#background lukamari

[goggles-mcgee]

Replaced: It’s The Latest News

Second Chapter of the story for @miner249er

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Summary: Alya prided herself on being the Number 1 Ladybug journalist in all of Paris. She was the one who got exclusive interviews, she was the one who got recognized in a sea of reporters and news channels on the scenes of akuma battles and she was the one who had been trusted to be Rena Rouge. So imagine her surprise when a rival Ladybug blog has the latest Ladybug scoop, not just a scoop, no, they had Ladybug as a guest and she gave them the honor of hosting her announcement. 

Alya tried her best not to feel betrayed.

Alya prided herself on her journalism skills. Her blog was the culmination of those skills. It was definitely a step up from going around her old neighborhood with an old tape recorder (her father’s) and a little handheld journal to write whatever she found that caught her eye or ear. She upgraded to using an app on her phone to record herself or whatever juicy lead she was following and a note app that let her type out quick notes that she would later transfer to her computer so she could flesh out her story. It was a beautiful if not meticulous process, one she found almost methodical. Oh it was hard work don’t get her wrong but it was work that paid off and it was work that deserved to be recognized. Alya had a talent and she knew that, ever since she was a little girl she knew she had wanted to be a reporter. It was different than most kids her age, especially when her and her family had been living in Louisiana in the States.

Moving to Paris had been a big move but when her mother had gotten the job offer by the mayor of freaking Paris to work in his hotel restaurant it had been an easy decision to let her mom follow her dream, the whole family had agreed. Besides, from what her mother had told her and her sisters, their ancestors had lived in France for a substantial amount of time before they fled to the States and settled down in New Orleans. When Alya had asked why their ancestors had fled her mother had been particularly avoidant of the whole thing, she always said it wasn’t the kind of story she wanted her little girls to know. Of course her father had agreed with his wife, that was what led Alya down her path of journalism. Down her path of justice. Her ancestors were her past just as much as her mother’s, she should be able to know why they had fled to the states in the first place. 

War had been ruled out pretty fast, as it was something her mother denied when asked and she knew her mother wasn’t lying. When her mother lied she tended to bite her lip and scrunch her nose. It was an obvious tell. When her father lied his left eyebrow would twitch just the slightest bit. Nora rarely lied, her older sister was someone who wore their emotions on their sleeves, but on the rare occasions she did lie she would give this awkward smile. Now the twins were still at that stage where if they lied they looked off to the side or giggled, it was horribly obvious. Alya knew all her family’s tells so she knew when her mother lied or told the truth, her mother quickly caught on to that fact and just refused to talk about their ancestors all together. She wanted to know the story, no, she craved the story! She needed to know and so she set out to find the truth. 

It made her feel like a secret agent! Hunting down the clues, following leads if she got any. It was thrilling. In the end it wasn’t that big of a shock, Alya had honestly been expecting the fleeing of her ancestor (who she found out was a woman called Fayette) to be something big and shocking like running away from an assassin or an arranged marriage to a wealthy family and her ancestor had a torrid love affair! Something dramatic! In the end it was because Fayette wanted to travel while her father firmly denied his daughter’s wish because, though she was the youngest daughter, she had responsibilities. The family had a farm and Fayette knew she would either live a life on the farm or have to marry to get away from the farm and that wasn’t something she wanted so she ran and caught a boat to the States. 

Though it wasn’t the story she had been wanting nor expecting it was still something that she had hunted down and found herself and it had made Alya feel so good and accomplished. Her mother and father hadn’t been so happy with her, nor had her grandparents but nothing could have dulled her flames that day. She told everyone about it, even those not in the family, it was a story she found, so she figured she had every right to share it. Nora had been interested to hear about it but when she found out Alya was telling her friends at school and the neighbors, she got mad just like their mom and dad. That was the night that Alya got lectured about what she shared, because that was a story about the family, one that was supposed to stay in the family. 

Alya really didn’t see why it mattered. It’s not like Fayette did anything bad, so she saw no problem with sharing the story about her ancestor, but her parents told her it would have been fine if she had asked permission. That was also the night that Alya decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission because she knew her parents never would have given her their say to share the story. Okay maybe she didn’t know for sure but she liked to think she knew her family members well enough to know they wouldn’t have so she stuck to her thought to ask for forgiveness. Plus, reporters never asked for permission to follow stories they just did! And she was going to be the best reporter ever. 

Maybe that was a childish thing to still believe in but Alya knew she had the skills and the drive to reach for it. Sure she had some hiccups but those were merely bumps in the road towards her shining future! Alya had grown since those small mistakes and so had her blog, her blog was truly her greatest accomplishment. Her blog would also be the key to getting her future, it was her portfolio, her experience, it was her everything. A large part of her success she credited towards Ladybug, if it wasn’t for the hero, her blog wouldn’t have found its focus nor its audience, but it was her who built it to what it was today. It was her hard work, her editing, her research, her talent that made it what it was. Perhaps she sounded smug but Alya firmly believed she earned the right to.

Lately though her posts weren’t getting as much traction as they usually got. The numbers were still high but not nearly as high as they had been months ago and Alya had no idea why. She hadn’t done anything differently. She still posted the latest akuma fights, she still posted random facts that correlated with the animal or whatever thing the Kwami of a Miraculous represented, she still posted interviews with Lila. Her content was the same perfect formula she had created and observed as being her most popular, so there should have been no significant drops, and yet there was. Sure Alya could go to her comments and try and see what the people were displeased with but it was getting harder to find the actual constructively critical comments and the haters. 

Ever since her first interview with Lila she had been getting massive hate, that’s not to say she never got any before but that interview seemed to set off a chain reaction of hate comments. They called Lila every name under the sun that was synonymous with ‘liar’ and they called Alya many names too but more often than not she was labeled with ���sell-out.’ Lila, of course, apologized for the hate her interview brought. Apparently she had quite the following of people who hated her and tried their best to denounce everything she did. Alya had brushed it off but to be honest it was a pain because those comments took up so much of the comment sections of her posts that she basically gave up blocking people and deleting comments. It was just too much work. What made it worse was that Alya’s best friend seemed to believe those people. 

Marinette was never someone who didn’t give someone a second chance or believed rumors right off the bat, and yet she was whole-heartedly against Lila. It hurt. It hurt because Lila was amazing and kind and generous and just everything that Marinette was and if that girl could just open her eyes, Alya was sure they would be friends. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen, or at least not any time soon, so until Marinette could grow up Alya had decided she needed space from her BFF. The girl squad knew and agreed so they too held Marinette at arms-length when they interacted with her. They hoped it would make the girl realize she was in the wrong and apologize but she hadn’t. 

