Based on 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train. Not a Maroon 5 song (again) but I couldn't get this theme out of my head. This one is so long that I feel like it needs to come out in two parts. This is part one, and though I know it has taken a LONG TIME to upload again (hopefully not so long that all my readers have gotten bored waiting) I'm having trouble ending the story in a way I think is fitting. So it may be some time before I am able to upload the next part even though it's currently in progress. There is a fair amount of family drama involved in this particular chapter, so be prepared for that before reading or skip if it's not your thing. I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. Hopefully it's enjoyable.

A busy morning in Charles de Gaulle International bustles around a young man who anxiously taps his hand against the side of his leg as he waits in the drop off and arrival area. In a seat one moment, pacing behind the security ropes the next, he finds he's simply too excited to hold still. Though he is aware of what an annoyance his behavior is becoming for the others waiting for their friends or family members to de-board their planes, he is still unable to compose himself.

And why, you ask, is he such a mess? Just what is the occasion that has him this giddy with anticipation? Great question, one which has a very uncomplicated answer. Today is the day -after nearly five years apart and various video chat conversations, text messages and phone calls- that his best friend is finally returning from her time abroad. Well, if they can still be called that. For many months, there has been a certain intimacy growing between them that has largely gone unspoken. Considering he'd had feelings for the young woman from very nearly the beginning of their friendship, he's rather eager to talk this all out with her. The very same girl who had announced she'd be attending University and working abroad after their high school graduation. It's not hard at all to recall her enthusiasm. As soon as she'd found out she was accepted to the New York School of Design, she had started planning her trip and looking into affordable housing for students.

And he…remembers feeling quite conflicted. On the one hand, he had been ecstatic for her and had happily spent time helping her look up eateries, entertainment and other essentials online. He had been delighted to see her light up when talking about her upcoming adventure with her group of girlfriends. He can't overstate the singular joy it had been to see her begin her journey toward her biggest goal. And then there had also been the selfish side of him, the side that didn't want to see her leave. Even though he'd been her friend already for a few years by the time high school graduation rolled around, he knew that there was so much more to his feelings than a simple crush. Even though back then he'd had no idea what the true extent of his feelings for her were, he knew it was strong enough that the thought of her leaving hurt deeply.

He also remembers the day he'd gotten his acceptance letter from Julliard. It would have been such a joyous occasion if it had just come a little earlier. But in his case, the acceptance had come at what may have been the worst possible time.

Shaking his head to clear away the needless unpleasant memories, the young musician takes a deep breath in, then releases, an action that is supposed to calm one's nerves. He has to say, even as someone who meditates frequently, deep breathing exercises do little to quell his anxieties in this moment. His knuckles begin to turn white as he grips the fabric of his jacket.

Suddenly, a hand is on his shoulder and he jerks his head around to find a very concerned-looking Alya staring at him as if his hair has spontaneously burst into flames. Of course it must be disconcerting for her, someone so used to never seeing him lose his nerve like this. She only tips her head slightly instead of speaking, somehow intuiting his lack of desire for conversation. Her eyes ask the question she doesn't speak aloud. 'Are you gonna be okay?'

Straightening himself and raking his fingers anxiously through his black and blue hair, he realizes that right now might not be an ideal time for a trip down memory lane. He tosses a small and most likely unconvincing smile in Alya's direction before nodding and taking a seat once again. The young woman doesn't appear to be convinced, but steps away and back toward Nino and the others.

Looking back up at the arrivals board for what may be the ten thousandth time within the last five minutes, he again sees that her flight has arrived. Pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket, he stares at the screen awaiting the message that has yet to arrive.

Just as he begins to place the phone down into his lap, the small device goes off in his hand. Simultaneously, the phones of the entire group of people also here to greet the recent college graduate go off, all with the same message from the person in question. He watches as Marinette's parents check their cell phones, exchanging excited glances before his eyes shift over to the group of girls now squealing and jumping about, some of them shooting back their own individual responses. Nino idles next to Alya who gives a whoop of excitement and squeezes her boyfriend tightly after receiving the news. The two of them chat happily with an equally happy Adrien, who had been permitted the time away from his other obligations by his father so he could attend this mass greeting and the subsequent welcome-home party.

