I'm sure I've shared this one before but I haven't added to it in a really long time. 😆 The basic idea behind this was Lukanette square shenanigans, except Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug so he's basically taking every opportunity to flirt with her and say to her as Viperion all the things he wants to say but can't as Luka. Because he knows that she knows who he really is so he feels safe flirting in both forms. He's having fun playing up the romantic masked hero angle while knowing that she knows it's really him so there can't be any harm done. He only flirts with Marinette, not Ladybug, so--all the romantic spoiling, none of the angst of 'but now I'm in love with two guys' or 'does he really love me or is he into LB' so that when he finally comes clean there's no drama. (Sorry angst lovers. plants my flag atop Fort Fluff)
The battles were getting harder. With Mayura’s help, Hawkmoth was far more dangerous. More than once they had only been saved by the unexpected and unexplainable failure of Mayura’s powers. But they couldn’t count on that; any battle could be the one where Mayura’s powers held strong. More and more often Ladybug and Chat were forced to call on backup. Battles were taking longer, meaning one or more of the team would have to take a break from the battle to recharge before coming back to fight on.
Viperion pelted across the rooftops, panting, heading for a particular alley that he knew he needed to reach before it was too late. He dropped three stories just in time to grab a familiar pigtailed figure and press her between himself and the wall, shielded by an outcropping in the building next to them. “Shh, don’t make a sound,” he hissed, and the girl practically stopped breathing. “Whatever happens, don’t move. I’ve got you.” Viperion kept watch on the mouth of the alley, counting seconds. He only got to three before the sentimonster came crashing through. Viperion flinched but held strong, knowing the monster would continue its destructive path past them. Everything played out as he knew it would, only this time the sentimonster didn’t see the girl in the alley, shielded as she was between Viperion’s dark suit and the wall. He clenched his teeth as a few chunks of debris hit his armored back, and winced as a piece knocked into his head. None of them reached the figure he sheltered, though, and he breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back as the monster moved on. He stepped back, rubbing his head. “Ow,” he muttered.
“Are you all right?”
Viperion gave a rueful smile at the girl he’d just rescued. “I’ll be fine, it was just a small rock. Stings though. What about you, are you okay?” He touched her face, checking her over. Without the protection of her transformation, he’d seen her badly injured by the sentimonster’s rampage.
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Marinette said, putting a hand on his arm. “Thank you, Viperion.”
“Hold on to me,” he said, picking her up. She didn’t question him the way a normal civilian would, just put her arms around his neck and locked her legs around his waist. He calculated his path up the building and leapt, keeping one arm around Marinette’s back as she clung to him. He hopped along the roofs with her until he found one that he deemed safe for her to use to transform back, and set her down.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time. I have to leave you here,” he said gently. Of course, he knew the second he was out of sight she would transform and swing herself back to the battle, but she didn’t know he knew that. “One of us will come back and get you once the Akuma’s defeated. Please be safe. What’s your name?”
“Uh--M-m-Marinette,” she stammered, and he smiled. He would wonder for weeks what possessed him in that moment, if it was that familiar stammer or something else that made him lean close.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” he breathed. Marinette’s eyes widened and her face flamed red. “I hope we meet again, Marinette.”
Then he turned away and leapt back towards the battle, so she couldn’t see the grin on his face.
When Ladybug came to retrieve his Miraculous after the end of the battle, she was blushing under her mask. Luka pretended not to notice.
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*I have a problem called Lukanette UST were S can stand for smoochies too, I don't really mind with those two, I can literally read about them making a puzzle and still be super captured by the event BUT THE UNRESOLVED ROMANCE DRAMA KILLS ME*
♡
😂😂😂 All right here's a little sneak peek several chapters ahead just for you. Under the cut since it's kinda spoilery (but we all know they're getting together anyway and I don't think there's enough context here to spoil how).
However since it is so far ahead this specific bit might not make the final cut, a lot could change between now and then. Just depends if it still fits when I get there.
