Chapter Nine: The Ouroboros
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It was the last night of the school year and it should have been an easy, stress free evening. Unfortunately, Nadja Chamack had texted Marinette and begged her to babysit Manon for a few hours. There was a last minute interview the reporter needed to record.
Coloring books were strewn about Marinette's attic bedroom while the young girl, Manon, fluttered from one project to another. Marinette tried to read a few stories — normally Manon was a big fan, but this time nothing seemed to please the girl. She'd been very upset about her mother cancelling their plans for work.
So when Luka sent Marinette a text to check on her, she asked if he'd come over.
Luka: Hey, Mari. Miss me already?
Marinette: So much! Feel like helping me babysit a rebellious, hyper seven year old?
Luka: I feel like using any excuse to be around you. Are you home?
Marinette: Yes. Please, help!
Luka: Be there in fifteen.
She had a seven year old charge that needed to be entertained for the next two hours. And like the superstar boyfriend that he was, Luka had hurried over to Marinette's house and was ready with his five-string guitar to woo and impress even the most prickly of hearts.
"But I don't wanna color anymore, Marinette! That's boring and I don't want to listen to one of your stories! I've heard them all before!" Manon's tiny fists flew to her hips and she glowered across the room at Marinette. "Why don't we go to the park? I want to ride the carousel!"
"Your mother asked me to watch you here, Manon," Marinette explained patiently. She was starting to wish she'd told Nadja she couldn't watch Manon, but she really felt for the reporter. She'd always been helpful to Marinette when it came to how Ladybug was portrayed by the media. It really was kind of flattering to be trusted to watch over the local celebrity's only child— even if Manon could be a bit much. She'd scared off other babysitters, but Marinette was a very stubborn woman when she needed to be.
The trap door to her bedroom began to be pushed open and the familiar sight of Luka's black and blue hair sent Marinette's heart racing. "You made it!" She cried, hurrying over and opening the door the rest of the way for him.
"Hi." Luka grinned and leaned down to kiss Marinette's cheek. All the while, Manon had dropped what she'd been playing with and stared at the teen with an open mouth. "You must be Manon. Marinette has told me all about you. I'm Luka, Marinette's boyfriend.".
Manon's eyes grew wide as she continued to stare at Luka and then at Marinette. "You have a boyfriend?"
Marinette's cheeks were pink from the kiss and she felt a little flustered by the easy sign of affection. She still wasn't used to it. She moved to sit on the edge of her bed and patted the spot next to her. "Would you like to sing? Luka plays the guitar."
He pulled out the chair to Marinette's desk and plopped it down in front of the bed, his knee brushed against Marinette's. He held his guitar across his lap and looked over at Manon. "Do you have any particular songs that you like, Manon? Personally, I was always a fan of the 'Going on a Lion Hunt' song. Do you know that one?"
Manon hurried to sit next to Marinette, tucking her legs under her and leaning forward eagerly. "I've got my binoculars!"
Luka chuckled. "That's the one." He smiled at Marinette. "How about you, Mari? Do you know this one?"
"I can look it up on my phone." Marinette started to reach for her phone, but Luka caught her hand. "Not necessary. Just listen to me, there's quite a bit of repetition. You two will pick it up in no time."
"We're going on a lion hunt, going to catch a big one. I'm not scared!" Luka strummed his guitar in a simple melody and began the repetitive song.
They spent the next two hours in quiet company — singing, coloring, and then they'd read a couple of those books that Manon had heard a million times before. Because she hadn't heard Luka read them — so that made them different.
When Nadja picked her up, she was disappointed to leave. "I don't know how you manage to always keep her so happy."
"I don't," Marinette protested. "But she's a good girl. She just wants to spend more time with you."
Nadja send Marinette payment for her babysitting efforts electronically through her bank. "I think she might have a bit of a crush on your boyfriend," she whispered. They both glanced over to see Manon staring up at Luka with stars in her eyes.
"I can sympathize," Marinette whispered back.
"What were you two talking about?" Luka asked, his hand splaying over the small of Marinette's back as they watched the Chamacks drive away.
"Just about mine and Manon's mutual crush over you," Marinette said, looking up into his turquoise eyes. "Maman and Papa should be home soon. Their catering gig should be wrapping up."
Luka turned Marinette to face him and he closed the door. He held a hand on each of her hips and braced his forehead against hers. "Would you like to make out before they get home?"
Marinette's arms looped around his neck and she smiled up at him. "I thought you'd never ask."
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It was a quiet night on The Liberty. Luka had finished packing his suitcase, his backpack, and his five-string guitar was secured in its carrying case. Jagged had offered to fly Luka and his friends from Paris to London in his private jet and from there they'd take the train to Inverness. He and Marinette would be staying for the whole two weeks. Adrien would be there for a long weekend along with Chloe.
"Jules, are you sure? It's a castle and there are beautiful places to hike. It's like a faery wonderland. Just think of all the musical inspiration a place like that can evoke! Are you sure you don't want to come?" He couldn't help but try to convince his reticent sister to join in the adventure.
