“Ah! A young man with ice in his gaze and fire in his heart. Your match will be quite the interesting one!” Andre grinned at Damian’s glare as Marinette laughed quietly in the background. “Tt. I am not foolish enough to believe that my true love can be found in ice cream.” Damian spat as the man began creating his sweetheart's ice cream. Why had he allowed his sister to drag him to this again? “Because you owe me one for helping you with your gay awakening.” Marinette sassed. “I got you out of that closet you had locked yourself in, and now you’re more comfortable with yourself. And also because I held your katana’s hostage until you agreed.” She added as an afterthought. So he had said that out loud, then. Their conversation was interrupted by their ice cream.
“Red for his love, blue for his gaze. Yellow for the light he brings to your days.” Andre sang as he handed him the finished desert. “Blue Raspberry, Lemon, and Cherry.” Marinette snickered as they walked home. “I wonder where I’ve seen that color combination before?”
Damian fought the urge to blush. He was Robin! He was an Al Guhl! He was the blood son of Batman! He knew how to keep from blushing! “Is that red on your cheeks I see?” She teased as he turned his head away. Damnit. He scowled and rushed in front of her. “Obviously you are hallucinating, Dupain Cheng. There is nothing on my face.” He scowled as he heard her laughing behind him. “Really? Cause I feel like that color looks a lot like Jon’s” She singsonged. He felt his face turning red as she confirmed what he had been hoping thinking. Instead of responding to her statement, he simply looked at her ice cream. “Pistachio, Peach, and Charcoal.” He retorted. “I wonder who that could be?” Now it was his turn to laugh as his sister’s face flared scarlet.
Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Implied)
Summary: Luka’s soulmate was in love with someone else, but he figured that was only fair as he was, too. It just kinda sucked that he wasn’t Marinette’s soulmate, either.
Author’s Notes/Warnings: Response to @mlweeklyprompts’s “Pen Tattoos” prompt. Soulmate AU (what’s written on the palm of the hand shows up on your soulmate’s). Friendly reminder that Adrienette is Never Endgame. Angsty with a happy ending. (…WITH A HAPPY ENDING. I…uh…apparently need to stress that, as I’ve been on a bit of a bender lately. xD)
“The Palm of Your Hand”
Luka’s eyes flicked down when he felt the familiar tickling on his palm. He tightened his grip on his guitar, sliding his hand along the frets to distract himself from the tingling. He wasn’t going to look. He wasn’t.
He had started wearing fingerless gloves specifically so he wouldn’t look, but the fabric of the gloves always caught on his strings and gummed up his playing. He’d stopped wearing them during gigs and practice, but usually his hands were too busy at those times to tempt him to look. Usually.
His eyes slid from the guitar to the crowd, searching. Marinette sat on a crate towards the back, huddled with Alya over their hands. They were smiling and giggling. His eyes followed her not-so-subtle gaze to the blond model sitting across the room. Adrien and Nino were in a similar position, also hunched over their hands and shooting equally unsubtle looks back at the girls. He caught his sister’s disapproving stare as his focus returned to the show, looking back at his guitar as Rose finished the second chorus and he broke into his solo.
Life kind of sucked when you were stupid in love with someone who wasn’t your soulmate. Especially when they were in love with someone else.
@cxndy-stxrs requested this,and I really liked the idea, so I decided to write up a draft for it. If I like it, I may end up continuing it. It's a nice premise. Sorry if formatting is weird, posting from mobile
Hawkmoth had won, Marinette realized, as the akuma victim pulled her earrings off. She quickly covered her face in an attempt to conceal her identity from Hawkmoth. Her earrings joined Chat’s ring, slipping past the sharp, animal-like teeth of the akuma’s pouch. She dove under her lucky charm, a polka dotted blanket that was already covering Chat Noir, and came face-to-face with her long-time crush. “Adrien?” She whispered, shocked.
“I should be more surprised,” Marinette could see his admiration of her in his eyes, and his smile, “but, well, you’re already so amazing.” Marinette’s cheeks heated, and she did her best to hide it by averting her gaze. “I’m glad it’s you. I don’t think I’d rather you be anyone else.” Marinette couldn’t help smiling, despite the dire circumstances.
"I'm glad it's you too, Adrien," Marinette answered. Ignoring the thoughts welling up telling her how Adrien returned her feelings, Marinette instead focused on a plan. "We need to stand up, and follow the Akuma to Hawkmoth."
