#au: Dread String of Fate

[mc-lukanette]

hi i just read all of the dread string of fate au and i'm totally OBSESSED... what a huge brain premise!!! thank you for all your lukanette love <3

fghdkjhgdfg thank yoooou! >/////<

I’m glad my huge brain is being put to good use.

[mc-lukanette]

Maybe Tumblr ate it but I wanted to tell ya! The band the Crane Wives has a song called Steady that has the line"this ring around my finger is like a chain around my throat, and are you so sure you tamed me?" (Honestly not one of their greatest songs I'd recommend basically anything else for your first listen of them) but it reminded me of your dread string of fate au.

Oooo, that’s good! I can see why it reminded you of it.

It makes me happy knowing that people are thinking of that AU even outside of actually reading it~

[mc-lukanette]

Here’s Dread String of Fate, up on AO3 for everyone’s enjoyment now that it’s complete~!

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8]

—————

Much to Luka's relief, there were no further issues between Marinette and the red string as time continued to pass. Much like with the pictures, it seemed that fate had limitations; lines and restrictions that even it couldn't go beyond. His best guess was that it could only fight Marinette so much without getting worn down, leading it to the state it was in now after its desperate attempt to stop her from breaking away from Adrien.

He shuddered whenever he thought of what it'd be like had he never known about destiny's effect on her. Marinette may have given up on fighting fate altogether, convinced of what was meant to be without actually realizing what that meant, and he - being none the wiser - would've blindly encouraged it. The song sheet would've been changed to fate's liking, and they would've both played along without a single thought being given as to how things were being changed.

But as things were, they could fight back, and the extra help he'd provided was enough to override the push that fate had against her. They could test its limits together, and Luka couldn't be prouder of Marinette for being strong and determined enough to tackle something that she hadn't even been aware of, at least not consciously. It was as Sass had said - that it was up to the person as to whether or not they could overcome it - and in that respect, Luka really shouldn't have been worried about anything.

That being said, the string wasn't gone exactly. It was severely damaged, of course, but it remained uncut and acted as a constant reminder that things weren't over yet. So long as the string was still around her neck, it would heal and continue to do whatever it could to lure Marinette back into the relationship that it had chosen for her. Luka also knew that, unfortunately, this would be where his usefulness ended.

The rest was up to Marinette. He'd helped so far, but she was the only one who could get rid of the string for good.

He believed in her.

It was about a week after Marinette's confrontation with Adrien that Luka's phone chimed, indicating that he had a text from Marinette. He lifted the device and peeked at the message, reading,

M: Hey, I want to talk to you in private.

M: It's nothing bad, I promise!!

M: Maybe a little heavy, but not bad...

M: Got any ideas for a place?

His brows rose, both in surprise and curiosity. They'd talked about things before "in private," but it was the first time she was asking to do so directly; all other times had been by the natural flow of the conversation. His mind wandered, wondering what she could've possibly wanted to talk about.

Not that it mattered though, as his answer would be the same regardless and he replied accordingly,

L: Mom and Jule are out for the day. Meet you on the Liberty, on the part of the deck with all the plants?

The response was almost instantaneous.

M: Sounds good! I'll meet you there! <3

His heart briefly leapt up in his chest at the completely unprompted heart she'd sent. He swallowed, staring down at the screen for a moment, then realized that he was leaving her on read by not doing anything. She even seemed to be typing, as if to apologize for it.

After a few taps, he'd sent back a quick '<3' and the typing on her end stopped. He'd reassured her.

Abandoning his phone on his bed, Luka blushed and wandered aimlessly around his side of the bedroom, purposefully letting his thoughts drift away from the heart and to what Marinette might've wanted to talk about.

She was clever - that much he was certain of - and while the possibility was there that she'd somehow figured out about the red string, her assurance that it was "nothing bad" put that concern to rest. Kitty Section seemed equally out of the question for the opposite reason; it wasn't something that classified as particularly "serious" or something that required a private discussion.

As he walked, Luka caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye and glanced over, seeing the shawl Marinette had given him resting on his amp. He caught himself smiling just at the sight of it, any thoughts about the what or why of their meet-up vanishing as he walked over to pick up the shawl.

He put it on, chuckling to himself at how Marinette might react seeing that he was still happily wearing it, probably freaking out because it was broad daylight and he was already wearing three layers on his upper body without the shawl. Honestly though, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't know if he had her "permission" to wear it consistently, he'd happily adjust his look to give her no right to complain about it.

Picking up his guitar along the way, Luka headed for the upper deck to await Marinette's arrival.

—————

Luka had barely gotten partway through a new tune before he heard the distant, familiar rhythm of Marinette's footsteps. Having been sitting on the flower-patterned couch above deck, he looked over his shoulder to see Marinette heading towards the Liberty. He set his guitar aside and got up a little quicker than normal, heading out to meet her halfway. It was only once he actually got to really look at her that he paused, noticing the blue fabric around her shoulders, and she must've noticed the pink version on him too given how she stopped.

She was wearing her shawl as well. He'd planned to surprise her, but this...

Part of him noted that he should've expected it.

"Hey," she greeted with a light wave, her eyes flicking down to his shawl.

"Hey," he greeted in return, and just as softly.

They traded loving smiles, her crossing the gang plank and him putting it up after the fact to prevent anyone from coming by or interrupting them. He then turned and saw her peeking out from the greenhouse-esque area of the deck, her hips wiggling as they made eye contact before she hurried off deeper into the Liberty. He grinned, growing even more curious at her intriguing mix of enthusiasm and what was either eagerness or nerves.

Following after her, he saw her sitting there on the flower-patterned couch, seeming incapable of staying still as she rapidly patted her lap. The red marks from the red string's effects had faded a while ago, and he was happy to see that the string - while closer to her neck than before - hadn't seemed to affect her as of late.

It was the only unfashionable thing she wore. Everything else was utterly gorgeous, though he may've been shamelessly biased.

"Sorry," she said, waving a hand vaguely at herself. "I thought maybe it might be better if I waited, but then that just made me impatient, and I didn't want to think up a plan because I'm so sick of plans and I know I can do it without them. I'm not really nervous - I mean, of course I'm not, it's you - but I'm still me so—" She waved both hands for effect.

He chuckled happily. "There's nothing wrong with you being you, Marinette." He walked over, sitting down next to her with a reassuring smile. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Right! Yes..." She pumped her fists up, then turned away from him to take a breath. Rubbing the back of her neck, she explained, "It's a lot of things, actually. I've never had someone who knew my—you know—but now that you do, I had a lot to think about about everything and where I'm supposed to go from here."

He merely smiled and let her ramble, given that she seemed less anxious and more processing.

She looked back at him, continuing, "I debated forever on maybe pretending like I wasn't talking about you to make it easier, or going into this big speech about everything that happened to try and warm up to it, but then I thought about it and I realized that I didn't need it because of the me I can be around you and no one else. You're you and I'm me and I..."

She trailed off, her gaze dropping down to the cushion, or at least that's what Luka thought before he saw her shift and move her hand over. He glanced down, following the movement to his own hand resting on the cushion, and his heartbeat picked up as her fingers slid underneath his palm. She raised his hand and held it as if it were something fragile and precious, her other hand coming up to rest along the back of his hand as well.

The smile dropped from his face at the change in atmosphere, which turned immensely intimate as he looked back up, coincidentally at the same time that she did. They made eye contact, Marinette's gaze intensely fond in a way that had him swallowing.

"...I like you, Luka," she whispered, pulling his hand closer to her. "I really, really like you. I'm in love with you."

To say Luka's heart skipped a beat would've been an understatement. The band stopped, the amps were unplugged, the stage lights blew out, and he was left in hypothetical darkness outside of the single spotlight focusing on the only member of the audience he cared to give attention to, her gaze giving him just as much in return. He could only blink at her, struck silent for any lyrics he could muster in the moment.

She, meanwhile, continued bashfully as if she hadn't already overwhelmed him, "I wanted to be sure before I said anything, but—I have been sure for a while. I don't even know why I haven't been sure for longer, but I am now and that's what matters," She gave him a soft look, eyes half-lidded and fond. "A lot happened ever since the school year started. Hawk Moth started sending his akumas, I got my miraculous and had to start being Ladybug, and suddenly I have so many people around me—" A half-hearted chuckle escaped her. "—for better or for worse."

She took a deep breath - Luka was a little jealous, he was pretty sure he hadn't breathed in the past minute or so - then she let out a sigh, smiling contentedly and staring down at the hand she was holding. She brushed her thumb along the back of it, which to him felt like a caress directly to his heart.

