, tried to walk after her.
He'd barely taken a step when he felt the world spin again, his stomach lurching unpleasantly as he felt the ground disappear from under him. He gave a shout – or tried to, at least – as his aching head slammed back into the ground, or…no. It was harder than the ground. Stone? A…wall? Had the stupid horse kicked him again? Had…?
"Luka!"
He blinked his eyes open, staring blearily at the cloudy sky above him – at least until Marinette's face blocked it from view. And it was the right Marinette, his Marinette, cheeks still rounded in youth and endlessly blue eyes furrowed in concern. He closed his eyes again and took a breath to ground himself. He was back. Which meant the other him – Big Him? – was back, as well. Everything was fixed. The akuma was defeated.
"You're bleeding…" Marinette said softly, and he opened his eyes again when he felt her fingers back in his hair. The touch was more hesitant than the future hers had been, less sure. He leaned into it anyway. The ghost of a smile curled his lips when she sucked in a breath at that – but then her palm was against his head, holding him surely, and his smile grew.
"I'm sure it's fine," he said. It didn't hurt like the concussion had, at least.
"We should still get it looked at," she said, brushing his hair back. "That akuma hit you pretty good. You were…ah…you…"
He looked back at her as she floundered. Her mouth moved soundlessly, her eyes glazing over as a blush bloomed across her cheeks. He wondered what had happened with…Big Him (God, that sounded weird…) while he'd been in the future. Had Marinette…but of course she'd realize, if she was…and Big Him knew and had no reason to hide that knowledge from her…and…
Yeah.
Now his head was starting to hurt…
"I'm ok, Marinette," he said softly, reaching up to wrap his fingers around the hand in his hair. Her other hand was on his neck, and he wasn't entirely sure when it had gotten there. He hoped she didn't move, though. He liked having her this close. "Promise. At worst I probably just need to wash my hair and grab some bandages. Are you ok?"
Her breath caught again, and he frowned at her. Her eyes were misty, like…
"Marinette?" he asked, frowning. She didn't answer. He grunted as she collapsed against him, crawling into his lap and burrowing against his chest as she cried. What the hell had he missed? "Shhh, shhh, it's ok. It's ok, Marinette. What…it's ok."
She still didn't answer him, but if he was honest with himself he wasn't entirely sure he had expected her to. So he just held her, tucking himself around her until she was cried out and had settled for snuggling against his chest. He hummed for her, any song that popped into his head, and rubbed her back. He had almost thought she had fallen asleep and was contemplating how to get her home (and if waking her would be worth it) when she finally spoke.
"We…we should move," she mumbled. One of her hands had been fisted in his shirt, but now her fingers were loose and tracing absent patterns against his chest.
"Probably," he agreed, lifting his cheek from her hair to glance around the alley they'd ended up in. They were just far enough away from the street to be out of the way, but it looked busy beyond the walls of the buildings closing them in. "Kinda don't want to, though. I like it here."
"We're on the ground, Luka," she grumbled, her fingers twisting in his shirt again. He didn't have to look at her to know she was pouting. "It's dirty."
"Wouldn't be the first time either of us ended up in the dirt," he chuckled, squeezing her with the arm he'd wrapped around her shoulders. He chuckled some more when he thought of his time in the future. "Pretty sure I was just in the actual dirt."
That seemed to catch her attention.
"Do…do you remember?" she asked, so softly he almost didn't hear her. He hummed, leaning his head back against the wall. Should he tell her? Would it be too much? Had Big Him told her anything? "What happened? With the…akuma?"
"It wasn't my secret to tell, but it also wasn't a secret I could carry alone. Please be patient with her. She won't make you wait long."
"Sent me somewhere," he said, shrugging a little. Her breath caught again, and he squeezed her shoulders. Steadying her. Grounding her. She let out the breath she'd been holding, and he rubbed her back. "I don't know. I was in a barn, I think? There was a girl. I thought it was just the akuma, but the girl said a horse had kicked me in the head?"
"What?!" Marinette yelped, pushing away from him. She looked horrified, but he just grinned at her. Her eyebrows narrowed in an angry little pout as she shifted to straddle his lap, her hands back in his hair as she started fussing over him again. "Luka, you should have led with that! Oh my God, we definitely have to get you checked out now!"
"I'm fine, Marinette!" he laughed, his hands dropping to her waist and tugging. When had touching her become so easy again? She huffed out an aggravated little breath, but she let him guide her back down. When she was sitting on his lap again, he smiled at her. "Promise. Doesn't even hurt. Don't envy the guy I got switched with, though – I think the girl was his kid?" Marinette's eyes widened at that, and he tried to keep his expression neutral. "She was pretty worried. He's probably got a concussion. Why? What happened here?"
"I…" she started, but she swallowed and shook her head. "It…it doesn't matter. You were…you weren't you, but as soon as I said akuma you…he understood. We hid until it was over. He didn't…didn't say much."
…somehow, Luka didn't really believe her. There was a light in her eyes, somewhere caught between guilt and hope, that made it difficult to. But he could be patient. He'd told her – both her now and her in the future – he'd be there when she was ready, and he'd meant it. He could wait.
