Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[He looks like her.]


The first person Adrien thinks of when he’s trying to figure out what Ladybug’s secret identity might be is Marinette. He can’t pinpoint why, but she reminds him of Ladybug. However, after some thought, her hair is too blue. There’s no way, even if each miraculous changes the user’s appearance, she just doesn’t look like Ladybug.

Where Adrien fails to figure out Ladybug’s identity though, he is able to start a list of possible candidates. Anyone with earrings, blue eyes, or dark hair goes on the list for now.

When he wakes up and starts prepping to investigate and find suspects, he has a brief thought wondering if his Mom liked to play detective too.

Plagg rolls his eyes when Adrien grabs a small notepad.

—

“Hey Nino, who do you know that has blue eyes?”

Blue eyes is the most common of the three traits. Someone having blue eyes doesn’t guarantee that they’re Ladybug, but he has a hard time believing that the miraculous will often change a user’s eye color. Hair color isn’t a hundred percent. Anyone could take off and put on earrings. Eye color is an easy start.

Though, he feels like he’d be able to recognize Ladybug’s pretty ocean blue eyes even out of the suit, but there seems to be a weird magic thing related to it similar to kwami’s. Maybe there’s a force of nature that makes it harder to recognize similarities between miraculous holders and their superhero forms.

Nino raises an eyebrow in curiosity, the orange headphones on his neck nearly fall off when he turns to face him.

“What for, dude?”

Oh you know, trying to find out my crush’s identity so I can confess and we can have a hamster and a cat-

Adrien thinks of a quick lie, “Research purposes, I’m learning about Punnett square stuff y’know genetics and all that.”

There’s no way he buys that.

He searches Nino’s expression to see if he will buy the lie and after a moment it’s obvious he’s not going to question further.

“Uh, off the top of my head: Rose, Marinette, Nathaniel, Alix, Sabrina, and Chloe.” He counts each person on his fingers as he lists them off.

Rose wears earrings occasionally doesn’t she? Guess that’s two out of three.

Despite none of the people Nino mentioned checking off each of the three boxes, Adrien adds each one onto his Ladybug list.

“Thanks Nino! I’m sure my project will really benefit from this. Okay bye!”

Nino makes a face, probably not completely sold on the Punnett Square lie, but he smiles anyways. “Of course dude.”

Contemplating it, Adrien takes mental notes throughout the day.

Rose’s eyes are too dark, they’re nice but he doesn’t feel the overwhelming feeling that Ladybug’s eyes give him. Alix’s have the same issue of not being a close enough shade of blue. Nathaniel’s, Sabrina’s, and Alix’s eyes are all too teal and not the same sea blue. Chloe’s eyes are a much more dull, dark blue and couldn’t possibly be Ladybug’s. Marinette’s eyes… well they’re the same color… but Ladybug’s eyes are sparkly and shine in the sunlight. Marinette’s eyes don’t really do that, so he adds her yet again to the list of no-go’s.

In a frustration, he crosses out the blue eyes section and decides to pursue people who wear earrings instead.

—

Kagami ties her shoes with her usual grace, eyes flicking over to him the more he scratches at his small notepad. Her pointed, observant amber-brown eyes tear through him until he feels obligated to face them.

“Adrien, is something up?” Her tone sounds as it usually does, neutral with a bit of intelligence, but it includes a touch of a concern that most people won’t catch. Her hands are still on her lap, awaiting a response to ease the growing concern in her expression.

She wouldn’t buy the Punnett Square lie.

Scratching his neck awkwardly, he shrugs. “I’m fine Kagami. Just focused on a.. personal project of sorts.”

She purses her lips and glances to the side. “If you don’t feel comfortable talking to me about it, you don’t have to… but I won’t judge you for whatever your distracting personal project is. Either way, it’s obviously a bigger deal than you’re saying. I think I broke my record for beating you today.”

His fingers hover over the empty earrings section of his chart. Turning the notepad over and setting it on his thigh, he smiles softly.

“Sorry for not being at my best today, but i-it’s not uncomfortable, I promise! I have a question to ask you actually, do you know anyone who wears earrings fairly consistently?”

Kagami tilts her head slightly in thought. “I wear earrings sometimes, but not often. From whom I’ve met of your school friends, that girl Juleka seems to wear earrings pretty often along with that nervous boy? Marc was it? I haven’t met that girl Lila, but I remember she was wearing earrings in pictures of her.”

Adrien thinks about Lila and almost laughs.

Definitely not.

“I appreciate the help Kagami, thank you.”

Her expression melts and she smiles genuinely. “Glad to be of assistance.”

A couple days of observation later end with Marc and Juleka both not crossed off completely yet. Both of them wear studs just like Ladybug.

So close, yet so far.

—

“Plagg, c’mon just tell me!”

Plagg gives a look and crosses his arms in disapproval. “You can’t bribe me with cheese, I’m not allowed to tell you.”

Adrien leans against his staircase railing, the cheese in his hand moving as his arm does. He watches Plagg’s big green eyes following the gross smelling thing. His ears twitch, in a manner that shows how hard Plagg seems to be resisting. A slight guilt enters Adrien’s system from the look.

He leans further against the railing until his grip on the cheese weakens and it falls out of his grasp. Plagg dives for it, hugging it like his lost child. He zooms off with the cheese, as if Adrien would try to take it from him.

Dead end there I guess.

The hope of being able to get a definitive hint or answer from Plagg was an unlikely dream anyways.

If only he didn’t have puppy dog eyes. There is no way he’s 100% cat.

His list is currently still unhelpful. Juleka and Marc don’t have blue eyes, but who knows if that’s a certain deciding factor.

“What if I never figure it out? Maybe I haven’t even met the real Ladybug?”

Plagg pauses between bites of cheese. “Ha, yeah sure.” He snickers a bit.

Wait. Wait a second.

“So I have met them, I knew it! You think you’re slick Plagg, but you’re not.”

He grins as Plagg freezes and just sits there with his cheese. “Fuck.”

Adrien rests his head in his hands victoriously. “Language.”

“I’m leaving, I prefer to eat my cheese in private.”

So the hunt continues then.

His phone dings before he can give much more thought to his list however. A couple of quick taps reveal the goofy selfie Nino took ages ago to set as his contact photo.

Nino: Hey Dude!

Nino: Couple of us are heading to Julekas to celebrate her birthday

Nino: Think your dad would let you come

Me: are we talking about the same dad?

Me: jokes aside im not sure

Me: im caught up in all my lessons but yknow how he is

I could sneak out. I’m ahead on my Chinese anyways.

Me: actually as a matter of fact yes

Me: ill be right over

Nino: Youre sneaking out arent you

Nino: If you need a ride i can text Luka hes at the store getting party poppers

Luka? Oh yeah that’s Juleka’s brother. And the guy Marinette brought when we hung out at the Ice Rink.

Me: its fine ill walk over

Me: see you soon!

Pocketing his phone, he scans his room for his sneakers. When he finds them, he slips them on. Plagg is beside him by the time he finishes tying his laces.

“Will there be cheese there?”

Adrien rolls his eyes with a smile and pockets a camembert. “No clue, but you have to come with. If there’s an akuma we gotta be ready for it.”

Plagg nods and dives into his inner jacket.

—

The boathouse looks a lot different than he remembers during the Music Festival. There’s purple lights attached to the side rails and black balloons attached to the masts. The usual clutter and mess is mostly gone, the ship being cleaner than he remembers. It’s still messier than any room in his house, but it’s not as much so. Purple and black streamers hang from the basketball hoop at the front of the ship in front of a banner that says “Happy Birthday Juleka!”

Nino spots him first.

“Hey Dude! You’re just in time, we haven’t done the cake since Luka isn’t back yet.” He wraps an arm around Adrien’s shoulder and guides him over to everyone else.

Rose is clinging to Juleka’s side, holding her hand with an extra bigger grin than usual.

Most of the class is here, even Marc came despite being in a different class, but based off him and Nathaniel’s hushed conversation they seem lost in, it’s obvious why. Chloe and Sabrina are the major missing class members along with Ivan who must’ve not been able to make it.

Juleka notices him after a moment and waves with a shy smile before being pulled back into whatever conversation is happening between her, Rose, and Mylène.

She couldn’t be Ladybug… Miraculous’ don’t change heights right? I swear she’s too tall…

He makes a mental note to cross her off the list.

I’m running out of people I’ve met before though…

Nino speaks beside him and it takes him a moment to realize that he’s not talking to him.

“Need help with that dude?”

Adrien glances over and notices who he’s yelling at and stops in his sights.

It’s Luka.

That on it’s own isn’t shocking because he’s aware Luka was coming back with party poppers. He isn't surprised Nino is offering to help him carry the bag of poppers. He’s not surprised about anything related to it at all.

Luka looks like Ladybug. Maybe with shorter hair, yes… but there’s way too many similarities.

The same shiny, sparkly ocean eyes that are insanely pretty and Adrien is having a crisis because he’s ninety-nine percent sure that those eyes are the same ones he’s dreamed about after saving Paris at least once a week.

The same studded earrings that could easily be the Ladybug miraculous and no one could even know.

The same fluffy dark hair that could easily be grown out with the help of some miraculous magic.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

He’s found his suspect.

Chapter Text

[He's kind like her.]

It’s extremely difficult to pay attention to Juleka opening her gifts when Luka is sitting beside her.

I can’t believe it.

No one else I know looks as much like Ladybug as he does.

Thinking of the possibility of Ladybug actually being a guy, well it’s something Adrien never actually thought all that much about. He’d been considering the guys in his school before, but he’d not really given it much thought on what it means if Ladybug really is a man.

Does this mean I’m not straight or that I don’t actually like Ladybug?

It takes a moment before he glances back at Luka, trying to answer his own question.

He isn’t…

His eyes watch how Luka smiles at Juleka’s excitement over her gifts. The other boy’s eyes crease slightly.

He’s pretty too.

Even if Ladybug really might be Luka, Adrien can’t find himself minding. Ladybug isn’t a different person, still his smart and kind-hearted partner in crime. Or rather- heroics.

What does this make me?

A couple of quick glances around confirms that no one is looking at him. He pulls out his phone and tries to inconspicuously open a Google tab. His fingers tap a couple of times until he’s successfully searched ‘What does it mean if I like both genders?’ in Google.

The first thing to show up is a Wikipedia page for Bisexuality.

Oh yeah, I think I remember Kagami mentioning she’s Bisexual.

He scrolls mindlessly through the wiki page until eventually deciding that, okay Adrien is bi now.

I guess I’ve never thought about if I like guys before. I wouldn’t be opposed to kissing a guy, especially if that guy is Ladybug…

The more confusing thought is if Ladybug could even be a guy.

There’s no way Ladybug has been hiding a dick in that spandex.

Then again, he’s not really been shown the extent of how much a miraculous can change a person’s appearance since the only other person besides himself that he knows the secret identity of is Queen Bee. In theory, it could be possible for a miraculous to change things besides hair length or color. Eye color is a likely option, but who’s to say that the miraculous changes couldn’t go even farther than any of the basic changes. In fact, if the miraculous were to really change Luka to having different… parts, then maybe that’s why they look so similar in terms of hair and eyes.

If only I knew how to contact Master Fu… I could ask him myself.

Adrien pockets his phone and starts a mental list of the physical similarities between Luka and Ladybug. He might as well think about it since for all he knows, Luka could easily not be Ladybug and just looks a little similar.

Fate seems to be on his side because when he’s finally tuning back into Juleka opening her gifts, she’s got the wrapped bracelet he got for her in her hands.

—

After all the gifts were unwrapped and all the major Birthday Party things had occurred, Ms. Couffaine puts on music and takes out different board games.

Halfway through a strangely intense game of Candyland, he notices Luka off to the side, cleaning up rather than playing the game.

Huh, that’s sweet of him. Maybe I should go help. But I don’t want to leave during a game, that’d make a hassle on everyone else.

His eyes remain on Luka, watching as he hums to himself quietly. He puts away the cake and throws away the wrapping paper.

After a bit, Ms. Couffaine notices and walks over and takes the trash bag out of his hand, pointing him over to everybody else. Luka seems to roll his eyes, saying something in response to whatever Ms. Couffaine was telling him. They go back and forth before eventually, Luka wanders back over to the group.

Adrien makes sure he isn’t still staring when he turns to come over.

In a hushed whisper, Luka goes around and asks everyone if they need anything to drink or eat. He notices Juleka whispering something in his ear for no one else to hear. After a couple of people, Luka winds up at him.

“Hey, need anything to drink or eat?” His voice washes over Adrien like a cool wave.

I’m barely playing the game at this point, maybe I should help him with all the drinks. He’s really sweet, but he could probably use some help.

“No I’m fine, but want some help grabbing them?”

Luka lets out a light laugh. “Thanks for the offer, but you can keep playing. I’ll manage fine.”

Yeah right, Mr. Two Arms.

Despite what he said, Adrien taps Nino on the shoulder and whispers that they can skip his turns for now since he’s going to help Luka.

He slips out of the group and walks up to Luka as he finishes asking the last person and starts on his way over to where all the food and drinks are.

“Hey there.”

The other boy freezes for a moment and looks over his shoulder at Adrien. He raises an eyebrow, but keeps walking and doesn’t point out when Adrien falls into pace beside him.

“You really don’t have to help, you know.”

“Well, I want to! The game wasn’t super interesting anyhow.” He leaves out the part about how he wasn’t paying attention because he was busy observing Luka. That seems like a bad way to start a conversation.

Luka simply nods with a soft “Thanks” and grabs a variety of different drinks, handing a few to Adrien, that must be what each person was asking for. He also grabs a small bag of mini pretzels and carries it along with the majority of the drinks.

Adrien is stuck thinking about how he could’ve easily carried more drinks than Luka handed him the whole walk back to the group.

—

Adrien decides to head out after a couple more games since he’s been out for over an hour so he should be heading back soon anyways.

A couple of quick goodbyes to Nino and everyone else along with Juleka thanking him for coming, and he’s walking off and onto the docks.

Luka stops him on his way up the steps at the back of the docks.

“You need a ride?”

“Ah no I don’t wanna trouble you, I can walk back.”

He’s done plenty already. Like, calm down nice guy.

The other looks over at the streets, looking off in the distance in the direction of the Agreste mansion. “You sure you couldn’t use a ride?” His lips quirk up into a challenging smile. “Didn’t you come here without telling your Dad?”

Oh this-

Adrien’s mouth forms a tight smile. “Y’know what, a ride would be fantastic actually.”

Luka holds back a small laugh and motions towards the bike rack to their left. “We’ll be there quick, I promise.”

There’s only a bike and a motorcycle.

He subconsciously looks at the motorcycle for a moment. The shiny black metal reminds him of Luka’s nails.

Does he really know how to ride something like this without killing us both?

“Hop on, you can take the seat.”

His eyes move to notice Luka standing beside the baby blue bicycle with a woven basket in front. He holds out a black and yellow helmet.

Oh thank god.

He walks over and situates himself on the back of the bicycle seat, trying to leave room for Luka. However, the other male simply ignores the seat altogether and stands, putting his weight on the pedals and bike itself.

There’s no way that’s comfortab-

The bike lurches backwards and Adrien clutches the edges of the seat below him.

“You can hold onto me if you need to. I don’t mind.”

Stop being nice for two seconds, I am losing my mind.

Despite a growing desire to tell Luka that, no he isn’t going to hold onto him and add the extra weight as he peddles, Luka takes off and Adrien clutches his jacket to keep himself from flying off.

The bike speeds, weirdly fast for a simple bicycle, down the streets. Adrien keeps his eyes set on the way Luka’s hair fluffs up from the wind the whole way to his house.

They zip around the corner and Luka slows down more and more until he sets his foot out and uses it as a brake. He sets his other foot onto the ground to keep the bike stable for a moment before he pushes the kickstand down with his heel.

“Might want to hurry. I doubt it’d help your case if your Dad saw me here.” He chuckles, helping Adrien get off as if by instinct.

That was the quickest bike ride I’ve ever had.

He unclasps and takes off his helmet, handing it back to Luka.

“Thanks a lot Luka, hopefully I’m in slightly less trouble since I didn’t waste more time walking.”

Adrien gets a nod in response before Luka is setting off presumably back to the Liberty.

He sneaks his way back into his room and after learning that apparently, he’d managed to get away without anyone noticing, collapses onto his bed.

Plagg flies out of his jacket pocket.

“I can’t believe they didn’t have any cheese.”

I can’t believe Luka is the most likely person I can think of that could be Ladybug.

He watches from the corner of his eye as his Kwami watches him for a moment and then frowns.

“Why do you look like you’re thinking too hard about something?”

“I don’t know Plagg maybe ‘cause I am.” He sighs into his pillow.

Plagg plops down onto the end of his pillow near his head. “What is it?” His eyes narrow in curiosity.

Adrien turns to lay on his side and face him. “Man. Pretty.”

Having a magical cat stare at him in utter deadpan is strangely insulting.

“The blue kid?”

“Plagg, I think the lady of my dreams might be the man of my dreams instead.” He watches closely to see if Plagg’s reaction will give away anything like it did earlier.

His reaction is Plagg choking on a chunk of cheese he’d been eating and then proceeding to stare at him with large, wide eyes.

“How- You think Luka is Ladybug?”

Was he about to say how did I know…?

He grins at Plagg’s shocked expression. “Oh my god, Luka might be Ladybug. Okay, I’m about to Sherlock this shit.”

“And you ‘Language’ me.” Plagg grumbles. After a moment, his mind seems to catch up to the rest of what Adrien said and he’s stress downing his cheese. “Hold on- Luka couldn’t be Ladybug- Not to mention, you shouldn’t be trying to figure out Ladybug’s secret identity anyways- It could complicate everything!”

Not if I keep it to myself right?

Wait. Why is Plagg trying so hard to convince me it isn’t Luka?

Adrien stares at Plagg. “You seem a little desperate there buddy.”

Plagg groans in exasperation before flying off to hide somewhere. “Fuck this shit, I’m out!”

So Luka looks like Ladybug, is as kind as Ladybug, and seems to be someone Plagg doesn’t want me thinking is Ladybug…

He takes out his notepad and starts a new page.

Chapter Text

[He's good with music like her.]


“Hey!”

Adrien and Nino stop mid-conversation and pause walking out of the school building. Rose appears behind them, rushing up to the two of them with a massive grin.

“Oh, what’s up Dude?” Nino glances at Rose’s hand and Adrien notices there’s a couple flyers in it.

She laughs excitedly. “So uh- Kitty Section, y’know my band, we’re having our first big concert off the Liberty tomorrow night and Marinette designed costumes and- well it’s kinda a big deal. You both should come if you can!” Her eyes dart to Adrien at the end, as if trying to convey an understanding if he can’t make it.

Kitty Section…

A faint memory of Luka and playing the piano with them during the musical festival catches him off guard.

I remember that was a lot of fun.

Rose hands them both a flyer. The words ‘Kitty Section’ are in big bright colors at the top of the poster. A drawing of a group of shaded individuals with cat-unicorn masks makes up the lower half of the poster. Location and time stamps are in smaller letters at the very bottom of the page. Adrien’s eyes trace over the dark turquoise figure on the left in the group picture, the one that looks the most like Luka’s silhouette.

With a slight smile, he folds the flyer and pockets it. “I’ll do my best to be there.”

Her eyes light up. “Great!”

Nino stares at the poster for a moment before he pockets it himself. “Can’t wait, my dude!”

She nods and bounces off towards other classmates.

“Think you’ll be able to convince your Dad?” Nino wraps an arm around his shoulder, raising a curious eyebrow.

I hope so…

He’ll have to think over his schedule, but it’s not impossible. “I’m sure I can squeeze it in, probably, maybe.”

“Hopefully.” Nino smiles encouragingly.

—

Adrien pokes his food with his fork, glancing to the side at Nathalie and then ahead to where his father sits at the opposite end of the table.

I should just ask. I’ve been doing well with my Chinese and Fencing, he’d probably say yes, right?

He bites his lip. He’s thought the same thing before and been wrong… but he can’t afford to try sneaking out again when he’d snuck out only a little over a week ago for Juleka’s birthday party.

Luka will be there. I could try getting more evidence to see if he really might be Ladybug… Not to mention it’d be nice to see all my friends' hard efforts work out.

Inhaling sharply, he works up his confidence and just forces it out.

“Um- Father, could I go and see my friends’ band perform tomorrow night?” He stares holes into his food.

He watches as his father’s eyes move up to look at him before darting to Nathalie. His expression is difficult to read, changing ever so slightly a couple times in ways Adrien doesn’t really understand.

Finally he sighs. “Nathalie, does he have any photoshoots tomorrow?”

She glances at her ipad, tapping and looking over it for a few seconds. Her eyes move to look between Adrien and Gabriel.

“His next photoshoot isn’t till Sunday at 2 pm.”

C’mon….

There’s a flicker of something in his father’s eyes. He and Nathalie hold each other’s eyes for a long moment, seemingly having a wordless conversation. Father’s eyes move to him and he lets out a breath Adrien didn’t notice him holding.

“Alright, but you will stay in sight of your bodyguard at all times.” He pushes his glasses up his nose, staring to the side.

Did he- HE SAID YES-

It takes a lot of effort to not jump out of his seat in excitement.

Instead, he goes with a grateful smile. “Thank you Father, thank you!”

Said male’s lips quirk up every so slightly, but never reach a full smile. “Make sure to finish your Piano practice before you go.”

“Of course.”

A silence washes over them all again and Adrien gets swept up thinking about the concert.

I wonder how many people will show up. It’s going to be in the park rather than the Liberty, so there’s bound to be more people, right?

He glances at his ring and purses his lips. He’s always had luck when it comes to his father not noticing him disappearing to fight an akuma, but it's plausible that one could show up tomorrow.

Though it has been a couple days since I’ve seen M’ladybug.

—

He watches as people zoom past through the window in the limousine.

His eyes dart and notice that the divider is up, so in theory his bodyguard won’t hear him. After some quick pondering, he opens his jacket and let's Plagg land onto his thigh.

“You think they’ll have concert snacks there?”

Probably not.

Cracking a smile, he rolls his eyes. “You already know I brought you cheese, if you behave that is.”

Plagg’s ears perk up. “Of course, I’m the best behaved cat in history.” He gives a mischievous grin.

Yeah right.

Adrien just laughs lightly. “Tell that to the dinosaurs Plagg.”

“They had it coming,” he huffs.

The car comes to a stop. The park he’s spent many days before at, stands to his right.

“Whatever you say buddy.”

Plagg flies back inside his jacket and after a second, Adrien’s bodyguard is pulling open his door for him. He gives a nod in thanks as he slides out and spots his friends in the distance.

He glances at his bodyguard. “Mind giving me a bit of space during the concert, I promise I’ll stay in the park the whole time?”

The other nods and slides back into the front seat.

Good. If an akuma attacks, I should be good to slip away and transform.

