Miraculous Ships

Love and Lukanette

Don't know why I called this Love and Lukanette, it doesn't really fit but ah well

Luka placed his hand on Marinette's shoulder, drawing her attention away from Adrien and Kagami spinning around gracefully on the dance floor. Marinette looked up at him, trying to seem cheery and relaxed, even though Luka could see in her eyes that she was hurting.

"Hi, Luka, what brings you here? I didn't think things like this really suited you." Marinette glanced over the outfit Luka was wearing. Instead of his usual hoodie and jeans, he was wearing a black suit, white dress shirt and a blue tie that nearly matched his hair. It was a welcome change.

"Juleka wanted to come but didn't want to walk in alone. She's with Rose." Luka pointed over his shoulder to where the two girls were dancing together, Rose giggling as she guided Juleka through the steps. "How about you?"

"Alya was supposed to be here, but she ditched me for Nino. I don't even know where they are anymore. Other than that, everyone is dancing and I'm all alone." Marinette played with the skirt of her dress, running the smooth pink material through her fingers.

She had spent a couple of days working on the dress, from designing the dress to sewing it all together. The fabric hadn't been the easiest to work with, but the result was perfect for the night. It was simple and pink, with thin straps. There was nothing to gaudy or glitzy to make the dress look trashy or cheap, just what Marinette had wanted.

Marinette had chosen to leave her earrings in, just in case there was an akuma. She also didn't wear any other jewellery, even though there were a few things she could have picked from.

"I guess you're stuck with me, then." Luka offered Marinette his hand, ready to pull her from the chair. If he managed to make her smile, Luka would be happy with the night's outcome.

"How terrible." Marinette placed her hand in Luka's noticing how warm he was. They walked together, away from the dance floor. "Where are we going?"

Luka looped his arm through Marinette's, continuing to walk. "When I was looking around earlier, I saw a little balcony that overlooks the garden, and over some of Paris. It made me think of you."

"Why would a garden remind me of you? I'm not made of flowers." Marinette giggled at her own joke. Luka smiled at her, trying to think of something smooth to say.

"It reminded me of you because it's beautiful, just like you."

Marinette jolted to a stop, shocked. After becoming used to being 'just a friend' for so long, hearing someone compliment her so outright was a bit of a shock. "Uh... I don't think that's right..."

Luka held both of Marinette's hands and turned her so she was facing him. "Marinette, you're beautiful, both inside and out. You listen to your heart and help the people around you. You deserve the world and more, and I would be honoured to give it to you."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before Marinette looked away. "Stop it, Luka."

"Would you like to dance with me? There's a place where you can still hear the music but can't be seen from the dance floor."

"I can't dance, but I would love to."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." Luka lead Marinette around a corner. They were standing on an indoor balcony overlooking the dance floor. The soft music was still clear to them, so they took a few steps away from the edge, being hidden in the soft light.

Luka placed his hands on Marinette's waist, holding her close. "You just take a step this way, then turn a little. Just follow me."

Marinette was so focused on where her feet were and not stepping on Luka's toes that she didn't notice when Luka stopped. She fell into him, moving her arms from where they were sitting on his shoulders to his chest to stop the, crashing into each other. "I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry about it, just keep dancing." Luka continued moving to the music, holding Marinette close to him.

After a few seconds, Marinette relaxed. She moved her hands again so they were wrapped around Luka's neck, similar to when she danced with Adrien at Chloe's party. Even that day felt like so long ago, and Luka was nothing like Adrien. And Luka had feelings for her...

They continued to dance in their own little bubble. Marinette was having an amazing time and never wanted to leave. She could stay here forever, dancing with Luka. The noise downstairs had started to quieten down, and even the music was slower.

"I think everything is coming to an end. The music is stopping."

Marinette listened. The music still sounded like it was in the middle of a song, but she trusted Luka. After all, he was the musician of the pair.

Only a few seconds after Luka spoke, the music stopped. A microphone crackled and Mayor Bourgeois' voice echoed through the hall. "Thank you for attending the annual ball, if all attendees could start filing out of the hall in an orderly manner."

The couple stepped away from each other, not ready to leave each other's company just yet. Luka offered his arm to Marinette and they walked back down the stairs and out into the cool night air.  "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Marinette rested her head against Luka's shoulder. "I would love that, thank you. I don't have to be home for nearly an hour, so we can go for a detour, if you have nowhere else to be."

"I have nothing to do tonight, a detour sounds lovely." Everyone else at the ball was heading in a different direction, so Luka and Marinette were alone pretty quickly. "Where should we go?"

"I don't have anywhere in mind, we should just wander for a while." Marinette wasn't thinking too much about their destination, focusing only on Luka.

