"Luka?" She gasped. "What are you doing here?"
It wasn't lost on Luka that Adrien had moved into an almost defensive position between Marinette and where he was currently standing at the top of the stairs.
"I just want to talk to you. Nothing more, I promise."
Adrien narrowed his eyes at the musician. "Is that a legitimate promise? You don't seem to have the best track record when it comes to making promises."
Luka could feel those emerald eyes burning a hole straight through him. "I see Marinette told you what happened." Luka sighed. "But I give you my word, I'm not here to cause her trouble."
Master Fu stepped forward to the top of the stairs with one hand raised. "I have been speaking to young Luka here while we waited for your return. I feel that perhaps some closure on the situation may be overdue." He then beckoned Adrien. "Come Adrien. I have some goat's milk we can warm for that little one there. I'm sure he must be cold and hungry."
Adrien looked at Marinette and she gave him a small nod that it was fine. He returned her a reassuring look as he took the kitten from her. "If you need me just call out, alright." He said before glaring daggers at Luka as he walked past him. Luka avoided making eye contact.
Once the others had gone inside, Luka invited Marinette to come sit with him on the chair swing that was on the porch. Marinette made sure to leave a gap between them when she sat down.
"I thought you were in America... with her." Marinette said, an undeniable bitterness in her tone as she said her.
"Not anymore." Luka replied. "But I'd like to tell you what happened, if I may." Marinette didn't respond, but she also wasn't trying to leave so Luka took that as permission to continue.
"There is nothing I can say that can change what happened. I screwed up and I have no one else to blame for that then myself. After what happened between you and I Jules wouldn't speak to me, at all. Any messages regarding the band either went through Rose or our Mother. It was a bit hard to keep a band together when your own sister won't even speak to you. Lila was in my ear the whole time and suggested I sign up to a solo deal with a studio in California. She apparently knew a guy there and had connections, but thing's weren't everything they seemed. The album was alright I suppose, it wasn't as successful as I had hoped and Lila was fairly unimpressed. The music just didn't come to me the way it used to." He glanced towards her, but she had her eyes downcast and wasn't looking at him. "Then Lila started getting cosy with the producer and, well, she didn't stick around after he offered her a solo gig, and her own condo."
Marinette couldn't help but think about what Adrien had said about Karma. She felt sorry for Luka in a way. He had lost everything because of Lila, but then he also deserved it after what he had done.
"What happened to Kitty Section?"
"Jules hired another lead guitarist and they are still going pretty strong on the club circuit. She is talking to me now at least. But it took baby steps."
Marinette glanced at him before looking ahead of her. "Is that what you're hoping for with me? Baby steps."
Luka shook his head. "I'm not expecting anything. I hurt you, more than I can imagine. I don't deserve your forgiveness."
"I did." She said quietly beside him. He turned his head towards her.
"You did?"
"Yes." She replied. "I forgave you Luka, a long time ago."
"Marinette..." He whispered, leaning closer and lifting his hand towards her face, but she sharply jerked away from him and Luka quickly retracted.
"I'm sorry." He said apologised. "I guess maybe I was getting my hopes up. I... I still love you Marinette, I never stopped loving you."
"I'm sure that's not what was on your mind when you got into bed with Lila." Marinette said sharply.
Luka's eyes held a world of remorse. "I have regretted that decision every single day. I thought, maybe if we could..."
"It's too late for that Luka."
"But you said..."
"I said I forgave you." She said, finally turning to look at him. "That didn't mean I was going to take you back. Some wounds can't ever be healed, Luka. You betrayed me in the worst possible way. Forgiveness isn't saying it's okay what happened. I blamed myself for the longest time. I told myself I mustn't have been good enough, or pretty enough or loved you enough..." She let out a long sigh, turning away from his intense eyes. "By forgiving you I could move on and set my own heart free. I could let go of what I thought might have been."
