The boat had a welcoming vibe in it. It rang gentleness and love that only a family could give off. It felt weird to Marinette. She had this look, this feeling not too long ago. Was she not deserving of it? Is that why it has been taken away from her?

     “It’s my one of a kind Captain’s hot chocolate.” Captain Couffaine said as she handed Marinette a steaming hot cup.

      When she took a sip, she realized why it was called one of a kind. But somehow, it didn’t warm that pit at the bottom of her stomach. Marinette felt like she was burning up, but was still somehow shivering.

   “You look pale.” Juekla’s quiet voice pointed out. “Is something wrong?”

     Marinette took a deep breath and shook her head. Rose bounced into her wife’s lap and beamed.

   “I bet your ears were burning before you arrived.” The blonde kicked her legs back and forth. “Anarka was just asking if you were still in fashion, and Luka said such great things about your work.”

      Oh yeah, Luka was in the room. Somehow, Marinette managed to miss that small detail. She caught his eye and he patted the seat next to him.

   “I don’t bite.” He assured her with a chuckle.
  
   She sat down next to him stiff, unsure of what to do next. Why couldn’t she just act normal? She just had an amazing breakfast with Luka, she spent a fine seven minutes talking to Rose and Jueklea when they had gotten back from Master Fu’s, and Captain Couffaine was her same, scrappy self. This shouldn’t be so complicated.

  “Marinette, we were actually wondering.” Juelkea began quietly. “Weylen’s school was going to have a play, and they needed costumes. Rose told them about your work and they’re interested.” Rose beamed and patted her wife’s hand.

    “Yeah!” She jumped in, relieving Jueklea of her duty. “I heard Alya say that you were finishing up your job with Gabriel Agreste and we thought you’d enjoy it!” Rose pulled a card out of her pocket and leaned over to hand it to Marinette.

    “Oh, that was sweet.” Marinette took it and held it in her lap. “But I’m not so sure.”

    “Oh! But why not?” Rose pouted. Marinette felt her gut twist.

   “It’s not that I want to.” The bluentte laughed nervously. “It’s just that I’m not quite finished with what I’m currently working on and I like to take breaks between jobs. I don’t think I’ll be done in time.”

     “That’s what’s great! The play isn’t for two months!” Rose exclaimed. “So you’ll have plenty of time!”

        Anxiety clawed its way up Marinette’s throat and her breathing sped up. She turned her gaze to the ground, fumbling with the card in her hands.

     “Rose, I think you should drop the topic,” Luka said as he put a hand on Marinette’s back. The blonde pressed a hand to her heart with a small gasp.

    “Oh Marinette, I’m sorry!”

    “It’s… it’s fine. You didn’t mean any harm.” Marinette forced a smile as she waved it off.

    “Speaking of the little monster. Where’d he run off to?” Luka asked. His hand moved to her back as he continued the soothing circles.

        “Oh, he’s probably sneaking into the cookie stash again.” Rose rolled her eyes as she took Jueklea’s hand and dragged her to the kitchen.

         “So how have you been lately, Marinette? Working for a big company like Agreste, it must be thrilling.” Captain Couffaine said as she sat her cup to the side.

      “It definitely has its perks.” Marinette smiled, willing for the lump in her throat to go away. “I was just lucky that Gabriel has taken an interest in my work as early as high school.” Or that Adrien had put in a good word for her.

     “That is lucky. Similar thing happened to me when I was your age. One of my friends Mom’s was an event planner, helped me and our band get started.” The Captain said as she took off her glasses and cleaned them with her shirt.

    “That was awfully kind.” Marinette clasped her hands together.

    “It was. At the beginning, I felt guilty. It felt like we were only getting that job because it was a favor. But you know what? Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you got to where you are. Asking a friend for help isn’t cheating, it’s a push. A favor can only get you so far. Only sheer talent can take you the whole ride. Just like you, deary.”

      Marinette felt her face heat up and her hand instinctively went to her stomach. Luka chuckled and began to push himself up. He made a noise and froze in his tracks.

    “Luka, you should be relaxing!” Marinette exclaimed, giddy that the attention would no longer be on her. “You’ve been doing too much running around, it’s going to take longer to heal if you don’t give it a chance.”

     He gazed into her eyes, with a touch of curiosity. “You’re right. I’m sorry sweetheart, it’s just been hard to stay bedridden. I just got back into town and it’s hard not going out to see what’s changed  and basking in the memories of what hasn’t.”

     Marinette felt that lump again. It was her fault he couldn’t enjoy himself. She led him to feel stuck. If she hadn’t given him the miraculous, he wouldn’t be like this.

   “Hmm.” Captain Couffaine hummed as she studied the interaction between the two.

         The bluenette felt stupid, she was having a marvelous day. Not a thing had been wrong. But when she stepped in here, something felt like it was too much. Which was absolutely ridiculous. She never felt like this when she saw Alya loving up on Chico, and Nino persisting Ariana into being a daddy’s girl since he lost the battle with Chico. So why was she jealous of this? Was it because the universe had told her she couldn’t?

   “Excuse me, I have to use the restroom.” Marinette needed a moment to calm down.

      Once she closed the bathroom door, she slid her back down it. Tikki flew out of her purse and hugged the side of her face.

     “Mari. You’re too stressed out for this right now.” The kwami whispered. “I think it’s best we go back home.”

     “I can’t go home Tikki.” Marinette let her head hit the door behind her. “I can’t risk seeing him right now.”

