clear as a musical note

She had maneuvered Luka to their room as soon as she’d had their door open, and she’d dropped him on the mattress as gently as she could.  Still, he had groaned and mumbled something incoherent before reaching for her, and she had almost slipped into the bed with him – except she did still have some work that needed done, and he needed his rest.

Neither would get accomplished if she crawled in after him, she thought as she closed the door.  He was sprawled out in the center of their bed, her pillow hugged to his chest with his face buried in the damn thing, and that was exactly where he was going to stay until he actually slept.

…she could always wear him out again later.

. : .

Of course, as she would later learn, it had been a really long forty-eight hours leading up to the nine-hour flight from hell, and it was well into the next day before Luka actually stirred.

He had wandered his way out towards dinner time, but that had really only been to shuffle into the bathroom.  He’d found her before heading back to bed – just long enough to bend her back over the (thankfully off) stove with a deep kiss – but that hardly counted.  She still wasn’t sure he had actually been awake, no matter how thoroughly he’d kissed her.

He’d mumbled something incoherent when she’d climbed into bed that night, and she had barely had time to crawl under the covers before he’d wrapped himself around her.  He hadn’t woken, though, and he still wasn’t awake when she slipped back out of bed the next morning.

If she hadn’t been dealing with Couffaine sleeping habits for almost ten years now (first at sleepovers with Juleka and later with him), she might have worried.  But as long as he was still breathing, she figured he was fine and let him sleep.

Penny showed up at their front door early the next morning.  Marinette was still wearing her dressing gown when she knocked, her first cup of coffee still in hand.

“Guess what wasn’t actually in Barcelona,” Penny said by way of greeting when Marinette opened the door.  Her eyes widened as Penny patted the suitcase beside her.  “It was mislabeled and about to head to Hong Kong, but you’d be surprised how effective a crocodile can be in tracking down misplaced luggage.”

“Liar,” Marinette laughed, pulling her into a hug.  “More like how effective Jagged Stone’s irate wife can be in getting anything done.”

“Well, that, too,” Penny laughed, patting her back.  “But years of dealing with Fang doesn’t hurt.  Has he calmed down yet?”

“He’s still sleeping,” Marinette said, and Penny’s eyebrows lifted.  Marinette waved her in and wheeled the suitcase over to the dining area.  She lifted it onto the table and opened it, rooting through the front pockets until she found…she grinned when her fingers brushed against a small box.  “He was already exhausted, and losing this didn’t help.”

“Shouldn’t you let him find it first?” Penny asked, an eyebrow lifting as Marinette pulled the ring out and slipped it onto her finger.  She held her hand up, her smile growing as she finally saw it.  The pink opal burned just as brightly as it did in her memory.  “I’m fairly certain he’s supposed to ask you before you start wearing it.

“Oh, he’s not getting this off my finger any time soon,” Marinette laughed, grinning at her.  “If he wanted to surprise me, he shouldn’t have told me he lost it in the first place.”

“He was exhausted, Marinette,” Penny said, frowning.  “He didn’t know what he was saying.  You should give him this.  Let him do this properly.”

She gave her a pointed look, and Marinette sighed as she looked back at her hand.  She knew Penny was right, but…she really didn’t want to take it off.  She liked how it looked – how it felt – there.  Like it belonged.

…like she was always supposed to be Marinette Couffaine.

“Just for a little bit?” she asked, looking back at Penny.  “I’ll put it back before he wakes up.”

Penny shook her head, but she was smiling as she laid an arm across Marinette’s shoulders and puled her into a half hug.  She looked back at her hand, her smile warming as she studied the ring.

“It’s a lovely ring, Marinette,” she said.  “Very…you.”

“Lay off,” Marinette giggled, nudging her side.  She glanced down at Penny’s own hand, which sported a stone in the shape of a heart and the color of Penny’s hair.  It was ringed by black stones on a gunmetal band – not at all traditional, but very rock-n-roll and very ‘Rolling-Stone’, if Jagged did say so himself.  “Your ring is so much worse, and this is a family heirloom.”

“Really?” Penny asked, surprised.  “I knew Gina gave it to him – she met us in Rome – but he didn’t tell me the story.  I figured she had found it at some street fair or something.  Some…sorry, but it really does look like cheap costume jewelry.”

“I’m not offended, but only because your ring does, too,” Marinette giggled, sticking her tongue out at her.  She looked back at her nonna’s old ring, her smile softening.  “I promise you it’s one hundred percent genuine.  It was Nonna’s mother’s.  Nonna was just a baby when the war started – barely a year old – and her family had to flee Italy before things got really bad.  They didn’t make it back until Nonna was almost ten.  This ring was the only thing of value her mother was able to bring with them.”

“It’s a beautiful ring, Marinette,” Penny said softly, and Marinette nodded.  It was.  A round, pink opal sat in the center of the ring, ringed by tiny diamonds and flanked on either side by flowers made of pink quartz.  They were generic looking enough, but she had always liked to imagine they were cherry blossoms.  The whole thing sat on a gold band, and it had captivated Marinette since she was a little girl.

“Nonna always called me her Little Fairy, but I always thought she was the fairy,” she confessed.  “I didn’t understand how opals worked back then – I always thought it was fairy magic that made the stone burn like that, not opal fire.  She never bothered correcting me, either.”

Penny laughed, shaking her head.

“It’s very you,” she said.  “Luka was really excited when Gina offered.  He went through all the trouble of getting Tom and Sabine’s blessing – Jagged was pouting for weeks after that, by the way.  He couldn’t understand why Luka didn’t ask for his blessing, too.”

Marinette laughed at that, not surprised at all.

“Of course he was,” she said.  “What, do I need to ask him for Luka’s hand first, too?”

“It probably wouldn’t hurt,” Penny snickered.  “But you know how Luka is.  He’s not a planner.  I think part of him honestly didn’t think Tom would even say yes.”

“Dummy,” Marinette said, shaking her head.  “Like Papa would ever say no to him.”

“That boy is crazy for you, Marinette,” Penny said, squeezing her shoulders.  “He’s not above being completely irrational when it comes to you.  I’ve seen him put up with a lot on the road, between his father and the rest of the band, and sometimes I honestly think the only thing that truly scares him is the thought of losing you.  Even if he knows it will never happen…I don’t know.  It’s like…I don’t know if he saw something.  During an akuma attack, back in the day.  Maybe that breakup you two had when you were younger.  But he says things sometimes, like he’s all too aware of how things could be.  How fragile life really is.  I think it makes him hold on a bit tighter to how they are.”

Marinette bit her lip.  She wondered if Penny realized just how right she actually was.

“I gave him up once, Penny,” she said, brushing her thumb over the opal.  “I have no intention of doing so again.  He’s stuck with me.”  She looked back up at her, her grin coming back.  “And he’s going to have to pry this ring off my cold, dead finger.”

Penny laughed and leaned in to smack a kiss against her temple.

“And don’t you let him forget it,” she said.  She winked at her.  “After you let him get the proposal out, all right?  You know he had something big and romantic planned.”

“Luka?  Plan?” Marinette gasped, her eyes wide.  “How dare you accuse him of such a thing!  That’s my future husband you’re slandering, Mme. Stone!”

“Only because I have entirely too much experience wrangling his family, Mme. Stone,” Penny said with a roll of her eyes, but Marinette was too busy grinning at being called Mme. Stone to pick up on her tone.  Penny just smiled and shook her head, waving her off.  She told her to tell Luka to call her – she wanted him to rest up, but they still had work to do in the studio – and headed towards the door.  When Marinette was alone again, she turned back to her ring with a soft smile.

…street fair costume jewelry.  Tch.