A/N: Major spoilers for Heart Hunter and Miracle Queen.

Minor season 3 spoilers throughout the story.

Chapter 1 Aftermath

The way his fingers and the pick he held between them slid almost effortlessly over the vibrating strings of his guitar mesmerized her and she nearly jumped when his eyes opened again and he looked directly at her, just like the first time they met.

When she first met Luka, his quiet kindness reminded her of Adrien—but more time spent with him changed her initial perceptions. The boy of musical charms, good humor, and calming disposition soon carved out his very own nook in her thoughts. His lightheartedness was a contrast to her unrelenting monsoons of emotions, and Marinette found herself enjoying his presence more often than not.

"Hey, Marinette?"

The girl blinked, belatedly realizing that the sound of Luka's guitar had stopped and twisted around to look at him. "Did you say something? Sorry, I kind of got lost in my thoughts," she apologized. "That was a lovely melody you just played, Luka."

He watched her for a moment, a small frown on his face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah" Marinette said automatically. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He patted the spot next to him on the bed and Marinette slowly walked over to him, sitting next to him, a bit closer than she had last time she had been there.

"I keep trying to find your song, but everything I play comes back... hmm, I'm not even sure how to say this," Luka paused, sitting back and adjusting his hold on his guitar. "Melancholic, maybe."

The word struck deep, even though Marinette tried to hide it. She swallowed.

"I know I asked this before but…how do you do that?"

Luka chuckled, gaze steady on her, "You know, it's actually pretty easy, you just have to strum your fingers over the strings of the guitar to produce a sound,"

"I-I meant, how do you…know what's in my heart?" she placed a hand over it, suddenly feeling how it's beat got faster.

Luka regarded her curiously, "It's your face," she looked at him, stunned, "I can tell what you feel by looking into your eyes. Right now, you're a bit scared I can read you so well," he gave a low chuckle and Marinette flushed in embarrassment.

It was hard to deal with sometimes, how Luka could see so much and yet so little. He was very good at picking up at emotions, but of course he lacked the context behind it all. And she couldn't tell him even if she wanted to. There was too much, all tangled together into one ball: the burden of Ladybug, being the new Guardian, Adrien and Kagami, what to do about all of the miraculous holders who had been exposed, where to find new miraculous holders, what to do about Chloé, how they were going to defeat Hawkmoth… She felt completely overwhelmed and didn't have a clue what to do.

Master Fu had given her the most important job ever. The new Guardian was her. Would she be able to handle it?

"So..., What's got you so sad?" he softly asked.

"Wh-What? I'm not sad!" she denied. Luka's unimpressed stare made her sigh. "It's nothing."

"I wouldn't say so," he argued. "If it was nothing, then you wouldn't be out here looking all sad."

She must've been quiet for a while, because he spoke again, "You shouldn't be sad." She blinked, regaining her focus. That's right, they were still having a conversation. She was supposed to say something back, like words. "We wouldn't want you be Akumatized now." He chuckled. "Especially you, of all people."

She remained silent.

"If you need to talk, then I'm here for you."

"What if I can't?" she mumbled. She rested her arms on her knees.

"Well." she felt Luka brush up against her left shoulder. He gave her a light nudge with his elbow and said, "That's what music is for. To express the things that can't be said with words." Luka strummed his guitar lightly. "It's an outlet. Kind of like design."

His smile looked so warm and innocent, but the genuine concern in his eyes was something Marinette knew could never be mimicked.

She wordlessly stared at him as she tried to find the words. Had this man always been this sweet?

"I haven't been able to design much lately," Marinette confessed. Whenever she sat down at her table, she got distracted by thoughts of everything else.

Luka made a soft sound of understanding. "Can I help?"

The question was kind, just as Luka was, and made Marinette smile even as she shook her head.

"No, Luka. You can't." But there was one person who could. Someone who was closer to understanding what Ladybug was going through than anyone else. The sudden, irresistible urge to see Chat Noir flooded through her.

"But thank you."

"All right then, we don't have to talk about it." He sighed. "But if you figure out a way that I can, let me know. I'm always here for you, Marinette."

In the next second she heard a low melodious sound from the guitar, she turned her head toward Luka and the boy smiled at her, waving playfully. His blue eyes lighting up.

"Thanks, again Luka" Marinette said, setting her feet on the floor. There was a moment during which she and Luka just looked at each other; he was close, she realized suddenly, closer than she had originally anticipated. In another life, this would have been the time where she leaned in, or maybe Luka would have, and they would have shared their first kiss. It would have been a new beginning.

But Marinette didn't lean in, and so neither did Luka, because it didn't seem fair when she was still confused by everything. Luka would have borne her confusion with kindness and grace because that was the sort of person that Luka was, but she wasn't going to do that to him. He deserved better than that; he deserved better than her. As it was, she had already put him into danger. She had taken advantage of his kindness by crying in his arms; she'd come here today hoping for sanctuary from her life; she had not, she realized, come for anything more.

She stood up and saw understanding in Luka's face, closely followed by regret tempered by sadness.

"I-I need to go home now. I haven't finished my homework and—" she frowned.

Luka noticed her frown and mimicked the expression too, though Marinette seemed too distracted to notice.