It hurt to admit but Alya missed Marinette, she missed how they would pass notes during class (well back when they sat together), she missed how Marinette was always ready to help her if Alya needed her, and she missed their sleepovers. There was so much she missed but those were the things that first came to mind because in class her and Lila didn’t pass notes, Alya had to take class notes for Lila and herself because of Lila’s wrist issues. Alya loved Lila, she really did, but Lila promised help but she had so much already going on that she often forgot. And sleepovers, Alya missed not stressing out about them, every time Lila came over for a sleepover she felt like her house, her very room, wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t a very nice feeling so somewhere along the way she stopped offering sleepovers. 

Another thing she missed was how excited Marinette got for Alya when she got a new scoop on Ladybug and the Miraculous Squad. Her joy amplified Alya’s. Nino was always excited for her but it wasn’t really the same, and so was Adrien, another local Ladybug Fan, but again, it wasn’t the same. 

Speaking of Ladybug it seemed like the hero was avoiding her. Lately after an akuma battle the hero left the space no matter if her Miraculous was beeping or not. She would  give a couple of answers to the press and then yo-yo away. Usually she would give Alya a little interview or at least wave to her camera but lately that stopped. It stopped and Alya wasn’t sure when it actually started to stop and that scared her because that meant her attention slipped. Her focus slipped and as a reporter focus was crucial.

“You good babe?” 

Alya blinked out of her thoughts and gave Nino a small smile and a shrug. “Yeah I guess. Just a little anxious I think.” 

“Of the upcoming announcement?” Adrien asked from his spot next to Nino. 

They had all headed to the park next to Alya’s house when Mireille and Aurore notified everyone at school and on their blog (MiraculousTales another blog about Ladybug and the other heroes that defended Paris-Alya was loathe to admit it was a good blog) that they had an interview with Ladybug who wanted to make an announcement. 

“Partly.” She admitted as her focus went back to Nino’s laptop that had said blog on display. “But I don’t really want to talk about the other thing right now.”

Nino gave her a knowing look but nodded anyway while Adrien just looked confused. The poor boy always looked confused these days. No not confused, well okay, yes he looked confused but he also looked frustrated a lot. Alya and Nino just chalked it up to problems with his dad, it seemed like the model had a new event or photo shoot going on each week. Alya had half a mind to report it to her parents and see if anything could be done because surely that had to be illegal. She had even considered writing a piece on it but Alya wasn’t stupid, she knew if she wrote about Adrien and his awful work hours that she could very well be sued by Gabriel Agreste and really her blog didn’t need that. Plus she didn’t exactly have proof, nor was her source confirmed, two things that were very important in the field of journalism. 

“Oh look! It’s starting!” Adrien announced as he bounced in place. Alya couldn’t help the fond smile that slipped through, if she didn’t know better she would say Adrien was a bigger Ladybug fan than her. 

“I wonder what this whole announcement is for.” Nino mused as they heard the voices of Mireille and Aurore greet the viewers from the screen.

“I don’t know…Usually they let everyone know what their next videos are going to be about, same with announcements. I mean they at least give a brief synopsis of the announcement or if it’s a surprise they say it is. This feels like something else.” Alya mumbled as she stared hard at the screen. Whatever Ladybug had to announce she knew it was going to be important so of course she had her notepad and pen out just in case. 

“Hey Lovelies! Aurore here, I know, not who you wanted to see, but before we bring in our special guest Mireille and I had a couple words we wanted to say.” Aurore said with a bright smile, Alya felt a little bad when she wished the girl would hurry up and announce Ladybug already, but well, they promised Paris’ number one hero and if there was one thing Alya understood about running her own blog was that the people were impatient for their content. 

“We know you guys are eager to see our guest and hear her announcement,” Mireille said softly, “but we just wanted to take a moment before that to let you guys know how grateful we are to each and every one of you for following our blog.”

“Yes, we are so grateful. We never imagined the blog gaining popularity so fast. So we just wanted to thank you, our wonderful followers, as well as those who helped us set up this blog. A special thanks goes out to Claude Beauréal, my cousin, for doing the coding and technical stuff for the blog as Mireille and myself are awful with technology not related to our phones.” Aurore admitted with a laugh as she held up her phone to show a picture of said cousin to the viewers. 

“See, if this wasn’t an important announcement Claude would have edited a picture of himself on the screen so you guys could see him better, though I’m sure you will see a picture of him somewhere on the blog following this video.” Mireille said with her own laugh.

“Very true Mireille! We would also like to give a special thanks to the designer of the blog who helped with the layout and the icons, Paris’ own Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Aurore made a heart with her hands towards the camera before her smile broadened and she straightened in her seat. “Now that the thanks have been given, please welcome our guest, the beautiful, the talented, the miraculous…Ladybug!”

Alya felt like she had been on a rollercoaster back in the States, one that traveled with a fair. It looked fun but you still looked at it with skepticism because while it looks fun you don’t know how much you trust it despite the fact you know the machinery is constantly being checked over. Alya had willfully boarded that rollercoaster and already her stomach had dropped, Marinette had designed their blog’s layout? She didn’t know how she felt about that. The first emotion that came up was betrayal followed by rage followed by this chest clenching sadness. All to end with numbness, but then the introduction of Ladybug had her heart swooping, her pulse rushing and she pushed all thoughts of Marinette away in favor of her favorite hero. 

“Thank you for the warm welcome you two.” Ladybug smiled at the two girls as she strode into frame and took a seat across from both Mireille and Aurore. Alya bitterly thought of all the times Ladybug gave her that smile and how it always made her feel so warm, so special, so important. 

“Huh. That’s weird.” Nino mumbled.

“What? What’s weird?” Alya questioned right away.

“Uh, well, there’s a lot of seats there for just three people.”  He replied.

“Maybe they didn’t have time to take out the other seats?” Adrien said, though he posed it as more of a question. Nino just shrugged while Alya frowned. 

There were a lot of seats.

“You are always welcome on our blog Ladybug.” Mireille gave the spotted  heroine a shy smile.

Ladybug returned the smile with one of her own. “You’re too kind. Now, I don’t want to take up too much of your or Paris’ time but I felt like this needed to be addressed. There may be some of you who have noticed and those of course who haven’t, but…there have been some changes as of late to do with what you have dubbed us as, ‘Team Miraculous.’”

“Changes?” Aurore asked.

“Yes. First off, it has fallen to me to let you, the people of Paris know that Chat Noir has decided to be a solo hero. We are no longer partners. I can’t nor will I, disclose his reasons why. Those are his own. So just know his actions are also his own and are not affiliated with myself and the new ‘Team Miraculous’.” Ladybug was as she always was in her interviews, business as always but her words were like a rock being thrown at a window.

