Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Author's Note: Let's just pretend the Desperada happened after Chameleon for this to work.
"If you humiliate her she'll just be hurt more."
"If you humiliate her she'll just be hurt more."
"If you humiliate her she'll just be hurt more."
It rang repeatedly on Marinette's mind the whole day. Somehow, being stuck in the back of the classroom was a blessing in disguise, because right now, as much as possible, she wanted to be away from Adrien Agreste. It shocked her to the core, threw her orientation for a while when that thought entered her mind upon returning to their classroom and seeing Lila and Adrien close as ever, like Adrien doesn't know the truth about Lila. However, she was not one to lie about her feelings-what she felt hearing those lines from Adrien Agreste disappointed her. Not just because he was her long time crush and possibly first love, but how could the 'sunshine child' say that to her when she was clearly hurt by Lila Rossi's lies? Marinette thought that from Adrien's standpoint, it was okay for Lila to humiliate and threaten her because she wasn't hurt by it. Her friends turned their back from her and chose to believe Lila's lies rather than her words. Granted that her delivery was accusing and no one really knew about Lila sans her and Adrien, but she did not get even a tiny speck of benefit of the doubt from them.
"Maybe he's not all what I thought of him-of them." Marinette thought she knew that she put Adrien on this golden pedestal and that it was her fault, after all, they are both teenagers just learning about life. However, for her, that doesn't justify what he says about Lila when he clearly knew the lies that surrounded Lila Rossi. Her gaze landed on Adrien before roaming around the room, feeling alone all of a sudden. She can see Tikki peeping from her purse but ignores it, for she was 100% positive just one look at the goddess of creation, her tears will fall endlessly.
"Not right now…" She muttered to herself, sniffing away the tears that pooled in her eyes and looking at the wall clock, glaring at her that she still has to suffer for two more hours.
To say the least, it was the longest two hours of Marinette's life.
The minute the bell rang signaling the end of her torturously long day, she hastily organized her things and dashed to the doors, and cannot help but notice no one even stopped and bade her goodbye. She can see Lila smirking, peripherally at her, surrounded by Adrien and her friends. She nearly bumped into Chloé on her way out and whispered a small apology before Chloé could even say anything.
Little did she know, Chloé turned her attention back to Lila before going out of the room and glared at her and with a flip of her hair, she was out of there.
Marinette ran straight to her room, not even acknowledging her parents questions regarding her day and shut her trap door with a loud thud. Inside the comforts of her room, the first batch of her tears fell from her eyes. Tikki could only hug Marinette's cheek as her handler felt a heartbreak stronger than anything-friends' betrayal. She slept that night with a heavy heart and teary eyes.
Morning came faster than Marinette anticipated it was.
She was so thankful that it was the weekend but she still doesn't have the strength to stand up from her bed, with her big puffy red eyes and face her parents who knocked multiple times to inquire after her the night before.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked, flying over her as she stared at the pictures adorning her wall.
"Tikki, how could they do that?" Marinette sniffed, plucking the most recent class picture they had from the wall, forlornly looking at it.
Tikki sighed, sitting on the pillow before touching Marinette's cheek and gave her the smallest smile Tikki could ever give Marinette. "People tend to listen to what they choose to hear and liars feed on that. For some, it makes their lives feel more exciting or to make others feel small. They lie to make themselves look better, not knowing or choosing to ignore that they are ruining someone's lives in the process. They lie and make themselves look like the victim and they never feel bad about it, and the people who believe in it are just-Marinette, in the thousands of years of my existence, most, if not all, these people are in denial to learn the truth, it's their way of coping with their own problems and when feed of these said lies, it's easier to turn a blind eye. Your friends are still your friends, Marinette, but they choose to see the Lila that they are being fed too, they are amazed by the accomplishments and connections she has even if all of you are in the same age group, possibly they want that too; and, Adrien? You know him, Marinette, that boy has a heart of gold. Of course, as much as possible he will choose to see the good side of anyone. Even if he knows she's lying, like what he said, in his point of view, making a bad guy suffer has never turned them into a good guy. He's got a point, but I think he sees the world in black and white. I don't condone getting revenge on Lila but doing nothing...it's just wrong."
They stared at each other for a moment or two. Tikki was nervous that it would hurt Marinette telling her the possible truth of the situation that occurred recently. Until, a smile slowly formed on her lips that Tikki released the breath she was holding.
