Miraculous Ships

New Feelings (LukaChat)

Marinette was designing something in her sketchbook as Luka sat close by, strumming the strings on his guitar to form the simple song he had known for years. Marinette seemed to like it, so he always played it around her. They had been dating for a few months, seven months, if Luka could remember correctly.

There was a loud crash outside, and Marinette flew off the bed, shoving her sketchbook back into her bag. She rushed out the door, shouting over her shoulder, "I'll be back in a little while, I just have to do something quickly!"

Luka nodded, turning his attention back to his guitar. It was just an Akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir would deal with it quickly and everything would be fine and normal again. No need to worry.

Or so he thought. The entire side of the ship was ripped away and thrown into the distance, leaving a gaping hole in the side of his home. Water began to pool into his room, rising quickly as the boat sank. Luka stood up, grabbing his guitar and his phone. He waded through the water, trying to reach the top of the ship, trying to get back to the gangway and get back onto dry land.

A groan from the ship made Luka try to run, only for the boat to tip over and land on the open side, throwing Luka and his guitar into the cold water. He swam back to the pocket of air at the top of the boat, near one of the windows. Just as he was about to go underwater again, the wall next to the window was destroyed, the blackened boards sinking into the shadowy deep.

Luka looked up, treading water. It was Chat Noir, not an Akuma. "Chat Noir!" Luka waved his arm in the air to catch the hero's attention. It worked, and Chat extended his baton out towards Luka.

"Grab on and I'll pull you out!" Luka swam towards the baton, his clothes starting to weigh him down. When Chat saw him struggling, he dropped the baton into the water and hooked it under Luka's arms, pulling him out of the water and onto the side of the ship.

"Thank you, Chat Noir." Luka looked at Chat Noir. He couldn't help comparing the superhero in front of him to his girlfriend. Chat's eyes were a vibrant green, no whites, only different shades of mesmerising green. Completely different from Marinette's, which were a beautiful blue colour.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need to call someone? Is anyone else on the boat?" Chat frantically scanned over Luka, checking that he wasn't injured in any way.

Luka laughed, "I'm fine, don't worry. There was no one else on the boat, just me. Mum was out shopping for music and Juleka was out with her friends."

"That's good. How are you going to talk to them?"

"I don't know. I lost my phone in the water, as well as my guitar, but it'll all come back with Ladybug's Lucky Charm, right? Nothing to worry about." Luka tried to smile but he knew he probably looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown.

Chat placed a hand on Luka's arm, making Luka look at him. "You can use my baton if you want. It acts like a phone so you can call whoever you need to."

Luka thought about it for a moment. He had to call his mother and Juleka, their house had just sunk and everything in it was under the water. It would be a little shocking if they came back and the boat was missing completely. "That'd be helpful, thank you."

Chat flicked his baton open, revealing a phone screen. "Who do you need to call first?"

"My mother, probably." Luka recited the phone number and Chat put it into his baton, pressing buttons Luka couldn't see before he passed it over to Luka.

Anarka Couffaine appeared on the screen, her face the picture of worry. "Luka! Are you okay? I heard there was an Akuma near the boat!"

"I'm fine, the house isn't so much..."

"What!? I'm coming home right now!"

"Mum, no, there isn't a place to come home to. Just keep shopping and everything will be fixed when the Akuma is caught. Can you call Juleka and tell her, too?"

"I will. Stay safe. I'll be home when the Akuma is gone."

"Okay. Bye!" Luka watched the screen as it turned back into a map of Paris. He handed the baton back to Chat, who flipped it closed with a practiced flick of his wrist before tucking it back into its holder.

"You should go somewhere you can dry off. Is there a friend's house nearby?"

"We could go to Marinette's house. Her parents would be home, even if she isn't."

"Okay. How do you know her?"

"We're dating."

Chat's eyes narrowed. Luka was dating Marinette. How did he not know about this? He sat in front of Marinette for crying out loud, shouldn't he have at least overheard Marinette and Alya talking about it?!

