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“Yeah we're rolling with the thunder
Now take a breath, we're going under”
“Faster. Faster!” Marinette crooned as the wind whipped her hair behind her and Luka revved the engine of his motorcycle before speeding up further. The thrill of hearing the tires squeal across the concrete was almost like nothing else… almost.
Sighing, Marinette threw out her arms and felt the wind almost jerk her backwards and tightened her thighs around the seat of the motorcycle. “Whoo!”
Around dangerous curves and down steep hills, they sped through the countryside of Paris. Marinette’s brain warned her that they should slow down and be careful but her heart urged her to ask Luka to go even faster.
After a while, Luka slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.
“What’s wrong Luka?”
He nodded ahead of them and Marinette could see the gray clouds darkening and heading towards them. “There’s a storm rolling in. Should we head back before it reaches us?”
Marinette chewed on her lip. It would probably be safe if they did head home slowly, even if it did mean getting rained on, but she really wanted to keep going. The feeling of the adrenaline that was coursing through her at the moment felt so good and she wanted to feel it a little bit longer. It had been such a long time since she’d felt anything like it…
So long…
“Let’s race it home.”
Surprised by her answer, Luka could only smile. “Let’s do it!” That didn’t surprise her. Ever since that day months ago, he’d been chasing the same high as her.
Revving the engine again, he smiled. Marinette wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled as he executed a fishtail and popped a wheelie before zooming back the way they came.
The sounds of thunder echoed behind them and Marinette could feel the static raise the hairs of her neck moments before lightning struck behind them.
“Whoo!” She yelled as she blinked the light from her eyes and clung tighter to Luka.
The thunder and rain chased them all the way home.
“Oh my god!” Adrien gasped as he looked over the edge of the cliff and allllllll the way down to the ocean that lay beneath. “It’s so far down!”
Kagami nodded. “It is. It is also the only place to do any worthwhile cliff diving in the Paris area.” Looking at his face, she tilted her head. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Did he?
He wanted nothing more than to jump off the cliff and feel the wind rush past him as his heart beat erratically and his brain clear. He wanted to relive the feeling of racing across the rooftops with his lady that he sadly wasn’t able to do anymore. Hopefully it would ignite that feeling in him and spark the happiness he had once felt months before.
There was truly only one answer.
“Yes.”
“Good. Your confidence is very attractive.” Adrien blushed but Kagami was already walking to the edge of the cliff. “Let it carry you over the cliff. I’ll be waiting for you at the bottom. When you’re ready, take the leap and then take a breath.” With that, she executed the perfect backflip and beautifully dived into the waiting water below.
Adrien stepped to the edge of the cliff and felt his heart jump in his chest. He’d never done anything like this before and he was truly nervous. Was he really sure about this? It seemed like a good idea moments ago, but cats and water didn’t mix that well.
Well.
Except.
He wasn’t a cat anymore, was he?
Mind made up, he jumped off the cliff.
He’d been right. The sensation of falling and watching as the ocean rose to meet him did simulate the adrenaline of jumping tall buildings in a single bound. It didn’t quite match it, but he found that it still felt as good as he needed for what he was jonesing for.
Kagami was waiting for him, treading water, and smiled when he broke water. “How was it?”
“Amazing. Let’s do it again.”
She nodded. “Would you like to do the same height or shall we go higher?”
Looking behind him, he saw a different cliff that appeared to be at least twenty stories higher than the one they’d just jumped from. His eyes widened and his body tightened in anticipation of what was next.
“Let’s go higher.”
Her answering smirk was all he needed to know he’d made the right decision.
Luka glanced over the side of the canyon, trying hard not to picture what would happen if the line connecting him to his only lifeline snapped. His heart thudded in his chest and he felt his brain start to send out warnings that he shouldn’t do this: he didn’t have to.
But he ignored it like he’d been doing for the past few months.
All that mattered to him was the feeling of ice and fire racing through his veins as he stood on the edge of the cliff waiting for the okay to take the plunge. A squeal of excitement from the person strapped to his chest told him that he wasn’t the only one who was ready.
Smiling, he tousled Adrien’s hair. “You ready?”
Adrien grinned. “I’m more than ready.”
A horn blasted above their heads, giving them the green light.
Luka looked over to the next pair and smiled when he saw Marinette and Kagami waiting eagerly, Kagami actually smiling while Marinette bounced on the balls of her feet.
“Well, let’s do it then.”
With that, the operator next to them gave them a little shove and they fell over.
Luka’s breath left his body as he found himself plummeting towards the bottom of the canyon. His arms tightened around the blonde as tears stung his eyes as the wind rushed past them. The ground got closer and just as Luka felt they were about to go squish , the cord snapped and he found them being pulled back into the air.
“WHOO!” Adrien shouted as they started to fall again.
As they finally stopped swinging, Luka couldn’t help but grin even as the blood rushed to his head.
This was what he missed the most. The excitement and fear that accompanied fighting villains like Desparada and the 80 foot baby as they rampaged. It wasn’t exactly the same- duller in most meanings of the word- but it was good enough to quell the sadness in Luka’s soul that had been created when Sass was taken away.
When they finally achieved what they had been laboring so hard to do.
It was unfair to achieve their goal and still be punished, but Luka pushed the thought away and focused on the feelings in his body and the joy written across Adrien’s face.
Those were all that mattered in that moment.
As Marinette wrote in her journal that night about all their adventures, she couldn’t shake the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her in the emptiness of her room. She tried not to think about why the sadness was there, but it was hard to ignore on nights like tonight when the silence was the only thing keeping her company.
Because Tikki was gone.
Her friend that had stood beside her, encouraged her, loved her was gone.
The team had only been able to enjoy defeating Shadow Moth for a day- a single day- before Su-Han strolled back in town and announced that they had to give up their miraculous. Even for Adrien who had lost so much, there’d been no arguments against it and, for the first time in two years, Marinette had found her ears lighter as Adrien found his finger bare. In a blink, Su-Han and all the miraculous were gone and all of the holders were left with this… emptiness inside of them.
None of them had known what to do about it.
Then Adrien had discovered that the only thing that helped him was the feeling of comfort he had when he was surrounded by Luka, Kagami, and her. So the four of them planned days out to keep his mind off of things. They had picnics in the park, went on strolls, and went to theme parks to spend time together.
That’s where they discovered that the thrill of roller coasters eased the pain in them all as the adrenaline pumped through their veins continuously.
It was Kagami who figured it out and voiced it to the group.
From that moment on, they chased the high that they’d only felt racing across rooftops and fighting akumas. None of it ever measured up to it, but the four could only continue to search, because the moment they weren’t searching, the moment they stopped to take a breath and let their emotions catch up with their minds, it would overwhelm them with loss and sadness and none of them were ready to face that.
So they would keep chasing that adrenaline until they found that perfect high again.
That was all that mattered now.