#lbsc sprint fic

[nerdypanda3126]

Caffeine Cleric

This was written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge.

The "rules" are three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for light editing, which includes new writing to smooth transitions or make it feel complete. Technically on this one I did two sprints and then just wrote the last part without a time limit.

This time around I used this as the prompt.

Read on Ao3

Luka stared at the woman with disheveled midnight hair and circles under her eyes dark enough to match. 

"Um, Miss?" 

She blinked blearily back at him like she wasn't seeing him clearly. Which, if she was as tired as she looked, she probably wasn't. 

"Mmm?" 

"About your order." 

"Mhmm." She slid a twenty across to him and leaned her head against the glass pastry case and settled in like she was going to nap right then and there. 

"Whoa. Okay, hang on." Luka hurried out from behind the counter, thankful she was the only one in line, and scooped an arm underneath hers to hold her up. Her head flopped onto his shoulder and she hummed again and nuzzled him unconsciously. His stomach did a weird, fluttery flip.

He helped her into a booth and she laid her head down on the table and instantly fell asleep. He didn't know what to do. There were rules about this sort of thing, but she did technically order and pay, it was just… 

As he paused awkwardly, not quite sure what to do, he noticed that her eyelashes were as dark as her hair, and long enough to flutter against the table in her sleep. She was pretty. 

He shook himself out of that train of thought and wandered back behind the counter, but he didn't even know what to begin to make her. 

"Fuck me up, caffeine cleric," had been her only instruction. And $20 could purchase a lot towards that goal. 

He glanced back over at her; she had splayed out across the table and started snoring lightly. 

He had a better idea. 

***

Marinette snuggled into something soft with a faint, lingering scent of old coffee and hazelnut syrup as she woke up. 

Wait. Woke up. 

She startled to attention and found herself in a café booth. There was a hoodie on the table that was all bunched up and she'd apparently been using it as a pillow, but she didn't know whose it was. She looked around, embarrassed, to find that the shop had filled up throughout the morning and she was no longer the only one in the store. 

The guy behind the counter with blue hair and tattoos covering his forearms caught her eye as he helped someone else, but even across the room she could tell he was concerned. She blushed and checked her pockets surreptitiously. Everything was still there, including her phone that was completely dead. She groaned as she tossed it aside and looked around for a clock to try to determine how long she'd been asleep. 

"You've been here an hour," a voice said next to her. She jumped and the guy from behind the counter chuckled and slid into the seat across from her as he handed her a drink in a ceramic mug and counted out change onto the table. She kept her eyes on his shiny black nail polish and slender fingers instead of staring at his brightly colored tattoos. 

She furrowed her eyebrows at the drink in front of her, thoroughly confused. It smelled amazing. Like cinnamon and apples and caramel and home. She held it between her hands, enjoying the warmth, before she snuck a glance at his face. 

Cute, was her first thought, but then he turned the full force of those bright blue eyes on her and she quickly revised that to damn cute.  

"It might not 'fuck you up,' but I think that'll help more anyways," he said then, and she retreated into the collar of her sweater as a flush of heat crept up her cheeks. 

"Please tell me I did not say that." 

He chuckled again, and when he smiled there was a dimple in his right cheek. 

"Alright, you didn't say that. And you also definitely did not address me as 'caffeine cleric.'" 

She hid her face in her hands and then buried it in the hoodie on the table for good measure. Now that she was a little more awake, she caught the subtle hint of cologne that still lingered from where it must've been sprayed earlier. 

Like before a shift. 

She dared to lift her head to look, and this totally cute guy was watching her with laughter dancing in his eyes. 

"This is yours, isn’t it?"

***

Cute, Luka thought, as he smiled—kindly, he hoped, instead of dopily—and nodded in response. She pushed the bundled up hoodie back at him and hid in the collar of her pale pink sweater as her cheeks quickly turned the same color.  

He tore his eyes away from her and tried not to think about how his hoodie would probably smell like her hair for the rest of the day. 

"I thought it'd be more comfortable than the table," he said. 

"...Thank you," she finally muttered, muffled by the fabric covering her lips. 

"You're welcome." 

"For the drink, too. I know I wasn't entirely… coherent…" 

"Coherent enough," he said, hiding his chuckle with a cough. She groaned.

"I am. So. Sorry. It's just there's this huge deadline and my boss is—well, I mean Audrey Bourgeois isn't exactly known for her forgiveness—and I screwed up and it took me all night to fix it, and I'm supposed to be back in—" 

She paled as her eyes widened in horror. 

"...What time is it?" she croaked. 

He checked his phone from his apron pocket. "10h." 

She stood up so quick that the table jostled uncertainly before it tipped towards her, taking the drink he'd made with it and spilling it all over her. 

She hissed in a breath of surprise, then looked down at herself and froze. A small whimper escaped her before she sat back down in the puddle, dejected. 

"No point going now," she muttered as she tucked her face into her folded arms and looked ready to either cry or fall back asleep. 

He hesitated, then reached out and touched her arm gently. She peeked out at him from under her bangs. 

Sheepishly, he offered the hoodie that was still balled up in his hands. She blushed bright red, but accepted it, and bundled it up under her head. He didn't even care that it also served to sop up some of the mess still on the table. Better on his hoodie than in her hair. 

"Stay as long as you like," he said, then stood to retreat back behind the cash register.

She caught his wrist as he turned to leave. 

"You'll… keep watch, or something, right?" 

The way she fluttered her eyelashes and bit her bottom lip uncertainly made his heart race and his words stick in his throat. He swallowed thickly. 

"...Yeah… Sure," he finally managed. 

She smiled. God, she smiled at him. He blinked back at her stupidly, then slipped his wrist through her fingers until he was holding her hand in his. It was the briefest of moments, but it felt like time had frozen. 

Her lips parted in surprise. Her blue eyes widened under those pretty dark lashes. Her cheeks were still a deep shade of pink, and getting darker by the second. He watched as her eyes raked over him, as she checked him out, and as she liked what she saw. 

Finally, his fingertips slipped away from hers and the moment was broken. 

"I'm Luka," he choked out. "Or, you know, caffeine cleric, whatever works." 

She hid a giggle behind her hand. "I like Luka." 

As soon as she registered what she said, her eyes widened again in embarrassment. "I mean! I like the name—Luka—not that I like—well, I mean I do like you—I mean!" She slapped her hands over her face and groaned. "Ma-Ma-Marinette. I'm… Marinette." 

The words tumbled out of his mouth, all mixed up with a nervous chuckle.

"I like you, too, Ma-Ma-Marinette."

[verfound]

FIC: Tom is Totally Subtle, He Swears (Not) (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Sprint Fic)

Rating: General Audiences

Characters/Pairings: Tom Dupain, Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Summary: It’s Marinette’s first Valentine’s Day in lycée, and Luka doesn’t seem excited to do anything about it.  Well, Tom Dupain’s not about to stand for that!

Author’s Notes/Warnings: I didn’t join in the Valentine’s exchange this year because I wanted to work on the still unfinished exchange fic from last year, but it felt weird not doing something for Valentine’s.  😂  And then when Quick asked for Valentine’s-themed sprint prompts and Laurel dropped a Tom prompt…I mean, how could I resist?  Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!  🖤

The prompt used was: Tom decides to drop some hints to Luka that Marinette is single and Valentine’s Day is coming up.  And everyone knows that the best way to a man’s brain is through pastries decorated with not-so-subtle hints.

Just a reminder: @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Challenge Guidelines: Three 15-minute sprints to write the fic.  24 hours to edit/post.

“Tom is Totally Subtle, He Swears (Not)”

Tom Dupain had a problem.

Actually, Marinette Dupain(-Cheng) had a problem.

Her problem was that Wednesday was Valentine’s Day.

Her first Valentine’s as a lycéen.

And she was single.

