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Luka groaned and dropped his head in his arms on his makeshift desk. His phone beeped, and he rummaged blindly with one hand for it.
The message was from his friend Brielle, and it made him grin. Help I need to get out of here meet me at the park in 20 min
The message wasn’t unwelcome. Luka looked around his normally clean room and scowled at the mess of crumpled papers around him. See you there , he texted back, and then rolled his chair back, heedless of the crunching noises under the wheels. Luka kicked a few more papers on the floor out of the way and shoved around the piles on his bed until he had dug up a small handful of the guitar picks he’d been losing in the mess all day. He counted quickly, decided he had found enough, and stuck them in his pocket. Luka grabbed his guitar, dug in a trunk for a moment for an old worn blanket he knew was stuffed in the bottom somewhere, and then made his escape, bursting out on deck into the sunshine and open air. He didn’t usually feel so stifled on the boat, but today was definitely a day where he’d rather be out and moving.
The bike ride to the park was just what he needed, and he could feel his muscles loosening as he rode. By the time he reached his destination he already felt a million times better.
“I couldn’t stand to be inside today,” Brielle declared as Luka walked up, and Luka agreed as he flapped out the old blanket. Brielle plopped down on it and immediately brought her camera up to her face, laying down on her back and aiming it up into the tree branches that stretched above them. Luka settled himself on the blanket as well, opening his guitar case. It was a beautiful day, sunny with just enough breeze to keep things comfortable, and Luka could feel the frustration and annoyance that had been sitting in the back of his mind all day start to dissipate. Maybe he could come up with something worthwhile now that he finally felt like he could breathe. His composition assignment could wait . Luka wanted to play literally anything else right now.
He had just finished tuning and warming up, only half listening to Brielle talk about her newest project, when a bellow from across the park made both Luka and Bri jump and look up. “Heads up!” a tall boy yelled as a ball hit the ground a few meters short of their blanket. It bounced and then rolled towards them.
“Sorry!” A girl jogged up to them, wearing a pretty pink and white sundress that didn’t look at all suited to playing ball in the park, and flashed them an apologetic smile. “Kim doesn’t know his own strength sometimes.”
She was pretty, with pink cheeks and gorgeous eyes framed with thick lashes, dark hair that shone in the sun, tied back into two tails with cheerful pink ribbons, and a wide, uninhibited smile that made Luka smile in return, though she wasn’t smiling at him. She caught the ball Bri grabbed and tossed back to her. “Thanks!”
Then suddenly the girl’s eyes met his and she was smiling at him, for one breathless, heart-stopping moment. She met his gaze for only a moment before she blushed and looked away, waving her thanks for the returned ball. Luka turned his own eyes down to his instrument, embarrassed to have been caught staring. His fingers struck a chord without thinking, and then another, and they sounded—right. His focus narrowed to the guitar, until he felt Brielle’s elbow in his ribs.
“Don’t you think, Luka?” Bri said pointedly.
“Hmm?” Luka jerked his head up, blinking at his friend.
Brielle rolled her eyes at him. “Knew you weren’t listening.”
Luka’s gaze strayed back to the girl in the pink and white dress where she was back to playing ball with her friends. She looked so happy and alive, the perfect embodiment of the beautiful day around them. Bri punched his arm and Luka jumped. “Sorry,” he said, running his pick down the strings absently. “Just thinking about a song.”
***
Marinette bounced on her toes, hands clasped together as she hovered behind Nino’s chair.
“Dudette,” he laughed, as he poked at his music program, “Chill.”
“When have I ever been chill, Nino?” Marinette demanded, clapping her hands down on his shoulders and shaking him slightly. “Hurry uuuuuuup.”
“Okay, okay, you don’t have to be so violent. All right, here it comes.” Nino hit a button and a vertical line traveled across his screen, and as it met the notes he’d programmed in, music played from his speakers. Marinette held her breath, listening intently, until Nino poked her to remind her to breathe. “That’s it,” Nino said, when the playback was finished.
“I didn’t recognize it,” Marinette frowned. “Did you?”
“Nope,” Nino shook his head. “Sorry, it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s wonderful, though,” Marinette sighed, and Nino chuckled. He held out his hand and Marinette put a pink USB stick in his palm. Nino stuck it in the slot and downloaded the song onto it.
“You want the sheet music too?” Nino asked, offering her the pages where he’d transposed the song.
“Sure,” Marinette shrugged. It might come in handy. “Thanks for doing this, Nino.”
“Hey, no problem. Good luck, dudette.” Nino grinned, and Marinette thanked him again before saying goodbye.
She walked home with the USB stick clutched tightly in her hand and the sheet music under her arm, as she stared at the lines and notes that curled around her wrist and up her forearm. The mark had appeared only a few days ago, and she was buzzing with excitement about what it might mean.
Sabine looked up when Marinette entered the bakery and smiled. “How did it go? Was Nino able to help?”
“Yes,” Marinette beamed, waving the USB stick. “I know what it sounds like.”
