Marinette's shift passed miraculously, without incident. Jake seemed almost desperate to avoid her, something Mari was more than happy about after the last shift they had shared. It had been unusually quiet for a Wednesday, so she had gotten the chance to duck out and grab some more hair dye to do Luka's hair.
True to his word Luka was waiting for Mari outside her work right on seven, he had been home to shower, now changed into faded stonewash jeans, tears at the knee, which had been the style a few years back. Luka, who was all about comfort and baggy clothes wore an uncharacteristically form fitting white shirt, showing his normally unassuming physique was anything but. Not in the supermodel, chiseled hard abs and bulging biceps kinda way, no, his were softer- almost gentle- in the same way that everything about him was. Curves and divots stretched across his chest and outlined his form something Mari had never taken any notice of in the past.
A black leather jacket hung unzipped from his shoulders, there tucked under one arm was a sleek black motorcycle helmet. Mari could hardly contain her excitement at the sight as she walked out of the closed shop. Sure, while her parents had expressly forbidden Mari from owning her own motorbike- which given her track record, was really quite understandable- they had at least begrudgingly given her the okay to ride with Luka.
He gave Mari a goofy grin as she walked towards him, "I figured since it's not raining we could go for a ride? What do you say?" He passed the helmet to Mari who took it eagerly.
"As if I would say no to that! Common let's go!" Helmet in one hand Mari took Luka's with the other and began to drag him now the street, despite having no idea where he had parked. "So did you have any idea what you wanted to do for dinner yet? Because I could totally go for some Mango chicken. There's a little Indian takeaway shop up here, I'm sure they would have stuff without meat too, want to check it out?"
Luka let himself get pulled along by Mari in her excited state, her happiness contagious, he let out a light laugh, "haha Indian it is then, no arguments here."
It didn't take long before they had reached the little takeaway place Mari had described, a young girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen manned the till. An even younger looking boy stocked the drink fridge to the left, most likely a family business just like Maris.
As the pair stood discussing their options they were interrupted by the noise from Mari's phone. Mari managed to dig it from the bottom of her shoulder bag, surprised to see it was the same unknown number that had woken her earlier that morning. Curious she answered, only to once again receive no reply, this time though, Mari was sure she could hear someone breathing on the other side. She moved her phone away from her ear and frowned at it confused before speaking into it again.
Luka watched on from beside her, his head cocked in question. Mari passed him the phone so he could see for himself as she spoke. " I got a call from this number earlier, but no one answers, wrong number maybe?" She shrugged her shoulders as Luka took the phone and held it to his ear before speaking, as soon as he did so though the call disconnected.
"Weird huh, could be a telemarketer maybe?" Mari questioned as she took her phone back from Luka who continued to frown at it disapprovingly.
"Yeah maybe, try blocking it, I've had to do that a few times, you ready to order?" Mari nodded as she slipped the phone back into her bag. Their orders placed, they went to wait outside while their food was prepared. The small confines of the shop uncomfortably stuffy thanks to the heat that radiated from the kitchen.
Not five minutes after they stepped outside Mari's phone began to ring again, the noise drew both their attention to her bag. "You didn't block it?" Luka questioned curiously.
"No, I thought I did, maybe I did it wrong." Once again Mari reached into her bag to retrieve her phone, this time she didn't answer it though, letting it ring while she checked her call log. "No, this number is different from the other one." Mari held up her phone for Luka to see.
Brows furrowed, he stared at the phone while it continued to ring, "here, let me". Mari passed the phone to his outstretched hand and watched as he answered it. Luka said nothing, just held it to his ear as he listened intently. " I think I can hear someone breathing." Luka held the phone up between them, only to have the call disconnect after he spoke again. This time though he redialled the number before putting the phone on speaker.
They waited as it rang, not surprised when no one answered. Determined Luka tried again, an automated voice answered "the number you have dialed is not available, please check the number and try again."
"That's really weird Mari, maybe just don't answer it next time and see what happens?" Before they were able to discuss it anymore their order number was called from inside the small shop. Mari left her phone with Luka and ran in quickly to grab it, the two then walked silently to where Luka had parked earlier.
"So, where are we headed?" Luka asked, taking his own helmet which had been locked under the seat of his bike-an imposing looking grey Harley which Jagged had gifted him for his twenty first birthday -swapping it with the paper bag that held their food. Mari chewed on her bottom lip in thought for a moment.
"Let's go to mine, I downloaded all the Spider-Man movies the other week and still haven't watched them. We can eat up in my room and start them." Luka smiled in reply before he sung a long leg over the seat of his bike, then twisted in his seat reaching out his hand.