“All I want is for it to be real,” he said, stroking his fingers along the line of her jaw. Her eyes were distractingly dark and dilated, and a jolt went through him when she bit her lip.
“Do you believe it is?” she asked him softly, fingers wrapping gently around his wrist.
Luka couldn’t meet her gaze. “I believe we both want it to be.”
“Is that enough?” Marinette asked doubtfully.
Luka wanted to say yes but the word stuck in his throat. He leaned in and kissed her again, coaxing her to kiss him back. “It’s a start,” he managed to say, as she resumed kissing his face, pressing her lips along his jaw.
“What can I do to prove it?” Marinette asked him, and the huskiness in her voice made him shudder again.
“Stay,” he said hoarsely, as her lips found the hollow of his throat and her hands slipped under his shirt.
I will remember this helpfulness the next time I have a plunny that needs a good home. 😆
So this is a 'Marinette gives up the box' fic the title is a reference to this song, which I love and listened to constantly when Mr. Q and I were having a rough patch (before he became Mr. Q) and it just seems so appropriate to the fic:
I guess it's gonna have to hurt
I guess I'm gonna have to cry
And let go of some things I love to get to the other side
I guess it's gonna break me down
Like falling when you're trying to fly
It's sad but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life
Starts with goodbye
It even has an awesome guitar bit right before the bridge. 😁I got the idea and scribbled it out when the Su Han episode came out, but I never really finished it. Lots of people have played with this idea since then (not that that has ever stopped me) and I just never got the time to really work on it.
There's some really good stuff in here though I should definitely look at it again FINISH INDELIBLE FIRST.
“This is what you want?” Luka asked, glancing at Su Han and back at Ladybug.
Ladybug nodded mutely. After a moment, she took a breath and raised her head again. “I want this so much that I’m willing to lose my memory of the last year for it. I’m so tired, Luka.” The words rang in his head like a bell, igniting a pain in his chest that was still far too fresh.
“How much memory?” Luka asked, and she shrugged helplessly.
“Everything since the day I became Ladybug,” she whispered, lips trembling. Luka shook her head disbelievingly, but before he could object, she said, “There’s no other way. And at least this way I’m only using a year and not...not my whole life. I’m young. This...this’ll just be a blip in the radar someday. Better than losing twenty or thirty or fifty or even a hundred years. And...you’ll know. You can help me. I wanted somebody to know why. I can’t...I can’t tell my parents, they’d never understand, they’d try to stop me, but I know you won’t try to stop me if this is what I want, and...and you’ve held a miraculous. You know what it’s like, the responsibility...I’m going to need someone who understands to be with me, while I...recover. Figure everything out. You can’t ever tell me what happened, that I was Ladybug, but you can be there with me, and help me remember the good things that being Ladybug gave me.”
“I don’t understand. Why me?” Luka whispered, uncomprehending.
Ladybug blinked back tears. “Because I trust you, Luka. I wanted to be able to tell you the truth for so long. You were right. You deserve the truth.”
The world stopped. Luka forgot how to breathe, even as his pulse began to race. He felt dizzy as his mind was overwhelmed with a rush of still-raw memories that he’d tried so desperately to make sense of before, and couldn’t, that were now suddenly painfully clear.
“Will you be there for me?” Marinette asked him, voice tight and shaking. She held out her hands to him, and they shook too. “Even though I won’t remember you...can you be there?”
“Of course,” he breathed, tears suddenly stinging his own eyes, as he grabbed her hands tight in his own. “Of course, Marinette, I promise. I promise.”
Marinette smiled at him, eyes shining. “I trust you,” she told him. “I trust you, Luka. I always did, I swear, I just—”
“No, I’m sorry,” Luka breathed, pulling her closer and folding their hands against his chest. “I’m so sorry, Marinette. I didn’t understand, I—God, I feel like such an idiot…”
Marinette shook her head, dropping her gaze. “It wasn’t your fault. I thought I could handle everything, and I was wrong, and I hurt you so badly because of it. I’m so sorry for all the lies and the stupid excuses—”
“I forgive you,” Luka said quickly, squeezing her hands. “Every word, every second of it. I love you, Marinette. I just wanted to love you. I’m so sorry...I let you down...”