[mintaka14]

WIP Wednesday (ish) (it’s Thursday where I am) 8 June 2023

Living Arrangements is dominating my writing world, in between the round robin sprints for LBSC. So here, have a little bit more of the Lukanette ML AU And They Were Roommates! fic:

               Marinette was so deep in frantically putting together pattern pieces and scribbling design notes that she didn’t even notice that Jagged had been trying to call her until her phone was full of messages and texts, each more extravagantly urgent than the last.

               She’d taken a quick break to grab the lunch that Luka had left on the kitchen counter for her, while she glanced at the blinking message alerts. At her squeak of dismay, Luka looked up.

               “Everything okay, Melody?”

               “Jagged’s been trying to call all day,” she said, panicking a little as she scrolled quickly through the reams of texts, begging her to call the rock star back. “It must be something important, and I’ve just been ignoring him!”

               Marinette didn’t realise that Luka had got to his feet and come to stand beside her until his hand closed over hers, stopping her before she could hit the call button on her phone.

               “You’ve got the showcase to worry about, and I think I know what it is he wants. Let me handle this?” he asked a little grimly, and when she gave him a startled nod, he slid his own phone out of his hoodie pocket, thumbing a frequent contact.

               A woman’s voice answered, and Marinette could see the tight line of his mouth relax into a genuine smile as he said, “Hey, Penny, how’s it going?” He moved away into the living room as he listened to whatever she was saying, but Marinette heard him say, “Penny, he’s calling Marinette now. You know how much she’s got on her plate at the moment.” Then he took the call into his room, and Marinette couldn’t hear the rest of it as the door closed behind him.

               Jagged stopped filling up her messages, though.

[blueberry-macaron]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖💖💖

Thank you Laurel !!!

I don't really have that many fics to pick from so far😅 But here are my top 5:

Symphone for you and me (multi chapter, in progress)

"After another failed audition, Marinette decides to give up her dream of becoming a famous orchestra flutist. But when she meets Luka Couffaine, world's greatest violinist, he rekindles something in her. Maybe it's too early to give up?"

This one is really dear to me. When I started writing this fic last year for secret admirer I was kind of failing uni and had to do an extra semester and all that and I projected much of how I felt onto how Marinette felt with failing her auditions, but then being lifted up by Luka. Chapter 5 is in the works. This one is really hard to write because without spoiling, all the characters go through some stuff and try to deal with their feelings and I just want to get this right. And not to mention the music descriptions which are so hard to write and take forever my god why am I doing this to myself😂

2. I'll sing what's in my heart (one-shot, finished)

"Migration fix-it; Luka gets hit by Gold record and sings about how much he loves Marinette"

This one exists thanks to @airi-p4 and her migration fix-it comic and I though "this is so big brain I have to write this" and here we are 😂 Thinking about doing a sequel for this one but I haven't started yet.

3. Music of the heart (one-shot, finished)

"After Marinette has a horribe school day and feels down, she finds comfort in the mysterious street musician's music"

The second fic I ever wrote. I like rereading that one from time to time

4. When it gets too much (you can rely on me) (one-shot, finished)

"Marinette thinks about giving up her position as Ladybug and has a heart to heart with Luka about it"

a LBSC sprint fic. I did consider building more story around the premise that Marinette gives up the Ladybug but stays guardian, but so far I haven't done anything with the idea.

5. Almost kisses (kissing prompts)

Lukanette pining for each other is so much fun to write😂

[quickspinner]

Weekly Lukanette Link Roundup

What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups

Regarding the LBSC sprint challenge, usually I wait until the end of the challenge and include the summary but since we’re doing it only once a month now, I’m going to start including the challenge fics individually so they don’t have to wait so long.

From @goldenlaurelleaveswrites: The Weight of the Mask Ch 8

From @blueteehood: In the bad days, in the good nights

From @freedom-shamrock: I Regret to Inform You That I Am Resigning My Position Ch 1

From @airi-p4: JATP AU: Everlasting musical connection ch 1

From @mikauzoran: What is the name of the cocktail that mixes vodka and lightning bolts? – Lightning in a Bottle

From @verfound: I Wanna See Your Smiling Face 45 Years from Now…

If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundup for more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.

If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!

[miraculousfanworks]

Practice Makes Perfect

practice makes perfect by LadyCat1

“Well then, why don't we practice?”

Marinette stilled, and she was positive, that if she had been eating something, she would have most definitely choked.

“...What?”

Words: 693, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir (mentioned), Alya Césaire (mentioned)

Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Additional Tags: Practice Kissing, marinette is nervous, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Minor Alya salt, i love her but she annoys me, lovebugs-and-snakecharmers' LBSC Sprint Fic Challenges, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Fluff, luka is sneaky, much needed fic after the angst

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40584126

[airi-p4]

Love in the sky

I wrote this for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers LBSC Sprint challenge - Meet cute week event and, once again, I got carried away and broke all the rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Prompt: Sitting next to each other on the plane.

Summary: Marinette is going to NY on an international flight for the first time. What she doesn’t know is that the one seated next to her is the popular new band Kitty Section’s guitarist: Luka Couffaine.

Thank you @livrever for checking it for me 💙

AO3

______________________________________

Marinette rushed through the aisle of the plane. She couldn’t believe she almost missed it! her first international trip to the US! Stupid alarm! Of course she was tired. She was so nervous she couldn’t sleep all night… until 5AM… and the plane departed at 10AM… and obviously she had to oversleep. *sigh*

Running, tripping and spinning on her feet, she finally searched for her seat. 38B - aisle seat. Her pink polka dotted suitcase was heavy, but thanks to the cabin attendant she could finally put it inside the overhead bin, while her backpack rested under the seat in front of her. All set, she let her weight fall on the seat at last and let out a deep breath as she fastened her seatbelt.

The doors of the plane closed, and the PA message started: Welcome on board… Security instructions… Marinette wasn’t listening. Her legs were uncontrollably shaking, and her fingers were fidgeting with the laces of her hoodie.

Those nerves and stress couldn’t be healthy.

She examined her surroundings, and, next to her, someone was sleeping. Someone, who appeared to be a young man, with a sleeping eye mask and a face mask on, messy blue hair showing under a knit hat and a blanket covering his body. Overall, it didn't give much more information about her plane's seat neighbor. Not wanting to wake him up, she focused on the rest of the passengers instead. Why were all of them so quiet when she felt her heart could burst out of her chest anytime?

The plane started its runaway and Marinette closed her eyes tightly when it raised from the lane. Once in the air, she started breathing again, but her heart was still beating fast.

"First time on a plane?" a masculine voice beside her asked.

She turned to her side, and looked at the person seated next to her. His eye mask was over his head now, and she could see his blue eyes clearly, while his blue bangs partly covered his eyebrows.

“Y- yes!” she squeaked.

“You’re making me nervous too. Calm down, it’s going to be ok” he assured.

“I- I know!" She said, but her body wasn’t obeying. “I’m sorry...”

The young man sighed. “Look, I’ve been on a plane many times. It’s safe. Why don’t you try to sleep? It’s going to be a long flight.”

“I- I can’t! I’m too nervous! I’ve never traveled alone before, plus my career depends on this trip! I can’t stay calm!”

“Why don’t you try listening to some music, then? It always helps me relax” the young man offered her a sympathetic look.

“Music…?” she blinked. ‘It could work’.

She plugged the earphones and put them in her ears. Then, she scrolled through the music programs on the touch screen in front of her. Classical music? For some reason, it only made it worse. Country music? Not her style. XY? Hell, no. Her eyes stopped at the name of a fairly new band: “Kitty Section”. She played the video called: “Kitty Section's Paris Live Concert”.

“Good choice” the man next to her said when the title started showing on the screen.

Marinette had heard about the band called Kitty Section. They had featured in most of her favorite magazines after they won Eurovision several months ago, but she wasn't familiar with their music. In less than a minute, she was hooked and forgot completely about her surroundings or her nerves.

