Disclaimer: I don't own any Ladybug characters or the song I am referencing for this fic. Set after Wishmaker in S4, but there are no direct spoilers for the episode. Please read at your own discretion if you have not seen it yet!

**Author's note at the end**


It had been a few months since Marinette broke up with Luka. Even though she was still good friends with him, a part of her still felt the guilt of not being able to tell him the truth. He had always been so kind and supportive of her since the day they met, but she couldn't risk another person knowing she was Ladybug.

Or at least that was her initial reasoning to break up with Luka but she found herself struggling with the breakup more than she thought she would as more time went on.

Marinette would catch herself remembering the sadness behind Luka's smile when he told her it was ok that they had to break things off, and she would feel a pang of regret in her chest. But Luka remained the same gentle and understanding person he had always been.

But all of her emotions were becoming more conflicted. Especially when she found out that Zoe had started to have feelings for him.

Zoe had often hung out with everyone on the Liberty when Kitty Section was having their band practices. When Marinette was late to the first performance of a new song that they were working on, that was when it really cemented everything she was hearing from her friends about them, after seeing it with her own eyes:

Zoe was standing by Luka with his electric guitar strapped around her shoulder. He had his hand wrapped loosely around hers on the neck of the guitar, while his other hand guided hers in a casual strum of the chord.

It wasn't that long ago that that was her in Zoe's place and she didn't understand or like that it made her feel upset for some reason.

Marinette also heard Alix make a quiet remark about how they looked pretty cute together to the other girls. The unintentional stab in her statement made Marinette curl her fingers into fists and she excused herself for a moment even though she had just arrived.

After that day, she would see Zoe walking together with Juleka and Luka to school at least once a week and it ate at her. To the point that Alya started noticing that she eventually asked why she was being all weird about them. Marinette had to air it out to her best friend.

"What about Adrien? Wasn't he part of the reason why you broke up with Luka?" Alya asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, sort of. Ugh! I don't know why I feel this way either, I'm just as confused as you, Alya."

"Well, by the look of things, Zoe is only going to get closer to Luka. And you haven't spent much time around Adrien lately because of your Guardian duties. I know it doesn't help much, but you should think about what you're feeling if you want to do something about it."

Alya's words still weighed heavily on her mind. When she got home from school, she dropped her backpack onto her bedroom floor and then made her way out to look out on her terrace, Tikki floating close behind her.

Marinette leaned against the railing and sighed. "Tikki… I just don't know what to do."

"It's okay Marinette. You don't have to know right away. But like Alya said, if you want to do something about what you're feeling, you should do something."

Marinette let out another sigh as she continued to look out into the distance that oversaw the nearby park. Seeing the people of Paris going about their days, happy and safe was always a bit relieving and calming to her.

She watched for a few minutes and just as she was about to think about heading back to her room, she saw a distinct shade of blue hair walk through the park and he wasn't alone.

Luka was with Zoe. She couldn't make out their faces too well as they were too far, plus their backs were now turned to her, but Marinette still felt a stinging pain in her chest. She wanted to run back into her room and not have to see them together but she couldn't take her eyes off them. She regretted not leaving though, because the next thing she witnessed; the two of them stopped in their tracks and Luka stepped forward to give Zoe a hug. He then placed a kiss on her forehead and that caused a switch to flip in Marinette that made her tear up and she rushed back into her room.

Marinette didn't even hear Tikki call her name, nor did she hear the worry in her voice. The only thing Marinette heard next was her Ladybug alarm going off.

It was time for her patrol with Chat Noir.

Tikki's concern doesn't go unnoticed now. "Marinette, maybe you should just leave it to Chat Noir today."

Marinette lets out a breath and puts on a brave face. "No, it's better this way. I won't have time to think about anything but the patrol, so let's go Tikki. Spots on!"

oOoOoOo

With the sun setting, it gives Paris a spectacular golden glow amongst the darkening blue sky. As Ladybug, she and Chat Noir finish their patrolling early and they decide to meet back at their rendezvous point.

"Well, that couldn't have gone any more purr-fect. Wouldn't you say so milady?" When Chat doesn't get a response, he becomes a bit more serious in his tone. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, but if we're done here for the day, I'll be heading back. I have things to do." She can tell that Chat doesn't believe her but for once, he doesn't pry.