“New team?” Alya whispered in horror.

“Dude…I wonder why Chat left.” Nino said as he shook his head like he still couldn’t believe Ladybug’s words. Adrien…Adrien was oddly silent and very focused on the screen with a scowl on his face. Alya felt for him, she figured it was because he was such a big Ladynoir supporter like herself and this was like a cannonball to the ship. It seemed like it was well and truly sunk. 

“Maybe she’s just announcing that the temporary heroes are going to be permanent? I mean they haven’t been called in a while but with Chat ditching her she is going to need help.” Nino mused in excitement, one Alya shared, maybe Ladybug was just too stressed with Chat leaving to notify them of their new status’ as the permanent heroes! That had to be it!

“Now I noticed the not so subtle air-quotes over ‘Team Miraculous.’ Why is that?” Mireille asked.

Ladybug hummed as she leaned back in the chair she had been provided. “You’re observant. It’s because the old team was disorganized, we never had an official name. Frankly it was a hot mess. The new team does actually have an official name now and this is a good time to introduce you all to them, I would like to introduce you all to 'The Court of Miracles’.”

Alya’s hopes dropped as fast and hard as her heart and stomach. 

The first to appear on screen was a new Bee hero. She strode in with her two high pigtails swaying behind her. Her pigtails had black streaks curl around them to end at a point and she had ribbons near the base that came up to slightly curl above her head like antennae. The ribbons were black and ended in little yellow pom poms. The black of her gloves came up to about mid-bicep, her black boots came to about mid-thigh. Her body suit was striped black and yellow like a bee but it did have a white fur collar and it looked like she had poofy shorts reminiscent of Victorian bloomers, the stripes on the shorts were vertical instead of horizontal. Above the shorts seemed to be a silver belt that looked to be like a honeycomb design. 

“This is Honey Bee.” Ladybug introduced and said hero waved to the camera before taking one of the empty seats.

Next came out another girl, the new Mouse hero. Her short hair was in a half-up half -down style with the part that was half-up was styled into little buns, the color of her hair was black that faded into a soft pink. Around the buns were false mouse ears, the outside of the ears were gray while the inside were pale pink. Her gloves were black and slightly puffed out at the wrists with gray ribbon on the wrist, you could faintly see pink mouse paw-prints on the hand of the gloves when the hero waved. Her boots resembled her gloves and her suit was mostly gray with pink details. The shoulders of the suit were puffy like a fancy dress shirt and it seemed like there were edges of sleeves that, like her gloves and boots, fanned out. Only instead of gray ribbon for detail there was black ribbon. 

The collar also resembled that of a dress shirt only rounded and black. There was a pink bow there on the collar and there was a bigger bow wrapped around her waist, much bigger, tied in the back and the end of the ribbons wound around each other to mimic a tail. If you looked closely you could see what looked like a jump rope tied under the ribbon on the waist. Alya distantly thought she kind of looked like a magical girl from an anime. “This is Merry Mouse.”

The hero that followed Merry Mouse was like a punch to the gut for Alya, she barely even felt her eyes tearing up as she saw the new Fox hero. He was tall and his hair was an ombre of burnt orange to white, it was a little long so it was pulled back in a little ponytail, fake fox ears were attached to what looked like a Newsboy cap sat atop his hair. His suit looked like a three piece suit that Alya had seen men wear in the orchestra, though it looked a little old fashioned she noted, she wasn’t quite sure what made it so, but they were meshed together it seemed. It wasn’t a bad look she bitterly admitted to herself. Hell, she herself had given her Rena Rouge look a tailcoat somewhat. To top off the look, the Fox hero had ankle length boots. Of course everything stuck to an orange, white and dark brown color palate.

“The new Fox hero, Foxtrot.” Ladybug said with a warm smile at the replacement. 

“Hello.” Foxtrot said softly with a wave as he took a seat.

Another hero came out briefly after Foxtrot and Alya had to bite her lip so she didn’t make a sound or worse yell something out in outrage. The next hero was the Turtle hero. She was elegant as she walked out, her head high, her short hair was a dark green that looked almost black. The suit itself was a bit intimidating to Alya for being the Turtle but it did look cool. The suit under was dark green like her hair but she had what looked like a black kimono over it. Over the kimono in sparcing pieces were what looked like armor in the fashion of samurai armor. They looked like turtle shells, spiky turtle shells and they too were black like the kimono. Her hands were covered by the dark green material but if you looked closely it looked like she had claws. 

“This is Genbu.”

“It is an honor to be here.” Genbu said as she took her seat.

“It’s an honor to have you.” Mireille said.

“Wow. The new Turtle looks…” Adrien muttered. Alya flinched when he spoke, she completely forgot he had been there. Alya turned to look at her boyfriend who was staring at the screen intensely, she knew the feeling. She grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze, one he returned. 

“Next we have Striker.”

Striker seemed to be the new Snake hero. He walked on screen with a quiet confidence, his hair was a little hard to see because of the hood that covered it, it was no surprise that the teal hood looked like that of a snake. The hood itself was attached to a tunic vest, the front of the vest looked like the belly of a snake and was a pattern of aquamarine and seafoam. The suit underneath the vest was dark, clearly it was a mix of green and blue too but Alya honestly only knew a handful of colors because of Marinette’s fashion rants. The boots that went to mid-calf were the same color as the back of the tunic vest and hood and also that of the gloves. It was a simple but effective look. When Striker sat and waved at the camera it was the hair that shocked Alya, the hair was pure white. 

“And finally we have Vouivre.”

Alya didn’t know if she could handle any more new heroes. How could Ladybug replace them all? Not just temporarily, she made that perfectly clear, these clowns were there to stay and it burned Alya. And yet, she couldn’t look away. The last hero walked on screen, the first thought Alya had was, wow this chick is tall. The second thought she had was, I would not try to take that girl on in a fight, Miraculous or not. Vouivre had short fiery red hair that looked like it was slicked back due to the wind and nothing else. Two black horns sat in her hair and in the middle of her forehead was an eye shaped ruby. Her suit was this gorgeous emerald green and the pattern looked like scales, the green and scales wrapped around her left leg and vanished into her boots. It was very reminiscent of a tail. Around the ankle of the left boot was a golden ring. The boots themselves and the right leg of the suit were black. Around her waist and neck were what looked like strings of pearls and to top off the look were the symbols of the chest.

“This is the Court of Miracles. We are Ladybug, Honey Bee, Merry Mouse, Foxtrot, Genbu, Striker and Vouivre, along with our two Chamberlains who work in the shadows we swear to protect the people of Paris.” Ladybug said with such conviction that Alya flinched. 

