Chat Blanc ✅

Chapter 12

"Thank you for this, Luka," Marinette spoke softly. "I...I really enjoyed it."

The guitarist smiled with pink dusting his features, before nervously asking, "Would you like to go on another date?"

There was little to no hesitation as she took his hand from across the table and responded, "Yes, I'd love to."

Luka let out a chuckle. "How about...the Eiffel Tower, if you're up for that?"

Nodding, she stood up at the same time as her companion, and pushed her chair under the circular table. Marinette turned to the other person, who she still had interlaced hands with.

"Text me to let me know you've gotten home safely, okay?"

"I will, dont worry," he agreed. "But you do the same."

Giggling, the girl answered, "Yeah."

The duo spent another few seconds or so staring into each other's eyes, that both twinkled brightly with happiness.

That was when Marinette decided to act.

In a quick movement, she strode to Luka, and planted a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth. Then, Marinette spun around in a flash and almost sprinted off across the street.

When she turned around the corner, she leaned on a wall with a deep breath - unaware that Luka, still standing at their table, was frozen and blushing profusely. Nor that an akuma was watching said male with anger in his eyes.

"Marinette~" a voice called from her purse, prompting her to look down. There, Tikki was settled, with a knowing smile on her face.

"I knowww, it's just that...ugh, I don't even know..." the designer grumbled.

The kwami only chuckled, saying, "Come on! It's getting late, we should head back to the bakery."

"Right!" she enthused, glancing about, before shutting the clasp of her bag and strolling away. "Maybe I can tell Chat about this," she mumbled as an afterthought.

~*~*~

Luka walked at a steady pace forwards, hearing only his footsteps and the faint song from birds chirping in the trees. The waves of the Seine were surprisingly still in the cool breeze, though they sloshed every so often in the background.

There was a buzz in his pocket.

Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages, finding a notification from Marinette. He smiled at the reminder of the freckled girl - of her dark locks and of her personality. He was just about to type a reply when there was the sound of something landing in front of him.

As he chanced a glance up, his jaw soon became stiff, and the device in his grip fell to the floor.

~*~*~

"He hasn't texted me back yet."

"I'm sure he's okay, Marinette," Tikki assured her holder. "His home is further away from the restaurant, so I'm sure that it'd just take him longer to make it there."

Letting out a sigh, the girl could only nod in agreement, before pulling out her phone and dialing one of her contacts.

"Hello?" a monotone voice called from the other end.

"'Gami!" Marinette cheered. "How are you?"

"I am doing fine, Mari-Hime. How about you?"

"Great, actually. I just wanted to thank you for the sketchbook!"

Kagami nodded in understanding at her house, while her lips curved into a small smile. "I take that you've been using it?"

"Yep, and I love the paper! It's perfect for drawing on without smudging the pencil lines when I rub out the designs, and the cover is amazing. It has my name on!"

"Yes. I decided that it would only be fit for a friend of mine," the fencer revealed, whilst staring at a selfie of herself and Marinette in a picture frame above.

"Thank you so much for it, 'Gami," she repeated. "It's beautiful."

"Like you," Kagami spoke slyly.

"Hey - don't say that!" she admonished with a fiery blush, as she saw Tikki trying to hold in minature giggles behind a pair of paws.

"Why? It's true, isn't it?"

"Okay, bye!"

Cutting off the phone call, Marinette leaned back with a groan, much to the amusement of a kwami nearby. She gripped the bed sheets beneath her, when all of a sudden, a frown formed on her lips.

"Luka still hasn't texted back yet," she spoke aloud, turning to Tikki.

The being nodded understandingly, floating forward onto Marinette's outstretched palm.

"Just say the words."

"Tikki, spots on."