Here's what happens when YouTube auto-plays "Won't Go Home Without You" by Maroon 5 and I then proceed to stay up until almost 6am to finish a story. It's a bit more angsty than the other works I've posted so far, but that's the tone of the song, so what can I do? Anyway, I hope this is still enjoyable, though I was quite tired while editing.

Luka still isn't sure when or how this started happening, not that he isn't glad for it. Somewhere along the lines, Marinette's visits to their houseboat had morphed from spending time with her other friends to hanging out with him. Short, friendly interactions where the two play boardgames, videogames, Luka plays his guitar, or they simply sit on the deck of the houseboat and contemplate life. Sure, there is a part of him that always secretly hopes for something more, but he's never been ready to take any action that might move things in that direction. The feelings he's had for the girl can be traced all the way back to their first meeting on the afternoon of the music festival and they've only become more intense with each fleeting interaction. But he knows she has feelings for someone else and has not been willing to lose what they already have over something completely one-sided. After all, nights like this one, where the two of them are simply content to share space, talk, play games and swap stories about the goings on in their lives have become treasured experiences to him.

They have the two lounge chairs backed up against one another and Marinette is braiding a lock of his hair as he strums out tunes on his guitar. Eyes closed, he can hear her shuffling around in her chair behind him and grins as she begins to speak.

"I have another question…if you're okay answering it…" Marinette breaks the short silence that had fallen between them since their previous conversation, to which his response is a quiet hum and a nod of acknowledgement. It takes her a moment to continue, so Luka peeks open an eye to get an idea of what she may be hung up on. Seeing the color in her cheeks, he freezes, the idle sounds of his guitar fading off into the silence of the cool night air. Somehow, it seems like the conversation is headed in a direction that's not yet been explored and he isn't sure if he's ready. Sitting up to get a better look at the girl, Luka leans his instrument against the side of the lounger. "Is there anyone you like?"

The silence that follows, while increasingly awkward for Marinette with each second that goes by, is time that Luka spends trying to formulate a response. How can he possibly answer honestly when he knows it could totally alienate her? He can't even think about lying to her, so that option is completely off the table. Remaining silent, Luka watches as she slowly turns more red in the face and attempts to walk back her curiosity.

"I-I'm sorry if it was too personal! You don't have to answer," She presses her fingers together, biting down on her lower lip and fixing her eyes on some invisible object off to her left, "I just t-thought that, well, you know I like someone and…"

"I do." He breaks into her stuttering, feeling a rush of heat roll up the back of his neck. It may be indirect, but it's still the first time he's ever voiced these feelings aloud. She stares at him for a moment in confusion, as if she hadn't quiet caught what he said. Preparing to repeat himself, Luka is caught off guard by her sudden excitement.

"You do?" Her eyes shimmer with curiosity in the pale lighting of the boat's deck. Luka feels himself squirming uncomfortably under the pressure of her obvious excitement at this news.

"Yeah." Attempting to appear casual, he lifts his guitar back into his lap and begins to play as another question startles him back into inactivity.

"Do I know her?" She has gone back to playing with the braid she's been making in his hair as he turns to glance at her, eyes shining with unspoken questions. After a moment of consideration and the realization that her eyes are once again lined up with his, Luka lets out a sigh.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure you know her well." He would really rather not say more for fear of giving himself away completely, but the pig-tailed girl's interested gaze has him in a bit of a box.

"Yeah? What's she like? Maybe I can help you if I know her." This is when he feels his resolve to stay silent finally snap. He knows he wouldn't be able to lie to her and he's never had anyone to talk to about it. So, all of it comes tumbling out the second the opportunity is before him.

"She's smart, creative, funny and compassionate," He confesses, watching as she nods in understanding, "We've only known each other for a little while, but the more time I spend with her, the more I like her." He pauses a moment to study her reaction before quickly pressing on, "The thing is…she already likes someone else, and I don't want to take that from her."

Another short silence follows in which he sees the shifting emotions flash behind her blue bell eyes. Something akin to empathy settles in her expression after a moment and she leans in and softly pecks him on the cheek. Though his heart begins to beat furiously in his chest, Luka is able to maintain a mostly calm exterior appearance as Marinette shifts back into her seat.

"I'm sorry Luka…but, for what it's worth…I think it's really cool of you." Her comment both hurts and soothes him, before her tone shifts into a playful one. "So…you haven't known her that long, you're spending more time with her recently and she likes someone else…I'd almost think you were talking about me…haha, just kidding!" It's clearly meant as playful banter, with no hidden context and yet the young man suddenly finds himself at an impasse. He watches her for a moment as he mulls over how he wants this to play out. He'd reminded himself not to cross this line so many times. Now here they are, in exactly the scenario he thought he knew how he would handle and he's hesitating to make the right call.