She smiled, and freed a hand to cup his cheek. “It was asking too much of anyone,” she said sadly. “All of this has been too much.”
“Marinette,” he sighed, and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight as he had that day on the bridge. “I didn’t understand, and I hurt you, and I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
“I do,” she whispered, and he breathed out shakily. “I do. Maybe...maybe this way we’ll get a chance to try again, if you still want to.”
Luka gripped her tighter, squeezing his eyes shut. “Isn’t there any other way?” he nearly begged.
“No.”
Marinette pulled back enough to lift her face and kiss him. It was salty with tears and Luka's throat was so tight he couldn’t hold it long before he had to gasp for breath. He kissed her again and again, short and unsatisfying, before she finally pulled back from him to wipe her face. They were both crying now. Marinette caressed his cheek one more time, and then stepped back out of his arms.
“I’m ready, Master Su Han,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady. She looked at her kwami, floating in the air beside her, and then cupped the little being in her hands, cuddling it against her cheek. “Goodbye, Tikki. Thank you.”
Luka didn’t hear the high-pitched reply over the thundering of his heart. This...this was unreal, this couldn’t be happening, how was he supposed to…
Marinette met his eyes again, and though the tears were still falling, her smile was bright and her wet eyes shone with hope. “Tikki, spots on,” she whispered, and in a rush of light Ladybug was standing there again. She took a deep breath. “I, Ladybug, renounce the Guardianship of the Miracle Box and return it to Celestial Master Su Han, to be passed on to the worthy candidate of his choice.”
Everything was all light and noise and Luka couldn’t follow any of it, too fixated on the girl in front of him to pay attention. All he saw was Ladybug’s eyes, still locked on his, becoming Marinette’s, and then closing as she began to fall.
Luka was moving, but Su Han was closer and more prepared. He caught Marinette, and lowered her carefully to the ground.
“Marinette,” Luka said anxiously, dropping to cup her cheek in his hand as Su Han carefully removed the earrings from her ears, cutting off the dreadful keening of her kwami.
“She is all right,” Su Han told him, setting a heavy hand on his shoulder. “And this is for the best. She is a child. She deserves to live a child’s life. Mistakes have been made, grave ones, and it should not be her responsibility to bear. When she wakes, she will remember nothing of the terrible burden that was thrust upon her.”
Luka nodded, swallowing. It didn’t matter, really. This had been Marinette’s choice. It was what she wanted. That would be enough for him. “And you’ll make sure,” he said roughly, and then cleared his throat. “You’ll make sure that Paris is safe? You’ll stop Hawkmoth?”
“That is my duty,” Su Han nodded. “I have trained for situations exactly like this one. I will find champions to help me, and when the opportunity reveals itself, I will reclaim the Miraculous from the unworthy.”
Luka nodded. It was out of his hands, anyway. He had other responsibilities now, and he had to think of those first. “Can you take her back to the bakery, where her parents can find her?” he said thickly. “I think it might be better...if I take her back, they might suspect I know something, and if she wakes here with me, she’ll just be more confused…she won’t know who I am.” He laughed harshly, passing his forearm over his eyes. “She must have been Ladybug from the beginning. The first day we met, she—I don’t know how I didn’t see it. She won’t remember me at all.”
“I will take her,” Su Han agreed, lifting Marinette’s unconscious form.
“Okay,” Luka murmured to himself, and got to his feet. He caught Marinette’s hand and kissed her fingertips before laying it carefully across her stomach. “I don’t know if I should thank you for this or not,” he sighed, looking up at Su Han.
“You should well know, young snake, that only time can prove the rightness or wrongness of our decisions,” the Guardian said heavily. “Farewell.”