“Wow!” she mumbled, mesmerized, and the man next to her let out a snicker.

The music was amazing- the rock vibes, their stage presence, the vocalists’ cuteness and high ranged voice, the accurate and insane drums, the gorgeous purple haired bassist… all of them sounded incredible. But the guitarist… the blue haired guitarist was extraordinary- unbelievably good. Not only talented, but also powerful, charismatic and incredibly handsome.

“They’re good, huh?” The man beside her commented and she nodded. She could tell he was smiling under his face mask. She nodded in agreement.

“I had never heard them properly before but damn- they are incredible” Marinette answered, and he laughed. Her fingers tapped rhythmically, following the beat of the song.  “But…" she continued, observing. "I think they could do better. There’s a margin of improvement,” she said with judging eyes.

“Oh, really? How?” The blue-eyed man asked, curious, resting his elbow on the arm rest to get a closer look.

“The costumes,” Marinette pointed out. Then, she reached her backpack under her feet and took out a sketchbook and a pen and started drawing. “The outfits could be improved if they added this, and this” she signaled. “And this-” She kept scribbling while the blue-haired man observed and listened to her suggestions. “And ta-da! Wouldn’t they look even better if they were like this?” She proudly showed him her designs, only to realize she was being embarrassing towards a stranger. “Ah, sorry- I got carried away…” She apologized. But the man took the sketchbook in his hands.

“Let me see,” he said, and she saw how his eyes examined every detail of her drawings. She gulped nervously. It felt like her skills were being tested. But the man took his face mask off and smiled. “Wow, that’s impressive. Fresh, charismatic, unique- and perfectly according to the band's style. I love them" he returned her the sketchbook. "You’re very talented. Are you famous? Do you take commissions?” He asked, and she looked at him speechless.

“I- I’m still a no-one… Is it really impressive?” She looked at him and blushed at the compliment.

“Yes, I think so. What would you do with this outfit?” He asked, showing him a photo of the same band on his smartphone. Her inspiration overflowed as she kept drawing and explaining her ideas. They kept discussing costumes and visual aspects of the band and chatted comfortably for a long time.

"I think Rose should go with something more… daring, bolder. She looks innocent but she's fierce inside. Of course, cuteness is her main trait, so I think she should combine both" she explained, coloring her design with colored pencils. "I think something like this would be perfect for her" she showed him her sketchbook and he was impressed. “As for Juleka-” She continued, turning to a blank page. “She’s so beautiful. I wish she didn’t cover her face so much, even if the mystery look is really attractive too…" She stopped drawing for a moment to admire the bassist on the screen. "Gosh- She's so gorgeous! I wish I was that beautiful” she commented.

“I think you’re even more beautiful than her, you know?” The blue-haired man casually said, and she shyly blushed with a 'no way' frantic arms movements. “What about the guitarist?” he asked, raising an eyebrow with a smug smile.

“Luka Couffaine? OH LORD SHOW MERCY- Have you seen him? And his eyeliner? It should be ILLEGAL to be this HOT” She said, convinced.

“Hmmm… So you like him, huh?” He teased, his smile widening.

“Who doesn’t, really?” She shrugged. “He’s literally the SEXIEST man alive. His eye contact with the camera could kill! Oh, and whenever he gets shirtless on stage or photoshoots? GOD- I almost get a nosebleed EVERY FREAKING TIME! He's TOO DAMN HOT" She fanned herself at the image. "Don’t you agree?" She asked and he blinked twice. "You like him too, right? You have so many photos of them in your phone! I bet he’s making you question your sexuality too, like he does with all my friends! How could anyone resist those blue eyes and his manly features, his soft looking blue hair and- his tattoos..." She looked away from her seat neighbor's blue piercing eyes, and focused at the smartphone screen again, to a close-up photo of Kitty Section’s guitarist. "How did you get these close-up casual photos...?” she asked, and then she noticed the tattoo on his neck. She looked back and forth at the man seated next to her and the one in the picture. ‘It couldn't be, right…?’ And at that moment, when he had a knowing smile on his face- one she knew too well-, she realized who he was seated next to on the plane. Her eyes opened as big as plates and she overheated. He was smirking amusingly at her reaction. “You- You- You are-? Lu-Lu-Luk- It can’t be…”

He nodded to confirm her suspicions and her jaw fell to the floor. “Hi. I think I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Luka. But I think you already know that. It’s nice to meet you.” He chuckled, straightening his hand for a handshake.

“Oh God, kill me now...” She mumbled, sinking on the table. Luka snickered.

“What’s your name?”

“Ma-Ma-Marinette… I mean- Marinette!” She felt his eyes on her and panicked. “Excuse me- I- I need a moment... This- This is too much- Oh My God...” She stood up and rushed to the end of the plane, not without tripping twice on her way there.

________________________

While Marinette was gone, the two ladies in front of Luka and Marinette’s seats turned to Luka. “Having fun?” They smirked, knowingly. He was chuckling, having real trouble to keep his laugh from escaping.

“Oh, God, Yes. This is so much fun." He wiped the tears that were forming on his eyes. "I think I’ve found our potential new costume designer” he continued laughing under his nose.

“Only that? I think there’s more...” Juleka smirked, and Rose giggled in agreement by her side. He couldn't deny it: his sister was totally right.

Behind Luka's seat, Kitty Section's drummer, Ivan and his girlfriend Mylene had been enjoying the show the blue-eyed pair had been giving. It was definitely more entertaining than any movie. It would have been perfect if they had popcorn to accompany their fortunate first row seats to the hilarious show. They also approved Marinette's designs.

Luka took the chance Marinette wasn't there to freely stand up, go talk to their managers and stretch his legs for a bit.

_________________________

Back at the end of the plane, Marinette drank some juice and moved to the bathroom. She was panicking in front of the mirror, talking to herself.

“OH. MY. GOD. I’m seated next to Luka Couffaine! For at least… 5 hours more!? And I just called him hot! And- And- he said I’m beautiful and talented! And- Oh my God, he asked me for commissions, right? This can’t be real- I-" her feet wiggled uncontrollably and she let out a long squeak. "Ahh… Calm down, Marinette! He’s human- A sexy human, but still human! He’s famous but very friendly, kind and nice. And fun! It’s going to be alright. Just- Avoid his eyes. That’s it. It’s dangerous. Don’t fall in love. You’re not a teenager anymore, you’re over that stage, right? Only a few hours more. You can do it. I CAN DO IT!” She convinced herself with a confident nod and returned to her seat, only to find Luka was gone.

She looked for him from her seat, at her surroundings, but he was nowhere to be found. She sighed in both relief and sadness as she seated.

For some reason, she was missing him. Which was stupid, considering they had just met! But his company was certainly enjoyable... And, moreover, it was FUN. More than she ever remembered having. And not only because she was passionate about fashion or music. It had to do with his aura, his personality, his gentle manners- just... Luka.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back in a moment” A voice said from in front of her. “My brother is stupid, but he’s a decent person. Treat him well” The purple haired lady winked, beside a petit blond lady.

“Jul-!” She covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from yelling her name. “And Rose-!?” 'Oh, no! They might have heard what I said too!' She panicked again and the ladies giggled amused.

“Ignore my sister and her girlfriend” Luka returned, and her face flustered when she noticed how tall and well built he was (not that she didn't know that, but it hit differently in first person). “Can I get back to my seat?” He politely asked, pointing at the window seat.

“Ah-! Yes! Of course!” She stood up so suddenly she tripped and fell on Luka’s chest. She immediately moved away in embarrassment, falling back instead, and Luka had to hold her again to avoid her imminent fall. “I’m sorry!”

“Are you ok?” He asked in concern, and she shyly nodded. Luka reluctantly let go of her and returned to his seat and Marinette settled back to hers.

Wait- Was that a blush on his face?