Marinette heard the muffled voices of Adrien and Master Fu in the lounge room. Looking up she could see Adrien nursing the black Kitten by the fireplace, gently scratching its head. The poor little thing had been so lost and confused, and yet looked so content in Adrien's arms. Luka saw him too and started to make his own conclusions.
"I understand." He said, not unkindly. "He seems like a nice guy."
For a moment Marinette considered saying Adrien was her boyfriend, just to get back at him, but she decided against it.
"He is." She acknowledged. "But we're just friends."
"I see." Luka said with a sad amused smile. She hadn't changed much, but if she thought Adrien was looking at her as only a friend then she was still just as oblivious as he knew she could be at times. "Master Fu told me about his building that you two are both after. I hope you do get your store, Marinette. You deserve it after all your hard work."
Luka reached over and patted her hand. This time she didn't recoil back and he took that as a small victory, letting his hand rest there.
"Is there no hope for a second chance?" He asked, his voice vulnerable and full of emotion. Marinette hesitated to look at him, but when she did, she didn't feel the tears she thought might come.
"No, Luka." She said calmly, but firmly. "I'm not looking back. Only forward. This competition, then hopefully my store and then who knows... but I have something to look forward to now." She then gave him a soft smile. "I hope you find what you're looking for with your music store. How did you end up with it?"
"It's a bit of a weird story, but the short version is that it used to belong to an old mate of my Dad's. He retired and I didn't want to stay in the recording industry anymore so I took it over."
"Well, I'll look forward to hearing your ideas for the Main Street competition."
Luka shook his head, standing up from the swing. "I'm not staying for Christmas. Jules invited me over to spend Christmas with her and Rose for the first time in years. I'll be leaving in the morning. I suppose Christmas can be a time for mending bridges." He explained, seeing out of the corner of his eye Adrien still watching him. "But I'll give you a little word of advice. Mrs Mandeleive isn't as hard as she appears. Her biggest fear is being left behind. She's very passionate about preserving the past and in many ways I think the world is moving too fast for her. I get the feeling she's had a bit of a lonely life but what she really wants most is to be part of the community. She just doesn't know how to be."
He leaned forward and kissed Marinette on the forehead, lingering a little longer than was necessary. "Ooops, I almost forgot." Luka said, digging his hand around in his pocket. He took Marinette's hand and laid into it a pink and green beaded bracelet. "One of the main reasons I wanted to see you tonight was so I could finally return this. I tried to at the meeting the other night, but you kind of ran away from me."
"My bracelet!" She exclaimed. "I thought I lost it."
"I found it in the pocket of one of my jackets. I had wanted to return it to you back then, but you had left for Paris and understandably no one wanted to give me your address. I always hoped one day I would be able to give it back to you so I've carried it with me ever since."
"Thank you." She said sincerely. "It means a lot to me."
Luka brought his other hand up and held hers with the bracelet between the two. "Goodbye Marinette. I wish only the very best things for you."
"Take care of yourself Luka. I'm sure we will see each other again."
Marinette stood on the porch and watched Luka until he disappeared into the distance. Opening her hand she looked at the bracelet, the second lucky charm she thought she had lost forever. Turning back towards the house. Marinette was sure she had caught a glimpse of Adrien watching through the window before he had turned around.
~~~~~
Adrien had been pacing around the lounge room carrying the kitten around in a blanket while Fu had gone to get some milk. He couldn't make out what Luka and Marinette were talking about with the window closed. Mentally he facepalmed himself. It wasn't any of his business what Marinette was saying to her ex-fiancé. Maybe he wanted to get back together? Would she accept? And why was the thought of that making knots in his stomach?
He didn't mean to spy on them, honestly he wasn't intending to, but he saw them standing at the top of the stairs, Luka gently caressing her arm and kissing Marinette on the forehead before giving her something. She seemed so happy. Damn there was that knot again, and oh crap she saw me!