Juleka shook her head. "You're the song-writer, Luka, not me." Once it was known that Chloe would also be part of their trip, she wanted nothing to do with it. "Rose has a part-time job at a cafe, I'd like to stay in Paris to be near her."
Luka wanted to argue more, try to encourage Juleka to join them.
There was an alert going off on their cell phones. An Akuma alert had passed. "Well, I — uh, I'm going to call Marinette. Make sure she's okay," Luka said, flashing his sister a quick smile. "See you back home?"
"Yeah, I'll go check on Rose," Juleka murmured quietly. "See you at dinner."
Once he was tucked away in his bedroom, Luka summoned Sass. With his lyre strapped to his back, he hurried off to join Ladybug and Chat Noir against whatever trouble was plaguing Paris that evening.
It turned out to be a familiar, reoccurring Akumatized victim.
Throughout the battle, Luka only used Second Chance one. It had been a toddler who was denied a lollypop made into a giant whom wrecked Paris with its monstrous size. Ladybug had put everything to rights before long.
"Pound it!" Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Viperion bumped their fists together.
Without thinking too much about it, Viperion slid his arm around Ladybug's waist and pulled her against him for a hug. He didn't miss the narrowed green eyes of their feline companion. He probably shouldn't have been so affectionate with Marinette in her alter ego, but he couldn't resist her. She was just too damn adorable, especially when her lucky charm ended up utilizing a giant mobile with cute little stars and flowers that spun around the angry toddler's head and hypnotized him.
"Sometimes, I just wonder what he really wants," Ladybug confessed. "Hawk Moth. If we found out what the wish he's trying to achieve and explain how such a wish will cost something of equal value - I'm sure he'd understand."
"Maybe he lost someone he loves," Chat Noir suggested, stepping to Ladybug's other side and looping his arm around her neck. She returned the gesture and angled away from Viperion. "But to bring back someone you love, the wish would take away someone else you love.'
"The person that would be brought back would be miserable knowing that their life was returned at the cost of someone else," Ladybug added. She ducked out from under Chat Noir's arm and started to take a couple of steps away from the other two. "I've got to head back. I still need to meet up with Rena Rouge and Carapace to give them their Miraculous. Just send me a message if you need anything else," she said gesturing towards her yoyo before she started to swing away.
Viperion and Chat Noir both watched her swing away through the alleys of Paris, disappearing into the distance obstructed by buildings.
Chat then started to leap up the Eiffel Tower, coming to a halt on scaffolding secured to the side for routine repairs. Viperion followed after him.
"It's not right, Viperion," Chat said, leaning on his bo-staff and peering down at the older youth.
"What's not right?" Viperion asked. He adjusted the lyre across his back, resisted strumming it, and stared out into the distance from their vantage point.
"I don't think you should be flirting with Ladybug," Chat explained. "It's not fair to Marinette."
Viperion arched his eyebrow at that. For a moment he thought Chat was being ridiculous, but then remembered that Adrien hadn't made the connection that Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. Whenever he did, the timeline would have to reset. At least, that had been the case previously. Luka conspicuously slid his bracelet into the timer position in case this conversation went south. Which, it likely would. "Because you have feelings for Ladybug?"
Chat twirled his staff and walked along the ledge of the scaffold precariously. He had amazing balance in his superhero form, though Adrien had impressive balance in his normal form as well from years of fencing. "Because you're supposed to be the perfect boyfriend for Marinette and she's my precious friend. And here you are flirting with Ladybug when you know how I feel about her."
"Adrien," Luka said, catching the boy off guard momentarily using his real name. "Ladybug and Marinette are the same person." He waited for Adrien's head to explode. He would use Second Chance in a little while, but he wondered if there was a way for them to know each other's identities without everything going straight to hell in a hand basket.
Chat lost his balance momentarily, but readjusted and nimbly settled into a crouch, his green eyes wide in shock. "But, I love Ladybug and you love Marinette." He frowned. "You said we'd found out before and it always ended poorly. Why are you telling me now?"
Luka held up his wrist with the ouroboros bracelet. "I'll rewrite this moment in time. But I want to understand some things better."
"I tried to use the ouroboros bracelet before. Thousands of re-writes and I couldn't get it right," Adrien confessed. "I still have nightmares of that battle. I remembered every single time and nobody else did."
"Sass remembers. I remember all my times too. You're meant to be the cat," Luka agreed. "Though, there have been times when you and Marinette have swapped powers and you'd both been good in the alternate roles too. You're always yourself when you're donning powers. I rarely see this side of you when you're being a civilian version of yourself."
Adrien sat down on the scaffold, his legs dangled below him. "What do we do then? We both love the same girl, but two different versions." He bit his lower lip. "And then, there's the weirdness between the two of us," he gestured vaguely between them.
"Weirdness? You mean the fact that you have a crush on me?" Luka asked gently.
Adrien's cheeks burned crimson under his mask.