“Here” Luka offered her an envelope. “I don’t know what your plans in NY are but, here’s a VIP pass to our concert next Sunday. There’s also our contact card inside. I want you to consider the idea of working for us. Your costumes are impressive. We discussed it, and we want you in our team” Marinette had no words- totally speechless. Could she be this lucky? “What do you say?” Luka asked with a hopeful tender smile that made her weak.

“I- I’ll think about it. And- Oh God- I’ll totally be there for your concert” She blushed and Luka smiled kindly at her. Suddenly, she started searching inside her backpack, and took out a business card she offered him. “This is my contact. I- I have a fashion event next Monday. I would love you to come, if you can make it. Send me an email and I’ll get you some passes”

“Wow! That's impressive. I'll try to make it. Thank you, Marinette”

Marinette could hear her heart beating faster. No looking in his eyes, dammit. They kept talking for a while, enjoying their time together until they fell asleep out of exhaustion, Marinette’s head resting on Luka’s shoulder. He woke up earlier than her, but didn’t have the heart to wake her up until lunchtime. She looked like she really needed that rest.

When he left half of his lunch untouched, Marinette scolded him. “You have to eat! You’re too thin! Those abs and arms need consistency! Proteins!” She pointed at a photo of him shirtless and flustered again in embarrassment in realization. “Ah-”

Gosh- it really was fun, Luka thought, chucking. It was hard not to laugh out loud. Everything flowed so naturally it was unbelievable.

Damn. He didn’t want the plane to ever land.

“Marinette” he called, during their coffee time, and she looked back at him, redness still on her cheeks. “The plane will land soon but- Even if you don’t accept our offer… Is it possible for us to meet again? Out of business? Like this?”

Marinette flustered at his implications. “Do- Do you mean-?”

“A date. Would you go on a date with me, Marinette? Or just as friends, if you prefer. I like you, and I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun with anyone else” He took Marinette’s pen and one of his ‘Kitty Section’ contact cards and wrote something behind it. “These are my personal telephone number and email. We'll be in NY until Friday next week. It would make me very happy if you contact me, whenever you prefer, anytime” He said, securing the card in her hands.

Marinette blushed, looked at the card with glowing eyes, and then at his honest loving stare. Was it even possible that the man everyone was gushing about was asking her out? But this had nothing to do with his stage persona. Luka was someone she more than enjoyed spending time with. Naturally, quietly, assuring… She had no doubts about her answer.  

“I want to meet you again, too” she stated, and wrote her personal number under his wristband. “I’m free on Wednesday” she shyly smiled, and his smile widened.

“Wednesday is it, then. I'll manage to find the time. Just for you." He smiled happily and only then she realized how deep she had fallen.

Ah- she hadn't wanted to fall in love. What a way to fail her own determination… But she couldn't complain, not at all.

And he felt the same way.

Luka and Marinette's hands locked together, and they lost themselves in each other’s eyes, smiling at each other.

“Why don’t you kiss her already, dumbass?” Juleka called, and Marinette blushed. “He won’t kiss you if you don’t give him proper permission, you know? He’s very considerate despite his looks. Tell him already”

“Jules… Why don’t you mind your business and make out with Rose instead?” He shushed his sister and Rose giggled, embracing Juleka. Luka returned his attention to Marinette. “Sorry about that”

“It’s ok… I-” She started, looking at his thin lips. “Will you kiss me if I want to? Because I think I do...”

“You do?” he asked, and she shyly nodded and he smiled softly, making her heart flutter.

She closed her eyes and he leaned closer to give her a sweet kiss on her cheek. She pouted a little, in disappointment, but he told her that, if she really wanted to kiss him, that would be the perfect excuse to meet him again and make it more special, like a beautiful lady like her deserved. Marinette understood his reasoning and agreed with it, despite the slight disappointment she felt she would have to wait a few days to get the chance to kiss him. Nevertheless, both of them happily smiled while their fingers remained interlaced, chatting and enjoying their time together the rest of the flight, until the plane landed and they had to unavoidably say their farewells.

“Thank you for everything, Luka. I forgot how scared I was of planes thanks to you and- I’ll see you soon?”

“I really hope so. I still owe you something, right?" He winked and she blushed happily. Luka gave her a final discreet and quick kiss on her knuckles. "Gosh- I miss you already...” He added, and Marinette felt the urge to cry. She dropped her bag to hold him in a needed embrace. He gladly reciprocated her gesture. Despite neither wanting to separate, they forced themselves to. "I hope I see you soon, Marinette"

"Me too, Luka…" she wiped her tears and waved, as the band started walking away.

When the arrivals doors opened and all the camera flashes blinded her, she understood why Kitty Section members always wore sunglasses in airports. They were more popular than she could have expected. She understood why he had refused to kiss her outside of the plane, but he still saluted her before disappearing in the multitude of fans and paparazzis.

On the other side, Sabrina, Audrey Bourgeois’ assistant, waited for her. She had almost forgotten about her own business. But now, she found the motivation she had lacked. If she was willing to be with Luka, she had to become the best. She wanted to make a name of herself, more than ever. And her meeting with Luka certainly boosted her confidence.

Unexpectedly, her trip to NY had already become one of her most memorable experiences yet. And it had just started! She couldn't wait to spend the rest of the week in the city.

[ladycat1]

For @nerdypanda3126, hope you like it! This was written for the @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Secret Santa Event :) Summary:  It’s time for the holidays, and the Couffaines are more than ready to celebrate!

[chrwrites]

Lavender Tones

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers Sprint Fic Challenge Prompt:"Pink and blue make purple”

read on ao3

Pink is the colour of my first love. Pink is the colour of the lips I haven’t tasted. Pink is the colour of her cheeks when I compliment her. Pink is her kindness. Pink is her creativity. Marinette is smart and strong, beautiful and pink. She’s pink, like the most beautiful flower and the most mesmerising sunrise. Pink is the way she stands up for herself and for the people she loves. Pink is the way she taps a pencil on her sketchbook a beat too quick when I play for her. Thinking about it, she is different shades of pink.  She’s bubble-gum pink when she’s happy, thulian pink when she’s sad, raspberry pink when she’s embarrassed, deep pink when she’s angry, coral pink when she’s determined to get something, shocking pink when she’s so focused on what she’s creating that she forgets about her surroundings. She’s amaranth pink when she avoids what bothers her and doesn’t want to burden people with her problems. She’s light pink when she’s serene. That’s my favourite pink on her, and that’s when she’s herself. I see light pink on her only when she’s with me. I'm lucky to see it, it means that she trusts me and that she feels safe with me and that’s what I want for her. Pink is the way she scrunches her nose. Pink is the amused smile on her face now that she’s looking at me. Pink is the colour dripping from the brush she is holding in her hand. There’s pink on my cheek now as well.

I am natural blue. On most days, I am sky blue. I am sky blue when I meditate, I am sky blue when I play my guitar. I am sky blue when I write songs. I am sky blue when I listen to someone’s heart. I am sky blue when I paint my nails. I am cyan when I see the people I love happy. I am electric blue when I play my songs on stage, looking for my favourite shade of pink in the crowd. But there are days where I am indigo, and I am gloomy and I wish for the world to disappear. I am indigo when I’m at my most vulnerable. I am indigo when I let myself fall and I make sure that no one can hear me. But I turn aquamarine when I pick myself up and start again, I go back to sky blue as I take deep breaths when I meditate. I am teal blue when I let her in. I am * when I look at her. I am * when I hold her. I am * when I play her heart’s song. And I go midnight blue when I watch her walk away. I wonder how someone like me can expect to have someone like her by his side. I was indigo when I realized that I could never have her and I had to accept that I can only admire her from afar.

