#endgame Lukanette

[spikartxx]

LBSC Secret Admirer Exchange 2024

Hello! Long time no see hehehe

Anywhoooooo~ I decided to take a tiny break from school duties and I participated in the LBSC Secret Admirer Exchange of this year! Organized by @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers (quite a lovely event, as always!)

I’ve never forgotten my Lukanette roots hehehe so here I am!

*drum rolls* 🥁✨

@trixxiephantomhive … I’m your secret admirer this year! ♪( ´θ｀)ノ✨

I did this piece based on the third prompt you proposed! It was a wonderful time reading the story, so it was a pleasure doing this piece too! I hope you enjoy it~

Also, sorry for the delay, I’ve had quite a busy day, but here it is, yaaaaaay!

Happy Valentine’s Day! 🩷

[alwaysawkwardd]

After more than two years, Broken Melody is finally finished!!!

[yan-san-yan]

🫧MERMAY LUKANETTE 🫧

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers I made it in time for the event ✨

[haphira]

One Night, Second Chance By: Haphira

Marinette stared at the cancelled plane ticket in her hand then up to the window she was standing in front of. The snow storm was growing worse by the minute, looked like she was stuck in the airport for the night. At least she hoped it’s only one night. Marinette sighed and adjusted the bag on her shoulder, she dug around for her phone; time to message her parents to let them know that she wouldn’t be making the planned return flight, maybe she could get one later? Maybe a red-eye flight if the snow storm lets up. Just as she hit ‘send message’ a deep and smooth voice called her name.

“Marinette?”

Marinette turned to look at the person who called her and had to use every once to professionalism she had to not freak the fuck out. Standing before her was Luka freaking Couffaine. Childhood sweet-heart that ended with heart break. Not that it was anyone’s fault, just bad timing.

“L-luka! What are you doing here?” Marinette hurriedly stuffed her phone back into her bag, silently cursing her stutter, eyes never straying from his. She half wondered if he would disappear if she looked away.

Luka smiled warmly at her. “Was here on vacation, apparently it’s been extended.”

Marinette blushed lightly not able to keep her eyes from doing a quick once-over. Luka had stayed fit over the years, not overly muscley like most guys were, but fit and strong. Then his words registered and she gave out a startled laugh.

“Oh, yeah. Mine too.”

“Were you heading home to spend Christmas with your parents at the bakery?” Luka asked, running a hand through his hair. Which was short on the underside and medium length on top that fell into his eyes. The tips were still dyed blue. A fact that relaxed Marinette, that there was still a little bit of the boy she knew in him.

“Yeah, I was supposed to be on a plane by now,” Marinette glanced out the window with a dirty look before addressing Luka again. “But the weather got in the way.”

“Mhmm, Jules is already home with Rose, I was the last to return home.” Luka replied.

Marinette stared at his face, the angular jaw was the same, the softness in his eyes, the shape of his lips… Marinette almost smacked herself, she was not a young teenager anymore, she had to get it together. She took a pause before she spoke again.

“So, what about you? Bringing anyone home for Christmas? Or were you supposed to meet them there?” Marinette cursed herself for asking such a thing, not that she didn’t want to know, but she wanted to bring it up more gradually.

“No, I’m not seeing anyone. What about you? Have someone special waiting for you?” Luka looked as he always did but there was something in his voice that Marinette couldn’t place.

“Ah, no. I’m not dating anyone.” Marinette mumbled. If Luka noticed the pause before she spoke, he didn’t mention it. Looking down at her shoes, black Mary-Jane heels that matched with her blouse, she muttered quickly, “Maman and Papa keep asking me about it but I just...”

“Haven’t found someone you clicked with?” Luka guessed. Marinette nodded and looked back up at Luka. She forgot how much Luka could just understand. It felt nice not having to explain herself over and over again, and say that she was fine when she was a little lonely.

Marinette smiled, “Yeah, it’s been a long time.” They both went silent at the admission.

“Would you want to hang out for a while? Maybe get something to eat and catch up?” Luka asked, a slight hint of a blush on his face.

“Yes!” Marinette almost jumped in joy, “That sounds great.” She told herself it was just catching up with an old friend, that to spend some time with Luka no matter the context was good. But when Luka smiled at her response, that voice shut up and a quiet one whispered, maybe you have a second chance.

Luka and Marinette grabbed their luggage and strolled the airport for a place to eat. Coming across a sandwich shop they both decided it was be a great place to relax and chat for a while.

While Luka went up to order, Marinette found a nice table in the back corner without harsh lighting. Dropping her stuff into a chair and sitting down next to it, just as Luka had started to come back.

“They have our orders, shouldn’t be too long before they come out.” Luka announced, pulling a chair out for himself.

“Thanks,” Marinette said softly, the mood in the shop was quiet but a little intimate, with warm vibes that started to ease Marinette’s worries about the snow storm. They had shelter for a few hours at least.  

“Do you want to play 20 questions? Get to catch up and learn what’s new about each other?” Luka suggested. Marinette nodded, eager to know how much Luka has changed and what has stayed the same.