Completely missing the change in her facial expression and demeanor, Luka opens his mouth to speak and is abruptly cut off. He watches as she shuffles out of her seat, cheeks and ears once again red, lips pressed together as her flustered eyes search his for answers. As his eyes connect with hers, he realizes his prolonged silence has betrayed him and scrambles to his feet as well. Well, it would appear as though the choice has been made.

"I…was just joking…you know?" Marinette tries, now appearing downright uncomfortable.

Boy had he screwed up. This is not at all what he had wanted. Why in the world didn't he say anything? This all could have been avoided if he'd just joked along with her. Looking down at the uncomfortable girl, her averted eyes, rosy cheeks and closed-off body posture, he knows that now it's too late to turn back. Without making one move toward the girl, Luka speaks up, cutting through the tense silence hanging in the sir between them.

"I'm sorry," The boy begins, not really knowing what phrasing to use, afraid to speak the words but knowing there is no other choice leaves him very few options, "I…don't know what to say…" The tension could almost be cut with a knife as he runs his hand through his black and blue hair, finger catching in and accidentally undoing the braid she had been working on earlier. He feels the twist unraveling as Marinette takes a step back and away from him, trying to play it off as if she suddenly needs to leave before snatching up her purse.

"I…just realized I promised I'd help in the bakery tonight…I'm sorry, I gotta go!" She spouts this out in a breathless rush before hurrying off in the direction of the street.

As her form disappears into the darkness of the night, he considers going after her or calling out to her, but ultimately decides it won't do any good. At this point, she's not going to be ready to talk, so trying to stop her will likely only escalate things. Feeling like an idiot, Luka drops back onto the lounge, just hoping that giving her some time will help settle things enough so that they'll be able to talk it out.

This, of course, does not end up being the case, as for the next three weeks, the young fashion designer completely drops off the radar. He doesn't hear anything from her on the phone, on Facebook, or least of all, in person, so he doesn't attempt to contact her first. But…he really wants to, and it takes all of his willpower to hold himself back. Hindsight is always twenty/twenty and looking back now, there were so many things he could have -no should have- said in the moments he stood there like an idiot, silent and rooted to that spot on the deck of the boat. Why were such simple words so difficult? He should have said "I like you," like a normal person. He should have told her that he feels like Adrien hurts her too much and doesn't appreciate her enough. He should have explained that even though he doesn't expect anything from her and knows they likely won't be together that he wants her to be happy. Most of all, he should have told her that he still wants her friendship and values it. But he hadn't and now the regret is eating away at him.

When he finally does see her again, in passing with her group of friends who had come to hang out with Juleka, it's clear her eyes are a bit puffy. He tries to seek out her eyes, wanting to get her attention so she will stop and talk to him. But something happens that completely throws him off. Marinette avoids his gaze, turning away from him and toward Alya as she walks by, immersing herself in conversation. He stands there for a minute as the girls file into his sister's cabin, taken completely aback by her behavior. Marinette is not the kind of person to walk by without acknowledging someone unless it's by accident. So, this pointed avoidance is completely uncharacteristic of her. Now feeling a bit hurt on top of everything else, the young musician heads back to his own cabin to take a breather, choosing meditation to help ease his frayed nerves.

Another week and a half passes in which there is little change to this new dynamic to their relationship…or…lack thereof is it? He initially didn't want to be the first to break the silence for fear of making her feel forced into an unwanted conversation, but with so much time elapsed in between when they last spoke and now, it's becoming clear that if he doesn't do something, things might never be the same. So, he bites the bullet and sends her a single text.

{Luka 6:16pm: Hey, I know you're probably still

upset…but…would you be

willing to meet me some place and talk?}

The result? Radio silence. He sees when the message is delivered and when it is read, but no reply comes. So much time passes after the message is sent that he works on his latest song, meditates and has dinner without hearing a single thing from her. As he begins to suspect he won't hear from her today, the phone goes off in his back pocket. He carefully takes the phone out of his pants pocket and hesitates for a moment before opening it when he sees the message is a reply from her.

{Marinette 7:33pm: I'll be in Champ de

Mars in 10 minutes.}

Quickly snatching his jacket from the bed, Luka makes his way up on deck only to run into Juleka. They just about bump into each other as she tries to head inside and then step back from one another, both offering a quick apology. She looks him up and down carefully, leaning back on her heels a bit.

"Going out?" She questions quietly.

"Yeah. Let mom know I'll be back soon so she doesn't worry." He tells his younger sibling, moving past the girl and toward the gangplank.

