AN:
Life is getting pretty difficult lately. And having two of my kids staying at home while sick didn't help my writing time, either. Plus, I originally thought this would be a short chapter... ^^'
Buuuuut *drum roll* on we go now. :)
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Chapter 12: More Cheese For The Plate
"Is this really okay for you?"
Adrien's lips twitched.
He was lying very comfortably on Luka's bed, his boyfriend curled against his side and with his head resting on Adrien's chest. His hand idly combed through Luka's hair, earning him a pleased humming, almost like a purr. Until a moment ago, at least.
"You mean you using me as a heated pillow? Yeah, that's more than okay for me."
Luka huffed, audibly rolling his eyes. "You know exactly what I mean."
Adrien sighed. Of course he knew. It was hard to ignore the noises coming from above, after all; some of their friends still busy preparing their small party.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Or, at least I think I am. I'll only know for sure once I see you with her, but so far, I don't feel any different. Not angry or sad or upset or whatever else you're worried about. I meant what I said. I'm happy for you."
"I know." Luka sat up and eyed him with a soft smile. "And I can't tell you how much that means to me. But still, I'm not sure how to feel about telling the others about Marinette and I when you just stand by and watch. It's so unfair."
"Maybe I should be the one asking whether this is really okay for you, then?" Adrien said with a teasing grin. "It sounds as if you're more troubled than I am."
"I just wish I wouldn't need to hide my feelings for you. And…" With a slight shrug, Luka averted his eyes. "And I wish I could tell at least Marinette the truth. That would make some things easier, I think." He inhaled deeply, then shook his head. "But I know why that's a bad idea. It's okay. I… I'll get used to it."
Without taking his eyes off Luka, Adrien sat up and took Luka's hand. "I'm sorry. And thank you. I… I hope it eventually gets easier, somehow."
Luka nodded, then a low knocking on the door made them both flinch.
"Luka? Are you ready? The other's are coming."
Luka's shoulders slumped in relief at hearing Juleka's voice. "I'll be there in a minute," he called back.
They listened to her retreating footsteps, and only once she was gone did Adrien allow himself to relax as well. "I'm so glad you sister respects your privacy," he muttered, rubbing his forehead.
"Yeah. Maman wouldn't have been so considered."
Adrien bit his lip. He knew it had been a risk to transform back, but cuddling in his civil form for once had been so comfortable. Bringing some of the happiness Luka brought into his life to Adrien as well before this special evening.
"I guess that's our cue then," he said in a light tone. Luka grimaced, but before he could open his mouth, Adrien beat him to it. "Don't you dare ask again whether I'm really okay with this."
Luka blinked, then laughed. "You know me too well." He pulled Adrien up on his feet, then closed his arms around him in a tight embrace. "I just want this to work, you know?" he murmured.
Adrien returned the embrace, his head leaning against Luka's shoulder. "Don't worry too much. If there's anyone who can make it work, it's you."
Luka sighed. "Thanks," he said, smiling, then leaned in for goodbye kiss. It was a playful one, his tongue dipping into Adrien's mouth, tickling and teasing until they parted, both laughing.
"I think you should head upstairs now. We wouldn't want to keep your girlfriend waiting now, would we?" Adrien winked.
Luka chuckled. "No, definitly not." He threw Adrien a last grateful look as he reached to open the door. "See you soon."
Adrien gazed after Luka as he slipped out of the room, smiling at his boyfriend's happiness. Once he was gone, however, Adrien's mood sank a little, and he took a deep breath before letting it out again.
He hadn't wanted for Luka to be worried. But if he was honest with himself, then he was a little anxious over seeing Marinette with Luka in a few minutes. The reason was not what Luka worried about, though. He'd been serious before; he didn't mind Luka dating Marinette—she was an amazing person, after all, and deserved all the happiness she could get. Adrien just hoped that he wouldn't suddenly feel jealous of her—not because she was with Luka, but of how open they could be about their relationship, with their families and friends. And it wasn't even about not wanting to feel like this, because he knew the reasons for their secrecy were too important to risk anything. But he'd hate having any negative feelings toward Marinette. She didn't deserve that.
"So, are we going to this party now, or what?" Plagg flew out of his resting spot in Adrien's jacket. "Your boyfriend promised to have a cheese plate for me there, and if it's already empty just because you're dallying here, I'll be very cross!"
"You're unbelievable." Chuckling, Adrien shook his head. "Plagg, Claws Out."
As Chat Noir, he easily sneaked out of the porthole and off the Liberty. He didn't go far, hiding beneath a bridge not too far away before he transformed back and walked the short distance back to the ship. He worried his nervousness would show clear on his face and in every movement, especially when he spotted Luka and Marinette standing together and chatting with Juleka, Rose, and Alya. But as it was, his fears were unfounded.