Surprisingly not much had changed. Luka was still, well, Luka, still making music, still helping out his mother and sister. Spending some time with Jagged Stone and making more music. Although Jagged had given the option for him to go pro, Luka was more incline to try and make it on his own and it was showing; one of his songs hit the top 40 list not too long ago, and he had been making headway on another album. Even with all that going on, Luka was still the humble, loyal, sweet and kind guy she knew as a teenager. It made the crush she had come back. 

Marinette, had been making headway on her own brand after studying under some major influencers in America. After 5 years abroad Marinette finally had come home to Paris to start up her own shop and it was taking off quite well. A year later and she had some of her own celebrity clientele and a few from her childhood that helped promote her work as well, like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightengale. This vacation she currently was on, was to take a small break from designing clothes and just relax. Marinette didn’t realize until this moment that she failed to really relax on her vacation, until she was with Luka, Marinette was still tense.

“…the poor intern was just trembling and repeatedly apologizing for getting soda all over me.” Luka said, finishing up a story Marinette had asked about. Marinette smiled, and giggled lightly.

“Bet they were mortified.”

“Oh definitely.” Luka chuckled. Marinette had missed his laugh; it was full of life and sincerity.

“What was your plans for when you were home?” Marinette asked, curious to learn what traditions the Couffaine family had.

“Well, we usually have Homebrew we would drink, it was the only time Ma would let us drink with her. For Christmas dinner we would have a boiled beef dish, and decorate the boat in lights, I’m sure you remember how… enthusiastic Rose got about hanging lights.”

Marinette giggled as she remembered how feisty the small blonde got about hanging the lights a certain way. It was one of the few times that Marinette was free during the holiday season, usually she was working in the bakery to keep up with the demand.

“But my favorite thing was the Perkins, it’s a traditional spicy Scottish biscuit. Ma would make them every year; I haven’t had them in awhile so I was looking forward to having them this year.” Luka gave a sigh and smiled at Marinette.

“What about you? Any Christmas family traditions?”

“Yeah, my family would do a bakery treat advent calendar.” Marinette replied.

“How does that work?”

“Well,” Marinette started, “every night just as we close my Papa would make a bakery treat for us to share each day until Christmas. It could be a croissant, to a macron, sweet rolls, or cookies. It just depends on what ingredients we have left and what Papa feels like making, it’s fun.”

“Sounds like a good time,” Luka smiled.

“It is, but we can never help out with making a bûche de Noël or Yule Log dessert. Papa has a secret recipe that was passed down in his family, he says when I marry, he will give me the recipe.” Marinette made a face and sighed. “I know he means well but I wish he understood that I want to take things at my own pace.”

“You deserve that. Marinette, you always do things for other people, when it comes to matters of your heart, take all the time you need.” Luka earnestly, taking her hand into his own, a blush bloomed on Marinette’s face.

“Thank you, Luka. I know that now, but it feels good to hear someone say it.” Marinette grinned.

“Besides, I know you are holding back on me.”

Luka looked confused but didn’t let go of her hand.

“The Dark Crooked One of Christmas.” Marinette stated. Luka groaned and Marinette laughed, hands tightening together but Marinette re-adjusted her grip so that their hands were intertwined.

“Jules told you about Crom Dubh na Nollaig? I should have known.” Luka gave a weary sigh but smiled at her.

“She would not stop raving about it, it was her favorite story, the Dark Crooked One would steal bad children away from their parents.”

“I bet Jules wished he would take me when we were young,” Luka said.

“Oh, she did and still does!” Marinette laughed, a big smile growing on her lips as Luka groaned. But as annoyed as he seemed, he couldn’t fight the smile that bloomed on his face.

At that moment a staff member came by to let them know the kitchen would close in 30 mins, they decided to grab a couple more sandwiches for the night and walked to a secluded section of airport benches. They made themselves comfortable and continued to swap stories and ask questions about each other’s lives.

A blaring announcement startled them out of their happy bubble.

“Attention passengers, all flights are currently grounded for the night, we expect flights to recommence tomorrow at 7AM. Again, attention passengers…”

The two looked at each other before Luka spoke, “Well looks like we are stuck here for the night.”

“Yup. What a twist of fate, huh?”  Marinette commented idly. Luka took a moment to look Marinette over, seemingly to come to a decision he scooted a little closer to her before he talked again.

“Yes, but I’m rather glad it happened. I got to meet you again.” Luka softly spoke, he stared into Marinette’s beautiful blue bell eyes.  

“Me too, I’ve missed you.” Marinette said softly. Luka’s breath caught when she spoke. Luka was excited when he spotted Marinette at the airport, it felt like fate that he could see her again. Luka longed for a connection but he would be happy just to be her friend again. Maybe they could be more again.

Luka glanced at his watch before smiling widely.

“Merry Christmas, Marinette.”

Just then the airport clocks went off, signaling that it was midnight and indeed Christmas. 

“Merry Christmas, Luka.” Marinette responded. Happy smiles on both of their faces.

