31 August 2019

Prompt: There Was Only One Bed (Setting)

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Character/Pairing: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kitty Section

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Notes: I'm almost sad this is the last prompt of the month, because after this one I need one where Juleka and Jagged team up for Matchmaking Shenanigans. It might just have to happen anyway. Also, in a real-world situation, even if Ivan was coming up a day later, all their asses would be crammed in one van with all their gear (somebody would be on a lap, someone else on the floor/in the trunk), and they'd all be in one room with two beds and MAYBE an air mattress. But this is fiction, the prompt was ONE BED, and, like Ms. Darbus, I live for DRAMA!

Luka stared at the hotel room in disbelief. Maybe a little anger. Definitely a lot of annoyance.

…the tiniest smidge of excitement, which he was steadfastly trying to squash down because he was a gentleman damn it and was not going to be looking forward to the coming nights at all.

"…I'm going to kill her," he groaned, slapping a hand against his face and sufficiently blocking the view of the single, solitary bed occupying most of the hotel room. He felt Marinette tense beside him, and that sliver of excitement was replaced by a butt-load of guilt. "I am absolutely going to kill her."

"HAVE FUN, YOU TWO!" Rose squealed as Juleka shoved her into the room next door. Luka turned his head to lock eyes with his sister, who just smirked at him and offered a two-fingered salute before slamming the door behind her. He pushed out an exasperated sigh and looked back to the room.

There was still only one bed. He didn't know why he had expected that to change in the second he'd turned away, like a second bed had been playfully hiding behind a closet door or something and was waiting to jump out the moment he'd turned his back.

Surprise! it would cry, wagging its end like a dog would its tail. I was in the corner all along! Tee-hee!

…he needed to sleep. That was definitely a mental image straight out of one of Sandboy's nightmares, and he needed a good eight hours to forget it. Too bad it was almost one o'clock in the morning and they all needed to be up by seven thirty.

Marinette moved beside him, cutting off any further internal monologuing. He gulped and looked at her. She looked worse than he felt.

"Marinette?" he asked, and she sighed as she trudged into the room, tossed her bag onto the chair by the window, and collapsed on the bed. He hesitated, still frozen in the doorway. He shifted slightly, adjusting his guitar strap over his shoulder and redistributing the weight of his duffle. "…Marinette?"

"Luka, we've been trapped in a cramped van for seven and a half hours," she groaned. Her voice was muffled by the mattress, so she turned her head to glare blearily at him. He shifted again, and she sighed. "The air was broken, it was boiling outside, and traffic sucked. Most of the trip I spent on your lap because Ivan's drums took up the extra seat. I love you, I trust you, and I'm too tired to care about the fact that Juleka forgot to ask for a double, so please." She patted the bed beside her expectantly, but her eyes were already closing and her voice was drifting off. "Just…get…here."

If he hadn't been frozen before, he definitely was now.

"I love you, I trust you…"

"I love you…"

…she loved him? Loved him? Loved?

…he definitely loved her. He had known that for years, since he was seventeen. Since she'd first stumbled into his room stuttering about mamas and grooves. And he had suspected, over the two years he'd known her, that she liked him as well – even if only as a friend. Because when they had met, she had been in love with Adrien Agreste, and even if she didn't love Adrien anymore…

He rubbed his eyes again and sighed. He was too tired to process any of this. He finally entered the room, kicking the door shut behind him, and dumped his duffel by Marinette's in the chair. He was a bit more careful with laying his guitar against the windowsill, and within moments he was sitting on the other side of the bed kicking his boots off. He paused as he glanced behind him, taking a moment to watch Marinette's sleeping face.

She loved him, huh?

He laid back on the bed and propped his arms behind his head. His eyes widened in surprise when, the next thing he knew, Marinette had rolled over and curled against his side. He glanced down to find her sleeping face smiling up at him, and his heart clenched in his chest. He sighed and reached down, wrapping an arm around her and holding her close.

"I love you, too, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he whispered softly before drifting off to sleep.