Then he was gone, and Luka walked on shaking legs back to the boat, trying to make a plan.
Could you please share a bit of Live With it For WIP Wednesday?
This thing is still an incoherent mess with a bunch of pieces and notes all jumbled together, ugh. I really need to sit down and clean it all up so I can make some actual progress.
What would you like to see for WIP Wednesday
[Marinette's] eyes were red and puffy, and she just look so tired it made him ache.
“Hey,” [Luka] said, crossing the room towards her. He crouched in front of her, and put his hand on her shoulder. “What can I do?”
She gave him a weak smile. “Nothing. It’s nothing you can fix, Luka.”
“Okay,” he said, frowning slightly. “I can’t fix it. Can I help at least? Or listen, or—” He closed his mouth as Marinette was shaking her head, her face crumpling up. She stood up and turned away from him, hugging herself.
“Don’t be nice to me,” she sighed. “I’ll just feel worse.”
“Is this about your New York trip?” Luka asked, and Marinette groaned, burying her face in her hands.
“You should have let me miss the bus,” she mumbled.
“That bad, huh?” Luka gave a lopsided smile. “It definitely wasn’t the best week to be there, huh, with everything that happened?”
“Don’t remind me,” Marinette sighed, dropping her hands.
“Well, whatever happened, it’s over now,” Luka said, stepping up to put his hands on her shoulders, but she cringed away from him before he could continue.
“You shouldn’t,” she said, pushing his arms away, and Luka drew back, hurt, though he stomped on the feeling as hard as he could. He had no right to touch her if she didn’t want him, after all.
“Sorry,” he began, “I didn’t mean to—”
“No, I didn’t mean—it’s not you, it’s just—” She buried her face in her hands again. “I can’t let you hug me like that when you don’t know…what I did. How mixed up and confused I’ve been.” She was crying now, and Luka took a step towards her and then stopped, his hands coming up to hold her before he forced them down again. His heart hurt for her. “You’ve been so—so sweet and kind, and I still chased after Adrien like—like—” She sobbed.
“Marinette,” Luka began, desperate to say anything to soothe her. “Please don’t—I won’t say don’t cry, but don’t let it be because of me. Just...talk to me. Let me help you.”
“I don’t deserve you,” Marinette mumbled.
“Even if that were true,” Luka insisted, “It still wouldn’t make me leave.”
She looked up at him with wide, wet eyes, tears trailing down her face that he ached to wipe away. Luka wasn’t sure what to say, or how he could make her understand how much he wanted to help her. He took one more small step forward, his hands still outstretched but not touching her, hovering just outside of her arms.
She lurched forward, burying her face against him, and Luka wrapped her up as tight as he could, pressing his face to her hair. She sobbed against him like her heart was breaking, and tears stung his own eyes at the depth of her pain.
Alright, we're going to try forrrrr the DragonMer Whistle WIP!
WIP Asks
This is part of The Sky and the Sea universe with Dragon Luka and Mermaid Marinette. I had a bunch of little add on ideas for this AU and this was one of them, set before TSATS. Marinette and Luka have met and are forming a connection; he is starting to care about her, and it's making him protective. He worries about her when she's away from him and he doesn't want to miss her when she visits him, so he changes to human forms and goes to see his human vassal, Ivan. I have really fuzzy ideas about how this came about; Luka bailed Ivan out in some way and took Ivan under his protection. Ivan's loyalty is expected to be Luka's first, and in turn Luka checks in with him and makes sure he's taken care of, but Luka really doesn't need much and Ivan mostly just kinda lives his life with Luka asking an occasional favor serving as Ivan's tribute to him. Ivan's a blacksmith so Luka goes to him to ask for, basically, a dragon call that he can give Marinette for emergencies/as a doorbell. Except he wraps it up in a bunch of dragon protocol because dragons don't do 'gifts' except as a proposal/courting a mate so it can't just be a present.
