As soon as she got home, Marinette quickly took a hot shower and blow dried her hair before curling it into delicate springs that bounced just above her shoulders.

She had already chosen the dress she was going to wear that morning and slipped on the black long sleeved dress with red accenting along the bottom. It was simple, yet classy, and she added a gold necklace and small golden hoop earrings to complete the look.

Just as she finished applying minimal makeup, Sabine called her downstairs. Marinette grabbed her things and took a deep breath. She descended the steps, one by one, until Luka came into view.

He smiled upon seeing her, his eyes sparkling. Marinette looked beautiful standing there on the stairs, her hand ghosting the railing and a shy blush covering her cheeks.

"Wow," Luka murmured. He walked over to her to offer his hand, which Marinette gratefully accepted, and allowed him to steady her as she walked down the last three steps. He put his lips next to her ear and whispered, "You are stunning," making her blush deepen.

"Adorable." Marinette's eyes fixated on her papa, who wore a small grin and sent a playful glare in his direction.

"You ready to go?" Luka asked, gazing down at the woman before him in adoration. "We can wait a few more minutes if you'd like."

Marinette smiled at the offer but shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'd rather we leave early and have more time to walk through the markets on the way there." She hooked her arm around his and waved to her parents.

"Have fun, dear!" Sabine said with a wink.

"Maman!" she groaned. Everyone bursted out in quiet laughter. Luka led her out the door and onto the busy streets of Paris. The city always seemed to be awake, even in the late hours of the evening.

While they silently walked along the sidewalks, Marinette could feel Luka staring at her. A breeze blew from behind and she leaned her head against his arm, maintaining her balance despite the heels she wore.

"Here." Luka pointed to a line of markets, each offering various items. "Why don't you go and pick something out?" he asked gently. His smile grew when he saw the excitement in her bluebell eyes.

"There's something I want to show you," she said with a mischievous smirk.

Marinette loved Luka and knew he reciprocated her feelings. His voice was like a melody to her ears, her heart beating to the drum of his. And while their relationship was strained at first, due to some rather unfortunate rumors, she had grown to appreciate him in a deeper way, becoming closer and closer to him the more time they spent with one another.

"What?" A small laugh escaped Luka's lips as she pulled him to the third stand. It was a nick nack shop, containing miscellaneous items, from snowglobes to collectible chess pieces to small statues. Marinette picked up a small, ornate music box engraved with snakes and turned it over, winding up the bottom.

A familiar tune began to play and Luka broke out into a grin. It was the melody to his song, the song he had written for her. Her eyes shone in happiness at his reaction, pleased with herself for the gift.

"Do you like it?" she asked, smiling so widely that anyone randomly looking at her would see a crazy girl, a young woman star-struck by love.

But what no one knew was that her subconscious was debating another, whose emerald-green eyes haunt her in her sleep.

"I love it," he replied, leaning closer, ghosting his lips above hers. "And I love you."

********

When they had reached the restaurant, the couple was famished. Marinette gasped when she saw the interior of the place.

The room was dimly lit by candles, the soft glow adding a romantic air to the white covered tables and cushioned chairs. A man in a white coat and black apron approached them. He held a clipboard in his left arm and had a sense of dignity about him, one that made you not question his presence there.

"Your name?" he asked, clipboard at the ready.

"Luka Couffaine." The waiter narrows his eyes at Luka, as if scrutinizing the teal-dyed tips of the pop star's hair. Marinette wondered if the waiter knew who Luka was.

"Ah, here you are. Right this way, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Yep, he knew who he was, and knew that Marinette was Luka's girlfriend. Is that a good or a bad thing? Luka pulled out a chair for Marinette before seating himself across from her.

"Matthias will be with you shortly to take your orders."

Marinette waited until the waiter was out of ear shot to start talking in a hushed voice, almost a whisper, so that she wouldn't disturb the others around her.

"How did you get a reservation?" she asked in amazement. This place was way over what she made, even with the raises and bonus.

"I may have had my manager pull a few strings." He looked at the menu and grinned. "Guess what they have, Mari?"