His eyes dart back to where his friends all hang around a small handmade stage. He turns and starts walking closer. As everyone’s faces grow more clear, Luka’s form stands out amidst everyone. He’s wearing a white cat-unicorn mask with a blue horn and a shiny blue encircling his right eye, a pink encircling his left eye with a lightning shaped crack across it. He’s got a fluffed out blue collar and light blue cat-unicorn themed armor.

He looks cute.

Wait what- no- they all look great. Of course they do, Marinette’s a good designer.

When he gets close enough, Rose attacks him with a hug. “You made it! This is going to be the best night ever!”

Adrien gasps for air and chuckles, “Yeah I’m glad to be here! Thank you for inviting me.”

She lets him go and bounces on the heels of her feet. “Of course!” She puts on a mask similar to Luka’s but instead it’s pink and white with large magenta and neon pink patterns. “Aren’t Marinette’s masks super cute?”

Adrien glances over at Luka who’s in the middle of talking to Juleka about something. His mask is pushed up on the top of his face, in his fluffy hair.

Definitely some of Marinette’s best work…

He freezes and forces his eyes back to Rose. “Y-yeah they’re awesome.”

Her eyes narrow a bit and she looks over in the direction of where he’d been looking. A wave of affection fills her eyes as she stares at Juleka for a long second before moving back to look at Adrien.

“I should go help everyone finish setting up, but thanks for coming! We should be starting in a bit.”

Pushing her mask up onto her head, she bounces off towards Ivan, who’s currently tinkering with his drum set.

Nino looks over and waves him over to where a bunch of foldable chairs are set up in rows. Alya and her sisters are sitting with Marinette in one of the rows. Nathaniel and Marc are sat in the back row beside each other, whispering to each other quietly.

He walks over to where Nino stands in the aisle near Alya.

“Hey Dude, so your Dad let you come?”

Adrien nods, letting Nino guide him into some seats near the front. “Yeah he did. I didn’t even have to defend my reasoning this time!”

Nino holds up his hand for him to high five. “Glad to see him being cool for once dude.”

They sit down and chat absentmindedly as Luka, Juleka, Ivan, and Rose finish setting up. Between topics in his conversation with Nino, he watches Luka tune his and Juleka’s instruments. He watches Luka help Rose with a broken light and Ivan with finding a missing drumstick. Luka seems to be all over the place until finally everything seems to be ready.

Just in time too, since the flyer said they were going to start at 5 pm and it’s about 4:50 when they finish setting up.

Glancing around, a good majority of their class managed to show up along with Ms. Bustier, Ms. Couffaine, Rose and Ivan’s parents, and Marinette’s parents. Besides that though, there doesn’t seem to be anyone with zero relation to the band members present, but none of the band members seem all that upset about it.

Luka strums his guitar loudly, testing all the mics and speakers. The sound echoes out across the park rather successfully. Rose grabs the mic and they begin performing with ease.

Adrien watches Luka and the rest of the band play, all four members moving around in an energized manner. The lyrics and intensity of “I Love Unicorns” become a dull melody in his head as his attention focuses on Luka subconsciously. He takes note of how, once or twice during the song, Luka and Ivan pipe in as background singers for Rose.

I wish I could hear them individually a bit better.

The thought makes him think back to when he and Ladybug fought Frightningale. He remembers all the rhyming and dancing fondly despite how difficult it made things at the time. Ladybug seemed to be just as quick to a solution even with dancing and rhyming though. In fact, she was incredibly good at dancing and rhyming while he remembers struggling to come up with rhymes.

Rhyming and dancing are aspects of being a musician…

His mind tunes back into Kitty Section and he stares at the lead guitarist in thought.

Luka is probably good at rhyming and dancing… just like Ladybug.

Glancing over at Nino, he notices Nino is stood up with Alya, the two of them dancing in place together to the music.

He probably won’t notice.

Adrien carefully pulls out his small notepad and flips to the page with comparison notes on Ladybug and Luka. He adds a new bullet point between the two names and scribbles ‘good at music’ in tiny letters.

Huh.

Could be a coincidence though.

He shoves the notepad back in his pocket and continues watching the concert.

—

It’s around 6:45 pm when they wrap up the concert.

Rose gets swarmed immediately by a few people who showed up during the concert, but she seems excited to talk to them. Juleka and Ivan go to chat with Alya, Marinette, and Mylène while folding up the seats. Nino wanders off to call his mom.

Adrien watches Luka take off his cat mask and lay it on a stool near the stage. His hair sticks to his face with sweat and he seems to eagerly take off the soft blue kitty armor, placing it with his mask. He begins packing up everyone’s instruments, treating each guitar pick and speaker cord with gentle care.

Why is he doing it all by himself?

With a frown, Adrien walks over and hoists himself onto the handmade stage. He squats beside Luka, who’s currently placing away Juleka’s bass in its case with the cords they used to connect it to the speakers. Luka’s hands stop moving and his gaze moves to Adrien.

“Hi there.”

A smile makes its way to his face. “Hey. You guys were amazing tonight.”

Luka smiles back, scratching the back of his neck. “Thanks, but I hardly did anything. It was all Rose’s confidence and voice that really made the whole thing so fun. Juleka and Ivan both did really well too.” He tucks the last few cords into the case and then shuts it closed. His painted fingers click closed each clasp. “I’m glad you could make it Adrien.”

The way his voice says each part of his name makes him shiver. He doesn’t pay much attention to it though.

“Me too, I love being able to support my friends.”

The other boy chuckles, standing up and placing Juleka’s bass with his closed guitar case.

“It definitely means a lot to Rose that you could come, you’re kind for trying to support the people you care about.” He bends over and detaches the last of the cords hooked up to the big speakers. “It’s an admirable quality.”

Says Mr. Good Guy.

Adrien walks over, helping Luka hoist up one of the big speakers and begin carrying it to Rose’s parent’s car. “Well you have a ton of redeeming qualities I’d say.”

Luka hums and takes the speaker from Adrien, carrying the weight alone before promptly placing it in the trunk of the car. “That’s good to hear. I doubt they’re anything different from your own though.” He smiles brightly in his direction.

He’s unsure of how to really respond to such compliments one after the other. “Thanks.” He says between a breath of awkward laughter.

He’s so randomly genuine.

The dark-haired boy dips his own head awkwardly. “Sorry if that made you uncomfortable… I’m not great at normal conversation so I tend to just say whatever comes to mind specifically or say nothing at all.”

The two grab the second speaker and repeat the trip of carrying it to the car.

“No, it's fine! Compliments are easy for me to dish but hard to take is all.”

This time, Adrien helps Luka place it in the trunk even though he knows Luka could carry and place it on his own.

“I think I’m a bit like that too. Maybe in a bit of a different way though. Guess we both have to work on taking them?” He grabs a water bottle from the back seats of the car, tossing one to Adrien.

Taking the water bottle gratefully, he sips it as they walk back towards the stage.

“Yeah, guess we do.”

When they reach the stage, Adrien hears a car honk and notices his bodyguard waiting with the limousine. He checks the time and considers a little over two hours a fair bit of time to hangout with his friends. He supposes it’s probably the best time to head home anyways.

Luka looks between him and the limo before settling his gaze on Adrien.

“Thanks for the help Adrien. Hope you’re able to make it to another concert some time. The next few will probably be at the Liberty again.” He chuckles.

“I’m always happy to attend. I’ll see you around?”

“Sure, see you later.” Luka waves before going back onto the stage to continue packing everything up. He notices Ivan is there packing up his drums.

Adrien says quick goodbyes to Nino, Rose, and the others before heading over to his bodyguard.

Said male gives a silent nod as he opens the car door, as if asking him if he had fun to which Adrien smiles.

“I had a great time, thank you for taking me.”

He nods in response with a slight smile and Adrien slides into the backseat.

His bodyguard closes the door and drops into the driver’s seat as they begin the ride home.

I wonder…

Pulling out his phone, he searches up ‘Kitty Section’ and finds a couple videos people have taken of their performances. They seem to be filmed by Alya for Rose, but he clicks one and watches through it. The camera remains set on the band as a whole, but occasionally it zooms in on specific band members. He saves it to a Youtube playlist.

The most popular Kitty Section video is a video from their performance during XY’s promotion from a month or two ago. It has multiple close up shots, one even with Rose and Luka back to back. Luka has a soft smile and Adrien takes a screenshot without thinking. He decided to save that video too.

I like the song. That’s all.

The look he’s receiving from Plagg inside his jacket doesn’t agree with that.

Chapter Text

[He knows Adrien Agreste like her.]

Adrien wishes his notepad was bigger. It’s been a month since he started his notes comparing Luka and Ladybug. Either his handwriting is too big or his notepad is too small, because he’s run out of pages.

“What if you used something bigger than a notepad?” Plagg offers lazily from his seat on Adrien’s pillow, hugging a piece of camembert.

Like what?

He glances at the kwami and then around his room.

“What’s convenient that’s bigger than a notepad?”

Plagg shrugs and then points at an empty corkboard underneath Adrien’s desk. “Use that or something, I don’t know.”

A corkboard? Wait, that might work…

Setting his notepad down, he jumps off his bed and crouches next to his desk. The corkboard is a bit bigger than a desktop computer. He checks his phone and notices he has about another thirty to fourty minutes before he’ll be busy again with a photoshoot.

I guess I can try using this… but I don’t want anyone seeing it. I can’t just expose Ladybug’s secret identity.

He pulls the corkboard out from under his desk and grips the edges tightly. Hoisting it up, he uses his foot to kick open his walk-in closet. He sets up the corkboard on the floor in the back of the closet against a wall. It takes him a moment before he realizes he’s going to need a couple things and his head fills with ideas of how to make all his notes fit on the board while also leaving room for future notes.

Adrien grabs his laptop and opens it up, clicking on his youtube playlist for Kitty Section. A quick scroll and he finds his favorite video, skipping through the video until he gets to the part with the close up on Luka and Rose. He screenshots his screen and speedily goes to crop out Rose from the picture.

“Hey Plagg, can you go check if anyone is near the printer?”

The cat kwami stares at him before groaning and phasing through the floor with a mouthful full of cheese. After a few moments, he reappears and crashes onto his previous spot on Adrien’s pillow.

“It’s clear for you to print pictures of your boyfriend.”

My what-

His head snaps around and he throws an eraser at Plagg, who easily dodges the object. “He is not my boyfriend! He’s just a friend. Ladybug’s the one for me and he might not be it.”

Plagg rolls his eyes.

Decidedly ignoring him, Adrien prints the cropped screenshot and then a picture of Ladybug as well. He all but runs to the printer and grabs the photos before he can get caught.

Luckily he doesn’t run into Nathalie or his father on his way back to his room. They must be busy.

He searches his drawers and room, spending a good five minutes simply finding blank sheets of paper, push pins, and some red string. Apparently, it’s the only color of string he has available. Adrien pushes open his closet doors and sits down in front of the corkboard with his gathered materials and photos as well as a pen.

It takes him some time. He pins Luka’s photo in the middle of the corkboard to the right, with Ladybug on the left of the middle. Using more push pins, he places string between the two photos. More string ties to different notes he’s made, but he tries to only include the major ones from the notepad, also keeping it in groups or using umbrella terms for multiple similarities he noted. He includes some differences as well, like how he’s the same height as Luka but taller than Ladybug or how Ladybug has longer hair and well… a different physical appearance.

By the end, he’s got plenty of notes and things pinned as well as some doodles he’s made of Ladybug and Luka in the corners to make the board look nicer. There’s still space he can add things in the future, but he definitely feels more satisfied with it than his overfilled notepad.

The blond cracks his knuckles, grinning with a sense of achievement for finishing. “Finally done!”

A voice he very much recognizes cuts him from his pleased thoughts. “Uh… Adrien?”

Wait what-

His gaze zips over to where Kagami stands awkwardly in the doorway to his closet. Her eyes are transfixed on the corkboard with a confused expression.

Oh fuck-

Adrien all but crashes into the board, trying to cover up as much of it as he can. “Hi, Kagami! You didn’t see anything, yeah? Yeah!”

Kagami purses her lips, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Adrien, why do you have a board with pictures of Luka in your closet?”

Oh crap, she knows- wait she didn’t see the Ladybug stuff?

It takes him a moment to realize he was sitting in front of the left side of the board while the right side faced the doorway. She must’ve not been standing there long. He would take that as a victory if her catching him with a board covered in Luka wasn’t harder to explain.

“Uh well I- you see- I- I am just a huge fan of Kitty Section! I’m making a little colleague and when you came in I had only finished Luka.”

She crosses her arms and takes a step closer. “Then why would you crop the rest of the band out? I can tell it’s from that one live performance.” Kagami’s face changes as if she comes to her own conclusion. “Do you have a crush on Luka?”

“What!? No! I’m- he’s just a good friend!” He suddenly feels extremely cornered. Literally.

Her eyes soften. “Adrien… I’d never judge you for being… you know I’m Bi myself, so I’d never think less of you for anything.” She frowns, conclusions clearly forming in her head and making an appearance in her expression.

Fuck-

Without thinking he instinctively blurts, “I do not like Luka! I… might like guys though?”

A small smile graces her face and she moves to sit beside him on the floor. He turns the corkboard to face the wall so he can stop hugging it to try and cover what’s on it. He leans against his wardrobe, while Kagami leans against the wall opposite of him. She sits criss-cross applesauce in a neat manner that she’s always had. He hugs his knees to his chest, leaning his chin on them.

Kagami speaks first.

“Have I ever told you about how I realized I was… well Bi?”

He shakes his head silently, eyes focused on her.

Her laugh mixes with a sigh as she fiddles her fingers together. “I think I always sorta knew deep down, but it never occurred to me really since well, you’ve met my mother.” She glances between the floor and him before settling her gaze on the carpet of his closet.

“Y’know how there was that Friendship Day event over a month ago?” Her eyes glaze with a hard-to-place emotion.

Adrien nods. “Yeah, Alya and Wayem won that didn’t they?”

She chuckles, “Yeah me and Marinette got preoccupied when my mother got akumatized.” Her lips tilt into a soft smile. “But before that… Marinette called me her friend. She tried to calm my mother down and explain it all even. Once my mom was unakumatized… we went and got orange juice together.”

Marinette never mentioned that. I didn’t even know they got partnered.

Wait-

“Even before that… well I’ve had this… wish for far longer than that to be her friend. Maybe more than that.” She finally meets his eyes. “I’ve rarely had crushes before… so it took a long while to truly come to terms with it, but I’ve always had a feeling you know?”

He drops his knees. “So.. you like Marinette? Like.. like like? And you just, knew?” The emotion in her eyes. He realizes that it’s affection. It’s suddenly clear who it’s for.

Kagami tilts her head back and stares at the ceiling. “I do. And… well I didn’t realize immediately I liked her, that was sort of a thing that progressively became more clear, but being Bi as a whole. It doesn’t really feel super clear when you aren’t thinking about it… but the more I reminisced, the more I realized that I’ve always felt this way. That I’ve always found people cute or pretty regardless.” Her eyes flicker back to him. “So the question is, even if you really don’t have feelings for Luka. Have you ever had thoughts or… feelings that weren’t in line with the ‘Heterosexual way?’”

Thoughts…

Even though she said besides Luka. His brain seems to supply memories of him anyways. Like how warm and soft his hand was when he shook it the first time they met. How pretty he looks when performing. It makes him a bit dizzy to really think about it.

“Well yeah.. he’s really handsome and his eyes sparkle like the stars. He’s just.. really nice and pretty.”

She freezes. “He?” Her expression warps into a slightly smug expression. “Who’s he? Luka?” A pause. “You said you didn’t like him that way.”

I don’t- I- I can’t tell her that I don’t have a crush on him I just think he might be Ladybug who I do love that way…. Fuck.

Maybe if I lie that I do she’ll leave it alone?

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Okay, maybe I- maybe I do like him.. possibly.”

Her eyes flicker with understanding and she nods. “I promise not to tell anyone. Anyways… Before I saw your secret love board, I came to return your fencing bag. You must’ve forgotten it yesterday.” She motions to his fencing bag that’s sat outside his closet near where she was standing before.

His ears get warm when he processes what she said, but he tries not to think about it. He’d never make a Ladybug love board. “Thank you Kagami. See you in fencing tomorrow?”

Kagami gets to her feet and smiles with a soft nod. “Of course, who else is going to be there to beat you?” She waves and walks out of the closet, moving through his room towards the door.

He watches her leave before swiftly leaving his closet and shutting the doors completely. No one else gets to see it.

Now she thinks I have a crush on Luka….

Wait.

Adrien gets a sudden idea. If he actually did something like making a move on Luka, something that impacted him enough to make him think. Maybe he’d be able to see if Ladybug gets lost in thought or something. That’s got to be worth at least a bit of proof right?

Though, he realizes he doesn’t exactly know how he’d even go about trying to flirt with Luka. He’d be better off not being too obvious since there’s a big chance still that Luka isn’t Ladybug.

A notification from his phone grabs his attention.

Nino? Wait actually… he’d be able to help. He’s dating Alya so he’s bound to know something.

Before he can continue pondering it, Nathalie knocks on his door and he notices it’s time for his photoshoot.

—

Nino proves to be helpful until he actually ends up down at the pier.

Suddenly everything Nino mentioned about “going with the flow” and “being yourself” and what not is completely unavailable in his brain.

He knows he can do this, he’s flirted a million times as Chat Noir. The difference is Adrien Agreste has a completely different reputation to keep up. For the first time in ages, he tries to shake off his Adrien Agreste persona. He tries to pretend he’s Chat Noir, that he’s free to be himself and be a bit flirty.

Adrien spots Luka sitting at the front of the Liberty, a bottle of what he thinks is nail polish on a table next to him as he paints his nails.

I can do this. He might be Ladybug. I just have to pretend he’s her.

Wandering towards the houseboat, he gets to the edge of the boat before deciding to clear his throat to try and get Luka’s attention. He brings a closed fist to his mouth, clearing his throat loudly. Luka’s head darts up and he blinks at him for a moment before placing the brush for the nail polish back into the bottle and standing up carefully. He keeps his fingers facing up, and Adrien guesses they’re not dry yet.

“Hey Adrien, Juleka isn’t here. She’s at Rose’s house today, I think.” He smiles.

Okay, flirtations activated. Just pretend he’s Ladybug. But don’t say bugaboo. That would fuck me over.

Leaning against the boat, he grins. “Actually, I came here to see you.”

Luka’s eyes widen ever so slightly and he raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What can I do for you?” He absentmindedly blows on his nails.

Don’t look at the nails. Don’t look at his nails.

“I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out? If you’re free right now that is.”

The other boy glances at where he was sitting. “Um sure? I’m just painting my nails, so I guess I’m free.” He laughs awkwardly and gestures to the steps onto the boat. “Welcome aboard.”

Adrien hops onto the Liberty, following Luka back to the chairs and small table. He sits on the chair opposite of Luka and watches him grab the nail polish bottle, beginning to continue painting his fingers.

He pauses in the action, eyes darting up to meet Adrien’s staring ones. “Can I ask you something?”

Oh fuck.

“Sure, what is it?”

His eyes move to stare at his fingers, face tinting just a shade darker, so subtle Adrien doesn’t really notice. “Why are you wanting to hang out with me specifically all of the sudden?” He pauses, seeming to try and work out his words. “It’s not a bad thing, we’ve just never really hung out one-on-one or anything before.”

Uh-

I can’t just go ‘oh yeah you’re super hot and stuff…’

Why is the only thought I can process is that he’s pretty?! His stupid eyes are looking at me how is this fair-

Swallowing thickly, Adrien laughs and smiles at him. “Well, y’know I just thought I’d get to know Juleka’s cooler older brother since I didn’t meet you ages ago at school like everyone else.”

Luka accidentally drops the nail polish brush, it slips, getting polish on the side of his hand as it falls onto the floor. “Oh uh-“ He chuckles while his eyes move to look to the side. “Cool.”

I’ve never seen him flushed before…

Cute.

Wait no, keep focused.

Adrien leans over, grabbing the fallen brush and handing it back to Luka who takes it with an awkward ‘thanks.’

They sit in a weird silence. It’s not uncomfortable, quite the opposite, but he can tell Luka feels as awkward as he does. His eyes stare at the splotch of nail polish on Luka’s hand and he impulsively stands up, walking to grab a wipe.

He returns and silently takes Luka’s hand, wiping off the polish for him.

Oh fuck oh fuck calm down, this is for scientific purposes.

“Your hands are really soft.”

The second he says it, he feels his face go a bit warm.

WHO SAYS THAT?!

However, he notices Luka just gets pinker, a smile gracing his face. This one’s less awkward. “I… uh thanks. That’s kinda strange to me. I’d thought my callouses would make them anything but…” He laughs.

Okay, that was a success I think?

“Speaking of, your guitar playing is stunning too. I loop your guys’ music all the time.” He leaves out the part about how he’s got Luka’s face in his closet. That would probably not help his case at all.

Luka nearly drops his brush again, but this time Adrien catches it before it makes a second mess. He watches as the dark-haired boy instinctively rushes to run his hands through his hair, his hands staying longer over his face before they return to his lap. “Thanks. That’s- I- It’s good to know you like it. Your piano playing is great too. You should definitely join us again sometime.” He stares at his hands.

He wasn’t supposed to turn this back on me the hell-

Adrien tries to ignore his face feeling as if someone set fire to it. Or how suddenly he’s at a loss for words.

Turns out he doesn’t need to respond anyways. There’s a couple of screams and crashes. The two of them glance over to where Mr. Pigeon flies over Paris, carried by a large group of pigeons.

Oh not again. This is like the 15th time he’s been akumatized.

The other boy places the brush back in the nail polish bottle and gestures to the downstairs of the houseboat. “You can hide down there if you’d like. I’m going to go make sure the people over near the street are okay first.”

Huh.. Weird. Almost like he needs to go transform.

He nods and watches Luka get off the boat before darting downstairs. He nudges Plagg out of his jacket.

“Guess I’ll be seeing him in a minute. Plagg, claws out!”

The rest is something he’s a bit more accustomed to.

—

Ladybug and Chat Noir land on the roof of one of the various buildings. Neither of their miraculous’ blink all that much since after fighting Mr. Pigeon a million times, it becomes a pretty quick win each time.

“Well, M’lady I think we have spare time. Care to grab some ice cream?” He makes sure to include a wink.

Mentally he prepares for immediate rejection, but instead he gets zero response at all.

Wait what-

He moves his gaze to Ladybug and notices that she seems lost in thought, eyes locked on an Adrien Agreste billboard across from the building they’re on. Her expression is a soft smile, eyes hazed with an affection he recognizes to be similar to Kagami’s from a couple days ago.

Wait wait wait wait-

Ladybug is staring at me- I mean- Adrien Agreste?

That means…

Clearing his throat, he notices Ladybug jumping and darting to look at him, face covered in a blush. It’s extremely similar to the flush he saw on Luka earlier.