“Marinette?” Now that caught Alya’s attention and she silently thanked Adrien for the distraction no matter how distraught the boy sounded. She felt like she was about to have a mental breakdown. When she got home she was certain she was going to be sobbing into her pillows but for now she was going to indulge in whatever caught Sunshine’s attention. 

The sight that greeted her however threw her for another loop, one just as big as the damn announcement. Now Alya would be the first to admit it had been a while since she had seen Marinette and to be honest she hadn’t really paid that much attention to the girl but she didn’t think much would have changed. Evidently she was wrong. There Marinette was walking with Luka Couffaine like there was no where she would rather be, with long fucking hair. Since when had her hair gotten so long? And when did she dye the underside of her hair pink? The same pink that matched her high-waisted plaid skinny jeans. She wore thick heeled silver boots that gave her some height, though she was still smaller than Luka. She wore a black cropped Jagged Stone shirt that Alya knew she had cut herself and she was wearing Luka’s jacket. 

The trio of Alya, Nino and Adrien watched the two teens walk by as they remained oblivious of their audience and talked animatedly about the same announcement they had been watching. Alya felt her heartbreak when Marinette didn’t even glance at them but she also felt this overwhelming fury, she turned to complain at being unnoticed but caught sight of Adrien frowning at the retreating forms of Marinette and Luka while he rubbed at his chest. 

“You okay there Sunshine?” She asked in lieu of complaining. 

“What?” Her question seemed to snap the boy out of whatever thoughts he had been drowning in. “Oh…yeah. Yeah I’m fine.” 

Alya didn’t know if she fully believed that but she was more than happy to let the issue go in favor of talking about the new heroes and how there was no way they would be better than the old ones. 

___________________

Honey Bee- is Aurore if you guys did not guess. I considered also giving her the name of Honey Queen but I decided she wanted to distance herself from Chloe's version of the Bee. Though her aesthetic does have some parts to it that are reminiscent of royalty.

Merry Mouse- is Mireille. Her appearance is based on a headcanon I have for the girl and that is she loves Magical Girl animes/shows, and since the Miraculous Transformation takes your ideas and wants into mind she has a more Magical Girl look than most of the heroes. 

Foxtrot- is Luka. I gave him this Miraculous because after Miracle Queen he can't keep the snake and he holds a creative patient soul that I believe would mesh well with the Fox Miraculous, add to that his mischievous side and I thought it was a good fit. His look is inspired by men's fashion from 1914, because that is when the Foxtrot started up and was popular. (he is also the one that cast illusions of Mireille and Aurore as their hero selves partaking in the announcement.)

Genbu- is Kagami. I gave her this Miraculous because she is fiercely protective of those she loves and is loyal too and because Genbu (who was worshipped as a God and known as Black Warrior/ Black Turtle) is seen as a warrior deity. This is because the shell of a turtle is like a suit of armor. So it is no surprise that Kagami wanted to look like a mighty warrior. 

Striker- is Marc. I gave Marc this Miraculous because he is patient and more than willing to hang back and observe so he can help out. He chose the name Striker because it sounded like a cool superhero name from the comics he loves so much and because he liked to compare being the Snake Hero to that of the snake "sudden striker" in Sunzi's Art of War. His look is based more on a traditional hero look mixed with a rogue look since he thinks himself a background hero.

Vouivre- is Ondine. I gave her this Miraculous because she is a fighter and determined and loyal. Her look and name are taken from the description of the vouivre in The Drac: French Tales of Dragons and Demons. I headcanon Ondine being obsessed with fairytales so when she was given the Dragon Miraculous she immediately remembered the stories of the vouivre and thus her decision for her hero look and name was made. 

The two Chamberlains that Ladybug mentioned in her Court are Chloe and Sabrina, they offer the heroes support from the shadows. Chloe still wanted to help the hero but knew she couldn't do that as a hero anymore so she offered her aid in support and finances if the hero needed it and where Chloe goes, Sabrina follows. 

Next Chapter

[ladyfreya123]

Biker AU. Chapter 2. Part 5.

Chapter 1: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Flashback chapter

Chapter 2: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | 

Special thanks to:

@airi-p4 for the support 💙

@crescent-woods for proofreading 💙

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

@19thsentry-blog tagged me for this little gem

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag people! 

A big thank you to Nat & Quick & Haphira for helping me pick which ones I should do for this  💖 (seriously, my brain is completely fried after the day I had at work).

@haphira @mintaka14 @verfound Tag, you’re it! 😘

And since it’s December, we’ll start with the festive ones! (Under the cut to spare you all from scrolling unless you want to actually read it 😂)

December Dreams

She had been ecstatic upon first seeing the tree- every lot she and Luka had tried the previous week had been completely sold out.

When he had admitted to driving all the way to Belgium just to get a tree… she had been brought to tears.

Trying to get the tree set up had also brought her to tears. Luka had said he had measured, but he was still a Couffaine. They had managed to get it to fit in the end, even if it was just barely. Though they had had to chop off quite a bit off the base of the trunk.

‘Twas the Night Before Fang-mas

He nuzzled their ankles, then retreated back to the living room. He made his way over to the curtains and wiggled into the space he had made for himself. Once he was fully behind them, he stuck his head out from under them so that he would be able to see the fireplace.

He wouldn’t be having any sweet dreams tonight.

Because he was going to see Santa. He just knew it.

The Big Day

Over the past few months, he had learned a great deal about flowers. There were lots of different types of flowers; some were meant to sit in jugs on tables to block people from each other’s view, some were meant to be carried around, and some were meant to be left on the floor for people to walk on. He had learned so much about flowers in fact, that some might even call him an expert.

And as flower girl, his first job was to make sure there were enough flowers for Marinette to walk on.

Camping With the Couffaines

She offered him a sympathetic smile. “In a few days, you won’t be able to tell!” He didn’t look very convinced. “I can kiss it better if you want?”

“Yeah. Maybe that will make it grow back faster.”

She ignored Juleka’s gagging as she peppered his face and head with kisses.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just put out this fire while you kiss my idiot brother,” Juleka grumbled.

The Weight of the Mask 

She could feel her cheeks growing warm as she scrambled to clean herself up.

“You’ve got something- right there.” She furiously wiped at her face as his face crinkled in mirth. “No, it’s right there,” he gestured to his own chin, to show her where it was. But it was no good. “Here, let me.” His thumb swiped along her chin, getting the last dribble of strawberry, leaving a growing warmth in its wake.

Her cheeks burst into flames.

All it Takes to Grow 

She snapped her attention up, glancing towards the source of the sound. Luka was sprawled in one of his chairs. A battered briefcase sat by his feet, and he was poking at the soil in the pot.