(Marinette 9:47am: My plane just landed.

Be out in a few minutes!)

Smiling down at his phone, he gets back to his feet in seconds and goes to join the rest of the group. He does not appreciate the knowing -and by consequence, teasing- look that his sister sends his way as he steps up beside her. Rose, picking up on the intentions behind her girlfriend's pointed gaze, mirrors the look. Instead of indulging the two young ladies, he shakes his head and looks past them, down into the hallway leading to the terminal. There, almost hidden amongst the crowd of people heading out of the terminal, is a young woman with deep blue hair that hangs down around her shoulders, wearing a pair of jeans, boots and a fall sweater. She drags her bags along behind her, a backpack slung over her shoulder. A little jet-lagged though she may be, he can't help the smile that takes over his features as she makes her way toward them.

Cheers and greetings break out from the rest of the small crowd of people who have arrived today to welcome her back home. As soon as she makes it past the security barriers, everyone seems to swarm her at once, asking how she's been since they spoke last. Her parents embrace the happy but somewhat exhausted-looking girl at the same time, making one very sleepy Marinette sandwich. He finds he can't hold back the laugh as she pulls away from their affection, looking every bit as dazed as any young adult in her position might.

Alya is next to hug her tightly, rambling on about how she wants to hear everything about New York as Marinette smiles and chats happily with her and the other girls. In the midst of this, Adrien and Nino join the conversation. After all this time, Marinette and Nino seem to resemble siblings, even having their own silly 'secret' handshake, which they of course make a show out of doing right here in the airport. Then Adrien leans in and gives the girl a quick hug, quietly welcoming her back. She grins up at the model, now considerably taller than her and makes polite idle chatter.

A younger, less mature version of himself may have been a bit jealous of that hug at one point, but he knows better than that these days. As the others begin to disperse, and head back toward the door, he finally makes his way toward the girl. Her eyes now fall on him as he steps into place in front of her. The smile that stretches over his features in response is merely a reflex.

"Hey Ma-Ma-Marinette," He teases, watching the playful gleam dance in her blue bell eyes, "Welcome back."

"Hey Luka." She tucks some hair behind her ear, the slightest tinge of pink color dusting her cheeks. Momentarily separated from the rest of the group, there is something shared between the two young adults. Two pairs of blue eyes exchange silent promises of conversations to come. Luka feels the heat rush up the back of his neck as the memory of a video chat just prior to her departure from New York flashes through his mind.

"Finally got all my packing done!" The young graduate exclaimed from his laptop monitor as she happily panned the camera around her empty dorm room before swinging the computer back around to face herself. Luka grinned reflexively and leaned back into the pillows he had stacked up against his headboard.

"Congrats on finally not procrastinating then. You're only leaving in what, three or four days?" He teased, feeling proud of himself as she pouted back at him in response.

"That's still plenty of time!" Her tone, though whiny, sort of gives away the fact that she is aware it's all a rouse.

"I don't think you could have come any closer." He chuckled at her as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Speaking of closer…" She trailed off, looking suddenly thoughtful, "I'm really excited to see everyone again. Alya is ready to drag me all over Paris to make up for 'lost time', as she says."

"You haven't been back since last Christmas. She's your friend and she misses you." He didn't even try to ignore the internal monologue, which had been mocking him by spitting back a 'speak for yourself' comment in his mind. It was right. He missed her. He missed her dearly.

"Well," Marinette begun, playing with her hair and biting down on her lip, "She isn't the only one I have to do catching up with."

Her tone made a shiver run along his spine, the allusion to her visit last December and their conversation from before she had left again clear. It felt strange to stare at her so indirectly through the screen of a device while bringing this up, but he knew that it was the only option present at the time.

"That's right." He replied, affirming that he understood what she was getting at.