Adrien quickly turned away just as Fu walked in with a saucer saying something about cats being lactose intolerant but goats milk was safe for their little tummies. Adrien sat the kitten down and he began to heartily lap up the warmed milk. As he patted the kitten he knew why those thoughts made knots in his stomach, it was because he wished he was in Luka's place. He wanted to be the one to make her smile. He wanted to be the one to hold her close like they did when they danced and he wanted to be the one to kiss her - and not just on the forehead!
Marinette came in through the front door, taking off her coat and hanging it up on the hanger before coming into the lounge. She couldn't help but smile to herself seeing Adrien down on the floor, encouraging the kitten to drink up his milk.
"How is he?" She asked.
"He has a good appetite." Adrien said, patting the kitten on the head. "I think I'll call him Plagg."
"Plagg?" Marinette queried with a chuckle, sitting down on the floor next to him. "What kind of name is that?"
"My old piano teacher." Adrien answered. "That wasn't his actual name. He had some long, complicated European name that six year old me couldn't pronounce, so it kind of got shortened to Plagg." He then pointed at the kitten. "He reminds me of him with the dark hair, green eyes and big appetite. Mr Plagg loved camembert cheese. He used to snack on it all the time. It was kind of funny really."
Marinette could see how much fondness Adrien had for the man, but also a touch of sadness. "What happened to him?" She asked.
Adrien shrugged. "He had a falling out with my father. Plagg told him he had me doing too much... piano, fencing, Mandarin, not to mention modeling on top of homeschool. I was exhausted and Plagg pointed out that Félix wasn't being worked so hard, or at least he seemed to be handling it better than I was. I told you before that Félix was always my father's favourite." He sighed. "Anyway, despite my mother's protests my father fired him and Plagg had to leave. My next piano teacher was very professional, but very strict and not very friendly."
Marinette reached her hand across and placed it on Adrien's hand. "I think Plagg is a perfect name."
There was something so warm and comforting about her hand on his and he missed it when she took it away to pick Plagg up. "So..." He started, rubbing the back of his neck. "How did your talk go?"
Marinette gently scratched Plagg between the ears. "I think we're okay now." She said with a small smile. "Luka won't be staying for the competition though."
"Oh... Well that's a shame, I guess. I'm happy for you both anyway."
Marinette frowned with confusion. "Happy about what exactly?"
"That you worked things out. I guess that means you're not sticking around for the contest now either."
Adrien was a little surprised that Marinette started to giggle, although he did love the sound of it. "You thought we were getting back together? Heavens no." She said as her giggling subsided. "He wanted to try again, but I wasn't about to reopen that Pandora's Box. I don't love Luka anymore, not like that. No, Luka is in the past and that's where he stays, but I think I've made my peace with what happened. I don't blame myself anymore. Plus, I got this back."
Marinette placed Plagg down and dug into her pocket before holding up the bracelet. "After I lost Tikki, my father bought me this lucky charm. When I then lost this I figured I was just cursed." She then looked over at Plagg. "Then again aren't black cats meant to be bad luck."
Adrien feigned offense on Plagg's behalf, picking the cat up and snuggling him close. "Cover your ears Plagg. You're not bad luck."
Marinette chuckled and reached over to pat the cat. "No... I guess you're too cute to be bad luck."
Adrien watched Marientte as she fussed over the cat, handing Plagg over to her to snuggle. She looked like a weight had somehow lifted off her shoulders.
"I'll tell you what." He suddenly said, getting her attention. "Let's make a deal that from now on, whatever we do for the contest is for Fu and the people of Silver Lake. No shenanigans, no more competing for favour, just a genuine desire to help our fellow man."
"No shenanigans huh." Marinette mused, lifting Plagg up to look at his face. "What do you think, Plagg?"
The black cat let out a loud meow and they both laughed.
"I think he approves." Adrien smiled.
"I think he does too." Marinette agreed. "And so do I." She added. "No shenanigans and we let Master Fu make his own decision about the building without any undue influence from us."