– V –

Neither of them were morning people. Marinette had gotten a bit better over the years, as long as she remembered to set her alarm (or had a handy kwami ready to wake her), but she was still usually the one stumbling through the door right as homeroom was getting ready to start. Luka had always been a night owl, and he was the type who had to set five alarms because he slept through the first three. So when they had stumbled into their hotel room at a quarter to one in the morning, bone tired and (at least in his case) slightly preoccupied by the fact that they had to share a bed, neither had remembered to set an alarm, let alone plug their phones in to charge.

That was the furthest thought from Luka's mind at the moment. He was more concerned with how comfortable the bed was, and how soft the pillow he was hugging was. He smiled lazily and burrowed his face deeper into the pillow, breathing in an achingly familiar scent, and he almost – almost – missed the giggling. He frowned and pressed his face harder against the pillow, which shifted beneath him.

…dimly, he was aware – sort of – of the fact that pillows shouldn't be able to move on their own.

"Shhhh," he heard Juleka hush, followed by another giggle from Rose. He'd know that giggle anywhere.

"But they're so cute!" Rose squealed, and Juleka shushed her again.

"Can you guys just let me sleep?" Luka groaned. His pillow moved again, and he sighed as his head slipped lower. Rose squealed again, but the sound was muffled – and followed quickly by the exaggerated click of a camera app. He cracked an eye open and found Juleka smirking as she held up her phone. Rose was bouncing by her side, both fists shoved into her mouth to muffle her squealing.

"You both were supposed to be up half an hour ago," Juleka said, "though I can see you were…preoccupied."

…both?

He frowned and tried to sit up, and he realized his pillow was trapping him. His pillow. Pillow. Pill…

His eyes widened as he looked down and saw Marinette sleeping on one of his arms. He felt his face warming as she rolled towards him, and he raised panicked eyes to his sister. Juleka chuckled as she turned her phone, and he was greeted with an image of himself wrapped around Marinette, his face nestled against her chest. He swallowed thickly, feeling his entire head burning, and Rose squealed again.

"He's blushing!" she cried, and Luka tossed a pillow – an actual pillow – at her. She giggled as she caught it.

"We're going to have a long talk about this later, sis," he bit out, and Juleka reached over to ruffle his already-mussed hair.

"You'll find some way to thank me," she said. "Now get up. Ivan and Mylène should be here soon, and we've gotta get over to the venue."

She grabbed Rose's hand and tugged her out of the room ("We're getting breakfast – we'll grab you two something!"), and Luka groaned and looked back at Marinette. He flopped back onto the bed beside her, and she cuddled into his side again.

"You're killing me, beautiful," he whispered, brushing her bangs out of her face. She smiled at the touch, and despite his annoyance at his sister he found himself returning the smile.

He needed a shower. And coffee. Figuring he'd let her sleep just a bit longer, he carefully extracted his arm from beneath her and went to grab his duffle. He cast one last look at her in the doorway to the bathroom, his heart fluttering as he saw her sleeping there.

"I love you…"

He sighed, closed the door behind him, and turned the shower to an icy blast.

– V –

Marinette was alone when she woke up. Which wasn't unusual – she was supposed to be alone when she woke up – but she distinctly remembered not being alone when she fell asleep. And she definitely hadn't been alone when she had woken up at four in the morning tangled up with Luka. She frowned as she blinked groggily at the space where Luka should be. There was just wrinkled linens and a missing pillow.

As her mind sluggishly turned over, she became aware of the sound of running water, and she sighed as she fell back into the bed. He was showering. Ok.

…he was showering.

Marinette's eyes snapped open and stared blindly at the clock on the bedside table across from her (a part of her mind, distant and unintelligible, recognized that it was almost eight thirty and she should have been up an hour ago). Somehow, when Juleka had first said she'd be sharing a room with Luka, the more minute details of sharing a room with Luka had completely escaped her. She certainly hadn't thought they'd be sharing a bed (though she wasn't entirely complaining about that development), and she definitely hadn't considered things like showers. But Rose and Juleka had wanted to share a room, and Ivan and Mylène were going to arrive later than everyone else because of a commitment Mylène had (and they'd be sharing a room, too), so at the time, when Juleka had initially explained it, Marinette sharing a room with Luka had seemed like the obvious choice. And besides, it was Luka – he was one of her best friends. And ok, maybe she had been a little bit in love with him for longer than she'd actually care to admit, but…it wasn't supposed to be weird. Nothing between them had ever been weird, even when she had been her usual weird self. And –

Her mental tirade cut off as the bathroom door opened. Luka walked out in a pair of ripped jeans, his head hidden by the towel he was rubbing against his hair. It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, or barefoot, or wet, but Marinette felt her heart stutter to a halt in her chest. She gulped and squeezed her eyes shut, burrowing into the pillow as she tried to pretend she was still asleep.

