❝I think I'm starting to like you, Luka❞

Four weeks earlier...

Sunrise.

The mark of a new day,

The beginning of a new chapter.

It's a new day.

A different routine to follow.

But the routine of the infamous superhero duo of Paris never seemed to change because Hawkmoth had stuck to a monotonous lifestyle of akumatising people at around 5 a.m. since the akumatisation of Queen Bee into Miracle Queen. Four weeks had passed since Ladybug had been bestowed with the guardianship of the miracle box, but she still continued to struggle. She wasn't able to take out time to go to the Guardian's Temple now that her parents had started expanding their business, across France. As Marinette, the full responsibility of handling the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie rested on her shoulders as her parents were busy handling business calls.

"Don't worry, Marinette. We'll surely start handling the bakery once our business is stabilised and, that would be right before your school starts", Tom said as he softly patted Marinette's back.

"M'lady! Could you be so kind enough to lend me a helping hand here cause this akuma's being a bit tough on my soft fur", Chat Noir shouted to gain the attention of the heroine who seemed to be lost in her world for the umpteenth time this week.

"Sorry, Chat!", Ladybug shouted back as she leapt into action.

In no more than 5 minutes, the akuma had been devilized and, Ladybug caught a young woman with pink hair and green eyes in her arms as the said girl fell from mid-air.

"Are you okay, ma'am?", the cat-themed hero asked the woman as Ladybug put her back down on her feet.

"What happened to me?", the pink-haired woman asked clutching her head, just like every other person who had been de-evilised by Ladybug and Chat Noir did before her.

"You had been akumatised but, everything's okay now. Bug out!", said Ladybug and disappeared in the alleys.

Chanting the de-transformation words, she gave a cookie to Tikki and rushed back to her home. Carefully, Marinette slipped in through the backdoor hoping, her parents hadn't noticed her absence and quickly went towards her room to bury herself under the blankets. However, the exhausted girl had just dozed off when the alarm rang off exactly at 6 am, just like it had been set to do so.

Unwillingly, Marinette tapped off the alarm and headed towards the bathroom to freshen up. She descended the stairs with bags under her eyes and a few yawns escaping past her lips.

"You alright, dear? Did you sleep well last night?", Sabine asked with worry etched on her face while her daughter simply gave a nod in response and slipped into her seat at the breakfast table.

"Hope the bakery's not too much to handle, dear. If you want we can handle it from now on", her mother said as she softly rubbed Marinette's back in a comforting manner.

"No, Mom. I'm totally fine and, I can handle the bakery. No pressure", Marinette laughed it off and put on a fake smile. However, her parents knew better about the fake smile their daughter tried to pull off but chose to let it slide, thinking that she will open up to them when she needed their help.

After breakfast and a quick shower, Marinette put on a white shirt and a pink jumper dress. She tied her hair neatly into a bun and tied a black apron around her waist. She entered the bakery and arranged the tables and chairs, cleaning some of them which had collected dust. Marinette put some macaroons in the oven and opened the doors of Paris' favourite bakery at 7 a.m. sharp.

People came bustling into the boulangerie, mostly regular customers ordering breakfast. Marinette kept running from the counter to the kitchen, not noticing a pair of olive green eyes watching her every move from the corner of the bakery.

Around noon, the Monday rush started to slow down and, only two to three tables remained occupied. Marinette went upstairs to have lunch and came back down to serve the customers again. When she was giving the change to a black-haired lady, the bell chimed and, Marinette looked up, expecting to see another customer but, her face brightened upon seeing Alya and Nino walk in through the door hand-in-hand.

"What would you like to have this sunny afternoon?", Marinette asked but, her best friend clearly showed that she had other plans, as Alya slapped a movie ticket against the table.

"A Movie Night!", Alya chirped and grinned excitedly towards her best friend.

However, the bluenette shoved the ticket back into Alya's palm and said, nonchalantly, "You know we all aren't allowed to go to the cinemas for late-night sho-"

"It's not that late! The show starts at 5 and, 'Movie Evening' sounds a bit weird so I call it a 'Movie Night'... So are you coming?", Alya spoke enthusiastically, hoping her best friend would come along.

"I'm sorry, Alya. The bakery is supposed to close at 6 p.m., so I can't make it", Marinette said, immediately regretting her words as she saw Alya's face fall.

"It has been days since we last hang out together", Alya spoke with a tone of disappointment and sighed.

"She's right Marinette. You can start closing the bakery now cause it's already 4:15. No need to work till 6 today! You should spend some time with your friends and relax", Sabine surprised the three teenagers as they were oblivious to the fact that she had been standing behind Alya and Nino all along, holding a few papers in her hands.