"Hey Luka!" Juleka calls after the boy, who turns to glance back at his sister, mostly out of shock at her unusually loud tone of voice. She offers him an encouraging smile before speaking again. "Good luck."

Offering a quick smile in return, Luka heads off in the direction of Eiffel tower, not really knowing what to expect. The Parisian sun is hanging quite low in the sky as he makes his way to the park, lost in a sea of thought. How will he begin? What words will he use? Will she be angry? Will she yell? Will she even want to speak? He's never met her on this plain before and it's obvious that there's nothing that's off the table anymore.

The lights lining the streets and pathways light the space around him as he enters the park and spots her sitting on a bench under the tower. He takes a deep breath and then cautiously walks in her direction. She looks up at him before he can say anything, eyes still reflecting sadness back at him. A cool, evening breeze catches her hair as she looks expectantly up at the musician. For a moment he gathers himself, slowly building himself up to say the things that have been on his mind for more than a month. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he takes a careful step forward.

"Can I sit here?" The young man motions toward the spot beside her and waits for a nod of approval before settling into the space to her left. After a second of looking down at his knees uneasily, Luka finally looks up, hoping to meet her eyes. She appears too frazzled to make eye contact. "We both know I like you." His own phrasing surprises him. It's really quite blunt. Still not saying anything -perhaps also surprised by his blunt and sudden assertion- Marinette lowers her head and simply nods. "And I know that…you don't feel that way about me, so I want to be as clear as I can here…"

"W-wait! That's…" Cutting him off, the bluenette finally meets and holds his gaze. Luka doesn't miss the color that rises to her cheeks or the way she fidgets nervously with her fingers. "…that's not…exactly true…"

Okay, so maybe she has him here. The first couple of times she spent time with him, her crush on him was pretty obvious. It's not as if he never noticed her nervous stuttering or the way her cheeks flushed when they were close. He still notices little things that suggest romantic feelings of some variety and degree. So, he knows there is something there. 'But,' Luka ponders to himself as the sun begins to dip down below the horizon, 'Is that something…enough?'

"Right. That's fair." Oh boy, how to continue? How in the world would he know? He's never done anything like this before. "So…what about Adrien?"

Her gaze once again falls to her knees as the nervous fidgeting becomes more pronounced. Knowing he is not likely to get a verbal reply to this question, Luka works up the nerve and continues. "He's special to you and I get that, so I don't want to take it away from you. But I still want you to know what's on my mind."

"Can…I go first?" She looks up at him as if she needs to ask his permission. Though he desperately wants to get the words out, he can also recognize and respect that she probably has some things to say to him and nods in approval. Whatever complaints or grievances she may have to unload, he'll hear them. Turning to him, Marinette gives a small smile before saying something he doesn't expect to hear at all. "I'm sorry."

Shocked and at a loss for words, Luka simply waits for his companion to elaborate instead of inquiring about it. She seems to realize this and presses her fingers together, silently searching for the words she wants him to hear.

"I-I mean, I didn't know what to say when you didn't respond that night…t-then I just ended up running away. So much time passed that I just couldn't come up and talk to you normally anymore and so I…just started avoiding you…but I didn't want to hurt you…s-so I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." At the end of her explanation, Luka can't resist a short, one-armmed hug to offer her some comfort and when she doesn't protest, he doesn't remove his arm.

"I'm…not gonna say it was fine but…apology accepted." He tells her, feeling the girl let out a small sigh of relief and begin to relax into him a bit. Still afraid to overstep an unseen boundary, Luka remains still, his arm not shifting an inch in it's place around her shoulders.

"And…I…" She gingerly bites down on her lower lip, expression almost fearful, as if she's not sure these are words she even wants to speak out loud, "I'm still not sure about…a lot. Including how I feel about Adrien…and… you…and because of that…I was afraid to do or say anything either way. I didn't want to hurt anyone." Her eyes line up with Luka's and he finally makes the connection he hasn't up until now. For the first time since that night, he knows that what he's seeing isn't fear of him or his feelings, much less anything external. Her battle is being fought within. She didn't want to hurt him by rushing into a wrong move. It's clear she's been really struggling and giving this situation a lot of critical thought. All at once, he realizes that though he has many valid concerns, he's been too self-involved. He's been so busy panicking and racking his brain for what to say or do to fix this that he never noticed what has actually been happening. He couldn't have chosen a worse time to come clean if he'd tried, and that's stunningly obvious at this point, but now that they're here, there's no way he's going to walk away without making sure there is no more room for miscommunication.

"I understand." He tells her quietly. "Is that everything you wanted to say?"

"Yeah." One quiet word is all that she seems to want to offer.