Chat gives a sad goodbye before jumping off first into the distance with the help of his stick, while she jumps off in the other direction.

On her way back home, the sound of an acoustic melody by the wharf stops her in her tracks. The tune pulls her in and while getting just close enough to find the source of the music, she realizes that it was Luka playing.

"Ladybug?"

The calm and rustic tune had stopped and the blue-haired teen was staring at her with a somewhat surprised but gentle expression on his face. She smiled sheepishly at him from being caught listening in without permission. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your playing, Luka."

"It's no big deal. I just wasn't expecting to have an audience." Luka chuckled softly and then continued to strum the melody he was playing. "Out on patrol today?"

"I just finished actually," Marinette kept her distance while walking along the railing to stand more in front of him. "But when I heard your song, I couldn't help but feel pulled in to listen."

"I'm glad you seem to like it… it's a pretty simple song."

Luka continued to play, letting the melody fill the distance Marinette had put between them. As she listened, Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, and forced the rest of her breath out of her nose, hoping that it would help relax her more.

Marinette couldn't keep denying all the tumultuous feelings within her if those close to her were beginning to notice. She wanted to be in a relationship, but she was finding herself too busy for romance since becoming the Miraculous Guardian. She was known to be head over heels in love with Adrien Agreste, but every day it felt as though Adrien was moving farther away and out of her reach and she was always nervous or felt anxious around him. Then there was his growing closeness with Kagami.

And then there was Luka. Here she was after a day of patrol, basking in the soothing comfort of Luka's presence again. He was always there for her and she was always comfortable with him. With Luka…things were easy and she never had to guess how he felt towards her.

With her eyes closed, it made listening to the sound of Luka's guitar that much clearer as it resonated in the air. It was as if each pluck of its strings untangled a knot of stress Marinette was feeling within her mind and heart. She thought of nothing but of how the song was easing her somehow and without thinking, she spoke. "Even though it's simple, this song is really beautiful, Luka. I don't know if I can describe it right, but it feels like I'm being given hope."

After those words came out of her mouth, the music stopped playing again and Marinette felt her heart drop immediately and her eyes shot open. Did she just offend him? She hoped that wasn't the case. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him again.

Marinette spun on her heel to face Luka, arms flailing and ready to apologize but Luka just smiled. Albeit, she saw a flash of surprise leave his expression before he chuckled.

"It's alright Ladybug," he said reassuringly. "You're not wrong. That melody is meant to sound hopeful, like a wish."

Marinette felt the tension in her body lessen, but she felt a little proud that she was able to interpret the feeling that Luka had intended with his music. But why would he be playing such a song in the first place? He should be happy now that he was with Zoe, and Marinette knew better than most people that Luka expressed himself better through music rather than with his words.

Her mind was racing a mile a minute with questions, and jumping back and forth between conclusions as to what Luka could be trying to convey, that she didn't realize that Luka had stood up and was standing next to her. And as if reading her mind, Luka prompted her instead. "Got something on your mind?"

Marinette jumped back slightly once she realized he was next to her. "What do you mean?"

Luka turned to look at the sunset sky over the water. "Most people tend to really connect with music when they're also feeling the same emotions a song is trying to convey. So, I figured you had something on your mind." He looked back at her, "If you wanna talk about it, I'm all ears."

Marinette laughed nervously as she thanked him for his offer, but she was really considering talking to him. He was always very level-headed, but she knew she had to be careful on how to word what she was feeling when the thing on her mind was Luka himself. But maybe being Ladybug would help her cover herself. "I guess… have you ever felt like you started seeing someone differently?"

Luka gave her a blank stare and Marinette knew that look meant he was a bit confused. She felt even more embarrassed, but she wanted to know his feelings. Apart from her wanting to know if Luka was really happy with Zoe or not.

If he was happier with Zoe than he was with her.

"I mean like… when you see someone and they seem to be happy with someone else but there's just this weird feeling you get because you want to be happy for them but then a part of you feels guilty because you realize that maybe wanted them to be happy with you instead?" Marinette tried to choose her words carefully as she spoke, but she couldn't help but feel like she ended up speeding up her speech as she went on. "Sorry, I hope that made sense."

Luka seemed a bit surprised, but then he smiled back at her in understanding. "Don't be sorry… but I think I know exactly what you mean."