Mari took it, using it to balance herself as she climbed onto the bike behind Luka, once she was safely seated Luka stopped for a moment. "Oh here I forgot." As he spoke he shrugged his shoulders out of the leather jacket that stretched snuggly across his back, passing it behind him to Marinette.
Before Marinette had a chance to argue he spoke,"Tom and Sabine just barely let you ride with me as it is." As if he knew Mari had opened her mouth to argue the point he continued "so, I'm not even going to start the bike till you put it on Mari."
Knowing there was no point in fighting Mari pulled the ridiculously oversized jacket over her shoulders before she wrapped both arms tightly around Lukas midsection. Once she did so the bike roared to life, had Mari not been wearing the protective helmet the sound would have been deafening.
Busy streets rushed past them, the night air still held the cool, sweet smell of rain as it whipped at their clothes, sharp against any exposed skin it could find. Mari revealed in the feeling, loving the freedom as they darted in between cars. Grip still tight around Luka she threw her head back, eyes closed tight, it one of the few times Mari could just enjoy being in the moment, no other worries clouding her mind.
All too soon they arrived at the front of The Dupain-Cheng Bakery, Luka wasted no time in hurrying them inside, skin red and raw from the sting of the cold air without the protection of his jacket. But there had been no way he would let Mari ride without one.
…
Upstairs Mari booted up her desktop, once again glad for her large monitor screen, perfect for watching movies on. Meanwhile Luka had grabbed some plates and cutlery from the kitchen and was busy pulling their food out, placing it on the floor for an impromptu picnic. The movie ended up being more for background noise than anything else, the pair talking and joking with each other too much to pay it more than a passing glance here and there.
After they had finished eating Mari jumped up with a start, having remembered the other reason she had suggested they go to her place. She rushed over to her bag and held up the hair dye for Luka to see, who was more than a bit startled at Mari's abrupt movements.
"I noticed your hair was starting to fade, so I grabbed some more today." Mari shook the bottle side to side with excitement. "Want me to do it now?" Luka smiled at Mari, always floored by her consideration for other people.
"Sure, only if you want to though." Mari nodded with enthusiasm, then bounded off to gather the bits and pieces she needed for Lukas' hair. When she came back from the bathroom moments later she froze at the sight of Luka, splayed out comfortably on her bed, feet hanging over the edge, eyes closed and completely topless.
"Umm… I can't find my brush, but Luka, why don't you have a shirt on?" Mari stood next to the bed, head tilted to the side as she stared at him perplexed. It wasn't like it was hot, quite the opposite actually. In fact Mari had wasted no time in charging into a pair of fleecy pink pyjama pants, covered in little gold stars and a simple black singlet, in an attempt to escape the cold of her room.
"Well, my tops white, and I didn't want to risk getting dye on it." Luka twisted towards Mari, now propped up on his elbow. In that position Mari couldn't help but let her eyes wander over his pale chest, down to his stomach which had the just barely visible outlines of abdominal muscles and those blessed V-lines Mari was so fond of. The sight, paired with her stray thoughts had her blushing.
"Yeah, that makes sense, ahh, I can't find my brush though. I left it on the bench in my bathroom, now it's gone. I can do your hair without it, it's just easier with a brush."
"Maybe your mum borrowed it?" Luka shrugged his shoulders, hardly concerned.
Mari bit her bottom lip as she thought about the possibility, "hmm, maybe, but I doubt it, she doesn't really come up here. I'll go and ask through, I'll probably do a better job with a brush."
Mari opened the trap door of her room, on a mission to find Sabine, she grabbed the dirty plates to dump in the kitchen as she went, determined to keep her room clean this time. Pfft yeah, maybe for a week if I'm lucky.
Minutes later Mari climbed back into her room with a comb she had borrowed. "Nope mum hasn't been in my room, that's so odd. I know I left it on my bench after I did my hair before work."
Luka shrugged, a clueless look on his face before he got to his feet. Where's the best place to do it?"
"Bathroom, grab the chair from my desk and sit on that." Mari pointed Luka towards the open door of her small bathroom, the floor a pattern of large white and black tiles, walls covered in vertical white cladding, slightly discoloured with age reached about halfway up the wall before they were replaced with white paint. Overhead a small typical French-style chandelier illuminated the room in a warm orange glow.
Luka pushed the computer chair into the bathroom, making it suddenly cramped with his large, very topless body. "Sit" Marinette commanded, pointing down at the chair, in hopes that with Luka sitting she wouldn't be so flustered by the sight of his bare chest- It didn't help-. Though she had to admit It had been a good idea to take it off, because Mari had managed to make an impressive mess.
...
