Thief | Lukadrien

Take-Off (epilogue pt. 2)

"Great show, Mari," Alya said as we all met up backstage. "Like always, you killed it with those designs."

"Oh, don't exaggerate. This line's got nothing compared to my next one."

She pulled out a tiny sketchbook from a pocket in her skirt, and flipped to a bookmarked section. On the first two pages, there was a sketch of three girls; one wearing a deep red princess dress with black dots on the bodice, another wearing an orange ombre gown, and the third had a black and red suit with gold accents.

"Those colours look vaguely familiar," Nino said.

Marinette turned the page to reveal three more illustrations--all boys this time. One in a black suit with green accents, the second in a teal dress, and the last in a vintage emerald suit with a unique hexagonal pattern on the tie. 

"Girl, you didn't," Alya said as realization hit her.

"I might be wrong, but those appear to be inspired by our superhero forms," Kagami said.

Marinette squealed, jumping up and down. "Yes!"

"Man, you'll make a fortune off of these," I said, leaning over for a closer look. "They're amazing."

"Oh, they won't be for sale."

"Uh... why not?"

"Cuz they're gifts. For you guys."

I exchanged glances with the others.

"I was thinking we could wear these outfits for a charity show on next Hero's Day," Marinette started. "I know we're not the heroes of Paris anymore, but the public still keeps tabs on us whenever we defend other countries... What do you think? Mind being models for a day?"

"Does that mean I'll be wearing that?" Luka said, pointing to the turquoise dress.

Marinette nodded.

"F*ck yeah! Count me in."

I smiled at his excitement. "You'd look amazing in that, babe."

"Well, this is a cause for celebration!" Alya cheered. "Let's meet at our spot in an hour."

...

After going home to change into casual outfits, everyone met up at the top of the Eiffel Tower, each holding holding something for our miniature potluck. We used our superhero forms to scale the building, but once we got up there, we detransformed so our kwamis could enjoy the picnic as well. 

As per the usual, Marinette had the bread and sweets, Luka and I got all the cutlery, Nino and Alya brought the drinks, and Kagami set up some lights. We did this at least once a month so we all knew the drill. 

"Hear anything from Fei, recently?" Luka asked Marinette. 

"Nope. That girl really needs to check her phone--last I heard from her was when we helped retrieve the prodigious from those thieves last winter."

I made a confused face. "Wasn't she there with us when we stopped that supervillain in Russia?"

"Ohhhhh, right. That's still a long time, though!"

Alya started dishing out the treats from the picnic basket. "So, anyone got any life updates? Mari, Kagami?"

Marinette laughed. "Why do you always ask us?"

"Cuz you two are the only ones not dating anyone!"

"And what's wrong with that?! I'm perfectly happy being single."

"Maybe, but Kagami's been awfully quiet," Nino observed with a teasing tone. 

Even in the dimly-lit area, I could see Kagami's face was tinted pink. 

I faked a gasp. "Are you blushing?"

"No!"

"You are!"

"Oh my God," Alya said. "Spill! What happened?"

"I--it's nothing. It was just a date."

"You better give us a name or I swear--"

Kagami rolled her eyes, her cheeks still ablaze. "You don't know her."

"Aw, come on! That's all you're going to give us?" 

"I met her at a gala last week in Japan. She was pretty, so I asked her out."

"Are you gonna see each other again?" Luka asked. "Japan is pretty far away."

She shrugged. "We might go out again the next time I visit."

"Which might be sooner than you think," Marinette said, staring at her phone. "I just got a text from Jess." 

She showed us the screen. 

Techno Pirate's heading to Tokyo with a small alliance. Aeon and I are chasing him down, but we might need backup.

We'll meet you there ASAP, Marinette sent back. 

"Power up, guys," Alya said, handing out a potion-filled cookie to each of our kwamis. 

After saying our transformation phrases, we were all suited up and ready to fly over to Japan. Ryuko was up in the air first, followed by Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena. I spread my wings, but before taking off, Luka and I joined hands. 

Joy was sparkling from both of us as we soared through the sky. I turned my head to look at my beautiful boyfriend, and he did the same. His eyes were blending in with the stars, and his loving smile kept me grounded even thought we were miles above the city. If I squinted, I could see our souls dancing in front of the moon. The ring in my pocket could never measure up these moments we shared silently. 

The butterflies in my chest played a soft melody as Luka stole my heart once again.

~ The End ~