"You do?" Marinette watched as he simply nodded his head and then looked back out towards the water. If he knew what she meant, then what did that mean in regards to him and Zoe? "I guess I'm a little surprised. I had the impression you were dating Zoe Lee since I would see you two together on my patrols sometimes," she forced a chuckle to try and cover her lie.

"I suppose that's how it could look," Luka said and then shook his head lightly. "But that's not really the case. Zoe told me about her feelings for me, but I turned her down. We're just friends."

"O-oh." Marinette could feel her skin crawl under her suit and she wanted nothing more than to kick herself in the back for being so dumb and for saying something so insensitive. "I'm sorry Luka, I didn't mean to—"

Luka gave her another reassuring smile. Marinette wished he would stop that sometimes. "I did say that I knew what you meant before, didn't I? There's someone I really care about too, and though we're not together anymore and I miss her, I haven't given up on her."

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. Was Luka talking about her then? She had to look away when she felt the heat flare up in her cheeks. She didn't want him to see Ladybug blushing at something like that. "She must mean a lot to you then," she said a bit plainly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

There was a silence between the two of them for a few moments and in her peripheral vision, she saw the silhouette of blue disappear from her side, which made her turn to look at the empty space where Luka stood next to her. He was out of sight at that point; he went behind her again and then she heard the same tune that he was playing before. But instead of feeling calmer from the song, she felt the heat rush back to her cheeks again as she felt she was able to connect to the message it was trying to convey: Luka's wish to be with someone again someday...

With Marinette.

With her.

As if a nail in her coffin, Marinette felt like she was suddenly hit with a sense of confirmation in that maybe she should try to talk things out with Luka.

"Music can really help you understand what we might be feeling. So don't be afraid to explore those feelings when you really connect to a song." Luka chimed in, in the middle of her thoughts. She turned to face him this time and saw that his eyes were closed as he continued to strum his guitar so elegantly.

She smiled and she knew he was also saying that her taking the time she needed to figure things out at her own pace was always going to be an okay answer. "Thank you, Luka. For listening to me."

"You're welcome… Ladybug."

With a wave goodbye and a soft call out of her signature tagline, she waved Luka goodbye and he stopped playing to wave back as she threw her yo-yo out into the distance and zipped away almost instantly.

When Marinette got home, she de-transformed in her room and Tikki materialized out of her earrings and into her hand. She pulled out a macaron from a box on her desk and as Tikki took a few bites, she looked at Marinette.

"How are you feeling?"

Marinette sighed as she walked towards her bed and slouched over a bit. "I think I need to think about it some more."

Tikki finished the macaron and flew towards Marinette. "You should listen to your heart, Marinette. I will always believe in you and the other Miraculous do too, no matter what you decide."

Marinette held her hands together and Tikki landed in her palms, receiving a quick kiss from her. "Thanks, Tikki."

oOoOoOo

The next morning Marinette meets with Alya in front of the school steps and she sees that Zoe, Luka, and Juleka are walking together.

"Marinette?" Alya calls out to her but she's distracted.

Luka waves his sister and Zoe off and he sees Marinette and smiles at her.

"Alya you go on ahead okay? I'm… going to talk to Luka real quick." Marinette runs off before Alya can say anything and meets Luka.

"Hi, Marinette. Shouldn't you be heading off to class?"

Marinette crosses her hands in front of her before she looks back up to meet his eyes. "Luka… would you… like to come over to the bakery after school today?"

Marinette feels her face getting hot but she feels the cool touch of Luka's fingers brush against her cheek briefly before dropping his hand back to his side and smiling. "Of course, I would."

END


a/n: Hi! This is my first fic in a LONG time and the first story for this fandom (so please don't be rude). It's something I wanted to write on the side of another Ladybug fic I've been working on for a while (not posted yet).

I also wanted to quickly address, if there was any confusion, that I wrote out this story from Marinette's perspective, even when she was Ladybug, on purpose. Her conflicted feelings for Luka and with Luka knowing her identity, he obviously sees Ladybug and Marinette as one and the same.

Also, the song that I had in mind/am referencing for the title of this fic is from the FFXIII-2 OST, called "Tomorrow's Dream" because I love that game/song and the vibes felt right for this moment. I do think that listening to the song while reading(or re-reading ;) ) Luka and Marinette's talk is nice, but it's not required.

I hope you enjoyed the story! I hope to publish my other story sometime in the future!