"Hey!" Nino exclaimed the moment he arrived. "So glad you made it, dude." He greeted Adrien with his signature fist bump, making Adrien feel a little more at ease.
"Yeah, me too," he replied. "It took some convincing, but for once, my father allowed it."
"Then we better make this evening rock. Although—" Nino pulled him to the side, one arm conspiratorially around his shoulder—"you already missed a big announcement."
"An announcement?" Adrien tried to appear sufficiently surprised, physically restraining himself from glancing at Luka. "What announcement?"
"So, it's like this," Nino went on, speaking in a whisper now as if sharing a big secret. "Marinette and Luka are a couple now! What do you say about that? Isn't that—"
"That's fantastic!" Adrien exclaimed, interrupting Nino. Now, he turned his head after all, a wide grin on his face. "They make such a great couple, and I'm happy they made up their minds."
Nino blinked. "You… really?" Frowning, he followed Adrien's gaze to where Luka and Marinette stood. "Huh. Well, maybe you're right. I just…" He shrugged. "I just always thought she was in love with someone else. This came kinda out of the blue, don't you think?"
"I don't know. Looking back, I think the signs have been there for a while." Adrien had known about their relationship for a whole week now, and had known about at least mutual interest for far longer. But he would not correct Nino there. "And feelings can develop or change. To me, they look perfect together."
"Yeah, maybe…" Nino gave him a strange sideways glance. Then he shrugged. "You're right. Hey, wanna come along? I wanted to ask Alya something."
Adrien agreed, feeling at ease as they approached the new couple among their group of friends. So far, everything was fine, no negative feelings, and he was sure it would stay that way.
"Hey, guys," he greeted them, waving after Juleka and Rose as they left with Alya and Nino.
"A-Adrien!" Marinette jumped a little at his arrival, eyes wide and cheeks pink. "You're here? Uh, hi!"
"Yeah, I can hardly believe it myself." Adrien grinned, clasping hands with Luka just like they always did when meeting for band practice. Luckily, the awkwardness of acting normal around each other had vanished by now. "I just heard the news. Congratulations, I'm happy for you."
Marinette's blush grew a little brighter—a pretty sight, as he had to admit. But most of his attention wasn't on her, but on Luka instead. Adrien held eye contact with him, not for too long, but for long enough to assure him he was fine. Luka nodded, the movement so small that nobody else would notice it, and the relief in his eyes made Adrien's stomach flutter.
They were good.
"Thanks, buddy," Luka said. "I'm so relieved everyone is so supportive."
"Yeah," Marinette piped up. "Same."
Luka hugged Marinette closer with his arm around her waist, for which she looked up at him with a loving smile. But when Adrien turned to her, she seemed nervous.
"Don't worry, Marinette," Adrien said. "You're such a great person, you should know that all your friends will always support you." He leaned in a little closer, whispering. "And if it's Captain Anarca you're scared off: There's no need. She's not so difficult once you get used to her."
"Anarca?" she muttered, her face growing even redder than it had been before. "Uh… sure! Yeah, she… she's not as scary as she seems, I guess. Right, Luka? She won't let me walk the plank or something?"
She laughed, and Adrien smiled, glad she'd found her humour again.
Luka's lips twitched, and for a moment, Adrien thought he looked troubled. "It'll be fine," he assured Marinette, though Adrien had the impression he wasn't really talking about his mother.
Not wanting to intrude on them further, he excused himself and made his way over to the food. Plagg was delighted by the variety of cheese Luka had provided for him, and Adrien especially enjoyed the treats which clearly came from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. A delicious meat pie, a piece of chocolate tart, and a bunch of the best macaroons he'd ever tasted; the passion fruit filling was just divine.
Adrien enjoyed the party immensely. Just spending time with his friends, talking, joking and laughing, dancing as part of the crowd; it was a fantastic night.
Every now and then, he bumped into Luka and Marinette or watched them from afar for a few minutes, but it never felt wrong to him to see them together. On the contrary, the longer he observed them, the happier he felt for seeing them happy together. And he could understand what Luka saw in Marinette. Adrien had always liked her, maybe even more than most of his other friends. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Luka she was special. But watching her now, with that radiant smile on her face and a faint pink blush on her cheeks, he realised how beautiful she really was. Always so full of joy, of life, her eyes practically gleaming.
He sat alone on the houseboat's roof, feet dangling above his dancing friends below. It was a slow dance, all the couple among their friends swaying to the music in tight embraces. It was the same song he and Marinette had once danced to together, and he couldn't help but feel a little wistful as he watched her now in Luka's arms.
"It's really a shame," he muttered under his breath.
"What is?" Plagg asked, licking his tiny paws after gulping down another bit of cheese. "That all the Camembert is gone now? I agree. If only there'd been more."
"Didn't you have enough for one night?" There had been three whole wheels of Camembert, but of course, Plagg was insatiable as ever.