"Of course, m'lady," the two of them stood up together, working in almost unnatural synchronization. They wrapped the blankets around them as hoods, keeping their face to the ground to follow the Akuma's trail. "How long do you think we have until the Akuma finishes it's business and heads for Hawkmoth?"
"I don't know," Marinette admitted, "They didn't really give away their motives," which, of course, was something very unusual by Aluma standards. Most were extremely willing to scream their motives at the top of their lungs. "Did you get anything?"
"He kind of looked like a D&D character," Adrien said, "Maybe his character died? Look for a character sheet?" Marinette nodded, it was as likely as anything else. "He's probably after his DM for killing the character," Adrien hypothesized, "but if it happened tonight, he has probably already done so."
Marinette didn't like thinking about that, instead commenting, "So he's heading for Hawkmoth?" She tried to ignore that they were rather quickly falling behind. The Akuma's lead continued to grow when Adrien tripped, bringing both of them down.
"My Lady!" Adrien's voice was slightly pained, and incredibly worried, "My Lady, something's wrong!" Marinette turned to look at him, and fear pierced her heart.
"Adrien!" She couldn't keep her voice down, "Your foot!" It was gone; Not cut off or anything, just gone. Like it had never been there. Slowly, the lack of existence crawled up his leg, pulling him apart piece by piece.
"Marinette," Adrien's voice was desperately begging for help. Marinette wrapped her arms around him, hoping she could somehow anchor him to her. "Marinette, please," she tried to ignore the strange distance to his terrified voice as he returned the embrace. "What's happening?"
"Hawkmoth," it was the only reasonable conclusions. He must have wished to get rid of them. She could feel her partner getting lighter in her arms as the spread of the non-existence grew quicker. "Please don't go," it was a useless request, she knew. She could feel him leaving.
"I promise I'll stay with you," he promised. Marinette's hands moved to cup Adrien's face, before pressing a kiss to his lips. True Love's Kiss always worked right? Her hands collapsed inward, the sides of her partners face slipping from her grasp. The last she saw of Adrien was his green eyes, reflecting a deep pain, before they too faded away.
A certain fuzziness overtook her. Was this how Adrien felt? More importantly, who was Adrien? Was he why she was crying? She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember? She wrapped the polka-dotted blanket around her and headed home; she could figure out what happened there.
It was early when Marinette woke up; far earlier than usual, even for a school day. The sun was just barely beginning to peer into her room when she opened her eyes. She hadn't slept particularly well; she had been upset last night, after all, though she couldn't quite remember why. It was probably nothing. Marinette took the opportunity granted to her to snuggle into her warm, red and black polka-dotted blanket. "Marinette," her trap door swung open as her mother came into view, "You need to wake up or- Oh, you're already awake."
Marinette laughed a little at the slightly awkward situation, "Yes maman, I'm awake." Sabine continued up, into Marinette's room, before moving near her bed.
"You were crying last night," Sabine showed clear worry for her daughter, "Are you alright? Did you have a spat with Luka?"
"No, maman, Luka and I are doing just fine," a blush tinged her cheek as she answered, "I'm not really sure why I was upset last night." Her mother pursed her lips, but said nothing. Marinette wished she could give her an answer, but she simply didn't have one. She changed the subject, "Actually, I was wondering, could I invite Luka over after school?"
"Of course dear," Sabine smiled, "Just make sure that your door stays open."
"Maman!" Marinette's blush intensified. Sabine chuckled, then gave Marinette a hug before descending from her room once more. Marinette made her way to the bathroom, showered, and got prepared for her school day quickly, used to a rushed morning most days. She eventually made her way to school, sitting down next to Alya.
"You're early today," her best friend commented.
"I didn't sleep well," Marinette answered, "Something upset me last night, or something, but I can't remember what." Alya looked like she was about to say something, so Marinette added, "No it wasn't Luka, my mom already asked. But I am going to be inviting him over after school."
Alya grinned, "Oh? Are you going to work on a new project with him?" She teased.
"No!" Marinette blushed, "We're just gonna hang out."
"You know I have to wonder what's going to be han-" Alya was interrupted by Marinette.
"I don't ask you about you and Nino," she pointed out. It was Alya's turn to blush. "And besides, we've only kissed a couple times. Luka's really chill."