"You're the best thing out of everything that happened, Luka; the best thing that ever could've happened. When I imagined the best friend I wanted by my side when I was little, they were so much like you: thoughtful, caring, patient, and with every bit of respect I'd ever want." She blushed beautifully, adding with a shyer tone, "I'm just lucky enough that I fell for you too."

Her lips pressed together, seemingly in thought, and then she gently placed his hand back where it'd been before. He stared at her, still riding an emotional high but confused by the sudden lack of contact.

"But... I-I also know that it'd be really hard to date someone with a job as a superhero. I'm really thankful for everything you said to me that day - up on the Eiffel Tower - but even if you felt the same way about me, it's not fair of me to ask—" She made a vague gesture. "—that, of you. I didn't get a choice in being Ladybug, but it's something I have to deal with to keep Paris safe. I wouldn't want to force you thought the same thing just so I can date you."

He frowned, recognizing the conflict in her expression. She'd clearly been thinking so much about this, even with no plan, and she'd even seemed to make peace with this idea.

"Besides—" She smiled at him in reassurance, even though it was a little bittersweet. "—your friendship means everything to me, Luka. I wouldn't ask you to wait until I'm not Ladybug anymore, or put yourself through dating someone who might have to run off even if you'd know why. I don't like what being Ladybug took from me, but... just being here, and being so close to you, is enough. I don't need to date you to love you."

The reminder that she loves him shouldn't have sent his heart on another ride, but it did, though simultaneously aching at the fact that she was still cautious with relationships. He wasn't surprised exactly, given all the complications and disappointments she'd dealt with, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

She was putting Paris over herself again, willing to set aside her own happiness if it meant not "bothering" anyone with how she felt. It was a trait he loved and hated at the same time, because he would've eagerly frozen Paris in time for a day or two just so she could sleep for a night without worry over having to wake up to an akuma attack that she'd need to stop. Had it been her desire for them to wait, then he would've happily done so, but she was sacrificing herself again.

And that was not happening.

The resolve helped him find his voice again, his hand reaching over to rest on hers as he began, "Thank you, Marinette, for everything. For telling me, for feeling out my song when no one else could, and for trusting me all this time."

She ducked her head, becoming a bit shy at the gratitude, but she was smiling.

"My feelings haven't changed. I'm in love with you too." He chuckled at the way her eyes darted back up in surprise at that, but his mouth dropped to a frown to make it clear that he was serious. "And I don't want you to give this all up for anything, not even Paris."

She frowned in return, puzzled at first and then looking like she was ready to argue with him. "L-luka..."

"Even if it wasn't me that you wanted to be with, I'd be playing the same tune. I want you to be happy no matter what, and you shouldn't have to let go of anything for someone else." He squeezed her hand. "Don't you think you've done enough for other people?"

She opened her mouth, but stopped when his gaze urged her to genuinely consider his question. She looked away, brows furrowed, and seemed to debate with herself before she asked in reply, "I can't. It...it'd be selfish to—"

"Marinette."

She made eye contact with him, and he brought her hand to his chest to make his conviction on the subject clear.

"You know I don't like to ask for things from anyone, but please, be selfish," he pleaded. "No one can play your instrument but you, and if you think you need to be selfless for me, then don't, because I've wanted this for so long." He felt her stiffen in shock and continued without hesitation, "Not just being with you, but seeing you do things for you. I'm not afraid of Hawk Moth, or what we'll have to do to make everything work. I'll do anything because you're worth it, Marinette, and I want to." His voiced lowered, lingering somewhere between hope and promise. "Do you want it too?"

He could tell that a part of her had wondered about getting this far, but - like him - hadn't actually thought they'd get there. The fact that she'd honestly been so bundled full of energy just at the idea of confessing to him, while expecting nothing in return, made his heart do another flip in his chest.

Finally, Marinette's shoulders eased, her hand adjusting in his so she could squeeze it, returning his earlier gesture. He smiled at her, then let go of her hand when he felt her pull away.

It didn't stay back for long. She beamed at him, her arms thrown forward as she dove for him. "Yes!"

There was an audible 'snap' when she moved, but if she'd heard it at all, she didn't seem to care about it. He was in a similar boat, grinning wide with his eyes closed as he returned her hug. She was somehow even warmer than usual, and her hair tickled his ear when she buried her face into his shoulder, a happy noise escaping her that he hoped to hear more of in the future. There were definitely talks and plans to be had concerning the future, but they were officially a couple now and they were content to live in that moment.

Then, just as Luka thought that was all his heart could take, he opened his eyes and caught sight of a familiar shade of red, though not on Marinette's neck like one might expect. It was there, on the floor of the Liberty, not stretching far enough even to reach them.

It'd broken.

He gaped at the sight, blinking rapidly and feeling out with his senses to ensure that it was indeed the red string laying on the deck like that. His grip on Marinette unconsciously went slack in his surprise, and Marinette let out a confused hum before putting her hands on his shoulders and pulling back enough to look at him.

"Luka?"

His eyes dropped to her neck, still in disbelief and needing to make sure that what he was seeing was reality. Indeed, the string had been undone, and there was no evidence that it'd been there at all given that the marks had healed. He was in a daze, placing a hand on her shoulder while his thumb brushed along the skin where the string used to be.

It was really gone. She was free.

Marinette tried to follow his gaze, still puzzled, then peeked back up with a hint of curiosity in her expression. "Is there something on my neck?"

His heart swelled with emotion. Breaking out into a wide, elated grin, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back in to continue the hug they'd broken before.

"No," he whispered in reply, his voice nearly cracking from the sheer relief he was feeling.

Marinette didn't understand - she couldn’t, really - but she took his joy for what it was and squeezed him back without complaint. They stayed like that for a while, the world slowly coming back into focus but the moment remaining strictly theirs. The wind rustled the leaves from the tree nearby, the cars and buses drove along far off in the distance, and a bird perched upon the rainbow weathervane to chirp idly, the noises trying but failing to compete with the sound of Marinette's relaxed breathing.

There was nowhere he'd rather be.

—————

After both not enough and too much time hugging, they'd retired to the lower deck of the Liberty. It wasn't exactly a place for a "normal" date - even in comparison to their one-chair cuddle on her balcony - but the superheroine of Paris and her "born into chaos" crush didn't exactly fit into normalcy, and it ensured that they'd stay in their one-on-one time.

They practically danced around each other in the kitchen, Luka getting drinks and Marinette grabbing snacks. It reminded him of the time that she'd wanted to talk to him about everything that'd happened to her, only now the mood was lighter and they were writing quite the song.

They settled their things on the counter, then took seats next to each other on the barstools. It was pure bliss and he couldn't stop smiling, nor could she judging from her expression.

"S-so..." Marinette began daringly, drumming the fingers of one hand on the counter while the other hand brought a snack to her mouth. She put the whole snack in, chewing slowly in an apparent attempt to give him time to mentally prepare for whatever she was thinking. Then, she swallow, asking, "Am I your girlfriend now?"

Luka snorted, not caught off guard but amused by how polite the question was. While he slid his drink closer with one hand to take a sip, he used the fingers of the other to drum on the counter, both replicating and replying to the little tune she'd made earlier.

"If that's what you want," he replied easily, then shrugged with one arm. "We don't have to be anything right away."

"No!" she insisted. "I mean... I want it." She gestured between them. "I want to be your girlfriend. I just didn't know how—um—official you wanted to be?"

"Thank you for thinking about me." He smiled warmly at her. "I'm in this with you at whatever tempo you want to play. I know our song will be amazing no matter what."

She shifted in her seat, blushing faintly, but wordlessly accepted the answer.

Unable to help himself, he asked in return, "Am I your boyfriend?"

"Of course," she said, averting her gaze from him and waving him off bashfully.

He chuckled giddily.

"A-and besides, I have a few... ideas now."

"Ideas?" he prodded with a grin, leaning towards her to make his curiosity known.

She glanced back at him, obviously trying to contain herself, but grinned as well and spun in her seat, facing opposite of the counter as she spread her arms out. "I was just thinking—!" She paused for effect. "—because I was so worried about having to run off as Ladybug if I was dating you, but maybe I don't have to! I mean, I still would, but you could come with me!"

His brows raised. "As Viperion?"