"Okay…so…will you hear me out?" He asks, only continuing after she offers another nod. "I like you. Right now, you're unsure so," With this, the young man removes his arms from her shoulders, backing away from the girl in front of him, "Don't feel like you need to do anything after I say this. I just need to say it. I like Adrien, he's cool and all, but he's clueless and you're upset so much because he doesn't seem to notice how awesome you are. To me, you're incredible. Brave, funny, creative, kind and cute."

"T-thanks…" She squeaks, her back tightening as she offers a sheepish and embarrassed smile. She really must not be used to receiving such compliments, a fact he'd really like to remedy if she'll allow him the opportunity.

"I also want you to know that I don't want to stop being your friend. It means just as much to me as any…other kind of relationship we could have." It's the first time he's ever laid his feelings completely bare before someone, but it's also the first time he's ever felt it necessary. It's increasingly apparent that she is the one person he's willing to cast aside all dignity for. Well, whatever dignity he possessed to begin with, anyway. The raw emotion he's feeling and showing is completely overwhelming him and a wave of heat rolls up the back of his neck, washing over his nose and cheeks. He freezes when she offers him the most genuine smile he's seen from her in weeks and can't help but offer his own lop-sided grin in return.

"Me too." Marinette and Luka both breathe a simultaneous sigh of relief.

Getting back up onto his feet, Luka holds out his hand to the blue-haired girl on the bench before him. There is a moment where she simply glances questioningly between his hand and his own electric blue eyes. "So how about a do-over?" The boy questions, feeling encouraged by the way she grins up at him before reaching out and taking his hand. "I wanna make things right."

"Okay. What do you have in mind?" Once on her feet, she knows that she can let go, but she doesn't, instead surprising Luka by gripping his hand tightly.

"Come hang out. Just like always." Two simple sentences that seem to completely break the remnants of the tension between the two teenagers. Just like that, everything seems to fall back into routine. It is an idea both young people are tremendously thankful for.

"Okay, but, probably tomorrow. It's kinda late now." In the midst of their conversation, the winter sun had set over the horizon, the city now bathed in the temperature of it's many artificial lights. This is the first time he had paid any mind to the goings-on around them since he had arrived earlier, and she's right, it's time for her to go back to her own home for the night. Finally, her grip on his hand relents and her fingers fall away from his. "I'm gonna call my parents to come get us. They'll drop you off so you don't have to walk back in the dark." Where normally Luka would protest, he's attracted to the idea of a quiet ride home while talking with Marinette and her family. Sure beats walking back alone in the cold.

The following afternoon Marinette comes by after school for one of her typical visits, bringing a basket of croissants. Holding them out to Luka, her ears red and her face turned down so he can't meet her eyes, she stumbles her way through an explanation. "C-con-consider it a p-peace offering!" After a shared laugh, the two spend the rest of the afternoon playing boardgames on the deck of the houseboat with Juleka, polishing off the pastries and listening to the sounds of Luka's guitar.

Weeks pass by with similar visits coming and going. Fall slowly passes into Winter and the first snow falls on the next day Marinette and the entire gang come over to hang out. Christmas is now only about three weeks away, so the entire house boat is lit up for the occasion.

After a meal and some gaming below deck in the warmth of the indoors, they all venture out into the cold. Rose and Juleka set to work building a snowman, while Marinette finds herself taking heavy fire from rivals Mylene, Alya and Ivan in what is apparently a snowball fight-to-the-death. As she hides herself behind a light pole, suddenly Luka is beside her. Winking, he gathers more of the fallen snow and forms it in to several icy projectiles. "Three on one doesn't seem very fair." Grinning back at her new partner in crime, Marinette scoops up some of the freshly-made snowballs, preparing to throw at the same time he does. No clear winner of this match is ever decided, but everyone bears the battle scars as they one-by-one begin to file out, heading off to their separate homes.

Luka sees Marinette off, surprised but none-the-less pleased when the girl suddenly turns back toward him, leaning in and kissing his cheek. As she backs away and turns to leave, offering a knowing smile, he tries to ignore the fact that it's not just the cool wind making his face burn. "Hey Luka?" Her voice is only just audible above the noise of the blustery winter night.

"Yeah?" In his still slightly-stunned state, his only move is to answer her inquiry with one of his own.

"I-I think…I might like you." Marinette does her best to get the words out, but even knowing how he feels already, Luka can see she still worked up quite a bit of courage to get to the point where she could. But before he has the chance to come up with any sort of proper or intelligent response, her parent's car pulls up and Marinette's earlier courage is lost. She quickly squeaks out a few parting words and is down the gangplank and in her parent's car before he can get a single word out.