07 October 2020

Prompt: Cliff

Character/Pairing: Dingo King (OC), Luka Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine; Lukanette, Bringo

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Notes: *maniacal giggling* Hey I'm throwing dumbasses off cliffs today~

"This…is a horrible idea," Luka mutters, blue eyes glancing uncertainly over the ledge.

"This is a fantastic idea," Dingo insists. Behind them, Juleka snorts.

"No, Lu's right," she says. She's a good ten feet behind them, phone raised and camera at the ready. "This is a horrible idea, and if the ocean doesn't kill you Penny, Mari, and Bri will all be in line to."

They all know Jagged won't. If he knew what they were getting up to, he'd be right there beside them. If he didn't push them in, he'd definitely be running ahead of them. But Penny? She's definitely going to freak. Marinette, too. Brielle…Brielle will care, eventually. When she's done being mad.

"The ocean is our friend," Dingo scoffs like he's an oar-wielding Disney Daughter of a Chief Not Princess. "Boat Kid, remember?"

"You're going to die, and I'm going to laugh," Juleka deadpans. She wags her phone at them. "And I'm recording it all to play at your funerals."

It almost gives Luka pause, because he thinks of blue eyes and a dazzling smile and thinks he's maybe not ready to die yet. It doesn't make Dingo hesitate at all, because they're young and reckless and what else are you going to do in Hawaii if not cliff jump? Wasn't that an unwritten rule – or, better yet, he was pretty sure it was law. When you're young and stupid and crazy and find yourself opening for Jagged freaking Stone in Hawaii, you have to throw yourself off a cliff.

Dingo doesn't make the rules.

He just follows them.

…sorta. The fun rules, at least. Rules that stipulate he has to throw himself off a cliff when he finds himself in Hawaii.

"You know you wanna," he whispers to Luka, who just frowns as he looks over the cliff at the waves crashing down below. It's not really that far of a jump. He's made worse, in and out of his super suit. He can almost hear the hissing laugh from his hoodie, even though he's only dressed in swim trunks and Sass is twelve thousand kilometers away back in Paris. It's almost challenge enough, and Luka thinks his kwami would give him untold levels of hell if he doesn't. About as much hell as Marinette will give him if he does.

"I really do," Luka sighs, grinning back at him. He glances over his shoulder, where Juleka is still smirking at them with her camera raised.

"You jump, I jump, Jack," Dingo says, peering over the ledge one more time with a crazed little grin. Luka's eyebrows soar.

"Did you just…" he starts, shaking his head in baffled amusement, "…did you just quote Titanic at me?"

"Nah," Dingo says, snorting as he leans back. "Gilmore Girls."

"That's not any better," Luka scoffs, "and I'm pretty sure they were quoting Titanic."

"Whatever," Dingo says, and the next thing Luka knows their arms are linked and Dingo's taking a running leap towards the edge, hauling his ass behind him. "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!"

"Oi!" Luka cries, not intentionally completing the chant as Dingo jumps and they both hurtle over the edge. "Oi! Oooooiiiiiii!"

The water is cold and clear, and they hit it with an almighty splash that almost covers up Luka's scream and definitely covers up Juleka's laugh. His throat and chest burn as he takes in a lungful of the sea, but years of experience kick in and he's pushing himself back towards the surface in a moment, breaking through with a gasp that turns into a cough as he bobs in the water. Dingo pops up beside him a moment later like a freakin' mermaid or Michael Phelps, whooping and hollering with his arms thrust into the air. Luka cuts his arm through the water, splashing his friend as he settles beside him.

"A little warning next time, jackass!" he snaps. "At least let me take a breath!"

But Dingo isn't the slightest bit sorry, and he's already swimming back towards the shore.

"Come on!" he calls, and Luka groans as he sets off after him. "We have got to do that again!"

– V –

The video goes viral, much to Luka's chagrin. Well. The second one does, but that's only because Jagged had found them and joined in. Penny had chewed them out when they got back to the hotel, and she flips Jagged off when he tries to serenade her with an apology at the show that night.

Luka isn't so lucky. Or maybe he's more so.

He gets back to his hotel room to find Marinette sitting on his bed, feeding a granola square to Kaalki. She's furious when she sees him, and all he can do is laugh nervously as he waves. She crosses to him in a handful of strides, grabs the hoodie she keeps begging him to throw out, and pulls him to her in a harsh kiss.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Couffaine," she bites, and all he can do is nod a little helplessly, dazed as he is by her kiss. "Hawkmoth's gone. Our days of near-death experiences are supposed to be over."

"Aye, aye," he says, and he doesn't argue when she pulls him back in for another bruising kiss.

(…Dingo isn't so lucky. Brielle's seen the video – both, and how could she not when Juleka personally tagged her and Marinette in them? – and she's pissed. She won't answer his calls, and Marinette refuses to take him back with her when she returns home. Inkki also refuses to waste his Astro Power-up on such a frivolous endeavor, so Dingo suffers through Hawaii, and California, and halfway to New York before Bri answers his text messages again.

BG: You should have smashed your damn head on the rocks, dumbass.)