"Yeah!" Despite her excitement, she grew a little shy and settled her hands on her lap. "I'd probably have to work something out with the guardian, but—I think it'd be nice. You could be there, and then when everything is over, we'd go off together like I'd be taking your miraculous, but then we'd just... head back to our date?"

He took a moment to absorb the scenario, imagining the incredible chaos of it all, then sighed with a fond smile. They were barely a few minutes into dating and her mind was already racing with ideas for how to make everything work.

He wanted to hear it all.

"That'd be great. I'd love that," he assured. Then, after a second of thought, he asked, "What about Chat? He won't be bothered by it?"

He didn't mean it, of course, and his tone said as much. Marinette's love life was none of Chat Noir's business, and it wasn't as if they'd be dating within the mask. Any jealousy Chat'd feel would be baseless.

Marinette frowned, turning in her seat to face Luka fully. It was hard to tell if she'd taken his teasing seriously or was building up to something, but she nonetheless replied, "I didn't choose Chat."

Her hand reached out, Luka watching it to see her rest it lightly upon his. His eyes darted back up to meet hers again, noting the soft yet intense gaze.

"I chose you," she whispered, her conviction on the matter clear and without room for discussion.

He opened his mouth to reply, perhaps to say that he chose her too or that he was glad to be chosen, but all the came out was, "Marinette..."

Her eyes sparkled as if he'd said everything anyway with just her name, her fingers twitching against his hand. He turned his own over so they could hold hands properly, and the atmosphere shifted to something even more intimate than before.

Marinette looked away, covering her mouth with the back of her hand to suppress a giddy fit of giggles, then met his gaze again. "Ah, Luka... can I—"

"Yes," he responded immediately, knowing the melody before she'd even sung it, simply because it reflected his own.

She beamed at him, tugging his hand towards her, and he leaned in to meet her halfway. They tilted their heads, eyes lingering open just long enough for their lips to meet, at which point nothing else mattered but enjoying it.

Luka had never believed in soulmates before seeing the red strings connecting people together, and even then, his beliefs hadn't entirely changed. The relationships people crafted with each other were so much more important to him than something that destiny had strewn together without anyone else's knowledge. He didn't fall for Marinette based on that, nor did she for him, and even their first meeting was entirely by chance, with everything afterwards progressing solely through their own choices and wants.

And that was how it should be; how it would always be for the two of them. They chose each other, and destiny had no power over either of them.

[mc-lukanette]

I really do enjoy your Dread String AU, and it's really inspired me to sort of take a look at the concept of soulmates as much more of a psychological thing, for good or for ill, both within and without the MLB fandom. I think part of it is the assumption that everyone has a soulmate, which means someone has to be paired with truly toxic and awful people. Fate as an ambivalent entity which can so easily ruin your life is so cool, anyway thanks for inspiring me goodbye!

Thank you very much!

I really do enjoy twisting concepts around and stuff that delves into more psychological aspects like this are just--so much fun.

It also plays/”calls out” stuff that the show does, so it’s a two-for-one deal~

And if it happens to make people think, then all the better!

[mc-lukanette]

Can we have the Adrichat and Maribug fights from DSoF 👀👀

I considered it, but I’m determined to keep any written pieces restricted to Luka’s POV. It’s a teeeeny bit of salt on the show for not showing Marinette doing cool stuff on-screen (ex: Alya kicking her out and doing grimoire stuff in “Mr. Pigeon 72″ and Marinette making the Miracle box protector off-screen in “Gang of Secrets”), meaning that the only way for Dread String of Fate to “happen” is to switch perspective to Luka so Marinette’s allowed to do stuff.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7]

—————

In the privacy of an alleyway, close to the Seine but far enough from the Liberty, Luka explained everything.

"You sensed fate's presence?" Sass asked for clarification, hovering in place and looking over Luka with careful consideration.

Luka nodded. "Is it normal? I hadn't used Second Chance at all."

Briefly flicking his tongue out in what almost seemed like amusement, Sass replied, "Mm, you wouldn't need to for that. It wouldn't have mattered."

Luka blinked. "What?"

"It has nothing to do with you," Sass explained, easing forward and slowly circling him. "Your powers improving didn't cause that."

"But you sense fate?" Luka pointed out, confused as he turned left and right to keep his eyes on Sass.

"I do, but my holders don't get that ability for everyone. You would've been able to sense it from the start if the conditions were right."

He frowned. "What conditions?"

Stopping in place, Sass hovered and spread his arms out for emphasis. "She's tying herself to you."

Luka blinked, wordlessly asking Sass to clarify.

"Your friend is tying her destiny to you. That's why you can sense fate's influence on her now."

His brows rose. He paused, taking that in as his eyes darted around at everything but Sass. "But... that's not—that's not what I wanted!" he said desperately. "I wanted to free Marinette, not tie her to me!"

He nearly glared when Sass chuckled in response, upset at how nonchalantly he was taking it.

"Not having a fate at all is a fate in its own way," Sass explained, leaning back and giving Luka an amused look. When he blanked in response, Sass asked, "The string has loosened, hasn't it?"

Luka nodded.

"The less tied to destiny she is, the more she's allowed to choose for herself, and whatever that choice is, it involves you." With a flick of his tail, Sass added, "We're very sensitive to changes in what was meant to be. Fluff hates it."

"Fluff?"

"The rabbit kwami of time travel. Even if her holder goes back and changes things, we feel the disruption."

"So..." Luka hesitated, trying to make sense of what was being said. "I'm feeling Marinette breaking away from her fate?" Before Sass could correct him, he added, "But you said that I wouldn't feel anything unless..."

Sass grinned in approval, seeing that he'd been paying attention. "The less of a hold fate has on her, the easier fate's presence is to detect, but you're—" He paused, thoughtful. "...Your instruments."

"Huh?"

"You play music, don't you?"

Luka nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly. Music, now that was something he could make sense of.

"Think of fate as a song, and you're in the audience. If one of the musicians changes the way they're playing, you'd notice, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah?"

"But you wouldn't feel it deep down." Sass flew over to Luka's shoulder, laying down on his stomach while his tail brushed over where the lyre would be if Luka were transformed. "But Marinette isn't merely playing differently; she's playing for you."

Luka swallowed involuntarily at the mental image, his cheeks even heating up.

"You're sensing that," Sass explained, "so you're tuned to her."

—————

Luka went home that day with a mess of emotions swirling around in his head. He was undeniably happy that Marinette was indeed breaking away from fate (and the confirmation of that from Sass was nice), but he had no idea that he played a role in whatever she might do next.

His heart skipped a beat at the memory of the potential "date" on patrol, which was seeming all the more likely now even as he tried to bury his feelings for the sake of thinking coherently. He couldn't understand why Marinette would try and plan any sort of "date" with him as Ladybug, but she'd always been simple yet complex and trying to guess her reasoning wouldn't help him.

He fought with himself for a while, worried that he might've been manipulating her somehow. He hoped that being part of her "destiny" didn't involve everything he'd been doing concerning her red string. It felt like he was being deceptive, because Marinette didn't know about the red string or his involvement in breaking it.

He could already hear his mother in his head, rolling his eyes and telling him that he was overthinking it. It wasn't like him to do so either, but he didn't want to be selfish or have Marinette pick him just because of what he was doing.

He spent the day wondering and debating whether or not it was okay to continue on as things were. From what Sass had said, it wasn't like Marinette needed to tie herself to him - if she wanted to be alone in this, she could've done so - but it felt as though he was being rewarded when he didn't deserve it, or she was picking him based on actions he wouldn't have done if not for knowledge that no one else had. He'd expected an understandably-thankless job because Marinette couldn't know; what could he do now that he was being "thanked"?

Somehow, the idea that Marinette might just want him and it being as simple as that never crossed his mind.

He was just on his way home - still stuck in his whirlwind of thoughts - when an intense, indescribable sensation suddenly rushed through him. He halted, hunching over as a sharp hiss escaped him. He'd never felt something quite like it before, so profoundly unpleasant that he'd rather be in pain, but a part of him knew deep down what it was.

His fate sensing had triggered, even from a far distance. Something was happening to Marinette, and he had no idea what.

Shutting his eyes tight and taking a deep breath to try and ease himself enough to focus, Luka fumbled to grab his phone from his pocket. His hand shook when he tried to retrieve it, the phone slipping from his grasp and hitting the sidewalk below.

He knelt down and recovered it quickly, unlocking the phone and quickly navigating to his contacts. Marinette's contact image stared back at him, his thumb hovering over the 'call' button before freezing in place.