"But-"

"No buts Marinette. I don't want your teenage life to be all boring and spent in handling a bakery. Go have some fun!", Sabine urged her daughter and, Marinette turned towards Alya and Nino to say, "Well then save a seat for me!"

Alya almost screamed in excitement as Nino tried to calm her down.

A little break won't hurt, right?

"But father-"

"Don't argue with me, Adrien. Your Chinese lessons had been rescheduled to 5 o'clock today because of the fencing practice with Ms Tsurugi at 10 in the morning. These classes are important for your future so, don't neglect them", Gabriel said and immediately entered his office, shutting the door behind him, leaving his disappointed son in front of the staircases. Adrien slowly made his way to his room and fell, face forwards on his bed.

"Why doesn't father ever allow me to hang out with my friends. This whole summer break the only friend I've hung out with is Kagami, that too for fencing practice", Adrien mumbled into the soft sheets of his bed as Plagg settled down next to his head with a chunk of cheese.

"I always tell you to transform and escape from the window but, you never listen cause you think you'll disappoint Ladybug if she finds you using your powers for your needs. If you go out to bring some tasty camembert then what's the harm in it? Camembert is delicious", Plagg said, gulping the chunk of cheese in one go.

"I want to go out and watch a movie with my friends. Not to buy camembert. Besides, what excuse will I give to the Chinese teacher of my absence?", Adrien asked his kwami but, the latter floated away from him saying, "That's up to you, kid. I gave you an idea to solve your problems so, figure out the rest yourself cause I am exhausted from showing this much kindness today and need energy."

The cat kwami gulped down another chunk of cheese as his owner sighed and buried his head in his pillow.

"Oh no! Tikki, we're late!", Marinette said whilst running in the direction of the cinema hall where her friends were supposed to meet up.

"Calm down, Marinette. It's only 4.48 p.m.", Tikki said popping her head from Marinette's purse.

"Wait, what? But I saw it was- Oh..."

Marinette trailed off as she pulled out her smartphone to realize that she had made a mistake in seeing the time. She tucked her phone in her purse and calmly walked down the streets reaching the cinema hall in time for a group picture with her friends.

Marinette asked about Adrien only to hear Nino say that his father didn't give him permission for the movie. The teenagers made their way through the small crowd and bought some popcorn and cold drinks as well. Marinette sat down beside Alya and, Luka came by asking if he could sit next to her. Marinette stuttered out a 'Yes' as Luka took his seat and the movie began.

Halfway through the movie, Luka looked to his side to see that Marinette had already fallen asleep. He smiled at her sleeping form as Alya clicked a picture of her best friend sleeping and immediately posted it on her Instagram account.

After the movie got over, Luka gently woke up the bluenette. When all of them got out of the hall, Marinette learned about how Alya had posted her picture on social media and started pouting at her best friend while the latter simply laughed.

Outside the theatre, Andre stood on the opposite side of the road with his Ice-Cream Cart singing his usual song to attract customers to taste his ice cream.

"Let's go have some Ice-Cream!", Rose squealed and, everyone agreed except Marinette.

"Sorry guys. I'm just feeling tired and, I want to head back home to catch some rest", she said.

"Sure Marinette, no worries. Go take some rest", Mylene said.

"Should I give you a ride?", Luka asked in his gentle voice but, Marinette denied the offer.

"It's already dark and I don't want you to further exhaust yourself on the way", Luka said with worry evident in his voice. Marinette hesitantly accepted his offer, got on his bicycle and waved goodbye to her friends as the guitarist pedalled off.

Luka was cycling along the river so that his muse could catch some cool breeze and, she enjoyed it as it seemed to refresh her mind. When Marinette got off from his cycle, she gave him a quick peck on his cheek and said, "Thanks, Luka."

"Anything for you, Marinette. Hope you feel better tomorrow. See ya", he said and pedalled off as Marinette unconsciously stared at him until he disappeared out of view.

I think I'm starting to like you, Luka.

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for reading this despite the huge gap between today and the day I posted the prologue.

I can't promise you any regular updates or faster updates cause of my studies and the pandemic stress. So please bear with me. ♡

I can promise you that, that I'll never leave this book unfinished as I love this story idea that popped in my head.

Also, this book isn't going to follow any of the new episodes being released of Season 4 as this book was originally planned in October 2020 before Season 4. This book isn't also any theory of how Season 4 is going to be. It's a totally different story from what we've have seen of Miraculous.

So buckle up and enjoy the ride. This chapter was an introductory chapter and there's going to be more mystery coming in the future so stay tuned!

Also, don't forget to vote and comment!

Otherwise ☺🔪