The rest of the night was spent talking and eating the sandwiches they bought earlier. Just chatting away about everything and nothing and subtlety ignoring the growing tension between them, waiting for the morning to come and the snow to subside. Before they knew it 6AM had come, going to the ticket booth they looked at the re-scheduled return flights and found that they had different flight times. Marinette’s flight was in an hour and Luka’s was at 2PM. Grabbing their things they went to the gate that Marinette’s plane was at, holding hands the whole time. Marinette turned to Luka staring up at him for a moment.

“Promise me,” Marinette started.

“Anything.” Luka replied. She smiled at his honesty and sincerity. A thrill went through her at his words, because she knew he literally meant “anything.”

“Promise that you will stay in touch,” Marinette continued. Luka reached out a hand and brushed her hair away from her face and looked her deep in the eyes as he whispered, “I will. I promise to keep in touch.” They both smiled brightly but with a tinge of sadness.

“You better go,” Luka nudged, dropping his hand as the over speaker crackled with a last call for Marinette’s flight. Marinette sighed and grabbed her luggage and looked at Luka once last time before she started to walk away. But it didn’t feel right.

Pausing mid-step Marinette turned and ran back to Luka throwing her arms around him and kissing him, Luka caught her with surprising ease and kissed her back.

“Ask me out when we are back in Paris,” She whispered into his ear then let go and continued on her flight back home, looking back to Luka periodically as she walked through the gate entrance. Luka kept a smile on his face. Marinette settled into her seat and put on head phones as she got comfortable. Listening to Luka’s music to calm herself.

Luka’s warm smile never left her mind. A smile graced her lips, maybe this is the start of a second chance that would last a life time.

[verfound]

WIP Wednesday: 10.30.2024

So remember when I did that fic about kwami soulmates for Lukanette September? And left it at the worst possible place? Then burnt out on life for 90% of October?

...I promise I'm still picking at it 👀

“…Tikki?” she asked, opening her bag. Tikki liked to hide in there while Marinette was busy — maybe she had grabbed a cookie once they’d gotten home and taken a nap? But when she opened her bag, she screamed and tried to throw it — which…didn’t work so well, when it was still looped around her shoulder. She ended up jerking herself awkwardly before it fell back against her side, where the side flopped open, and…sure enough…

…that was not Tikki staring back at her.

“Y-y-you…” she stammered, her eyes going wide. “Who the heck are you?!”

The little…snake…thing…it looked like a snake? Sort of? But snakes didn’t have legs. Or arms. And she supposed that was because it was a kwami, not an actual snake, but…the thing floated up from her bag, and that was definitely a snake’s tongue that flickered out at her.

“…Tikki was right,” it said, its voice mildly amused. “Your home ssssmells delicccciousssss.”

She blinked at it, more than a little thrown.

“Uh…thanks?” she tried. It chuckled and zipped over to her, and she tried not to flinch as it circled around her back to land on her shoulder. It grinned up at her.

“Hello, Marinette,” it said. “I am Ssssasssss.”

It��he? He sounded like a he, but voices could be deceiving. Whatever — it was…kind of adorable, when you got past the snake thing. She liked its hiss — it was cute.

“Hi,” she said, raising a finger to stroke its hood. It hissed in pleasure, and she had to smile. “Why are you in my bag, Sass, and where’s Tikki?”

…and then Sass smirked at her, and she was struck by the thought that it wasn’t very adorable at all.

There was something…unnerving about that smirk. Unsettling.

“With your soulmate,” it said, its tail flicking against her back.

She…should have known that. Because duh, obviously. You could only see your own kwami — and your soulmate’s kwami. But Marinette hadn’t known she’d had a soulmate before she had found Sass in her bag, and she had had Tikki with her at the Liberty, and she hadn’t been anywhere except home and the boat all day, and…and…

“…S-Sass?” she asked, her eyes widening. “You…when did you get in my bag?”

It curled up in a little ball on her shoulder and rested its head on its arms. It still looked like it was smirking at her, and that smirk was still kinda creeping her the heck out.

“Oh, not too long ago…” it hummed. “The river was sssso nicccce today, and your bag is essspecccially comfy. I thought I would take a nap, but you left before I could ssssneak back out.”

…the river.

It got in her bag at practice.

Which meant it hadn’t snuck in during the bakery rush, which…was good, right? Because that meant it could only belong to a handful of people. Which meant…

“Sass…” she started, swallowing. “Who…who’s your person?”

It blinked open its eyes, that insufferable smirk still on its face as it cocked its head to the side.

“Who do you think, Marinette?” it asked. She tried not to roll her eyes. Honestly, and she had thought Tikki was…

“Your kwami’s a little shit, too, huh?”

The words echoed in her memory, and her eyes widened. No…

“Y-you can’t be Rose’s or Juleka’s,” she said. It watched her patiently. “They saw each other’s kwamis ages ago. And Ivan was really good at hiding his, but I know Mylène saw Stompp when we started collége. You…your person was on the boat, right?”

“He lives there, yessss,” Sass hummed, lying its…his head back down. Marinette swallowed.

He.

Which ruled out the Captain.