I had some other vague ideas for later as well about various people who through Ivan come to see Luka to ask a favor or trade something, and one of them ends up being Nathaniel and he makes Luka a portrait of Marinette, but I never got very far down the road for any of them.
I only have a few actual paragraphs even of this one, but I still love the idea.
“Ivan,” Luka greeted, nodding in acknowledgement of his respect but reaching out a hand to catch his and raise him up. “How are you, old friend? How is Mylene?”
“She’s well, everything’s good here,” Ivan bobbed his head and then turned to look at his blacksmith shop.
***
“I have a friend,” Luka said carefully, tapping his fingers idly on the wood of Ivan’s table. “She’s merfolk. I want her to be able to call on me if she needs me, but obviously, there are some problems with that. I’m hoping you can help me with a solution. I can’t aid her underwater anyway, obviously, but something she could use in the air, if she’s captured or something like that...it would have to be loud, and able to survive her environment. And not easily broken.” He smiled faintly. “She’s not exactly the careful type.”
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Aww thanks for asking about this one. Nice to know it still has some fans even though I've been so neglectful and slow. (omg this is a terrible example of why I have to search the word 'sigh' in every editing session)
What would you like to see for WIP Wednesday
“I’m sorry,” Marinette said quickly, drawing back, but Luka slid his hands down to hers and didn’t let her go far. “I just thought...you might want a distraction but...I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He brought her hands to his lips, and remembered just in time to turn them and press his kiss to her palm instead of her knuckles. “Please don’t be upset, it’s just—”
“No, I get it, I should have thought, I just…” She bit her lip and slipped one hand free to run her fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what to do,” she whispered, and the helplessness in her voice hurt his heart. “If you were—but you’re not, and I knew what he needed but I don’t know what to do for you. Do you...just want me to leave you alone?”
“No,” Luka sighed, drawing her closer. “No, don’t leave me. You don’t need to do anything, just...sit with me for a minute, and then we can go back to bed.” He lowered his head to her shoulder, looping his arms loosely around her waist. “Is this okay?”
“Of course,” Marinette whispered, putting her arms around him and beginning to pet his hair. It felt good, and he breathed deeply, taking in her scent and feeling the warmth of her skin. He turned his face slightly to brush his lips against her neck, and slowly relaxed into her.
After a few moments he felt Marinette sigh beneath him. “Luka, have you...talked to anybody about this?” she asked, hesitantly, like she was afraid of his reaction.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I saw a grief counselor for the first few months. All of us did, actually. Sometimes together. I have a grief support group on Wednesdays. I went every week for a while, but I’ve only been going a couple of times a month lately. I was already thinking I should go this week, so I guess this is just confirming it.” He hesitated. “Maybe...you can absolutely say no, but I wouldn’t mind some company if you’re free. I used to take Juleka but she really doesn’t need it as much anymore and I feel like I’m just dragging her back down into it, so it would be nice to have someone there with some distance. Just for support, you know.” He sighed. “It can be intense, though, so I totally understand if you don’t want to. I’m used to going on my own. You can think about it, if you want, and let me know.”
He felt her sigh again, felt the tension in her body, and almost regretted asking.
“I’ll...I’ll think about it,” she said weakly.
Luka let his arms drop from around her waist sliding his hands down to rest lightly on her thighs instead, as he straightened and sat back to look at her.
“It’s really okay if you’d rather not,” Luka told her, searching her eyes. “I go by myself all the time.”
Her hand found his on her thigh and she laced their fingers together. “But you want me to come.”
“Only if it won’t be too much for you.”
Marinette looked hesitant for another moment, and then leaned forward and pressed a kiss into his shoulder. “I’ll come if I can clear my schedule. If it’s too much, then we’ll know and we can find someone else to go with you next time.”
Luka smiled, and lifted her hand to kiss the little ladybug. ”Okay. That’s fair. Thank you, Marinette.”
Marinette lifted her free hand to cup his cheek, and he leaned into the touch with a sigh.