"What a gentleman," Alya teased. The two continued to banter until class started. Marinette's eyes drifted to the empty seat by Nino; usually Nathaniel sat beside him, but the artist was out sick today. For some reason she couldn't quite place, it was almost difficult to imagine Nathaniel sitting there. "Hey girl, you ok?" Alya whispered, "You're staring awfully hard at Nathaniel's seat."
"I'm fine," she answered quietly, breaking her eyes from the chair, "I just thought I saw something."
"If you say so," Alya answered, and the two of them turned back to their notes. While Marinette couldn't shake the feeling of something being off with Nathaniel's seat, she could ignore it. The rest of the day passed by mostly uneventfully, with Marinette texting Luka over lunch to ask him if he wanted to come over after school. He was glad to accept.
Marinette greeted Luka at the backdoor of her parents' bakery. She hugged him before leading him inside and up to her room, making sure to leave the trap door open. The two quickly settled into their comfort zone with each other; Marinette designing while Luka strummed his guitar and wrote down some ideas. She was happy.
Nathalie dropped her tablet. His confession wasn’t out of the blue. No; she’d commented on how he’s changed. The way he altered his every schedule to include more time for Adrien and his activities had proved it. But this…
She hadn’t suspected…
“When?”
“About six weeks ago.”
Nathalie blinked once again. “I…”
Not often did she find herself so speechless. This was one of those rare occasions.
“I did it for you,” he eventually said. “You have to know.”
Her heart picked up its pace in a way that scared her. The heat on her cheeks was uncomfortable, causing her to worry about if he could see it or not. “What about Adrien?”
Gabriel’s gaze hit the floor. “I… It became apparent just how much I had failed him, just as I had failed you.” His gaze returned to hers, the blue of his eyes surprisingly intense. “You were my catalyst.”
Her heart beat double-time. Her breath was coming in short bursts. Her cheeks warmed.
And that all worsened when Gabriel reached for her hand. “I have the feeling you wouldn’t be so willing to restore that trust in me after being hurt, no matter how unintentionally I meant it. But I will continue to prove to you that I won’t hurt you this time. Never again.”
With that, he pressed a lingering kiss to her knuckles that made her immediately want to throw caution to the wind. But for now, she’d pretend she had everything together. “Thank you, sir.”
“Nathalie.”
“Sir,” she repeated. “As you so eloquently put, I have yet to be willing to return the trust to you that you have broken. I knew better than letting you have that trust in the first place. Give me time to be willing to give it again.”
His eyes closed momentarily as a frown tugged his lips downward. “I understand, Nathalie,” he assured, giving her hand a squeeze. He looked back up at her, his gaze intense. “And I suppose it is by my own actions that I must wait.” He let go of her hand and took a step back. “I’ll be in my office. Can you please send me the reports I need?”
“Of course, sir,” she said, turning back to her own desk.
She waited until he completely disappeared from sight before allowing her ridged posture to fall. She took her glasses off, which meant she could lay her head on her arms more comfortably. And she gave herself a long moment to compose herself before straightening and getting back to work.
…
“I don’t know about this, Father.”
“Trust me,” Gabriel assured. “You are never going to know for a fact that she dislikes you if you do not ask her.”
“But are you sure this is a good idea?”
“I think it is long overdue.”
Adrien frowned as he turned to look out the window.
Gabriel placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Adrien, from what you have told me about Miss Dupain-Cheng, she is not the kind of girl who would play with your feelings intentionally. Ask her, Adrien. You will never know otherwise.”
Adrien turned back to him, nervousness clear on his expression.
Gabriel sighed. He supposed this was his doing. When he made the decision to shelter Adrien, he did not expect the consequence to be causing a seventeen-year-old boy to be terrified to ask out a girl who clearly had a crush on him.
“Adrien,” Gabriel said. He had caused this,meaning he was going to have to fix it, even if it took extreme measures. “I understand your predicament.”
“With mom?” Adrien asked.
Gabriel sighed, then glanced toward the driver. “You never heard any of this, Arthur,” he pointedly commented.
The man grunted his affirmation.
He turned back to Adrien. “Do you remember when you asked if I would ever consider dating again?”
Adrien nodded, his head cocked in confusion.
“Well,” Gabriel said. “There is a woman I…” he cleared his throat. “That I may see a future with.”
Adrien’s eyes widened.
“And I did not know her feelings,” he continued. “Until I asked her.”
“And?” Adrien pressed.
Gabriel pursed his lips. “She gave me her answer.”