“Long day?”

“Yeah,” he groaned, offering her a smile before screwing his face up in distaste. He pulled a water bottle out of the briefcase and slowly poured some into the pot.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I don’t think watering it is going to do much.”

“Oh?” He quirked a brow and gave her a boyish grin as he put the cap back on the bottle. “Why’s that?”

She shrugged, shaking her head as she laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s going to grow into much.”

“Well,” he shrugged as well, his smile softening, “give it time. Who knows what will grow given the right care.” She snorted as politely as she could, and he laughed. “I haven’t seen you around much the past couple of days.”

Chords and Courtship

“Luka?” He blinked. Kaalki was staring at him expectantly, with a knowing smile on her face and a glimmer in her eyes. “Perhaps we should try this one.” She closed her fan and let it rest gently against her lips.

He wracked his brain. He knew this one. He knew he knew it! He furrowed his brows, willing the answer to come to mind as he stared at the fan, with its handle just grazing her lips. Her lips…

“Kiss me!”

“I’m afraid I will have to object to that.” He jumped at the sound of Sass’s voice.

Songs, Snowballs, and Storms

He laughed as she took another stumbling glide forwards. “It’ll get easier, I promise! Here,” he said, turning and pulling ahead to face her. He took her tiny hands in his, “I’ll help you.”

“Show off,” she mumbled as he skated backward, pulling her along with him. But she was smiling as she said it.

“Only for you.” He chuckled at the bright pink flush that bloomed in her face. It was something she always seemed so embarrassed of, but he loved the way her cheeks turned rosy at even the slightest compliment, the way she wore her heart on her sleeve. So he took it upon himself to compliment her as often as he could.

Count Me In

And then, Juleka had managed to coax the Marinette into a casual conversation, and he had been absolutely beyond help.

Because Marinette was clever and funny, and she was incredibly kind and so amazing and miles out of his league.

She would have been out of his league even if he wasn’t the idiot that had spammed her phone with gifs of the Count.

But he was that idiot.

And Juleka didn’t seem in any hurry to let him forget it.

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe 

“Luka! Juleka!” They both turned at the sound of their names being called. Aimee was waving at them from in front of the bakery. She had a camera bag around her neck, a tripod slung across her back, and two large duffle bags at her feet. “Great, I was worried I was too early.”

“Aimee? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take the pictures, silly.”

“Pictures? What pictures?”

“For the photoshoot, duh.”

“Photoshoot?” He rounded on her, staring hard at her. “Jules, what is going on?”

She smiled as innocently as she could. Over Luka’s shoulder, she could see Aimee cracking up. “Marinette needs to post photos of her new stuff for her insta and website. We’re going to model for her. Now come on, we don’t want to keep Marinette waiting. Do we?”

[mc-lukanette]

so...we all agree that couffaines gush about their tiny girlfriends on a daily

well obviously!!

The only time anyone’s seen Luka and Juleka argue is when they’re fighting over which of their girlfriends is the cutest.

[kurachan-ya]

[sassyduckqueen]

My Dearest Friend- Chapter Two (Lukanette)

So I thought I’d work in the Miraculouses and other characters but realized this is an AU where they don’t have superpowers so I found a way round it. :) also gonna upload this to Archive of Our Own

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Marinette was dreading going into college. She knew she would have to face her friends, Adrien and Lila but it was something she had to do. She couldn’t afford to miss class so she got dressed and went to school. Her head was hung low and her shoulders slouched as she walked up the steps and headed into the building.

“Marinette!” The sound of Alya’s voice caught her attention, making her look over at her friends. Alix looked like she wanted punch something and Rose had a small frown on her face. Juleka was holding her hand and looked just as angry at the other two. Marinette instantly frowned, thinking they were angry at her and walked over.

“Hey guys. I’m sorry I ra-” She started but Alya suddenly hugged her, throwing her.

“Girl! I was so worried!” She gasped, getting other nods. “You really freaked us out when you ran off. Not that we blame you for doing so,”

“”Yeah, we totally get it,” Alix gasped.

“I can’t believe Adrien turned up her of all people!” Rose gasped, like it was the biggest crime of the century, while Juleka mumbled angily and nodded. Marinette couldn’t help as she smiled at her friends.

“Thank you,” She smiled sadly.

“Why you sorry? Not your fault he’s a jerk,” Alix grinned.

“Anyway, are you ok? You didn’t do anything stupid did you?”

“No… I’m ok… just a little hurt I guess,” She muttered, feeling bad that she had worried her friends. “Did you guys enjoy the rest of the dance?”

“Hun, we left to go looking for you,” Alya replied, shocking Marinette even more.

“Why?!” She gasped but they all chuckled.

“You’re our friend and we were worried,” She explained. “When we couldn’t find you, we texted everyone we knew,”

“My brother told me you were with him when he finally looked at his phone,” Juleka muttered. “I hope he wasn’t too much of an idiot. He does always know what to say,”

“No.. he was really kind, Juleka,” Marinette smiled. “He even lend me some of his old clothes and played funny animal videos on youtube to cheer me up,”

“Typical of him,” She muttered but smiled.

“Aww that’s so sweet!” Rose gasped as Alya grinned before wiggling her eyebrow. “So he lend you his clothes eh?”

“Not like that!” Marinette blushed, making all of them laughed. “He was really sweet,”

A light blush crawled on Marinette’s face as she thought about him but then she remembered how Adrien use to be sweet but then he broke her heart.

“Anyway, we have class,” She mumbled, looking down as she walked off. The girls sighed and followed. However, Marinette stopped in her tracks as she saw the very thing she was dreading. Adrien walked right by her without even acknowledging her as he walked with Lila, who spotted her and grinned slightly before moving closer to him.

“Oh my gosh, Adrien! That is so amazing! You know I totally knew the head of Vogue while I was in America. I even helped design some of their new ideas!”

“That’s so cool, Lila,” He smiled before noticing Marinette. “Um can you excuse me for a second?”

“Of course! I’ll go and grab the best seats. Don’t worry I’ll save you one!” She grinned before running off. Alya crossed her arms and glared as he walked over.

“Hey Marinette,” He started before sighing. “Look I’m really sorry about what you saw at the party. I didn’t want you to find out like that but as you probably worked out, me and Lila are dating,”

Marinette held back the tears as she tried to say something but Alya butted in.

“I can’t believe you did that to her!” She growled. “All she ever did was love you and you don’t even have the decency to tell her it’s over because you invite someone else to the dance!”

“I did end it with her,” He states. “Didn’t I, Marinette?”