"That probably was the longest monologue I heard from you, Tikki."
Tikki giggled at nuzzled Marinette's cheek. "It's good to see you smile again, Marinette."
Marinette's smile faded a little. "I don't want this to ruin my day, Tikki. I'm prone to akuma right now and that will not be good. Besides, I think this is an eye opener too, don't you think? I've been telling myself that maybe Adrien and I are not meant to be and it's time to move on for quite some time now but I've never been able to do so, maybe this is the push I needed?"
Tikki nodded and before she could reply, Marinette continued. "We're still young, yet I made myself dependent on the thought of Adrien Agreste in my life. How many times did I deduce that a party or gathering would be lame without Adrien's presence there? I became creepily obsessed with him, with his schedule on my pull down board, gifts until his 51st birthday, I stalked him, I hurt people in the process just because I have a huge crush on him. Being young doesn't warrant nor justify that...I mean…I asked Luka to give Adrien his guitar when clearly he's a guitarist and a huge Jagged Stone fan too and would not pass the chance to play with him."
Marinette sat up straight, a picture of her and Luka from Kitty Section's first gig, in her hand. "I haven't apologized properly to Luka-do you think it's okay if I visit him?"
"You could try messaging or calling him if he's free?"
Marinette nodded and went to get her phone on her desk, gathering some of Adrien's solo pictures from her wall and kept it inside of the drawers she rarely opens.
She was not going to lie if her heart was still hoping to see a message from him and her friends but her downcast spirit lifted when Luka's name flashed on her phone screen that she nearly dropped her phone from shock.
"He's calling?! He's calling! WHAT DO I DO?" Marinette panicked, holding her phone away from her like it was the most disgusting thing ever.
Tikki dumbfounded, stared at Marinette. "Answer it?"
"Right...right…" She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before answering the call. "Hello?"
"Hello, Marinette…" Luka's deep voice made Marinette's heart skip a beat.
"Lul-lu-ahhh-I mean, Luka! HEY! What's the happs? I-uh, I mean, what's up?" Marinette nearly groaned out loud at her stammering.
Luka chuckled from the other of the line. "Funny as ever, Marinette. Anyway, I was wondering if you're free today."
Marinette nodded profusely, red tint on her face and skipped a little bit. Tikki had to whisper to her that Luka couldn't see her response if she was just going to silently squeal and nodding as a reply. "Yes! I'm free today! Actually, I was about to call you too before you beat me to it."
"Really? Well, you know what they say, great minds think alike."
Marinette giggled. "Where do we meet? Or I'll come over there?"
"No, no, I'll pick you up, we'll go somewhere then if you want, we can stay at my house after. Juleka's staying over at Rose's."
Marinette nearly forgot that none of her friends are talking to her right now. She scowled a little at that. "No, we can-"
"I hope you don't mind, I heard from Juleka the current…situation you have with your class, we can talk about it later or if you don't want to, it's okay too. We can also skip our house later or-"
Marinette smiled. "Luka, it's okay. I'll uh… I'll tell you all about it, well, my side of the story later. I'll see you in an hour and a half or do you need more time?"
"Nope, an hour and a half is good. I'll see you in a while, Marinette."
Marinette dropped the call and hurriedly hopped on the shower and took a quick bath. After fifteen minutes or so, she was throwing outfit per outfit on her chaise before settling back to her normal day clothes. She dashed down her trapped door to the dining room and ate a quick breakfast.
"Maman, Papa! Luka will be picking me up in a while… We are…well, uh, haha, well, we're going out…somewhere?"
Her parents looked at her with concern in both of their eyes.
"Dear, are you okay now?" Sabine asked, worry evident in her eyes.
Marinette smiled at her parents. "A little, I somehow come to terms with it. I'll tell you later, if you don't mind. I, um…I really just want to unwind today with Luka, if that's okay?"
The doorbell rang and her father pulled her into a bear hug as her mother opened the door for their visitor. "Of course, Marinette, just be careful and before you go, drop by the bakery and pack some macarons or whatever you like, okay?"
Marinette smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. "I will, thanks, Papa."
"You kids, be careful, okay?" Sabine said, after a quick introduction of Luka to her parents.
"Will do, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Thank you so much!"