"Hmm?" She hummed, popping one of the strawberries that were in a neat little bowl in the center of the table into her mouth.

"Crepes." Luka had to suppress a laugh at Marinette's reaction. Ever since she tried a particularly disgusting crepe, she refused to eat any unless they were from her parent's bakery.

"Your wine." A waiter, Matthias, pours them each a glass of Rosé and they thank him before he wanders to another table.

Marinette took a slow, measured sip, eyeing Luka. She didn't want to bring up work because it was a date and all, but she couldn't help but ask about how his life is going recently with his concerts doing so well.

"I saw on the site that your last three concerts were sold out," she said. Luka had already finished his wine and carefully set the glass down.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something..."

Matthias walked in and briefly took their order. Luka had to resist the urge to scowl at the poor timing.

"I wanted to talk to you about something too." Marinette glanced at the older couple a few tables away before quickly looking back into Luka's deep cyan eyes, the ones that could never compare to emerald-green.

Luka shifted in his seat and leaned forward to leave a gentle kiss on her cheek, causing her to close her eyes for a moment. "You first."

"So as you know, I've been working very hard to gain approval from Gabriel Agreste," she began. Luka noticed her unease and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, as if to say go on. "Well, it seems that I now have it because..." She looks up at him, her bluebell eyes wide and innocent in excitement. "I got promoted."

It took a moment for this to register in Luka's mind before a proud smile spread across his features. He grabs her other hand and brings both of them to his lips, brushing them against her knuckles.

"That," he said, "is amazing, sweetheart." Luka knew how much moving up in the company meant to her, and is glad that Marinette is now starting to see what he had always seen. A talented young woman above all of her peers. "I told you that you'd get there. You're always the top when it comes to fashion, even if you won't admit it."

"Do you know what this means? I am running the Christmas Fashion Gala, Luka! Me! Of all people, I was chosen as one of the heads of this event."

"Who's the other head?"

Marinette looked down at their entwined fingers and managed a scowl. "Adrien," she answered. "Honestly I don't get why he has to be such a stuck-up pain in the–"

"Mari?" Luka interrupted gently. "Just make up already." He couldn't believe he was saying these things but someone had to. Luka feared that she'd take her 'make up' as 'make out' which of course wasn't at all what he was saying. He loved Marinette with all his heart, but while he knew she loved him to an extent, it's nothing compared to what she had once shared with Agreste.

Still shared.

"No, there's nothing that can mend what he did." Marinette looked up at him and Luka felt his heart ache for the girl he saw in her, the girl who was afraid and trembling with fear for the future. The chink in her armor quickly faded away as she occupied herself with her wine, swirling it around in her glass. He knew she must be thinking back to whatever her and Adrien had done together, deep in thought.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked softly, shaking her head and clearing her mind.

Their food arrived, but the two ignored it as the weight of those words hung in the air. Did Luka want to break up with her? Was he going to suggest they take a break? That the long-distance thing wasn't working? Marinette got goosebumps on her arms as a waitress passed by her.

"I, well, there's no perfect way to say this..." he began and Marinette slumped in her seat. She should've known he was going to do this.

"You want to break up with me, don't you?" she asked so quietly he hardly heard it as she pulled her hands away from his and set them on her lap.

Luka's eyes widened in shock and he was appalled that she would even think that. "No," he said sternly. "Never." Luka stood up and walked behind her chair, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and murmured, "What did I do wrong, what do you think you did wrong for me to want to do that?"

"I don't know, you're saying weird things and I—" She turned around and gazed at him intently. "I don't know," she finished lamely. "My mind often wonders why we're together, what you even see in me."

"I see so much it hurts, Mari," he whispered. "It hurts to be so far away from you all the time. What I want to tell you is that I canceled my next tour."

"What?!" Marinette quickly stood up, causing everyone to turn their heads to look at them. She blushed slightly. "Why? Why would you do that and ruin your dreams?"

"Because of you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I know I could never ask you to let go of your dreams for my sake." He pulled out a velvet box and got down on one knee, and several people gasped.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you marry me?"