Marinette held out her hand for him to shake, but her breath caught in her lungs when instead of shaking her hand, Adrien lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it.
"Ah m'lady." He said dramatically. "I enter this most sacred of vows with you with Plagg as our witness."
Marinette laughed out loud and gave him a shove in the arm. "You're such a dork."
Adrien just grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment."
~~~~~
The next morning Marinette woke up early and had a scathingly brilliant idea. Well, it would have been a brilliant idea if it had actually worked. Scrolling on her phone she had found what she thought would be a simple but delicious breakfast quiche recipe. Fu had all the ingredients in his fridge and the steps looked very straightforward. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty as it turned out. Those eggs must have been popped out by some super strength chickens because they seemed really hard to crack, several becoming casualties on the table. To top it off, the new bag of flour completely exploded sending white powder all over the counter and the floor. Looking at the few eggs still in the carton the little smiley faces printed on them stared at her mockingly.
"Um... who let off the flour bomb?" Adrien asked at the kitchen door. Even the hand over his mouth couldn't cover up the complete amusement in his eyes.
Marinette felt like dying. "That was me." She lamented. "I wanted to do something nice for Master Fu for his kindness and all I've done is make a total disaster."
There was a small sneeze at her feet and she picked up Plagg, flour stuck on his nose. Adrien felt bad for her that she clearly was upset that not only had her cooking plans not worked out, but she had turned Fu's kitchen into a disaster zone. That forlorn look had no place on her face a few days out from Christmas.
"Look, it's Plagg the white nosed cat." Adrien laughed and Marinette cracked a little into a chuckle.
"That was lame, even for you." She picked up a cloth and wiped Plagg's nose, not that the black cat appreciated it. Adrien grinned to himself. At least he had gotten her to smile again.
"Hey, don't worry about this. I'm sure we can salvage something and I'll help you clean up. Let me see." Adrien started looking over what eggs were left unbroken and the milk in the fridge. "I know you like pancakes. How about some of my holiday special pancakes? It's my mother's secret recipe."
Marinette felt all warm and fuzzy, and it wasn't from the cat she was holding. "That sounds amazing."
Putting Plagg down, Marinette sat up on the kitchen bench while Adrien got to work. Marinette marveled at how Adrien just immediately sipped into baker mode and it reminded her of her father in many ways.
"Did you cook with your mother often?" She asked as he mixed the remaining eggs and flour.
"Not as often as I would have liked too." Adrien replied sadly. "It's a little embarrassing to say, but we had cook when I was growing up, and when I began modeling my diet was fairly closely monitored. At Christmas time though, my Mother would take me down to the kitchen and we would make pancakes and snickerdoodles and the most delicious chocolate coconut balls. It was our special thing."
"She sounds like she was a wonderful woman."
"She was." Adrien smiled fondly. Putting the bowl down, Adrien moved towards Marinette and had to reach past her to grab the spatula from the canister behind her. His breath caught momentarily in his throat as their proximity closed in. She smelled like cinnamon and Christmas spices and her bluebell eyes sparkled like the baubles on the tree.
"What was her name?" Marinette asked, not knowing that she was having the exact same affect on him.
"Emilie."
"That's... that's a beautiful name." She said breathlessly, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
"Beautiful." Adrien repeated, his eyes dating from her eyes to her soft, pink lips that were drawing him in closer... closer...
"Is everyone alright in here?" Fu asked in concern as he came into the kitchen. Adrien quickly withdrew back and Marinette jumped down from the counter.
"Master, I am so sorry." Marinette began to apologise. "I thought I would try and make breakfast but I realise I should have left it to the expert. I promise I will replace the eggs and flour I destroyed."
"It is quite alright." Fu smiled understandingly. "One can not always do everything alone. Sometimes it is also about accepting our limits and working to our strengths. Come Plagg, let us warm our feet by the fire."