“N-no… you didn’t,” She states, making him frown. “You just told me that you didn’t want to go to the dance with me. Not that our relationship was over,”

“I thought you would have realized that’s what I meant,” He replied, frowning. “But I guess I could have explained it better,”

“You what?!”

“Oh you are so dead!”

“Guess?! You guess!?!” Alya screamed. “Oh you are-”

“Guys… it’s fine,” Marinette stated, grabbing her arm.

“It’s not fine! He- Marinette...” She gasped as she saw the tears in her friend’s eyes before she sent one last glare to Adrien. “Just go because I break you in half,”

He looked over at Marinette before nodding and leaving. Alya moved her arm across Marinette’s shoulders before the girls took her to the bathroom. Rose rubbed her back as she started to cry and Juleka mumbled comforting words as Alya and Alix paced angrily. Gradually, Marinette calmed down and rubbed her tears away.

“I need to go to c-class,” She mumbled before she gasped. “Oh no!”

“What’s wrong?” They all gasped.

“A-Adrien was suppose to model my designs for my final major but I c-can’t…” Tears filled up her eyes again. “I’m gonna fail so much,”

“No, you won’t. We won’t let you!” Alya confirmed before clicking her fingers. “Nino could!”

“Oh why don’t we ask Ivan?!” Rose gasped.

“How about Kim?”

“H-haven’t they got the-their own finals to w-worry about?” She sniffed but Juleka mumbled something. “W-what was that?”

“I said that Luka would be ok with modelling your designs but it’s a stupid idea,” She mumbled, blushing as all of them stared at her. “It’s a stupid idea. Forget I even said anything!”

“Juleka! That’s a great idea!” Alya gasped as Rose and Alix nodded.

“W-what about his f-finals?”

“H-he’s in the year above us and is ahead on his course work,” She mumbles. “We’d have to ask but I’m sure he would be willing to help,”

“Juleka,” Marinette started but Juleka blushed.

“My idea was silly, wasn’t it?”

“No. I was gonna say you’re a great friend. All of you are,” She smiled. “Thank you,”

(***)

“Mum, I’m home,” Juleka mumbled as Alya, Rose, Alix and Marinette followed her on top the boat. They could hear a guitar been played in the back as Anarka moved about before looking up and greeting them. “I brought my friends round,”

“Ho, ho. How you doing there, sailors?” She grinned. “Now of course, I know Rose and Marinette but who are these two?”

“I’m Alya. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am,”

“Just call me Captain, Alya,” She winked before turning to Alix. “And you?”

“I’m Alix. It’s cool to meet you, Captain!” She grinned, making her smile.

“Will ya all be staying for dinner?” She asked. “We’re having take-away,”

“Sure!” Alix grinned as Rose gave a whoop.

“If you’ll have us,” Marinette blushed as Alya grinned.

“You’re always welcome here, Marinette,” Anarka grinned. “Same goes for you two and Rose already knows this, don’t ya girl?”

“Aye, Captain!” She grinned as Marinette started to zone out. “Is Luka in?”

“Aye, he’s in his cabin,” She replied. “I can hollar for him if ya want,”

“Yes please, Captain!”

“Luka! Put down ya guitar and get out here!” She shouted, very loudly. The guitar stopped playing and a few minutes later, he came into the living area.

“Hey Mum. Everything alright?” He asked concerned in his eyes before he noticed everyone. He smiled softly. “I didn’t realize we had guests. Are you guys staying for dinner?”

“Yeah we are. Apparently, it’s pizza and I’m always down for pizza,” Alix grinned, making him laugh. “I’m Alix by the way,”

“Luka. It’s nice to meet you,” He smiled, looking over at Marinette, who seemed distant as if lose in thought. He chucked softly as he noticed she was wearing the jumper he gave her, which in turn pulled out of her thoughts and made her jump. “Nice jump,”

“T-thanks. A very sweet guy gave it to me when I got caught in the rain,” She mumbled, blushing slightly, making him smile. Alya cleared her voice, getting both of their attention.

“Oh… right. You did actually call for me right, Mum?”

“Well, Rose was the one who asked for you. I just did the hollaring,” She chuckled before moving to the kitchenette. “Does anyone want some hot coco?”

“Me!” Alix grinned as Rose squealed. Alya nodded, along with Juleka as Luka shook his head before going over to Rose.

“So what’s up? Are you ok for band practice this week?”

“Of course! To be honest, it’s not me who needs to ask you something!” She grinned, looking over at Marinette who had moved to the sofa. She was zoning out again. Luka nodded and walked over, sitting next to her. Rose held back a squeal as he lightly flicked her nose, making her pout. “They’re so cute together!”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen him been this interested in someone before,” Juleka mumbled, smiling happily.

“Aye. Normally, Luka is too busy in his own world of melodies and scores to notice most people,” Anarka smiled as she watched. “She have one hell of a song to make him want to listen to it,”

“That is an interesting way to put it,” Ayla mumbled a little confused but Rose, Juleka and Anarka all grinned.

“Luka has a unique gift when it comes to music and people,” Anarka explained. “Once he’s done talking to Marinette, we’ll get him to show you,”

“Cool,”

Meanwhile across the room

“Hey, Marinette,” Luka smiled as he moved across to her. She looked at him as he sat next to her. “Rose hinted that you wanted to talk to me,”

“Um...” She blushed lightly before swallowing. “I h-have a favor to ask you but I totally understand if you say no cause you’re probably super busy and it doesn’t really matter cause it’s just a thing,”

“If it matters to you, it matters,” He smiles reassuringly. “So what’s the favour?”

“Um… well, I was suppose to be doing a fashion show as part of my finals cause I’m studying fashion and that but now I can’t do it because Adrien was suppose to be my model and I just can’t have him in the show cause him been there will-”

“Hurt you?” He asked as she teared up again. She nodded and took a breathe.

“But that means I’m down a model so I can’t do the show unless I can find a replacement but like I said it’s a stupid idea. You wouldn’t be interested in modelling cause you probably have to worry about your own studies and band practice so-”

“You want me to model for you?”

“J-Juleka suggested it and I think you’d be perfect- for the theme that is,” She gasped, blushing.

“I’m honored that you want me to be a model,” He smiled, making her look at him.

“Does that mean you’ll want to do it?”

“Sure. As long as I don’t have to wear pink. It’ll clash with my hair,” He joked, making her laugh. “I’m kidding. I can totally wearing pink,”

“Pink isn’t involved,” She smiled. “But seriously, you don’t mind modelling for me?”

“Of course not,” He smiled kindly. “But I do have a favour to ask in return if you don’t mind,”

“What is it?”

“Can you ask Juleka to be one of your models as well?” He asked, making her gap. “It’s been her dream since she was little so it seems unfair for me to do this without her-”

“I would love to have her model,” Marinette smiled, making him smile.