What the hell had she gotten herself into?

She tensed as she felt the bed sink behind her, and Luka's hand felt like fire against her arm (which was ridiculous, because his skin was usually freezing – something she attributed to living on the river). He gave her a gentle shake, and she sucked in a breath.

"Hey, Mari," he called softly. "Time to wake up, sleepy head."

She tried to play off the I'm still asleep act and groaned, rolling slightly to better face him. She cracked open an eye, and her breath caught in her throat. Because really, it just wasn't fair that he was that gorgeous that early in the morning. His hair was sticking up at odd angles from the towel-drying, and he was still missing his shirt. Her eyes ran down his shoulder and upper arm, tracing the beginnings of the sleeve tattoo he had started a few months ago with her eyes. He had told her it wasn't finished yet, that he had planned to continue the design down his entire arm, but the first part was a musical staff winding around his bicep. It was still only half-filled in with notes, but she couldn't read music, and he had never told her what song he had placed there. He smiled and reached out to brush her bangs away from her face, pulling her attention away from the tattoo, and she closed her eyes at the touch.

"We slept in, didn't we?" she asked. He chuckled and nodded.

"Ivan and Mylène aren't here yet, and Jules and Rosie went down to grab some breakfast before they stop serving. They said they'd grab us something," he said. She took a deep breath, and she hummed as she leaned into his touch.

"You smell good," she said without thinking. She felt his hand tense against her face, and her eyes snapped open as she realized what she had said. "I-I mean…uh…"

"…I tried to save you some hot water," he mumbled, averting his gaze. She bit her lip as she realized he was blushing. "You should probably hop in there before they get back. Get the road funk off."

"…are you saying I smell bad?" she asked. She tried to sound like she was teasing him, desperately trying to save face for her earlier slip. He looked back at her, a grin curling his lips.

"I'm saying we were stuck in a van three hours longer than we were supposed to be in a heat wave with a busted AC," he said. He leaned down and winked at her. "I know you smell bad."

"You didn't seem to mind last night," she huffed as she flopped onto her back. They both froze again, and she gulped as she glanced back at him. His face was almost as red as her Ladybug suit. Shit. "I'm…uh…I'm gonna go get that shower. You should…clothes!"

She had vaulted from the bed, crossed the room to the bathroom, and slammed the door behind her before he had realized what was happening. She leaned against the door, placing a hand over her racing heart as she tried to figure out just what the hell was wrong with her. Yes, it was Luka, and yes, she was in love with him, but…what had gotten into her? He teased her all the time, sure, and she teased back, but…that wasn't teasing. That was flirting. And yes, she knew he used to like her, but…after his love confession as Silencer two years ago, he had never said anything else. Never acted on it. Sure, she had still be in the middle of her Adrien insanity, but…if Luka still cared for her like that, he would have said something well before now.

…right?

She shrieked when he knocked on the door, scaring her from her panic. She took a deep breath and opened the door, peeking around the edge.

"Y-yes?" she asked. He held up her bag, smiling slightly.

"You might need this," he said, and she thwumped her head against the door jam. She opened the door to take the handle, but he caught her hand with his own before she could get her bag. When she looked up at him, she realized he looked…nervous. Shy. Which was crazy, because Luka was one of the most composed guys she knew – he was quiet, sure, if you didn't really know him, but he wasn't shy. "Hey, Mari…what you said last night…did you mean it?"

"What I…what did I say?" she asked. There was a swarm of butterflies clamoring for attention in her stomach. They had had this conversation before, two years ago, when… "Oh, God, it wasn't anything embarrassing, was it? Alya says I talk in my sleep sometimes, and…Luka?"