Adrien frowned as his brow knit together. “That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
“It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear,” Gabriel admitted. “But she didn’t tell me ‘no’ either. The point being, Adrien, that you will never know a woman’s feelings unless you ask. If she tells you no, then no matter how hard it is, you must respect it. If she is rude, then she gave you her true character, and no woman like that is worth pursuing.”
Even though he still looked nervous, Adrien gave him a nod. “Understood, father.”
“Finally,” Gabriel continued. “If she gives you the difficult answer of a ‘maybe’ then you must be careful in your pursuit of her. I believe I’ve given you enough advice for you to navigate that minefield. But if I haven’t, I hope that you would be comfortable coming to me to ask.”
Slowly, a soft smile crossed Adrien’s face. “I will.”
Gabriel gave his son a smile, one that was a mix of proud and happy. “Now, you best go get your answer from Miss Dupain-Cheng. Like I have said before, a woman will not wait for you forever.”
While still nervous, Adrien grabbed his bag and hopped out of the car. “Thank you, Father.”
“Have a good day, son.”
“You, too, Father.” With that, Adrien shut the car door and headed off toward the school.
Gabriel smiled, but it was bittersweet. His son had grown up, old enough to pursue a woman and nearly old enough to be on his own. When had that even happened? It was as though just yesterday, Adrien was toddling around the mansion.
With a sigh, Gabriel sank back into his seat. “Take me home, Arthur.” He’d find something else to occupy his time than fussing over nothing.
…
Nathalie smiled as Adrien talked all about his girlfriend on the way home. It had been like this for two weeks now, but it wasn’t obnoxious. Nathalie could tell that Marinette was really good for Adrien, and from what Nathalie could tell, Adrien was good for Marinette, too.
“So I’ve been meaning to ask,” Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. “If, since I’m free on Thursday night, if I could take Marinette out… on a date.”
Nathalie looked over her shoulder at Gabriel.
“Yes, you may. Nathalie, please put that in Adrien’s schedule.”
“Of course, sir.”
It gave her a hint of satisfaction every time she addressed him as such. She’d noticed that the title irritated him ever so slightly. But she couldn’t use his name. Not yet. Not until she was ready to take that step.
And he knew it.
She turned back to the front, away from him. One day, she would give in. She couldn’t hold out much longer. Her heart wouldn’t allow it.
…
“Should I get her flowers? I don’t know. Maybe? Plagg, help.”
Nathalie chuckled. She really shouldn’t be listening outside Adrien’s door, but she couldn’t help it. The poor boy had been frazzled ever since he’d confirmed Marinette accepted his offer to go out on Thursday. And while Gabriel had tried to help, Nathalie knew the man could only offer so much advice.
She knocked before entering. “Adrien?”
He paused his ranting to the little plush cat that he kept on his bed. Likely given to him by Miss Dupain-Cheng herself some couple years ago. “Come in, Nathalie.”
She entered, Adrien standing with his shoulders tight and back rigid with his hands in his pockets.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your plight,” she began.
Adrien’s eyes widened.
Nathalie gave him a soft smile. “Take a seat,” she coaxed.
While clearly uncertain, Adrien did as directed.
Nathalie took a seat beside him and waited a moment for him to relax. “Women like being romanced,” she began.
At that, Adrien’s eyes widened at her while his jaw fell unhinged.
Nathalie smiled and gave him a nod. “Women like knowing that a man cares, whether in the big things or the small. Women also like knowing that a man is able to care for them.”
After a moment, Adrien’s gaze fell to the floor. “She’s strong enough to handle herself, though,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t like when a man cares for us,” Nathalie clarified.
Adrien’s gaze returned to her.
“Most—if not nearly all—women like having a shelter,” she explained. “We like having a person who cares for us. A strong woman is no different in that respect. Don’t mistake coddling and protection for ‘shelter’. While there are times a strong woman wants that, too, it’s not the sort of shelter we constantly require. Strong women need a support pillar. We like knowing that the man we let into our lives is there to encourage us. We need a place to escape when the world gets the better of us. We like knowing that a man is there to care for us in that respect.” She shot him a smile. “We also appreciate when a man cares for us as in making sure we’re fed or that things are in order so we don’t have to handle them.”
Adrien smiled.
“So,” Nathalie continued. “Prove to her that you can be her equal. That you are her support. That you have her back and are by her side and sometimes are leading her along. If she’s a good woman, Adrien, you’ll find she will do the same for you.”