He remembered the tightening string from last night, as well as Sass' words. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he did know that he couldn't call Marinette out of the blue, as she could be in the middle of something. If he interrupted, it could only cause her problems.

He glared at the screen, frustrated by the conflict of what he could and couldn't do, but the guilt from earlier weighed in favor of not calling Marinette at all. He didn't want to do something solely because of the string, and an unprompted call would only make her suspicious.

It pained him to do so, but he got back to walking home as if the constant pressure in his mind wasn't continuously nagging him. It began to lighten after a few minutes at least, but it had unnerved him to the point where it'd be hard to focus on his music once he got home.

Then, just before he got there, the phone in his hand rang with Marinette's ringtone. Luka stiffened at the reminder of her and didn't even worry about how noticeable it might be that he picked up so quickly; he just answered it, needing to know what happened.

"Hello?" Unable to even wait for a response, he called, "Marinette?"

There was a pause, followed by a slow, shaky breath.

"...L-luka."

He held the phone with both hands as if it would provide further comfort. "Did something happen?" He knew the answer. "What's wrong?"

"I...I yelled at Adrien. We had a fight."

Luka paused, realizing what happened as he ran his fingers along his neck. He shuddered, recalling the sensation in his head and not wanting to imagine how bad it must've been for her.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know, I—" She took another breath. "—I'm sorry. I feel so bad."

He straightened, squinting in confusion at nothing in particular. "For what?"

"I just..." He could imagine her shrug in the pause she took even if he couldn't see it. "You spent all that time comforting me and making me feel confident and��and then it's like I used that as an excuse to get upset with him."

"Did you get upset with him for no reason?" he challenged, already suspecting the answer.

"W-well.... no," she admitted. "It—it was Lila, that girl I told you about who lies to everyone. She didn't really do anything new, I guess, but maybe I was just... sick of it. Adrien took me out before I could do anything, and we went back and forth, over and over, and he talked about how it was me and him and it reminded me of—" She sighed, half in frustration, half in defeat. "—a-anyway, I don't think we're friends."

"Oh." He knew she couldn't see the look on his face, but tried to turn his expression to something resembling sympathy. It was just hard to work up anything positive towards someone who caused his friend so much suffering, even if it was unintentional. "I'm sorry to—"

"No," she whispered. "I mean, I don't think we've ever been friends."

He went quiet at that, not knowing what he could offer in reply. She hadn't said much, but somehow he understood; in all her explanations of what had happened between her and Adrien, their meetings had often been forced by another or by the universe itself seemingly pushing them together.

Adrien didn't initiate, and she couldn't initiate without fate either humiliating her, setting her up to fail, or both. It all made sense, and though it may've seemed like a dropped bomb to her, she was clearly making peace with it.

He put a hand to his chest, as if to clutch his heart. "Marinette, you don't have to feel bad for that. I'm proud of you."

"Proud?" She sounded genuinely confused - like she wasn't used to the word being used on her - and it just made him feel all the more awful for her.

"You stood up for what you believe in," he told her. "You stood up to the guy who was the hardest for you to talk to. You wanted justice and that gave you power."

"But it hurt."

He winced, because he knew. "That's okay. It's... natural." It wasn't, but she couldn't help that. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did something amazing, and you're not any less of a person for losing your cool. It just shows how passionate you are."

She took a breath that sounded like she about to reject the compliment, but paused. "...I never thought about it like that." She let out a low, thoughtful hum, still absorbing the conversation. "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome, but I didn't say anything special."

"It's special to me," she said, her voice somehow soft but firm at the same time. "...Luka?"

He frowned, sensing the sudden hesitation in her tone. "Hm?"

"I—" She stopped, a frustrated noise escaping her. "Can you—are you free? But, I don't want to bother you."

"I'm not doing anything today," he promised. "Do you want me to come over?"

She seemed to be fighting with herself. Be selfish, he echoed in his head, unable to encourage her directly.

"No," she answered, but immediately corrected to, "I mean, yes, but—not now. Later this afternoon? Please? We can watch a movie, or play games, or I don't know, anything really, but... I need—"

There was a shift in her tone, like what she'd said didn't feel right to her.

His heart picked up in tempo as she whispered, "I really want you there, Luka. I have something I need to do first, and..."

She didn't finish the notes, but he knew the rest of the song based on everything else she'd said: I want to come home to you. No one else will do.

"Okay," he answered, his voice coming out a bit quieter than he would've liked. He spoke up, confirming again, "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Thanks," she sighed in relief, like she'd been anticipating a rejection. "I'll—I'll text you the time? And you text me back with the kind of snacks and drinks you like, okay?"

He covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle at the way she'd said it; making sure that he had something nice to munch on was apparently not a topic up for debate. "Alright. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah." Her tone lightened. "See you."

He heard a click, then the sound indicator that the call had been ended. He stared at the screen for a moment, the elapsed time blinking at him, then he stored the phone back in his pocket. He brushed his fingers along his neck again, dread forming in his stomach even though he knew what she was doing was inevitable.

His words and her experience with Adrien had given her confidence. She was planning to face Chat Noir next, and all he could do was silently wish her well.

—————

Luka already started to feel the uneasy sensation by the time he got to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't as bad as before, pulsing occasionally, pausing, and then coming back; honestly, knowing what it meant hurt worse than the actual sensation. He hadn't hid it well enough in his expression, as Tom and Sabine had been concerned enough when he'd come in that they'd offered him medicine, but he assured them that he was fine and would wait in the living room for Marinette to return.

As he ascended the stairs, he started second-guessing himself again. He thought about the fact that Adrien was Chat Noir and Adrien was probably already upset from his argument with Marinette, which would almost certainly make the confrontation between Ladybug and Chat more heated. Luka reminded himself that Marinette felt that she shouldn't know Chat's identity, and that this was the right thing to do.

But was it?

He slumped onto the living room couch, unable to ignore the feeling of selfishness crawling around his gut. He knew deep down that he had no ulterior motive, but the fact still stood that Marinette getting her string undone could only benefit him, and it was benefiting him. They were spending more time together—granted, it was time that he would've happily wanted to spend with her anyway, and would've certainly done so if she'd wanted it—

He sighed to himself, rubbing his face in irritation of his own indecisiveness. At the end of the day, he was the only one who could see the red string, and it needed to come off so Marinette could make her own choices and be free from it. He had no idea how Marinette knowing about the string would change thing, but it wasn't worth the risk. Maybe he could tell her, someday, after it was all over, but it didn't seem like a viable option.

It didn't stop him from hating the secrets he was keeping, however. He felt guilty, wanting to tell her everything just like he said she could always do with him.

But he couldn't.

Luka mulled it over as he sat there, humming a mindless tune when tapping it on the cushion proved to not be enough. The sensation had gone away after a while, so he knew it was only a matter of time until Marinette arrived. He just had to wait, and he didn't want the thoughts - that honestly weren't getting him anywhere regardless - to show on his face when she returned.

A half hour passed, and he'd resorted to meditation to clear his mind when the tune failed to help. His shoulders had eased, his head had cleared, and he was feeling better, even checking his reflection in his phone's camera to ensure that he looked acceptable.

Then, not too soon after he'd uncrossed his legs, the door floor open and Marinette's voice echoed through the room.

"Luka! My parents said you looked sick?!"

He turned his head left to glance at her standing in the doorway, but her footsteps were swift, taking her across the room along with the sound of a crinkling plastic bag that she sounded like she was fumbling with. Luka went to turn his head to the right, but his eyes ended up following Marinette's hand instead as it reached into the bag and started slamming down an assortment of supplies onto the table while she talked.

"I'm sorry I'm late since I know I gave you a time to be here, but Papa called and told me that you didn't look well so I went to get headache medicine, and then I realized that she didn't say that you had a headache exactly so I tried looking for basic cold medicine, but then I figured that maybe you didn't like taking medicine? Honestly, me neither, so I went to grab some tea instead for something that seems a little natural and healthier." She let out a whine as she released the now-empty plastic bag from her arm, adding quickly, "Please don't tell Maman that I cheat by using tea bags. It's our little secret, okay?"

Luka could only let out a breath at the onslaught of information, somewhere between amused and relieved that she still seemed somewhat normal. Her voice was a little strained, but she must've exhausted herself running.

Not wanting to be ungrateful or imply that she'd wasted her time by getting something he didn't need, he smiled and reached for the box of tea bags. "Thank you, Marinette."

"It's nothing, really! It was on my way back - um, sort of - since I had to go get us some snacks and drinks anyway, see?"