He was searching her face for something, biting his lip slightly. His grip tightened on her hand, and she swallowed.

"What did I say?" she asked. He shook his head and gave her a little, bittersweet smile, squeezing her hand before letting go.

"…nothing," he said. "We were both really tired. It doesn't matter."

Except something told her that it did. She closed the door and started the water. She had just stepped under the spray when she heard him start playing in the main room, a familiar song he'd been working on off and on for the past two years.

"Marinette?" she heard Tikki ask from the other side of the shower curtain, and she sighed as she rubbed her palms against her eyes.

"Tikki," she groaned, "I don't know if this weekend was the best idea…"

– V –

The rest of the day was a whirl of activity. Kitty Section had landed a gig as part of a popular music festival in Bordeaux, and while they weren't set to actually perform until the next afternoon they still had a sound check once Ivan arrived. After the sound check they had spent most of the day checking out the other acts and exploring the city. They'd broken up into groups for part of the afternoon with plans to meet up for dinner before heading back to the hotel, and somehow Marinette had once again found herself alone with Luka.

The morning's awkwardness had mostly been forgotten, and they had fallen back into their easy camaraderie as they walked along the river. Luka was in the middle of a story Marinette was only half-listening to, and at some point – without really thinking about it – she had reached out to hold his hand. It was an old routine for them, and in a way it felt like they had never left home. Just another evening spent walking alone the Seine (the Garonne here), enjoying each other's company as they talked about anything and everything. She rested her head against his bare arm, and if he stumbled over whatever he had been saying when she did so she didn't notice. She was distracted again by the swirling lines of his tattoo.

"Hey, Luka?" she asked when he grew silent. He hummed, and she reached up to trace a finger along one of the notes on the staff. "Are you ever gonna tell me what song this is?"

He was silent for a long moment as they walked, his thumb rubbing absently against the back of her hand. They rounded a corner, and she saw the others waiting by a café under a streetlight. Rose spotted them first and started jumping up and down, waving to get their attention.

"…maybe," he finally said, squeezing her hand. "I'm just waiting for the right moment."

She laughed, shaking her head.

"And when's that gonna be?" she asked. He smiled and squeezed her hand again.

"When it's finished," he said. She rolled her eyes and was about to say something else, but they had already reached the others. Rose pulled her aside to show her something she had found at a street fair, and Luka was already caught up in a conversation with Ivan and Juleka about their set tomorrow.

"You ever gonna tell her it's her song, dumbass?" Juleka asked him quietly once Rose had tugged Marinette into the café. Ivan glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, and Luka rolled his eyes before shoving his hands in his pockets and following after them.

"When it's finished," he said again. Juleka rolled her own eyes before heading inside.

– V –

The reality of the single bed was a bit more daunting when neither of them were bone-tired. They were still tired when they entered the room – it had still been a long day, and neither had had as much sleep as they would have liked the night before – but they weren't at the point of passing out from exhaustion. Marinette, for one, had her own little freak-out the moment the door opened and she remembered the fact that she was sharing a bed with Luka Couffaine. Luka was already laying his guitar by the window when he turned and saw she was still in the doorway, staring at the bed.

"Mari?" he asked, but she couldn't pull her gaze away from the bed. "You ok?"

When she still didn't answer, he walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. He gave it a reassuring squeeze, and she jumped at the touch. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he smiled sympathetically at her.

"You didn't seem to care last night," he said. He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, "How did you put it? 'I love you, I trust you, just get in here'?"

"…I said what?" she gasped, her eyes growing impossibly large. He started to laugh, but upon realizing how horrified she looked he frowned. He reached up to hold her other shoulder, centering her. "Oh my God. Luka, no. Tell me I did not say that!"

"…ok," he said, and she couldn't understand why he sounded sad about it. "You didn't say that."

"…you're lying," she said miserably, and he shrugged helplessly. She groaned and buried her face in her hands, but then a thought hit her. "…wait. This morning. You asked me if…"

"We've got a big day tomorrow, Mari," he said. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. If he lingered a moment longer than a friend should, neither mentioned it. "We survived last night, and we'll survive tonight and tomorrow night, too. What do you say we just get some sleep?"