"It's not a big deal, Chat. I care about you too. If you don't mind, I'd like to try something before I go back in time," Luka suggested. This was probably a bad idea, but he needed to know. Luka loved Marinette. And he knew that Marinette loved him. But, in spite of how much she would deny it now, she still loved Adrien. It was just an idea, but Luka needed to know if there was any chemistry between him and Adrien. He'd never felt particularly swayed by anyone's gender when it came to interest. And honestly, before Marinette crossed his path that day on The Liberty, no one had ever caught his eye.
"What?" Adrien asked, tilting his face up towards Luka.
Viperon cradled Chat's cheek in his palm and leaned down, brushing his lips against that of the other boy's. It was different than kissing Marinette, but it was no less sweet and affectionate. He opened his eyes to see Chat's eyes closed. They snapped open — a look of confusion and longing. "I can work with that," Luka whispered, nodding his head.
"What do you mean?" Adrien asked, frowning and reaching up to rub his fingertips over his swollen lips. "I won't risk you hurting Marinette."
"I won't," Luka promised, then he swiped his bracelet. "Second Chance."
"It's not right, Viperion," Chat said, leaning on his bo-staff and peering down at the older youth.
"What's not right?" Viperion asked. He adjusted the lyre across his back and stared out into the distance from their vantage point.
"I don't think you should be flirting with Ladybug," Chat explained. "It's not fair to Marinette."
"You're right. I won't do it again," Luka promised. He'd intended for Adrien to try and focus on befriending Chloe, helping to heal the broken girl so that she'd stop contributing to Paris' terrorism. But, maybe that was the wrong path to take.
Luka rubbed the back of hand over his un-kissed lips, but the memory was still sharp. Maybe the reason Marinette and Adrien always imploded was because they needed a balance— someone to stabilize them. Perhaps Luka was the glue needed to allow such transparency.
"Are you all packed up?" Luka asked, bracing his shoulder against one of the support beams of the tower.
Chat nodded. "I have an entire trunk full of things for the semester as well as a suitcase for our holiday and my backpack."
"Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow, Chat," Viperion said, holding his hand in a salute and then leaping down from the tower.
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"Thank you so much, Jagged," Marinette said, clasping her hands in front of her chest and bowing at her waist in gratitude. Their luggage was stashed away on the private plane and they were soon to take off from Paris. It would be a very short trip — only a ninety minute duration.
"It's not a problem, Marinette," Jagged answered. "I would fly you all the way to the Highlands, but I'm afraid my Luka's grandmother abhors me. And I think his grandfather would rise from the grave to try to kill me." He grimaced. "They don't much care for how things went between me and Anarka."
"We really appreciate this, Dad," Luka added. He moved to Marinette's side, his arm slipped around her waist and gently encouraged her to straighten up again. "So the plan is in two weeks to fly out to join you on your tour?"
"Indeed. I should be done with America by then and in Brazil. Penny will make the arrangements." Jagged gestured past Marinette and Luka towards Adrien and Chloe where they were sitting strapped in to their seats. "Should you wish to invite your friends, I can make accommodations."
"Maybe just Adrien," Luka said quietly. "It would be good to get Juleka and Rose to fly out with us. Jules and Chloe don't get along. And maybe I can see if Ivan wants to come, that way all of Kitty Section would be there."
"Anything for you, my boy," Jagged said smiling down at Luka. He reached over towards Marinette's low pig-tail and gave it a gentle tug. "You be good, Marinette. I can't wait to welcome you into the family!"
"Dad," Luka said with a grimace.
"What? I thought we were trying to honest about our feelings, Son," Jagged protested. He grinned between the two of them. "I'm even working on a song about you two. I can't wait for you to hear it!"
After Jagged left, the teens all settled around each other.
"Mr. Stone isn't coming with us?" Chloe asked, watching as Jagged got off the plane.
"He has a flight to New York," Luka explained. He focused on Adrien. "Once we land, we can have your things for the trip transported with mine and Mari's for the train. We'll have three hours between our arrival in London and our train's departure. That should be enough time to get you two settled in to the dorms at the boarding school."
"Sounds like a plan," Chloe murmured, her tone bored as she stared down at her long, pink fingernails. Her gaze the drifted to Luka's hands. "Your nails! They're chipped! Let me paint them!"
"Uh, that's okay," Luka said, pulling his hands towards his lap and out of her sight.
Adrien reached into his backpack and pulled out the card game SkipBo. He placed it on the table between them. "I thought we could play some games to pass the time."
"That's a great idea, Adrien!" Marinette said, taking the cards and shuffling them before she started to pass them out. "I love this game."
Adrien smiled at her. "Me too."
"I don't know if I can play with Luka's nails being chipped. It's going to be distracting," Chloe complained.
Marinette leaned over and her lips brushed over Luka's ear. "It was your idea to try to win her over with kindness."
Luka let out a long-suffering sigh. "Very well, Chloe. You can touch up my nails." He moved from the table for his guitar case and opened one of the zip-up compartments where he kept the polish. He sat next to Marinette, his hip brushing against hers as he laid his hands flat on the table.
With a squeal of delight, Chloe began to paint his nails. Adrien, Marinette, and Luka all shared a confused look at the heiress' enthusiasm. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad having her tag along for the trip to the Highlands.
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