“That’s wonderful, dear,” Sabine said, giving her a quick hug. “But remember, you must be patient. You have your whole life to find your soulmate. It’s fine to be alert, but you can’t put your life on hold waiting for them.”
“Of course not, Maman.”
Marinette bounced up the stairs to her room, plugged the USB stick in her computer, and played the little snippet of electronic music again. It sounded familiar, she thought, as she laid a finger to her lips in thought, but she couldn’t place it. Maybe she was just imagining that she remembered it. She played it again and again, until she was humming along with it. She looked down again at the music staff curling around her arm. She wished she’d noticed when it first appeared, but she really wasn’t sure. Still, it had, and that was a good sign, right? Whoever they were, they’d been close by. Surely they’d meet again. Someday , she thought, and then followed her mother’s advice and turned off the music, still humming the tune to herself as she pulled out her homework.
***
“Wow,” Juleka murmured, looking at the words on Luka’s wrist. “That’s…not helpful.”
Luka rolled his eyes and grinned, pulling his hand back to shove her shoulder. “Whatever, it’s fine. It’ll happen when it happens.”
“Still,” Juleka said, turning to watch him as he walked by her and flopped down on his bed. “It’s exciting, though, right?”
I guess so,” Luka mused. “Kind of annoying though. It should like, tingle or tickle or something when it shows up, so you know to look around.”
Juleka snorted. “You could try being more aware of what’s going on around you,” she pointed out, and Luka rolled his eyes.
“I’m plenty observant, thank you,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her in a way that he hoped would convey he had plenty of observations about her if she cared to hear him.
“Except when you’re working on a song,” Juleka shot back, but then made a hasty escape, head dipping so that her hair fell across her face.
Luka sighed, and let his head fall back. He’d get her back later, he promised himself, as he raised his arm to sneak one more look at his mark.
***
“Thanks for doing this, Adrien,” Marinette said, standing awkwardly behind him as he arranged the well-worn pages of sheet music on the piano’s stand.
“No problem,” Adrien smiled up at her, and Marinette’s heart leapt into her throat for a moment. Adrien sat down, opened the piano, and glanced up at her again, patting the bench. Marinette slid in next to him, and then fidgeted a little as she worried she’d gotten too close.
She held her breath as Adrien placed his hands over the keys. He looked back at the music, and Marinette’s whole body tensed when the first notes rang out. Marinette snuck a look at the staff on her arm, but it looked the same as always. Adrien played the melody again, with more confidence this time, and it sounded beautiful in the full tones of the piano. Marinette let her breath out slowly, and looked at her arm again. She hadn’t really expected anything to happen. Surely if Adrien was the one they would have figured it out long before now.
It helped, though, to know for sure. Just one more confirmation her decision was the right one.
“Want me to play it again?” Adrien asked, looking at her.
Marinette shook her head and smiled at him, sincerely even though her chest was tight. “No, I think that’s all I needed. Thanks, Adrien. I better go so I don’t make you late to meet Kagami.”
“No problem,” Adrien said, closing the piano. “It’s a nice song. I hope you find it someday. I’d like to hear the rest of it.”
Marinette only nodded and smiled, and followed Adrien as he walked her out, barely even hearing his good-natured small talk. After she was out and the door closed behind her, Marinette looked up at the bright blue sigh, taking in a deep breath and holding it for just a moment. Then she let it go, and started walking home.
***
“No luck again tonight?” Juleka asked as Luka shut the door behind him and walked through the living room towards his bedroom.
“Of course not,” Luka snorted. “Quit asking me that. It’s not why I went out tonight. I just wanted to play. It’s not why I go out any night.”
“Aw, Luka,” Rose cooed, her neck craning to follow him as he passed. “Don’t be like that! It’ll happen some day!”
“Don’t care,” Luka called back, rolling his eyes as he closed his door, shutting out the girls and the sound of their movie. He sighed and flopped himself on his bed, looking down at his wrist for a moment before he rolled his eyes again and rolled himself over to glare at the wall.
He knew Juleka and Rose meant well, and he was happy for them, he was. It was just that he didn’t care, really. He’d find his soulmate whenever, and if he didn’t, that was okay too. The constant prodding about it was something else, though, and he was currently entertaining fantasies of moving into some tiny hovel of an apartment just wide enough for his guitar where he could afford to live without roommates. He’d been fine for years before the mark appeared, he'd been fine in the years since, and he’d be just fine for as long as it took.
***
“Sabrina, I’m going out for a bit,” Marinette called to her assistant. “I need a walk to clear my head after that client meeting this morning.”
“All right, Marinette,” Sabrina said cheerfully, busily arranging fabric and color swatches on the mood board Marinette had asked her to put together. “Don’t forget to eat while you’re out.”
Marinette giggled. “I will.”
“And don’t forget your meeting with—”
“I remember! I’ll be back in time!” Marinette escaped out of the door before Sabrina could remind her of anything else, taking a full breath of the outside air. She walked towards the park next to the school, feeling the tension in her shoulders start to ease.
She was strolling by one of the fountains, thinking about the way the water fell and comparing fabrics in her mind, when she heard it.
