Desideratum

Chapter 38

That morning, Marinette was awakened by a husky voice whispering in her ear and fingers trailing soothingly up and down her arm. She squirmed as goose-bumps erupted all over her skin with the movement, but smiled, regardless.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She could hear the grin in his voice when he spoke. Her smile widened. "Morning," she murmured, before rolling over onto her back.

"I brought you something," Luka declared, handing her a steaming cup of tea. She pushed herself into a sitting position. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thank you," she whispered, before wrapping both hands around the warm mug and bringing it to her mouth. It tasted exactly the way she preferred—hot and not overly sweet.

Luka climbed in bed with his own cup of tea in his hand and pulled her to his chest, smiling as he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. "Sleep well?"

Marinette smiled. "Yes," she answered. "What time is it?"

Luka shrugged. "Around ten."

Blinking, she turned to look at him. "And why is it that Cadence hasn't caused a ruckus yet?"

Luka laughed and took a sip of his tea. "I think he's tired; he was sound asleep when I went to see him. If you ask me, we won't have to worry about making food for at least two more hours."

Marinette mirrored his grin and turned her head to press her lips to his in a sweet, chaste kiss. "That sounds good," she whispered once they pulled away, and when they did, her eyes were instantly drawn to the large window, where she could see fat snowflakes dancing in the air. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "It's still snowing?" she asked, almost incredulously.

The snow had begun its descent while they were having dinner and had continued well into the night, until they fell asleep.

"Yep," Luka answered. "I don't think it stopped. And you know what it reminds me of? That time when Adrien invited us to his sky-lodge. Remember?"

Marinette huffed, amused. "How could I forget?"

He laughed. "Yeah, that was a pretty crazy week."

"You mean you all were crazy," she supplied, making him laugh harder. A moment passed, before she shifted, changing her position so that she was now sitting Indian-style on the bed, facing him. Reaching out, she placed her half-empty mug on the nightstand. "You know…" she started, tucking a lock of darke hair behind her ear. "Maybe it's time for you to get in touch with everybody again. I'm sure you miss them."

Luka hesitated in answering; he frowned, swallowed, and reached up to scratch the back of his head. "I do, but…"

"I don't think they'll reject you," Marinette continued. "Not if they're real friends—which I know they are. And I'm not talking about them only. I'm also talking about your family. About your parents..."

"She never did forgive me for letting you walk out of my life," he admitted, wrapping a dark lock around his finger lovingly.

Marinette's hand came to cover his. "She was never mad at you for that. She was disappointed. And, if anything, she was trying to open your eyes. But you are her son. Don't think for a moment that she could possibly care more about me."

"I know, but…"

"She would like to know that she has a grandson, Luka. Your father would like to know that the Couffaine line doesn't end with you. And since I've hidden this for six years…" She shrugged. "That would put us on equal footing, don't you think?"

Luka laughed. Placing his mug aside, next to hers, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap, forcing her to straddle him. Gazing up at her with a gentle look in his eyes, he moved a lock of hair behind her ear. "I made a lot of mistakes, Marinette," he confessed. "I said a lot of things I shouldn't have."

"I know, Luka," she told him, softly caressing his cheek. "We all do."

He swallowed, meeting her eyes. "Did you forgive me?"

"A long time ago," she answered without hesitation. A pause followed, before she returned his question with prodding eyes, "Did you?"

Luka grinned, and his gaze suddenly turned mischievous. "I think you might still have some making up to do," he drawled as he grasped her hips and lowered her to the bed, before following suit on top of her.

Marinette could only laugh.

"Be careful," she heard his voice warning her and almost groaned out loud as she pawned at the hands that covered her eyes. "How am I supposed to be careful when I can't even see where I'm going?" she complained.

"That's why I'm telling you when to be careful, because you can't see," he replied cheerfully. Marinette would have rolled her eyes had they not been closed.

Up until now, only two things were clear to her: one, he had taken her to a restaurant that served delicious food; and two, he had covered her eyes and claimed he had a surprise. They might have also ridden an elevator somewhere.

