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“This is totally unfair!”
Luka stopped strumming his guitar to look up in the direction where the voice had come from. Marinette was seated on Juleka’s bed at the end of the room, her knees brought close to her chest as she buried her head in them, muttering some unintelligible things.
“Um Marinette, you okay?”
Another garble of incoherent nonsense came as a reply, as she snuggled deeper into herself.
He put his guitar down, wondering what had happened to make her grumpy.
“Marinette, you can keep it to yourself, though I would appreciate it if we talk it out. What happened? Did I say something bad?”
She looked up to give him an incredulous look. “Luka, you haven’t said anything for the past fifteen minutes.”
Ah, what a nice way to look like an idiot.
Shaking his head, he continued. “Okay, so, what is it? Is it the cabin’s atmosphere doing things to you? Are you sea-sick? Or maybe, better phrased, river-sick? Wait…. Are you feeling uncomfortable around me? Oh my god, I am so sorry…”
“Lukaaaaa--”
Luka forced himself to take a calm breath at Marinette’s whine. Duh, he and Marinette talked everything out. There wasn’t a slight chance for the last thought to even be a possibility.
“Okay, I am being stupid. I know, I know. Don’t mind me, Mari.”
Marinette giggled lightly before letting out a wince and snuggling into herself again.
Her wince reminded him of Juleka’s monthly thing, when she would be having one of those low-moments which she called, quote unquote, “the trademarked female monthly biological disorder”. That could be a nice explanation for Marinette’s current mood.
He cleared his throat, rubbing at the nape of his neck. Discussing menstrual cycle wasn’t a problem, especially since he had played a major role in Juleka’s upbringing, but something in him screamed that Marinette was going to be squeamish. “Is it, uhm…” Marinette looked up at him in wonder, and for a moment, he found himself drowning in those beautiful bluebell orbs of hers before the boat jerked a bit, causing him to come back to reality. “Are you on your… monthly cycle?”
Marinette blinked at him, once, twice, before she turned beet-red. For a moment, Luka was sure he had just set his girlfriend to flames then and there.
“I..me… NO! Fine is me, I MEAN, I’m fine! Perfect! Healthy! No cycle or nothing! As in, there is a cycle but not working right now and ugghhh--”
Marinette groaned and slammed her head into her hands, repeating the action again and again.
Luka got up and gently pried Marinette’s hands off her face, holding them together before kissing them softly. The choked, incoherent yet cute noise that escaped Marinette made his heart flutter.
“Hey, Mari, Muffin, talk to me. Please. What’s wrong?”
She looked up at him, an accusatory twinkle in her eyes. “There. That is what is wrong!”
Luka couldn’t help but reel back in surprise. “Huh? What do you mean, Angel?”
“The nicknames!” Marinette yelled, clutching at her loose hair.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
“So you don’t like those nicknames, huh?” Knowing that hurt him a lot, but if Marinette wasn’t comfortable with them, the nicknames had to go. Seeing her face dim, he immediately plastered a smile on, not wanting her to compromise on feeling uncomfortable for his sake. “No worries, I will stop using them.”
Marinette shook her head wildly. “NO NO NO NO NO!!” She flailed around in a sudden spurt of energy, and Luka ducked in time to avoid the onslaught of limbs that would have met his jaw in a certainly-not-romantic gesture. “I don’t dislike the nicknames, not at ALL! In fact, I love you, I mean them! Not that I don't love you, I love you too! But I love those nicknames too just because they are so cute and your are cute and we look cute together and —”
Luka leant forward and pressed his lips to Marinette’s. She froze in shock, before relaxing and kissing him back. He pulled away after a moment, a breathy chuckle escaping him. His girlfriend was sometimes just too cute for him to handle.
“Okay, okay, I get it cherie . You love the nicknames, you love me and you love how cute we look together. What is the problem then?”
“Your name!” Marinette wailed again.
Okay, he was seriously missing something here. Was she trying that old joke with him? That surname one? Well, he was going to humor her then.
“Oh. You want me to change it to Dupain-Cheng, then?”
“Yea--wait WHAT?! ”
Marinette screeched, and Luka found himself laughing out loud. Her reaction to his flirty question was just invaluable. And he found it hard to control his laughter, even with the daggers that she glared at him.
“Okay, okay,” he wheezed, finally getting himself to stop chuckling as he coughed for air. “Okay. I am fine now. But I still don’t get you, chanson de mon cœur. Why is my name a problem to you?”
“Because it’s too short!”
“Too short?” Luka tried not to dissolve into another laughing fit as he patted her head gently. “What do you mean by ‘too short’? As in, tiny like you?”