Holy shit.

This- She’s- He’s

Luka is Ladybug.

“Sorry Kitty, I’ve got somewhere to be, but maybe next time. Bug Out!” She zips off towards the left.

Chat Noir sits there, leaning against his stick, still trying to process his revelation.

“Wow. I’m gay now.”

Chapter Text

[He’s good company like her]

“You’re a cat person? I don’t know why, but I pictured you being a dog person.”

Luka’s back is against the wall as he leans on it while sitting on his bed. Adrien continues absentmindedly admiring all of Luka’s guitar picks. They’re all quite the sight to see.

Adrien chuckles, feeling Plagg in the inner pocket of his jacket. “I’ve just had more experience with cats, see strays all the time. Father doesn’t want any pets in the house though, so no dogs.”

The other nods to himself. “I guess that makes sense. We’ve rarely had pets too. Houseboat and all. Juleka and I had a pet fish named Steve as kids, but when it died, we both cried for a whole week so Mom decided against getting a new one.”

Walking back over to Luka’s bed and sitting at the opposite end of it, Adrien rests his head in his hand. His eyes focus on Luka. “Understandable, fish are pretty hard to take care of actually. Oh wait, have you heard about the new exhibit at the aquarium?”

Maybe I should ask Ladybug to go with me…

“A new exhibit? I’ve never gone there so I didn’t realize there’s a new exhibit. What’s it of?” He tilts his head ever so slightly and Adrien notices his bangs follow the motion.

“It’s a lionfish exhibit! It just opened last weekend.”

Luka’s eyes widen with a hint of interest. “That sounds cool. Are you planning to go to it?” His head rests on his arm, currently sitting on his knee.

If Ladybug says yes, but that feels unlikely.

Adrien shrugs, glancing at the ceiling. “Depends really, do you think you’ll end up checking it out?”

His eyes move to watch Luka fiddle with his thumbs. His nail polish is chipped at the edge of his nails on some fingers. He notices ink underneath his hoodie sleeves and wonders what the ink splotches are from.

“I don’t know, maybe. Juleka would probably rather go on a date to the exhibit with Rose, so I might if someone like Marinette or-” He pauses. “Yeah I guess if Marinette would want to go or Juleka…” He awkwardly stops talking, scratching the back of his neck.

Or Nino, Ivan, Alya… He could probably find someone to go with him.

“I’m sure there’s a ton of people who would go with you! There’s everyone from Kitty Section and Nino and all the other guys.” Adrien lists each person, counting them on his hand.

Luka stares at his jeans, fingers messing with his sleeves and bracelets distractedly. “I uh… I’ve not really ever hung out with any of those guys one on one before… Mostly just, seen them when we’ve all hung out as a group or something. We just, don’t interact that often.” He laughs with a bit of tension.

Wait- he goes to a different school, doesn’t he? Is he forgetting he could simply go with his friends from his school…?

Flopping backwards, Adrien lies down on the bed and stares at Luka in the side of his vision. “Man, I almost forgot you’re not in our school. Do you have any friends from your own school then?”

Silence.

Then, quietly, “No.”

What?

The other’s head darts up quickly. “I uh, I’m just kinda bad at interacting- I’m fine though.” His lips press against each other tightly, messing with his sleeves, pulling them over his knuckles.

How does he not have more friends?

Adrien launches up, leaning on his hands as he sits and stares. “So who do you eat with during lunch? Is it Juleka?”

Luka coughs into his arm. “Uh no. My lunch break starts 15 minutes or so before your guys’ lunch break ends. And she likes to spend it with her art club friends.” He smiles softly, slightly nervous. “I usually eat alone.”

Wait-

Like me.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Adrien nudges Luka’s knee. “That’s alright though. I eat alone too. Overprotective dad, am I right?”

“That must suck. Maybe you could tag along with one of your friends for lunch soon.” His phone dings and Luka opens it, scrolling through and then hopping off his bed. “Sorry to cut this short, but I have to head to work. Need a ride back home?”

As much as I do, it’d be easier to walk to where my photoshoot is going to be later. Plus wouldn’t him dropping me off make him late?

He gets off the bed and follows Luka upstairs to the main deck. “It’s alright. I have a photoshoot nearby soon so I’ll just walk over.”

“I can take you to your photoshoot spot if you need.” He smiles softly.

He’d still be late.

Adrien smiles back, shaking his head. He refuses to give in a second time around. “You’ll be late for work, really, it’s okay Luka. I’ll be fine.”

The other boy begrudgingly nods, waving as Adrien walks towards the pier. “Okay, but I really wouldn’t mind. If I’m ever late I just work that many minutes overtime. I wouldn’t be in trouble or anything.” He smiles.

PLEASE DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME WHEN YOU HAVE MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS!

His teeth grate against each other as he tries to resist the extremely tempting offer. He doesn’t want Luka working later for him. “Thank you for the offer, maybe next time.” He reaches the edge of the boat, hopping down onto the pier before Luka can offer again. “I’ll see you around!”

“If you’re sure Adrien. See you around.” He gives a small nod, walking towards where his bike is.

—

Adrien stands at the back gates of La Fountaine, Luka’s school. He has about two minutes left before it’s likely Luka’s lunch break will start. At least if Luka’s fifteen-minute estimate is correct.

He takes a deep breath and pushes against the gate, opening it and slipping inside the school’s courtyard. If Luka doesn’t even show up and Adrien ends up just sitting there, he’ll definitely feel embarrassed. He’s hoping that doesn’t happen.

A part of him registers when a bell rings and then students are rushing out in small packs of teens. His face is covered in a hat and sunglasses, his weak attempt at not getting recognized. Surprisingly, it works.

Waiting.

His eyes are glued on the doors, hoping to see Luka show up. After another minute or so, he sees a head of dark hair and a recognizable blue hoodie. Luka walks alone, earbuds in his ears. His fingers tap against his hip in a manner that you wouldn’t notice unless you look directly at his hands. He travels away from the doors, sitting behind a tree at the farther reaches of the courtyard.

Pulling down his hat more, Adrien wanders towards where Luka is sitting, swerving between students.

When he reaches the tree, Luka doesn’t look up from where he eats at his lunch, simply scrolling through his phone. He rests his phone on his knee and pulls down his left sleeve, his arm covered in some doodles and random lyrics. He pulls the lid off of a pen with his teeth and begins to write, not noticing Adrien nearby.

Adrien clears his throat, sitting down next to Luka.

Said male glances over and jumps, finally noticing him. “Adrien?”

Tilting his glasses, he grins. “The one and only.” He grabs one of Luka’s earbuds, taking it out.

Luka rolls his sleeve down, capping his pen. “What are you doing here?” His eyes stay on Adrien. “Not that it’s a bad thing, I just didn’t expect you.”

“Well, you eat alone and I eat alone.. so I thought it would be nice if I came here to surprise you and share Lunch time together.” He nudges Luka’s shoulder gently.

The dark-haired boy nudges his shoulder back with a smile. “That sounds nice.” He takes out his other earbud, shoving them in his pocket. “Did you ever decide if you wanted to go to that exhibit?” His expression looks as if he wants to ask something else, but Adrien isn’t a hundred percent sure.

“No I still don’t have anyone, sadly.”

He watches Luka fiddle with his fingers. “We could go together. Y’know as friends.” His eyes stare at his fingers.

Oh wait, I was going to ask Ladybug…

She’d probably say no though. And Luka’s offering…

Adrien steals a blueberry from Luka’s lunch box. “I’d love to, sounds like it’ll be fun.”

“Cool.”

The two of them sit in silence, eating their food. Adrien doesn’t really know what to talk about and Luka seems to enjoy the comfortable silence. The air around them is peaceful, the two of them leaning against the tree. Adrien finds it a much warmer silence than the silence he’s used to at lunch. Alone in his dining room.

His arm ends up pressed against Luka’s, not in an uncomfortable manner, just a comfortable light press. A reminder they aren’t alone.

After a while, Luka whispers quietly, his voice a comforting wave that washes over Adrien. “You should probably get going. Any longer and you might be late to class.” His wrist bumps softly against Adrien’s wrist.

Time passed faster than I thought it did.

“Ah shoot you’re right. This was nice though, I’ll definitely come back.”

Luka smiles, tossing a blueberry at him. “It’ll be our little tradition then?”

I’d wish for nothing else. I just want to stay a little longer. You make me feel safe.

Rather than any of that, Adrien simply says. “Tradition it is.”

Chapter Text

[He has a better appreciation for puns than her]

He taps his fingers against his seat nervously. His bodyguard remains in the driver’s seat, driving them both back to the Agreste Mansion after his fencing lesson. He told Luka to meet him at the aquarium at 2 o'clock, but it’s already 2 and he’s no closer to the aquarium. He knows he needs to ask his bodyguard to drive him there if he wants to be only a couple of minutes late, but his nerves aren’t helping him do that at all.

He’s helped me drive places without my father’s knowledge before, I just have to ask and he’ll probably help.

With a heavy inhale, he stops tapping. “Hey uh.. would you mind taking me to the aquarium? I promised a friend I’d be there.. like 3 minutes ago.”

His bodyguard’s eyes stare back at him in the rearview mirror for a moment before he gives a slight nod, turning the car around towards the direction of the aquarium. Adrien gives a quiet ‘thanks’ in response.

The car arrives at the aquarium almost 15 minutes late. Once the car stops moving, Adrien is all but shoving himself out of the car. He hates showing up super late, he doesn’t want Luka to think he isn’t coming and leave. Speed-walking as gracefully as he can, he moves towards the front of the aquarium, looking around for Luka. He spots him waiting somewhat near the doors to the aquarium, eyes glancing around until they land on Adrien. There’s almost a relief in his expression.

Luka walks towards him, fingers messing with his bracelets. “I didn’t think you were going to show up…” He laughs quietly. “Glad you could make it though.”

I can still make the most of this. I’m late, but that doesn’t mean this won’t be fun.

“Yeah, sorry I’m late, but I would never stand up a friend. Unless I get physically stopped maybe. I had to ask my guard to take me here.” His hand snakes up to the back of his neck. “It’s still pretty early though, let’s go!”

The other boy smiles softly and nods, following Adrien as he begins to walk into the building. “You’re right- What do you want to see first?”

When they get to the doors, the two of them show their individual tickets of which there was much conversation over who’d be paying until they both agreed to pay for their own ticket. The entry guards let them through and then they’re inside, walking into the lobby. There’s two signs, one towards a small reptile area and the other towards all the different marine exhibits. Adrien watches as Luka’s eyes light up at the reptile sign. His eyes dart to the blond.

Adrien shoves his hands into his pockets. “We could check out the reptiles before moving on to everything else?”

Luka smiles, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. “Sounds good to me.”

They both wander into the small reptile section. The room is circular with about eight different cases in total all around. Signs stand in front of each case with a couple benches in the middle and a few small lights to illuminate the reptiles, but overall the room is pretty dim. Together, they visit the first case; One filled with a couple lizards roaming their own handmade habitat.

The dark-haired boy reads the sign silently to himself before his eyes lock on two of the lizards. The lizards are next to each other, laying down and vibing. It looks kind of like they’re holding hands. Adrien glances at Luka’s hand, resting at his side. His nails are still chipped. He wonders what it would feel like just to-

“Adrien?”

What-

His eyes zip up to see Luka looking at him. “You looked lost in thought.”

What am I thinking, Ladybug would probably not hold my hand unless it’s an akuma battle or something.

“Haha, I was just thinking about what exhibit to go to next?” He notices he’d been reaching his hand out and pulls it into his pocket.

Luka nods, “Oh well you can pick whatever you’re interested in seeing.” His eyes move to the next case and light up when he notices there’s snakes in the small habitat. Adrien watches his excitement with a strange fascination. The other stands close to the glass, eyes watching the snakes inside.

He likes snakes?

Adrien coughs loudly into his arm. “You seem really interested in snakes. Is there a reason why?”

“Oh!” He flushes a bit. “Yeah, I guess I just got excited. They’re one of my favorite animals. So many people are afraid of them and don’t approach them, but most snakes are usually chill and just misunderstood. A lot of snakes are friendly little guys.” His face watches the snakes slither around behind the glass with a sense of understanding and Adrien feels momentarily out of place.

“I’m personally not afraid of snakes, I’ve held them before a few times actually.”

A look of appreciation and joy washes over Luka. “I guess you’re someone special then.” He smiles softly at the snakes one last time before facing Adrien. “What’s your favorite exhibit here, we should go there next…”

Someone special?

Ignoring his comment, he instinctively grabs Luka’s hand and leads him out of the reptile room. “Penguins! I love them so much they’re easily my favorite.” He guides Luka past some fish ponds and outside benches and trees towards the penguin exhibit.

When they reach the exhibit, Adrien notices his hand intertwined with Luka’s soft and calloused hand. His eyes move to notice Luka also looking at their hands. The two of them meet each other’s eyes for a moment before each taking their own hand into their pocket.

The two of them watch the penguins swim around in comfortable silence. Adrien feels the ghost of Luka’s hand still and it takes him almost a minute to stop focusing on it. He’s always liked holding Ladybug’s hand. This instance isn’t any different.

One penguin jumps out of the water, only to flop back in, swimming close to the glass. A little girl in front of them shoves her face into the glass, trying to wave at the guy.

Their little peaceful silence gets interrupted when Luka breaks the silence. “What kind of music do you like?”

Get to know each other questions huh?

I probably can’t say Kitty Section...

“Well, I usually focus on the instruments rather than the vocals. So anything I hear with a nice melody I suppose.” His eyes stay on the swimming penguins instead of looking at Luka.

Said male hums to himself. “I understand that. Have you ever heard any Beatles songs before?” His voice seems to pick up in thought. “Or Fall Out Boy? Or My Chemical Romance? Or-” Adrien glances at him and notices Luka flush awkwardly. “Sorry.”

I guess he must listen to a lot of music since he is a musician and all.

Nudging his arm, he laughs lightly. “Don’t apologize. I don’t know all those, but I think it’s cool that you do.”

Luka grins, nudging his arm back. “You should check some of them out. I could make you a list if you’d like.” They both wander over to other exhibits nearby.

“That would be nice. I’ve been running out of auto-generated youtube music.”

And Kitty Section videos…

The two of them wander around, chatting idly and watching the different marine animals swim and move. It’s nice, simple, and comforting in a way Adrien considers soothing after so many stressful photoshoots and classes. They admire the seahorses, discussing each other’s favorite movies and then there’s turtles where they quiz each other on Jagged Stone lyrics. It’s all enjoyable and he forgets about his responsibilities and his mansion and his school.

Then someone taps him on the shoulder and he turns to see a girl with a ponytail and jean shorts.

“Are you Adrien Agreste?” She has her phone in hand and suddenly everything is back. The illusion and peace are disrupted.

He smiles, but it’s tight and hurts. “Yes! That would be me. What can I do for you?”

Her lips perk up. “Can I take a photo with you and your boyfriend?” She holds up her phone. He notices her nails aren’t painted like Luka’s are.

Adrien hears Luka’s voice behind him, but he’s too scared to turn or move. “Oh huh? Sorry, I don’t know him. I think you’re misinterpreting.”

What? He could’ve just said we were friends… Does he not… want to be seen with me or something?

She raises an eyebrow and rolls her eyes. “Whatever, can I have a photo with you, Adrien?” Her feet tap in a minor annoyance.

“Yeah, of course.” His voice strains.

He forces a smile and she takes a selfie with a peace sign. She looks at the photo and then smiles. “Thanks.” She turns around and walks back to a group of girls. Her hand with her phone raises into the air.

“Guys guess what I got for my blog!”

Oh. She planned to post it. Of course.

His eyes move to Luka and notice Luka is watching him. He gives a thumbs-up, low enough the girl won’t look back and see it.

He knew she’d post it and start a rumor or something didn’t he… Was he trying to… protect me?

The pinches of hurt eating at his insides turn to mush and butterflies. Suddenly the fact that he even thought to doubt Luka’s kindness makes him want to burst out laughing. He doesn’t, but he thinks about it. The two of them wait until the girl and her friends leave the area before speaking.

“Sorry, I just didn’t want all of Paris thinking you were dating me or something. That’d be bound to make trouble for you.” He scratches the back of his neck.

“You didn’t have to do that for me. But yes, it is really annoying when people do that. Hell even if it was true and I suddenly got bashed on, then oh well, they’re uneducated clearly.” He thinks about Kagami and how stupid someone would be to judge her just because she likes Marinette.

Luka nods frantically. “I mean of course! I just,” His head lowers, his voice growing quiet and private. “Know what can happen when people are uneducated. I had to protect Juleka from a lot of it before she got held back a year.” He clears his throat, changing the subject before Adrien can respond. Pulling his blue hoodie off, he hands the jacket to Adrien. “If you want, you can put this on with the hood to try and help make it harder for anyone to recognize you.”

Seems like there’s more to what he was talking about- Wait his hoodie?

“I-I mean it’s kinda cold, isn’t it? You should keep it.” He looks between Luka’s face and the hoodie in quick flashes.

The other frowns. “I don’t have to worry about being recognized. Even Rose has barely gotten recognized before.” He presses the fabric of the hoodie into Adrien’s hands. “You won’t enjoy yourself if people keep coming up to you right? Then the possibility of me getting cold isn’t nearly as important.”

If I were a random fan, I’d recognize you…

He grips the hoodie tighter, “You win this round, but you’re still important.”

“If you’re really concerned…” Luka’s face is pink even in the dim light. His eyes look at the crabs in the tank nearby. “I could wear your overshirt…” His ears go red. “O-Or not! That sounds bad-”

Luka? Wearing my white button-up? Wearing- Him- He-

His brain doesn’t really think about it. “No- yeah- that sounds like a fair trade.” He says it all in one quick breath.

Luka takes his white overshirt when Adrien offers it. Adrien slips on the blue hoodie, pulling the hood on and feeling snug, even safe. His eyes move to Luka, who rolls up the white sleeves like Adrien does and pops the collar too. His eyes move to Adrien and he smiles dorkily. “The blue suits you.”

Everything suits you.

Adrien opens his mouth to respond back, but Luka goes redder and pulls him towards the fish tunnel where all the walls are glass by the wrist. He notices that the back of Luka’s neck gets red like his ears.

He gets his wrist released when they reach the beginning of the tunnel. Luka’s eyes widen and he looks up at it. “I’m surprised you’ve been allowed to go here.” He nears the glass and presses a hand to it lightly. “It’s beautiful.”

“Father used to take us on sorta field trip-like outings all the time before.. But it’s really nice. He doesn’t know I’m here now though.” He resists checking the time. He doesn’t want to know.

Looking over his shoulder at Adrien, Luka gives a small nod of empathy. “Hopefully he won’t find out then.” He walks farther down the tunnel and makes sure Adrien is following before he stands near the glass again. His head follows different fish. “I’ve always thought that water had this unique, hidden beauty… but it seems life only adds more to that beauty.”

The lights from the water and the tunnel flicker over Luka’s skin, making him look kind of like an angel. He notices scribbled writing and art all over his arms, each most likely handmade with a pen or sharpie. There’s a snake that wraps around his lower arm, lyrics he can’t read very well along the spine of the snake. Flowers, fish, and birds are drawn around with more scribbled words. His chipped, black nails shine on the top next to the glass and Adrien’s gaze moves up his arm to his face which looks so peaceful he can’t help but smile himself. The lights are like little stars in his eyes.

“Yeah.. really beautiful.”

Like Ladybug…

He thinks this is the closest he’ll get to a ‘yes,’ and it makes his heart drop.

Luka turns and motions behind himself. “I think I see the Lionfish exhibit over there. You ready to head over?” He smiles.

Adrien is snapped out of his haze and laughs awkwardly, hoping Luka didn’t notice him staring. “Ready as I’ll ever be!”

They make their way over and stand in front of the lionfish tank, watching them all swim around. One of the lionfish stands out to him when he notices it’s sharp blue color. It dances around another lionfish, one of the more common cream and caramel colored ones. The two fish swim together, interacting more than most of the rest of the fish.

A voice interrupts his thinking. “They kind of remind me of us. Colors and all.” Luka comments.

Of us, huh?

We’re the lionfish duo, I guess.

“The blue one is incredibly pretty then.”

Luka’s eyes go wide, his face lighting up like fireworks. “What?”

Adrien takes a moment to realize he spoke aloud. “Huh?”

The dark-haired boy’s eyes look to the floor. “You think I’m p-pretty?”

His face becomes increasingly warmer as his own words hit him. He covers his face with his entire arms, thinking that maybe, if he becomes still enough, he’ll become a statue. It doesn’t work. Instead, his mouth blubbers for an excuse as his brain works overtime to deheat. “I meant- I just thought- I mean the fish was pretty. Fish are nice.”

“Oh right, of course.” Luka’s face turns from being flushed to more dark in a morbid embarrassment. “The fish are pretty. Definitely the orange-yellow one.” He says in a quiet shame.

Oh fuck. Wait, does he think I’m pretty?

They stand in a much more awkward silence. Even as they begin to talk more and more as time passes, the awkwardness is still there in spirit.

As the two of them say goodbye later on, Luka hands Adrien a quick list of song and band recommendations.

—

“Sorry M’lady, he already knows that my love is fire.” He quips in a singsong manner when an akumatized villain that's going after people not in love doesn’t target him as much as Ladybug.

He doesn’t know the victim, just guesses someone got friend-zoned hard today.

His focus is momentarily on Ladybug, looking for a reaction at his Chainsmoker lyric, but they just respond how they usually do. He knows Luka might not remember everything from the songs and bands he recommended, but he has a gut feeling Ladybug understood the reference even if they seem indifferent.

The two jump down and he moves under, dodging the villain’s attack and Ladybug grabs the villain’s arm with their yoyo, giving him a chance to cataclysm the object with the akuma inside. It cracks open, the small moth flying out and fluttering until Ladybug snatches it with their yoyo and de-evilizes it.

Overall, the fight wasn’t too bad and Chat Noir gets up, grinning at Ladybug.

“Another one bites the dust, huh bugaboo?” He bounces on his feet.

They stare at him with a confused expression before shrugging to themself. “I guess so kitty.” Their earrings beep. “Bug out!” And then they’re off.

I wish they would’ve laughed at one of my jokes. Maybe Ladybug doesn’t want any clues to their identity.

He bounces off towards his house, ring reminding him he has about 3 minutes left till he de-transforms. Paris isn’t all that busy below, since the akuma struck during the first few hours of nighttime. Chat Noir watches the streets simmer down, people locking up shops and turning off lights.

His ring beeps loudly in his ears as he notices a familiar figure down below, biking through empty roads.

Luka?

Chat Noir hops into an alleyway, de-transforming in the dark. Plagg sighs tiredly, floating into his jacket pocket. “If you end up giving your damn clothes to him again, you better give me fountains of cheese.” He grumbles. The ride home from the aquarium the other day was filled with angry Plagg looks.