"Wow, how long have you been dating for?" Chat needed more information. Was he jealous? And who was he jealous of? Luka? Or... Marinette? He felt confused. Where had that thought come from? He didn't like Luka, at least not in a romantic way.

"Seven months. Why? Are you jealous?"

Chat blushed, the skin around his mask turning a bright red. "No, I just need to make sure you just aren't going to break into her house. Just that little detail," stammering, Chat mentally slapped himself. Why had he used the word 'just' three times in two sentences!?

"We should go."

"Uh... yeah. We should." Chat fumbled for his staff, wrapping his arm around Luka's waist and propelling them into the air. Chat scanned Paris, setting his eyes on the bakery. He let himself and Luka drop, landing perfectly in front of their destination.

"Thank you, Chat Noir."

Without thinking, Chat bowed and kissed Luka's hand. Both of them seemed as surprised as the other. Both boys blushed, but Luka reacted first and rushed into the bakery behind them.

Chat took that as his cue to leave, returning to his search for the Akuma and Ladybug, but as soon as his feet left the ground, he had a realisation that nearly sent him plummeting back to earth. "I like Luka."

|||

The Akuma was defeated and Ladybug and Chat Noir bumped fists, something that had fast become their tradition every time they defeated an Akuma. It was like their signature, and everyone in Paris knew about it.

Ladybug leapt back over to her house and landed on the roof, turning back into Marinette almost immediately after she landed. When she snuck in through her trapdoor, and back into the living room, she was shocked to see Luka sitting on one of the lounges, wrapped in a blanket and sipping hot chocolate.

"Luka?"

"Marinette, I didn't know you were upstairs. We need to talk." Luka stood up, holding the blanket tightly around him, hot chocolate in the other hand. He walked up the stairs to Marinette's room, sitting in her spinning chair. Marinette sat on the chaise opposite him.

"What do you want to talk about?" Marinette hoped it was something good, like Luka's band had been given an opportunity to play somewhere, like the Eiffel Tower.

"I think we need to break up."

Marinette felt her mouth drop open. He wanted to break up? Was it because of the Akuma? "You want to break up because of the Akuma attack? We've been dating for seven months, and you want to throw it all away because I left during an Akuma to check on my family?"

Luka looked everywhere but at Marinette. He knew this would hurt her, but he had realised he had feelings for Chat and it wouldn't be fair to lead her on. "It isn't that. I think I like someone else and I don't want to lead you on."

The pieces connected for Marinette. Chat had said something about saving Luka when his boat sunk, and he had shown up to fight the Akuma red and awkward. "You like Chat!"

"Marinette, please."

"No. Luka. Get out! You caught feelings for Chat during one Akuma attack, and yet we've been together for months! I can't believe you. Get out!"

"Stop throwing how long we were together in my face. I know how long we were together, but I don't want to lead you on, so stop being a child and accept that we are over!"

Marinette froze. This was the first time she had ever heard Luka raise his voice, and it honestly scared her. "Get. Out. Of. My. House. NOW!"

Luka placed the mug of hot chocolate down onto her desk and folded the blanket, leaving it on her chair. "Goodbye, Marinette. Maybe we can be friends again one day?"

"Never."

Luka walked out the door, bidding farewell to a worried looking Tom and Sabine. When he was out into the street, he realised the gravity of his situation. He had dumped Marinette for some fleeting feelings for a superhero that probably weren't even mutual. And now it was too late to undo anything.

Chat landed next to him, walking quietly for a few moments. "Are you okay? You look sad. Everything is fixed now, you can go home!"

"I know that."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I just broke up with my girlfriend for feelings for a superhero that probably aren't going to be returned after only knowing him for a few minutes."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that your feelings are returned."

"What?"

"I'm sorry that you broke up with Marinette, but at least now I have an actual chance, right?" Chat playfully elbowed Luka.

"I guess you do." Luka wrapped his arm around Chat, laughing when he saw the superhero turn bright red. "Feel like going to a movie sometime?"