Pink and blue make purple. And purple is dark and cold, and it’s the colour mom had when dad left us. Purple was my sister’s uneasiness before she won it over, purple is a colour I’ve learned to love when I noticed how good it looked on her. But at the same time, I don’t want for Marinette and I to be purple. It would be cold and decadent, not warm and soft like love is meant to be. I wish I were yellow, pink and yellow make peach, and that colour is warm and sweet like summer. It’s carefree, light and joyful, that’s how I’d imagine a relationship with her to be. She must have found her yellow already, and I shouldn’t let my hand dip into the paint bucket and stain her face with my colour. Now she’s blue, and the blackness of her hair highlights the electric colour that got tangled in some strands. I wish she was mine, but I would never let my blue take away her pink. “You’re so gonna pay for this!” she protests, taking some pink form her own bucket and smearing it on my face again. My lips can taste pink now, but it’s metallic and salty, and I don’t think the taste of the paint matches her colour, her pink would be sweet, like strawberries. I laugh as she gets closer, her brush is still in her hands, and for a second I don’t understand what she is doing. She’s right in front of me, and all I can see around me is pink, pink and nothing else. She is looking at me in the eyes, had they always been this shade of blue? They’re like sapphires, it’s the most beautiful view I’ve seen. I try to smile at her, but my body can’t seem to move. The blue paint in my hand is starting to dry, we should be painting the murales with our friends, what is she doing?

She is * when she stretches on her tiptoes to get closer to my face.  “You know, pink and blue make purple…” she whispers right before she presses her lips on mine. This can’t be real, if this is a dream don’t wake me up. It’s fine, I can taste purple if that’s what she wants, I want to savour it, even if it’s not my favourite colour, I want to savour her. I respond to her kiss pulling her close and putting her face in my hands. Her cheeks are warm, but I wonder how they would feel like if they weren’t full of paint. The taste of the paint is fading as I feel her tongue slide into my mouth, she really tastes as sweet as strawberries, maybe it’s the lilpgloss she always wears. Everything is so perfect. And pink. And blue. I feel her smile on my lips, her hands are tangled in my hair, and I smile, too. This is too good to be true, my heart is light and ready to welcome her in full. But as soon as I feel this, she pulls back. She is still smiling, and her lips are a peculiar shade of purple. It’s warm and delicate, it’s not the colour I’m used to see. She is purple now, and I am too. I bring my hand to my lips, still feeling dizzy from that gentle kiss. I can’t hear what the people around us are saying. I can only see her. And she’s purple, maybe purple can be warm after all. She’s the one who breaks me from my trance state, “It’s more of a lilac, don’t you think?”, she is still smiling, what a vision.

“It suits you” leaves my lips before I pull her close for another kiss. Oh, I hope I can kiss her many more times after this.

[nerdypanda3126]

@quickspinner tagged me for this game! 

Rules: Pick any 10 of your fics, scroll somewhere to the midpoint, pick a line (or a few), and share it! Then tag people!

Aaaaand I don’t know if you’ve been tagged yet but how about @chrwrites @livrever and @freedom-shamrock (no pressure at all 💖)

I posted these in no certain order, just as I thought of them, and they’re all lukanette endgame! 😊 (snippets under the cut) 

Heart i’s | Rated T | 1,775 words | Oneshot 

Marinette set her cup down with a little snap on the table. “Okay, fine, you’re right, I like him, okay? The reason we come here for our coffee dates is so I can see him, and I come here specifically when I know he’s working, and sometimes I sit here for hours pretending to sketch, but I’m really waiting until he has a second to come sit with me, and sometimes we end up talking a lot, and sometimes I think about kissing him, and sometimes I wish I had the guts to tell him, ‘hey, I have a major crush on you, would you want to go out sometime when you’re not working?’ but I don’t, and he doesn’t like me like that, so I’m not going to say anything so I can keep coming here and dreaming about him in peace and why are you still laughing?”

Alya pointed behind her and Marinette spun in her chair only to come face to face with Luka. He was frozen in shock, it seemed, a pace or two behind her, holding another cup.

“I… you… heard all that, huh?” Marinette asked, biting her lip. He nodded as a cute pink tinge started to creep over the tops of his cheeks.

A Pink Ribbon and a Leather Cuff  | Rated G | 2,899 words | LBSC Sprint Fics series

“My friend, Alya, she wanted me to… well, you see, I haven’t figured out my mark and it—well, it’s stupid, really, but Alya said that you might, well—not that you might, but that you mentioned you could…” [Marinette] trailed off and tugged at the knot.

[Luka] nodded as if he understood. “Alya, yeah. I remember her. And Nino. She said she might be sending someone my way. Wait right there.” He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the counter and gave her a kind smile before he turned and walked back to the back. She heard him rifling through something and he returned relatively quickly with a few small tubes in his hands.

“Now, before I do any coverups, especially for marks, I always recommend…” He eyed her forearm then switched through a couple, setting them down beside him as he seemed to rule them out. He settled on one and offered it to her. “I always recommend covering it up with this for a while first. Less permanent, and if you decide you want it after all, then no harm done.”

With trembling fingers, she took the tube of foundation he was offering her. 

Little Blue | Rated T | 47,144 words | Multichapter

As soon as Marinette closed the car door after herself, she had a sudden realization.

“Oh my God, Alya... I just kissed [Luka].”

Alya grinned as she looked Marinette up and down. “Just kissed him, huh? So what’s with the outfit?”

Marinette looked down at herself. While she was rushing out the door, she had entirely forgotten she was wearing Luka’s clothes. She groaned and held up her crumpled dress. Neither option was a great look for her first day. “This is a total disaster! What am I supposed to do?”

Alya backed out of her spot and started driving towards Gabriel. “What you do is you throw those heels on and you rock it. It’s fashion, right?”

“I guess....”

“You’re the designer, you make the trends now. You never know, the ‘day after’ look might be the next big thing.” Alya flashed a smirk over at Marinette as she executed a turn.

“Day after…?” She looked down again. “Oh. My. God. Alya, I didn’t—I mean, we didn’t—I mean—nothing happened!”

Playing with Fire | Rated T | 28,293 words (and counting) | Multichapter

[Marinette’s] hands stilled on [Luka’s] shoulders. He was close, so close. And standing there in front of her and looking at her like that. Her breath caught before she could help it. His long fingers reached up to touch her stone. Glowing like a hot red ember, matching his. Her fingers curled into the fabric at his shoulders and she bit her lip nervously.

Hesitantly, he reached up and pulled her lip out from between her teeth, pausing after he did to swipe his thumb across it gently. His tongue darted out between his lips and he sucked in a breath before he leaned down.

She didn’t know what she expected, but her fluttering heart sank to her stomach when he hesitated and changed trajectory, his lips landing on her forehead instead of…

He pulled away, smiling sadly, and paused again to look at her. “Come on,” he said softly, “we’d better head out while we have the light.”

And with that, he took a step back and turned to lead the way down the stairs, leaving her feeling oddly bereft.

Pouring Alcohol on an Old Flame | Rated T | 3,682 words | Oneshot 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" [Luka] asked, and with a start [Marinette] realized it was her turn to answer.

She was definitely blushing as she took her third shot of the evening, trying and failing to hide her embarrassed smile behind her glass. She was starting to feel pleasantly warm and heavy, but her shoulders had relaxed for the first time in what felt like ages. Even though things had started out rocky that evening, Luka had always been easy to talk to, alcohol or not, and the alcohol was definitely enhancing that effect.

He reached over again to take her glass and his fingers barely brushed against hers, making her heartbeat start to pound uncomfortably in her throat.

"Your turn," he reminded her as he set her full glass back down. She eyed the glass in front of him. Was it his second or his third? Either way he was falling behind. She bit her lip and tried to think of a question that would make him drink again. That stunned look he'd given her when he first saw her came back to her. How quickly he'd replaced it with that smirk.

"What were you thinking about when you saw me tonight?"

A Game of Snake and Mouse | Rated T | 9,188 words | Multichapter | LBSC Sprint Fics series

“I really like kissing you, too,” [Marinette] said, which made [Luka’s] heart leap into his throat. “And I…” She bit her lip again as she met his eyes. “I don't care who knows it. If that’s okay with you, too.”