They were quietly walking down the streets of Paris, hands barely brushing and enjoying the morning breeze that grazed their cheeks. Marinette was sneaking a peek at the older boy beside her, thoughts running amok inside her head. She was far too curious if Juleka had said anything, after all, he called out of the blue last night and she wondered where Luka was taking her.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Luka said, smiling softly at her. She abruptly turned her attention and looked at him. She was not prepared to get lost in his eyes.
"Marinette?"
"Hmm? What-oh, well, uh, nothing."
Luka wasn't convinced but dropped it. He smiled at her. "You can tell me when you're ready, I'm always here for you."
Marinette's swooned and blushed. "Where-uhm, where are we going?"
Luka grinned. "You'll see."
They ended up in Parc de Belleville. Marinette didn't even notice as she was far too occupied with her thoughts and how would she apologize to Luka. They looked around for a place to sit and decided on the grassy area just near the hilltop overlooking the city of Paris.
"It's been a while since I've been here." Marinette uttered, completely in awe at how the place had been since her last visit there.
"I come here from time to time, just to observe people." Luka replied.
"Observe people?"
"Yeah, there's a lot to a person than meets the eye and by understanding them, their behaviors, their mannerisms and even their body language, I feel like I can see the music that surrounds them, and when I do, when I see the notes, I play it. It's my other way of knowing what kind of music people will like to hear. Because it's them; it's what keeps them going or just simply it's the life they live in."
Marinette smiled and nodded, before turning her attention to the people around them." I guess, if I'm going to follow your analogy, I see colors in people before I choose on what designs fit them best."
"Then, what colors do you see in…Lila Rossi?"
Marinette sighed. "Nothing. It's blank…like a blank paper, waiting to be filled, but for some reason every time I know she says something that is far from the truth, splashes of color appear, but I just know it's not hers. It's like she's taking or copying the colors of people around her. Honestly, at first, I refused to look at her color, you know? I…was so jealous because she got closer to Adrien in hours than I have in months but…then, something happened and I knew she was lying. I tried to tell her off but she threatened me and-"
"Wait, I'm sorry, she threatened you?" Luka incredulously asked, cutting her off.
"Yes, she told me, I wouldn't have any friends at all just because I refused to believe her lies and now…it's happening, and what's worse is that Adrien knows she lied but he did nothing. He said getting revenge or humiliating Lila for everyone to know that she's lying will hurt her more. Then, what about me? Am I no one? Do my feelings mean nothing?" Tears fell from Marinette's eyes before she could even acknowledge it when suddenly she was pressed into Luka's chest as he embraced her tightly.
"No, you're not no one. You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the most fearless and awesome girl I have ever had the opportunity of meeting. If Adrien and your friends believe her, rise above it, Marinette. It's hard right now, but if they really are your true friends they will come to you, if not, it's their loss.
"I'm scared, and I feel so alone." She replied, her voice muffled by his shirt.
"It is okay to be scared, that's why you're so brave, you can admit it to yourself. And alone? Never. I, Luka Couffaine, will always be here for you. I promise."
Marinette sniffed and slowly looked up at him. Luka couldn't help but smile at her pink nose, teary eyes and quivering lips.
"She's so adorable." He thought, wiping the remaining tears in her eyes.
"I swear on my teal colored hair tips." Marinette snorted and he flashed her an adoring grin.
"You swear on your hair?"
"I happen to like my hair very much." He attempted to haughtily reply but it just made Marinette laugh, playfully pushing away from his chest as she really laughed her heart out.
"Glad I could make you laugh." He added, smiling softly at her.
"Thank you, Luka, really. It means a lot to me that you listened and believed in me."
"You are many things, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but a liar is not one of them."
The walk back to the Couffaine houseboat has been anything but congenial for both parties involved. Marinette looked at Luka in a different light; having someone who is more than willing to listen and be a shoulder to cry on is a whole new world for her. She was somewhat used to handling it alone with her busy parents and friends who turned their backs on her when she needed them the most. His maturity level left Marinette in awe and gratitude, it was truly a breath of fresh air that left Marinette guilty for not apologizing sooner, it's been days after Desperada happened after all. She suddenly got a bout of nervousness thinking on how to start her long overdue apology.
"Are you okay, Marinette?" Luka broke her thoughts with his concern. "If you don't want to go to my house we could do that though we're here already."
"What? Oh, no! No! It's fine, I'm just-I have something to tell you." Marinette looked down at the cracks on the road leading up to the plank of the houseboat.
Luka tilted his head to the side and smiled softly at her. "Okay, do you want to go inside first?"