     Tikki was silent for a moment. “No, Mari. Not back to the apartment. I think… I think it’s time you see your parents.”

    Marinette turned her head towards Tikki, her eyebrows raised with doubt. She hasn’t seen her parents since, well, since she told them she was pregnant. She had even waited for the first few months to not tell anybody, in case there were complications with the pregnancy. When the doctor told her odds of miscarriage were decreased by the second trimester, she was rejoiced to tell all of her friends.

    “I don’t know how to tell them,” Marinette whispered finally. “They were so excited to have a grandchild.” And they were nearly more thrilled with the fact that a baby would mean that we were going to get married. That Adrien Agreste, one of the most important men in town, was going to be their son in law.

      “Marinette, none of this was your fault. What happened couldn’t be helped. Sometimes you do everything right and things go wrong.”

      Tears began to well up in the bluenette’s eyes and her bottom lip began to quiver. “I know but I can’t help to feel if I had done something different… I just can’t talk to them right now.”

    “That’s okay. We can go back to Alya and Nino’s.”

     The fashion designer nodded her head stiffly and pushed herself up. She looked in the mirror. Her face was bright pink and she looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown. Shaking her head, she twisted the doorknob. The door opened to the sight of a concerned Luka leaning against the wall with a crutch.

    “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean for you to come here and get stressed out. I apologize for everything that happened.” His fingers traced her jawline.

    “It’s fine.” She tried another fake smile. “I have to go.” Marinette couldn’t have him being so gentle and caring right now. Not when she was trying to keep herself pulled together.

     “No, Mari, it’s not. I didn’t mean to put you in that position. And I hate even more that me doing so led you to be upset.”
    
   Marinette didn’t say anything as she looked at her shoes. It wasn’t his fault, it was hers. But she was scared to speak, afraid that her voice would give her away.

   “I can take you home if you’d like.” He offered, rubbing the back of his head. She shook her head. She would definitely crack under the pressure of the two of them being so close to each other and his soft words. “Okay, Marinette. Just know you can call me whenever you want. Whether it’s to talk, you need someone to listen, or just have someone there so you don’t feel alone.”

    “Thank you.” Marinette sniffed, looking up to meet his eyes. His face was so sincere like he knew he’d always be there and never hurt her.

    She flinched back when a memory of green eyes promising the same thing flashed through her mind. And look how that ended.

    “I’m  sorry.” She whimpered, rushing past him, through the living room, and to the front door.

     Marinette began to hyperventilate when the icy air pierced her lungs. Her hand dived into her pocket to grab her phone. Somehow, she managed to pick Alya’s contact through teary eyes.

    “What’s up girl,” Alya answered after the second rang.

   Marinette wanted to say a full sentence calmly about how she needed to be picked up. But all that came out was, “I- I need you. I need you Alya.” She had begun to sob at that point. The warm tears ran down her chilled cheeks.

  “I’m on the way.” Alya’s voice was protective and strong because she knew that’s what her friend needed. “Can you tell me what you see Mari?”

      The bluennette heard Alya’s voice in the background telling Nino to watch the kids. “The Eiffel-” She hiccuped. “Eiffel Tower.”

     “I’ll be there in five minutes top. Okay?” Marinette offered a pathetic whimper. “Do you need me to stay on the phone with you?”
  
   “No.” Was choked out as Tikki hugged the side of her face.

   “Are you sure girl? You don’t have to be alone. I’m right here for you.” Marinette’s hum was choppy, she took jerky breaths through it.

      The bluenette hung up and allowed the sobs to rip through her throat. Tikki allowed her holder to cry herself to her heart’s content rather than lying and saying everything would be okay.

   Alya pulled up in her van. Marinette rushed to get in and hide from the cold. The brunette leaned over the center consul and hugged the crying girl.

   “You're safe now Mari.” She assured. Marinette gripped onto the plastic of Alya’s coat.

       "I love Ariana and Chico." Marinette cried. "I'd take a bullet for them. But... But watching such a family interact hurts. Alya, it hurts." It did. Weylen, Rose, and Jueklea all seemed so happy. And Luka was a happy, amazing Uncle. And she couldn't have that.

      "I'm sorry Mari. I can't even begin to fathom what you go through." Alya sighed. "I don't know what I'd do if I had lost either of my kids, my life would be so much different. I hate you had to experience such trauma."

   Quite a bit of time passed before the bluenette began to calm down. In all honesty, Marinette was exhausted. Her body was drained of energy from the force of her tears and the car’s heater was cradling her with warmth.

    “Do you want to go back now?” Alya asked, finally pulling away from the hug. When the other nodded, she pulled the gears into drive. “When we get back home, you can take a nice long shower, okay?”

       “Alya?”

    “Yeah?”

    “You’re an amazing friend.”

   “I know.”

    The laughs the two friends shared was soothing, Marinette found. This was the person who stuck with Marinette after all these years. Who stuck with her even when the roads were rough. One of the most important people in her life.
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                    Author's notes:
       What's this? An update that's actually on time? WHO AM I AND WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH ME??? So, uh, not really a fluffy scene, sorry. BUT I HAVE ALL DA FLUFF PLANNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.

        I've been watching MLB again and YouTubing Luka x Marinette moments and no regrets. The fluffyness of the actual cannon ship has inspired me to write this on time.

       Anywho, don't forget to comment and vote! I love hearing what you have to say! Fluff moments you want to see? Have a good day/ night!