Marinette bit her lip, because once again she was hurting someone who didn't deserve it - but it would have been worse, she consoled herself, had she and Luka begun dating before she was ready. And perhaps she would never be ready, not for Luka, but that was a truth he deserved to know.

"Hey, Marinette..,"

"Yeah?"

"You are..." Luka blew his breath out, dropping his gaze, fidgeting with a guitar string. Finally he said, very softly, "I just wanted you to know that you are a good person. And I think that you deserve someone who loves you back, the way you deserve. Someone who can look at you and see you. All of you. Don't settle for anything less."

His words left her speechless, because the only person who knew all of her was Tikki, but she appreciated the sentiment. She put her hand on Luka's shoulder and squeezed. Tempting though it was to press a kiss to his cheek, or maybe give him a hug, she refrained. It wouldn't be right.

She left his room, shutting the door behind her. Marinette went up the stairs and emerged into the heart of the night. The girl sighed as she walked down the gangplank and back onto land. It felt strange not to have the ground moving beneath her feat as she ducked into an alley.

-LB-X-CN-

"Marinette?" Tikki asked, flying out of Marinette's purse once they were back home. "Are you all right?"

"I-I don't know." Marinette said slowly, surprised at herself. She felt a little bit lighter. Just a little, but enough that she was able to discern the difference. The uncertainty over what might or might not be happening between her and Luka had been worse than she'd thought.

"I'm proud of you," said Tikki, flying in front of the girl's face.

"Why?"

"I think you handled the situation back there quite well,"

Marinette smiled weakly. "Thanks Tikki. Luka is a lovely guy, but..., I just can't put my finger on it, because Luka really is a wonderful person, but it just doesn't feel..."

"Right?" Tikki said knowingly. "Because you still got feelings for Adrien."

"Hmm," Marinette said, rather than respond to that. It wasn't even about Adrien, honestly. Though it hurt, she had been trying to make peace with the fact that Adrien and Kagami were dating now. Adrien was not hers, and might never be hers, and Marinette was slowly but surely coming to terms with that: Kagami was steady and sweet and deserved happiness as much as anyone else. So did Adrien, and if Kagami was the person he had chosen then Marinette was going to respect that.

But even then, Marinette still didn't think Luka was the right one for her.

"I'm just really tired, and I just want to go to bed," Marinette went on. "Tikki, would you mind if we talked about this later?"

"Of course not. Sleep tight, Marinette!"

-CN-X-LB-

Marinette was lying awake on her bed, and the only thing she could think about was what had happened recently.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged the egg-shaped box close to her chest. She wrapped her arms around it as if it was the most important thing on earth, and in many ways it was. The box with the ladybug print on it contained about a dozen Miraculous, perhaps more.

It was her responsibility to keep those innocent Kwamis safe, and the powers that accompanied them.

Marinette closed her eyes as another shimmering tear rolled down her face. She kept staring at the roof, frozen to her space, protectively holding on to the box and trying to clear her mind to figure out what the hell she would do next. Maybe she could keep the Miracle Box in the bakery? For a split second, she thought about giving the box to Alya.

She was completely overwhelmed and didn't have a clue what to do. Her sinuses hurt. Her nose was stuffy. Her chest stung. Her head felt heavy. This was what overworked felt like?

She'd survived years of saving Paris from danger, combining it with school work and the things happening at home.

She had survived years of leading a double life, but she had loved it all, things hadn't always been perfect, but she couldn't complain. Marinette loved being Ladybug, and all the adventures she had shared with Chat Noir. And now, if she became the new Guardian, then there was the possibility that she would forget it all. It hurt. The tears that ran down her cheeks were silent and consistent, she felt lost and alone.

'I wish things were back to the way they were! When we were happy and clumsy!' Marinette thought to herself as she dried a tear.

Marinette sighed, and then she drifted off to sleep.

That's not to say that she slept well.

-CN-X-LB-

Quivering in her bedsheets, Marinette twisted in the tangled blankets, eyes shut tightly and whimpering painfully. The nightmare she was trapped in locking her soul and keeping it prisoner, refusing to let go.

She saw Chat Noir all alone, holding on to the iron girder of the Eiffel Tower. His ring started beeping. He was about to turn back any moment now. She saw his grip weaken, his arm began to shake with the strain and try as he might. She could tell that he was injured.

"Where is she when you need her the most?" he groaned under his breath. The blonde couldn't raise his body enough to hook his legs over the ledge, his energy spent. The ring let out one final beep before transforming him back to his normal self. He couldn't hold on anymore.

"Oh no," he yelled as he felt his fingers began to slip. "No, no, no." He felt himself begin to plummet toward the Paris cobbles below.

Clutching the pillow closer to her face, the sweat dripped down on her nose just to fall on her lips. A cry escaped her mouth and as quick as the lightning that struck the window, the black-haired girl shot up from her bed and swiveled her head around in fear.

Safe.

She was safe. There was no one there. There was no Chat Noir, nor Adrien. It was just a dream. It didn't make any sense at all, however. Adrien couldn't be Chat Noir, it was simply impossible.

'It was just a dream' she kept telling herself. ' or rather, a real nightmare.' she concluded.