Even though they had been dancing for what felt like minutes, it must have been hours, so the streets were mostly empty. Without having to worry about running into anyone, Marinette could stare into the sky and admire the stars.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Luka watched as Marinette stared at the stars, not watching anything happening around her. He was enamoured with her, and the dancing tonight had only made his feelings stronger.

"Sometimes I stare into the sky to get inspiration for my designs. There's just something about the sky, especially on such a clear night."

Luka continued to let Marinette speak, waiting for the perfect moment to give Marinette another compliment. "Is there a particular reason stars inspire you so much?"

"It's stunning."

His chance had come. "Just like you."

Marinette shook her head, tying to hold back a grin. "That's so cheesy. I can't believe you would even say something that bad."

"That doesn't matter. I'm not usually this bad."

"Yes, it does, I don't care if you usually aren't like that. I'm going to leave you standing here with your cheesy compliments."

"What were you saying about the sky, again?" Luka grinned down at Marinette.

Despite knowing that Luka was trying to get her to move on from the compliments, she took the bait and kept talking. "The universe just stretches forever, and it's still moving outwards. It's mind-boggling, just to think about the scale of everything, and how small our world is compared to it."

"That's a very deep thought to have, especially so late at night. Have you been thinking about it for a while?"

"Every time I look at the sky, which is usually every time I'm designing."

Luka realised he didn't know much about Marinette, especially after this conversation. They had been so caught up in each other that they hadn't taken the time to learn about the other person. It was like they had skipped the first few steps of their relationship altogether; almost like a real-life love at first sight fairy tale.

"We should do this again sometime. I realised I don't know anything about you, but we act like we're almost dating." Hoping Marinette wouldn't be shocked at the forwardness of his statement, Luka continued speaking. "We haven't spent heaps of time around each other, yet we're already so comfortable together."

"I'm sure we know some things about each other, we can start from there."

"What's my favourite colour?"

"Blue, like your hair and your hoodie. You like Jagged Stone and have a whole display of picks for your guitar that I'm sure you never use. You have a Scottish flag on the wall in your house and there's a drawer under your bed that's big enough to fit a person in, yet it's empty."

Luka laughed. She was right about everything, though most of it was from when she was visiting Juleka. "If you must know, that drawer has been filled now."

"With what? There was barely anything in your room to begin with."

"I purchased a new guitar recently, so when one guitar isn't in use it goes into its case and under the bed. I wouldn't want anything to happen if the house started rocking."

"What about me?"

"Your favourite colour is pink, you have it on everything you wear, except your earrings, and you design and make everything you wear, even your bags. You have a crush on Adrien Agreste, even if you're too shy to tell him that, and you're confident and willing to help anyone, even Chloe Bourgeois."

"I don't help Chloe, she's mean to everyone!"

"Maybe you don't help her as Marinette, but I have a feeling you help her with a little bit of magic."

Marinette stopped in her tracks. Luka had figured out her secret identity so easily, and was so sure of it, too. If he had worked it out, what was to stop everyone else? "How did you work that out? Have you told anyone?"

"I promise you, Marinette, your secret is safe with me. I only found out recently, when I was akumatised. I had suspicions before that, but being Silencer made me sure. You and Ladybug have the same melody in your hearts, one of kindness and compassion for everyone. It tells a story, and that story is an amazing one. Am I correct?"

"Yes, you are, but one thing is not quite right. I don't have a crush on Adrien Agreste, not anymore. I have a crush on another boy. Can you guess who he is?"

"Can I at least have a hint?"

"Well," Marinette grabbed one of Luka's hands and they started to dance again, "he is an amazing dancer. He plays music better than anyone I've ever heard and will probably make music with Jagged Stone one day."

"Any other clues?"

"His name is Luka Couffaine." By the time Marinette had finished with her clues, her face was close enough to Luka's that she could feel his breath on her cheek.

He spoke in a whisper, like he didn't want anyone else to hear what they were saying. "I don't think I've heard of him."

"You should have, he's amazing."

"I'll have to take your word for it." Luka stared into Marinette's eyes. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

Both of them stopped dancing at the same time, in sync. Luka pressed his lips against Marinette's, igniting sparks behind their closed eyelids, as cliché as that sounded. It was the sparks you only heard of in stories, when you find your soulmate.

What felt like hours later, Marinette and Luka pulled apart, resting their foreheads against each other and keeping their eyes closed. They were both breathing heavily.

"We should get you home."

"I'm sure my parents won't mind if I'm a little bit late."

"I don't want your parents to have a bad impression of me, especially if we do go on another date in the near future."

"I'm sure they'll love you, don't worry."

"I hope so."

"I promise."