“Zip it Plagg that's not happening again. I’m just gonna say hi, so stay in there.” He wanders to the end of the alley, turning and seeing Luka on the sidewalk, squatting next to his bike.

Wait, this is a great chance to show him I listened to the music he sent.

Adrien walks over, squatting down on the opposite side of the bike. “Hey Luka.” He points a finger up at the sky and Luka’s eyes focus on him after he speaks. They follow his pointed finger, looking up at the dark sky above.

His mouth opens to respond to Adrien, but Adrien speaks first, speaking to the tune of the song. “There’s a million, billion, trillion, stars. But I’m down here with you.” His voice cracks at the end, changing the lyrics a bit.

Luka’s eyes light up and he smiles. “It’s because I’m ghosting your dreams.” He almost sings it, voice melodic.

He got my reference!

A giddy grin covers his face as he rushes through his memory for a response. “Then I’m living in a daydream.”

Singing to a song I couldn’t play...

“And I, well I found a burning rose.” He hums.

Adrien rests his arms on his knees. “It takes a dedicated hand.”

The other boy opens his mouth to respond, but his face contorts and he giggles softly. His hand moves and covers his smile in an almost dainty way. It's soft and cute and Adrien is suddenly unable to remember any song lyrics. He feels his heart go nuts, in a way he doesn’t have happen very often. He doesn’t realize he’s subconsciously leaning in to memorize every detail until he bumps the bike and it crashes backwards into him.

He’s pushed onto his back, face being squished with metal and pedals. Luka stops giggling immediately, rushing to grab the bike and pull it off him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to let go!”

Luka sits down beside him, looking at his face. “Are you okay?”

Physically? Yes.

Homosexually? No.

“I’m fine! I’m fine. It’s okay, really. All good!” Despite this, Luka still helps him sit up, the bike kickstand down this time. He rests a hand against his cheek, checking for any bruises or injuries. Adrien holds his breath. After a second or two, Luka’s hand drops, seeming to find nothing.

“I’m glad you’re alright then.” He sits back. “What are you doing out so late though? Won’t your Dad get onto you?” He bites his lip.

Adrien misses his hand. “Oh y’know.. Just wanted to go out for a bit. Night times nicer than day anyway.” He glances at the bike. “Why are you out so late?” He absentmindedly rubs the spot on his cheek that Luka’s hand was.

Said male blinks and ducks his head awkwardly. “I worked late today, but I sort of got lost on the outskirts of the city. Now my bike needs to be pumped.” He blinks in some form of realization. “How are you going to get home? The Agreste Mansion is a long walk from here.”

So is the pier.

“Oh! I think there might be a bike pump at my house so you can fix your tires. If you’re up for walking that is..” He laughs nervously.

Luka’s eyes go wide and he flushes. “Oh. Sure.” He looks to the side. “I can make sure you get home safe then.” He mutters the whole sentence quietly.

I don’t think there’s a bike pump at my house. I’ll figure it out.

They both stand up and begin walking, Luka pulling his bike behind him. At first it’s a silent walk, nobody outside and only some lights being on in the windows. The silence isn’t bad, but it becomes a bit awkward after a while.

He decides to interrupt it. “Have you been working on any new music lately?”

The question makes Luka go bright red and he isn’t sure why, but his face calms before Adrien can think much of it. “Rose and I have been working on a couple of things for Kitty Section, but nothing major.” He coughs into his arm. “What about you? Any interesting photoshoots or projects lately?”

My Ladybug related project has been pretty big, but I probably shouldn’t mention that.

Adrien laughs awkwardly. “Nothing special. I did get shoved into way too many onesies the other day though.”

Luka giggles again. “Really? I kind of want to see that!” He adds a quiet, “I’m sure you looked good though.”

Maybe I should find some of the pictures for him…

“It was kinda silly, but thank you. I’ll ask Nathalie for some of the photos for sure.” He smiles to himself.

The dark-haired boy smiles too. “Thanks.”

They stop at the front gates of the Mansion and Adrien teaches him how to climb over. The two of them make their way over to doors and it suddenly hits him that he usually gets in via his window using Chat Noir. He can’t exactly do that now.

“You said you have a bike pump I could borrow?” Luka quips.

Uhh….

Adrien doesn’t have to look around very much to realize that he definitely doesn’t have a bike pump. “Damn, maybe I don’t have one afterall. Or Father had it moved somewhere since I haven’t biked in years.”

Luka frowns slightly. “Okay. I guess I’ll need to get going then. I can probably walk back before it’s too much later.” He scratches the back of his neck. “Goodni-”

“Wait! I don’t wanna make you walk all the way back. Nobody checks my room until past noon on weekends so.. You could stay the night?” He holds extremely still, unsure if he overstepped some invisible boundary.

Apparently, he didn’t.

The other boy simply fiddles with his fingers. “I wouldn’t want to cause you trouble though. What if someone catches me there?” He grips his bike.

Staring holes into the ground, he responds quickly. “You’re not trouble Luka. If we’re caught then I can deal with it, Nathalie is usually forgiving anyway.”

C’mon.

He hears Luka exhale sharply and then say, “Okay.” A pause. “Where should I put my bike?” His voice is quiet as if he’s already worried about getting Adrien caught.

Nobody would notice it if it’s around the back right?

Adrien motions for him to follow and the two of them walk around to the far side of the Agreste Mansion. There’s a small bush and some flowers with a tree that’s close to the outside of his window up above. He helps Luka pull the bike over.

“No one checks out here very often so it’ll be fine for the night.” He motions up towards the tree. “That is how I get back into my room after sneaking out.”

I do not need to mention that now with Chat Noir I just vault into my room.

Luka nods. “Let’s go then.”

Chapter Text

[He has a 'friend' with a crush on me.]

Adrien blinks awake and everything from yesterday crashes into his head like a van. He remembers arguing with Luka lightly over who’d sleep on his bed until he caved and let Luka take the floor. His eyes adjust to the light in his room coming from his windows and he glances over to see Luka sitting on the floor beside the blankets and pillow Adrien grabbed last night, but they’re folded into a neat stack. Luka is looking out the windows at Paris, leaning back on his hands.

He likely fell asleep after Adrien did because after setting up a makeshift bed on the floor, Adrien remembers passing out almost immediately. That happens a lot after akuma fights. A small part of him feels strangely awkward realizing that Luka fell asleep after him and also woke up before him, clearly he’s waited for Adrien to wake up at least ten minutes if not way longer.

Sitting up fully on his bed, he clears his throat and watches as Luka turns his head to look at him. “Good morning.”

Luka smiles and nods at the stack of blankets. “Morning. I didn’t know where to put these so I just folded them for you.” He coughs into his elbow and stands up with a wary look around the room. “How’d you sleep?”

“I slept alright. I hope the floor wasn’t too uncomfortable?”

The other boy shakes his head with a soft expression. “It was fine, really. It was kind of you to offer for me to stay even with your dad in the first place.” His eyes move to the door, staying on it for a while. “I should probably get going though right? I don’t want you to get caught and be grounded or something.”

Adrien glances at his alarm clock on his side table. It reads ‘9:36 AM’ in big, blocky letters. “No one’s coming for another 2 hours, so you don’t have to rush at least.”

He watches as Luka’s eyes flicker across the room before hesitantly landing on Adrien. “There could be someone who comes earlier… Are you sure?” He bites down once on his lip tightly before blinking at Adrien and seeming to realize he could see Luka doing so. Luka lets his lip go from between his teeth and tugs lightly at his bangs.

I’m not used to people being more worried about me getting in trouble with my father than me. Huh.

“It’s okay, I’m sure.”

With a sigh, Luka nods. “Okay.” There’s a pause before he laughs in realization. “What now?”

Oh. Right, I didn’t think about that.

The blonde stares at Luka, trying to think of a response. “Hm. Do you know how to play piano?”

Luka’s eyes widen and he flushes in embarrassment, muttering out, “Actually I can play most instruments at least a little bit, but not piano.” He chuckles to himself. “I’ve tried before, but I’m just really bad at it.”

Huh. I thought he’d be able to play since he seems to be some magical music expert. I guess that’s not realistic.

“Wanna learn? It’d give me an actual reason to use the old thing.” He leaves out how he actually kind of hates the piano. The only times he seems to play it is when he’s playing a song his father wants him to learn or practicing those songs. His mom used to play it from time to time when he was a kid, but nowadays those memories are covered by draining and unwanted piano lessons.

It’s too late to think of something better though. Maybe he should’ve thought about it longer.

“Really?” Luka scrunches his face in thought. “Won’t someone like your dad or Nathalie hear? I mean, I’d like to learn, but I don’t want anyone to wake up and notice I’m here.” His eyes lock on where Adrien has brought up the piano from it’s little hole in the floor.

Maybe if father does hear, he’ll mistake it for my piano practice for today. That’d be nice.

Adrien shrugs. “I’m pretty sure no one will question me playing since I’m supposed to practice daily anyway. Most of the time the rest of the house is up before me too.” He pulls out the piano seat and sits down, patting the space beside him.

Luka slips into the spot beside him, eyes shining, looking at the piano in amazement. “No wonder you’re so talented with piano then, if you practice daily.” He blinks and glances at Adrien. “Though... that must be stressful.”

Ignoring the frown on his face, Adrien grabs Luka’s hands and places his hands flat on top of his. He guides them into place and absentmindedly starts explaining small things about keys and what he was doing. Luka stares at him with a strong admiration that sends a shiver down his spine.

I guess we’ll do the song Father has been having me practice recently.

“Piano notes are and also aren’t like guitar ones. They are related though so it shouldn’t be too bad to learn. Want me to run through the song I’ve been learning and then you try it?”

The dark haired boy nods slowly. “Alright.”

Adrien begins moving Luka’s hands with his own across the keys, playing the beginning of Claire De Lune. The two boys stay in a peaceful silence as he plays each key gently so the tune remains soft and not too loud. He gets about one and a half minutes into the song before releasing the other boy’s hands.

He looks at his hands, wondering for a moment why he could imagine Luka’s hands still in them. It’s a thought he shakes off quickly. “That’s mostly what I know so far, I can walk you through the first bit and help match the notes?”

Luka hums in thought. “I think I have the first few notes down, but I can’t remember the exact notes after those few… so that’d be helpful.” His painted nails and thin fingers press experimentally against the keys and he focuses on it with a sharp expression. Adrien feels himself smile as he watches the other boy slowly play the first few notes, messing up once or twice and correcting himself steadily.

A couple notes in, he hovers his fingers over the keys, eyes looking to Adrien. Adrien helps walk him through the song, occasionally ghosting his fingers over Luka’s. They talk in hushed whispers and he isn’t sure why their voices are so low, but it feels comfortable in a rebellious sleepover kind of way. He helps Luka get the timing right for different parts, feeling like a little kid at his first slumber party. For the first time in a long while, he remembers being a child again. He remembers his mother teaching him to play his first note. He remembers how good it felt. That same feeling runs through him as Luka plays through different sections of the song, slowly learning the notes.

His eyes move along the piano and Luka as if trying to memorize the moment. Then it hits him.

I like him. A lot. Not in a like-like way, not in a ‘oh he’s kind of attractive but not much’ way, but in a bordering-love kind of way. Oh god, I really like him.

It makes his heart swell and he feels a genuine happiness that comes with the realization. He doesn’t think it’s just because Luka is Ladybug anymore. Luka, himself, is something he really wants to hold onto.

A phone ringing breaks his giant explosion of heart throbbing. Luka startles and grabs his phone quickly. Adrien notices a picture of Juleka on the screen.

“Hey.” Luka mouths an apology and speaks in a hushed tone. There’s faint noise on the other side of the phone. “Yeah I know, I’m-” Luka’s face flushes a bit and he forces a cough. “I’m at a friend’s house.”

The dark haired male’s face drops into a sullen expression at something Juleka says on the other line. “No… It’s a guy from-” Luka glances at the bed. “-health class.” He bites hard into his lip and exhales with a forced smile. “No, I have my bike. And- you don’t know him.”

Another pause. “I will. Just… don’t tell Mom. I don’t want her freaking out again.” His expression relaxes. “Okay, thanks Jules. I’ll be home soon.” He drops his hand with his phone in it to his knee.

“Sorry, but I should probably go now. Thank you for teaching me a bit though.” He smiles. “It’s always nice to be… you’re good company, Adrien.”

Luka stands up and walks over towards the window.

Adrien follows him to where the window opens out to the tree in the yard. “Do you need help getting down?”

Sliding out the window and onto the branch, he waves. “I’ll be okay. Goodb-” His face pales as he stumbles against the wall below the window, nearly falling off the branch. He stands still for a moment, grasping at the wall before his face erupts in a pink color. “That doesn’t count.”

Grinning, Adrien leans out the window to stare at him directly. “Sure it doesn’t. I’m sure you’ll be perfectly fine, Luka.”

Said male’s ears are deep red now. “I’ll see you later Adrien.” He hides his face by placing it against the wall. “That’s never happened before.” He almost whines. Adrien notices that his neck is a bit red right beneath his hair too. It brings an even smugger grin to his face.

“Alright, see you around pretty boy.” He watches the back of Luka’s neck get darker and darker.

Luka sighs in exasperation and carefully climbs down the tree and he grabs something from near the tree’s roots. Holding it up, Adrien notices it’s a bike pump. Luka doesn’t yell anything, but his face is smiling and a bit smug now.

There’s a tug at his jeans and he glances down to see Plagg smirking at him with an expression that entirely proves he did it. And that he’s definitely not ashamed he did.

Now I look like an idiot.

He was smiling though, so maybe he likes idiots.

—

“You plan to do what dude?!” Nino’s eyes go wide, jaw metaphorically on the floor.

Adrien shushes him, eyes making sure no one in class noticed. “Do you want the whole school to know!?”

Nino nods. “Right, sorry man. You’re really going to ask out Kagami though?”

No, but I’m not exactly ready to scream about how I have a crush on Juleka’s brother.

“You could say that.” He fiddles with his pencil. He just needs to get a clue or two on what he actually plans. “I don’t know how to though.”

The other boy blinks and processes everything for a moment before grinning wide. He whispers enthusiastically, “Okay dude, don’t worry I’ve got you completely covered. I asked out Alya so I’m sort of an expert.”

His expression doesn’t fill Adrien with much confidence, but he trusts his friend to have somewhat helpful advice. He witnesses as Nino begins a long tangent about flirting that sounds eerily similar to his previous pieces of advice. A lot of what he says is difficult for Adrien’s brain to fully grasp onto, but he listens best as he can anyways. His tangent doesn’t last very long though since Ms. Bustier enters and begins class mid something about lions.

The blonde nudges him. “Hey buddy, can you write down everything since we’ve got class?” He smiles apologetically.

“Yeah sure dude.” Nino grabs a small sheet of blank paper and scribbles on it speedily. After a moment he passes it to Adrien underneath the desk. “Good luck by the way.” His face curls into a smile that scrunches his eyes.

I hope this actually helps.

He takes the paper and whispers back, “Thanks, Nino.”

His eyes glance at the paper’s words and he feels himself die inside.

Oh god.

—

Adrien clears his throat and let’s it spill out. “Will you go out with me?”

Staring back at him is his reflection which makes everything feel weirder. He frowns and shakes his head, trying to focus. He has to figure out what to say specifically.

“Hey hot stuff, wanna go out with me?”

His face goes red in the mirror. Oh my god, no that’s so bad no.

Breathing in and out, he tries again. “You make me really gay- shit.” He bangs his head against the bathroom counter. His brain goes full Chat Noir for a moment and all he can think up is:

“What’s a pretty face like yours doing out so late? Maybe I should take you somewhere nice and safe?”

“Is it hot in here or is it just you? I dunno but the ocean seems like a nice place to chill out if you’d like?”

“That akuma isn’t the only thing I wanna take out tonight, care to join me?”

“Am I asleep? ‘Cause I think you’re the man of my dreams.”

“Is that your phone or are you just happy to see me-”

He groans. “I’m a fucking idiot.”

After banging his head against the counter a couple more times, he turns the sink on and splashes his face with water to hopefully get rid of some of his horrible thoughts. He wants to be able to do this, for it to work. He just wants to get as close as he can to ‘yes.’ He tries to reach deep into his heart and pull up something about Luka that makes him happy. Everything that gives him sudden bursts of joy or comfort, he lets them run through his head.

His laugh… his hands… his guitar playing and his callouses… his smile and his blush… his giggle and poetry…. The way light hits his eyes….

The majority of his anxiety and agony over everything melts away, leaving him feeling calmer. It’s just Luka, his extremely attractive and sweet friend Luka. No big deal.

He takes a deep breath and looks at himself in the mirror.

—

“Luka, you are one of the most amazing people I’ve met. You’re always genuine and kind and just a great person to be around. You make butterflies go wild in my stomach, the good kind not the akuma kind. I.. I haven’t felt this way before, especially not about a guy. It’s all new to me, but I love every moment I spend with you. I feel free when I’m with you, like all the weight on my shoulders is gone. Now not to sound like an idiot but you’re also just, really, really, pretty. Luka Couffaine I- would you maybe... do you wanna… go on a date with me?”

He opens his eyes slowly, having squeezed them shut tightly when talking.

Luka’s eyes are wide, mouth a little ‘o’ shape, and his entire face, neck, and ears are a dark scarlet color. He stares blankly for a while. Adrien worries that maybe he broke Luka or something, that Luka is trying to figure out how to say no. His expression is hard to read, it feels like pure shock, but he can tell there’s something more there.

Finally, Luka’s expression changes. His eyes start to water a bit and he clasps a hand over his mouth. He blinks away the wetness in his eyes, like he’s trying not to cry. It makes Adrien’s stomach go sick.

He isn’t saying anything…

“Are you sure?” Luka whispers after a while more. His body is shaking a bit, but he’s also smiling in a twisted way. A smile that’s part happy, part pained.

What?

Adrien frowns, but he takes a deep breath and nods. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure of anything else in my life.”

Luka laughs. At first it sounds cracked and painful, but it develops and suddenly it’s a genuine laugh. “I thought I was crazy.” He goes silent.

What.

“Crazy how? What do you mean?”

His voice goes soft. “For crushing on Adrien Agreste and thinking that maybe, I’d be his first choice rather than his second.” He pulls at his hair, messing with it. “I spent ages last weekend trying to ask you to go to the aquarium with me as a date. I guess I was less obvious than I thought.”

Shit.

It’s like his heart is getting claustrophobic in his chest, so it’s beating wildly to try and get out. “God I am so dumb. You did call that fish cute on purpose! I shouldn’t have back-tracked on mine back then ugh.”

The dark haired boy giggles, hand and all. “I don’t think you’re dumb.” He says it so genuinely and soft, it makes Adrien hold his breath. “I think you’re incredible actually.”

Adrien feels a bit dizzy. “Is that a yes?”

Luka’s face drops. He bites his lip. “I want to… I really want to.” His eyes look gray. “But I have…. A friend. This friend has a big crush on you and I don’t want to hurt them by dating you in front of them.”

Is he talking about himself? About Ladybug?

The dark haired boy continues, “And… won’t you get in trouble with your dad? I doubt he’d approve of me.” His emphasis on the word ‘me’ makes Adrien ache further. He’d never thought about his dad’s reaction, which is a first for him. His focus had been all on what to say, it simply never crossed his mind.

His brain runs fast, trying to think of a solution. Then the obvious hits him. “I understand.. I get that.” He pauses. “What about one date in complete privacy to see how it goes? If it doesn’t work out we can still be friends, and it wouldn’t hurt your friend since we’d be alone. I don’t even need to tell my dad either.”

The other boy pushes his hair back distractedly and Adrien really wants to run his fingers through it experimentally. “Alright… That sounds nice.”

Adrien’s timer goes off on his phone. He has to get back to school. A groan forms at the back of his throat.

“You should go.” Luka softly smiles. “I’ll see you soon.”

That he will.

Chapter Text

[He's Pretty]

“You need help with what now?”

Nino stares at him like he’s said something crazy, but Adrien is the one who feels as if everything from the past twenty-four hours has been a really long dream. Yesterday at lunch, he said it. He actually said everything he felt without being afraid of anything around him. Even weirder to him is the fact that Luka actually said yes. It makes his stomach sore, but in a good way, as weird as that sounds.

He knows that he needs help with everything considering he has yet to text Luka the time and day for their date, mostly due to his lack of plans but partially due to the fact that he only just got Luka’s number yesterday and he still gets dizzy looking at the contact in his phone.

However, Nino is dating Alya and should have at least some form of aid that will help Adrien in his dire need for advice.

Thus, “How does one plan a date with another someone?”

The other boy looks high, he’s smiling so wide. “You have a date?!” He says the first word loud, then with a glare from Adrien, whispers the other three words with realization. “Sorry, but that’s a huge deal dude!”

“Yeah I know, I know. I don’t want anyone else knowing though, I just need your help.”

His expression is changing fast, first surprise and joy then confusion then awareness then cockiness. “Alright dude, what do you need help with? Any ideas thus far?”

Ideas…

What is there that’s good for dates, but is so private no one will notice?

I don’t want to risk it with my house again, but Juleka and his mom are likely to be at his. Plus an in-home date seems lame.

He coughs and tries to make sure he leaves no clues to who his date is or anything of the sort. “Well, it can’t be at our.. houses. We also want it to be secluded and more private since it’s our first date.”

Nino’s eyebrows wiggle for at least a full ten seconds. “That sounds like it has something more to it my dude, but okay. What about doing dinner and a movie or something? You could do that practically anywhere if you use your laptop for the movie. Boat, a park late at night, a car if you can get one somehow, a roof...” His list begins to get a bit stranger and out there before he finally shrugs.

Hm… wait. A roof? I could actually… Would anyone even be able to see us?

The gears in his head start moving fast and he makes the beginnings of a plan. “Thanks man, I think I’ve got something now.”

“Great dude! I wish you luck.” He says it with a whisper as they enter their next class and sit down.

With a quick start, Ms. Mendeleiev begins class with a rush, speaking about this and that. Adrien tries to pay attention, he really does, but his brain and heart work together to make it impossible. He feels like he’s on a rollercoaster. It’s weirdly refreshing. He finally gives up and pulls his phone out under the table secretly. His hand covers the side of his phone so that hopefully Nino won’t be able to read his screen.

Me: hey i wont be able to make it to lunch today you should totally meet me after school at the library tmrw

He hovers over the send button, but quickly backspaces everything.

Do I seriously type like that!? It’s so jumbled

Me: Hi! Sorry I can’t make it to lunch today, but could you meet me after school tomorrow at La Bibliothèque?

I can’t believe I plan to do this, but the library isn’t super busy on Thursdays and if it works out I’ll seem cool.

It takes about a minute for Luka to respond.

My Blueberry ♡: That’s okay. I’m free to meet you tomorrow though, I’m guessing this is for our date? What time?

Adrien’s eyes dart to Nino, who remains eyes focused on the teacher. He knows his contact name for Luka isn’t a dead giveaway, but it’s a hint and he wants to take Luka’s request for privacy seriously.