"Well, I guess so," he chuckled, and Marinette frowned at him. He winked at her, at her chinks pinked. "If he was old enough to have a teenager and suddenly found himself in the body of one instead. That would suck for anyone."
"…hey, I like being a teenager," she pouted, poking him. He grinned at her.
"I like being a teenager with you," he said. Her blush darkened, and he leaned in to kiss her forehead. She only tensed a moment, as if she was still fighting…but then she relaxed against him.
"She won't make you wait long."
It almost felt like she didn't want to fight anymore. Like she wanted…
"Come on," he said, patting her hip. She jumped when she realized where his hands were (where she still was), and he smiled as she scrambled away from him in an embarrassed flurry of limbs. Her face was beet red when she was finally standing, but…she was still smiling at him when she held out her hand. Once he was up, neither of them let go. "You're right. Let's get out of here."
He had wanted to walk her home, but the boat was closer than the bakery and Marinette refused to have him walk twice the distance when he was still 'injured'. Even after insisting he was fine – that he wanted to make sure she got home safe – there was no arguing with her. He was still just rattled enough from his trip to the future that, when she gave him that Look and used that Tone and he saw the ghost of the mother of their children in her smirk, he didn't fight her. Still, she lingered by the gangway, her fingers still twisted with his own. Before he could ask if everything was all right, she brushed his hair back – her fingers gingerly grazing over his cut, even though it really wasn't that bad and had already stopped bleeding – and leaned up on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his cheek. He watched her run off, sure his face was as warm as her own as his heart beat double-time like this was all new and she'd never kissed him before. Somehow, it felt more like a beginning than an end. More than it had for a long while now.
But he supposed…maybe…maybe it was.
He knew he was smiling like an idiot as he turned to board the boat – even before Juleka threw a stuffed unicorn at his head and told him so. He wasn't entirely surprised to see her sitting on a crate by the stage, changing the strings on her bass. She was pretty good at being unnoticeable when she wanted to be, and he had been more than a little…preoccupied.
"You look stupid," she said, fishing another string out of the pack by her knee. She glanced at the dark spot in his hair, her eyes narrowing in concern. "…you ok?"
"We got caught up in the akuma mess earlier," he said, tossing the plush back at her. She caught it with one hand and tossed it back towards one of the chairs near her. "Hit my head."
"The magic ladybugs didn't fix that up for you?" she asked, quirking a brow. Luka shrugged. He hadn't really thought of that.
"Must have happened after the Cure," he said. "Anyway. I'm gonna go clean up. Later, Jul-"
"You're with Marinette again?" she called. He paused, turning back to look at her curiously. She was staring resolutely at her bass, fiddling with the knobs as she tightened the string she was working on. The look on her face, though…he couldn't tell if she was angry or worried. Her eyes flicked towards him before shooting back to her guitar, and the breath she huffed out was strong enough to blow her bangs back a bit. "I saw her leaving. You guys together again?"
"We were hanging out, yeah," he said, nodding. She squirmed a little, and his frown deepened.
"Hanging out or hanging out?" she pressed.
"Juleka, what –" he started.
"She's still in love with Adrien, you know," she said, quick and harsh and louder than she'd probably meant to be. Her face burned as her grip tightened on the neck of her bass.
"She's really not," he said, chuckling a little as he shook his head. She rolled her eyes and nervously bounced her foot on the deck.
"You don't know that," she bit. He wanted to argue that he really did, but she wasn't finished. "She's been in love with him for years, Luka. Longer than she's known you. You…she…you're just gonna get hurt again, you dumbass."
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He really needed to wash it, but she obviously wasn't going to let this go. She was still glaring at him as he crossed the deck to her and dropped down on the chair across from her crate.
"She broke your heart," she finally said. His hands tightened into fists. He squeezed them before stretching his fingers back out. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on now and not the blue-eyed little boy begging him not to get rid of his new horse. "You've been moping for weeks."
"I broke my own heart," he said. She sucked in a breath, and he gave her a helpless little smile. "I knew what I was getting into, Jules. And Adrien wasn't why we…it was timing. She's got a lot going on right now. It wasn't fair to ask her to juggle dating me on top of everything else, but we both wanted it. We both still do. It's just…"
"Timing?" Juleka scoffed. Despite her tone, he couldn't be annoyed. He could still see Big Marinette winking at him, promising him soon. Barely a blip in their history, she had said. That they had so much good ahead of them. "Stop smiling like that!"
"Sorry," he said, laughing a little as he shook his head. From the way she was glaring at him, he was sure he was back to grinning like an idiot. "You can't have it both ways, Jules. Do you want me miserable or do you want me happy?"
"Of course I want you happy, dork," she grunted, kicking at his shoes. He quirked an eyebrow at her. She turned her head to glare out at the river. "I want you both happy. She's my friend, and you're my stupid brother. I just…"
"Just…?" he wheedled. She kicked at him again, but it was weaker that time.