He heard the crinkling of another plastic bag, then looked up to see Marinette presenting it to him. Any reaction he could've had to it, however, was immediately cut off as he actually got to look at her.

The red string had shifted, the threads resting closer to her shoulders than her neck, the fabric of them frayed as if someone had run a knife across it, just enough to be noticeable. While he normally would've been happy about that, the place on her skin where it used to rest - right around her neck and spun around multiple times - was red, like it'd squeezed and choked her until it couldn't manage itself any longer.

Luka stood up almost unconsciously, reaching out to her neck and just barely managing to catch himself before he did something he wouldn't be able to explain. He acted like he'd been grabbed the bag instead, though Marinette shot him a concerned look when he didn't immediately say anything.

"Luka?"

"I can't believe you went through all this effort," he managed, not entirely referring to what she'd bought for them, "this is amazing."

She beamed at him, then set her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, clearly proud of herself. "Only the best for Luka Couffaine."

He was torn between blushing at the bold compliment and asking about her physical health. Ultimately, he found a middle-ground between the two, replying, "Thank you, but you deserve the best too, Marinette. I hope everything went alright with... whatever you had to do."

"Hm?" She seemed surprised that he'd remembered. "O-oh. Oh, ah—thank you. It was..." She made a vague hand gesture that didn't imply anything world-ending but didn't imply anything good either.

He mentally scolded himself, but couldn't help prying further. "And... you're okay?"

Her gaze softened. She appreciated his concern rather than being annoyed by it. "Yeah. Um—" She averted her gaze, rubbing at her neck with her free hand. She swallowed, explaining, "—my throat hurts a little, but I think I wore out my voice when I was arguing at Adrien." She flinched, then waved her hands at him, hurrying to assure, "B-but I'm okay! I don't want you to go home and you don't have to go home either, okay?"

Oh, Marinette...

He smiled at her, though it didn't stretch as far as usual. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Things continued smoothly enough after that, though Luka needed a few minutes to focus on anything but the supernatural marks around Marinette's neck. He had hoped that the string had lost power after they'd burned the Adrien pictures and it seemed to loosen, but supposed that it would be a threat to Marinette so long as it remained tied around her. She'd damaged it in some form, but it was yet another case of feeling like they were making progress but not knowing how to proceed further.

He only knew that the string needed off. Being worn out by her continued efforts wasn't enough.

Initially, Luka had felt bad for worrying Marinette so much when she'd thought he was sick, but as they had tea together and sorted through the various snacks she'd brought, he realized that it served as a welcome distraction from Marinette's taxed mind, which had been worn down from arguing with the person on the other end of her string. She still looked tired from it, but she was more at ease.

He desperately wished that he could ask in more detail how it went with Chat, or that she'd trusted him to be Viperion and hang nearby so he could've been there for her on both sides of the mask. However, he also knew that she could handle herself, and he didn't want to be overbearing. He just wanted to do what he could for her, even if he always hoped that he could do a little bit more.

They fluctuated for a while over what to do. Marinette tried to pick out a movie at first - having to set aside some that were in a language he assumed to be Chinese - and they looked through the final assortment they'd put together before she ended up dismissing the idea entirely. Luka could guess why when she muttered something about an unpleasant memory that featured her in her pajamas.

They tried doing video games next, but the only things he could compete with her in were rhythm games, and co-op quickly devolved into giggling fits as they figured out puzzles at the same time or targeted the same enemies, which definitely wasn't what they'd been supposed to do but they had fun anyway. Board games seemed like the obvious next choice, but after playing together, versus each other in something almost felt wrong.

All the while, they slowly nibbled and drank away at the many snacks and beverages they had set out. They couldn't bring themselves to eat or drink just one when all their favorite options were available to them, making the table look more reminiscent of the Liberty on a... well, typical day.

They sat around after that, Marinette making herself almost too comfy on the couch as she rested against the arm of it. She was pouting somewhat, clearly taking their activities very seriously.

Then, her eyes darted over to the balcony, and she bolted up in her seat. "Oh! I know!" she exclaimed, but stopped herself just as quickly and frowned. "Um, wait..."

"What is it?" he asked encouragingly, making his curiosity known.

She glanced at him up and down, like trying to gauge something, then rubbed the back of her head. "W-well... you already live on the Liberty. I'm sure you see it all the time."

He hummed questioningly with a tilt of his head. "See what?"

She waved a hand at the balcony doors. "The sunset? It's—" She blushed, ducking her head and clearly regretting her comments. "I thought it might be nice to watch the sunset together? On my balcony? But—"

Not willing to let her doubt herself, he ignored the skip in his heart to interrupt her. "I've seen the sunset from the Liberty, yeah, but I'd loved to see it with you too."

"H-huh? Why?" she asked, unsure. "You already..."

"Playing a duet is much different than playing solo," he replied with an easy smile, "and this is a melody I'd really like to play with you."

He didn't even get a chance to worry that he'd come on too strong; she lit up and immediately turned to grab a tray to use to carry all of their snacks.

He was happy to help.

—————

Even after they'd taken all the snacks and drinks up to the table on Marinette's balcony, it took Luka a minute to realize the seating options available to them.

Or rather, the lack thereof. The lounge chair was just there, as if basking in its own singularity. Luka looked over at Marinette, waiting for her to notice, but she seemed taken with checking over the tray they'd set on the table and making sure that everything was moved around to look nice.

Not that he'd mind sharing a chair with her, but it made sense to him that it hadn't been considered; they'd been focusing on other things.

When she finally turned to him, she blinked at him standing firmly in place. Her gaze drifted to the lounge chair nearby, then him, and then back to the lounge chair.

"O-oh! Um—"

Ah, there it was.

But then, she shifted, twiddling her fingers as she peeked up at him. "You don't want to?"

Luka blanked.

"Just—on the Liberty, we were—and then there was—" Her mouth briefly shut. "—so I thought you were comfortable...?"

He was still processing the fact that she'd honestly thought of sharing the chair with him. The way she said it, it made sense because they were basically cuddling on the Liberty, but that wonderfully chaotic mix of bold and shy that Marinette was exuding was frankly overwhelming him.

Was this the power of the string loosening?

"I was," he confirmed. "I just wanted to make sure you were sure."

"I'm sure!" she insisted, and without even an ounce of hesitation.

He turned immediately so as to not let her see the faint blush on his face. He took the couple steps over to the lounge chair, then debated with himself before sitting down and trying to position himself as far off to one side as possible, thus allowing Marinette to rest on it however she wanted.

She stepped forward, looking over him and the chair like it was a complicated puzzle in one of the games they'd been playing, then settled herself next to him, rolling onto her side to make eye contact with him.

Luka stayed completely still, fingers twitching while resisting the desire to cuddle her like they had that one night, but Marinette ended up making the first move. She hovered her arm over his chest experimentally, giving him a questioning look as if asking if it was okay.

For him? Yes. For his heart? No.

Nevertheless, he threw caution to the wind and nodded at her, feeling her arm against his chest as she snuggled against him. His fingers twitched again, but he knew he had permission this time to do something, provided that this wasn't a crazy dream he was about to wake up from.

He slid his arm underneath her, Marinette shifting when necessary until he was in a comfortable enough position. Successfully getting his arm around her back, she hummed lowly and snuggled further against him, now undeterred by the arm she would've been pressing on had he not moved it.

He looked her over, wondering just what he did to be blessed by such an experience; not just cuddling with Marinette, but seeing her comfortable and actually relaxed. She even seemed like she could fall asleep with him there, and honestly, he wouldn't have minded.

Though, the thought brought him back to how they'd gotten there, or at least what he'd been thinking about before she showed up. They'd gotten this close because of the red string, which had made him want to help her out of the knowledge that stepping back to leave her to Adrien was doing more harm than good.

Something he probably should've realized even without the string, actually.

"Luka?"

He stiffened, then mentally scolded himself for doing so due to how suspicious it was. Marinette, however, seemed to already be concerned for him, her brows furrowed in worry.

"Is everything okay?"

His mouth wouldn't open, even his expression completely stiff. To her understanding, he'd felt unwell in someway, had acted strangely when he first saw her, and now was getting lost in his own thoughts instead of lost in the moment with her.

He didn't want to lie to her. He hated lying to her, and his brain was struggling to come up with a half-truth that would convince her, knowing all too well how much she cared about him.

"Sorry, Marinette," he offered. "I didn't mean to worry you so much."