“Thank you,” He smiled.

“Luka! Go get your guitar. These two want to hear you play!” Anarka grinned. He nodded and got up as Marinette walked over to Juleka, who smiled at her shyly.

“Juleka, would you like to model for me as well?” She asked, shocking her.

“um… I don’t know… do you really want me to… no… no… it’s stupid… I couldn’t… could I?” She mumbled, blushing as Luka came back in with his guitar.

“I would love you to model for me,” Marinette smiled. “You would perfect for one of the outfits I got planned,”

“R-really?” She blushed.

“Of course,”

“You should do it, Jules,” Luka smiled, leaning down to kiss her hair. “You’re really pretty and this has been your dream for years so go for it. I’ll be there too so if you get nervous, we can get nervous together,”

“Ho, ho! I better get an invite to this!” Anarka demanded, making them all laugh.

“Of course, Captain,” Marinette grinned as Luka sat down and started to play.

“So apperently you have a unquie talent when it comes to music?”

“Hmm. It’s nothing special really,” Luka smiled. “I can just hear what’s in people’s hearts. Like for example Mum is this,”

He played a fast paced heavy piece of music before he slowed it into a sombre piece. Not sad. Just quiet and peaceful but never the less beautiful.

“You see that is Jules and this is Rose,” The melody he played was perfect for Rose. Upbeat and resonable fast but worked perfectly with the other piece he played. However, he changed it to a slower, sadder piece, which Marinette recongized as her’s before he began to play a more cheerful tune, which had to be Alya then finally a tune that was fast and sounded similar to a clock. Alix’s clearly before he stopped playing.

“That was amazing!” She gapsed, as Alya nodded. Marinette couldn’t help but smile. He had played her something when he first met her and it had touched her soul but despite seeing him do this before and watching their band practices, Marinette still loved seeing him play the songs of the heart as she had taken to calling them. He started to play her tune before looking at her and smiling softly. As her heart skipped a beat, he matched it, changing the melody to something more softer but a little bit more upbeat.

“How do you do that?”

“I find music is often easier then words. Since I’m not very good with words, I use music instead,” He smiles, looking over at Marinette again before playing a new tune. One that Marinette hadn’t heard yet. It was pure, soft and fun and for some reason, made her blush as she listened. Anarka smiled before clearly her throat to get their attention.

“So what pizza do you guys want?”

(***)

“Girl, I have to say I totally approve of Luka!” Alya grinned at Marinette as they video chatted. They had stayed for pizza but then they had to go home. “I didn’t realize he was so hot,”

“A-Alya,” Marinette gasped, blushing.

“Aahh, you think so too!!” She grinned as Alix joined the vidoe chat.

“Sup. Hey…. Marinette, why are you a tomato?”

“Cause she thinks Luka is hoooot!” Alya laughed, making her go even more red.

“Well, that’s just a fact. Seriously, he is awesome,”

“B-but he’s just Luka and a friend...” Even though, I’d like him to be more… Marinette suddenly gasped as she couldn’t believe she just thought that.

“Whoa, now she’s a strawberry!”

“You ok, girl?”

“Y-yeah… just um… panicking about the show again… ha ha… um,”

“Well, what designs you got?” Alya asked, knowing full well that wasn’t it.

“Well, I have hats, scarves, suits, dresses but a lot of these designs are for Adrian and Chole. I don’t know if she’ll still model for me if he’s not,” She mumbled, looking down. “And I’ll have to make fresh designs for Luka and Juleka. God, I’m gonna fail and never do anything good with my life,”

She groaned, throwing her head back.

“Have you asked her?”

“I sent her a text but no reply yet-” She groaned as her phone buzzed. She picked it up and unlocked it.

L: Hey :)

M: Hey back. You ok?

She smiled before putting it down and turning back to the video cat.

“Who was that?” Alya asked.

“Gotta be Luka.” Alix grinned, making Marinette blushed. “It is! What’s he said?”

“Just hey at the moment,” She mumbled as her phone buzzed.

L: So I was wondering if you wanted to meet up over the weekend for coffee? We can talk about the fashion show and ideas if you want.

Marinette almost dropped her phone when she read it, causing Alya and Alix to laugh.

“Are you ok, girl?” Alya asked, a little concerned.

“Y-yeah… um...”

“What on earth did he put?”

“H-he asked me to go for a coffee with him on the weekend,”

“Oh my god! Yes! You need to say yes! And we’ll have to make you look amazing!” Alya gushed as Alix nodded in agreement.

“W-what? It’s just coffee… he just wants to talk about the fashion show and designs that I don’t have yet...” She groans. “I should say no!”

“No!” They both shouted, making her jump.

“Girl, you gotta say yes! He’s totally into you!”

“W-what? No, he isn’t,” She gasped, blushing a little. “W-we’re just friends…”

“No way! He really likes you!”

“H-how can you be certain?”

“He wants go for a coffee with you,” Alya pointed out as Juleka logged on.

“What’s going on? Why is Marinette a strawberry?” She asked.

“Your brother asked her to go for coffee,”

“He just wants to talk about the fashion show and see my designs but Alya and Alix think he likes me,”

“He does like you,” Juleka mumbled.

“Sure. As a friend,” Marinette sighed, looking away.

“He’s asking to see your work and discuss the fashion show, girl!”

“That’s just cause he likes fashion,” Marinette gasped but Juleka chucked.

“He’s never cared for fashion before. He literally just throws on clothes in the morning, not really caring what he looks like,” She giggled. “And he’s been googling fashion terms and phases since you left,”

“Really? Why?” Marinette asked, causing them to all face palm. “What?”

“It’s to impress you,” Juleka points out. “Trust me. He’s interested because it’s important to you,”

Marinette blushed but shook her head as her phone buzzed again.

L: Have I upset you? I’m sorry if I have. I didn’t mean to. I just thought we could totally hang out but it’s cool if you don’t want to

'

M: Oh no, you haven’t. I’d like to hang out with you so coffee would be great. I’m sorry I didn’t reply straight away. I was just talking to the girls about some ideas but yeah, coffee would be awesome

“See? He just wants to hang out,” She grinned but couldn’t help but hear a whoop in the background, making Juleka grin. “That was him wasn’t it?”

“Yep,” She grinned. “Marinette heard you!”

“What?!” Luka called from the background.

“We’re on video chat,” She grinned. Marinette imagined he was blushing. She smiled as he moved into view and waved. His cheeks were slightly red. “You’re such a dork,”

“Yeah but you wouldn’t have me any other way,” He grinned, ruffling her hair. “So I’ll pick you up round 2pm on Saturday if that’s ok?”