Marinette beamed in reply and followed Luka to his room. Luka opened his guitar case and sat down on his bed, patting the space besides him like what he did the first time they met. She followed through and smiled a bit sheepishly at him.
"You have something like this in your heart." He repeated that just made Marinette smile at him ever more than she already was. He played a tune that is melancholic and edgy, a bit different that he said her heart song sounded like before.
"You're nervous; do I make you nervous, Marinette?"
"You don't know half of it." Marinette thought before taking a deep breath before facing Luka with a serious expression. "I just want to apologize for how I acted during Desperada. I'm not going to make excuses about it as you know how gullibly crazy I am-was-with Adrien. I-don't know nor can I promise that those ridiculousness will go away soon but, I just-I'm sorry, Luka."
Luka kept looking at her for a little while that made her even more tense than she already was. He sighed before replying, "First things first, it's not being gullible to have a crush on someone. You're young, we're young, all of this is new to us. Secondly, what you feel or felt for Adrien will never be ridiculous, it's what you feel, yes, I admit there are times that it's a bit much but you learn from it, it will go away as you put it, once you're ready to let go. All of this takes time, don't rush it. Take this as a chance to grow, Marinette. Lastly, never ever apologize for what you feel. Yes, I was a bit hurt when you suggested Adrien but I cannot fault you at that. We do things a bit differently when it's the matter of our hearts but no one's the wiser to make you feel like you have to apologize for that. Like I said, learn from it."
She was teary eyed by the time Luka finished what he had to say. "Thank you, that's why I didn't believe you when you said you made more sense with your guitar, you always know what and when to say it. You don't know how much I needed to hear that and coming from you it felt like it's easier to do things than what I thought it is-an obstacle I don't know how to overcome. After all the Lila-fiasco-, I felt I needed to forget Adrien right away, I know it's hard but for some reason it didn't occur to me no one is forcing me to do that quickly."
"Take one note at a time, cherish it, then sooner or later you'll finish the whole song without even knowing it. All you need is an interlude from whatever is keeping you from writing it."
"I'm loving your musical metaphors." Marinette smiled at him which he returned wholeheartedly. Luka started strumming Marinette's heart song as she looked around his room. She stood up and glanced at his guitar pick collection when a sudden gasp from her halted his musings and song.
She abruptly looked at him with a very familiar pick sandwiched between her forefinger and thumb. "You have another one?"
"Oh, I bought one again after I gave you the same pick." He replied, ceasing his music for a while as he regarded Marinette with confusion. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Okay, you will not like this, I'll just buy you another pick but uh-do you want to make this as a bracelet? Just...well, so you know, we could have a matching one?" She asked, getting the pick he gave her before from her purse.
"Okay, sure."
"Because, you know, I just want to have something paired with you but it's totally okay if you don't want to, I completely understand, it's your collect-wait, what? Did you say, okay?" Marinette rambled on which earned a laugh from Luka.
"Yes, Marinette, I did. I'd love to have something paired with you too."
"Oh, grool! I mean-great, but I was thinking, cool!" Luka laughed at this and Marinette quickly went around his room and his house to look for things that could help her make it as a bracelet. He returned to his playing as he let Marinette go wild around him. It was almost half an hour before an excited shout and blur of blue and pink hopped on his bed, snatching his hands away from the guitar and slipping the now bracelet guitar pick of his. The bracelet was made with a braided leather cord loop through the pick. How she managed to punch a hole through the metal pick he'll never know and he prefers it that way; just another thing to pile on how wonderful and amazing Marinette Dupain-Cheng really is.
"This is awesome, now we have something matching." Luka uttered, still at awe at the new accessory on his wrist. Marinette blushed as she fiddled with hers.
"Thank you, it was nothing. You helped me a lot today. You made my day."
"Well, I can do one more thing to make your day." Luka said, positioning his guitar on his lap again. "Want to hear my new song?"
Marinette beamed at him and nodded enthusiastically. As Luka played his new song again on repeat for her, she managed to take a picture of them as he rested from all the playing he did, looking at her like she was the best thing that ever happened in his life. Marinette, on the other hand, rejoiced by putting her hands up on the air for another amazing song stuck in her head.
"I'm definitely posting this on Instagram."
A/N: Yey! I was looking at Marinette's IG Feed and decided to make a story about how their first picture together happened. Please rate and review! Thank you!