With a mental sigh of relief, he types a response.

Me: Yessir it’s date night. I was thinking around 8pm?

My Blueberry ♡: That works for me. I’m in class, but we can talk more later.

My Blueberry ♡: :]

‘Talk more later.’ Yeah okay, if Adrien’s heart lasts that long. He can’t decide whether he should text back a smiley face too, or if that would just be weird and he needs to leave it. Either way, just a couple messages has his heart shaken.

“Mr. Agreste?”

Ms. Mendeleiev’s voice breaks his train of thoughts and he zips his head up to look at her, hands shoving his phone in his jean pocket.

“Yes?”

She glares, her triangle-like head tilted to the side in annoyance. “What is the chemical compound described on the board?”

He speedreads the board and answers without much thought, the answer not being too difficult to remember. “It’s sodium citrate.”

Her eyes squint before the glare is released. “Correct, eyes up here Mr. Agreste.”

Sure thing, let me just tell my heart to focus.

I can’t wait for Thursday.

—

Sometimes being a model pays. Like right now.

Adrien smooths the fabric of his tan jeans down. He has a photoshoot after school tomorrow, so he’s decided to borrow his outfit for the occasion. It’s simple, with his jeans and white sneakers. He has a white collar shirt and a light green t-shirt over it, but overall he feels like he looks good. Hopefully, Luka feels the same way.

He checks his phone, it’s 7:55. Instead of sneaking out, he told Nathalie he had a study group thing at the library and he’d be eating dinner with them. She said she’d make sure Father doesn’t worry, so he knows he can trust her while he’s absentee.

People pass by ahead, but Adrien keeps himself in the darker gap between buildings, on the side of the library. He’s not hidden, just harder to spot. It’s a good thing they don’t plan on staying here long.

There are footsteps and he hears Luka’s voice before he is able to put his phone away and look up.

“Hey, Adrien.” It comes out with a voice crack he doesn’t think he’s ever heard from Luka and it makes him confused. His eyes dart up to see Luka as said male forces out a, “Juleka made me wear it.”

Woah.. it’s.. He’s-

I never knew I needed him in a skirt but I do now holy sh-

It’s green too oh god help me

Every part of his brain stops working. Luka stands awkwardly, eyes off to the side. There’s a subtle sign of eyeliner Adrien sees immediately. He’s wearing a dark gray, almost black jean jacket with a black Metallica t-shirt underneath. He has black sneakers and long emerald green socks. The thing that draws the majority of Adrien’s focus however, is Luka’s dark green plaid skirt he’s wearing with a black belt. It’s mid-thigh length and it’s most definitely Adrien’s kryptonite. He feels his organs becoming mush the longer he looks.

Oh wow..

Did he wear green on purpose? He looks so good-

Luka clears his throat. “I like your outfit, it suits you.” He motions to Adrien’s green t-shirt and jeans, but Adrien’s mind has long gone away from his own outfit.

After a long couple of seconds, he forces out words. “You- you look amazing.” It comes out more like a choking sound than actual speaking, but it’s the best he can manage right now.

The other boy’s face flushes. “Thanks. I wasn’t going to wear- well Juleka said I should, so I decided to.” He messes with his bangs, eyes on the ground for a moment. “Anyways! What’s the plan? You didn’t text me what we’d be doing.”

I should make sure to thank Juleka in the future.

The plans Adrien has prepared for smack him in the face as he realizes the moment has come.

I can do this. There’s no backing out now.

He swallows hard, working up his confidence. “Take my hand and close your eyes until I tell you to open them.”

Luka blinks and then smiles, closing his eyes and reaching his hand out for Adrien’s. Their fingers link and it sends a jolt of warmth through Adrien’s spine. It helps give him the last boost of confidence he needs.

His other hand goes up to cover his mouth. He pulls Luka gently into the small narrow space between buildings and whispers as quietly as he can into his hand.

“Plagg, claws out.”

Rather than a normal transformation, it’s more of a large spike of electricity that smacks into his whole body. He makes sure to temporarily let go of Luka’s hand so he doesn’t get the same sort of electric feeling. He grabs his pole and wraps his arm around Luka’s waist tightly. If he ignores his skirt, it’s less nerve-wracking. Not by much though.

With a jump, he leaps onto the rooftop of the Library. He lets go of Luka and slowly backs up. With a deep breath, he grabs one of the roses he used to decorate the roof and mumbles into it.

“Claws in.”

The electricity rushes through him again, until he’s back in his tan jeans. Plagg flies into his jean pocket since he’s without his usual white jacket. He speaks loudly, hoping that for once things decided to go as he needed them to.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Luka’s eyes blink open and then they go wide. “What-” He looks around the rooftop in amazement. “How’d you get us both up here?”

Oh y’know, risked my secret identity because even though I know yours, I want to look cool.

“Magic.” He spits out way too quickly. He forces his hand with the rose out towards Luka.

THAT’S THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH STUPID STUPID STUPID-

The dark-haired boy stares at him for a long moment before his face contorts and he begins to giggle. Both of his hands come to cover his mouth like he’s done before and it sends even more helpful thoughts to the faraway depths of Adrien’s brain.

“Alright then.” Luka grins, taking the offered rose with a soft ‘Thank you.’ He fiddles his fingers together, taking a second glance around.

Adrien spent the majority of his lunch break decorating the rooftop with roses, small lamps and candles, as well as little daisies he gathered from his yard. He placed pillows and blankets in the center along with his laptop. Beside his laptop is a bag of snacks he dropped off before going down to wait for Luka. He tried not to go over the top, but in hindsight he feels like he did too much.

“You really did all this? I could’ve helped y’know.”

Considering I did it as Chat Noir that would’ve been bad.

“I wanted to treat you, so you didn’t have to.”

Luka’s face adorns an affectionate, soft expression as his cheeks go bright red. “I’ve never- Thank you. You’re really the most amazing person I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting to know.” He plays with his jacket sleeve.

Oh. That was really heartfelt.

Oh no what am I even supposed to say in response to that??

Adrien feels his face go warm and he tries to motion to his laptop and the blankets, but his mind is still stuck on what Luka said. “T-thanks you too. Wanna watch- movie now?”

“Yeah sure. What movie did you pick?” They both walk over and sit down in the blanket-pillow pile Adrien made. He makes sure to pull a blanket over his and Luka’s legs so that the other male doesn’t get cold.

He feels proud of his decision. “A Quiet Place. How do ya feel about spooky movies?”

I’ve seen tons of movies where they get scared and end up needing to cuddle. I’ll look so cool and brave.

Luka shrugs. “I guess it depends on the type of horror. I’m sure any movie with you is bound to be fun though.” He smiles and it makes Adrien's chest do a flip.

“You’re such a sap. I like that about you though.” He leans forward and starts the movie up.

“I didn’t mean to-” Luka bites his lip, messing with his bangs again. He lets go as the opening credits end.

They watch with shared earbuds as the beginning of the movie plays. Adrien’s shoulder bumps Luka’s and they sit with their arms pressed up against each other. It makes it harder to pay attention when the little kid gets killed though, so he manages to not flinch at the jumpscare. He feels Luka flinch slightly. His eyes notice how Luka seems about as calm as Adrien feels towards the movie.

The realization hits him like a truck.

Luka isn’t going to get super scared from this movie, is he…

Why did I even think this movie might scare him??

The movie continues on and he finds himself glancing at the movie every few seconds so he can understand what’s going on, but his eyes keep coming back to Luka beside him. He stares for a while at their hands, close to each other. If he moved his hand a bit more, they’d be intertwined.

It’s only around the waterfall scene that he finally moves his hand and laces his fingers with Luka’s. Luka doesn’t glance at their hands, simply smiles. Adrien is content just enjoying the warmth from their hands and from Luka’s arm pressed against his. It makes him feel light as air. He wonders if this feeling would make him jump higher as Chat Noir.

Each jumpscare that comes and goes doesn’t do much more than give Adrien a small flinch or jolt. He guesses it’s probably how much he’s fought akumas and whatnot that makes him unreactive. Luka flinches, occasionally even jumps a bit, but he doesn’t seem too afraid either. After a while, Adrien realizes that it’s probably for the same reason as him.

They snack on a bag of popcorn and chips and as the fireworks play in the movie, they finish the bags so Adrien crumples them up and shoves them back into his bag. The children rush towards the car and Luka leans his head onto Adrien’s shoulder suddenly.

What- Oh- Soft-

He can’t even get much time to cry over the final death because his brain keeps reminding him how soft Luka’s hair is as it tickles his neck. It makes him get a sudden rush of comfort he isn’t sure he’s felt in a long time. He feels safe just like he has most times with Luka. But he also feels home. He couldn’t be farther from his room. Yet, he doesn’t think there’d be any scenario where he’d prefer it over the current feeling surging through him.

The movie ends and Luka whispers, leaning against Adrien even more. “That was a good choice. I love the concept.”

“It’s one of my favorites.” Adrien attempts a hushed tone to not break the atmosphere.

“Mm.” Luka’s voice is laced with tiredness and Adrien snakes an arm around him so Luka can be more comfortable. He uses his free hand to grab another blanket and wrap it around them both.

He takes his earbuds out of both his and Luka’s ears, placing them with his laptop as he shuts it. The movie wasn’t too long, so he doesn’t see what’s too wrong with a short nap. He just wants to savor this feeling a little longer. He wants to enjoy how Luka’s hair feels against his neck and how happy he is.

A million other little things to focus on and it only makes his mood better. He leans his head on Luka’s and notices soft little breaths coming from the other boy. The sound lulls Adrien’s own mind into a sleepy haze. His eyelids begin to fall and he presses a thoughtless kiss to Luka’s head before darkness overtakes him.

He doesn’t remember it when he wakes up, but he dreams of just him and Luka.

—

I present: Adrien "Every part of his brain stops working" Agreste :]

Chapter Text

[He's sad to say goodbye to.]


The second that Adrien opens his eyes, he feels confused. He’s outside for one thing. Considering Father hates camping, it’s not something he’s used to. He also feels a weight in his lap and it takes a while for him to look down and realize what it was. Or more accurately: who it was.

He blinks nearly fifty times before he decides that he is very much not dreaming. It also helps him wake up more and everything from the night before rushes into his head like blood. It makes him feel quite dizzy, but not as dizzy as Luka’s head in his lap is making him.

This is fine. It was probably something random while we were sleeping, people move in their sleep all the time.

His eyes dart down and notice Luka’s soft breathing. He’s still asleep.

Okay, I can just-

Wow, his hair looks so soft. My hand is right here and if I’m quick-

No, don’t be creepy.

Adrien presses his lips tightly together, the mental debate in his mind is extremely messy until finally, he drags his hand and gently pets the top of Luka’s head. Part of him is instantly shaming himself in embarrassment, another part of him is too busy noting the way the texture of his hair feels against his palm, and the biggest part of him is realizing that Luka totally pressed into his hand.

Nope nope nope nope-

“Mm… Adrien?” Luka’s voice is groggy, sounding three-fourths asleep with just a crack of awareness. He tilts his head slightly and it only aids in Adrien’s hand getting further lost in the other boy’s hair.

Abort abort abort-

Luka blinks his eyes open and sits up slightly, using a hand to rub his eye. It seems to do the trick in helping him wake up a bit more. It doesn’t help Adrien however, whose hand has a mind of it’s own and rather than retracting when Luka sat up, just stayed and traveled with him. Luka’s eyes widen after a moment and they both sit there, both most definitely aware of Adrien’s hand just sitting in Luka’s hair.

Is it too late to pretend nothing happened?

He finally manages to gain control of his hand again and he rushes to put it beside him. Luka’s hair ruffles a bit and he doesn’t react, still staring at Adrien. Then he flushes and seems to have finished whatever internal struggle of his own he seemed to be having.

“Did we fall asleep?”

The answer is obvious, but they both are suddenly remembering that time exists as either one of them grab their phones in a hurry. Adrien would like to blame his hand that he clearly has zero control over for him accidentally snapping a blurry photo of Luka while he’s attempting to unlock his phone, but he has a feeling that out loud it’d sound stupid to blame his own hand.

9:12 AM.

We’re late for school.

“Shit.”

“Fuck.”

They say their swears at the same time and look at each other afterward. Luka’s hand is over his mouth as if ‘shit’ is somehow worse than ‘fuck.’ He giggles and runs a hand through his-- currently-- messy hair and Adrien struggles to not look. In fact, he’s made a mental note to look nowhere, because anywhere he looks with Luka ends with him doing something dumb. Or at least thinking something dumb.

Luka smooths the fabric of his skirt, his eyes widening with a panic Adrien doesn’t get. “We need to go to school, like now.” He runs a hand over his face, which is extremely red under his hand. “I guess I’m wearing this to class, oh god.”

Huh? Oh-

OH-

WAIT WHAT IF HE GETS HIT ON- WHY IS THAT MY PRIORITY?!

“You can take my pants!”

The other boy reacts with a shrill, “What!?” until he pulls his hands off his face and his mouth forms a small ‘o’ shape. “Wait seriously? What about you? It’s Juleka’s skirt- Rose and her will notice and you might feel uncomfortable and-” He speaks with a rush, fiddling his fingers with an experienced stress.

Adrien impulsively places his hand on Luka’s knee before immediately replacing it on his shoulder. “It’s okay! I-I have to stop by my house anyway since Nathalie will be worried. I’ll change and neither Juleka or Rose will know.” He rubs his thumb in small circles on Luka’s shoulder until said boy calms.

“Sorry I just- This is crazy.” He laughs. “I’m glad I’m experiencing it with you though.” He places his hands on his belt. “We can turn around.”

Why would we need to-

OH

Where is my brain when I need it to work? I’m so glad I didn’t say that.

He turns around instinctively. “Yeah- yeah. Just let me know when you want my pants.” It sounds weird when he phrases it that way, but he can hear Luka behind him so he just decides to focus on slipping his jeans off.

After a moment, Luka’s hand appears in his peripheral and he takes the skirt as an offer, handing Luka his jeans without looking. They change and Adrien feels awkward by the time they’re both standing up and turning back around.

Luka smiles and his eyes dart to the side. “You look nice.” He says it in one short and quick breath before moving on. “Thanks though.” His eyes glance over at the burnt-out candles and the already-wilting roses-- which apparently were not as good quality as he’d been hoping for-- with a look of worry. However, they both notice the fire escape on the side with a sense of relief. For different reasons, likely.

I don’t think I could use Chat Noir again.

“Neither of us have time to clean this up right now, but I promise after school today I’ll come and help you clean this all up.” His fingers dance over Adrien’s and he gently grasps his hand, leaning in and pecking Adrien on the cheek before letting go. His face is pink and he grins. “I’ve got to go, but we should do this again. Maybe without the whole being late thing.”

His thoughts are spiraling so much that Adrien just stands, stunned and awestruck as he watches Luka begin climbing down the fire escape. His hand moves up, touching his cheek and he feels his heart race.

I definitely want to do this again.

“This is the second time you give him the only piece of clothing I’m in.” Plagg’s voice cuts him out of his momentary daze.

Adrien blinks and looks at him for a second before remembering he was in the jeans pocket. “I’m sorry that a cute guy keeps distracting me!”

Plagg stares at him with a deadpan. “Where am I supposed to hide if you are going to keep giving him your clothes? At this point, I can’t even count on your underwear as a decent hiding spot!” He glares and pokes Adrien with his tail.

The kwami’s comment creates an unwanted image in his head. He immediately smacks his hand on his face, willing the thoughts away. He blames Plagg entirely.

“Plagg! Oh my god, you’re horrible, shut up. We’re going home now.”

The black cat grins mischievously. “You’re just mad because now you’re picturing it. And that you’re going to be thinking about it the rest of the day.” He floats behind Adrien as he slips down the fire escape.

“I was in his pocket for a couple of seconds, but if you want more visuals-”

THIS DUMB CAT-

I'M NOT THINKING I'M NOT THINKING

He smacks his face again. “Plagg. Knock it off, you are so annoying. How do I put up with you?”

Plagg finally stops talking about it, but Adrien continues trying very hard not to think about it the whole way back to the Agreste Mansion.

—

“Where have you been, Adrien?”

Nathalie’s face is contorted, stress wearing it down and shadows under her eyes. She glances at him and seems to properly notice Luka’s skirt. “Whose skirt is that?”

Adrien expected her to be in his room when he climbed in through the window, but he still isn’t sure of the best responses for her questions. She looks at him in fear and he feels overwhelmed with guilt for making her worry so much about him. He sits down on his bed. Plagg under his green t-shirt seems to make his presence known again to Adrien as if a reminder that he isn’t alone in this. It comforts him.

He rehearses a million different excuses in his head, but somehow his brain decides to blurt out the truth instead.

“I was.. I went out with someone and we fell asleep then woke up late for school and I didn’t want him to have to go to school in the skirt so we traded and now I’m here.”

Her expression is hard to read, but it almost looks like she treats his words like a tape recording she can relisten to a hundred times until she can understand the full meaning to it all.

Eventually, her eyes soften and she speaks gently as if her words weigh a thousand pounds. “Him?”

The simple question makes his own throat feel as if it weighs even more than a thousand. He feels a panic grow in his chest that clogs his entire passage to his lungs. It rushes in like a thick liquid and hardens fast like cement. He stares at her warm expression for minutes before he realizes she doesn’t look disgusted or worried as if he’s a disease. She looks like she just wants the best for him. He wonders if he’ll ever be able to recognize that in someone’s eyes immediately.

The words pour out of his mouth like hot water, burning so vibrantly it melts the cement in his throat. “Yeah I’m bi.. and I went out with a boy.”

He said it. And that fact brings him some bit of relief.

Nathalie smiles and sits down beside him on the bed. For a second, she holds herself in such a fashion it makes Adrien think of his mom. It’s brief, but it makes this all easier somehow.

“What’s his name?” She asks in such a way that it doesn’t feel like she needs to know, but rather she wants to know. She wants to know about his life, about the things that matter to him.

Adrien rubs his thumb over the fabric of Luka’s skirt and it makes him remember all his favorite moments from yesterday and this morning. Thus he remembers every second of all of it. He doesn’t think he could pick a favorite part if he tried. Not when he felt so happy the entire time.

“Luka, and he makes me feel the happiest I’ve ever been.”

She places her hand on his shoulder, looking at him with the strongest bit of happiness he’s ever seen from her. “That Kitty Section boy right? I’m glad you have him then.” She pauses and her eyes go gray. Her lips press tightly together before she speaks again. “Ever since Emilie… passed, you and your father seem less happy. Even after all this time, you both look so burdened. If Luka is someone who makes you happy again, then I don’t see an issue.”

But Father…

I didn’t realize she cared this much.

He smiles to himself, knowing that maybe this once, he and Nathalie can have a bigger little secret than a night out. “Thank you, Nathalie. I’m not ready to tell father yet though I-”

“Then I won’t say a thing to him.” She answers as if it’s the easiest promise for her to make. “You’re extremely late to school though, so get changed into one of the spare jeans for the photoshoot and I’ll go alert your bodyguard that you’ll be needing a ride to school. I’ll make sure your late arrival due to your busy work schedule is explained.” She winks.

I don’t know what I’d do without Nathalie.

Adrien nods, already getting up. He feels like a giant thorn in his chest has been replaced by a soft current that makes him energized.

“Seriously, thank you so much. I’m glad to have you around.”

She smiles as if he just gave her a medal of honor and walks out of the room.

He’s thankful to have such good people in his life.

—

When he shows up in the middle of the class, everyone looks at him. He’s wearing his outfit for today’s photoshoot still, but with a different pair of tan jeans. His face is slightly flushed from rushing through the school building and he probably looks like he just met God, he feels so exhilarated. He doesn’t understand how Juleka could ever wake up tired when Luka is there to work better than coffee, but maybe that’s specific to him.

“Mr. Agreste, glad you could join us, please take a seat.”

He grins and walks over to his seat, slipping in beside Nino. He feels everyone’s eyes still, but somehow he can’t bring himself to care. His talk with Nathalie made him feel more loved than he could ever imagine, so why should he focus on people’s dumb staring?

Nino passes him a note. It says ‘Why are you late?’ in messy letters. He scribbles a reply and focuses on class. He knows he’ll need to be honest with Nino once class ends, but as long as he doesn’t mention Luka by name, he doesn’t fear it as much.

His reply is a rushedly written ‘date.’ Nino holds the paper so tightly, Adrien doesn’t even need to look to hear it crinkling. He can feel the other boy getting excited.

Class passes by in a haze and he grabs his bag to leave. Marinette and Alya block his exit.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been late before.” Alya remarks with a curious grin. Marinette looks at him in concern as if he’s late because of something dramatic.

He chuckles. “Well there’s a first time for everything I think.”

Chloe shoves Marinette and Alya out of her way as she stares at him through heavy make-up eyes. “I was worried sick Adrikins, where were you?!”

Nino wraps an arm around him, grinning. “He just woke up late, right dude?” He winks from behind his glasses. His face is filled with anticipation, wanting to know the details of his date.

Adrien nods. “Yeah, I was just really tired from my shoot yesterday.”

“Exactly, so we should really be giving him some space to rest.” Nino guides him out of the classroom and into the boy’s bathroom barely a second after saying those words. He checks to make sure no one else is there before bouncing on his toes.

“What happened!? How did it go dude!” He looks thrilled, clearly already able to tell it went positively.

He laughs at his best friend’s response, placing his hands in his pockets with his thumbs out. He feels Plagg nudge his fingers in reassurance again.

“It went great! I set up a movie on a rooftop like you said. We watched a horror film and both of us loved it, but neither of us got really scared. At the end, he ended up falling asleep so I thought I’d rest too and well you know how that ended up.” He gets more and more giddy, thinking about the date’s events for the millionth time since they happened.

The other boy cheers and jumps into the air. “Success!” His eyes widen after a moment and he pauses. “Wait he? I thought your date was with Kagami?” He looks more genuinely confused about the Kagami bit than the ‘he’ bit strangely enough.

Adrien shakes his head with a relatively surprised laugh. “No it- it was with a guy. I wasn’t ready to tell you before, but- surprise?”

Why did he think I was dating Kagami? Oh wait, yeah ok I probably shouldn’t have acted like it was Kagami.

Nino blinks and then rubs his head awkwardly. “Huh, I really thought you were into Kagami man.” He grins after a second. “Mystery dude though huh? Well, I’m happy for you, you don’t have to tell me who he is unless you want to.”

Thank god.

“Thanks, we’re gonna keep it private for a while.”

He simply responds with a shrug. “That’s alright dude. I don’t need to know who the guy is to be happy for ya!” He deflates a bit. “I am betting Alya is going to question the heck out of me. So I should probably go deal with that. I’ll talk to you more about this awesome date of yours later!”

With that, Adrien watches him rush out of the bathroom and leaves himself after a moment of thought.