She nodded mutely and followed him into the room, the whole time trying to clamp down on her internal meltdown.

I told him I love him? Holy crap, did I actually tell him I love him?!

– V –

Three hours had passed and Marinette was no closer to falling asleep.

Luka had fallen asleep almost immediately, which…wasn't fair. Because he had come out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of plaid sleep pants, and he had collapsed on the bed with a moan that had sounded way too intense for the simple act of falling on a mattress, and had spent an obnoxious amount of time squirming to get comfortable – which, really, she was ninety percent sure was just a show to make her more comfortable, but it failed horribly when all it really did was draw her attention to the sleek muscles covering his arms and chest. She sat beside him, cross-legged with her sketchbook in her lap, in a tank top and sleep shorts, feeling light-headed as she watched him stretch out like…well, there was a reason she had trusted him with the Snake Miraculous, she guessed. He had smiled up at her lazily, wished her good night, and had closed his eyes. He laid there, his arms propped behind his head, and within fifteen minutes she had heard gentle snores coming from him.

In retrospect, she was going to kill Juleka for this.

She had put her sketchbook on the bedside table, set her alarm, turned off the light, and had laid down beside him. She had leapt nearly a foot in the air when he rolled onto his side and curled against her side, and for a moment she had forgotten how to breathe. She had woken up at four the previous morning in a similar position, and she remembered she hadn't been bothered by it. She had liked being cuddled up with Luka. So why did she feel like her heart was about to explode now, like every nerve ending was alive and shooting an electric current along her skin wherever they touched?

His head moved, resting over her heart, and he started humming in his sleep. She watched him, mesmerized, as he hummed that same song, the one he'd been working on since they'd met. She finally started to relax, though she was no closer to sleep as she laid there holding him. But it was…nice. Something she thought she could definitely get used to. Her hand came up to lazily trace along the staff on his arm, and he shifted to hold her closer.

Three and a half hours after Luka had flopped on the bed beside her, and maybe an hour and a half after he had cuddled against her, she finally started to drift off.

– V –

Luka didn't normally get nervous before a gig, but his leg couldn't stop bouncing as he sat on a speaker case backstage. He spun the yellow bracelet he usually wore around and around, his fingers randomly stretching to work out the kinks. Ivan looked over at him, eyebrows raised, and he rolled his eyes before grabbing his guitar and playing through a few chords.

He wasn't nervous. He wasn't. Sure, it was one of the larger venues they'd played, but a gig was a gig.

"Hey, little dude, you ok?"

He looked up at the drawling voice. The lead singer from the band slotted to go on before them was standing in front of him, hands shoved deep in his pockets and a pierced eyebrow raised high onto his creased forehead. Luka remembered seeing him yesterday and thinking he was high as a kite, but the band – a foreign getup from the Midwestern United States – had been decent.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, halting his fingers on the guitar.

"Nah, it was good," the man said, sitting on the case next to him. "Didn't hear it during your check yesterday. Gonna play it today?"

"It's not done yet," Luka mumbled, looking down. His fingers picked uncertainly at the strings. "Almost, but…"

The man hummed and slouched back, tapping his ringed fingers against the case. He bobbed his head along with the music, smiling as his eyes closed.

"She's special," he finally said, looking at Luka. "Pigtails, right? That sounds like pigtails."

Luka's eyes widened, and the man chuckled dryly. It cut off in a coughing fit, but he was smiling when it subsided.

"I dig it," he said. "You guys sounded good yesterday. Don't get nervous – stifles the creativity. Just get out there and play." He smiled at him, tilting his head to where Marinette was helping Rose and Juleka into their costumes. "She'll dig it, too. If you let her."

"I…" Luka started, but one of the man's bandmates – another man with long, wavy brown hair streaked with the occasional grey – was waving him over.

"Oi, Trent!" he called. "We're on!"

"Rock on, little dude," the man said, raising his fist to bump with Luka's. Luka watched, dazed, as he joined his bandmates and headed onstage.

