AN: Will be at the very least attempting to write and post a new chapter daily! Writing as I go along, we'll see how that turns out. Today started with only 3 hours of sleep so this may be edited at a later time.
"I'm going to go catch up to Alya and Nino. See you guys later!" Marinette waved as she exchanged looks with Adrien, before walking off the Liberty. The boys waved back, calling their goodbyes out to her.
Luka and Adrien were left alone on the deck of the ship, the others having either already gone home or were downstairs.
"So what do you need to talk to me about, Luka?" asked Adrien curiously but pleasantly.
Luka sat down where their friends gathered to watch their practices and motioned for Adrien to do the same. "It's about Marinette," he began as Adrien sat next to him.
"Marinette? What about her?"
"What do you think about her?" Luka asked directly.
Adrien looked extremely puzzled. "I think she's great. Very kind, always wanting to help others. Very talented too. A very good friend, probably the best friend a person could ever have. Why?"
A very good friend huh?
"I'm asking because I'm wondering if you've ever thought of Marinette as anything more than a very good friend," the words hung heavily in the air. The cheeriness in the blond's expression faded.
"Uhh," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck nervously and swallowed. "I can't exactly say that I haven't…" he responded without looking Luka in the eye, his voice pitched from the uncomfortable topic.
Luka laughed, easing some of the tense atmosphere. "Don't worry Adrien, you can tell me about it, or not. Whichever you prefer, I'm simply curious is all."
Adrien visibly relaxed. "But aren't you two...you know... together?" he motioned with his hands, as if his index fingers were Marinette and Luka, and brought them together.
"No, not anymore. Things didn't really work out with me and Marinette, so we've agreed to just be friends now."
"Oh," Adrien stared down at the deck floor. "I'm sorry, Luka. With Marinette, I mean…" he began, sounding unsure whether or not to say what was on his mind. But Luka gave him the feeling he could say anything and it wouldn't matter, he wouldn't be angry or disappointed with him. "...I've had people point it out to me before, liking Marinette, I mean. Kagami when I first met her asked if I liked Marinette. Sometimes our group of friends will tease me here or there about her. And a...friend of mine, he - well he's commented about her and I a lot."
"So other people around you have asked you this before? Do you think maybe they're seeing something you can't?"
Adrien looked pensive as he stared at nothing in particular. That was a good question, were they seeing something he didn't?
"Have you ever on your own, thought about her in a way that was more than just a friend?"
"Well...I once got a reply back to a poem I wrote in class. I threw it away so I don't know how someone actually read it. At first, I thought it was Ladybug who replied to me, silly right?" Adrien looked back down at the ground with his back hunched over, his tone gruffer than usual. "But then I noticed that the handwriting on the reply poem, and the handwriting on a post-it note Marinette left on some homework she dropped off...they looked exactly the same. So I wondered briefly if the poem could be from Marinette. But then I realized, of course she wouldn't actually be in love with me, and she had you, so…." he trailed off.
Now it was Luka's turn to look confused. "Wait, Adrien, why wouldn't it be possible for Marinette to love you?"
Adrien was silent a moment as he gathered his thoughts, trying to figure out how to word it right. "Because she's our everyday Ladybug. And I'm… nothing special."
Luka could tell he really believed that to be true. So the problem here may not be Adrien not ever liking Marinette, but him believing she would never like him because of his self doubt. He found it intriguing that Adrien saw Ladybug qualities in Marinette.
He gave Adrien a pat on the back. "You're very special, Adrien. I think you know deep down just how special you really are, most people just can't see it. I'm not one for gambling, but I'd bet Marinette can see."
He smiled. "Thanks, Luka. You really think so?"
"Yes, I do. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. The reason I'm asking you about her is because I know things have been bothering you lately, and I've noticed that you look at Marinette quite often when you've hit your lowest notes to feel happier, so I thought maybe you needed someone to help you clear up your thoughts a little."
"Do I really?" he stopped and thought it over. "Yeah, I guess I do. She's such a warm and bubbly person, it's hard not to be happier seeing her." Luka watched his expression become warmer, only for it to harden again, wiping his smile away.
"There's something else, I don't know how to explain it right. And it's probably nothing, but with Marinette, I feel more protective of her than anyone else, be it to protect her from harm, or to ensure her happiness. I don't really understand why I feel so strongly about her in this way," he chuckled, "but she's really important to me. I've always thought this was how you were supposed to feel about your friends, but thinking about it now, maybe it really is more than that and I just didn't want to see it."
"Because of Ladybug?"
Adrien nodded, but his eyebrows bunched together and his eyes looked as if they were screaming out in pain for him.
"You know what, Adrien? You may feel like you're stuck playing a tragic song right now, but your song isn't over yet. It'll become happy and beautiful, you just need to get through the rough chords first to get there."
-x-
"Hmm," Marinette hummed thoughtfully at her desk, a pen in her mouth as her hands moved fabric through her sewing machine.
She wondered how their talk went and if Luka was alright. She wanted to text them to see but something told her it was best to leave things as they are. The desire to figure out however was very distracting.
"Guardian, when will I have my very own Miraculous holder?" Ziggy, the Goat Kwami wondered softly by her left ear. "I hear all the others talking about how wonderful it is to have one, so I thought... maybe I could have one soon?"
Marinette's expression softened. She removed the pen from her mouth and held out her hands. The Kwami didn't hesitate and sat adorably in her palms. "I know you've been feeling left out Ziggy, but your time will come. We just haven't needed your special ability yet, but with Shadow Moth becoming more powerful, I know it's only a matter of time. Just be a little more patient, okay?"
Ziggy nodded. "Okay. Ooh I wonder who my holder will be!"
"That's the spirit!' giggled Marinette. She watched Ziggy join some of the other Kwami's who decided to play with some of the objects in Marinette's room. Some of the most mundane items kept the Kwami's giggling and occupied for hours.
As she turned back around in her chair to continue working on one of her sewing projects, her phone pinged. She grabbed her phone from the other side of the desk and opened up the message. It was from Alya.
"Akuma just appeared near the Grand Paris Hotel!"
She sighed. There just never seemed to be enough hours in the day! "Looks like there's another akuma. Tikki, spots on!"
