AN: On we go. Back to Luka/ChatNoir fluff. And a tough decision they have to make. :)
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Chapter 9: A Decision
With an absentminded smile, Adrien reread the message on his phone. He'd lost count of how many times he'd read it already today, but he really couldn't help it. Just glancing at those brief lines gave him a warm feeling in his chest.
It had been a busy day for him—so just like every other day, really. No school, thankfully, but there was that photo shooting that took easily half of the day, another lonely lunch, then Chinese and fencing lessons. Dreadfully boring, usually, but Luka's message had been like sweet icing on top of all the boring routine. Kagami had called him out on not being as focused as he should be during their fencing duel, but he didn't care. He'd meant to go see Luka that night, anyway, but with that message and his request to meet and talk earlier… Adrien couldn't really put it into words, but somehow, the prospect of meeting with Luka earlier than planned, of breaking his tight timetable to see his boyfriend, it brightened up his entire day.
"Hi there," Luka chuckled as he caught his breath after their greeting kiss.
Somehow, they'd ended up pressed against a wall in Luka's cabin again, everything else forgotten as hands glided over backs and grabbed at hips or shoulders. Chat Noir still felt dizzy from Luka's tongue dragging along the roof of his mouth, from the low rumbling in his chest as their kiss deepened, bodies moving in search of more contact, more friction. Being with Luka was always more than he'd expected, more than he'd planned for. So much more than he'd ever hoped.
"Hey," Chat greeted back, the flush on his cheeks only slowly cooling down. "So, you summoned me and here I am."
"Yeah, I can see that," Luka chuckled. "And I'm so relieved you made it."
The honest joy on his face was enough to make Chat's heart flutter anew. But sadly, he had no time to waste. "I can't stay for long, though. I'm supposed to practise on my piano, but I only have about half an hour before I need to head back for my next appointment."
"That's a shame," Luka murmured, his lips twitching. "That you didn't get to practise your instrument and that you can't stay for longer alike."
"True. Else, we could have practiced making music together some more."
Luka's eyes sparked with humour and interest before he lightly shook his head and pressed another kiss to Chat's lips. Chat indulged in it, hands coming up to bury his fingers in Luka's gorgeous locks. And even though this kiss was softer than the previous one, it was still enough to make his heart beat faster.
"So, what was it you wanted to ask me?" he eventually mumbled against Luka's lips. "Or did you just miss me?"
"Oh, I definitely missed you," Luka replied in a soft voice. He leaned his forehead against Chat's and sighed softly. "But you're right, there's something I need to ask you."
They settled on Luka's bed, sitting face to face.
"So," Luka began a little hesitantly. "The thing is this." He took a deep breath, never taking his eyes off Chat's face. "I had a surprise visitor earlier. It was Marinette and… well, she asked whether I'd want to go on a date with her tonight."
Chat Noir blinked. Then his lips stretched into a huge grin. "She did? That's fantastic!" he exclaimed, then pulled Luka into a tight hug. "And it was about time. I'm so happy for you."
Shaking with silent laughter, Luka returned his embrace, his head relaxing against Chat's shoulder. "Thank you. You… you're really amazing, do you know that?"
With a smirk, Chat pulled back. "Of course, I am!" he grinned. Then his expression grew a little softer. "Were you worried about how I would react? That I'd get jealous?"
Smiling softly, Luka shook his head. "Not really. I hoped you'd react like this, was almost sure. But still, I'm relieved."
Chat nodded. He understood what Luka meant all too well. He was still wrapping his head and heart around his feelings for both Luka and Ladybug, and in a way, it surprised him he didn't even feel the tiniest bit worried about this development. But, well… Luka was gorgeous. It was only natural that whoever met him felt the desire to ask him out, wasn't it?
In all honesty, though… he wanted Luka to be happy. He knew that dating Marinette would add to his happiness; he'd been interested in her since forever. And he cared a lot about Marinette as well, knew that Luka would do everything he could to make her happy, too. They were an excellent match, in his impartial opinion.
"So, is that what you'd wanted to ask me?" he went on. "How I'd feel about you dating her?"
Luka's face twitched into a slight grimace. "Yes and no. As relieved as I am that you approve… it's a bit more complicated than that, I'd say."
Chat Noir reached for the glass standing in 'his' place on the bedside table and filled it with coke. He so rarely got to eat or drink sweet and not-perfectly-healthy things like these at home, so he relished in being able to do so here. And Luka knew that, always had small treats ready for him.
"How so?" he asked after taking a first sip. It wasn't as if they could meet all that often as it was; it shouldn't be difficult to fit Marinette into Luka's schedule.
