Chapter Four

The evening had not turned out as Marinette expected, because she'd parted ways with Luka for a significant amount of time to help smooth the waters between his sister and her lover. After chasing down Rose, Marinette had learned that the long-term couple were going through a serious rough patch. The decision to move out of home and live together had come with a financial burden which Rose was freaking out about while Juleka merely shrugged it off and said things would work themselves out.

Rose was working two part-time jobs to help keep them afloat while Juleka only worked one job while volunteering at a shelter for women escaping domestic violence. Rose could understand and empathise as to why Juleka wanted to do so, but they were already starting to feel the heat of piling up costs which they never seemed to get on top of. The petite blonde mentioned how Juleka had suggested that they could simply move into the houseboat with her mother, but Rose had wanted space so they could be a couple.

The conversation had gone long into the night and so Marinette had missed spending further time with Luka. As disappointing as it had been, the musician thanked her for spending the time with Rose while he'd tried to talk some sense into his sister. Apparently Juleka's story had differed somewhat from Rose's, claiming the reason why they were so hard up financially was because Rose kept spending their money on frivolous things.

Marinette was exhausted by the time she and Alya returned home. The pair had been roommates for the last year and they too had had some teething problems when working out their finances. Although Marinette's larger concerns had laid elsewhere. The decision to live with the notorious Ladyblogger when she herself was Ladybug was an area of secret contention. Thankfully both were often busy with work or study so that neither paid much mind to the absence of the other. Particularly since Nino had proposed to Alya. Most of the time the couple were inseparable, meaning Alya lived partly at his place.

Tonight though, Alya was staying in as Nino needed to finish his shift DJing. The bespectacled girl shook her head and finger-combed the knots from her tresses. "Oh my God, so much drama. And I thought Rose and Juleka were rock solid."

"Tell me about it," Marinette sighed as she placed her handbag on the sideboard.

A teasing glint entered Alya's eyes. "Although the night wasn't a total downer. You and Luka, now that is a fine thing to happen."

"Yeah," Marinette said, grinning as she dropped her head shyly. But her phone pinged as the subject of their musings reached out to her.

"Is that him?" Alya smirked as she peered over roommate's shoulder.

Marinette didn't bother answering, instead she unlocked her phone and they both read the message: Thanks for an awesome night and for being there for the girls. Want to meet up for breakfast? We didn't really get much of a chance to talk.

Alya let out a squeal. "He's so into you! You've got to say yes."

With her lips pressed together in amusement, Marinette wrote back. I'd love to meet you for breakfast. But let's not make it too early.

From there the two nutted out where to meet and when while Alya bounced around with excitement. "This is so amazing. You deserve this, girl. It's about time a guy realised how awesome you are."

Marinette knew what her best friend was really saying. It was about time she moved on from mooning over Adrien. Sure, she'd had a few dates here and there with other guys but nothing serious ever eventuated because she was still fixated with the model. Doom was almost imminent if they ever met Adrien and noticed the way Marinette looked at him. It was game over from the moment they saw her reaction.

Yet it was somehow different with Luka. Alya had been there when Marinette had first laid eyes on the musician, witnessing the strong chemistry between them. But Marinette had inadvertently blocked Luka from making a move when he too saw how she responded to Adrien. But that had been a long time ago and Marinette hoped he wasn't as keenly attuned to her illogical emotions when it came to her crush. A flash of Adrien and Kagami kissing quickly squashed the residual feelings Marinette had for Adrien. It was time to move on and for once she was excited about the prospect of being with someone other than Adrien.

The morning was cool, and the air laced with misty rain as Marinette left the apartment. She opened her large black umbrella and refused to reminisce about who it originally belonged to or why she still had it. Instead she walked with new purpose as she headed to the café Luka had suggested the night before.

Pulling her pink scarf higher around her face, Marinette slid her free hand into her woollen jacket pocket. While hoping the beige coat didn't look too plain with her skinny jeans and ankle boots. It had been wash-day, so her choice of clothing had been limited. As usual, she was unable to enhance her appearance with glitzy earring because she needed to wear her miraculous. Tikki was settled within her purse, snuggly wrapped up in her own little blanket Marinette had knitted.

It had only been a few days since Hawkmoth's last attack, so the chances of having her date interrupted were low. In the past, the villain had been the chaotic catalyst when it came to her ability to date. Often causing her to stand up the poor guy she was meant to meet, therefore ending things before they even had a chance to begin.

Inhaling deeply, Marinette decided that this time she was going to put in more effort. That she would make this work. Luka was a wonderful guy and one that she was excited to date. As if to cement this thought, Marinette turned the corner and found Luka waiting outside the café for her. Leaning against the brickwork, he had one knee lifted as his black-booted foot rested against the wall. His head turned with a flick of dark hair as his electric blue eyes zeroed in on hers. But it was his smile that sent her heart racing. It was the flirty kind of smirk she was well accustomed to from Chat Noir, yet it had remarkably more affect on her coming from Luka.

Pushing off the wall, Luka angled himself to face her directly. The broad expanse of his shoulders drew her gaze and she had to tilt her head to meet his eye. There was something utterly attractive about his greater height.

"Good morning, Marinette."

And the rumble of his voice was just as delicious. Marinette returned his greeting in a breathy tone that was far too revealing of her current enthralled state. Luka's smile widened to flash his teeth as he placed his hand at her back and guided her inside.

From there they were ushered to their table, one that Luka had booked online, and the pair sat to order. Nervous energy rolled over Marinette as she looked between the menu and Luka. In turn she noticed his knee bouncing as well.

"Nervous?" she giggled.

"Totally. It's been forever since I've been on a first date."

"Me too. Although we've known each other for years, I'm not sure why I feel like this."

Luka considered her for a moment. "Perhaps it's because we've only ever been together as friends in the past. This changes things."

Marinette nodded. "That's true." Her eyes darted to the menu as she built up the courage to admit, "But I've always been attracted to you."

The menu slipped from Luka's fingers. "You have?"

A subtle blush dusted Marinette's cheeks. "Yeah. It was why I stuttered so much the first time we met."

His eyes widened. "No way."

"Yes way," she said with a coy smile.

"Wow, I had no idea. For a while there I thought I was the only one feeling the attraction."

Dipping her head, Marinette felt a mix of emotions. She knew the reason for Luka's confusion and tried to ignore the bite of disappointment as Adrien entered her mind. "I was a little stuck on someone else."

"Adrien," he said without hesitation.

"It was that obvious?"

"Yeah. The ice-skating date kind of gave it away. I was really hoping that you'd just wanted to spend time with me."

"Well I did, but…"

"You'd already committed to go with Adrien as his wingman. Or should I say wingwoman?"

"Either or. Doesn't really matter."

"Well you were successful, even if it took a while."

Marinette's brow crinkled in confusion. "How do you mean?"

"Adrien and Kagami are finally an item, or so it appears."

"Yeah," she said with a wistful sigh. "I don't know what's going on there and I'm over trying to work it out."

"So, you've moved on from Adrien Agreste?"

With a smile that she had to encourage with only a smidgen of force, Marinette replied, "Yes. Yes, I have."

My apologies for taking so long to update this story. This chapter was a bit of a struggle because I was going to jump ahead but changed my mind. I hope you enjoy!

As always, thanks for reading and please give the review box some love!