"You gonna tell me what it was?" Sounding as frustrated as the expression on her face would have led one to believe she was, the girl flopped onto her back on the bare mattress of the dorm's small twin bed. A heavy and exasperated sigh passed over her lips as her eyes pierced him through the computer screen.

"I will. When you're here." He offered up with a smirk and a racing heart.

As he boards the bus that will take them to the restaurant her parents have made reservations for the entire party, Luka can't help but let the conversation from that video call replay in his memories. He leans onto the window and stares out at the falling snow as the bus hisses and lurches into forward motion.

His memories of that evening are quite vivid. After the party, though he hadn't yet felt ready to say anything specific, he had told her there was something important he'd tell her down the line. When she pressed further, he'd told her that it would have to wait until after she'd graduated. As much as he'd wanted to let everything out in that moment as he stood on her parent's doorstep, preparing to leave after the Christmas celebration, he'd also known it wasn't the right time. It wasn't fair to bring up his feelings while an ocean and so many obligations separated them. With all that in mind, he knew there was no way that he could have given her the time and attention a relationship deserved.

Is the timing any better now? If you had asked Luka for the answer even a few minutes before her arrival, it would have been a swift 'yes.' Now, he's unsure. She may be back for good this time, but he still finds himself feeling hesitant. Not to diminish how they have both grown as people, he feels a little insecure having stayed rooted in one place while she'd been off exploring other countries and experiencing things he would only dream of. Apart from the video chats, in the midst of all she had been learning and doing, did she have the time to miss him? What does she think of someone who had the opportunity handed to them and had to let it go? It's hardly the first time he's had such thoughts. A small voice in the back of his head has been sounding the alarm for a long time. Every time she spoke with him on the phone or sent him a text message going on about a holiday where she'd traveled with friends to Las Vegas or Washington D.C. or some other place he'd only seen on post cards, he felt just that much more disconnected from her. Gradually, she seems to have become this unreachable being.

So, he does what he does every time thoughts like these begin to take hold of his mind. He shoves them all away. Marinette may be well-traveled, more confident and more mature, but she's still Marinette. She wouldn't hold such things against someone and he knows it. How is it that such a childish fear is so rooted within his mind?

As if she can sense his unease, the bluenette drops into the seat next to his. He glances at her, offering up a smile when he sees the worry in her expression.

"I thought we were celebrating." A small grin tugs up at the corner of her lip, but soon disappears.

"We are." Luka responds quietly. His tone betrays him immediately, not that he has really been trying hard to hide his inner turmoil.

"So why do you look so unhappy?" As soon as the question is out, he sees the realization flash into her gaze and knows what's coming next. "Is…everything okay with your mom?" It comes out in a whisper. Marinette is very aware of his boundaries when it comes to this sensitive topic. He simply doesn't like discussing such personal matters in public settings. The smile he offers feels like a counterfeit, even to him. He sees her face fall ever so slightly in response.

"Everything's fine." When he feels her hand come to rest over his, his smile widens. This time, it's much more authentic. Her concern touches him. "Honestly, right now things are good." It isn't a lie. At the moment, things are nearly normal within the Coffaine household.

"That's good to hear." She gives his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling back her arm and letting it rest in her lap with her other one. The loss of the warmth of her slender fingers is something he immediately mourns, but he takes no action to follow through on his feelings. For the second time today, his eyes line up with hers. "It's really good to see you again."

"So you missed me?" It is meant to come off as a tease, but he can tell she sees right through it. He's still not putting much effort into controlling his emotions. How can he? After all this time and distance, especially given the childish fears and anxieties he'd been battling with for all these years, well, he almost needs to hear her say the words.

"Of course I did!" Leaning in close, she drapes one arm around Luka's shoulder, pulling him into a gentle embrace. He quickly copies the action, giving her shoulder a few slow pats just before she shifts back and out of the contact.