Luka, having watched him with a knowing smile, sobered up again. "I could never be with her for real without being honest with her. Especially when it comes to my feelings or that she's not the only one I'm dating."
He threw Chat a meaningful look, one eyebrow raised, and Chat nodded, thoughtfully. "Yeah, of course," he agreed, frowning. "I… I guess I haven't really thought about it from that angle." He placed the glass back on the small table, buying time to think it through. "So… how much are you going to tell her then?"
With a somewhat defeated sigh, Luka leaned back against the wall, shoulders slumping. "That's the problem," he muttered. "How much can I tell her? That I'm also seeing someone else? Yeah, she's got to know about that, because I'm not giving up on us, and not telling her would be outright cheating. But then she's going to ask who I'm dating. What should I tell her then? What can I tell her? It's the same question we already discussed before, except that keeping the secret doesn't work in this case."
He ran his left hand through his hair, leaving it adorably dishevelled. Chat eyed him thoughtfully. Then he crawled over to his boyfriend to sit on his lap, straddling his long legs, and placed his hands on Luka's shoulder.
"I see the problem. But we'll figure out a solution, okay? I'm sure we can work something out together. Okay?"
With a soft smile on his lips, Luka turned his head and placed a soft kiss on Chat's hand. "Okay."
Chat's lips twitched, but he forced himself to stay focused. He really had too little time, and this was a problem they had to solve now. "Right. So since you've obviously already thought more about this problem than I have, how about you tell me what you have so far?"
Nodding, Luka straightened. "Yeah, you're right. I have thought about what to tell her, maybe even a little too much." He chuckled, a little sheepishly. "I'm going to tell her what I feel for her if we get that far, but that I also love someone else, too. That I'm already dating someone. That this person knows about my feelings for her, about us meeting, and is okay with us dating, too. And that it's up to her whether that's an arrangement she can live with or not. Maybe that'll be it already, and she'll just leave me standing."
There was a hint of pain in his voice, but even though Chat wanted nothing more than to assure him Marinette wouldn't do that… he couldn't be sure about that. It sure was a lot to take in.
"But if she's all right with that," Luka went on after a brief pause. "Then she's going to want to know who that other person is. And I think that keeping it vague like I did with Juleka would neither work nor would it be fair to Marinette."
"Agreed," Chat said, frowning. "Maybe she'd be content with vagueness for a little while, but… in the end, Marinette deserves honesty."
Luka nodded. "Exactly. So, the question is now… which part of the truth can we be honest about with her? Adrien or Chat Noir?"
A surprisingly big part of Chat Noir wanted to say Both! Because he hadn't been kidding, Marinette above nearly all other of his new friends deserved honesty. But he had to be realistic. The best way to keep a secret was to not tell anyone, and even though he would at least somewhat have to rely on her discretion, it was still better if she knew as little as possible.
"I think," Chat said after some pondering. "It would be better to tell her about Chat Noir than about Adrien."
Luka frowned. "Okay? But wouldn't that raise the question about how we met and ended up dating? I mean, it doesn't happen every day that you get our hands on a superhero."
Chat grinned when Luka emphasised his words by placing his hand on Chat's hips, fingers comfortably resting on the black leather. "Well, Chat Noir and Luka already met before, twice. Once when your mother got akumatised, and then a second time when…" Chat Noir trailed off. He knew Luka didn't like thinking about his time as Silencer. In Chat's opinion, his reason for falling for Hawkmoth's trap had been one of the most genuine there ever had been. But Luka still saw it as him having failed.
"Anyway," Chat went on. "We already met, that's not a secret. Maybe I found you so attractive that I stopped by one day to talk. And the rest, as they say, is history. It wouldn't even be a lie—I did find you attractive right from the first time we met."
Chuckling, Luka pulled him a little closer. "Same here," he murmured, nipping at Chat's lower lip.
Fuck, how he wished he had more time…
"Okay, your explanation for how I ended up with you might work," Luka said, parting reluctantly. "But why do you think telling her about Chat Noir is better than about Adrien in the first place? Wouldn't that make way more sense?"
Chat Noir scrunched up his nose, his lips pressed into a thin line. "It's not really fair," he muttered. "No matter what we tell her, we have to make her understand she must not, under any circumstances, tell anyone else. Not her parents, not Alya or any of her other friends, no one. No matter whether she knew about Adrien or Chat Noir, it has to stay a secret, or else you and your family might suffer the consequences. Hawkmoth is the by far more dangerous threat, but I at least can fight against him. If my father decides to get rid of you, though? Then there's nothing I can do."