“Is there anything else you need right now?” she asked. “Can I get you anything?”
Luka shook his head. “Let’s just go back to bed. I think I can sleep now.”
They got back into bed and settled, and Luka curled up against Marinette’s back, wrapping his arms around her, already feeling heavy and tired. Marinette squirmed and began to slide away from him. Luka’s arms tightened for just an instant reflexively before letting go, aware that she hated being held while she was sleeping. Marinette paused and sighed, and then settled back against him. “It’s okay,” she said, but Luka pulled his arms back.
“No, it isn’t,” he said softly, laying a hand on her arm and stroking it with his thumb. “Let’s find something that works for both of us, okay?”
They ended up on their sides with Marinette snuggled against his back, curled along the curve of his body with one arm around his chest and Luka’s hand over hers, her face in the crook of his shoulder, satisfying both his desire to have her close and her need to not feel confined.
Luka didn’t dream anymore that night, and the next time he woke, it was to Marinette’s light kisses along his neck. Okay, he thought as he turned over into her arms and found her soft mouth with his own. Even nights like that were worth it, as long as the morning still came.
For the reader request: what about Positivity Finale? 💖
Oops I totally missed this one!
So Positivity Finale is the last two prompts that I took when the New York special came out and I was like, super mad about it and I decided to write some happy lovey Lukanette to combat the rising ire of my soul. But, the last two prompts spawned an idea that was more salty so I published it separately as Live With It. The second chapter has been sitting there waiting for me to come back and finish it and I just got so deep in the weeds and so short on writing time that I've been focusing on finishing the unfinished stuff I have out there. While that does include this, I'm trying to power through Indelible and then Guard My Heart, so this one was kind of backburnered for a bit. You know that post that goes around sometimes about writing your characters into a problem so that they can brilliantly solve it and then realizing oh shoot, I'm the one who has to come up with the brilliant solution and I'm an idiot? I kinda ran into that a little bit. 😂 Also I was waffling about direction, whether I wanted to stay focused on the ladybug conflict or address some Lukanette stuff too, and it was easier just to table it for a bit to marinate while I deal with some of the other unfinished works.
ANYWAY here's a snippet of Chapter 2 for you.
“I try so hard,” Marinette sobbed. “I promise I’m trying, Luka! It just...it doesn’t seem to make any difference! I try and I plan and I prepare and everything goes wrong anyway, and I can’t fix it, and I can’t even talk about it—”
She broke down again and Luka throttled back the sudden urge to hit something. It was true, it wasn’t fair, how much she was saddled with and how she always seemed to be swimming against the current. It was no wonder she was exhausted and worn down.
And he couldn’t do anything about it. Nothing except hold her, as tightly as he could, and be ready to let her go when she asked it.
She did ask it a moment later, pressing her hands on his chest and straightening, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be sorry,” he told her, hands still hovering, shaking slightly with the effort it took not to pull her back. “I’m happy I can be here for you.”
He watched as Marinette struggled to pull herself together, to lock it all back down and find something to cling to. Ladybug had told him once that people got akumatized because they couldn’t see any other way out. Marinette was all about possibilities and creative thinking, so it made sense to him that she’d be more resistant to akumas than most people.
Even so, it hurt his heart to see her force herself this way. Fucking Hawkmoth. He twisted the bracelet on his wrist absently, shifting from one foot to the other. He was suddenly angry at Chat Noir all over again, for leaving Ladybug in the lurch and making it that much harder to defeat the root of this evil. He flexed his hands and breathed through it, trying to stay calm. He couldn’t afford to be akumatized himself, either. He reminded himself that Ladybug wasn’t alone, that he was there to help her, and for Marinette’s sake, he’d do anything he possibly could.