“Hmph.” Marinette crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out, turning away from him. Okay, so now he not only was unaware of why his short name made his girlfriend grumpy, but also had managed to make her angry. Just great.
“Hey hey, MiniNette,” he called out softly, reaching over as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She struggled a bit, but her mock anger dissolved into giggles the moment he tickled her sides. Laughing along with her, he pulled her close, making her sit on his lap as he hugged her tight.
Placing his chin on her head, he looked down at her. “I love how tiny you are. Fitting into my frame just like that.”
She merely looked up at him and stuck her tongue out in reply.
“Okay, so why is the length of my name the source of your anger, Cupcake?” Luka asked softly, running one hand through her hair as the other held her by the waist.
“Because I can’t think of any nicknames for you!”
He picked her up gently, placing her on the bed and sitting by her side. “Oh, so that’s it?”
“That’s it? What do you mean by that’s it?” Marinette incredulously commented. “You give me so many nicknames, Luka! Like,” she held out her fingers, counting as she spoke, “Mari, Cupcake, Melody, Chanson, Mel, Harmony, Muffin, Angel, and…” she looked up at him, her eye twitching. “You just called me MiniNette!”
“Well, isn’t that cute?” Luka merely shrugged.
“Ugh,” Marinette groaned, causing him to laugh. Though that turned to a coughing fit as she poked him in the chest, looking him in the eye. “You know what, I guess I am going to call you Luke now.”
“Luke?!” the guitarist gasped, placing a hand on his heart. “That is one name I definitely hate! Eww, no, not Luke. Try again.”
“Hmm, maybe Ka, like that snake in the Jungle Book.”
He crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze and turning away from her. “I take offense at being named after a snake.”
“Aww, come on,” Marinette cooed to him, but Luka wasn’t going to give up. It wasn’t like he hated the name; he in fact loved it. The point that worried him was whether Marinette knew of his identity or not. Post the incidents of Miracle Queen, Ladybug had told the team that they had been highly compromised because HawkMoth knew of their identities. But the rest of Paris didn’t. Was there any chance that Marinette was aware of it, somehow?
Slim hands snaked over his neck, coiling around in a tantalizingly comforting way. Luka tensed on feeling Marinette’s warm breath on his ears, and he found himself drowning in that comforting smell of cinnamon and sugar and chocolate that she brought with her.
So she was playing the teasing girlfriend card. The one that was his biggest weakness. Just great.
“I do remember someone harboring a love for snakes. And hey, weren’t you the one who confessed about having a crush on the hot Viperion?”
“H-hot Viperion?” Oh great, he was stammering now. Darn the magic his wickedly amazing girlfriend was casting on him. “Look who’s calling the snake hot, huh?”
“We did agree on that, Ka,” she spoke before placing a quick kiss on his ear, and he was a goner.
Turning around immediately, he tried to catch her lips with his. But Marinette was quicker, for she immediately ducked and booped his nose softly, giggling.
“Only good Ka’s get kisses from their girlfriends!”
“But I am a good Ka!” Luka whined, causing Marinette to giggle again.
“Okay, I guess I can give you a consolation prize.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“Fineee--” he whined again, before they both burst into a fit of chuckles.
“Okay so, I guess Ka is good. So, what about Lu?” Marinette mused, before suddenly brightening up. “Or even better, Lulu!”
“Lulu?” Okay, Luka was sure loving the stupidity in the direction in which this conversation was going. “Next thing I know, you are calling me Honolulu.”
“Honey Lulu, nice idea!” Marinette brightened before diving back into her thoughts.
Oh, how much he wished to kiss those wrinkled brows of hers, and that cute little frown she had. He leant forward, eager to catch a taste of honey and sugar. Marinette caught him advancing, but didn’t back away. Smirking, he leant into her space.
Just an inch more, just a bit more. The whiff of her smell was sure alluring and Luka was about to place her lips on hers when…
A finger on his nose and a boop. Darn it.
“Step back, Guitar Boi,” Marinette smirked teasingly.
“Guitar Boi huh? I like it, blueberry,” he returned the sentiment wholeheartedly.
“Blueberry! Yes!” She immediately clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling. “Blueberry just fits you, Lu!”
“Hey hey missy, that was something I came up for you.”
“Well, I stole it,” she gave him a blep.
“You stole my heart too, Ma-ma-marinette.”
The way her cheeks flamed was a satisfying victory in itself.
“Anyways, so…” Marinette’s voice trailed off as she started thinking, and Luka couldn’t help but smile at the way her tongue stuck out, making her look even cuter than she already was. “We have Ka, Lu, Lulu, Honey Lulu, Guitar Boi, Blueberry. What more can we add?”