"Adrien…"
"But that's only part of the reason," Chat interrupted him—even though Luka saying his name in such a soft and comforting tone made him shiver. "The main reason is… that I think it would be easier for Marinette to keep the secret that way. Imagine we all meet here for band practice or a small concert. And even though she knows we're together, she must act as if there's nothing between us. If you two really end up dating, she'd always know that I'm here, too, but that I can't be with you openly. And knowing Marinette, she'd feel awful for having to leave me out." He shook his head. "I wouldn't want that for her.
"But if she only knows about Chat Noir?" he went on. "Yeah, that's a big secret. No argument there. But she'd also understand why it's so important that nobody else knows. And it wouldn't put her into a compromising situation either. I mean, when would she ever have to deal with both of us at the same time? Or when would my relationship status come up in a conversation where she'd have to hide what she knows? Knowing this secret wouldn't affect her much, and we'll all be better off that way."
In his mind, this explanation made perfect sense. However, Luka didn't seem to be entirely convinced yet. "I don't know," he murmured. "What about Alya's Ladyblog? Wouldn't she tell her best friend what she knows right away?"
Chat snorted."Don't worry about that. Marinette won't say a thing." He thought back to the Kwamibuster incident a week ago, where Marinette had ended up with a Miraculous of her own. She'd been incredibly helpful, had done an amazing job in helping him and Ladybug get back their Kwamis. But even though Ladybug had made it clear she couldn't give her a Miraculous ever again because she'd let him see who she was, there had been nothing about Multimouse on Alya's Ladyblog. Not just not about her identity, but also about her mere existence. There would have been little harm in Alya blogging about this temporary superheroine, but Marinette had kept her secret well.
"How can you be so sure about that? I'd really rather not for Hawkmoth to set a trap here for you, you know?"
Chat grimaced. "I… can't tell you why I'm so sure. But trust me, she can keep a secret if she has to." He wished he could be entirely honest with Luka. But Multimouse's identity was not his secret to share.
And luckily, Luka seemed to understand. "I see," he murmured. He frowned, his face thoughtful. "But she's not one of the superheroines I know, is she? No, don't tell me. I know it's got to be a secret and—"
"No, she's not," Chat Noir interrupted him, smiling reassuringly. "At least not as far as I know. She probably could be Rena Rouge for all we know!" He threw his hand up in mock exasperation, then snickered. "But I doubt it."
With his head cocked and face scrunched up, Luka was probably imagining Marinette as Rena Rouge. Chat could see it in his eyes, in the way his lips curled before he joined in on his laughter. That idea was just absurd.
"All right then," Luka said after they'd calmed down a minute later. "I think I know what to tell her now. Thank you for stopping by. And for your advice." He chuckled, a little sheepishly. "I was a bit going in circles there."
"I'll be here whenever you need me," Chat said with a grin. "And no matter for what you need me, too. Also, let me know how it went, okay?"
Luka nodded, beaming. "I will."
"Okay. And also let me know whether you still want me to come over later or whether you want the night to yourself."
At that, Luka rolled his eyes. As if she and I are going to end up in bed right away, his expression seemed to say. "I'd already call it a win when she doesn't bolt the moment I tell her I'm already seeing someone else, let alone who. I still can hardly believe she asked me as it is; imagining she might be interested enough to be willing to put up with our chaos is even more outlandish." He put on a smile, though be it a little self-deprecatingly.
"Hey, no defaming my boyfriend when I'm around," Chat teased, but then sighed. "Especially not when it's my fault, anyway. I'm really sorry for making this so complicated for you. If I simply were that ordinary guy you got locked in a locker with then—"
"Then I'd hardly ever get to see my boyfriend because his father would lock him in his room all the time with no way out," Luka interrupted him gently. He tipped up his head but didn't kiss him yet, only let his lips ghost over his. "I'm glad things are the way they are, in every aspect. I wouldn't want to change anything, not about you, who you are, or about us. And whatever comes, we'll make the best of it."
Chat's lips twitched. "Yeah, I don't think you really need to worry about your date with Marinette or how she might react."
"Oh?"
"You definitely have a gift for finding the right word at the right time. You already convinced me, and following your lead, I think I helped Ladybug understand her feelings a little better, too. So if there's anyone who can explain a situation like this to a date without making them run for it… it's you."
Luka laughed, low but true. Freeing. He tipped his head up, just enough to breach the remaining distance between them, and kissed Chat with so much joy and love that it made him dizzy.
"Thank you!"
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AN: I drew another picture, specifically for this chapter, and I wish FFnet would let me link to it. But as it is... Go check out my Tumblr, if you're interested (ShipMistress9) or read this story on AO3, with the picture.