"Who was that?" Marinette asked as she walked over, his costume in her arms.

"Something-Spiral?" he said, shaking his head. "Though I think they said they might be changing the name. They're up now."

"Which means you're up in forty-five," she said, holding his costume up. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I…" he shook his head, chuckling. His leg stopped bouncing for the first time since he'd sat down. He looked up at her with a smile, and her cheeks tinted pink under his scrutiny.

"What?" she asked, shuffling between feet. He stood, his guitar sliding to his back, and took the costume from her. He wasn't nervous. He'd never been nervous before a gig. The stage was a second home to him, playing music like breathing.

But being around Marinette? Actually telling her he was still crazy about her, that his feelings had never changed after all this time? Or, if they had, had only gotten stronger? Waking up next to her two mornings in a row and not waking her up with a hundred little kisses? Not telling her she'd been the song in his head for two years, and that he hoped she'd be the song in his head for many years to come? That he wouldn't mind waking up to her every morning?

Well. That was terrifying.

"Kiss for luck?" he asked, tipping her chin up with his thumb. Her cheeks darkened, but she quickly stood on her tip toes and placed a soft kiss against his cheek. He smiled, surprised she had actually done it.

"You don't need it," she said. She was about to say something else when she saw Ivan putting his costume on, and she laughed as she stepped away from him. "Ivan, Ivan, wait – you've got it on backwards!"

He smiled as she went to help their friend, and his eyes dropped to the staff on his arm. If he was honest, it wasn't that the song wasn't finished. He'd had her song memorized years ago. He was just hoping that he could still be a part of it, if she'd let him.

"I love you, I trust you…"

"Hey, Jules," he called, slipping the spiked armor over the blue tee shirt with a kitticorn on it. She looked up from where she was adjusting her mask, lifting it to show her raised eyebrows. "What would you say to a minor set change?"

– V –

"You guys were so great!" Marinette laughed as they stumbled into the hotel room. She spun on her heels, twirling in a little dance. He chuckled and closed the door behind him, smiling at her antics. "The crowd loved you! And that song! Luka, it was beautiful! I hadn't realized you'd finished it!"

"…you recognized it?" he asked, and she laughed at the surprised look on his face.

"It was the one you played the first time we met, right?" she asked. She came over and held his hands, smiling up at him. "The one you said was in my heart. It's the same one you play all the time when we're hanging out. I hadn't thought you had finished it yet."

"I wasn't the one who had to finish it," he said with a shrug. At her confused look, he smiled. "It's your song, Mari. It's still not technically finished, but…the more I've gotten to know you, the better I've learned the song. The more you let me in, the more I hear. I think there's still more you have to show me, but…I wanted you to hear what I know so far. I needed you to hear that."

"Luka…" she whispered, eyes wide. He reached up and laid a hand against her cheek, his thumb brushing under her eye.

"Mari, the first night we got here…we were both so tired, but you said something," he said. He looked nervous again. She knew she was. She swallowed as he searched her face, as he pulled the edge of his lower lip between his teeth. Her heart did a summersault, and she reached up to lay her hand over his. "And I'm hoping you meant it, because tonight's going to really suck if you didn't."

"What…?" she asked, frowning, but he shook his head.

"Mari, this weekend has been torture. Falling asleep next to you, waking up beside you, and knowing the whole time that we're just…" he said. Her eyes widened, and he chuckled ruefully. "Damn it. I'm really messing this up, aren't I?"

"Luka, are you trying to tell me you don't like sharing a bed with me?" she asked, smiling slightly. "What, do I snore? Because you hum in your sleep, and that is infinitely more distracting."

He laughed and leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers. She smiled and rested her hands on his chest, playing with the pick he wore on a cord around his neck. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close.

"Marinette, I'm trying to tell you that I love sharing a bed with you," he said. "Snoring and all. Almost as much as I love you."

"You…?" she gasped, and he smiled as he nodded.

