Facing the Music - Lukanette (Miraculous fanfiction)

N e u f

Luka groaned as he looked at his watch. He was going to be late to the photoshoot, Gabriel Agreste was not going to be impressed. He hated to disappoint anyone, especially that he was earning money from it to help his mom with their living conditions.

Racing down the busy street, his gaze was fixed forward when a shadow flew over the sidewalk. No, not now! He looked frantically towards the sky as he saw Ladybug swing across the city, looking as if she was in a hurry as well. But he didn't see any akuma or a supervillain anywhere. 

He stared after Ladybug and watched her as she dived behind a building and disappeared. What a peculiar girl she was, Luka chuckled under his breath. His eyes diverted to a string of red fluttering down towards him. It bent and moved with the wind, he reached out and caught it. It was a red ribbon, it flowed gracefully in the wind and Luka thought of Marinette.

But a new image flashed in his mind, a strong but gentle and kind girl. Luka couldn't help but notice she looked a lot like Marinette. Confused, he looked down at the ribbon realising it was the ribbon Ladybug wore in her pigtails, a quirky little detail Luka found adorable.

Shrugging it off, he carefully placed the delicate ribbon in his pocket and made a mental note to give it back to her. Looking back at his watch, he realised he had wasted his time daydreaming about girls who wore charming pigtails. Running once again, he rushed towards the Arc de Triomphe where the shoot was being held.

He hunched over puffing once he stood in beside the arc as the crew rushed around with lights, cameras and clothing. A woman dragged him to the side and started applying makeup on his face so that his face could stand out in his photo.

When she was done, she ran off to find Adrien, her arms flailing in a hurry. "Hey Luka, here's the hat you're wearing." Luka turned to find Marinette smiling holding a dark blue hat with black studs around the band. The edge of the brim was silver and overall the hat looked awesome.

"You did an amazing job on this, Marinette!" He took the hat from her and placed it on his head, fitting perfectly. She smiled with gratitude, "Thanks Luka, I'm just glad to be given this opportunity to design the accessories for Gabriel freaking Agreste's fashion line!"

Luka laughed at her adorable comment and when he looked at her again, he observed her pigtails, reminding him of the red ribbon he had in his pocket. To come to think of it, Ladybug disappeared behind the Arc, what if...?

He looked at her bluebell eyes and her rosy cheeks and lips. The texture and colour of her hair. She looked awfully the same as...

No, he was making things up. They were two different people whom he was having conflicting thoughts about. He was just linking them together because he was so confused.

"Oh well, how's your life?" He asked.

"The usual. School and stuff, nothing much," Marinette shrugged.

Luka froze, he traced back to a few nights ago when he and Ladybug talked sitting in the Eiffel tower. Ladybug had said the exact same thing. It couldn't justbe a coicidence...

Stop it, you just wish that so that you don't have to choose! He scolded himself.

Ignoring his brain's alarms going off, he tipped his hat. "Thanks for the hat. I gotta go, everyone's waiting for me." He walked off with a troubled look in his eyes, not daring to look back.

What was up with him today? He needed to focus, especially that day. If he didn't do well, it was possible they wouldn't be living on a houseboat anymore. He knew how much his mother loved that boat. If she ever parted from it, she would be utterly shattered.

He greeted Adrien with a fist bump and tried to hide how tired he was from working late patrolling the busy city. 

An ice-cold feeling crept up his spine as if his body knew something was wrong. Something big was going to happen, he knew it.

He looked around for signs of threat but Adrien tapped his shoulder, alerting him that it was time.

Telling himself nothing was going to happen, he forced another smile. Hesitation in his steps, he walked behind Adrien his eyes searching the area around them.

"You don't look too good," his friend pointed out with concern.

"I'm fine," Luka lied. His eyes stopped searching for danger and he willed himself to relax.

The makeup artist put some finishing touches to their faces and rushed off as the cameraman tried to look for the right lighting.

"Smile boys, look cool but don't make it look like you're trying hard." The cameraman encouraged with a strong Italian accent.

Luka moved his head to the side where there was an image of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Viperion himself on a billboard.

He stared at Ladybug, her bluebell eyed, her smooth dark hair tied up in pigtails, her pink lips. He heard her voice in his head, soft and kind.

"You're doing great Luka!" That same voice called out. He swivelled his head to find Marinette smiling with encouragement, giving him a thumbs up.

He smiled as he felt his cheeks go pink when it hit him like a ton of bricks. Everything about those two were the same, it was no coincidence. They were the same person.

He stared wide-eyed at the smiling girl as his heart went wild. Luka heard the cameraman groan as he complained about his lack of coolness.

"Ladybug," he muttered under his breath as he froze in his spot with disbelief. It all made sense now, but that meant... She'd heard the reason why he had broken up with her.

Marinette's smile faded and took a step back as if she could hear his thoughts.  He heard a scream and the sound of fast footsteps.

His stomach dropped as he felt two tight grips on both arms. Giving Marinette a look of desperation, he was flown off the ground.