"It's really good to see you too." His heart is going a million miles an hour as he gazes into her shimmering blue eyes. Crammed into the small seats of public transport with all of her friends and family present isn't an ideal way to begin this sensitive conversation, but a promise is a promise. Heat creeps up the back of his neck as the smile she wears slowly dissolves into a more serious and expectant gaze. "Mari…" As the first two syllables of her name pass over his lips, the conversation brought to an abrupt halt. Holding her phone, Alya's head pops up from the seat behind theirs.

"Hey girl, you gotta see this video of Kim," She begins excitedly, then glances quickly between the two of them as she realizes she just interrupted something important. Her eyes search out and connect with Luka's, issuing a silent apology on contact, before she turns to look at her friend again. "It's pretty much viral now."

At this assertion, Marinette turns around in her seat and Luka follows suit, going through the motions of interest, but more or less faking it. As the video plays it seems to fade into the background more and more. He finds his eyes trail over to peek at the designer, who's laughing happily at whatever dumb thing Kim's doing in the video. Bit by bit, he loses himself in another time.

Amongst this group of young people, a trend had begun. Just as often as they all found the time, they would do a group video call and spend hours talking, playing games online and binge-watching TV and movies. This was where Luka found himself, locked in an intense online Settlers of Catan battle with Alya, Nino, Marinette, Rose and of course, Juleka. His sister was winning, being the total natural at games of strategy that she was. He struggled to understand it, and was tied for last place with poor Marinette, who was venting her frustrations aloud throughout most of the game.

"I don't get any of this!" He tried his best not to laugh, but still ended up snorting when he heard Alya laughing at her friend. "Stop laughing at me!" She pouted through the monitor. It had come from a place of understanding and he felt bad seeing her get upset over it. "And why are you laughing at me Luka? You're losing too!" She stuck her tongue out as he smiled into the camera.

"I know…" The musician responded, still laughing, "I guess we're both awful at this. It's just funny and...cute." The look Alya was giving him through the monitor didn't go unnoticed as Marinette smiled and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

After a few more minutes of Juleka sweeping the floor with the rest of them, the game ended and everyone began to say their goodbyes before leaving the chat. As he thought she would, Alya hung out for just a few seconds after Marinette had logged off. He sighed, not ready for yet another overprotective best friend lecture. He really didn't need to hear again about Marinette's feelings for Adrien. Luka had been very aware of her adoration for the model and it was hard enough trying to stamp down the jealousy without Alya giving him a hard time about it too. Alya had been amicable toward Luka from the beginning, but when it came to Marinette, there was always a bit of hostility that lingered just beneath the surface in the way she spoke and behaved when coming to what she saw as her friend's defense.

"Luka…can I say something?" The curly-haired communications major began as Luka tried desperately not to roll his eyes or sigh. Alya was a nice girl and she meant well, but boy was he not in the mood for another stern warning tonight.

"Alya…we've talked about this before and I respect that you care about Marinette but this is…" He didn't get the chance to get out the words that had been hanging on his lips since Marinette had left and these video calls began.

"You've got it wrong actually," Looking a bit embarrassed as she cut him off, the young woman shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. Luka felt on eyebrow raise on impulse, curiosity flooding his senses. "Look…I'm sorry okay?" Certainly this was an unexpected turn of events. "I've been giving you such a hard time about this because I thought I knew what she wanted. But I was wrong."

"Are you saying that you are cool with me liking Marinette?" Luka questioned the girl, watching her brow crease.

"Not only that," She offered a small smile and spent a few seconds in silence, looking as if she were debating something in her mind. "A lot changed after she left. I don't want to give away specifics because it's personal for her. I'll just say that I want her to be happy and maybe you'd be good for her. So, I kinda hope it works out for you."

Luka was completely blown away by this sudden and unexpected change of heart and sat there like an idiot for a few seconds, just staring blankly into the camera. Whatever happened must have been big if it could change Alya's stubborn mind. "Wow…I don't know what to say."