"I've known her for a long time, right?" she asked, and he nodded. She toed the deck, picking at a chip in the planks. "I've only known her to like one guy, Lu. Like all she talks about, crazy stalker girlfriend like. Planned the wedding, named the three kids, happy future mapped out kind of like."
Luka tried not to snort at that. Three kids. He wondered if their six kids was more his fault or hers. He'd…honestly never really thought about kids or a big family or the future before, not like that. Not until Marinette, and if he was completely honest with himself…not until the reality of that future was staring back at him with her worried blue eyes.
…Juleka hadn't noticed his distraction.
"Pictures all over her wall – which are still there, by the way," she continued, scowling. Her expression softened after a moment, though, as she worried her lip. "I just…I didn't even know you guys were together, Luka. Like…I knew you were hanging out, but not like…"
"Rose and you hang out?" he asked, laughing when she kicked him again.
"Shut up," she grumbled. She put her bass down and slumped forward, picking at the rips around the knee of her tights. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't she?"
"I can't speak for Marinette, Jules, but…it was new," he said, his smile slipping as he looked at the hands fisted between his knees. "We'd barely started…we were still trying to start. We never actually had a first date, you know? Not a full one. Stuff kept coming up, and she had to leave, or she was so busy she forgot, and...but we wanted to try."
"And you still do," Juleka mumbled. He nodded.
"I didn't even tell Dingo, and you know how much shit he's been giving me about her," he said, shrugging. "And maybe that should have been the big clue that we weren't ready yet. But…I love her, Juleka. I love her so much. And I'm ok waiting for her. She's worth it."
"You could be waiting forever," Juleka said. His lips twitched as he thought about the girl with the bleached hair. Harmony. When he thought of the kiss Marinette had left on his cheek before running home.
"I might not be," he said.
"You sound so sure…" Juleka said. She frowned when she accidentally ripped a new hole in her tights.
"I am so sure," he said simply. She glanced up at him, and his smile grew a little. "About her, I'm always sure. She's it, Jules. I can't explain it, but…I just know. There is never going to be anyone else. Not for me. And I know it's the same for her, and she's going to realize it, and we're gonna be ok."
"…you realize how gross that sounds, right?" she asked, scoffing a little, Her hand fisted on her knee so she wouldn't pick at her tights anymore. "Like…she doesn't have to love you just because you love her. She could love, y'know, Adrien."
"I didn't mean it like that," he said, scrunching his nose as he realized she was right. "I just meant…she doesn't have to love me. I'd love her even if she didn't. I just…I know she does. We didn't break up because we wanted to, Jules."
"From what you just told me, you didn't technically break up at all," she said. When she looked back at him, he was relieved to see a tiny smirk on her lips. It wasn't much, but it was a start. "If you never even made it through a single date. Loser."
"Hey, it wasn't for lack of trying," he laughed, shoving her shoulder. She slapped him away, and some of the tension that had been creeping into his stomach went away at her laugh. "Seriously, though. We really were just hanging out today. If we do start dating – or trying to date – again, you'll be the first to know. Ok?"
"I just don't want you to get hurt, ok? I don't want to have to hate one of my friends because you were stupid," she sighed. He chuckled and reached behind her to hold the back of her head. She grumbled when he pulled her towards him and smacked an obnoxious kiss against her forehead.
"Next breakup, she can keep you," he promised. He winked at her as she shoved him back, rubbing at her forehead with a scowl. "But I'm only saying that because I really don't think there's going to be a breakup next time."
"Gross," Juleka groused, and he laughed. He slapped his hands against his knees and quirked his eyebrows at her.
"We good?" he asked. "Can I go shower now?"
"…we're good," she said, but before he could stand she pulled him into a tight hug. "I love you, dumbass."
"Love you, too, sis," he said, squeezing her back. He snuck another kiss against her hair before pulling away – and ruffling it, just to piss her off. She flipped him off as he jogged back towards the door that would take him below deck.
He was humming when he entered his cabin, his shirt halfway over his head. That was probably why he didn't see it at first. Or maybe it was because he was still just really, really distracted. He felt…great. Calm. Happy. Happier than he'd been in a good month. Like he was flying – or like he could grab his Ma and spin her around the galley in a jig, which he might have actually done on his way in. (She'd been too relieved to see him smiling again to be upset at the dinner he may have caused her to burn in the process. He could get the burnt portion, anyway.) So. It only made sense that he didn't see it.
But there was no mistaking it when he went to toss his shirt on the bed. Sitting on the amp he used as a bedside table was a small, spotted…egg? And he had a pretty good feeling what it meant. It looked nothing like the little boxes Ladybug used to hand out, but there was no mistaking her spots. A note was tucked under it, and though it was signed LB he would recognize that handwriting anywhere. She was asking him to meet her at the Eiffel Tower. They needed to talk, she said. She'd be waiting.
Soon, Big Marinette had promised.
He grinned as he picked up the egg and it broke open in his hands, a familiar teal glow rising from the husk. Maybe…maybe it would be sooner than he'd thought.