His head was swimming and his heart was soaring and somewhere in the middle of all that his mouth managed to say “Yes,” so emphatically that she squeaked again before tumbling down into his lap to pull his face back to hers.

As he pressed kiss after kiss into those lips he’d only dreamt about for so long, his dopey grin came back before he could stop it. He tangled his fingers in her hair and deepened the kiss, only vaguely registering that her hands were smoothing along his chest and shoulders before she slid them up to clasp around his neck, holding him to her.

He didn’t care if he passed out from lack of oxygen, he wasn’t going to relinquish her lips first.

Humming | Rated G | 3,089 words | Oneshot | Moments series

“Y-you’re tired. I can take care of this.”

“Marinette, I’m fi—”

“No, you're not.” She fell to sit next to [Luka] and he turned to face her, crossing his ankle under his knee as he did and simultaneously putting a respectful space between them. He draped his arm across the back of the couch, though, so his fingers were a stretch away from brushing against her shoulder. Marinette bit her lip and glanced down at her hands in her lap. “I-I can… tell," she continued. "You worry so much about everyone else, and make sure they're taken care of. But you're wearing yourself too thin, taking everything on your shoulders like this. You need to take a break sometimes, too."

He hummed and turned his face to the window. She snuck a glance at him; he had his eyes closed as he raised his face to the sunlight that was filtering into the room. His tension left him as he took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out through his mouth. His shoulders relaxed; that small, unconscious smile came back; and he hummed again, in pleasure this time instead of in thought. When he opened his eyes again, he turned them on her, and his smile grew when he noticed she had been watching him.

Anywhere with You | Rated G | 1,717 words | Oneshot | The Luck of the Draw series

"I like your dress," [Luka] said easily, as if his heart wasn't starting to race under [Marinette’s] ear. "Is it one of yours?"

She shook her head, nuzzling him in the process. "I ran out of time. Bit off more than I could chew, as usual."

"I hope you still finish it. I'm sure it's great."

She shrugged. "Maybe. Seems silly to finish it now."

"There'll be other dances." He shifted against her and she pulled away to look up at him. His cheeks were pink, even though he was keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

"Yeah, and I bet I won't be asked to those either."

"You'll be asked." The corners of his lips were starting to pull up into a smile. "Trust me."

So... That Just Happened | Rated G | 915 words | Oneshot | LBSC Sprint Fics series

[Ladybug] grabbed the lapels of [Luka’s] jacket and tugged him down. He stumbled a bit before he realized that she’d pulled him down so fiercely to smash her lips against his.

He made a rather undignified noise and his eyes widened as his brain slowly processed what was happening. He knew his neck was probably bright red, judging by the heat coming off his ears, but Ladybug didn’t let go. Her ferocity softened and she moved to wrap her arms around his neck instead, pulling him closer.  

His hands fell to her waist and tightened reflexively. If this was what Ladybug—what Marinette—wanted, he had no intention of making her stop. Instead he leaned into her, claiming her for himself, smiling only a little at the frantic clicking around them. If he happened to be angling his head so they couldn’t get a good shot of either of their faces, it was purely coincidental.

An Interesting Little Relationship | Rated G | 2,686 words | Oneshot | LBSC Sprint Fics series 

The way [Luka] trailed off made Marinette picture him turning that focused gaze of his on his guitar as his jaw tensed, the way he sometimes did when his words failed him. It always made her think he wished he could let the guitar speak for him.

“I mean, she can never have a family with me, we can’t share our lives together,” he continued bitterly after a moment. “Hell, she can’t even tell anyone I exist because they’ll think she’s insane. Or what if I somehow manage to cross over and she’s left to try to figure out how to move on? It’s just…” For once Marinette actually heard him sit heavily on the couch, the leather whooshing out from under him and the supports creaking under the weight of his emotion. “I don’t see the point in telling her.”

There was a long pause and Marinette was starting to wonder if Juleka was even still in the room with him, but then she heard a sharp smack and Luka’s annoyed protest.

“The point,” Juleka shot back with more force in her voice than Marinette was used to hearing, “is that I’m sick of watching you moping around like this. And besides, don’t you think Marinette deserves to know?”

[verfound]

FIC: "How Do I Look?" (MLB; Lukanette; Sprint Fic)

Rating: Teen & Up

Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Summary: Alya’s making Marinette go out, and Marinette really doesn’t want to.  Luka’s not sure he wants her to, either.

Author’s Notes/Warnings: The week before Thanksgiving is always a little nutty at work, and I did some sprinting to unwind.  From November 2023’s Sprint Challenge Prompts over at @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers, using the social media prompt that said: “The single most important thing a man can do to be an ally is give his woman friends permission to give dudes at the bar his number so when they call he can angrily say that’s not funny because she died 15 years ago that very night.”

Just a reminder: LBSC Sprint Challenge Guidelines: Three 15-minute sprints to write the fic.  24 hours to edit/post.

“How Do I Look?”

“I really don’t want to go out tonight.”

Luka looked up from his Cheerios at Marinette’s voice, his spoon still in his mouth.  His eyes widened when he saw the red dress she was wearing, and he almost swallowed the spoon when she sat on the edge of the table and gave him a pouting look.  Between the smoky eye she had painted on and the deep red lipstick that drew his focus to those kissable lips…yep.  He was swallowing his spoon.  And tongue.  And…

“You…you’re going out tonight?” he asked after a moment, when he finally felt like he had regained some sense of composure.  Barely.

“Unfortunately,” she sighed, bending to slip on a strappy pair of heels that just…weren’t fair.  She glanced back at him, a smirk on her lips like she knew exactly what she was doing to him.  “I’d much rather stay home in my comfy jammies, with my favorite emotional support musician and a tub of ice cream.  Binge watching bad movies.”

He…liked the sound of that, actually.

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Sprint Challenge February 2024

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists!

We did things a little differently this month and asked our discord members for Valentine's related prompts, so you get a few extra prompts this month! If you're not feeling the Valentine's vibe, the Wildcard option is always available.

The prompts are:

1. Flower Delivery boy Luka getting an address wrong. Which means the girl who answered the door might just be available. 2. Tom decides to drop some hints to Luka that Marinette is single and Valentine’s Day is coming up. And everyone knows that the best way to a man’s brain is through pastries decorated with not so subtle hints. 3. Florist!Mari- the heat in her shop has gone out, and it's Soo cold. Luka makes a delivery of something that has to be refrigerated. 4. Sabine, seeing Luka and Mari dancing around each other (and maybe seeing Tom fail to get the two together) decides to take matters into her own hands and what better excuse to have Luka around than needing an extra pair of hands at the bakery with the valentines rush coming up? 5. The people of Paris are shocked to discover Ladybug doesn’t like Valentine’s Day. People have plenty of theories, but Luka’s pretty sure he knows the reason why. 6. There's ALWAYS an akuma on Valentine's Day. 7. Conversation Hearts 8. Marinette makes an apron with a conversation heart pattern. Luka takes the 'kiss me' heart very seriously. 9. After all the roses from Chat Noir, Marinette's a little...indifferent to the traditional Valentine's flower. Luka has to get inventive. 10. Kwamis give dating advice with… mixed results 11. Marinette loves soulmate stories and believes in true love. Lately, she's feeling down and starts to give up on the whole idea. Luka tries to put together or act out a Soulmate story/AU in real life to help her feel better/special. 12. Luka trying to work up the nerve to smooch Marinette. Attempts to ask by giving her the "KISS ME" conversation heart. Marinette, distracted by something else: "Ewwwwwww." 13. Luka and Marinette are both doing valentines deliveries and get trapped/stuck in an elevator together 14. Wildcard - pick any previous challenge prompt, or play LBSC Smooch Roulette to generate a prompt!