"Anyway," She twisted some hair around her finger, "I gotta go. Later!" The video cut off abruptly before he could come up with a reply. Flabbergasted, the young man set his laptop aside and laid back on his bed, feeling both delighted and profoundly confused at the fact that he suddenly went from being politely tolerated to best friend approved. Though he had already deduced that something must have happened between Marinette and Adrien, he would have no idea just what exactly it was for some time.

They arrive at the restaurant and share a pleasant evening together, chatting idly, catching up and laying out plans for the next few weeks as Marinette makes her transition back into life in the city of love. Luka still finds himself lost in thought and though he is friendly and engages, his mind is simply else ware this evening.

After the meal Adrien excuses himself, heading out to the car his father sent to pick him up. Everyone else is quite content to move the social event to her parent's bakery. Luka tags along, wanting only to continue to be in her company a little while longer. While everyone else is mingling, the musician sits on her family's couch, sipping a soda that Tom had offered to him. This time when someone approaches him, it isn't Marinette, but his sister, Juleka.

"You were practically bouncing off the walls all week," She begins in her usual monotone, startling him out of his reverie, "now you aren't even gonna talk to her?" She takes a sip of her own drink as Luka looks up at her, starting to feel a bit bad that he's making so many people worry about him today.

"I am…" Trailing off, he sighs and runs a hand though his hair. "…there's just a lot to unpack. You know?"

"You don't have to be so worried. She'll hear you out." Juleka's dark eyes seem to peer into his soul as she stares at him. "I know she missed you. She probably wants to talk."

"I know." He offers up his best smile, willing everyone to stop worrying so much. All in good time. Taking the hint, Juleka gets up, patting her brother on the back before walking away to join the rest of the excited bunch gathered in honor of the recent graduate.

Getting up, Luka knows he has to join in at some point. He wanted to be here for her today, so he should be present, even if large social gatherings aren't really his thing. It's just harder than usual to focus his energy outward when there are so many memories bouncing around in his head. Trying not to focus on how he'd felt and the things that he'd wanted to say before she left all those years ago, Luka heads into the chaos of the party.

The afternoon passes into evening quickly and one-by-one, everyone begins to file out. He and Juleka call out quick goodbyes before stepping out the front door onto the street corner. As they walk, he can feel his sister's gaze on him and sighs, knowing that he's in for a scolding.

"You still didn't talk to her, did you?" The disappointment is clear as he turns to look at her.

When he says nothing to defend himself, his sister lets out a deep sigh. "Luka…"

"Juleka…I appreciate what you're trying to do, really. But, this is something I need to work out with her on my own." He loves his sister dearly and is aware that she means well with her scolding, but this is one of those times he really wishes that she'd just butt out. His feelings for Marinette and how he chooses to handle them are his business and even the good intentions of others are unwelcome interruptions. Even when those people with good intent are family.

"Marinette is my friend. You're my brother. You've been in love with her for years now. I just want to see you both be happy." She pushes the purple locks aside, her dark eyes piercing through the armor he'd constructed around himself at the start of this conversation.

"I will figure things out," He tries again, unwilling to compromise on this topic, "You have to let me deal with it on my own though."

"If you're going to tell me to back off then you better start acting instead of just saying you will." His sister's point is solid. He is well aware that any protests he may want to toss back at her will fall flat. So he doesn't, choosing instead to resume his pace from a few moments ago without even attempting a response. The late November breeze rustles leaves scattered about on the ground and Luka shivers, goosebumps raising up on his arms. Juleka, who lagged behind a moment after the abrupt ending of their conversation jogs to catch up with her older brother. "Look, I get that you don't want me bugging you about this anymore. So, I won't. But I remember what you were like after she left, and I don't want to see you drag your feet for another seven years. I'll only get off your case if you get moving. Life's short."

As if Luka needs another reminder of how fleeting and fragile human existence is. The memories of their own not-too-distant struggles are a constant reminder of just how close everyone is to the edge at all times. The two walk home in a neutral silence as Juleka texts Rose and Luka begins to contemplate an entirely different conversation he knows he needs to have with the blue-haired fashion designer.