Adrien’s gaze sank to the floor once again, but Nathalie watched him let her words sink in.
“That all being said,” Nathalie added. “Most—if not nearly all—women like being pursued. The thoughtful gestures mean the most. In the case of ‘should you or should you not get flowers,’ I would suggest that you should, but be considerate when you do. Do you know her favorite? Do you know if she likes certain colors? Does she happen to know meanings of them? Or did a certain flower or bouquet make you think of her. Think of those things in your quest to get her flowers.”
“You make it sound difficult,” Adrien commented.
“Falling in love with someone is easy,” Nathalie said. “Caring for that love so that it does not wither or die is not. But the greatest things in life are not easy, Adrien. If they are, you should be looking for the catch.”
Adrien’s lips pursed in thought. Slowly, his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. “I got it,” he said decisively, standing from his seat. “Thanks, Nathalie.”
“Adrien,” she called out, causing him to pause.
“Yes?”
She smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
Adrien’s smile lit up the room like the sunshine. He turned around to hustle back over to her, only to wrap his arms around her in an awkward sort of hug.
It took a moment for Nathalie to return it.
“Thank you, Nathalie,” he said. “For everything.”
Her smile grew as she settled into the hug. “You’re welcome, Adrien.”
They stayed a short moment longer before Adrien removed himself and scrambled out the door.
Nathalie stayed sitting for a while longer, smiling at the door Adrien had disappeared out of. Eventually, she pulled herself together, recalling she did have other work that needed to be done. She stood and walked from the room.
Only to get the shock of her life when she nearly ran into Gabriel when she walked outside the door.
“Sorry,” he quickly apologized.
She gave her racing heart a moment to calm before dropping her hand from her chest and looking up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t help but listen in the conversation,” he admitted. “I was going to talk with Adrien myself, but it seems as though you beat me to it.”
“I’m sorry I interrupted time with your son, then.”
“Don’t be,” he said. “I think that it was good for him to receive such advice from a female and not his father.”
“I didn’t tell him anything special.”
“Of course not. But it was still good advice.”
Nathalie shrugged. “Is there anything you would like me to do, sir?”
Gabriel frowned. “One thing,” he said.
Nathalie quirked a brow. “And?”
“Tell me,” he began, and the way his eyes locked on hers suddenly had her fearing for her heart. “How long have you held onto those words?”
Her breath hitched, and her heart started picking up its pace again. “What do you mean?”
“I mean your tone was far too sincere for something you thought out logically.”
“It is all logical.”
“I never said it wasn’t logical. But your tone proved it wasn’t a purely impassive speech.” He quirked a brow. “Those were words you’ve held onto for some time.”
She begged her heart to calm down and her hands to stop sweating. “What are you implying?”
Gabriel paused, clearly finding the right words. “Have you ever been in a relationship, Nathalie? Or have you always told yourself you don’t need one?”
Nathalie quirked a brow, hating just how close his shot in the dark hit to the truth.
“You’re a very logical person,” Gabriel continued. “Very capable of anything you set your mind to. Very capable of working under harsh conditions and keeping a level head. But if I were to guess, your logic got the better of you and you never pursued a romantic relationship.”
She was silent for a while, begging her mind to formulate a response. “I never thought it necessary,” she finally stated. “People can live a perfectly fulfilling life without a relationship.”
“You don’t believe that.”
She fought the urge to bite her lip. “Not now.”
Gabriel hummed, his expression softening. He reached for her hand, carefully taking hold of it and lifting it to his lips in order to press a reverent kiss to her knuckles. “My feelings have not changed,” he whispered. “But I will not push. You have made your stance perfectly clear, and I will be patiently awaiting the day you are ready.”
Nathalie held his gaze for the longest time. “Give me time,” she returned, her gaze falling as her cheeks heated up. “To trust myself to fall again.”
“Be assured, I will catch you this time.”
“Catching me isn’t the issue.”
Gabriel frowned. “Fair enough,” he said. “And that is solely my fault.”
“I knew better in the first place.”
“I still failed you,” he countered. “In every way imaginable. It is solely my fault.”
Nathalie was silent. They stood there a moment longer before Nathalie squeezed his hand and retracted hers from his grasp.
“I hope one day I prove myself to you,” Gabriel said. “But despite what I wish, I know that day is not anytime soon.”
Nathalie sighed. “Keep this up,” she said. “And it will be… Gabriel.”
And she walked away quickly before he could respond.
