Luka stood up from his seat as the train began to slow. He pulled his suitcase, which he had been more or less living out of for the last three months, out of the overhead rack and held it close to him as he stood by the doors. Then, he picked up his guitar case as the doors opened, and stepped out onto the crowded platform.

"Luka!"

He heard Juleka shout from the other side of the crowd. She and his mother waved vigorously at him as he passed through the sea of commuters, and embraced him as soon as he came into reach. It had been a long tour, and he was happy to be home.

"Its so good to see yah, my boy!" His mother said, releasing him and looking him over closely. "Yer hair has grown out a bit, since we saw ye last."

"Yeah, it has. I'm gonna get that fixed soon." It was brushing his shoulders now, and was requiring more maintenance than he cared to expend on it.

Juleka took the handle of his roller board from him.

"Good trip back?" She asked,

"Yeah, it was. A bit busy around Amsterdam, but Tye said that was pretty normal."

Tye was the lead singer in the band he had been touring with.

"Where's Marinette?"

He hadn't meant the question to sound so desperate.

"On her way." Juleka assured him, "She got delayed by the Akuma attack in downtown. She should be here soon."

Luka smiled and nodded. "Delayed by an Akuma" meant far more to him than it did to his mother and sister.

"Let's step out to the street." Anarka suggested, "We can meet our Marinette out—"

"LUKA!"

Her voice rang out over the general commotion with exquisite clarity. As she took the last few stairs in twos, he closed the ten feet between them in a rush. He caught her up in his arms and squeezed her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're back." Marinette hummed, smiling up at him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." He said, pressing a kiss to her cheek warm cheek. "Heard you got a little held up." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah... an Akuma turned downtown into a literal jungle. The busses were all delayed."

"Well, lucky me Ladybug and Chat Noir got things cleaned up quickly."

"Oh sure, I see how it is!" Juleka said, teasing, "Well mom, I guess we know who he really missed the most."

Anarka swatted Juleka's shoulder and Luka rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Luka said, reaching for his sister, "Do you want a kiss too?"

"Solid pass." Juleka answered, squirming to get out of his grasp.

"Then stop complaining."

Luka ruffled his sister's hair, loving the way she swatted at his hands. He loved being back, having them there, hearing them talk and holding them close. Man, it was good to be home.

"Well, sonny, what are we waitin' here for?" Anarka said, "I've got lunch all fixed up at home, ready to be devoured by a tired rock-star."

"Sounds wonderful, mom." Luka said with a smile, "Let's go."

They left the train platform and exited onto the street. Luka listened to his mother talk with a wide smile. His suitcase pattered rhythmically across the sidewalk.

They arrived at the Liberty within 15 minutes, and wasted no time getting to lunch. They ate and caught up with great merriment. Many stories were told, and many laughs were shared.

After a while, Luka rose from the table and stretched.

"I'm gonna take my stuff to my room, and start a load of laundry." He said, casting a look to his suitcase in the corner of the kitchen.

"I'll help you." Marinette offered, rising from the table and clearing her plate.

Luka nodded, and the two of them carried his things into his room.

"Oof." Marinette remarked, looking carefully at the state of Luka's guitar case as they entered his room. "This thing really has taken a beating. You're gonna need a new handle." She sat his guitar case gently down on the floor.

"Yeah, it got a bit rattled on the bus. My guitar is perfect though, so it did it's job."

Luka looked around his room and collapsed onto his bed. It was so much better than the creaky hotel beds he'd been laying on.

"You look exhausted." Marinette said with a gentle smile, "Why don't you get some rest? I can handle laundry."

"As touching as that would be," Luka said, clasping her hands in his, "My mother would never let me forget it if I took a nap while you did my laundry."

He rubbed her hands in his own and planted a kiss on her knuckles. Her hands were soft and smooth against his lips. He smiled as Marinette looked down at him, and in a sudden decision, he tugged her down beside him with such force that they both landed flat on the bed. She giggled as he cuddled her close and took her captive in his arms. He felt he truly could take a nap then, with his arms clasped firmly around her waist—

"Marinette." He said suddenly with concern as he sat up. "Have you lost weight?" His hands planted themselves firmly on her waistline, as of to measure the difference from what he remembered.

"Just a little." Marinette said, hesitantly, removing his hands from her waist and taking them into her own. "The new job keeps me busy, and I don't always have a chance to grab lunch."

He pulled her close again, burring her nose in his neck. He kissed the top of her head, and released a sigh.

"Marinette." He whispered to her, "You have to take care of yourself. Your body is under so much stress already, if your not eating then—"

"I'll whither away to dust along with Paris." She stated, pulling away with a small smile. "But who are you to talk? I can tell just by looking at you that you lost weight while you were gone."

"Yeah, but I'm not a toothpick of a woman whose 'community service hours' burn more calories than a 5k."

He was scared for her, and she knew he had good reason.

Marinette brushed Luka's cheek with her thumb and stared straight into his eyes. "I'm okay, Luka." She assured him. "I'm okay."

He kissed her then. He poured everything he didn't have the words to say into it: how much he missed her, how much he worried over her, how much he loved her, how relieved he was to hold her tightly again, and how much she worried him in that moment. When he pulled back, the pair of them huffed for air, their lips swollen and their cheeks flushed.

"I'm glad to have you right here again." He whispered, letting his forehead press against hers. "I missed you so much."

Marinette hummed a note in an odd tone.

"You've missed a shower or two as well."

Luka tickled her for that comment, earning him a ruckus of laughter in return.

"Go get cleaned up." She told him, when the had subsided. "I'll take care of laundry. If Anarka asks, I'll tell her I left you no choice."

A wink, a smile, a passing kiss on the cheek. She shooed him out the door with a change of clothes in his arms, and set to work on his clothes.

Juleka and Anarka watched with a smile as Luka marched to the bathroom.

"I wasn't kidding, you know." Juleka said to her mom with a smile, "We really do know who he missed most."

I'm not sure what i want to do with this story from here. I'm marking it as complete, but if you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know!