Marinette stopped in her tracks, turning, her heart suddenly beating fast and loud in her chest. She knew that song . She brought one arm up to her chest and curled her other hand around the staff on her forearm. She revolved slowly, searching for the source, and zeroed in on a street musician perched on a cement wall, his guitar case open at his feet. His head was bowed, bobbing slightly, as his fingers moved, playing the song that she knew so well.
Marinette took a deep breath, and began walking slowly towards him. His messy hair hung into his face, black and tipped with blue. She could see the strong line of his jaw, the slope of a sharp nose, and she found herself smiling. She wished she could see his eyes. There was a cost draped beside him, a tie hung loose around his neck, and he’d shoved his sleeves up his forearms. She couldn’t see any sign of his mark, but that might not mean anything. They weren’t usually as large as hers, after all.
She took another few tentative steps forward.
***
Luka had been just as relieved as his students when the bell rang and they stampeded out of his class. It sucked to be stuck inside on a day like this, and he didn’t blame them for being bored and antsy, though he’d done his best to keep class as laidback and cheerful as possible. Torn between being responsible and grading papers, and getting outside while it was so nice, Luka had grabbed his guitar and made a break for it. Spending his planning period outside would mean he’d have to make up the work tonight, but he’d be more relaxed for his later classes. Given the way this last class had been, maybe he could hold the afternoon classes outside if the weather was as nice as it looked.
He sat now with one foot propped on the opposite knee, and played for the sheer joy of it, without worrying about anyone who might be listening. It seemed like people always approached him when he was playing, whether he was actually busking or just messing around, so he never took it for granted when he had a few minutes to play what he wanted.
Sure enough it wasn’t long before Luka sensed someone drawing near, but something in his tuning didn’t sound quite right, so he reached down into his case to clip his tuner onto the neck of his guitar. “Hello,” he said, when the expected shadow fell over him. “Can I play anything for you?” he asked, thumbing each string in turn. There, that one. He adjusted his tuning peg and tried again. “I’m just warming up, I’ll be ready in a minute.” He played the familiar melody again, the one that sounded like sunshine and soft eyes and bright smiles that he'd never been able to get out of his head.
“You’re playing my song,” a soft voice next to him breathed, and Luka tried not to roll his eyes.
“Oh yeah?” he said, trying to sound cheerful but he knew it came out flat. He just wasn’t in the mood for this kind of banter today. Realizing how ungracious he sounded, he sat back and looked up, a soothing platitude dying on his lips as he stared into a sweet face framed by dark hair, with beautiful eyes that rivaled the ones he remembered from all those years ago. The woman looking down at him wore a pink and black skirt suit instead of a sundress, and she was far more mature than that far-off memory, but no less stunning. “Oh,” he breathed, and then cleared his throat as he set aside his guitar. “Um, s-sorry, what were you saying?”
“You’re…playing my song,” she repeated shyly, and extended her wrist to him. Luka looked at it, his jaw dropping at the sight of the clef and staff winding around her arm. He looked back up at her again, at her blushing cheeks and the shy hunch of her shoulders. Wordlessly, Luka slid over, making space on the concrete next to him. She sat down slowly next to him, brushing silky black hair back out of her face as those stunning eyes flicked to his face and away. Luka reached for her hand, but hesitated before he touched her.
“May I?” he asked, and at her nod, he took her hand and gently turned her wrist to look at the staff spiraling around her forearm. “What’s your name?” he asked almost absently as he followed the trail of chords. He recognized it immediately, he knew it, but he still picked up his guitar.
“Marinette,” she said softly. She continued to hold her arm still while he set his fingers to the strings. and with a glance at her, he slowly plucked through the series of chords. Marinette sucked in a breath as she watched color bloom along the staff, flowers curling around the clef and trailing a pattern of vines along the edges, while a watercolor wash swept across the background of the staff itself in blues and greens.
“Holy shit,” Luka muttered, with a disbelieving little huff as he shook his head. He met Marinette’s eyes again and began to grin. “Sorry, I just…I didn’t think this was ever actually going to happen.”
Marinette tore her eyes from her arm, lowering it into her lap. “Why?” she asked, and he extended his own forearm to her. You’re playing my song was written across the inside of his wrist.
“Do you have any idea how many times people have said that to me?” he laughed. Marinette giggled along with him, and as she did, flowers began to appear on his tanned skin as well, curling around the Y as the vines stretched in a frame around the words, and a bolder, more jagged wash of color in pinks and reds filled in behind the letters.
Luka felt a rush he couldn’t explain, as he looked from the sudden colors to the woman sitting next to him. “Marinette, right?” She nodded. “I’m Luka,” he said, trying to soften his voice and his smile as he offered his hand for her to shake. “I’m glad to meet you, Marinette.”
“Me too. To meet you, I mean. Um, obviously.” Marinette turned a charming pink, and Luka had to lean in to hear her next words. “Um, could you…could you play it again? Please?”
“I’d love to,” he grinned, letting go of her hand and picked up his guitar. “It’s my favorite.”