…thank God.

But that also meant…

Her phone pinged before she could ask, and she fished it out of her pocket with a shaky hand. Sure enough, there was a text message waiting for her.

From Luka.

LLC: can we talk?

LLC: actually, can i just come by later?

LLC: got work

LLC: you left something behind

A picture popped up before she had even finished reading. And kwamis couldn’t be photographed or recorded — part of their ancient, mystical magic — but there was a cookie hovering above his knee, and Marinette knew for a fact Tikki loved cookies. And cookies didn’t typically float.

She dropped her phone, fell back against the door, dropped her head in her hands, and screamed.

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Sprint Challenge January 2025

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists! The prompts are:

1. "You're going to be really successful, I need to marry you while I still have a shot." 2. In an attempt to get her to relax already, Luka gives Marinette a "Honey Don't" List. 3. Friends with benefits consequences 4. Who betrays you once, will betray you a thousand times. There is no need to drink the whole sea to realize it is salty. 5. A gives a not really encouraging, kind of insulting, completely unrehearsed pep talk. B: "That's your pep talk?" A: "...yeah, it's a little rough." B: "A little...as a friend, you are dead to me." (Leverage) 6. Wildcard - pick any previous challenge prompt, or play LBSC Smooch Roulette to generate a prompt!

You have until Wednesday, January 29 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete, and whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’).

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut.

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you.  After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you.  Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings.  (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

[quickspinner]

Hi! I was wondering if you have any Lukanette 0 to married fics to rec. I'm finding I really like that trope, but I haven't found too many

I do, for varying values of 0 😂

There's so many love at first sight/immediately smitten fics that I wanted to include here and then pulled back on because I was like no, no, that isn't really 0 to married, and if I list all these I will be here all night. 🤣 I did include a few that I felt had the 0 to married energy even if it didn't quite make it to the marriage part before the story ended.

Even so, I always forget things when I answer a question like this so all my lukanette peeps feel free to reblog with additional recs!

0 to Married where 0 equals first meeting (and married occasionally means "kidnapped" by fae)

@verfound: (to be fair this is a bit more 0 to makeout but it's not hard to imagine marriage is next) Mlle. Peppi Roni

@mintaka14: Locked Out (series)

@mintaka14: Don't Go Down By Carter Hall

@mintaka14: Get In and Drive

@rierse: Heart and Soul

@writer-rider-flirty-thirties: Our Time Together (series, NSFW) (I don't remember if I actually remembered to put this in the authors notes at the time, although I definitely meant to, but how much I enjoyed this story was part what sparked the idea for This is Crazy)

0 to Married where 0 equals years of mutual pining that finally explodes

@verfound We Should Honeymoon in Paris

@verfound, @mintaka, @abyssal-ali Hard Right to Greece

@verfound On Amicable Breakups

@verfound I Wasn't Gonna Call (But Maybe I Should)

@livrever Drunken Plans (NSFW)

@livrever Guilty Pleasures (NSFW)

@nerdypanda3126: We're a Kiss at 2 am (NSFW)

0 to Married where 0 equals "haven't seen each other in years and suddenly reunited"

From me, Haste to the Wedding and Kismet (Kiss Me)

@nerdypanda3126: You Look Good in My Shirt

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

Juleka vs. The Forces of the Universe Ch. 19

[chocolatedragonempathfire]

Trying something different, I don’t usually post my art ( or at all really!) but i’m trying to improve. Featuring my version of Ladybug and Viperion.

[ml-lukanette-bigbang]

Congratulations to all the participants of this year’s Lukanette Big Bang!

We’ll be going through and reblogging the works that have been posted to tumblr during this event, so if we happen to miss your beautiful creations, please feel to submit a link or DM us the direct post!

Now who’s ready to see some fantastic works made by this wonderful fandom?

[mystic-bookshelf]

WIP Wednesday

I haven't done any writing in a hot minute, but I think I have officially beaten writers block. We'll soon be back baby!!

“I… I don’t really know what to say, but… uhm… th-thank you. [...]” [Marinette] lowered her eyes. “I appreciate you.”

That alone made his heart skip a beat, and the way she looked up at him through her lashes, nervously nibbling her lower lip made him believe that maybe it had stopped entirely. Oh… was that why he suddenly felt so overwhelmed and light headed? Why he couldn’t really form any coherent thoughts other than ‘please scoot closer and cradle my cheek again’?

God, what was with him??

He swallowed hard and before he could do or say anything stupid, he practically jumped up from the bed and announced “I should get going!” a little too loud. Marinette blinked at him perplexed. “Did… did I say something wrong?”

He immediately bit his lips. Why was he acting this way, this was utterly unprofessional!

“No, absolutely not,” Luka insisted, waving his hands before him and cursing himself for being so weird. “It’s just, ah… it’s late and you’re probably tired and… uh… I”—come on, Luka, be normal. Say something normal— “I just… I should be the one thanking you. For listening to me. And I appreciate you, too.” He averted his gaze again. “A lot, actually.”

[airi-p4]

Sweep Sweep

Hi! New short lukanette fic!