Teal Dye stained the sides of Luka's face, his ears almost completely covered, shoulders sporting a smattering of colour and a single trail ran from mid way down his chest, reaching the top of his bellybutton. The results of him distracting Mari with something inappropriate in regards to his toplessness and the mess she was making. A suggestion that she needed to take her shirt off as well, so it didn't get ruined.
Once the dye had set Luka stepped into the shower to rise the excess out and try to scrub the dye from his skin, after having only a moderate amount of success he gave up and dried himself with the scratchy green towel Mari had left for him before he threw his, thankfully dye free jeans back on.
Still topless, having forgotten where exactly he had placed his shirt, Luka paused to inspect himself in the now fogged mirror of Mari's little bathroom. Dam shaggy hair stuck to his face, which was red and splotchy from the vigorous scrubbing. Despite the mess of his skin Mari had done a good job, hair now a deep, vibrant teal from the mid lengths to the tips, tapering to his natural black closer to the roots. A much better job then he would have been able to pull off.
Luka opened the bathroom door to find Mari in a frenzy. Her bed, previously made up neatly, was now pulled apart, pillows thrown across the room, colourful llama doona crumpled in a heap on the floor. If it hadn't been for the look on Mari's face Luka would have laughed at that scene.
As it was all the colour had drained from Mari's face, stealing away the ever present rosy colour of her cheeks, wide bluebell eyes robbed of their usual sparkle met Lukas for a brief moment before Mari continued on her mission. She paced the room, briefly stopping to pull out a draw or rummage through a cupboard.
Luka watched for a moment before he walked over to a frantic Mari, grabbing a hold of her wrist in an attempt to get her to stop her pacing, "Mari what are you doing?" His voice was soothing, yet commanding at the same time. Paused in her efforts Luka took the chance to study Marinette's face for a clue as to what had caused the sudden chaos in the room.
"My brush, first I couldn't find my brush. It's, it's gone and my pillow I can't find my pillow. I could understand misplacing a brush, but I didn't move my pillow and I know it was on my bed! I had it this morning! I changed the pillow case on it, so I know it was there! And Mamma said she hasn't been in my room today and Pappa has been in the bakery all day." She had begun to hyperventilate, the pitch of Mari's voice high in her panic, her rambling hardly making any sense.
"Mari, slow down. Stop for a second and take a breath." Luka ran his hands up Mari's arms, gripping her elbows in an effort to steady her and hopefully keep her in place for a moment. "What's going on?" Luka watched as Mari took a large breath, which made her shoulders rise and fall in the process before she spoke again, slower this time and slightly more coherent.
"When you were in the shower, I went to lay down, but it felt weird. Then I realised my pillow is missing, the triangle one I sleep with. It was gone, I pulled my whole bed apart and couldn't find it." Mari gestured towards the crumpled mess that was now her bed, "then my brush I know I left it on the bench, but I thought maybe…" she trailed off not finishing her sentence.
"Then I noticed my door to the balcony, Luka, it was open. There is no way I would leave it open not while it's cold. I hate the cold, so I always make sure it's shut." Mari whispered the last part as if she was scared to even say it outloud.
Luka wanted to dismiss her fears as just another of forgetful Mari's dreamed up scenarios, brought about due to overthinking. But he couldn't, not this time, with their earlier conversation fresh in his mind, not after the odd phone calls Mari had received when they were getting dinner.
With that thought lingering in his mind Luka dropped his hold on Mari's arms and reached into the pocket of his jeans where he had left Mari's phone once he turned it on silent. It had remained there forgotten until that moment. Mari watched Luka intently as he mulled over her explanation and rummaged through his pockets.
He frowned at the screen once he had found it, brows pinched together, before he turned it towards Mari for her to see. The lit screen displayed sixteen missed calls, all from a blocked number. Mari let out a strangled noise before she dropped to the ground in a crouch, knees hugged into her chest.
Luka sat beside Mari cross-legged on the floor before he reached over and pulled her small frame into his lap, "I believe you Mari," they sat like that in silence. Luka held Mari close, occasionally patting her head in an effort to reassure her. Both of them lost in their own thoughts about what it could mean.
"Maybe, someone is messing with you?" Luka asked, not that he could imagine anyone wanting to do that to Mari, she was so sweet and kind. That the people who met her couldn't help but love her and perhaps -faced with what had just happened- that was a bad thing. "What do you want to do?" Did you want to go tell your parents?"
Mari straightened her back in Lukas arms, "No, you're probably right. It's just someone trying to be funny, playing a prank." Mari crawled out of Luka's lap and stood, having pulled herself together some at the idea that it was all an elaborate prank. "I don't want to say anything to my parents yet, but can you… maybe stay the night? Prank or not, I don't want to be alone right now." Mari cast her eyes over Luka before she moved to her bed. "Just… maybe put your shirt back on? Okay?"