Desideratum

Chapter 26

Despite being in his office that day, Luka heard clearly when they came home. The door opened and closed, and heels clicked on the hardwood floors, bringing an argument along.

"Mom—"

"No, Cadence."

"But, Mom—"

"I said no!"

"But…"

"Cadence, how many times do we have to go over this until you understand? You're not going anywhere. You're six! You've just earned the right to go out and play without being supervised! And you know what? That's only because you have the garden all to yourself!"

"You're too protective."

With a grin on his face, Luka stood up from his seat and made his way out of the room, slowly heading towards the living room, where the argument seemed to be taking place.

"Excuse me? Repeat that."

"Um…"

"I didn't catch that."

"Yes, you did."

"Okay. So, if I did, why are you afraid to repeat it?"

"Because you'll flip out."

"I'll flip out. That means you've said something wrong—and you know it."

"Okay, okay," Luka laughed, finally interfering. "What's going on in here?"

"Come on," Marinette encouraged, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell your father what's going on. Let's see if he backs you up on this."

The boy mimicked her stubbornly. "There's a trip at school and she won't let me go."

Luka blinked, slowly sliding into a crouched position next to his son. Was that what the whole match was about? "Why not?" he asked, looking up at her.

She was dressed in a slate grey wrap dress and tall heels, her dark hair tumbling over her back and shoulders in soft waves.

She rolled her eyes. "Because he's six, alright? That's way too young to be going anywhere without his mother. Actually, that's way too young to be even thinking of going anywhere without me!"

Luka frowned. "I think six is a pretty acceptable age to—"

"Shut up," she commanded, immediately turning the tables in her favor.

"See?!" Cadence exclaimed. "He understands!"

"Well, I'm glad he does," she replied. "Maybe he can cook you dinner tonight."

The boy sighed.

Luka coughed a laugh.

"Mom, it's not like we're going to be by ourselves!"

Marinette raised her eyebrows. "No?" she asked.

Blinded by excitement, Cadence failed to notice she was merely feigning her surprise. "No! Mme. Clementine is coming with us!"

"Well, that changes everything!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"It does?" both father and son spoke in unison, surprised, yet nonetheless pleased.

"Of course it does!" she answered. "Why didn't you say so from the very beginning? After all, Mme. Clementine is like a second mother to you. You listen to her better than you listen to me. You love Mme. Clementine!"

Both Cadence's and Luka's faces fell upon hearing her speech. The latter recovered more quickly, though, beginning to laugh. Marinette took that as her cue to drop the façade, and with a roll of her eyes, she turned to exit the room.

"Hey, how about we make a deal?" Luka asked, stopping her.

She turned around to face him with her hands on her hips and an unimpressed expression on her face. "A deal," she repeated.

"Yes," he said. "Cadence will do something to prove to you that he is worthy of your trust."

"Is that so?" she drawled, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Something like—cook you dinner."

"Sure!" She smiled sarcastically. "Are you ready to have your house set on fire?"

"I will help him."

She would normally ask, "And what would that prove?" but that would be useless in such circumstances, because the truth was, the house would burn down with or without Luka's aid.

"So, the catch is… you two make me dinner—edible dinner," she specified, "And in exchange, I allow Cadence to go on that trip."

"Yes," they both said at once.

She barked a laugh. "In your dreams," she scoffed. Her phone beeped in her bag then, and she took it out, checking the screen with a mere glance. "But," she added, "You two can still make me dinner. I have matters to attend to, anyway."

"Where are you going?" Cadence asked as she brushed past him, bag on her shoulder, phone still cradled in her hand. "Didn't you finish work?"

"Get a life," she said, poking his forehead adoringly.

Cadence grinned.

When she returned home later that evening, Marinette was prevented from entering the kitchen by both of her boys. "We've been thinking," Luka declared.

Cadence nodded from his arms.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, amused. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Cadence said.

"And we've come to the conclusion that it would be better for all of us if we just ate out," Luka finished.

At that point, she wasn't able to stop the smile that spread on her features, nor the small laugh that tumbled past her lips. "Can I see…?" She made a move to push past Luka, but he blocked her path. She raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to see?"

He laughed. "No," he said. Putting his son down, he placed his hands on her shoulders, turned her around, and began to lead her down the hallway.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Dinner," he replied simply. "No need to change, we—"

"Dad promised to take me to McDonald's."

"If you did what?" she countered. "Not tell me you burned down the kitchen?"

"We did no such thing," Luka defended. "And besides, I promised him because I promised him. No catch."

"What?!"

"Leave this," he said, unceremoniously extracting her phone from her hands and throwing it on a small table near the entrance. "You won't need it."