Luka put a tentative hand over her shoulder, and when she didn’t flinch away, rested it lightly there. “Listen, Marinette. Whatever happened in New York, whatever you did or said or didn’t say or do that you think you should’ve...you don’t owe me anything except honesty. If your heart is...somewhere else, then—then I have to accept that. I always have, and I always will. Okay? So just...whatever it is that you need to figure out, you take as long as you need. And if you feel like you need my forgiveness for something, you have it, just don’t shut me out when you need someone so badly. I want to be here for you.” She looked up at him, and he tried to smile. “You don’t have to be perfect to be loved. Just...let us love you where you are. I know I can’t be the only one who worries about you.”
...I had to go searching through the tag and I was literally about to ask you about the same damn fic I did last time 😂 How about Lukanette Library instead?
WIP Asks
That's why I posted the tag because I knew someone would repeat themselves and be disappointed. 😆
So Lukanette libary was a @goldenlaurelleaveswrites prompt that was submitted when I asked for prompts for my birthday. I didn't finish it in time for that event (obviously) but I did get it started. She asked for a library meet cute and I totally blanked, and when I brought it up to some LBSC folks (because @livrever is a librarian so why wouldn't I ask for ideas), I got a whole bunch of ideas and started writing. The gist of it is that Luka's niece has decided that he needs a girlfriend and decides to play matchmaker with her favorite librarian.
I've been playing with the idea of writing the first meeting and then inviting anybody who wanted to, to continue the saga, because I thought it would be cute for different people to write a bunch of meetings/dates for Uncle Luka and Librarian Marinette...but I have to finish this piece first. I've posted a couple pieces on WIP Wednesday's before so this may look a bit familiar.
“Are you sure?” Rose teased. “I know it’s early for you.”
Luka grinned. “I can handle going to bed at a normal human hour tonight if it makes Angie happy. Tell her I’ll be there.”
“Okay, I’ll tell her you can take her.” There was a familiar, slightly shrill cheer in the background, and Luka chuckled. “What, honey?” Rose said, and Luka waited, with an eyebrow raised. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell him.” There was amusement in Rose’s voice. “She says wear something nice. One of grandpa’s shirts, but no holes.”
Luka burst out laughing. “I’ll do my best.”
***
He did manage to find one of the Jagged Stone t-shirts his father was constantly sending him stuffed in a drawer somewhere. He hung it in the bathroom while he showered and decided the steam had gotten out enough wrinkles to make it acceptable for his picky little niece. It fit him well, at least; Jagged’s t-shirts had gone sharply up in quality over the last few years. Luka’s jeans were pretty much all ripped at the knees but he at least found a pair that wasn’t shredded at the hems. He made sure to shave and gave his hair a little more attention than usual, and then headed for his sisters’ apartment.
“Am I presentable?” he asked, when Angie opened the door for him. Angie stepped back and laid a finger alongside her face in a gesture that was so like Rose Luka had to hold back a laugh. Angie frowned at the holes at his knees, but sighed and nodded.
“You look very nice,” Luka told her as he stepped inside and closed the door. He crouched in front of her. She had dressed to match him, it seemed, in black leggings and a cowl neck blue shirt with scalloped lace at the hem and short sleeves. “What’s the occasion?”
Angie ignored the question, but came into the arms he held out for her, putting her own around his neck. “I don’t want to be late,” she said, even as she hugged him tightly and pressed her cheek against his. “Can we go?”
“Okay,” Luka laughed, giving her one more squeeze before he straightened up.
“Thanks for taking her,” Juleka said, and Luka looked up to see her leaning on the wall of the hallway. “I know it was last minute.”
Luka shrugged. “No big deal. We’ll probably grab lunch after. Text me if you need her home for some reason.”
Juleka waved and blew Angie a kiss, which Angie mirrored, and then Angie tucked her hand in Luka’s and tugged him out of the door.
“You know if you wanted an uncle date you could have just told me,” Luka teased as they walked to the metro. “I would have made time. We don’t have to do the library if—”
“No, you have to come to the library with me,” Angie pouted, pulling on his hand. “I want to go to storytime."