Summary: Marinette is surprised to see that Luka doesn't know how to clean so she offers him her help (and something more).

AO3

(Thank you @celestiall0tus for checking it for me!)

Enjoy?

_________________________

The first time Marinette saw Luka cleaning, she hadn't been paying much attention: she had been distracted and embarrassed by the turnout of Adrien's boys party and her stupid crush on the blond boy to notice anything else. 

The second time she saw it, it was at the Liberty. Her past crush on Adrien forgotten, Marinette greatly enjoyed hanging out with her favorite band’s friends. And sure, she couldn't deny the growing affection and the fastening heartbeats she had started to notice around Kitty Section’s guitarist -the butterflies on the stomach made her feelings quite obvious to her, too. 

New. Refreshing. Happy.

That time, their first official concert had ended, and fireworks were displayed afterwards for the celebration party. By the evening, confetti was all scattered on the deck, along with used paper cups, pizza boxes, empty snacks bags and candy wrappers- which meant cleaning time. It was very convenient that the captain was distracted (being scolded and fined) by agent Roger- because yes, you can't fire ship cannons (or cannons in general) in Paris, even if it's only fireworks.

So meanwhile, everyone diligently got to work, their cleaning tools and trash bags ready as they paired up and took their positions. There was a broom on Luka's hands and- Oh, clumsy her!- Marinette accidentally stepped on it, her body spinning and falling on the blue-haired boy, who hit the floor on his back. Her heartbeats were loud, the proximity of his face to hers made her fluster with red, and she had no doubts that reaction was most likely noticed by the observant boy lying down under her. Despite the warmth on her cheeks, she couldn't help it but to glance at his lips and stare in his eyes and, lost in them, she leaned closer towards him. Seeing him move too just before closing her eyes, she had expected to meet him halfway, but before that could happen… 

*beep beep* 

She had to run because of an akuma. Just her luck. She cursed, and with one of her unbelievable excuses, she left in a rush. She hated the thought of her friends thinking that she just left because she didn't want to help with the cleaning- but on the next day, she found out Luka covered for her lie and had protected her from getting a negative impression. In result, she was charged with more tasks than usual (such as baking cookies for the band) as a “penalty”. She didn't think it was possible, but she fell a little more for Luka that day.

And then, the time she actually saw it for real arrived.

It was the third time Marinette saw Luka cleaning, the first time she actually looked -no accidents, no unwanted boys or akumas- and she couldn't believe her eyes. 

They had been at the bakery, baking cookies together, and playfully painting each other’s faces with flour and chocolate. Marinette had to admit the chocolate at the tip of Luka's nose looked adorable, almost as the heart shaped chocolate mark on her right cheek. Fun. Cookies were a success but the kitchen a messy flour disaster… 

Which meant time to clean up.

She had been wondering: why did Luka have a  “penalty” too if he was there to clean? Was it solidarity? Pity? Or maybe he wanted to spend time with her…? She had blushed at the thought. But then, looking at him in her house’s kitchen she understood it: Luka couldn't sweep. Well- sure, he did sweep, but the way he held the broom, the way he grabbed and moved it… everything was JUST WRONG. Wrong and inefficient. Embarrassing, even. No wonder she had tripped on it that past day! And no wonder he had a penalty too! What a disaster! After a minute, she couldn't bare to watch anymore.

“Luka! That's not how you do it!” Marinette finally squeaked, almost scandalized. “You have to-'' she took the broom from Luka's hands, pretending their fingers didn't brush while doing so so she could focus on her task and show him how to do it properly. His attentive eyes on her as she moved were making her a bit nervous.

“Okay” Luka nodded. He took back the broom and tried to imitate what Marinette had done as she observed. He needed practice. Okay-a lot of practice. How can anybody be so bad at sweeping the floor!? She wondered.

“Luka. You don't know how to sweep at all…?” Marinette finally asked. And the boy blushed bright red (an extremely rare sight!) and nodded as he sank between his shoulders. “What!? How!? Why!?”

“Sorry. I- You know my mom, Marinette. She has never taught me or Juleka how to properly do it. She even scolded us when she saw us clean. And with no one else to ask… Of course Jules and I do some cleaning, don't get us wrong! We both take turns to clean whenever mom isn't home. Juleka has learned a bit from Rose but I've always been embarrassed to ask for help so I just know the basics…”

‘You can't call that “the basics”!’ Marinette thought. But well, that made sense. She knew how Anarka did clean the kitchen, do the dishes, the laundry and the bathroom. But she loved chaos and freedom, so she was against cleaning when it came to dust and reorganizing, sweeping the floor included.

“Do you want me to teach you, Luka?” Marinette offered.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“Oh but- there's more than sweeping, Marinette… Certain cooking tools or persistent dirt- or worse, the clothes’ colors or sizes changed after doing the laundry!”

Marinette started laughing loudly. “As far as I know how, I can teach you anything you want. And if I don't know, then we can learn together” her excited smile made him smile too.

“That sounds great, Marinette. I'll repay with guitar classes. Or pizza. Or anything you want”. 