"And if this weekend's been hell it's only because I've had to wake up with you in my arms and not tell you that. And I'm not really sorry, Mari, but I don't think I can do this – do us – anymore without telling you that I love you," he said. He continued to rub his thumb against her cheek, and she bit back the smile that was threatening to split her face. "The first night, you said you loved me, too, and I was kinda hoping you did mean it? Because I would really like to kiss you now, and maybe again later, and probably again after that. I would really like to kiss you a lot, actually, if you'll let me."

"You…" she started, but then she collapsed against him, uncontrollable laughter bubbling out like joy through her lips. His hand slipped to the back of her head, his fingers running through her hair, and she continued giggling against him. "We're both idiots. We're idiots!"

"Well, to be fair, you were in love with someone else," he said with a shrug, and she snorted as she slapped his chest.

"That was over a long time ago and you know it," she huffed.

"Mari, I love you," he said again, firmly, "but I didn't want to be a rebound. I didn't want to be a second choice. Maybe I'm selfish, but I want all of you. It only seems fair, since I want to give you all of me."

"I don't even know if I was ever really in love with Adrien, Luka," she said. Her laughter had died off at his words, and she frowned up at him. "Right now? This feeling? I'm so happy. I'm so, so happy. I was never really happy when I thought I loved Adrien. Loving Adrien was only ever painful and confusing and hurt, and I don't think that's what love's supposed to actually be like."

He smiled at her, and she bit her lip as she watched his eyes. He seemed content to just stand there holding her, gazing at her with that relaxed smile on his face. She thought she'd be fine with that, too.

"I love you, though," she said. She smiled shyly up at him. "I have for a while – longer than I really knew. I think I was falling in love with you even when I thought I loved Adrien. And I knew you used to think you loved me, but you never said anything again after you were akumatized, so…I guess I thought you had moved on. So I never said anything, either."

"You're right," he chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose, "we're idiots."

They laughed again, and after a moment she grinned up at him.

"Hey, Luka?" she asked. He hummed in response, and her cheeks tinted pink. "…can you kiss me now?"

– V –

Later, Marinette had crawled half on top of Luka, her head resting over his heart as they watched some stupid sitcom on the television. Every now and then he'd bend down, peppering the top of her head with kisses, and she'd smile as she'd hug him closer. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tight, and his other hand held hers, rubbing comforting circles against her skin.

"You know…" he started, voice drowsy and eyes half-open. She looked up at him, and he smiled as he craned his neck for another kiss. "Waking up with you in my arms has been nice, but I can definitely get used to falling asleep that way, too."

She snorted at that.

"You did last night," she said. He blinked at her, and she rolled her eyes. "You were out in like fifteen minutes, and the next thing I knew I was hyperventilating because you had wrapped around me like some kind of snake –"

He raised an eyebrow at that but refrained from commenting (after all, as far as he knew, she didn't know he was Viperion (or at least she didn't know he knew that she knew)).

"– so you definitely fell asleep holding me," she said, and he shrugged.

"I was asleep by that point," he said. "Doesn't count. This is better."

"Dork," she laughed.

"Dork lover," he murmured back, and she smiled before laying her head back against his heart.

In the end, as his breathing evened out and he drifted off to sleep, she had to admit he was right: waking up in his arms was nice, but falling asleep there was better.

– V –

They were both awake by the time Juleka banged on the door Sunday morning. Marinette was still in the shower, so Luka answered the door.

"Hey," Juleka said, "you guys almost ready? Wanted to get on the road before noon."

"Mari's just getting a shower," he said. "We're already packed."

Juleka nodded and turned to go, but he reached out to grab her hand.

"Hey, Jules…" he said. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Look, about this weekend…I know I wasn't the nicest person about the whole room situation, but…"

"She kissed you, didn't she?" Juleka asked, and he froze as his eyes went wide.

"How did you…?" he asked, but she just smirked.

"I have my ways," she said. "Told you you'd be thanking me. Also…"

She moved past him into the room and over to the empty bookcase they hadn't really paid much attention to all weekend. She slammed her fist against the end, and the bookcase fell forward with a thwump. A murphy bed was revealed on its back. Luka felt his jaw go slack.

"I totally booked you a double," she said with a self-satisfied little smirk. "You're welcome."

"Jules…" he laughed, shaking his head, "…I am so going to kill you."