The moment he’s out the door, Juleka is there in front of him. She’s alone, no Rose which is unusual, but her expression is the most threatening and fierce he’s ever seen. He didn’t even realize she could be scary.

“Do you like my brother?”

Her question hits him like a train. A large, fast, load-carrying train.

How’d she know? Fuck, what if Luka thinks I told her? Do I lie or tell her the truth? What if she’s asking if I like him as a person? Why would she ask that right now though? Crap crap crap-

His face feels hot and sticky, but his mouth feels dry beyond repair. “He’s- he’s a cool person to be around, I enjoy his company.”

She frowns, eyes determined in a way that feels strange for her face. “Do you romantically like him?” Her hands tighten into fists and for some reason, he suddenly feels like she’s done this before with other people. He’s curious about the reason why.

He said we should keep it to ourselves for a while..

Gah but this is his sister and I feel like I’m gonna die to this staring-

“Yeah- yes, I do.”

A relief builds in her eyes. “You don’t like anyone more than him right?” She’s already softened her harsh look, but it looks as if it’ll come back like a fire if he says something wrong.

He likes Ladybug, but they’re the same person and he also isn’t exactly sure where he lies on his feelings for her alone anymore anyways. He tries to ignore the questions in his mind that comes with that thought. “No, I don’t.”

And then, she’s back to normal Juleka. Her eyes are soft and the smallest bit timid, her posture is slack, and she doesn’t have any terrifying anger in her eyes. “You’re the first.” She mumbles to herself.

The first? As in the first to genuinely like Luka? Or the first to like him more than another crush? ...neither of those make me all that thrilled.

Juleka seems to read his worry from before on his face. “I won’t tell anyone. I knew Luka was going on a date already, and I had a feeling since it seemed like he had a crush on you, but you showing up late the same day Luka is out all night and doesn’t text me back till twenty minutes before you show up to school… It kinda confirmed my guess.”

She tugs at her bangs a bit, messing with the strands of hair with her fingers absentmindedly the same way Luka does. Adrien guesses it’s a Couffaine thing. “I’m glad it’s someone good though. Luka’s not always been lucky. Did you like his outfit? He spent ages freaking out over it. I think he really wanted to impress you.”

Oh.

Fuck I did that exact same thing.

His mouth answers her question before his mind does. “He looks incredible in a skirt.”

Her eyes widen and she grins with a giggle. “He does.” She glows with this energy and confidence to speak she never usually has and Adrien thinks that maybe it’s the topic making her so enthusiastic. “I have some pictures and videos of him trying on some of my other skirts, y’know.”

Adrien hopes he doesn’t look like some desperate creep. His face feels like it definitely betrays him at least a little though. He’d really like to see those photos and videos. “You should- uh- could you send me those? Maybe?”

Skirts- Luka- Luka skirts- Oh god

“Of course.” She seems pleased with herself as if she’s realized something amazing. “He ended up picking the green one though because it’s your favorite color. His favorite color is light blue by the way.”

I WAS RIGHT?! Oh my god wait he- he picked green because- there’s so much going on in my head right now

He feels on the verge of exploding from everything going on. “You’re awesome, and so is your brother. God he’s so.. Him.” He probably looks like an idiot. Red-faced and grinning and leaning side to side without meaning to because he feels so dizzy with how many thoughts are in his head.

Juleka smiles softly and the bell rings. She seems to jolt, snapping out of her little-sister daze and she gives a meek nod to him before walking off to class. He follows her after a moment more of freaking out. By the time he reaches the classroom, he’s willed his face into a calm expression, even though on the inside he’s burning.

Chapter Text

[He makes sacrifices for me.]

Adrien hears his phone ringing and he wants to scream. He feels like the amount of stress inside him is boiling over the top. He has a feeling it’s someone related to the photoshoot from hell when he looks over to check, but when he sees the low-quality picture he took of Luka from their date almost two weeks ago, he feels all the rush of anger in him evaporate.

He could actually use a comforting person to talk to right now. He grabs his phone and hits accept, placing the device between his shoulder and his ear as he continues looking through the replacements, trying to contact those who haven’t yet messaged about being unavailable.

“Hey, Adrien.”

Luka’s voice makes his stress cool down, all the wonderful things Adrien associates with his voice running through his head to calm him.

“Hi. I am so glad to hear from you.” Hearing his own voice right now feels weird. His voice sounds so drained that he barely recognizes it.

The other boy’s voice gets softer with concern. “You sound tired. What’s up?” Adrien finds a sense of comfort in Luka immediately knowing something is wrong.

His hand reaches up to grab his phone and he holds onto every noise from the other end. “Sorry, just stressing about a shoot. The guy I needed to model with canceled too late and I can’t find a replacement and everyone keeps invading my space and this is the most important gig for my father’s career I’ve ever done and I’m just-” He rambles to the point he runs out of air.

An American magazine. His father got an opportunity to have the front cover and a whole page article about his work for an American fashion magazine. It’s an amazing offer, but it seems like the universe refuses to let anything work out well for it.

“Breathe. Don’t apologize for being overwhelmed. Is it possible for you to ask one of your friends to do the shoot with you? Out of everyone in your class there’s bound to be someone free the day of the shoot. It’s not perfect, but maybe it’ll lighten your load and make the whole thing easier since you’ll have someone there to keep you calm.” Luka’s voice floods his system like a pain killer. It makes him feel like everything is right with the world again. He feels the most comfort he has had in the last few days and it fills him with a soft warmth.

Wait-

Asking a friend for the shoot-

OR A MAYBE-BOYFRIEND FUCK WE STILL HAVE TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION-

Adrien grins even though Luka can’t see him. “Hey, are you free tomorrow?”

Luka seems to answer automatically before even realizing what Adrien is asking. “I’m free, yeah.” There’s a pause of realization. “Wait, Adrien-”

He feels his spirits rise with an actual plausible replacement available. Especially because it’s someone he likes. “You’re perfect! You’re pretty, tall, handsome, and I obviously get along with you super well. Not to mention you’d make me feel a lot more at home than all my other shoots.”

There’s a bit of silence before Luka seems to answer breathlessly. His voice is a bit off as if he’s trying to process. “I want to help make things easier on you Adrien, but I wouldn’t know what I’m doing in the slightest- I’d end up being a burden.” He sounds a bit like he’s dying and it’s not the good, flustered kind.

I don’t think that’s possible.

It’s not his intention for the small bit of disappointment to fill his voice, but it does. He just thinks it’d be fun with him there. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I do think you’d be amazing if you want to try though.”

“I-” Luka’s voice sounds strained. When he finally responds, he sounds worried and afraid. “I’ll do it. I just… don’t want to make things harder for you.”

Adrien feels all his remaining stress turn to excitement.

“Just being there will make everything 200 percent easier for me, I promise you. You have come to my rescue. Thank you so much.”

Luka’s response comes in a quiet, affectionate tone, but there’s an edge of anxiety to it that Adrien’s brain doesn’t pick up on. “Anything for you, Adrien.”

—

Adrien and Luka show up at the photoshoot a couple minutes earlier. His father is busy with an interview for the article, but Nathalie sits off to the side making sure things go according to plan.

His father ended up hiring Vincent for the photo-taking along with a few other crew members, some that Adrien doesn’t recognize. He feels ready, now that most of the crises are over, he can relax since he’s used to the photoshoot works. The familiar faces here and there only add to his familiarity.

“Uh- Adrien? What are we supposed to do now that we’re here?” Luka however, seems the opposite of Adrien. He looks paler and his eyes are grayer. There’s an anxiety surrounding him, but Adrien guesses it’s because of him not knowing what to do. He wants to grab his hand to try and remind him that Adrien knows what he’s doing, but he has a feeling the publicity of it would only stress him out more.

“It’s okay, I’ll guide you through it all. Just stick with me. I’m sorry if this is too much for you, we can have alone time later if you want it.”

Luka nods with an appreciative smile.

The two of them follow one of the crew members to the dressing rooms and they are both given their different outfits to change into. The theme of this specific issue for the magazine is ‘Bringin’ the 80s Back: What Male Outfits Still Work?’ so he already has some awareness before he even sees his outfit. He feels nervous for Luka now that they’ve separated into their own changing rooms, but he has a gut feeling Luka will be okay.

Once he’s dressed, he stares in thought at his outfit. He’s wearing regular denim blue jeans, but ones with the bottoms rolled up a bit, but he also has a white t-shirt with a button, collared blue denim shirt. There’s a simple belt too, obviously. He undoes a few of the buttons, knowing if he doesn’t then one of the crewmembers will since this way the white shirt underneath is visible. He has short brown boots for shoes. It isn’t his favorite, but he doesn’t mind it.

He rolls up his sleeves a bit and then leaves the dressing room. After a moment’s wait, Luka exits his dressing room too.

His outfit is a bit less denim, which Adrien would have liked too if he’s being honest. He’s wearing a white t-shirt with a black stripe and a yellow stripe on either sleeve. Overtop of it is a ski vest that’s upper half is a vibrant green while the bottom half is black. Add on a simple pair of denim blue jeans that match Adrien’s, a simple belt, and some simple sneakers, now Luka looks full 80s too.

Adrien steps towards him after a moment of staring to open the ski vest since Luka had kept it buttoned up. He also aids Luka in rolling up his jeans a bit to match Adrien more. Luka watches him with a desperate look as if the more he is here, the more he wishes he wasn’t. If they weren’t near loads of the crew right now, he’d tell the other boy how nice he looks, but he just keeps the thought to himself.

Not everyone shares that sentiment apparently. He hears behind them someone whisper:

“What is he even doing here? He clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

Are they talking about Luka? Excuse me? He’s doing perfectly fine.

Luka’s eyes wander and he seems to focus on his shoes. He definitely heard them, but he doesn’t say anything. Adrien would, but he turns to look and isn’t sure who said it. The comment still digs into his skull and gets permanently ingrained though. Jerk.

They both walk over and sit down for hair and makeup, but Luka seems unnerved by it. Adrien is pretty sure he’s never had someone else do his makeup for him instead of him doing it himself.

Silence. The hairstylist asks Luka if she can dye his hair for the shoot, he looks at her with wide eyes. His fingers fiddle with his bangs and he almost looks like he’s going to agree to it when he glances at Adrien and then lets go of his bangs.

I’m not letting him dye his hair back just for me.

“No. He can keep his hair how it is, thanks.”

She jumps at his voice, but nods and simply styles Luka’s hair as it is. Adrien notices Luka smile a bit, the first smile since they got here.

Then it disappears when the makeup artist nearby mumbles to herself. “He looks out of place, this is a disaster.” Luka’s small smile is replaced by another thin line. He isn’t frowning, but Adrien thinks that if he wasn’t here then Luka would be.

People in the 80s had colored hair to some extent geez.

He wants to get onto the makeup artist, but when his thoughts finally get there, it’s been too long for him to be able to say anything.

The photoshoot preparations continue on, but Adrien notices that Luka doesn’t speak unless he has to and he only really seems half there. It’s like he’s experiencing and aware of it all, but his expression is lifeless except for the fear in his hollow blue eyes. It’s terrifying and worrying, but every time Adrien thinks he has a chance to try and talk to him about it, a crew member shows up to fix Luka’s accessories or something along those lines. He’s beginning to regret asking him purely because of how not-Luka he’s acting. As if Luka left and all that’s left is a Luka-shaped shell.

By the time they finally get to the photo taking itself, Luka looks more doll than human. Adrien feels fucking scared about how long it might take for him to look like himself again.

Vincent angles his camera as Adrien sits on a light gray block they have as one of the set pieces. Luka is instructed to sit down to the left of Adrien in front of the block with his back against it. He does so shakily.

Waiting.

They wait for ages before Vincent finally goes, “Stop shaking, it’ll blur in the photo.”

Luka nods with a faint “Sorry” and seems to will his body to stop shaking so bad. Adrien really wants to finish the shoot already so he can hug him.

There’s clicking noises and Vincent takes a few photos, then inspecting them. He glares at the photos with annoyance and throws them in the trash can nearby. “You. Move to the left.”

Adrien watches Luka silently move over to the left. Vincent yells for him to move more, so he does. Then more, and more. Each time Luka does as he asks. Eventually, Vincent finally says, “There! Perfect.” But Adrien is 100% sure that Luka isn’t even in the shot anymore. It makes his heartache more than it already is. He can almost see Luka deflate more.

Is he doing it on purpose?

He clears his throat, deciding to point out the obvious fact that Luka isn’t in the shot. “Yeah, this is supposed to be a duo shoot, Vincent. My number 2 isn’t in the frame.”

Vincent clicks his tongue angrily, “Yes. Yes. We’ll just have you do both outfits, that model is much too unfitting. It is a shame, but not many people can be both talented and pretty. Not an easy task.” He readjusts his camera as if he stated an obvious truth. Adrien even notices a few other crewmembers nodding their heads.

What. The. Fuck.

A hot, red anger fills him from his feet to his head. He swears his vision even tints a bit red. It burns through his chest as he looks over at Luka hunching over his knees, hugging them with that same empty look he’s had nearly the whole shoot. The empty look makes Adrien want to do anything from slapping a guy to setting the whole world on fire just to see it leave Luka’s face. His voice takes on a harsh tone he doesn’t remember using much in the past as he states every word professionally and calmly, even if his tone is like a dagger:

“You have shown nothing but disrespect for someone who didn’t have to come here on such short notice. He has been nothing but respectful, compliant, and doing his best and you’re here trying to say such bullshit about him. I know for a fucking fact that Luka is more talented and way better looking than you and the rest of the gross people who mocked him today combined. So listen here Vincent, using your fantastic vocabulary, I don’t think you’re very fitting for that photographer role. And you are going to leave before I call my father and tell him about what an ass you’ve been.”

Every single person is silent. Adrien has his arms crossed as he remains where he is, seated on the block. He stares directly into Vincent’s eyes, eyebrows low because as professional as he is, he can’t help but glare.

Vincent looks baffled and offended, but he simply turns his head away from Adrien, ignoring him. He looks to Nathalie in the corner, whose expression is still shock like many of the other crew.

“I don’t believe he is allowed to fire me, see his father is the one who hired me in the first place.” He says it like he’s proud of himself for it. Asshole.

Nathalie’s expression cools and she smiles politely. “Sorry, but you seem to be confused. Adrien is as much your boss as Gabriel Agreste is for this matter, thus his decision to fire you is very much permanent.”

She glances at Adrien and gives him a soft smile. He feels his burning insides calm and he’s never been more glad to have her on his side.

His eyes move to Luka, who stares at him with a difficult-to-read expression. He still looks pale and empty, but there’s life in his face again, he looks more real and alive. His eyes are a mix of appreciation, affection, worry, guilt, so many emotions that Adrien isn’t sure what to make of it. He looks on the verge of crying, but he smiles his small little smile again and Adrien is sure he made the right choice.

Vincent huffs, “Fire me then! But there’s nobody here who can take a damn photo even half as good as me, so good luck with this shoot after I leave.” He whines once more and storms off with an angry yell. It almost makes Adrien laugh.

Then he realizes that Vincent is right, they don’t have any other photographers. He glances at Luka again and notices the other boy mouthing the word ‘sorry’ as if it’s his fault somehow. It makes all of Adrien’s pride and amusement fade.

He clears his throat and grabs everyone’s attention. “Well since I will not be allowing that pile of garbage back here, we need a new photographer. Is anyone in here experienced in the field that could assist for this shoot?”

A girl in the corner with a notepad raises her hand, she has dark hair and a name tag that says ‘Assistant: Berenice’ on it. “I’m Vincent’s assistant, I am technically qualified.” She holds up a camera that's hanging from her neck as if it’ll help her case.

Good enough.

Adrien nods and soon enough, they’re back with a nicer photographer and with Luka in frame again. Berenice adjusts the camera, snapping different shots and then pausing to review them. She frowns, biting her lip. “These would work- but Luka’s still shaking.” She says it like the photo is something personal to her. Something she wants to improve. Her voice isn’t blaming Luka this time like Vincent though, merely stating a fact.

Vincent is gone… why is he shaking still?

He stands up and grabs Luka’s wrist, pulling him to his feet as well. “Give us a moment please, we’ll be back to take the photos soon.”

Berenice nods. “Alright.”

Leading Luka into one of the dressing rooms for privacy, he shuts the door and turns to face the dark-haired boy.

“What’s wrong blueberry.. do you want to stop?”

Wait- BLUEBERRY?! Fuck definitely didn’t mean to say that-

Luka looks up at the pet name but doesn’t seem to mind. He fiddles with his fingers and sits down on the floor. “No- I just… need a minute.” He sighs, his hand moving to run through his hair, but stopping when he remembers it would mess his hair up.

Somethings up besides him feeling out of place… I shouldn’t have just brushed it aside.

Adrien sits down in front of him, reaching out to pull him close and hug him. He let’s Luka lean on him and they just sit there for a minute or two. Warm and together and hugging.

Then Luka whispers, “I’m sorry. I was supposed to be helping you, but I’m making everything harder.” His voice cracks.

He runs his hands up and down Luka’s back soothingly. “Please don’t apologize. You are helping me, you’re always helping me. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this such last minute, but you still came. I appreciate you so, so much.”

There’s more quiet before Luka uses Adrien’s shoulder to cover his eyes. “It’s not that- I just…” He sighs. “I don’t know why, but I have this issue with being the center of attention. It’s not as bad as Juleka has with it, but it’s the reason Rose became the lead singer of Kitty Section.”

Wait what?

His mind runs wild, but Luka continues anyway. “I was too scared to be lead singer. So I asked Rose. But when everyone is looking at me, when I’m at the center, the person everyone stares at… I feel like no matter what I do I’ll never live up to what they want.” He grips the back of Adrien’s denim button-up. “I feel like I’m lying to the people staring by pretending I have a clue what I’m doing.”

And yet he still would come to try and help me with my dumb photoshoot?

Why would he do all that for me… when-

The words spill from his mouth before he can help it. “Please be my boyfriend.”

Luka lifts his head to stare at him and the fact that his face is suddenly so close doesn’t make Adrien’s heartbeat any slower. In fact, it just makes his face heat up, his brain is noticing way too many details about the other boy’s face like how up close he has faint freckles on his cheeks or how his eyes have bits of different shades of blue in the corners. It drives him mad.

“What?”

Shit shit shit shit shit-

Adrien slaps a hand over his face, bending backwards a bit. “Oh my god I am so sorry that just came out- you just do so much for me and you’re so sweet and oh hell my timing is so bad I’m sorry, I’m sorry-”

“No no-” Luka moves closer and grabs Adrien’s hand, pulling it off his face. Somehow that makes Adrien aware of how Luka is basically in his lap right now, no biggie except that it is a very big deal. “You just caught me off guard, don’t worry.” His eyes look watery, but he wipes them. “I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

Holy crap holy crap holy crap-

“Wait actually? I’m not dreaming right-”

“Well, do you usually dream about me?” Luka jokes lightly.

Yes. Lately. Fuck.

Luka reads his expression and his face goes red too. “That was supposed to be a joke- do you-”

Adrien shoves a hand over Luka’s mouth instinctively. “Nope nope nope. We are not mentioning it. I will not confirm or deny anything ever.” He hates that he can feel Luka’s lips against his hand now, that his brain automatically memorizes the way they feel against his hand.

A muffled giggle. Adrien moves his hand entirely to hear the sound better. Luka’s giggling with a smile on his face and he leans forward again, laughing against his shoulder. “I won’t mention it again, Peach.”

Peach? Why did he-

Oh my god. He gave me a pet name too!?

His heart does flip after flip in his chest, he really hopes Luka can’t hear how loud it is.

Wait the shoot- right.

He thinks back to everything Luka said and a response to it hits him finally. “For the record, eyes are usually always on me. And there’s no one you have to impress, well I mean you’re definitely impressing me you look amazing- anyway! We can go at our own pace and figure it out together. Is that okay?”

Luka’s laughing stops, but his smile remains. He moves his head to stare at Adrien before he presses his forehead against his. Their faces are so close that Adrien has the thought that he kinda really wants to kiss him. He doesn’t, but he wants to. It barely matters, it’s just a thought. An idea maybe. He’s fine though. He only glances at Luka’s lips once, very briefly.

“Thank you, Adrien. You’re amazing.” His voice is like a melody.

Ok, maybe Adrien definitely wants to kiss him. He doesn’t. But crap he needs to stop thinking about kissing Luka because now he can’t stop thinking about it. It’s fine. He only glances a few more times at Luka’s extremely nice looking- He is going to stop thinking about kissing him, no more thoughts.

Thankfully, Luka stands up and offers Adrien a hand. “I think I’m ready now.”

Adrien grabs his hand and lets him pull him up. Together, they leave the dressing room.

Suffice it to say, the photoshoot is a success. Adrien even gets to take Luka home.

Chapter Text

[she's pan like him.]

Chat Noir is in the middle of an akuma fight. Ladybug and him are behind a car right now as Gigantitan calls out aimlessly. It’s not a super stressful battle, but for some reason, the adrenaline is still rushing through him enough for him to say something very not battle appropriate:

“I’m totally into dudes too now by the way.”

What?

WHAT WAS THAT?! WE’RE TRYING TO DEAL WITH AN AKUMA AND I- WHY DID I SAY IT LIKE THAT?! THAT’S SO WEIRD-

He tries not to show how his internal organs have caught on fire.

Ladybug stares at him. Their face is stern, but it relaxes after a moment. “That’s great Kitty, but I have a plan so let’s deal with the baby first.”

Y’know they could’ve had a worse reaction.

His brain might as well be mush. “Yeah- yeah we should probably do that.” He grins with an eyebrow raised. “After you, bugaboo.”

The two of them make quick work of Gigantitan and return August to his mother. It’s so simple that Chat Noir didn’t even wind up needing to use his cataclysm and Ladybug never used their lucky charm.

They both pound it and leave August with his mom, bouncing onto the roofs. Chat Noir gets up in Ladybug’s face immediately. They never said any ‘we’ll speak later,’ but the way they phrased things still felt like they’d get back to the topic once done.

“Soooooo.. are you okay with me liking boys?”

Their eyes flicker with something strange and then Ladybug shrugs. “Why would I not be? I’m pansexual… so.” They tilt their head in thought. “I don’t see why you rushed to tell me though. Giant baby or not, that’s too loaded of a topic usually for it to be a good choice during an akuma fight.”

Chat Noir leans against a railing on one of the rooftops and almost slips. “It’s been on my mind and you know cat’s never got my tongue so.”

“Oh yes, I’m aware, Kitty.” They flash a smirk before taking out their yo-yo. “Well I’m happy you got to tell me about your gay identity, but I should-”

The compulsion to correct them is immediate and Adrien wants to slap himself for it. “Bi actually.” He feels the fire reach his brain cells, burning the most important organ.