You have until Wednesday, February 28 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete, and whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’).

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut.

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you.  After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you.  Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings.  (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

[fan-written]

They're So Tiny!

For @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers sprint challenge this week

---

6/17/2021 Prompt, “I need a favor.” “I’ll do whatever you need.” “I need you to marry me.”

---

“Hello-”

“Luka? Luka, are you there?”

Her voice was panicked, but Luka smiled as he tried to interrupt her rambling words. Finally she took a breath and he could speak. “Yes Marinette, I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“I need a favor. Like a huge one. So big and I just know you’re going to say no, but I honestly can’t think of any other way I’ll be able to do it.” She took another gasping breath and Luka once again used the chance to talk.

“You know I’ll do anything for you, Melody.” Luka settled against the wall behind his bed, phone to his ear and guitar forgotten across his lap. Old habits die hard when you lived your life on a houseboat. “Now take a breath and tell me what’s going on.”

Marinette listened, taking more than one slow breath to calm down. Luka could hear her rustling, or maybe tearing, paper through the phone. “Okay, so it’s a little crazy, but I need you to marry me.”

He choked. Luka knew he was choking but he couldn’t even reassure Marinette that he was okay when all he heard was the blood rushing through his ears.

“-crazy. But there were two of them and they were so sad. And it was obvious that they weren’t being fed right. Like I can feel their ribs, Luka! Who lets such small beings go hungry?”

Luka tried to figure out what she was talking about, but she must have told him in between his brain short circuiting and the forceful reboot his lungs initiated, reminding him he needed to breathe. And she, the love of his life, his very best friend, and his very much NOT girlfriend, was still talking.

“So I brought them home. I’ve filled out all the paperwork for them, and they are going to be living with me now. But Luka! I can barely get myself to work on time, let alone take care of two more! So I knew I needed help. And I thought maybe I could share custody with Adrien. But he’s spent soooooo much time around Plagg that I’m not sure I can trust him to not get too playful with them. Plus I see him often enough as it is. Alya is home even less than I am. Also I’d never want to co-parent with her. I love her, but she only knows how to care for zoo animals. My babies are not zoo animals!”

Luka couldn’t help but chuckle. He was starting to get a little worried that Marinette had adopted two childr- No, she wasn’t that reckless.

“So anyway, I have so many friends, but the only one I want in my life that much is you, Luka. But, like you don’t live with me so how would you help me raise my babies? And probably take care of me, because I’ve only had them for a few hours and I’m already a mess. But my apartment doesn’t allow coed roommates, which means you’d have to marry me. They’re so little but I can’t do it on my own. So yeah. Luka Couffaine, will you marry me?”

It was silent. Luka knew he should answer, but that was a lot to unpack. Marinette seemingly adopted two kids. That was a mess he should probably figure out first. Except his mind kept getting stuck on how HE was the one she wanted to help raise them.

“L-Luka?” She was so hesitant, something he hadn’t heard in her voice since she applied to ESMOD. “Luka, you can say no. I’m, I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I’m sorry. I-I’ll just, I’ll talk to you later.”

He could hear her start to hang up, but he knew if he didn’t stop her now their relationship would never be the same. Not that it would stay the same now anyway. Not if he could help it.

“Marinette! Wait.” He scrambled off his bed, guitar falling to the side. He needed to get to her, now. “I’m sorry. It’s just a surprise. I mean, I can’t believe you adopted two kids-”

Her laugh cut him off, startling him into falling from where he was hopping on one foot, trying to pull his shoe on. “Kids? Luka, weren’t you listening? I adopted two hamsters!” She burst into giggles and a layer of tension he didn’t realize he was carrying melted off his shoulders. He would have handled kids, it would have been fine. But he had hoped to date her before bringing kids into the mix. Hamsters were a much easier problem to deal with.

He laughed, slowing his mad dash for the door and actually matching his shoes this time. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that Mari. I wasn’t sure I was ready for kids yet, but I can definitely help you raise a pair of hamsters. We might want to wait until we go on a few dates first before we talk about marriage though.” He smirked at her squeak in his ear, not unlike the pair of rodents she now cared for.

“I panicked, okay.” She groaned again with his sarcastic 'Oh really? I didn’t notice.'

“Yes, really. I just. I needed help and I needed someone who could be that steady presence next to me, telling me I could do this. That I hadn’t made a stupid decision. Who would be ready to help me, if I needed it. And I thought about it more and I realized that what I really needed was you, Luka. You’ve always been there for me and the only way I could really explain it in the middle of my panic was by asking you to marry me.”

Hearing her ask him to marry her brought her song to the front of his mind clearer than ever. He didn’t think he would ever tire of hearing that. Especially with the hope that it could someday become true.

“I’m going to have to hear you say that every day for the rest of our lives, Melody.” He grasped his keys and locked his door behind him. “But first, I’m on my way over. I’ll help you get your new pets settled, then maybe you’ll let me take you on a proper date. Does, does that sound okay?” He was only a little worried that he’d read the situation wrong, but the smile in her voice soothed those fears.

“Yeah, Luka. That sounds great.”

[mamanabeille]

I Don't Want to Be Reasonable

This week's @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers sprint fic. I chose the "If we both want to fit, we will have to cuddle" prompt.

“I’m going to kill her,” Luka all but growls under his breath as they stare at the single bed in the center of the room that seemed to be taunting him. He should have known. He shouldn't have expected anything less from his conniving little sister and her soon to be wife.

Juleka and Rose were getting married the next day in the little inn that Rose had fallen in love with when Juleka booked it for their first vacation away together years before. It was tiny, but somehow seemed to perfectly mesh together the two of their personalities and neither could imagine being wed anywhere else. So when they had asked Luka if he minded sharing a room with Marinette, due to a lack of enough rooms for the wedding party to each have their own, he had willingly agreed without so much of a second thought. He would do anything for the two women. He loved them both larger than life, even if in this exact moment he was fighting the urge to tear the mickey out of them… and himself for not catching on sooner. When she asked, he assumed she meant sharing an actual room… not the bed.

“So,” Marinette breaks the silence hesitantly as she looks around the tiny room, her cheeks flushed a light pink. “I’ll go back to the front desk and make sure they gave us the right room or if there’s another.” She knows it’s pointless, but she feels like she should at least offer to try.

“There isn’t,” Luka sighs, setting his bag down and taking Marinette’s off her shoulder to do the same. “They’ve booked up the whole inn.”

“I know,” Marinette nods, her voice seeming to catch in her throat. She was the one that unintentionally offered to bunk with Luka when Rose had called in tears because there just weren’t enough rooms for anyone and no other local hotels. Marinette had suggested some of the wedding party sharing rooms, not thinking in the moment that she and Luka were the only members of the party that were still single and not sharing a room with their spouses and families.

“I’ll take the floor,” Luka offers. “Or I’ll crash with Ding and Bri.”

“You will not,” she protests, glaring up at him as if he’d personally offended her. “This is the first time they’ve gotten a night away from the baby. I’m also not letting you sleep on the floor the night before your sister’s wedding. That’s absurd, for one. Besides, you get grumpy when you don’t sleep well and you will not be a grouch on their day. We are grown adults, Luka. We are more than capable of sharing a bed for a few nights.” She makes her way over to the full size bed, and plops down, patting the spot next to her as if to prove a point, even though her voice catches a little on the last few words.