It wasn't technically an answer. Marinette frowned, though at least didn't look outright upset with him. She shifted, then propped herself up, her arm still on his chest but the hand attached aimlessly roaming around the fabric of his jacket.

"...Luka."

Her tone was mixed between hesitance and seriousness.

"Yeah?"

Her fingers touched the lapel of his jacket, her thumb brushing over it a few times as she prepared herself to say whatever was on her mind. His eyes wandered everywhere, from the almost affectionate touches to the fabric of his clothes, to the marks along her neck unseeable to everyone but him, and to the thoughtful expression that didn't direct an ounce of disdain his way. It was a private moment for just the two of them.

When she eventually opened her mouth to speak, he caught himself holding his breath.

"...I know that you know," she admitted, "that I'm Ladybug."

Luka's brows shot up in shock as he gaped at her. She'd—she'd known? Not only that, but she was so confident in that thought that she said that she was Ladybug to him directly?

He stared at her, half-expecting his silence to make her second guess herself, but it never happened, and he managed to collect himself just enough to ask, "How long have you known?"

She inclined her head back, trying to think, but answered vaguely, "Not too long? Um, definitely not as soon as you figured it out."

He supposed the time it happened didn't exactly matter, but nevertheless, he felt bad.

"I...I'm sorry that��" What? That he didn't tell her? That he was obvious enough in whatever happened that got him found out? "...I didn't want to—"

"You didn't want to stress me out?"

He blinked at her, seeing that she'd figured him out again.

She giggled. "I mean, it was you, so... I knew you wouldn't keep anything from me against me, and—" She inclined her head the other way, eyes fond as if she were reminiscing. "—it gave me time to think about it, so it was easier than you just telling me."

"You're okay with it?"

"Mhm." She nodded affirmatively, then let out a breath as she sank back down against him. "I guess... ever since—"

She curled the hand on his chest into a fist, then raised it up and spread her fingers out as if to indicate fire.

"—my head's been a lot clearer. I got to think more about everything, and even though it was a surprise realizing you knew and I might've panicked for a while..." She shrugged as best as she could while laying against him. "I was also really glad it was you. If anyone had to know, I would've wanted it to be you."

He relaxed, a smile slowly forming on his face as he ran his hand along her side. He already knew that she was strong, but now she was proving to be even more so.

She let out a content hum in response. "That's part of the reason why I faced Chat today."

"Mm?" He guessed that the other reason had to do with their talk as Ladybug and Viperion.

"I told him that I wasn't in love with him, and how I couldn't be sorry for it because my feelings are mine and I just... I'm tired of apologies. He got upset over it, and I realized how scared I always was to really talk to him, because the other times he got upset didn't go well at all, and everything else just—came out. I didn't want to feel like I had to feel bad for feeling, and I didn't want him to flirt anymore because I don't like Paris deciding who's best for me. It's..."

He hugged her against him, making sure she felt validated in the decision. She reciprocated, squeezing him back with a blissful sigh. They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying each other despite the important topic at hand.

Marinette glanced up at him when the embrace eased, and she studied him for a moment before asking, "What is it?"

He chuckled, supposing he'd have to get used to her reading him even more now. "Just... what gave me away?"

He suspected that it might've been something he'd said, or perhaps an unconscious gesture of some kind that she'd taken note of, but whatever the actual answer was, it caused Marinette's cheeks to turn pink. She lowered her head, averting her gaze and mumbling some form of an answer into his chest.

He was surprised by the shyness and tempted to ask her to repeat herself, but didn't want to push his boundaries at risk of her turning the question back on him.

After a few seconds, Marinette lifted her head up again, taking in a deep breath of air like she'd breached water. Offering him a shy smile, she explained, "Your look."

"My... look?"

"I only really noticed it recently," she admitted, "because of being Ladybug, but... you didn't used to look at her—well, me in the mask—like you looked at me without it." The blush reddened and she tried to laugh it off. "You looked at Marinette me like I'm really special, and valued, and it makes me feel trusted and confident. But, then when I saw that you were giving that look to Ladybug, I—" She covered the lower half of her face, letting out an embarrassed whine as her voice went up an octave. "I got jealous for a while? Which is dumb because I'm Ladybug so I was getting jealous of myself! It's just that I thought that look was only for me and no one else, and even when I tried to look at how you looked at everyone else, no one but me got the look."

She let her head fall back onto his chest, though this time turned appropriately so she could still speak.

"Then, I just—I realized that... maybe it was only me after all, because you knew that I was Ladybug, and everything made sense."

He couldn't respond at first. A part of him suspected that he shouldn't be surprised - it was Marinette, after all, she was a genius - whereas another part was torn between feeling embarrassed that he was that obvious when he thought he could keep it from her and being unashamed of the "look."

Seeing Marinette laying on him though, he found it very difficult to think much of anything.

"You were right," he admitted, using his free hand to squeeze her shoulder.

"Is that what was wrong though?" she asked, peeking back up at him with a hint of skepticism.

He couldn't tell if something in his voice had tipped her off or if she was just making sure. His lips pressed together in thought, remembering the worn string and debating with himself on what he could and couldn't tell her.

"...Say you're a song writer who works behind the scenes," he began, "and there's a musician with a song sheet to play, but... someone else is messing with it, and the musician could get embarrassed or even hurt if they play it. The song writer could change things and help fix them, but the musician can't know about it."

He loved Marinette all the more for how she seemed to genuinely consider his incredibly weird scenario.

"Why shouldn't the song writer fix it if it's bad?" she asked, almost apologetic for questioning the matter.

"It's... benefiting them," was the best answer Luka could offer, and seeing Marinette cuddling up to him like she was made the guilt seep into his voice. "It's like they're getting a reward for fixing it."

"So what?"

He raised a brow at her almost blunt question, though Marinette didn't seem at all apologetic about it.

"They're going through all the work to fix things in the first place, aren't they?" she asked.

"It's just the right thing to do," he pointed out gently.

"Even less reason for them to feel guilty over it then." She was so nonchalant about it, like the answer was just that easy.

Maybe it was.

She turned further against him, squeezing him tightly in reassurance. "I'm guessing you're the song writer? Because I trust you, Luka, with everything. The snake is a huge responsibility and you always pull it off. Whatever you're doing, I know you're doing it right." She giggled, closing her eyes and nuzzling against his rapid heartbeat. "A-as long as you still have time for this?"

It was safe for him to blush considering that she wasn't looking at him anymore, and it was strange how casually she just challenged all his fears. It didn't eliminate his wanting to tell her, but he couldn't deny that she was right.

Didn't the logic of the red string apply to him being Viperion in general? Only he knew of what happened in resets, and Ladybug would trust him to go with what he felt was best. She gave him the miraculous believing in his ability to make decisions, and this was his decision now.

And if it led him to be closer to her, she certainly didn't seem to mind it.

He smiled, cuddling Marinette back and running a hand along her arm with his free hand. "I always have time for this, Marinette."

The sunset ended up going ignored.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

[mc-lukanette]

I was looking at some Miraculous artwork I saved a while back and I saw one with a red string around the romantic rectangle 😲 I almost screamed!!

Sorry, I've ruined red strings for you guys forever.

[mc-lukanette]

crimson-ace submitted and said:

Hey, did you know another one of your AUs got a TV Tropes page?

!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA???

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, and they even started it off like it was a description and everything, making it sound super cool!

Thank you, whoever did it!! Except how dare you keep quiet about it? FIGHT ME, I’M DYING.

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

—————

Luka took a breath as he hit the last emotion-filled note on his guitar. His body vibrated just as his strings did, though he realized soon enough that there weren't enough high notes to lift him from feeling so low.

Marinette was Ladybug. He was still absorbing it, even though a part of him insisted that it should've been obvious; not just because there could only be one girl in Paris who was so brave, kindhearted, and suited for the job, but... well—

There was also only one girl in Paris who could be so unlucky. Luka was upset - angry, really - at all the things he couldn't have known that just proved to put more pressure on her. People idolized and adored Ladybug, but he never once thought that he wanted to be her. She didn't get anything from being a superhero outside of wasted time and the guilt of having to lie to everyone. He'd felt bad enough keeping Viperion a secret from his family, and he was only a temporary hero.

He sighed, setting his guitar down and raking his fingers through his hair. Marinette being Ladybug would've been enough of a shock on its own, but Adrien being Chat Noir made everything both worse and more complicated. In the midst of all the realizations he'd been having at the time, he felt lucky that he was able to get Ladybug - Marinette - to believe that his mind had just drifted for a moment. She'd still looked worried, but there was nothing he could've told her at the time, his mind too scrambled to be certain what the right steps were.