“You don't need to repay me for this, Luka! But I'd really like that” she beamed. More time together? She didn't mind it. At all.

“It's settled then” he smiled back at her.

Then, she took another broom and started to sweep too. Each one started from one corner of the kitchen, slowly getting closer as she silently taught him while exchanging shy gazes. A moment later, they finally met and the top of their brooms bumped together. Face to face, blushing, with the sole sound of their fastening heartbeats, she looked down at the floor, feeling his eyes on her. Their bodies were close as their brooms tangled together- not working anymore at that point. 

“Marinette… there's chocolate on your face. Can I clean it?” Her heart skipped at the feel of his warm breath on her forehead. All she could do was shyly nod and suddenly, his hand was on her cheek, warm, caressing there tenderly- the rub of his thumb too soft to clean anything at all, she knew. Was he actually trying to clean it or maybe he- Could it be that their feelings were really mutual? She wanted to see- to know- his facial expression. 

Curiosity became courage, and Marinette raised her face up until their eyes finally met with the most adoring, bittersweet and loving gaze she had ever seen on Luka. And that was all she needed to know. Her blush and bewilderment didn't stop her getting on her tiptoes and raising to give him a peck on his cheek- a peck too that lasted too long to be expected to have a friendly meaning, she knew and he suspected. How she blushed even more and avoided his eyes seconded his suspicions for him. 

“Marinette…” he said in a whisper. And without words, only with his fingers, he encouraged her chin to raise up again. His face was even closer now, a questioning expression on him which she had no trouble to understand. In response, she lifted her chin even more and closed her eyes, finally offering him his answer and what both of them had been waiting for a long while- too long. 

Slowly but surely, he moved. His free hand impatiently moved to her back, raising to secure her in his arms and making both brooms fall to the floor with the movement, at the same time she raised on her tiptoes and their lips finally met at last. Their kiss was everything they wished for, and surprisingly better than they could have ever imagined. Only their smiles and happy faces topped such brightness as they hugged tenderly before kissing once again.

From then on, the cleaning teachings continued. And if Luka was doing it bad on purpose to spend more time with his girlfriend, he didn't say. And Marinette definitely didn't complain either when she realized what he was doing, especially when those lessons always ended with lots of kisses. 

Sweeping their love inwards home- both benefited from it.

Fin

[nerdypanda3126]

I'll Keep You Warm

Merry Christmas @omnoramayday! I'm your @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Secret Santa 😁🎅

I used the prompt you provided of: "Playing in the snow when Luka tackles Marinette/Marinette trips into Luka and they fall to the ground. They have pink cheeks and snow in their hair and they're staring at each other." which was so incredibly cute and I knew I had to use that one. Hope you like it!

Read on Ao3

Marinette shivered and clutched her backpack tighter as she exited Collège Françoise Dupont. It had seemed beautiful and sunny out all day, but during her last class a chill had crept in and a biting wind had picked up. She was thankful she’d at least worn a sweater that day, but she was still planning on speed walking most of the way home. 

That is, until she saw a familiar mop of blue-tinted hair leaning against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Juleka, and she couldn’t help her smile as she bounded down to greet him. Luka always made her feel warmer, for some reason. He’d been showing up more and more to meet Juleka after school and walk home with her, but Marinette was still excited to see him every time.

“Luka!” she exclaimed breathlessly when she’d made it to the bottom. He turned and smiled when he saw her, which made her cheeks flush with welcome heat. His smile twitched downwards, though, when he scanned over her outfit. 

“Why don’t you have a jacket?” he asked, with concern coloring his tone. “It’s freezing out here and it smells like snow.”

She stopped to look at him curiously. “It smells like snow?” 

He only nodded, and before she could protest, he’d pulled off his own jacket and draped it around her shoulders. For good measure, he fluffed the hood out and tucked it around her neck. She didn’t know what snow smelled like, but at the moment she didn’t really care because Luka’s jacket smelled just like him and her face felt like it was about to spontaneously combust. His hand drew across her cheek as he pulled away, and he had a soft little smile on his face as he admired his handiwork. 

“You can’t possibly smell snow,” she tried to recover, lamely, as she shoved her hands through the sleeves, accepting his gift. 

He hummed in thought and looked up at the clear sky, with just a few wisps of gray clouds starting to gather. “It’s like rain,” he mused aloud, “like that same smell, but crisper and colder.” 

“Don’t argue with him,” Juleka muttered as she appeared beside Marinette. It made Marinette jump a little, but she was starting to get used to Juleka’s quiet way of walking up. “Just bring gloves to practice today.” 

“And a hat, at least,” Luka added. As the two of them started to walk away, Marinette went to take his jacket off to return it to him, but he waved her off. “See you later,” he reminded her. 

It was only after they left that Marinette felt the cold creeping in again, but as she pulled Luka’s jacket tighter around herself, she remembered the feeling of the back of his fingers lightly trailing along her cheek, and her whole walk home was very, very warm. 