"Two more steps," he announced.

"You could have carried me at least," she muttered under her breath as she followed his instructions. A door opened and a cold blast of air hit her body, sending darke hair flying away from her face.

"No," Luka said at the same time, "Because then you would have peeked."

"Of course I would have," she retorted, letting him lead her into what seemed to be open air. "You forced me to dress fancy when I hadn't packed anything fancy. Then you forced me to leave Cadence alone with a dog in the middle of nowhere so I could go eat with you—as if we didn't have food in the house. And then you made me climb stairs with my eyes closed. Of course I would have peeked."

Luka laughed—a sound so joyful that everything inside her melted in an instant.

"Juleka and Rose are with Cadence, they're in the vicinity because Juleka has a modelling job here in London too. It's their first time seeing him in a while and Cadence already love his aunt the moment he met her months ago." he said, soothing the small part inside of her that, he knew, would always worry about her child. "Nothing will happen to him." He pressed his cheek against hers, and she could feel his grin as he spoke, "Ready?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, and he laughed softly once more. "Alright," he whispered, and removed his hands from her eyes.

Marinette blinked. Once, twice, until her sight accommodated. Then she gasped.

They were on top of a building, clearly the tallest in the small town, overlooking the whole surroundings. It was nighttime, the snow was sparkling and the city was twinkling.

Marinette took a step forward, and then another, until she reached the metal railing that marked the edge of the building. "I may consider forgiving you," she announced, turning her head to see a grinning Luka approaching her.

"That's nice," he joked.

"So, what was it about this place that Cadence couldn't see?" she asked as he came to stand beside her.

"It's not about the place," he denied, and leaned with his forearms against the railing. "It's about what I'm about to tell you." Frowning, almost amused, she mirrored his position.

"What are you about to tell me?"

"That I've been thinking…"

"That's a nice surprise."

Luka grinned, but continued, "About all the things that we've done wrong in our past relationship."

"Go figure," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's all you ever think about—when you do."

"That may be true," he admitted with a shrug. "On my part, though, I came up with quite a list. But aside from being an asshole and never letting you speak and pushing you away and blaming you for almost everything and—and a lot more, really… I also never gave you an engagement ring that I worked hard for. And I never proposed to you in the real sense of the word."

Her eyes widened once his words registered in her mind. Luka straightened and turned to face her; she did the same, the teasing glint gone from her eyes as she watched him warily. He slid his hand into the pocket of his pants and then pulled it out, holding a little velvet box.

Marinette covered her mouth with her hand—and he smiled.

"I'm not going to get down on one knee because I know you wouldn't like that," he announced. Marinette resorted to nodding, unable to speak.

He opened the black box and moved it so that she could see the small piece of jewelry. It was made of precious stones that twinkled in the faint light, but it was delicate and elegant—and more than what she could have ever imagined.

"What I am going to do is ask you if you like it," Luka said, coaxing her gaze to meet him. "Because Cadence said you would, but I'm not sure…"

Marinette blinked and a tear escaped her eye, trailing down her cheek. Her heart seemed to beat at a thousand miles per hour.

She hurried to nod. "I do," she whispered.

Luka smiled. "So… Will you marry me?" As much as he had worried about the moment when he would ask the question basically his entire life depended on, the words felt natural as they rolled past his lips. Everything with Marinette was natural, simple, and right; there was no other woman for him.

Her own smile broke through as she let her hand fall from her mouth. "Again?" she teased.

He pulled the ring out and gently took her left hand in his. "Forever, this time?" he asked, holding her gaze.

A moment passed, and another tear slipped down her cheek. "Yes," she eventually said, calmly and quietly, but firmly. Luka grinned. The ring slid effortlessly over her finger and came to rest perfectly at its base.

Then she was in his arms, and the world seemed to resume its circular movement around them, picking up from where it had left six years before. There was no better feeling to be experienced.