"Of delicious cheese? Never!"
Chuckling, Adrien shook his head, but then grew serious again. "No," he mused. "I mean Marinette. I only ever saw her as a friend, but… being more honest with my feelings now makes me realise I like her more than just like that. It's not the same as what I feel for Luka—or for Ladybug, for that matter." Plagg let out a low grunt—talking about feelings really wasn't his strong suit. "Not as deep or profound. But I think I could easily grow to like her more. Maybe even to love her. So it's a bit of a shame she's only interested in me because of her love for fashion. If she were actually interested in me—"his eyes lingered on Luka and Marinette, on how happy they looked in their tight embrace—"then I think things could be great between us three."
"It's like I always say," Plagg said after letting out a satisfied little belch. "The more the better. There's no such thing as a too full cheese plate. Just tell her you want to add her to yours."
Rolling his eyes at yet another cheese analogy, Adrien shook his head. "I can't do that, Plagg. Not now. She just got together with Luka. Telling her now that I like her wouldn't be right, as if I'd wanted to steal her away from her boyfriend. And it's not as if Luka and I could tell her we're together, because she only knows about Chat Noir." He let out a deep sigh. "No, it really can't be anything but fanciful dreaming."
Still, he thought to himself. He would have to tell Luka about his feelings. Honesty was the key to their relationship, and this was important enough that he wouldn't keep it to himself.
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Later that night, after the party had ended and everyone had gone home, Chat Noir returned to the Liberty. Everything was dark, all lights turned off, but he found the porthole to Luka's cabin still open for him. Without a noise, he slipped inside. With his enhanced cat senses, he easily spotted Luka lying on his bed, deeply asleep and with a small smile playing around his lips. The sight made him feel at ease, warmth and love glowing like an amber deep inside him.
He pondered whether he should wake Luka, but before he could decide, the sleeping form on the bed already stirred.
"Chat? 's that you?" came Luka's sleep-rough voice from amidst the cushions and blanket.
Chat chuckled. "Do you expect anyone else to sneak in here in the middle of the night?"
Luka gave a low snort. He fumbled for the bedside lamp, then blinked against the sudden light. Chat waited for him to scoot over, then happily followed Luka's invitation to cuddle by his side.
Instead of saying anything, Luka directly pulled him into a kiss, more heated than Chat had expected. With his hands around his face, Luka held him in place, his tongue delved into Chat's mouth, lips gliding, pressing, claiming.
Chat groaned, holding on to Luka with his hands on his waist and back, kissing back with just as much passion. It took long before Luka slowly let go of him again, and even then he only retreated far enough to catch his breath, his forehead pressing against Chat's.
"Okay?" Chat said, chucking breezily. "What was that for?"
Luka shrugged, chuckling too. "Just because. I so happy everything worked out, my heart's flowing over. It needs some outlet."
"Oh, well, I could think of a few other things to do as well then," Chat replied with a mischievous grin. "So, we're all good? You, me, Marinette?"
"Yep," Luka snickered. "She asked me whether I'd see you tonight and asked me to tell you she said hi."
Chat Noir couldn't help himself; he burst out laughing, muffling the sound in the cushions. "Yeah, that sounds as if she's fine with the whole situation. Although…" He became thoughtful. "She seemed a little distressed earlier, and apparently not because of your mum. Which would have been an absolutely sensible reason, you know that as well as I do. Anyway… Was that in some way about us?"
Luka hummed, biting his lip. "No, not really. It seems she really doesn't have a problem with us dating as well. I can hardly believe that it's all going so smoothly."
"That's good. And I'm not really surprised. Marinette is just like that, isn't she? Good and kind." And perfect, his mind added, but Chat didn't let that thought linger. "But what was it then?"
Grimacing, Luka bit his lip and averted his face. "It's… I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. Not because I don't want to, but… this is Marinette's secret, not mine to share." He glanced back at Chat, pleading. Apologetic. "But it has nothing to do with her having a problem with us or anything."
But Chat didn't mind. "Okay," he said. "That's fair. Especially since she can't know everything about me, either," he added sheepishly.
"Thanks!" Luka sounded relieved.
Chat smiled. One other advantage of being so honest and open with each other was how much it made him trust Luka. He didn't need to know every secret. If Luka thought it wasn't essential for him to know about this, then that was enough for Chat.
Speaking of which…
"Okay, but now that's settler," Chat went on. "There's something I should tell you. It's also not something that'll change or affect anything, but… Well, you have the right to know, I guess. It's... something about Marinette…"
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AN: I didn't add the boys' conversation here. But we can be sure they were just as open and honest and sweet and supportive as always.
Although... What do you think, what's Luka going to think when he learned that Adrien likes Marinette just like she likes him? I picture him mentally banging his head against a wall. :D