***

By the time Kitty Section practice came around, they were forced to meet down in the hold because the temperature had definitely dipped below freezing. Marinette rubbed her hands together for what felt like the thousandth time and thanked Juleka silently for her recommendation to wear gloves. The boat was cold in most circumstances, let alone with the temperature dropping so rapidly. She was missing Luka’s jacket, though, which she’d given back as soon as she stepped on deck. Luka tried to tell her to keep it for practice, but she insisted she’d forget to give it back if she didn’t get it back to him right away. 

Although since she’d worn his jacket there, she was now shivering in just her sweater again and the only “gloves” she’d had on hand at the time were a pair of mittens, which made it extraordinarily difficult to sketch. Every so often she’d get too frustrated and rip them off, only to deal with the consequences of freezing, trembling fingers until she was forced to put them back on. 

It was slow going. 

On one of those instances, Luka unslung his guitar, unofficially announcing a break, and he came over to sit by her. Without saying anything, he took her frozen hands between his and gently blew warm air on her fingertips. 

“How’s the sketch going?” he asked. 

She glared at the patchy, faint, unrealized lines on the pages of her sketchbook. It wasn’t exactly the book’s fault that she was feeling so inspired and couldn’t get anything to work, but she still felt like blaming the paper would somehow help. 

“It’s not, really,” she admitted. She couldn’t help her frustrated little huff. “If it just snowed, I wouldn’t mind it being so cold.” 

He chuckled. “It will,” he said calmly, and blew on her fingers again. She wiggled them to see if any feeling was coming back. No such luck. They were still stiff and a little numb.

She couldn’t help her skepticism. “Because you can smell it?” 

He only hummed to confirm, but since her fingertips were so close to his lips, she could feel the vibration and it made her shiver. 

“Not helping?” he asked. 

Before she could protest, he pulled away, but in the next second his jacket was back around her shoulders and any kind of protest died on her lips. What came out of her instead was, “Won’t you be cold?” 

He shook his head, then smiled at her, the same way he had earlier, like he liked seeing his jacket tucked around her, and she felt what was becoming a familiar flush of heat creep its way up to her cheeks.

“I’m always warm around you, Marinette,” he admitted quietly. 

She opened and closed her mouth several times, but nothing came out in response. Luka looked over his shoulder and said something to Juleka, gave Marinette one more soft smile, then went back to playing like he hadn’t just made her heart start pounding in her ears and left butterflies fluttering in her stomach. 

She gave up on sketching anything useful for the rest of the time and instead let her hands wander over the page aimlessly as she tried to get her mind to focus on words. She wished she could disappear somewhere and talk through what just happened with Tikki, but the only place to go was above deck, which would take her further away from Luka and out into the bitter cold, and those were the last places she wanted to be. 

“You make me feel warm, too,” wasn’t right, but neither was an outright, “I love you.” She bit her lip as she thought. He made this seem so easy, every time he did it, and she couldn’t even tell him how much she loved that he’d given her his jacket, not once, but twice today just to make sure she stayed warm. Or that his words made her feel warmer than his jacket ever could. Or that she wished she could just always be around him because then she felt like she’d never be cold again. 

Practice was over all too soon, and she still didn’t know what to say to him. As a group, they trudged back up the stairs, arguing about chords and lyrics, complaining that they had to walk home in the cold, and already shivering as the wind started nipping at their noses.

But when they got on deck, they all stopped to gasp.

Little bits of white fluff were gently cascading down from the sky, coating the deck in what looked like white, sparkling icing. 

Marinette turned to Luka, shocked, and he was just smiling back at her, knowing he’d been proven right but not feeling the need to rub it in. She turned back to watch the snow fall, wrapped his jacket tighter around herself, and tugged the sleeves down over her mittens, flipping the hood up for good measure over the hat he’d warned her to bring. 

Rose was the first one to break the silence they’d fallen into when she squealed with delight and grabbed Juleka’s hands to spin her around the deck. Ivan stood stoically nearby, but Marinette had a feeling he was wishing Mylène was there so he could wrap an arm around her. 

To her surprise, a familiar warm hand closed around hers. She blushed up at Luka and he was still smiling at her in that same, soft way. He gestured with his head to the deck as if asking her to join in. With another glance upwards at the glittery falling snow, and then at Rose and Juleka laughing as they danced in it, she smiled back at Luka and nodded.

Although she’d unfortunately forgotten to factor in how incredibly clumsy she was. 

As soon as she took an enthusiastic step forwards to follow Luka, her foot slipped out from under her and she gripped Luka’s hand even harder as she flailed to try to keep her balance, which only ended up yanking him down with her in a completely ungraceful tangle of arms and legs and a little puff of white snow as they hit the deck together. 

Luka had somehow managed to twist underneath her, softening the blow for her, but that meant…

She was nose to nose with him, with his arm around her and her hand on his chest and there were snowflakes melting in his hair and dusting his eyelashes and his cheeks were pink from the cold and in that moment, she swore he looked like some kind of angel. 

She let the feeling carry her forwards to close the last little bit of distance between them, pressing her lips to his shyly in what could’ve been mistaken for a stray snowflake, it was so light and tentative. 