He'd always imagined that past snakes had learned of other's identities before as well, and thus had wondered before what he'd do if such a thing ever happened. Chat wasn't the one "in charge," so Luka wasn't worried about him (at least not in terms of talking about identities), but Ladybug was a different story.

Previously, he would've said that he'd tell her without hesitation, but the problem was that she was Marinette and the way he found out made things messy. If he told her that he knew, she'd blame herself and demand to know what happened for him to know so she could try to "fix" it, except there was nothing to fix and a conversation about his abilities would inevitably lead to talking about Adrien being Chat Noir.

In essence, he was at a roadblock. There was probably no "right" solution either, as he figured Sass might tell him; that even seemed to be the message Sass wordlessly sent him as Ladybug took his miraculous back. He’d probably known, and maybe had intentionally given him the power to see red strings on heroes in the first place. He didn’t know for sure because he couldn’t ask, aware that it would make Ladybug even more suspicious after he’d already tried to assure her.

What he did know was that Chat was something else to think about now. Chat was tied to her, and he knew - everyone knew, really - that there was drama going on in their relationship. He'd done only a little digging and Face to Face was all the evidence he'd needed, as if seeing the two interact in person wasn't already enough.

There was a pressure there, for Ladybug and Chat Noir to be a couple. Chat Noir was a habitual flirt, and most people ate up any drama or “juicy details” about their relationship. Everyone went wild for the hand kisses that Chat gave Ladybug, whether or not she pulled away from it. Add on the red string of fate, and it just made everything worse, making him wonder what the ties meant; did Adrien's string being tied around his ring mean that he became the cat through fate, specifically so—

It made Luka feel gross just thinking about it, and knowing what he knew made it even worse; people were shipping his friend with someone she wasn't interested in, even if it was "one side" specifically that she wasn't interested in.

He shook his head, feeling vaguely possessive. It wasn't about Marinette being his friend; it was about her deserving better than something deciding her fate for her.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar jingle, pulling out his phone to see a message from Marinette.

Are we still on for tonight?

FOR THE FIRE I MEAN.

I just don't want you to get in trouble! You're sure???

He chuckled, his shoulders easing at Marinette's usual enthusiasm. It was adorable that she was worried about him and not what they were planning to do.

He typed back immediately, I'm sure, Marinette. Don't worry.

He glanced at the drawer under his bed, where all the Adrien pictures were. He imagined Adrien's face plastered all over Paris, flashing back and forth between Adrien himself and Chat Noir.

He felt like he shouldn’t be shocked by the revelation, though he wouldn't be able to quite explain why.

—————

Luka looked over his work once more, checking to make sure the fire would start properly. It'd been a while, but he at least hadn't gotten rusty and even got a congratulatory pat on the back from his mother when she'd seen him carrying the supplies. Had she known that it was Marinette's decision to do this, she would've married them on the spot herself.

As he eyed the box of Adrien pictures set out, he had to bury another slew of thoughts. He knew it was right to try and get rid of Marinette's string, but and he felt guilty knowing that he’d be satisfied at seeing the pictures burn for reasons outside of Marinette.

Speaking of whom, he looked up as he heard a familiar set of footsteps to see Marinette herself heading towards the Liberty, having just made her way down the stairs. She was dressed fairly lightly for nighttime, but wore a fluffy pink shawl around her shoulders to make up for it. Considering what they were doing, it made sense that she wasn't concerned about the cold.

The gangplank had already been put up for her, so she walked across with a smile that warmed him more than the eventual fire would. "Hey."

He smiled back, plopping down comfortably on the seat behind him. "Hey."

She gripped her shawl closer to herself as she glanced at the setup for the fire, the moonlight briefly shining off of her earrings. Luka attempted to avert his gaze from them, but only ended up staring at the red string around her neck. He gave up looking at her entirely at that point, checking the setup again as if it was extremely important to do so.

"You can sit anywhere," he offered, gesturing vaguely to all of the mismatched seats he'd placed around the future fire. He'd wanted to make sure she'd have options, though he hoped the designer side of her didn't mind the chaos of it all. He'd just grabbed whatever spare seating they'd had.

Marinette's eyes scanned over the various choices. Giggling, she replied, "Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgment. He wasn't in any hurry to get the pictures burned, even if burning them was their goal that day. He'd intentionally had her go slowly so as to test the red string as little as possible, and he planned on doing the same here.

"I brought one for you too," she suddenly said off to his side.

He looked over in curiosity and noticed her open purse, a large piece of blue fabric nearly bursting out of it. It took a bit of effort from her - he imagined that she'd wanted it to be a surprise - but she managed to pull it out, presenting him with a shawl that matched hers exactly outside of its color. He smiled in appreciation of her thoughtfulness, then reached for it before realizing with a start, "Wait. Marinette, did you make these?"

Before she could answer, he took the shawl in his hands, turning it every possible way. Without a doubt, it was her handiwork, and along the back was where the design broke with a Marinette.

"Yeah," she confirmed, and he could practically hear her shy blush. "It's just—you're doing this for me, but even if you weren't, I don't want you to get cold, so..."

"It's great," he cut in firmly, leaving no room for doubt on her end. "Soft. Comfortable. I wish I was better with fashion to say more."

"No, you said more than enough," she assured, taking a seat next to him. That fact looked both silly and intimate given the multiple other seats she could've chosen instead, but he tried not to think about it.

Instead, he gave a curious glance at her pink shawl, silently comparing it to the one she'd given him. "...You didn't have to make it blue," he commented, and clarified before she could think anything bad, "I would've happily worn your colors."

She gave him a look, though didn't seem weirded out by the idea. "But... it's pink."

"What's wrong with pink?" he asked, genuinely confused. "It's your color."

She blushed, her shoulders hunching forward shyly. He didn't even bother taking back what he said, because he meant it; he might've favored blue when he picked out an outfit, but pink made him think of her.

It was much better than red at the very least.

Marinette pursed her lips in response, idly tugging at her shawl and seeming to be in an internal debate with herself. Apparently making a decision, she closed her eyes and breathed up, letting out a soft, "Okay."

He blinked and gave a tilt of his head to show his confusion. "Okay?"

She turned to him, resolutely pulling the fabric off of her shoulders. "T-then you can wear mine?"

He couldn't get another word out, too distracted by Marinette leaning towards him and carefully settling the shawl around his shoulders. Despite the bold move, she couldn't keep eye contact with him, awkwardly hanging onto the front of the shawl as she stared at his lap. She wasn't exactly warm or exuded any particular body heat - in fact, he was sure that her hands would be cold if he held them - but there was a comfort there that couldn't be matched by anyone else.

It took him a moment to make a move, at which point he remembered the fabric underneath his fingers. In a motion equally as careful as hers, he raised the blue shawl and settled it around her shoulders. She finally met his gaze, surprised, but smiled gratefully and released her grip on the pink shawl.

"You can keep it," she said quietly, with less shyness than before.

"Really?" he asked, placing a hand on the fabric to make sure it was what she meant.

She nodded, gripping her own as she replied, "A-as long as I can keep this one in exchange?"

He snorted, even covering his mouth to stifle a chuckle. "You made them, Marinette. Of course you can." He gave an obvious glance at the shawl to admire it. "I'd be happy to match with you."

She beamed at him. "Me too."

That topic officially concluded, his mind went blank for anything more and both of their gazes drifted to the unlit fire. He didn't have to look to know that she was shifting in anxiety in her seat, either wanting to back out or just get it over with.

"Are you ready?" he asked experimentally.

"Yes," she responded, perhaps a little stiffly but the resolve was there. She wanted this.

Luka stood briefly, and within the next few moments, the fire had been lit. The flames started out faint at first, then grew until it was something respectable, easily illuminating the small area around them. The slight chill from the wind dissipated as the fire warmed their skin, Luka hearing Marinette sigh in content harmony with him.

Neither of them took their shawls off despite the increased warmth.

The additional light from the fire made the box of pictures more obvious, with it sitting on a table not too far away. Luka took a step towards it, but Marinette was faster, grabbing up the box and turning to him with a determined expression.

"I have to do it," she insisted.

He didn't exactly disagree - this wasn't his battle - but it didn't stop him from looking nervously at the red string, the dangling part of it laying across her hand and dipping itself in the box, taunting him.

