Luka worried his bottom lip between his lips. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping the steering wheel so his trembling wasn’t obvious. Maybe that third cup of coffee hadn’t been worth it. That’s why he was more of a tea person. In the corner of his eye, he could see Marinette leaning towards the window. He risked a glance towards her and his breath caught in his throat. 

    Her eyes were closed as she tilted her head up to feel the sunlight against her face. She was surprisingly unaffected by the amount of coffee she had consumed, despite the fact she had two more cups of it then he had. 

   Admittedly, it had been a long time since Luka has woken up as early as five a.m. He normally fell asleep around four a.m and didn’t get up until ten or so. But when he got a panicked call from Marinette at five, he rushed to get ready so he could help her. She needed help getting her supplies and bridesmaid’s dresses to the hall the wedding ceremony was being held, and she didn’t have the driver’s license to do so.

    So Luka made it to Alya and Nino’s, borrowed their van, and helped Marinette carry down as much as possible. Safe to say, he was exhausted. But he was glad that Marinette knew she could come to him. After they had dropped everything off and Marinette pecked him on the cheek in thanks and rushed inside. He then proceeded to drive the van back to Alya and Nino and went back home. He wasn’t able to go back to sleep so he settled for working on his song.

     Despite his lack of sleep, he was glad today’s events led to right now. Even if the day got cut short, it would have been worth it just to see such a soft smile. Not that he was hoping the day would get cut short, he wanted it to last as long as possible.

   He pulled to a stop at the side of the road. Marinette opened her eyes and studied the area around her. She peered curiously out the window.

     “We’ll have to do some walking”, Luka admitted as he unbuckled. He hopped out of the driver’s seat and told Marinette to stay where she was. He walked around the front of the jeep and opened the passenger door for her.

   “Thanks.” She beamed up at him.

  “You’re in a surprisingly great mood,”  Luka noted as he began to grab a few things from the back of the vehicle. She grabbed a few things herself and pushed the door closed with her hip.

   “Well, yeah!” Marinette exclaimed as she followed him onto a beaten down path that was nearly impossible to spot. “Today’s such a beautiful day, and I’m spending the time with you! And I’m glad we got to see Marc and Nathaniel, my last talk with Nath got cut short.”

   Luka hummed, glad the day was turned out so pleasantly for. And, the reason unknown to him, she was somehow still functioning. She had to have had the same amount or maybe even less sleep than him. So how in the world was she so full of energy?

   Trudging through the forest, the two made many complicated twists and turns. Well, complicated as much as Marinette knew she wouldn’t be able to make it back to the car by herself.

    “Do you trust me, Marinette?” Luka asked suddenly, coming to a complete stop beside her. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat, despite how cliche it sounded. He saw her expression and backtracked. “Sorry, I know it’s sudden. I’m just asking because there’s something I’d like to do, but I won’t do it if you’re not comfortable with it.”

     Trust him? What an absurd question. Why wouldn’t she? Even if she didn’t want to trust him, he gave her no reason not to. Marinette scoffed to herself. She then realized she took too long to respond.

    “Oh uh…” How were you calmly supposed to say I trust you with literally every fiber of my being and would 100% leave my life in your hands? “Absolutely. I trust you not to let me get hurt.” A nervous giggled pushed it’s way past her lips without her permission.

    Marinette was flustered, and it looked like he was too. They’ve been in plenty of awkward situations where they haven’t been so embarrassed and giddy, so why would now be any different? The bluenette bit her bottom lip. 

    Maybe it was the charged air between them. Occasionally their arms would brush against each other, and electricity would dance across her skin, causing her to shiver. Luka snuck a glance at her and smiled adoringly. 

  “Okay then.  Could you close your eyes?” Marinette pulled to a stop and glanced at the forest floor around her. Despite the fact that being Ladybug helped her with her balance more, she knew she would still trip. Especially if she couldn’t see where her feet were going. “It’s okay.” Luka soothed. “Can I take your hand? I’ll guide you.”

     Damn it he makes it hard to say no. Closing her eyes, she blindly searched for his cold hands. Only after his fingers intertwined with hers did she realize he was trembling. 

   “Luka…” He gave her hand a small squeeze. 

   “You don’t have to close your eyes. I understand.” Luka said and he loosened his fingers around hers.

  “No no.” She tightened her grip around him. “That’s not what I was getting at. You’re shaking. Are you okay?”

    He sighed and gently tugged her behind him as they began to reach their destination. Marinette was even more aware of her surroundings since she wasn’t able to rely on her sight. Leaves rustled in the trees above and birds tweeted somewhere in the distance. Twigs snapped underneath their feet and leaves brushed against her arms.

   “Today was different then what I’m used to, and it’s taking a toll on my body,” Luka admitted, guiding her over some rocks. “I’m not used to drinking so much coffee. Or any coffee for that matter.” 

   Marinette went quiet before responding.

   “We can go back.” She whispered. “We could come out here another day.”

    Once again, he stopped them. He used one hand to brush back the hair from her face. “There is nowhere else in the world I would rather be than right by your side.”

    “You're too much.” Marinette teased lightly, cheeks turning pink to his words.

   “I’m going to let your hand go, okay? I’m not going anywhere, but I need to do something. Do you want to have a conversation so you don’t feel alone?” Luka asked. She nodded, unaware of the smile he was giving her.

   “How are the costumes turning out for the musical?” Luka took the bad she was carrying from her shoulder and zipped it open.