“Aren’t they enough, ma petite souris ?”
Marinette turned her head so fast, for a moment Luka was afraid she had hurt herself. “You called me… a mouse?”
“Yep I did,” the guitarist answered, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning against the wall as he closed his eyes, a small smirk playing on his lips.
He immediately felt Marinette shift towards him, and moments later, a dainty finger was jabbing at his chest, enunciating each word she spoke.
“Why. Did. You. Call. Me. A. Mouse ?”
He chuckled, and Marinette harrumphed again. Opening one eye, Luka looked at his adoringly cute, sweet, angry girlfriend.
“Well,” he drawled out, enjoying the intimidating glare that Marinette gave him and how it looked damn cute at her little stature. “For beginnings, you are as cute as a mouse.”
Her eyes narrowed, and it took Luka’s entire willpower to not dissolve into a fit of chuckles and cackles then and there. Giving a dramatic pause to his statement, he watched as Marinette eyed him suspiciously, her glance not wavering.
He took a deep breath in, focusing on his heartbeat and counting the seconds in his head.
3…
2…
1…
Luka immediately swooped down on an unsuspecting Marinette, causing her to let out a surprised yelp as he pinned her down on the bed. Big, innocent bluebell eyes stared up at him, her raven locks fanning behind her as her pink lips parting open in a small “O”. Arms resting by the side of her head so he didn’t crush her, Luka gently brought one free hand to cup her cheek, a shiver running down his spine as she leaned into the touch.
He gazed at her, teal eyes with golden flecks swimming in adoration and love for the girl who laid beneath him. Bending over gently, he whispered into her ear in a soft, hushed and mysterious tone.
“And I believe you do know the relation between snakes and mice, right, ma souris ?”
A feeling of satisfaction surged through him on hearing Marinette’s breath hitch, and he stayed like that, giving her time to let the words sink in. And to push him off if she felt even the slightest bit uncomfortable.
He really hadn’t been expecting the words she spoke, or better put, squeaked the next moment.
“D-Danger Noodle.”
Luka immediately lifted himself from behind her ear, pulling himself up so that their faces were in front of each other. He blinked at her owlishly, and she blinked back, her cheeks dusted a beautiful pink. And as the moment of deafening silence continued to stretch and stretch, the boy finally felt his willpower give away as he rolled onto the side and started laughing.
Hard.
Oh goodness, he had never had such a good laugh in a long long time.
He laughed till his sides hurt, till he was out of breath and had to gasp for air. As he finally recovered from his chuckling session, he turned to look at Marinette, who had gotten up and was now hiding her face in her hands. Apparently hearing his laughs die down, she peeked at him from between the fingers, and it only caused him to throw his arm over his eyes and dissolve into another laughing fit, one that left him wheezing.
“D-Da-danger… danger Noo-noodle, oh my god,” Luka struggled to control his breathing, and it was almost impossible with that cute, incoherent, garbling noise that Marinette made at his statement.
Finally recovering from his laughing fit, he got up, holding his sides. Breathing hurt, but it was worth the bout of laughter. He looked up at Marinette, who now had her face buried in her hands, as she mumbled something super fast in the Marinette™ language.
Chuckling again, Luka moved to slowly extract Marinette’s hands away from her face, before leaning over and pecking a kiss to each of her warm, glowing pink cheeks.
“That was the best nickname I ever had, Melody.”
She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and Luka was sure that in her brain, she was plotting to murder him innocently with her Dupain-Cheng charm.
“L-L-leary? I mean, really?”
“Yep,” he said, popping the ‘p’.
“Better than… better than Aqua? Or Teal? Or Broseidon? Maybe Smexy, no no no! Forget that last one, ugh!”
He laughed again, before rubbing at his eyes to wipe away the tears of mirth. “Certainly better, my love. In fact, it is the best.”
She ducked her head, her bangs covering her face. Luka reached over to gently tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, before flopping over and putting his head in her lap.
With her radiant smile and dusty pink cheeks and bright iris blue eyes visible beyond the curtain of her raven locks, this was certainly a beautiful view.
“I love you, MiniNette,” he whispered softly, her nickname rolling off his tongue reverently, as if he were whispering a morning prayer.
“I love you too, Honey Lulu,” she spoke softly, his name on her tongue sounding like an unsung beautiful melody between them.
It was a small movement, one that he would have not felt had he not been in her lap. But he could see her leaning down, gently, slowly, tentatively. He moved his head up slightly too, leaning into her charm.
Just when their lips were centimeters apart, Luka couldn’t help himself.
“You know, I would definitely love to be called Smexy.”
He was rewarded by a pillow in the face.