The Wolves in the Woods

Safe and Comfortable

When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable.

— Jess C. Scott

***

Luka learns the truth about Marinette.

***

            "So..." Luka said once they were on the sidewalk by the bakery. "Is there any reason your song is so out of tune?" Marinette grimaced, already expecting the question to come sooner or later. Not like it was hard to notice. All day she had been jumpier than usual. Spacing out when ringing up an order, switching two pastries by mistake, knocking over another shelf of items. She was loathe to tell them the real reason, lest she give Hawk Moth a hotbed for akumas.

Then again, with the flower barriers there, it gave her some peace of mind.

"... okay, you caught me," Marinette said, turning around with her head bowed. "But you have to promise you won't freak out too much."

"Mhm?"

Marinette took a deep breath. "There's... something I have to tell you." She fidgeted. "But I can't tell you out here." She wrung her hands together, the nerves taking over. Talking it over with Tikki last night was, for lack of a better word, exceedingly stressful. For obvious reasons, Tikki was against telling anyone in the house about her identity. But, given the urgency with which Mireya contacted her, it was a leap of faith they would have to take. All night long, Marinette agonized over how to tell Luka the truth without attracting an akuma. But, given they would be in the same room as a fairy, there was a safety net to fall back on.

"What's going on?" Luka asked, concern in his eyes. "Are you in trouble?"

Marinette bowed her head, looking away. "It's... a bit more complicated than that." She sighed. "I haven't even told my parents." Luka's eyebrows traveled to his hairline before returning to their previous position.

"That bad?" he asked.

"That... yeah, that bad," Marinette conceded. "Still, just... please trust me on this one." She looked at him with pleading eyes. "I don't know who else I can trust with this. So please?..."

She did her best to not look like she was begging him to see a point of view he didn't want to. Throughout this whole nightmare, he had been one of her main pillars of support, if not the main one. And now, she was asking him to place his faith in her for a situation in which neither knew the outcome. It was utterly nerve-wracking.

A comforting warmth wrapped around her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Marinette looked up, daring to meet Luka's eyes again. And when she saw the overflowing compassion in them, it took every ounce of willpower to not melt. A smile and a squeeze back, Marinette closed her eyes.

Deep breaths, she reminded herself. Deep breaths. This was going to go over so smoothly that not even her legendary bad luck and clumsiness was going to ruin it. What's more, both the current and the previous Guardians of the Iberian Order were going to be there. Which meant she could finally meet the one responsible for helping her all this time. Taking another deep breath, she held Luka's hand while she knocked on the door of the Oropeza apartment.

She tried to ignore how familiar the black car parked near the sidewalk was.

***

Seconds passed enough that it turned into a minute. And then an eternity. At least that's what it felt like. Marinette wasn't paying attention when the door opened. Except when Luka nudged her to let her know their hostess was talking to her. She jumped and yelped. Probably spooked some nesting pigeons somewhere. She stammered out a greeting to the fairy who opened the door for them. To which, miraculously enough, she said nothing. Even while ushering her two guests to the living room and closing the front door. All the while, Marinette was on edge about anything and everything. The last thing she wanted was to get on the fairy's bad side.