 “I’m actually almost finished. I stayed up a few extra hours, and I only have one more to go.” Her fingers fiddled with the edge of her shirt.

   “Oh yeah? And how many hours of sleep did you get exactly?”

   “Sleep? You mean to tell me I was supposed to sleep?” She tilted her head, and he snorted. 

   “Of course not. I don’t know what I was talking about.”  He made a few more sounds before suddenly clapping his hands together and starling Marinette. “Sorry.” He chuckled. “You can open your eyes now.”

    Bluebell eyes fluttered open and Marinette let out a small gasp. Luka had led her to a small clearing, full of wildflowers and saturated green grass. In front of her, a red and white checkered blanket was spread out on top of the grass and several tupperware bowls were on top of it.

   “This is amazing.” Amazing wasn’t a strong enough word. 

    Luka gave a shy smile and looked down at his shoes. He kneaded the back of his neck with a hand and waved toward the blanket with another.

   “I know it’s not much. But… but I wanted to share this with you.” God, he felt like he was eleven years old with a crush again. 

      Marinette let out a small ‘aw’ without realizing it as she sunk onto the blanket. She glanced back at the bag he had taken from her and saw the corner of something peeking out. Curious, she leaned over and pinched it between her thumb and pointer finger. 

  “A kite?” She asked. Luka glanced up at her as he opened a container and paper plates.

  “Oh, uh, yeah. We don’t have to fly them.” He assured her by holding her gaze to show he was serious.

   “It’s the perfect day for kites,” Marinette commented, twisting the string between her fingers. “What else do you have in the bag?”

    Luka hummed as he stretched out to pull the bag. “I’m not actually one-hundred percent sure. I may or not have grabbed the bag I use when I take Weylen to the park.”

  When he tipped the bag over, something, in particular, caught her attention. A little black notebook sat on top of several small Nerf guns. She began to reach for it before Luka grabbed it.

   “What’s that?” She nodded her head towards his hand and grabbed something else so she didn’t embarrass herself.

  “This…” He turned it in his hands, biting his bottom lip. He sighed and shook his head. “It’s where I write lyrics, I guess.”

   “You guess?” Marinette pondered as she watched his finger tighten. He hummed.

  “It’s more like… Like I write down what I’m feeling, and I use it for a particular song that conveys that emotion.” Luka mumbled, thinking for a better way to explain it. He still shook as he turned his head, lifting the notebook in her direction.

   Marinette took it and sat it to the side with her head tilted. That caught his attention. Turning to try to read what was going on in her head, blue eyes met blue. She pulled herself slightly closer to him, wiping her ponytail behind her in the process.

   “That one song.” She stated so simply, with all of the confidence in the world. “The one that you showed me and the girls-” The one where they ended up kissing she added hastily in her head. “-how’d it go?”

   “The one that went, ‘And I suddenly see you’?” 

    Marinette trapped her finger on her knees. “Yeah, that one. What is that about? What emotion were you trying to get across?”

   Luka took his time to answer, his fingers fumbling with the bracelets at his wrist. 

   “When I was eleven my dad left.”  Luka began, keeping his head down as memories began to play. “And I thought everything would be fine, that we could make it without him. And that was true for the most part. But emotionally, no one could really handle it. I became a vessel for the curses Mom had for him, and the worries and anxiety of Jueklea.”
  
    “Luka…” Marinette whispered. She didn’t know that Luka, calm and kind Luka, had gone through such a dreadful thing.

    “And I was fine with things being that way.” He admitted. “I was fine with worrying about them more than myself. It kept me somewhat sane. I carried the emotional stress of our household, and it was okay. But I lost some part of myself.”

   His fingers traced invisible patterns over the blanket before a warm hand stopped him. He glanced up. Marinette gave a small smile of reassurance as she intertwined their fingers.

   “I just didn’t believe in love at that point.” To say that Marinette was shocked was an understatement. “I’ve tried dating before. I’ve had girlfriends and a boyfriend or two, but they never stuck for longer than a few months. And I tried, I tried so hard to be in a healthy relationship. But I just couldn’t find interest in it. But then…”

    “But then?” Marinette encouraged him after he went silent.

    “Well, my friends teased me that I was aromantic, and honestly, I believed them. I just couldn’t see myself in a relationship, and I didn’t care to find one. But when I first met you, I don’t know, I was intrigued. And suddenly, I wanted to do everything with you. I wanted sappy phone calls randomly during the day, and to stay up late watching movies while cuddling next to each other. Heck, I even imagined us living together with a dog and several hamsters. I’ve been with people after that, but I was addicted to the feeling you gave me. I couldn’t get that feeling with anybody else.” His fingers tightened around hers.

   It was a lot of information for Marinette to take in. She tried to recall what happened in high school, but it was kind of complicated. She was stressed a lot. And she was guilty she didn’t focus more on Luka and give him the attention he needed.

    “And I still want that, Marinette. I still want to be romantic with you. So I brought you here, a place that means everything to me, to ask you if you’d be in a relationship with me. Because you mean everything to me, Marinette Dupan-Cheng.”

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                      Author's notes:
     Hello beautiful dorks! I bet you doubted me when I said I would update on time, but I sure showed you. Also, thank you guys for being so wonderful! I love reading your comments, they really make my day.

       Don't forget to check the song in the media! Stay safe. Comment and vote, I love hearing what you have to say! If there's a fluff scene you want to see, you can tell me and I'll probably put it! Have s great day/night!