Luka feels his face and neck burn hot, pushing out the thought of sharing a bed with her in a very adult way. He knows that wasn’t what she meant. That’s not what they are. They are friends. Good friends. Best friends. Best friends that both have feelings for each other, but just friends. Period. They had to be. Still, something in her phrasing, and the fact that he’d been in love with her for as long as he could remember, sends images of leaning her back against the pillows and kissing her senseless until neither of them could breath. He shakes the images away and takes a deep breath before walking over to the foot of the bed, but not laying down next to her. “Marinette. I could barely fit in the bed on my own,” he chuckles weakly, trying to keep his tone light. The woman frowns and glances between him and the bed, taking in his over six foot stature. “Well,” she offers up slowly with a growing little grin. “If we both want to fit, we will just have to cuddle.” She holds her breath as she locks eyes with him. Usually it takes a few glasses of alcohol to get her to flirt openly with the man, but something is different tonight. She knows she shouldn’t be playing this game with him. It always ends with one of them hurt and wanting more, usually both of them if she’s being honest with herself. She can’t seem to stop herself though. “Come cuddle, Lu? Please...” Waiting for his response seems to last an eternity. She watches Adam's apple bob as he nearly choked on his words, and her sudden burst of confidence falters. “You're killing me,” he groans, sinking down on the bed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and bury his face in his hands, his fingers tangling into his hair. “You’re supposed to be the reasonable one here, Nette.” Marinette smirks, and slinks down the bed to wrap her arms around his middle, resting her chin on his shoulder as she curls around him. “I don’t want to be tonight. I’m always the rational one.” “Because they are your reasons. Our schedules are still crazy. We are rarely even in the same hemisphere We are too important to each other to fuck this up.” He says the words as much to himself as her, but she can feel his posture softening under her. “Fuck, Nette. We can't do this,” he huffs out, straightening up slowly to not knock her off the edge, and gestures between the two of them. “And just expect for everything to stay the same.” “I know,” she nods softly, turning her eyes downward to where her hands were now slowly twiddling in her lap. The two of them sit in a strained silence for a few minutes, backs barely brushing against one another. Luka lets out a few audible deep breaths, trying to recompose himself, while Marinette bit her bottom lip trying to fight of the tears stinging her eyes. “I’m sorry,” Luka sighs, just as Marinette whispers out a barely there “I don’t want things to stay the same.” Luka’s head shoots up at her words, and he turns to face her so quickly she nearly does topple off the bed this time. His hand instinctively reaches out to steady her and he leaves it there grasping her arm as if she’s his only life line. “What?” he questions, his eyes begging her to repeat the words, praying to whatever gods would listen that he heard her correctly. Marinette looks up at him, just as vulnerable and swallows down the nerves that are stuck in her throat. “I don’t want things to stay the same anymore. I know they’re my reasons. I know I’ve always been the one that’s pushed back against us for so long. I know that it’s probably not fair for me to be saying any of this, especially not right now, but I’m tired of fighting it, Lu. I want you. I want us, and I know it’s going to be hard with how crazy our lives are, but I lov-” Luka cuts her off, capturing her lips with his own, pouring every ounce of love, longing, and joy he can into the kiss. It’s like opening the floodgates after years, and built up tension and desperation deeps the kiss. When neither can resist the need to breathe any longer, and they slowly pull away from one another, he stays hovering over her, so close he

can feel her rapid breaths against his kiss bruised lips. Her expression falls and she catches her bottom lip in her teeth again. “I’m scared, Luka,” she whimpers. “What if we hurt each other?” “I’m not,” he whispers, afraid to ruin the moment he’s waited so long for. “I’m willing to do whatever is needed to make sure we work, Marinette.” He pulls back just enough so that he can look her directly in the eyes a little easier. “I think if we’re being honest with ourselves, we’ve been hurting each other but not giving us a chance.” Marinette lets out a shaking breath and nods. Luka presses a soft kiss to her lips before rolling over next to her. She doesn’t hesitate to curl into his side, resting her face against his chest. His arm wraps around her, and he places a soft kiss to her head. Her fingers lightly trace up and down his arm, down his chest, over his torso then back. They stay there in each other's embrace, stealing little kisses, a few giggles and declarations of love until there’s a knock at the door reminding them the rehearsal dinner had started ten minutes ago.

Luka decides to ignore the blatant smirk of a compliment on his sister’s face once the two of them do make it to dinner, hand in hand with matching lovestruck grins.

[quickspinner]

May the road trip be peaceful and have good scenery.

For the fanfic ask game how about 5 (in general), 7 & 8 for Indelible, and a non list question, which WIP have you enjoyed writing for the most recently?

Ask me about a WIP!

Thank you for the road wishes friend! 

5. How do you feel about posting chapters before the fic is finished (with this one and/or in general)?

I usually can't make it to the end of a multichap fic without posting. When deadlines are not an issue, I try not to post until I'm at least halfway done and have a reasonable expectation of being able to finish. For exchanges or birthday gifts I get myself into trouble usually have less finished. Usually somewhere after the halfway point I stall a bit and flounder, so posting helps me get some encouragement and feedback and accountability for finishing. I have had a couple of occasions (Beautiful Dreams) (Indelible) where a fic turned out to be bigger than I initially planned and it turned out it wasn't as much at the halfway done point as I thought. 😂 

7. Do you listen to music while writing your WIP? If so, what? Do you have a playlist?

I do listen to music, but I don’t have a playlist for this WIP. Sorry I know I’m really boring. 😂 I listen mostly to Pandora stations, and I pick which one based on what kind of scene I’m working on. I think the last chapter was the Pink (the artist, not the color) station, and I had another one seeded with What if I Was Nothing I think. Sometimes I make playlists for WIPs, I just haven’t felt moved to do so for this fic. 

8. Does your WIP have a Pinterest board or anything similar? If it does and you want to, link it!

This isn’t really part of my process, I don’t usually make a visual reference. Making a playlist is about all I do, and I don’t even always do that. Occasionally I look up dress ideas or something like that, and when I do I generally link them in the individual chapters, but it just doesn’t occur to me to make a board for it. I had a couple for Indelible, because hair and clothes descriptions are hard for me so I did some image searches for inspiration.

Here’s the qipao wedding dress Marinette’s New Year’s dress was based on.

Here’s the hair and dress I used as inspiration for her New York look.

That’s all the visual references I have for Indelible at the moment!

Which WIP have you enjoyed writing for the most recently?

I’ll be honest with you, everything feels like a bit of a slog right now. 😆 Time has been so limited, I’ve been really focusing on Indelible because I feel like I can taste the end at this point--even though when I sit down and think about what I have to write, it seems like a lot, I am comparatively close to the end, and I’m both eager to write the reconciliation and fluff and makeouts, and worried that I won’t get the complicated relationship dynamics across properly and people will be disappointed or unsatisfied. 

But before I can get there I have to do the really depressing stuff and that’s difficult. 😂 And as usual I’ve made things more difficult on myself by sticking to one single POV, so I can’t put the reader inside Marinette’s head and explain right now what is going on in there, it all has to wait until Luka figures it out and/or they talk through it. Min ( @mintaka14 ) has been my cheerleader and sounding board and really helped me keep perspective. Having writing 

I love the story, and I love seeing the readers react to it, and I’m really excited to get to the emotional stuff at the end, and I am still absolutely getting joy out of this fic, but the process of writing it feels a little painful right now. 

I’m also working on my LBSC sprint secret santa fic, and while it’s fun and the prompt is right up my alley, I’m sweating the deadline a bit and fighting my overthinking brain about how to fit it all together. 😆 

I’m kind of eyeing the library meet cute fic and thinking I might work on that a bit in the next couple weeks as a treat, so even though I’m not actively working on it at the moment, can I count that? 😂 This month has been really hectic with doctors (all good news!) and gatherings and family birthdays and all, so I think I’m just tired all around. I will not be sorry to see 2022 out the door, I must say. 

[miraculousfanworks]

Not-so-staged

not-so-staged by theriveroflight

Luka and Marinette are cast as the understudies when they're suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Words: 1234, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 17 of keep running when both my feet hurt (lbsc sprints), Part 33 of if it's war that you want then you got it (fic wars 2022)

Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine

Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Theatre, Alternate Universe - High School, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, lovebugs-and-snakecharmers' LBSC Sprint Fic Challenges, First Kiss

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40560792