The little black cat meowed and followed Master Fu out to the lounge. Adrien began to chuckle at how aflame Marinette's cheeks were before she dropped her head onto his arm. "I feel so embarrassed. What a disaster."
Adrien wasn't entirely sure whether it was the mess she was embarrassed about or the fact that he had almost kissed her. "Don't be." He reassured her gently. "Why don't we take Master Fu's advice and work to our strengths. I'll make the pancakes and why don't you make that tea you made the other night, okay?"
Marinette looked up at him. "You... you like my tea?"
"I wouldn't be drinking it if I didn't. Go on. Don't keep Master Fu waiting."
Marinette perked right up. She might have been a disaster baker, but she could make a pretty amazing herbal tea. She threw Adrien a radiant smile and it made his heart somersault in his chest. Adrien smiled back at her softly. Maybe she hadn't objected as much to that almost kiss as he might have feared.
Once the tea was steeped, Marinette took a cup out of Master Fu. He was standing at the fireplace looking up at a photo on the mantle. He accepted the tea gratefully.
"Thank you Marinette. I have not had such an authentic herbal tea for many years. So fragrant and warming."
"It's my mother's special blend. She adds spice to it and believes it will cure you of almost anything." Marinette replied proudly. "I can get you some if you like."
"That would be lovely."
Fu then turned his eyes back up to the mantle. Marinette followed his gaze and saw a photograph of Fu, Marianne and a young woman dressed in graduation robes.
"Is that your daughter?" Marinette asked.
"Oh no." Fu replied with a sad smile. "Marianne and I were not blessed with children. This is my beautiful niece, Fei. She came to live with us from Hong Kong when she was only ten years old. She was the light of our lives. This was her graduation day. We were so proud of her then."
"What happened?" Marinette asked. Then she backtracked. "Sorry, it's not really my business."
"It's alright. It is natural to be curious." Fu replied kindly, then his eyes saddened. "Not long after this photo was taken, she met a young man. I had my concerns about him and told her so. We had an argument and she accused me of interfering with her life, reminding me that I was not her father. It hurt more than I thought it ever could." He paused to take a sip of his tea, but the weight of what had happened clearly still clung to him. "She moved out soon after. Not long later things, predictably, did not end well with the boyfriend. Somehow saying I told you so wouldn't have gone down all that well, and I feel her pride, and perhaps some embarrassment, keeps her away now."
"And you haven't heard from her since?"
"She did come to Marianne's funeral. We spoke briefly and I had hoped that we could have put all this behind us. But it wasn't to be."
"I'm so sorry." Marinette said, genuinely feeling bad for him. "Maybe if you called her..."
Fu shook his head. "I tried to intervene in her life once. I won't do that again. I just pray to the ancestors that maybe one day Fei will find her own way home."
Plagg meowed as he crossed the floor before rubbing his head and body across Master Fu's legs. Fu placed down his cup and picked the black cat up who began to purr loudly.
"I'm sorry to have bored you with my family history..."
"Please, don't apologise. It's our family histories that tie us together. And who knows, maybe Fei will find her holiday spirit and contact you this year. You can't give up hope."
Fu nodded his head as he scratched Plagg behind the ears. "You are one who sees the good in people." He said thoughtfully before looking at Plagg. "Come my little friend. Let us get some fresh air before breakfast." He then turned back to Marinette. "Please tell Adrien to come and get me when breakfast is ready. We feel quite hungry this morning, don't we Plagg?"
Marinette stayed at the mantel looking at the photo long after Fu had left, wishing there was something she could do to help him. A few moments later Adrien came out looking for her. "Where did Master Fu go?"
"Outside with Plagg." Marinette said without turning around. He said to come and..." She then paused, her face lighting up. She turned around and Adrien almost thought she was about to pounce on him. Not that he would necessarily complain.
"Our histories tie us together!" She declared, practically bouncing on her feet.
"Come again?"
"Adrien, I know how we can win the contest!"