“Yeah, it’s a date. I mean I got the date and the time,” Marinette gasped, looking to the side but he chuckled softly.

“Yeah. A date,” He grinned, causing Juleka to roll her eyes and Marinette to blush even more.

“Luuuuuuka! You’re interruping us!!! Go and play your guitar already!” She groaned, causing him to grin and ruffle her hair again before he walked out, closing the door behind him. “God, he’s such a dork,”

“Hey guys!” Rose sang as she joined in. “What’s up?”

“Luka just asked Marinette on a date,” Alix grinned, making her blush.

“Really?!”

“Yep,” Juleka confirmed.

“Guys… it’s just a meet up between two friends,”

“Oh, please. He’s liked you for ages,” Juleka stated, rolling her eyes. Marinette blushed. “Anyway, can we totally move on from this? It’s freaking me out a little,”

“Aww but I get he gets lots of girls,” Alya teased, making Marinette frown. He was amazing and hot as well as kind and selfless. Of course, he does.

“Sure he’s had girls out but I’ve never seen him so happy before,” She mumbled. “Anyway, anything for ideas on the show?”

Marniette mentally thanked Juleka before clearly her throat before diving into ideas about her show and plans.

~The Following Saturday~

Marinette fixed in her earring rings as she got ready to hang out with Luka. They had ladybug patterns on them and she had made them herself. She had made others but she favoured these as they were her first successful ones. She grabbed her bag and pulled on her jacket as someone knocked on her trap door before her mum popped her head in.

“There’s a nice young man asking for you,” She grinned as Marinette slipped her shoes on before following her mum downstairs. She walked into bakery and smiled as she saw Luka looking at the treats in the shop. He looked really nice today. He had swapped his usual shirt and hoodie for a blue shirt and a black leather jacket and his jeans weren’t ripped.

“Wow, these look amazing,” He smiled, causing Tom to grin before Luka looked over and smiled at her. “Hey, Marinette,”

“H-hi, Luka,”

“Oh so you’re Luka?” Tom grinned, making Marinette blush. “Thank you for looking out for my girl,”

“It’s what any decent person would have done, sir,” He replied, looking at her with a soft look. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” She grinned, walking over to him before waving to her parents before they walked out together. “Y-you look really nice today,”

“So you do you,” He grinned, before noticing the earrings. “Ladybugs. That’s really cute,”

“Y-you think? They were the first pair of earrings I made,”

“Wow, you’re so talented, Marinette,” He smiled, geuninarly meaning it. Marinett blushed as they walked.

“So are we going to Star Bucks or Costa?”

“I was thinking we could go to a more local based cafe if you don’t mind? It’s one of my favorite places and they do amazing cakes, teas and coffee,” He smiled.

“T-that’s fine by me,” She grinned as he led her there. It was a small looking place called Miraculous Tea Rooms but it looked artistic and had a flair to it. He opened the door for her, holding it open.

“After you, Ladybug,” He grinned, making her blush.

“Ladybug?” She asked, liking the nickname. “I like it,”

“Cool,” He grinned, closing the door behind him. They were only a few people in the shop but the design of it captured Marinette’s interest.

“Welcome to Mirac- Ah, Hello Luka,” The owner smiled, clearly on familiar terms with Luka. “Who’s this young lady?”

“This is my friend, Marinette,” He smiled, looking at her with that soft look again. “Marinette, this is Master Fuu. He’s the owner,”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Marinette smiled, bowing slightly and gaining a bow back. “I love the design of this place,”

“Thank you, young lady,” He smiled. “So what can I get you today?”

“Do you have any Biluochun Tea?” Marinette asked, surprising both of them. “It’s been a while since I had it and it’s my favourite type of green tea so it would be really cool if you have it and I’m gonna shut up now cause I’m rambling,”

“Yes, we do,” Master Fuu grinned. “We also sell loose teas and offer a refill option if you wanted to get yourself some so

“I’ll just have a cup of it for now, please,” She smiled, going to get her purse but Luka stopped her and smiled.

“My treat,” He grinned before turning to Master Fuu. “Can I have my usual?”

“Of course,” He nodded. “That will be 9.97 euros,”

Luka handed him the cash before putting away his change.

“Grab a seat. I’ll bring them over in a moment,” He smiled. Luka nodded and lead Marinette over to a sofa in the corner before sitting. She sat next to him and smiled.

“What do you think then?” He asked.

“I like it a lot. It’s really cosy and homely,” She smiled, looking at him before blushing as she noticed how close he was to her. “So do you want to see what I’ve got so far for the designs while we wait?”

“Yes,” He smiled, making her smile in return. She took off her backpack and reached into taking her drawing pad out. She opened it up, starting with the designs she had for Max. She explained that she planned to base the outfits on the Chinese Zodiac as she thought it would be really cool and nice nod to her Mum’s family.

“That’s really cool,” He smiled as Master Fuu brought the teas over. Luka instantly jumped up and helped him.

“Thank you,” He smiled before turning to Marinette and nodding to her drawings. “Did you do those?”

“Y-yes, sir,” She blushed, looking away shyly.

“You are an amazing artist, young lady. They are very good,” He smiled, making her smile back. “I like her, Luka,”

“I’m glad to have your approval,” He laughed before picking up his drink and taking a slip as Marionette slipped hers. “So is that the horse Zodiac?”

“Yeah. This is for my friend, Max. I’ve put Juleka as the tiger and my friend Kagami is going to be the dragon. I picked out Kim as the money and Nino, Alya’s boyfriend, as the turtle,”

“And what’s my animal?”

“I was thinking the snake,”

“Snake huh?” He asks. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Oh no. In some Chinese mythology, the snake represents mystery and enlightenment as well as rebirth and seconds chances. People who are born in the year of the snake are often artistic and since you’re a musician, I thought it would work. It’s not an insult… I hope you don’t mind,”

“So what you’re saying is you think I’m awesome, mysterious and wise?” He teased, making her laugh. “So what does the others represent?”

“There’s quite a few to go through,”

“I have all the time in the world,” He smiled, looking at her with a loving expression. Marinette blushed before going into an explanation of the other signs and why she chose them for her friends as he listened.

[ladyfreya123]

Biker AU. Chapter 2. Part 7.

Chapter 1: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Flashback chapter

Chapter 2: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

A/N to page 4: This lighthouse is based on Fisgard Lighthouse, (Fisgard Island, Victoria, Canada.)

A/N to page 8: This quote I paraphrased here I knew since I was a kid. I bet it’s an adage/phrase... Or am I just imagining things... Let me know if you recognise it.

@airi-p4 for the support 💙

@crescent-woods for proofreading 💙

[kurachan-ya]

[kurachan-ya]