"How many do you want to do at a time?" He was careful in his wording, not wanting his tone to imply anything.

She furrowed her brows, staring down at the box in deep thought. Her fingers flexed against the cardboard, a small gust of wind blowing by and causing the fire behind her to whip around in protest.

"...All of them," she muttered, then met his gaze cautiously. "Will that be okay?"

Luka glanced at the fire, but it wasn't that he was worried about. The string would try to fight her, he was sure of it, and the only thing he wasn't sure of was if it would be better or not to let her go with her wishes. He half expected the string to physically drag her off the Liberty, and the mere thought caused his neck to sting.

But, he also believed in her. She was fighting fate herself without having used the snake even once, and he wasn't going to deny her if she thought this was best.

"Yeah," he assured. "Just don't get too close. I don't want you to get hurt."

She nodded, obviously not catching onto what he really meant.

Luka sat down on his chair, toying with the rips in his pants to keep his hands occupied as he watched her. Her posture was straight and confident as she faced the flames, despite the shake in her hands, and he was sure the fire in her eyes wasn't just a reflection.

He didn't see Ladybug in her place. There was only Marinette and everything that he already knew about her. Knowing what he did now wasn't surprising, but heartbreaking, and he couldn't be prouder of her for doing what she was trying to do.

To go against what everyone - even fate itself - expected of her. He couldn't relate on her level, but looking as he did and having the mother he did, he understood.

Finally, Marinette stepped forward, and the string was already tightening around her neck. She froze, shutting her eyes and clutching the box tighter as she mentally fought the sensation.

He barely managed to keep himself still.

She swallowed, taking another step and managing to open her eyes again. She squinted at the fire, either from the light or from her own resolve.

Then, all at once, she thrust the box forward, the pictures flying out and mingling with the flames. The fire flared up in response, practically roaring, and the string tightened further in protest. Marinette even let out a cry as she tossed the box aside.

Luka barely had time to react when she suddenly rushed towards him. He outstretched his arms and she filled up his lap, her heart seeking him out as she clutched his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her, hoping his comfort came through without words.

Her breathing was ragged, and he couldn't tell whether it was from the string or her emotions running high. He brought one of his hands higher up on her back, knowing that he could do nothing more for her but wishing he could.

He took solace in the fact that the worst of it was over.

Staring over her head, he watched as the pictures burned, blond turning black as the flames singed the pictures and reduced them to ashes. Marinette, meanwhile, remained against him, desperately clutching his fabric for wordless support. He honestly would've been okay being the only spectator to what she'd done, but she then shifted in his lap to glance behind her.

They watched the sight together, the fire whipping about with the wind like it was making sure the job was done as they'd wanted. In no time at all, there was no evidence of the pictures left outside of what was allowing the fire to burn brighter.

Marinette let out sigh of relief, collapsing against him again and nuzzling his chest. "What's wrong with me...?"

"Nothing," he replied, clutching her tighter. "You were amazing."

She looked up at him, possibly searching his expression to ensure he meant it, then offered a tired smile. She shifted again, but this time without any urgency or need. Luka sucked in a breath as she nestled her head against his shoulder, making herself comfortable on his lap while still being in a position where they could watch the fire together. Slowly, he relaxed, and they ended up not needing those other chairs after all, neither moving from their comfortable positions.

And, maybe it was just him, but the string seemed looser around her neck than it ever had before.

[mc-lukanette]

Anonymous asked:

I absolutely LOVE your Dread String of Fate AU. It perfectly describes why the concept of "soulmates" is so toxic. Considering how the Red String AU is very famous in the Love Square fandom, the way you deconstruct it reminds me of the trope Strangled by the Red String (a.k.a. the trope LS is based on). And the Lukanette in the AU is just *chef's kiss*.

omg thank you!! Yeah, I definitely enjoy my twist AUs and this one is especially fun since I got to tamper with the miraculouses and such.

Add to that how much I’ve grown to detest the concept of “soulmates” thanks to the love square and then my confusion over Season 4 and its lack of continuity, and we get this AU.

Anonymous asked:

I absolutely loved the newest part of the dread string au! Thank you for writing and I'm glad your power is back and your side effects from the vaccination aren't too bad!

I wish I could love and reblog things an endless amount of times (though my followers may prefer some time between the exact same post haha) <3

Aw, you read the tags! Thank you!

jbdfjgkdgdfg and thanks again for the support! It’s all lovely and I appreciate it regardless of whether you support as much as you wish you could or not~

[mc-lukanette]

OMG! I love your Dreaded String Of Fate AU soo much!!! Please continue updating it, it's just too precious

Thank you!!

Update coming soon~

(also, Dread String of Fate is now in the sidebar + tag list!)

[mc-lukanette]

I think it would be funny if Marinette in the dread string au could just accidentally cut her string, like it gets twisted up in a piece she's making so when she goes to cut the raw edges and *gasp* oh noo bye Adrien 👋 (cue Marinette being confused but relieved, and for some reason Luka being m u c h more relaxed)

fvbjhfdkjgbfdgdfg the dramatic/sarcastic “*gasp* oh noo bye Adrien 👋“ made me laugh way too hard. So sad, so tragic.

Marinette glancing over her shoulder to look at Luka and his shoulders visibly relax. She blinks, looking back at the piece she was working on, then is just, “You didn’t have to worry. I know how to cut these things properly.”

He hadn’t been concerned about the piece, but you sure do, Marinette.

[mc-lukanette]

Anonymous asked:

show: *has a plot hole with how to shove adrien in*

you: obviously i'm gonna give this a reason and make it angsty

Aw, thank you!

Honestly, they were asking for it by being like “chronological order!!” and then pulling THAT on us.

Anonymous asked:

Your Dread String au is really interesting and i'm loving the lukanette, though i'm wondering something about Adrien in this au. If Luka manage to free Mari from the String, would Adrien have any side effects? Like, would he feel like something's missing but he has no Idea what, or would he just keep going as normal until he realizes too late he won't get the girl in the end...

Adrien won’t really get much mention in the AU, so that would be something that’s mostly up to interpretation. He’s not a concern of mine and I likewise don’t have any interest in focusing on him.

Though if I had to answer, I’d say that he wouldn’t feel much of a difference emotionally outside of confusion. Like, Marinette isn’t being “thrown” into him, nor is Ladybug?? Basically, fate wouldn’t be able to play into his hands anymore.

[mc-lukanette]

newbieineverything asked:

I love your Dread string of fate au and I have no idea where you're going with it, but will luka ever tell ladybug about what he sees even if it is a "someone I know" thing, and if he does what will Marinette think about it if he tells her it's her????

Thanks!

Anyway, he’d avoid it. Ladybug has no control over the matter and he doesn’t want her to think about such things (similar to Sass’ opinion).

Anonymous asked:

While at the premiere of the Ladybug movie, Luka swears he once saw Thomas Astruc tugging on Marinette's string.

Now I’m imagining an alternative where there are “fate influencers” in the world who decide fate/destiny themselves.

And then I guess Astruc “created” the fate of love square on a whim and thought it was hilarious so he kept it going.

Anonymous asked:

I have a question about your Dread String of Fate au (which I love btw, it's fantastic) if you don't mind answering; if Maribug or Adrichat were able to see the string between them, how would they feel? And  how would their feelings be different for each side of the PainSquare?

kfgjjdfg Thank you!

Marinette would be unnerved, but everything would also make a lot more sense. She’d also feel relieved in a way because it means that she’s been putting too much stress and blame on herself.

Adrien would be thrilled to know that him and “““his lady”““ are destined to be. I don’t think he’d know about what goes on with Marinette’s side of the string since she’d hesitate to tell him (it’d make everything awkward), and he also wouldn’t be experiencing it himself so the concept would be difficult to grasp for him.

MariChat/LadyNoir would be different because Marinette wouldn’t know how to take Chat Noir being her “soulmate.” Adrien, meanwhile, would be more open to the idea so he’d be eager to hang with Marinette whether as Marinette or Ladybug.

Marinette would struggle to try and convey that she wants the string cut, maybe trying to negotiate like w-well they can (maybe) still be together, but the string has to go. She wouldn’t know how to tell him and just being around him in general gets complicated.

Adrien seems very firm on this idea of soulmates/being “meant to be,” so he’d probably frown about it or try to convince her that they could fix whatever problem she has without cutting the string.

Also, obviously, while this is all going on, Marinette is hanging out with Luka (who might be her confidant for the string) and realizing that hey, maybe the concept of soulmates kinda sucks?