Luka stared at the ceiling as the last wisps of daylight began to fade. Marinette was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He was glad to realize that she seemed to be content in her slumber, it was a nice contrast to the first time she had come over to his apartment.

  But his concerns still remained. He cared for Marinette a lot, he would never purposely do any harm to her. But perhaps she needed to see a professional. Luka had to admit, he doesn’t understand what she was going through. And it hurt him that he couldn’t help. But Marinette has had blue rings around her eyes since the day he saw her at the bar.

     Luka wanted to talk to Alya about Marinette. The brunette knew more about Marinette then he could ever dream. She was there to help support the bluenette through the roughest time of her life.

           Luka sighed. He couldn’t stay here over the night. He didn’t want to leave her, but he knew Mister and Missus Dupan-Chang would take good care of her.

     Somehow, he managed to get off the bed without slamming his leg against something or accidentally roll Marinette off the bed. Not that it wasn’t without effort, her legs were tangled between his own and the blanket.

     Marinette mumbled something in her sleep and curled into a ball. Luka smiled and brushed the hair from her face before he pushed himself up and wobbled. He collected the mess he helped make and started to make his way to the ladder. Something caught his interest from the corner of his eye.

  Tilting his head towards it, he realized it was a corkboard with multiple pictures from high school. Alya and Nino holding hands, Luka and Jueklea after their first major concert, Nathaniel sheepishly holding his art up to the camera, Marinette and her parents, Marinette and Adrien, fashion designs, and what looked like a picture of Chloe being nice for a minute as she and Sabrina posed for the camera.

       Luka saw a corner sticking out behind another photo and he pulled it out. It was him and Marinette. He was standing behind her, arms on either side of her body as he held up the guitar and showed her how to play. How oblivious she was to the cords was adorable.

    Taking a spare pin, Luka hung the photo so it could be seen. It had been a good day for him when it was taken, and it appeared she had felt the same way. And she needed happy memories right now.

    “Let me help you down from there,” Tom said when he saw Luka struggling with the steps.

      “Thank you, sir.” Luka smiled as Tom helped steady him.

      “No problem, son.”

       Sabine nodded her head from the kitchen. “It’s nice to see you after so long. How are you dear?”

    “I’m doing good, thank you for asking. And you?”

    “The years do wear you down, that’s for sure.” Sabine chuckled. “I feel so old saying things like that.”

     “I believe with age comes beauty, and you help prove my theory, Mrs. Dupan Chang.”

   Sabine waved her hand as she held the door open for him. “You’re quite the charmer. And please dear, you can call me Sabine.”

   “It was a pleasure seeing you two again. I hope to see you soon.” Luka nodded his head as he walked past Sabine.

    The crisp night air pierced right through Luka’s jacket, taking away any remaining heat Marinette had provided him. He looked up at the sky, the pastel purples and blue had finally faded away only to leave grey clouds behind. He raised his hand as a cab drove into his vision.

     Once the driver had his address and Luka had gotten situated, he slipped his phone out of his pocket.

    Jueklea had messaged him while he was with Marinette, asking if he could babysit Weylen tomorrow night. He smiled as he responded. Jueklea has come a long way since high school. Shy was still shy, but she had learned how to channel her anxiety that kept her from what she wanted to do. She originally wanted to model simple clothes like fall and winter outfits. But when she had to help her old teacher with a music class, she fell in love with the idea of teaching other people music.

   After texting his sister back, Luka went into his contacts and searched for Alya. When he saw the familiar face in her profile picture he dialed her number.

  “Hello?” She answered. Luka could hear things going on in the background.

   “Hey Alya, it’s Luka. I was wondering if you had a minute to talk. It’s about Marinette”

  “Luka!” She exclaimed as if surprised it could possibly be him. “I’m going to have to call you back in like five minutes, I have to put my little monsters to bed.”

        Giggling was heard on the line before it was cut off. Luka pressed his head against the cool window. Honestly, he felt almost nervous to talk about Marinette to Alya. Not because he was scared that Alya would hunt him down and kill him if he said something wrong, it was nothing like that. Alya probably already knew what he had only come to the conclusion to today.

   His phone buzzed and he answered.

   “What exactly did you want to say about Marinette?” Alya asked. “Just know everything you say can and will be used against you.”

       Luka chuckled. “It’s a sensitive topic. I have concerns for her, I wanted to voice them to you because you’re her best friend.”

    Alya sighed and took a minute to respond. And Luka could understand that. It’s never easy watching someone you’re close to suffer and not be able to help them.

     “She’s been down lately.” Alya paused. “Going through something like a miscarriage couldn’t be easy. Especially not when she had been in her sixth month when it happened. I was hoping if I let her grieve for so long, she would bounce back.”

      “I know this has to be hard on you too,” Luka admitted. “But I don’t think she’s going to bounce back like you think she would. I think… I think Marinette has postpartum depression. She may even have PTSD.”

       “It would explain her nightmares…” Alya mumbled. “And her random anxiety attacks could have been triggered by something that reminded her of what happened…”

    Alya seemed hesitant to accept the idea. Luka wrung his hands out of any nerves.

        “I was hoping you could talk her into seeing a doctor about it. And maybe see if Nino could do the same for Adrien.”

      “Adrien?” The brunette growled. “But all he has been this whole is a jealous bi-”

    “I know.” Luka cut her off. “Believe me, I know. But Adrien was as devoted to this baby as Marinette. He’s repressing the memories because he’s unconsciously trying to protect himself. He’s letting his stress out through anger. Nothing he has done has been right, there’s no excuse for what he did to her. But you have to also know there are two sides to this story. Maybe if they both saw a professional, Marinette could be her normal cheerful self and Adrien would be collected and use his common sense again.”

    “It seems so scary,” Alya whispered. “Every time she leaves my place I’m scared she’ll go to the point of no return. That her depression would lead her to… to hurt herself. But if I tell her, it will be admitting that the problem exists. I know that makes me sound like a horrible friend.”

      “No, it doesn’t,” Luka assured her as he paid the driver and pulled himself out of the car. “It makes it sound like you care so much for her that you’re scared for her. You’re not only scared because she’s a part of you, but you’re also scared for her and her feelings. And that’s understandable. But the problem won’t go away by itself and I really do think you can help.”

    “Thank you. I’ll talk to Nino about it. Have a good night, Luka.” Her voice shook.

   “Thank you for giving Marinette the care she needs. Sleep tight, Alya.”

         When the call ended, Luka sighed. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. He opened them and looked at the staircase with his lips pursed.

   Luka struggled to get up the stairs. Once he got into his apartment, he was too beat to do anything. After being lazy all day, he didn’t have much energy to begin with.

        Without even bothering to take his clothes off, Luka crashed into his bed with a groan.
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                          Author's notes:
       Hello lovely little readers! I know this update is slightly shorter than the others, but believe me, I don't think I could have drug it out any more than I did.

     Anywho, what job would Juekla have? I kinda just BS what her job was because I realized I don't really know much about her.

      Don't forget to comment and vote! I love hearing what you have to say! Fluffy moments you want to see? Have a great day/night!