Luka didn’t miss it, though. His eyes widened and his arm around her tightened as he returned the gesture, the lightest of touches of his warm lips against hers. It made her feel braver than her Ladybug suit ever did, and she dared to try it again, more firm, more sure, trying to tell him everything she hadn’t been able to figure out how to say. 

His other arm wrapped around her waist as he held her there, kissing her back on the snow-encrusted deck of the Liberty as more snow kept falling on them. 

She’d hardly noticed she was shivering, but then, Luka was, too. It forced them apart and as they got to their feet, they both seemed to remember at the same time that they hadn’t been alone on the ship. Although, it didn't seem like time had stopped for anyone else like it had for them just now. Thankfully, Rose and Juleka were still dancing, oblivious, it seemed, to what had just happened, although Marinette thought there was an extra twinkle of romance in Rose’s eyes when she glanced their way. Ivan glanced their way, too, but only nodded once, smiling, and lumbered off. 

Luka had helped her up, and his hand was still somehow around hers. They were both still shivering, his cheeks were as pink as hers were flushed, his jacket was still around her shoulders, and the snow was still gently falling all around them, but as they stared at each other, smiling and breathless and warm, Marinette knew that she’d never be cold again.

[verfound]

FICLET: "Mamie Marie" (MLB; Lukanette; House Band)

Characters/Pairings: Harmony Couffaine, Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Rating: All Ages

Summary: Marinette makes a granny hat for Harmony’s hundredth day of school.  Luka likes it.

Author’s Notes/Warnings: I made a granny curler hat for the 100th Day of School.  That’s it.  That’s the story.  😂  (My district can also be stupid & I needed some fluff.)

Read on Ao3

“Mamie Mari”

“So?  What do you think?”

He looked up at his wife’s voice, and his eyes popped open when he saw her standing in the doorway to their bedroom.  A white knit cap – complete with loops of yarn curls and hair rollers and a perky little bun – sat atop her head.  His reading glasses – the ones he had finally caved and bought after his last eye exam had gone…less well than expected – were perched on her nose, and an old cardigan had been tossed on over her designer top.

“Think it’ll do for Harmony’s hundredth day of school?” she asked, reaching up to pat her bun like she was primping.

“…oh my God, I love you,” he laughed, shaking his head in wonder.  “Darning.  Please take this as the compliment it’s intended as.”

“Ok?” she laughed, her face scrunching a little.  He hopped up off the bed, propping his guitar against the wall, and crossed the room to her in a few easy strides.  He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips, pressing a kiss against her wedding ring.

“You are hot as a granny, and I cannot wait to grow old with you,” he said.  She blinked at him for a moment before busting up in laughter, her head dropping against his shoulder as she leaned against him.

“Oh my God, you dork,” she cackled.  “I honestly don’t know if I’m offended or not.  You’re not supposed to tell a woman she’s getting old!”

“I didn’t!” he laughed.  “I said I can’t wait to get old with you!”

She rolled her eyes before looking up at him, and after a moment of smiling stupidly at each other she tugged his face down for a kiss.  His hand slid up to cup the back of her head, slipping under the yarn to feel the hair tucked underneath.

“Papa!  No!  You’ll mess it up!” a voice at their side cried, and he looked down to find Harmony glaring at him.  She reached her hands up for the hat.  “Maman made it for me.  Don’t ruin it!”

“I would never – you know I love everything Maman makes too much to do that,” he said, smiling at her as he popped the hat off Marinette’s head.  He ignored Marinette’s eyeroll and mumbled comment that was definitely not appropriate for any of their band to hear and handed the cap over to their oldest dutifully, who immediately fit it around her own head.  It was a little big on her, but he had no doubt once she tucked all her hair inside it would fit like a glove.  “Gorgeous, Chaos.  Almost as gorgeous as Maman.”

“Ew, Papa,” she sniffed with all the disdain of her twelve years.  “Don’t be gross.”

She turned and ran down the hall, eager to show her hat off to her siblings.  Marinette sighed and leaned against him, and he chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her middle and bent his head to her ear.

“You realize you’re gonna have to make one for all of them now, right?” he asked.  She sighed and nodded.

“It’s ok.  They all have hundred day celebrations.  The boys are ok with baby powder in their hair, but I’ve already started Mellie’s,” she said.  He kissed her shoulder and laughed.

“You’re such a good maman,” he said.  He skimmed his nose against her ear, smiling as he whispered: “…and a very hot mamie.”

“Oh, please, not yet,” she laughed.  She turned in his arms and removed his glasses, settling them on his nose and smiling as she ran a hand through his hair.  It was starting to get long again.  “You wouldn’t look bad with some gray yourself, you know.”

“You think?” he asked, grinning at her.

“You already have the glasses,” she said, shrugging.  She fisted her hands in his shirt and tugged him down, pausing with her lips a breath away from his own.  “…the kids are playing.  Wanna close that door and be gross with me, old man?”

“…hey,” he laughed, stepping back into their room and pulling her after him, “I’m not that old yet, Mamie…”

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

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