Ladybug giggles and a part of Chat Noir… a small part swears it’s nothing like Luka’s giggle. That their little giggle now feels like a lie compared to Luka’s giggle that he’s heard a million times inside his mind before this exact moment. He wonders why it feels so different from Luka’s giggle if they’re the same person. He doesn’t let himself ponder it long.

They smile. “Is it now?” Their arms cross. “I guess that makes sense.”

And you’re pan…

He smirks, trying to look more suave than he feels. “Pan huh? What’s that like?” His instincts take over and he finishes the second question with a wink.

“Curious? I still have a crush on someone else Kitty.” They lean forward slightly, hands having moved to their hips. “That isn’t changing.”

Chat Noir can’t resist the grin that overtakes his face when he realizes that they're talking about him. Technically Adrien Agreste, but still him. Luka must not want to spill the beans to Chat Noir about them dating, but he knows who Ladybug is talking about and it makes him feel clever. “It’s only a matter of time before you fall for my irresistible charm.”

They don’t react to it, but in his mind he can picture Luka with a flush on his face and it makes Chat Noir nearly trip on the rail again. He tries not to let his grin become too dopey thinking about it. He makes a decision to go visit Luka after he leaves Ladybug. It makes him laugh, leaving Luka to go see Luka.

Ladybug is clearly about to leave themselves, but for once, Chat Noir is the one to leap away first. He calls to them behind him with a wave. “Sorry m’lady, but I’ve gotta pounce.”

He doesn’t look back once. Not when he has his boyfriend to look forward to.

—

Adrien grabs some flowers from a flower shop window, leaving some cash behind, and making his way down to the pier. He feels his lack of energy from the akuma fight disappear, replaced with more energy than he knows what to do with when he spots Luka with his bike at the pier.

A quick glance around shows that no one is nearby, so he decides to test out some of his fun new names for Luka.

“Well hello there light of life, my darling boyfriend, the boy of my dreams. How are you doing?” He can’t stop the amount of singsong in his voice.

Luka glances up at him and all but dashes forward to place a finger over Adrien’s mouth. His face is red just like Adrien pictured earlier and it makes him smile against Luka’s finger.

“Shh! Someone could hear! It’s bad enough Juleka’s somehow become confident in herself enough to tease me about my loc- about us dating, I don’t want my mom to start too.” His eyes widen in realization and he lowers his finger. “Sorry.” His ears burn scarlet.

Grinning brighter, Adrien just stares at him for a moment before Luka sighs with a soft smile. “And I’m doing well, how about you?”

God, I love him. Wait what.

Fuck okay yeah gonna put that thought away for later.

Adrien bounces on his toes, reaching out and letting his fingers skitter up Luka’s arm before rubbing his thumb on his shoulder blade and then letting go. He giggles, filled with too much energy from simply seeing Luka. “I’m great! Seeing you only made it 100 times better.”

The other boy bites his lip, smiling this small smile that looks as if Adrien’s comment genuinely made Luka’s entire existence better. The smile makes Adrien feel overwhelmed in the best way possible.

“You made my day better too,” Luka says it genuinely, with no hint of a joke or laugh. Then he seems to read how it suddenly made Adrien lose his energy, instead being replaced with a massive affection. “Anyways- What are you doing here?” He scratches the back of his neck with his usual calm smile.

He watches Adrien silently, still holding one hand on his bike and standing awkwardly.

The blond grabs Luka’s hand, the honest truth not as hard to say for once. “I just wanted to see you.”

“Oh.”

Luka moves his fingers slightly so their hands intertwine. “I was going to take a walk somewhere, but… do you want to come?” He traces little letter ‘A’s on Adrien’s thumb with his own.

I should probably get home since I have my Chinese class today. Eh, when am I going to be in China?

“Well since you’re so kindly offering.”

Adrien lets Luka finish placing his bike back onto the bike rack and locking it to the rack with a small chain. Then the other boy leads him to around the corner at the pier and then loosens his grip on Adrien’s hand, the two of them falling into a simple pattern of steps beside each other. Adrien makes sure to keep hold of Luka’s hand as they walk.

After a moment, Luka takes the chance to start up a conversation. “Someone came up to me yesterday. Y’know, cause of the photoshoot we did?” His voice is a bit embarrassed and shy, while remaining calm as always.

I never thought about how people would recognize him, I hope no one is bothering him because of it…

“I’m sorry if it’s bothering you, I can ask people to stop.”

He shakes his head, laughing with a quiet breath. “Actually- They didn’t exactly bother me as much as they… gave me their number? It was kind of… strange. I don’t think anyone has done that before to me. Do you think they wanted me to help them contact you or something? I wouldn’t- obviously, I don’t want someone bothering you.”

Someone… checked out  my  boyfriend. Calm Adrien, Calm.

People probably check him out all the time, he’s hot it’s not his fault. But giving someone you don’t even know your number? That’s so tacky.

His jealousy levels are under control, but he can’t help feeling a bit annoyed at this random person. “Baby, sweetie, honey, they thought you were hot. That’s usually why people give out numbers randomly.”

Luka blinks. He goes a bit pink and lowers his head. “I didn’t want to assume. Especially since no one’s ever given me their number randomly before.” He squeezes Adrien’s hand. “It did give me a good chance to promote Kitty Section though, since we’re performing in the park again soon.”

I have a hard time believing no one has tried to ask out such a pretty guy before now.

“Shocker that’s never happened to you before. Glad you’re getting the self-promo though, can’t wait to see you guys perform again.” He nudges Luka’s shoulder.

Said boy stops after a moment. “Actually- Well I’ve-” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. We’re here.” He gestures to the lake hitting the pier, the bridge above them providing shade.

Adrien glances around and notices that the location is similar to a little hidden nook near the water. There’s an old bench, but no sign of people besides them two. Luka sits down on the bench, gently pulling Adrien to sit beside him.

“This is a spot I’ve gone to a lot since I was a kid… I’ve never gone with someone else though.” He smiles softly.

There’s a lot floating in the air between them, Adrien isn’t sure what’s the most important for him to respond to, to question, to acknowledge. He glances at their intertwined hands, thoughts bubbling in his mind.

What was he going to say? But then… this place. I’m the first person he’s brought here?

He grasps Luka’s other hand, holding each one and letting them both rest between them both. He faces Luka. “Thank you for taking me here, it feels.. Special.”

Luka doesn’t say anything, nodding and moving his eyes to watch the water. It seems like the water comforts him in some way. His eyes shine and Adrien swears he sees waves crashing in them. He squeezes his hand and Luka squeezes it back, gaze remaining on the waves.

“What were you saying earlier.. the thing you said didn’t matter?”

The gaze returns to him. The waves have gone still. “I just… have technically been in relationships before, but not very long. It was my first time having that specifically happen, but I don’t know. I felt like you got the wrong message and I didn’t want to feel like I was lying to you. It’s not important though.” He leans his side against the bench.

Adrien frowns. He can almost see Luka locking himself in a box again. Unsure of what he should tell him as if anything bad could make Adrien run away. His heart aches with a feeling of strangeness knowing Luka has dated before and he hasn’t, but he doesn’t think anything would make him run. He rubs small ‘L’s into Luka’s thumb.

“I trust you, Luka. That’s the important part, and nothing will change that. You didn’t need to tell me, but I appreciate you being honest with me. It’s okay that you’ve dated before, Blueberry.”

The pet name seems to work like a key, unlocking the box. Luka takes a moment before sighing and running a hand through his hair. “...Well-” He shrugs to himself. “I don’t know if they were ever long enough to count for much. Juleka says it does, but she never liked any of them. I’m just glad she likes you.”

It makes Adrien remember Juleka cornering him in school. He’s never seen her speak so confidently. For a moment, he wonders what could cause her to be brave enough to interrogate him like that.

Luka speaks again. “I trust you too… Adrien.” He says softly, the lack of pet name cluing Adrien into how much Luka needed to hear him say he trusts him.

I feel like there’s so much history I’ve yet to reach… At least a bit of history… It still seems weird thinking back to how strongly Juleka spoke.

They both lean on each other. “Did.. did people hurt you before? Is that why Juleka didn’t like them?”

The dark-haired boy freezes. He frowns. “No no, not exactly. Juleka thought so I guess.” He tilts his head up to look at the bottom of the bridge, mind seeming to list things. “My first one was with a girl who’d just broken up with her boyfriend and she heard I liked her I guess, so we dated for about a week until she was able to get over her breakup. Then, after I started coming out to people as Pan, this guy and I dated for almost a month, but he liked someone else I guess so we stopped. And about a year and a half ago, I asked out this friend of mine from school, but they realized they were aromantic so we stopped dating. I guess it got awkward after that, cause we haven’t really hung out since then.” He takes a breath, head lowering back to Adrien as if he’s finished reciting a simple list. “I’ve not really done anything about crushes since then until… well you. I’m okay though.”

Is this why he reacted to me asking him out the way he did? Fuck, am I seriously the first person to genuinely like him back? Maybe it’s more of a first for both of us than expected.

Adrien moves his hands up to wrap around Luka, leaning his forehead against Luka’s. He watches as Luka stares at him. “I’m.. really happy you still took a chance with me after all of that.” He feels water build up in the corners of his eyes. “You’re really amazing, I don’t think I could have asked for a better boyfriend. I love you... so much.”

Silence.

Fuck brain I thought we discussed we’d think this over first. Too late now.

He watches Luka’s eyes tear up, his hands rushing to rub his eyes till they get dry again. “You-” His hands shake as he wraps them around Adrien, hugging him tightly. His hold is gentle, lips pressed against Adrien’s shoulder. “I-” It’s muffled and Luka raises his head slightly. “I love you too.” He whispers. “Thanks… for- for not giving up on me.” His head raises more until Luka is pressing a kiss to Adrien’s cheek, near the corner of his eye.

Oh-

Brain going blank.

They stay hugging, comfortable until Adrien blurts the most random response to the most insignificant part of Luka’s confession. “Oh yeah! I’m bi. Well shit that’s kinda obvious actually.” He snorts a quick laugh. “Just thought I’d say it since you told me you were pan earlier.”

Luka giggles against his shoulder. “Thanks for telling me, Peach.”

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine-

A rush of emotions hits him. He realizes that he’s successfully come out and owned his sexuality four times already. It’s a good feeling.

—

“Hey, Plagg?”

“What.”

Adrien turns in his bed to face Plagg who’s on the edge of Adrien’s pillow.

“He loves me.”

Plagg groans. “Oh really? I didn’t realize the first three times you told me.” He nibbles at his cheese.

Smiling, Adrien ignores Plagg’s comment and nudges him again. “He kissed me.” He makes sure to drag out the ‘e’. “He trusts me and he loves me.”

The black cat kwami whines. “We know.” He grumbles, but Adrien swears he sees a small smile on the kwami’s face.

Chapter Text

[he's more comforting than her.]

“No.”

What?

Adrien feels his heart go numb. He’s so stupid. Why would his father agree to him going anywhere with his friends after how much he’s been sneaking out and skipping out lately? It was idiotic of him to get excited to go to the Museum opening when he knows his father. Every bit of excitement turns to cold disappointment.

Father isn’t even looking at him, too caught up in work again.

I’ve still got good grades and I’ve been working hard at every photoshoot. Why do I always get punished for being too happy? Does he even realize that I’ve been so much happier lately?

Lately, each day has been a cup half full, which when he remembers back to before… the long period of time after Mother died, is a big deal. Those months were filled with empty, dry of liquid cups. Now he has friends and a boyfriend, he’s finally happy again. So why does Father never realize that?

He used to.

“You have your Chinese and Piano lessons to do tomorrow, the Museum opening can wait. Now go to your room, I’m going to be on a few work calls soon.” His father’s voice is like a command. It’s a sound you’d hear from a Chief of Police or a Sergeant. Not from a father, not from someone who’s supposed to care more than this.

There’s no point in arguing though, not when he’s snuck out so much lately. Not when he’s made the mistake of doing things for himself. “Yes, father..”

His feet feel heavy with each step upstairs. He feels so dumb. He hadn’t even asked Father yet, but he had this gut feeling he’d be fine so he told all his friends that ‘Yeah of course I’ll be there.’ He helped make a list of stuff to take pictures with them all near, he helped them all settle on a time. And a part of him has the urge to sneak out again and just do it, but now that he’s mentioned it to Father, it’s likely he’ll notice Adrien gone.

Adrien hates this feeling. He hates feeling like a failure and an idiot because he can never please his father and be happy at the same time. He’s constantly on a tightrope, trying to balance the two things in his hands so he won’t fall, but every time he falls. He falls and he gets back up, but sometimes he doesn’t even know why he gets back up. Why does he get back on the tightrope and keep trying to keep himself balanced and keep his life balanced? He wishes he knew the answer.

He flops onto his bed and unlocks his phone. He’s greeted by the dumb picture of Luka he accidentally took a while back as his home screen. It adds a small bit of liquid to his cup.

I wonder if he’s busy… Father said he’s got meetings to deal with and I don’t want to think about all this anymore…

Plagg appears beside him. “You’re really obsessed with that kid. You haven’t stared at a picture of Ladybug in ages.” He snuggles into Adrien’s shoulder and it reminds him that he’s still here. That he’s not alone in it all.

Ladybug… I still technically am looking at a picture of them, just the real one.

“Well Luka loves me, isn’t that what matters? Ladybug’s still insistent on not liking ‘Chat Noir’ but Ladybug is Luka anyways.” He states it all both tiredly and matter-of-fact.

The kwami lets out a big sigh and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

They lay there, Plagg remaining tucked in his shoulder, while Adrien rewatches the videos in his Kitty Section Youtube playlist. At some point, he cried a bit... but he just let the tears go by until it was over and he felt gross, but better. Maybe because he’s okay, he’s able to hold on and keep going while watching these videos he’s seen a million times. These videos are his friends, his Blueberry. It makes the numbness lessen.

Once he feels a bit less numb and pained, he sits up.

I want to go see Luka, but- Maybe I should just leave it be. I don’t want to bother him.

He feels frozen in place, staring at the thumbnail of Rose for one of the videos in his playlist.

“Just go make your brain become mush with Luka.” Plagg whines. He floats in front of Adrien’s face. “If you need a hug from someone not the size of your hand, then go get one.”

Adrien laughs to himself. Plagg knows him too well. “Well, I am in the mood for blueberries. Plagg, claws out!”

“Ugh-” He whines as long as he can.

Chat Noir bounces out his window.

—

Adrien doesn’t see Luka or anyone around when he gets to the pier. He looks around, but Luka isn’t in sight. He does hear music though. He steps closer, gripping the edge of the boat and peaking around the top deck of the Liberty.

No people. He hears the music downstairs though. If he focuses enough, he swears he even hears Luka, but he can’t tell completely.

The other boy once told him during one of their usual lunch hangouts that Adrien is always welcome on the Liberty, but he doesn’t know how much of that applies to entering Luka’s houseboat without his permission. He’d try to call out, but his voice still feels dry from his self-wallowing earlier. He doesn’t know if Luka would hear him over whatever music is playing.

It’s not breaking and entering if it’s a boat right? Or fuck would that just be considered trespassing? Does that still apply if I know my boyfriend is down there?

To go or not to go-

Plagg grumbles from inside his jacket. “Just go downstairs already Adrien.”

What does he know? He steals cheese from random trash cans! But I did commit the second I snuck out…

Please have this not be considered trespassing-

He quietly walks onto the deck, making his way to the staircase. He realizes as he gets closer, the music he heard is Nirvana, he manages to recognize the band from the list of music Luka had him listen to. The part he doesn’t recognize as Nirvana is Luka’s voice. Adrien can hear him singing along and suddenly he remembers that the only reason Luka isn’t the lead singer for Kitty Section is because he chose not to.

It’s definitely not because he couldn’t do so… Fuck I feel dumb again.

Every brain cell left in his brain leaves him. He’s alone without anything up there to help him. It’s not a bad kind of dumb, like with his father. Instead, this time he feels dumb purely because he can barely process his thoughts.

Adrien slaps his cheek lightly, trying to get himself to stop focusing on how pretty Luka’s voice is. He can’t keep listening like a creep, he has to go get hugs from his cute boyfriend. Yes, task remembered.

Walking down the stairs, he notices Luka before Luka notices him. The dark-haired boy is washing the counters in the little corner kitchen, bangs pinned up with two butterfly hair clips that Adrien is certain are Juleka’s. He’s got thin black socks on and what Adrien can only guess is an old David Bowie t-shirt considering how small it looks on Luka.

When Adrien reaches the bottom step, a light creak is what turns Luka’s head. He stops singing and instead stares at Adrien for a moment before reaching over to pause his music. He pauses in wiping the counters too. “What’s wrong?”

How does he-

Rather than give a useful reply, he states a fact he remembers from his first time meeting Anarka. “Why the heck are you cleaning?”

Luka blinks, frowning. “I like to clean up a bit… when Mom isn’t here.” He steps closer, leaving the rag on the counter. “Adrien, you look upset about something, you don’t have to tell me… but you’re here randomly so you must’ve come for some reason.” His eyes are warm.

The smooth and comforting tone of Luka’s voice breaks him. He keels forward, dropping onto the floor beside the steps and feeling tears well up in his eyes. Everyone knows his father is difficult, but he never gets to be upset. He never gets to feel disappointed because his father said ‘no.’

“I couldn’t stay a-at home. Father put my stupid le-lessons above my friends again. I can’t see them tomorrow. God, I feel like a- a dumb whiny kid that didn’t get his way.”

In a flash, Luka is on the floor next to him. He holds Adrien in a warm hug, smelling like soap and dishwater, but it makes him feel safe. His hands draw shapes and letters on his back while Adrien just clings to his small t-shirt. “It’s alright. He shouldn’t put so much pressure on you, your friends are important to you so that makes it more important than your lessons. What’s tomorrow?” He speaks in a whisper as if no one else but Adrien is allowed to hear what he says.

Adrien reaches up and messes with the lower strands of Luka’s hair, it stabilizes him a bit. “Museum opening. I’m more upset ‘cause I told everyone I’d be there already. But I got denied an’ sent to my room when I didn’t do anything.”

“Oh.” Luka pulls Adrien onto his lap. “I’m sure they’ll understand if you tell them. You thought he’d be okay with you going, I don’t think they’ll mind. If anything, they’ll just feel bad that you can’t go.” He hums and it’s so close to Adrien’s ear that it’s the only sound he hears for a moment. “What if I called you while you did your lessons? We can talk, or not talk. But you won’t be alone.”

If I bring it up with Nathalie, she’d probably convince Father to let me…

He smiles against Luka’s shoulder. “That’d be great.”

They sit for a while, but eventually, Luka lets go and stands up. “Do you want something to drink?” He guides Adrien to take a seat on the couch and then the boy disappears behind the counter.

Now my eyes feel sticky and wet, lovely.

His mind is unhelpful, so he’s given full authority to his mouth and heart. “Are you on the menu? I wanna order more cuddles.”

Luka snorts loudly. “I am if you want me to be.” He appears in front of him again, this time with a glass of water, a small cookie, and some cheese. Adrien feels Plagg perk up in his jacket. “Here, you should eat something.”

He sits beside Adrien, wrapping an arm around him. Adrien takes the glass of water, sipping it as he tries to conspicuously drop the cheese onto the floor next to his shoe. He manages after a moment when Luka turns to grab a blanket. Plagg rushes to nibble on it beside his shoe. Luka covers them both with a soft gray blanket.

“Thanks for all of this. I feel a bit better now.”

The other boy simply breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m glad it’s helping. I wish your father wasn’t so hard on you.” He speaks carefully. “Fathers shouldn’t act that way…”

Huh…

Adrien nods, leaning his head on Luka’s shoulder. “They’re supposed to be there and care, not leave it to other people.

“Yeah… They’re supposed to show up when you need them to.” Luka’s voice shakes for a millisecond before he calms. He stares off, rubbing his thumb over Adrien’s shoulder comfortingly.

Why…

It feels nice for someone to get it… how does he-

He pulls at the hem of Luka’s shirt lightly. “You really seem to understand me.. Which is a good thing! But.. how?”

Luka freezes, thumb pausing mid-motion. Before Adrien can process the pause though, he continues. “My dad left when we were little. Not too long after we were born, I think.” He speaks slowly, choosing his words. “I guess I understand the disappointment.”

So he really does get me. We’re in a similar boat.

Is it bad that that makes me feel a bit better?

“Seems we both have sad anime father backstories.”

“Wha- Pff-” Luka snorts again, giggling with his hand over his mouth as usual and his eyes squeeze tight, scrunching. He falls over, head falling onto Adrien’s lap as he laughs. His laughter brings Adrien’s. Adrien snickers and leans his head on top of Luka’s, the two boys wheezing.

They’re so loud that Adrien fears it’ll break his glass of water he placed back on a shut box.

Adrien feels as if he can tell Luka anything and still feel safe and loved. It’s nice. Memories poke at his mind and he leans back, comforted by Luka drawing shapes into his knee with his head still in Adrien’s lap. He wonders if his mother can see him. He wonders if she’d be happy, not the same way Adrien is, but in a proud or motherly way. A wave of grief hits him, but he can handle it, Luka is here and he’s here. It’s not a question, his mom would be happy. He knows it more than he knows most things.

“Y’know, when I was a kid, my dad-- my father-- he wasn’t all too bad. He was still protective and strict, but in a more normal way like how most fathers are. I think he got worse after my mom died. Maybe he thinks he’ll lose me too.” He ponders aloud. “Some nights I just want to run away and be free from modeling and grades and him… but I don’t think I could ever do it. Even with how much he’s made this past year… hell for me… I still love him, he’s my father.”

Luka hums and their eyes meet. Luka’s eyes make him feel not only heard but understood. They share these feelings. Adrien isn’t alone in these thoughts or experiences… not completely. It’s the most wonderful thing to become aware of. Even if a part of him feels bad about it all.

“I get that. I always tell myself that if I found out who my dad is, met him… I’d be mad or angry or something. I’d yell at him for it all, but I’d probably just forgive him immediately because even if he left for the worst of reasons, even one chance with an actual dad is something I’d want more than an apology. I don’t think your father gets any right to act the way he does or treat you that way, but I do agree with you. I think it’s his twisted form of love. I think it often is that way.” Luka reaches to grab his hand, squeezing it and bringing it to his mouth for a quick and soft kiss to Adrien’s knuckles. “From now on though, whenever he makes things stressful and you need to talk about it or need a hug or anything… I’ll be here okay?”

How did I get this guy to like me? He’s so incredible.

He melts and leans his head forward, hovering above Luka’s head. He’s frozen again. Adrien wants to kiss him again. He hovers, feeling stuck in place. Luka stares up at him and his hair is a mess on Adrien’s lap. It’s a perfect moment and he wants to move, but panic hits him and he hates that even though he knows that nothing will go wrong, it’s as if his body refuses to let him. He wants to kiss him. He wants to so badly. Instead, his head falls gently and he presses his forehead against Luka’s, smiling.

“Yeah. We’re in this together Blueberry. I promise to be there for you too.”

The other boy reaches up to play with the ends of Adrien’s hair. “Love you, Peach.”

Adrien grins more, heart dancing. “I love you too.”

Chapter Text

[He protects me, she doesn’t.]

“I trust you, M’lady.”

Life as a love zombie under Zombizou’s spell is weirdly blank. It reminds Chat Noir of stories he’s learned of in school. Where people drink so much alcohol that the entire experience becomes blotchy with gaps in what happened. That’s how he feels whenever he loses partial control, whenever an akuma has some form of power like mind control or zombie-fication. All of it is bits and pieces. He remembers parts where he has no control, but most of it he can never seem to remember.

So when he finally gains control, when Ladybug fixes everything, he always feels like it’s been weeks even when it hasn’t. Weeks of blurry memories. In reality it was usually only a few minutes max. His mind just gets jumbled like that.

Ladybug and him pound it. Ladybug leaves, safe. That’s all that matters.

But then why does he still feel hurt?

—

Adrien’s phone starts to vibrate and ring against his leg and everyone in the class turns to look at him. It makes his skin feel hot and his mind messy. He has barely any contacts on his phone, who would be calling him?

Fuck fuck-

His fingers feel slippery as he desperately denies the call. He isn’t sure who it is, but he has no time to check, not when the entire class is staring at him.

“Thank you, Mr. Agreste. Please keep your phone on silent during my class from now on.” The teacher reeks passive aggression.

It’s fine.

He feels his phone vibrate with a text message and then another one. Now his curiosity is maxed out.

I’ll just take a quick peek.

Adrien carefully pulls his phone out of his pocket and under his desk, checking his messages. Only for his curiosity to turn into a million more negative emotions.

My Blueberry♡: Adrien, I know you’re still in school, but… Could you come here when you get out? I got… suspended from my school.

My Blueberry♡: Please.

Suspended? LUKA??? THE ANGEL THAT DESCENDED INTO OUR REALM?

A quick glance at the time reminds him he has 3 hours left of school. Three hours for Luka to wait there when clearly something happened. Adrien feels impulse take the steering wheel.

He nudges Nino and whispers, “If anyone asks, I got sick.”

Nino’s eyebrows furrow, but he seems to notice Adrien’s panic and worry because he simply nods. No questions.

His hand goes into the air before he can stop it. “May I please use the restroom!?” Her face contorts, but she opens her mouth and he knows she’s going to say yes, she can’t say no. No one can try to stop his rising heartbeat and adrenaline because even he can’t calm himself down. He needs to see Luka.

Before she even gets the word out of her mouth, he rushes with his things out the door like a maniac. “Thanks bye!”

There’s nothing quite as terrifying as trying to get from one location to another, but feeling trapped and as if time itself is against you. Knowing that every second he’s here and not there, Luka is alone and Luka doesn’t deserve to be alone, so why can’t things move faster?!

He’s never been more thankful to have his bodyguard on his side. When the familiar face and car finally show up, he doesn’t even spare greetings.

“I need to get to La Fountaine high school right now.” He barely recognizes his own voice. It’s not quite the same one from the photoshoot, but it’s similar. A part of him that he forgets is there.

The car doesn’t exactly follow the speed limit.

—

When the car pulls up to the highschool, Adrien notices Luka on the bottom of the front steps. He sits with his head in his hands and his bag beside him. Just seeing him alive and breathing makes Adrien a little calmer. Something is still definitely wrong though. He can tell from the trembling in Luka’s hands.

He tells his bodyguard to park and wait, that they’ll only be a few minutes.

Before the door shuts, he smiles as best he can. “Thanks for bringing me, I’ll be done soon.”

The car drives off towards the parking lot. Adrien takes a deep breath and spins on his heel, walking towards Luka. As he approaches he notices Luka’s hands tremble more. His gut aches and twists. He notices dried blood on Luka’s knuckles.

His feet stop moving when he gets close enough. “Blueberry? What happened, are you okay?”

The trembling stops. Luka peeks up through his bangs and his hands drop to hug his knees. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school still? I don’t think it’s been that long yet…”

Adrien sits down on the steps beside him and his eyes remain on Luka. “I came here as fast as I could, honey you’re not the type to get suspended. What happened?”

“I got into a fight.” As soon as he says it, Luka drops his head onto his knees, avoiding Adrien’s eyes.

A fight? An actual-

“Did someone hurt you? If someone hurt you I’m about to have to fight someone mys-” He feels anger pinch at him.

Luka shakes his head, still avoiding his eyes. “No… I started the fight.” He pauses, silent. His hands shake again and he raises his head finally. He rubs his hands at his eyes, frantically. Adrien notices that there’s a giant bruise over his left eye and another one on his jaw. “He-They- It was some interview you did recently and- They were mocking you, but they don’t even know you- and the way they talked about you- I had to say something-” His hands aren’t rubbing fast enough. “They acted like I didn’t know anything and I couldn’t- I couldn’t tell them how wrong they were- They’d know we-” He presses his face to his knees again. “I didn’t mean to, I was just so angry.”

He got into a fight…. Because of me? He got into a fight  for  me?

All his senses get overwhelmed. He feels his heart in his ears, drumming along crazily. He stares at Luka and he isn’t sure what to do, what to say. Everything he’d thought about before coming is gone and all he can focus on is Luka. Is the fact that Luka got suspended from school because of some jerk making negative comments about Adrien. That Adrien wasn’t even there.

Adrien just stares.

I want to kiss him. Fuck I really want to kiss him, he’s right there and he cares so much- He’s so pretty and kind and I just want to kiss him. I can’t believe he-

There’s a ringing sound in his mind and it’s loud. He thinks it might be his heartbeat. It’s fast and a bit alarming, but he feels so much all at the same time. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, he just can’t stop staring at Luka and thinking about how much he cares.

It feels like he’s drinking, but there’s no gaps in memory, there’s no blur. Instead everything is in 2000 HD quality and the blurriness comes from his heart and mind and body all being one big blob. He can’t figure out what is in control, but he knows it’s some part of him.

He reaches out and presses a hand to the back of Luka’s neck. He does it. It isn’t a thought anymore. He’s kissing Luka, he wanted to and he did. And the sense of bad timing is hard to focus on because it’s Luka. He makes him feel like he’s on Cloud Nine. Maybe he is. And there’s so much in his brain, but Luka’s skin is soft and his fingers brush against his hair. The world sucks sometimes and his life is a mess, but Luka’s kissing back. His father might never be okay again, might never trust him again, but Luka is pressing a hand to his cheek and his hair is pressing against Adrien’s face.

They pull apart after a moment and neither says a word. Adrien watches Luka sit there and he’s still crying a bit, but he’s forgotten his personal task to rub at his eyes and he’s just staring at Adrien. They both are staring. It’s hard not to because the staring is what keeps them both from floating away. Being picked up by the wind. Both of them can’t bother being weighed down by everything bad that happens when everything in them is light as a feather.

Luka’s mouth is slightly parted. Then: “Fuck me.”

What.

“What?”

“What?”

That snapped them out if it. Adrien watches as Luka goes bright red and rushes to stare at the tree on the other side of him. His entire being is rushing with blood as his own face goes red too.

His mind starts to draw up images and pictures that he doesn’t want to think about, but he can’t help it and it only makes his hands get sweaty and his face gets even more hot. Adrien is worried he may pass out from how dizzy he feels and he can tell Plagg is trying not to laugh in his pocket. He hates his mind, but the more he tries to not think about it, the more his brain blows up with it’s own plans.

The logic part of him decides to finally do its job and slaps him into gear. “Task at hand. Why would you fight someone on my behalf? I never want you getting hurt, love.”

Luka clears his throat before speaking. “It’s not my first fight actually. Just my first in a while, I guess.” He turns to look in front of him, face still red but calmer.

Adrien nudges his shoulder to get him to look over. He wipes any leftover tears on his face with his thumb before reaching down to intertwine their fingers. He wants Luka to know that nothing he says will change anything.

“I don’t mind if you’ve gotten into fights before, worried maybe about injuries, but I can also get the urge to punch someone when they’ve set me off.”

The other boy leans against him. “It was never like that exactly. Back when Juleka and I were in the same year and school… Well before she met Rose too. She got picked on a lot since we’ve both been out for multiple years at this point. I’d usually come to help her get out of bad situations she’d get into, but most of them weren’t peaceful negotiations. Now that she has Rose, it’s not as big of a problem so I haven’t had to in a while..” He flushes. “I don’t ever mean to get too violent, I can’t help it. Not when they’re saying things or doing things like that to my favorite people.”

I’m apart of his favorite people? I’M HIS FAVORITE PEOPLE!! Wait- Duh I’m his favorite people.

He smiles and brings their hands to his face to kiss Luka’s hand and fingers. “Wanting to protect the people you love is a natural thing. I just don’t wanna be getting more texts in school that make me Lightning McQueen out the door.”

“I told you to wait till after school.” Luka smiles.

“Do I look like I have impulse control?”

Giggling, Luka shrugs. “I guess not. Sorry, I wasn’t going to text you, but I’m too sore for my bike not to mention I can’t show up like this and make mom or Juleka worry... and well… I wanted to see you I guess.” He hums. “Thanks for coming anyway.”

The two of them look at each other. Adrien leans in and gives him a peck on the lips because he feels like it, because Luka is everything he’s been waiting for. Luka just snorts.

Adrien glances up and he knows that his happiness means more than just him being happy. He knows it means his mom is happy, looking down at him. Because she’d be proud of how far he’s come. “I’ll always be here when you need me.”

Luka moves hair behind his ear. “I appreciate it.” He glances towards the parking lot. “You probably need to get back to school though.”

But who needs school-- when pretty boyfriend---

“Well I already left and I wouldn’t want you sitting out here for hours. May I take you home?” He stands up and bows forward with a hand extended, full chabang and all.

He watches the other boy glance over again with a smile. “Won’t your bodyguard be a little confused as to why you’re picking up some random guy?” His eyes soften. “He won’t tell your father about you leaving school or anything right?”

Knowing Nathalie, she probably already had a full discussion with his bodyguard just in case of situations like this. He trusts in her just as he trusts his bodyguard. “It’ll be fine he won’t question anything.”

“If you’re sure.” His hand reaches up and tenderly intertwines with Adrien’s. Adrien squeezes it and pulls Luka up, standing. Luka winces a bit, making Adrien notice another bruise under his right ear.

I should see if we have anything in the car for his bruises.

Adrien wraps an arm around Luka’s shoulders and helps guide him to the car. His bodyguard exits the car and walks around to open the door for the two of them. Luka slides into the farthest seat, but Adrien scoots over to sit as close as possible. He nods at his bodyguard. “Can you take us to the pier please?”

Getting back into the driver’s seat, the other man nods silently.

After a moment, Adrien begins his search for some form of cream or at the very least some painkillers. He finds nothing in sight and after a quick question to his bodyguard, learns that they have nothing of use in the car. Talk about the one time he thought being rich might actually come in handy, only for there to be nothing.

Luka nudges his shoulder. “It’s fine, I can ice them when I get home.”

But I want you to feel better nowww--

He grumbles, squeezing Luka’s hand. “I don’t want you to be in pain though.” He drags out the end of ‘though’ like a whiny kid begging for ice cream.

“It’s not too bad, I’m just a bit sore.” Luka leans his head on Adrien’s shoulder, his hair tickling his neck. “Plus you’re here so I’ll be fine.” He whispers it, a private exchange for them only.

I want to kiss him again- DAMNIT

His head is running a million miles again. He presses his hand softly against Luka’s hair, petting his head and running his fingers through the black and blue mess.

“Fine, but I’m helping you ice them when we get there.”

Luka laughs, “I’ll allow it.”

Chapter Text

Puppeteer forms in the middle of the street and Chat Noir can already see, out of the corner of his eye, people running into buildings or away from the scene. Alya stands with a frown on her face and stares up at him with a guilty look.

“I tried to shoo away the akuma, but it didn’t work!” She takes a step back as Puppeteer floats into the air with her bratty smile.

“Wanna play a game?”

Chat Noir dashes to the side, trying to get behind a building. He can’t do much until Ladybug gets here, annoyingly.

His typical energy is already present though. “Luckily I’m playing chess while she’s playing checkers.”

Alya is already hiding behind a building, so Chat Noir should be able to easily distract Puppeteer until Ladybug comes to lend a hand. He glances around, trying to make sure all civilians are out of harm's way.

Wait-

Is that?

Down the far end of the street, he notices a familiar face helping some people get inside. If he’s there trying to help those still nearby, then it might be difficult for Ladybug to join the fight.

Those are the things that occur to him, but his first, true instinctive thought is more along the lines of:

Boyfriend in danger-

He glances over back at Puppeteer and sees her breaking into the toy store window. Chat Noir tries not to laugh thinking of Hawk Moth being annoyed that she got distracted. In theory, he can quickly help out Luka and still make sure Puppeteer doesn’t harm anyone.

It doesn’t take much internal convincing for him to sprint down the street. Luka turns slightly at the commotion, but he doesn’t get a word in edgewise before Chat Noir is grabbing him and jumping onto a roof.

“Hold on tight, prince charming.”

Now I’m going to look suave as Chat Noir!

Wait fuck priorities-

His arms nudge Luka into an easier-to-hold position, Luka’s eyes darting from the rooftops they’re on to Chat Noir. He tries not to focus on the fact that he hasn’t seen Luka in a day or two and he’s really happy to see him right now. Instead, he simply holds onto him tight and pretends that bridal style is his instinctive way to hold anything and anyone. Not just Luka specifically.

Chat Noir travels from one rooftop to another until they’re far enough away for Luka to be safe and able to transform.

Luka grips his shoulders tighter when they fall down into the alleyway and it definitely doesn’t make Chat Noir almost slip on air. No, he is entirely professional.

Pretty pretty pretty-

After a moment of quiet where Chat Noir just stands holding Luka, he begrudgingly decides to let him go.

“Stay safe, I gotta go keep that kid busy.” He winks against his will.

The other boy smiles a bit as he gently presses his feet to the ground and steps away from Chat Noir. “Thank you, p-Chat Noir.”

He said my hero name!!!!

It seems fitting that Ladybug shows up just after he returns to Puppeteer.

—

Adrien sits down beside Luka and they immediately fall into their usual lunch pattern. It’s their first one since they momentarily stopped during Luka’s suspension. He’s back and doing good though, so Adrien is excited for the usual routine to return.

“Did you hear about the akuma attack yesterday?” Luka pops a blueberry into his mouth from his lunch and Adrien laughs mentally at the ‘cannibalism.’

He steals a blueberry and leans against Luka. “Yeah, was a little kid wasn’t it?”

Luka nods. “The Puppeteer, I think.” He pauses. “I saw Chat Noir.”

Fuck holy shit oh my god it’s happening-

Feeling just like a dumb teenage girl, Adrien tries not to be too obvious with his response or voice. “What was he like?”

“Kind of like you, I guess. You know, sweet and charming.” He grins, nudging his arm in a teasing way.

Uh uh uh uh uh-- He called me sweet and charming!

“So you think I’m sweet and charming aye?” He bats his eyes annoyingly.

He grins harder when Luka flushes at his antics. “Of course I do, I can go on if you’d like.”

I wish we were in private so I could kiss him UGH-

Adrien feels his heart swell and he steals another blueberry as if it’ll help it. “Don’t boost my already incredibly high ego baby.”

Luka plays with his bangs. “Why not?”

FUCK MY HEART-

His mind buzzes with energy and he reaches an arm around Luka, unable to resist at least a bit of cuddle-PDA stuff. “My poor heart, I’m gonna die at 15. You can’t do that to me.” He glances around before pressing a quick kiss to Luka’s cheek.

“We can’t have that.” Luka giggles. “I just can’t help it, I’m always feline so much around you.”

Wait- cat pun- cat pun?

The comment from earlier hits him and he swallows dryly. He knows Luka’s identity, but… Did his stunt yesterday make Luka realize his?

Panic clogs up his airways, but he pushes it down and tries not to react. He can play this cool. He understood the message. Luka knows he’s Chat Noir, now he can clue in that he knows Luka is Ladybug. Maybe that’s why Luka used a pun, neither of them know who could be overhearing.

“Well my heart skips a beat-le when I’m with you.”

Luka bends forward, giggling. “That’s so bad!” He drags out the last word, smiling up at Adrien.

Did he get the message? I think he did.

—

Adrien watches from Luka’s couch as the other boy steps on Juleka’s foot for the third time.

“Ow-”

“Sorry Jules!” Luka steps back, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I don’t know how it keeps happening!”

He can feel the embarrassed misery radiating off Luka. “Remind me why the two of you are doing this again?”

Juleka sighs. “I’m trying to… plan something special for Rose.”

Luka bites his lower lip, tearing at it for the millionth time in the past hour. “I said I’d learn how to do the slow dancing stuff with her, but at this point Jules, I don’t think me being involved is helping.” He leans back against the couch. “Rose’s birthday is a week from now right?”

She lets out an anxious, “Yeah…”

I can’t be the only one who knows how to do every formal dance imaginable right?

“I can show you how. I know just about every dance under the sun.” He shrugs at their questioning faces. “Father wanted me prepared for any event.”

The two Couffaine twins glance at each other. Luka smiles. “He’ll probably be a lot more helpful than me, Jules.”

Juleka nods slowly before her eyes light up. “I don’t know… Do you think you could show me with Luka first? I don’t… I think it’ll help to see it before trying it.”

Eheee---

Adrien notices Luka’s eyes widen and send some invisible message to Juleka before landing on Adrien. The two twins await his response.

“I’m fine with that.”

Luka makes a pained noise in the back of his throat that Adrien almost misses. The two of them meet behind the couch and Luka smiles apologetically before they even start. Juleka turns the music back on and Adrien is reminded of all the old fancy parties his mom used to throw.

‘My little art endeavors.’ She would call them. They’d always be boring to him, so she’d sneak into the library with him and read his favorite books. It’d be a party she’d spend weeks planning and yet she knew he appreciated her company.

Dancing with Luka is its own experience though. Luka sucks, like truly sucks, at the whole thing. Each time Adrien whispers a correction, Luka nods and corrects himself with a small apology. His feet hurt from Luka tripping over them, but it feels nice to simply hold him close and sway.

It brings him the same joy as those old memories of him and his mom in the library. There’s nothing special to it, but it’s calming and personal. He gets to stare at Luka the whole time too.

The song stops. He freezes and looks over at Juleka. Her eyes are soft with a raised eyebrow. “Is this the stuff you two were doing… when you guys were late to school…?”

Luka goes red and plops onto the couch. “JULES!” He grumbles. “It’s your turn.”

Juleka smiles. “Only if Adrien isn’t wanting to keep going with you. He looked- Looked invested.” She laughs.

Oh dear fuck- Mom I’m so sorry if you’re watching-

His eyes meet with Luka though and he feels at peace.

Chapter Text

“You actually believed that she was a ghost?!”

Luka flushes, laughing between sips of water. “I was seven!” He nudges his shoulder with feign offense. “At least I don't still believe in Santa Claus!”

Adrien feels his defensive mechanisms begin working. “W-what do mean Santa isn’t real? Wah.” He makes his voice annoyingly baby-ish to add to the joke.

The other boy’s water bottle spills as he chokes. “What-!?” He grins, laughing even as the water from his water bottle soaks into his clothes. “I’m so sorry, but Santa Claus is actually just a homeless man with a cocaine addiction.”

What the FUCK-

He feels his laughter weigh him down, gravity pulling at him and he leans into Luka’s space. The two of them giggling and wheezing.

There’s been so many shared lunches at this point, Adrien has a hard time remembering how many exactly. They all blend together into a perfect bliss. It makes Adrien wonder why he ever lived life without Luka in it.

They’ve both calmed down after enough time.

“I’ve been, uh, thinking of you more lately y’know…” Luka fiddles with his fingers as he speaks. There’s something to whatever he’s trying to bring up. After a month of dating, he’s begun to memorize his tells.

His fingers wind up near Luka’s. “Oh have you now? What specifically, my blueberry?”

Luka pauses before whispering. “Well- You know you’re the song stuck in my head, even late at night in bed, the lovely ocean sea, the perfect melody for me.” At the very end, he brushes a strand of hair behind his ear and Adrien is mesmerized as he’s often begun realizing he ends up when Luka does anything.

A poem… did he write that?

Adrien squeezes his hand, sneaking a quick kiss before anyone else can see. “I-”

Their hands release. “You should get going, your lunch break is about to end. We don’t want you late right?” Luka’s face is flushed, but he doesn’t look as afraid as he used to.

“We’ll talk later though, yeah?”

“Of course.”

Adrien always hates having to leave.

—

Now that school is over, Adrien is free to sneak out to see Luka as per usual. As he arrives he hears singing from the houseboat. It’s not loud, the pier is just strangely quiet today.

The lyrics are hard to make out, but it doesn’t take long before Adrien realizes it’s Luka singing. It makes his heart swell. He realizes with a weird sort of euphoria that this is the first time he’s heard Luka sing without there being Rose or other, louder singers singing over him. His voice is alone with only guitar. He can tell and it’s exhilarating. He hops up the steps of the houseboat and as he gets closer, he can hear the words.

“Gentle as the ocean breeze, the brightest smile on the beach…”

He glances around the corner and Luka is sitting in roughly the same spot he sat a little over two and a half months ago when Adrien first flirted with him. It feels like it’s been years, and yet, it’s only been a short while. Time seems so weird and unorthodox when spending it with someone you care for so heavily.

“Tougher than an emerald, keeping your composure…” The melody is something Adrien hasn’t heard before and it crosses his mind that maybe it’s original. He wonders what it’s about. The finger movements of Luka’s hand and his soft strumming makes it all feel peaceful, maybe even lovestruck.

It’s a bit of a nice change from the intensity of Kitty Section’s music.

Adrien turns the corner with slow care, not wanting to be too loud and ruin Luka’s melody.

“Holding you tight is all I want, always in my reach…” Luka glances up and strums to a stop. Adrien is a bit bummed that he ends, but he still sits down beside the other boy when Luka scoots over and places his guitar in its case.

His voice still seems on the verge of melodic in the way the song was, it makes Adrien’s skin cold in a strangely good way. “Hey, Adrien.”

He puts on a face, staring at Luka in curiosity. “Hi, what was that just now?”

Luka flushes and grins, “A song I’ve been writing for you. You weren’t supposed to hear about it till I finished.” He pouts at the last part, pulling gently at Adrien’s cheek.

A song? A SONG FOR ME?! Fuck is this something that happens with all musicians in love? Maybe I should write a song for him? But I can’t sing- Fuck-

“Your voice is so beautiful.”

A light fills Luka’s eyes and he grasps Adrien’s hand, holding it with both of his own. “Flirt.” He hums. “Thank you. I’ll play the full thing for you once I finish, but for now, I only have it halfway done so forget what you heard.”

Adrien zips his lips shut and makes a gesture of throwing out the key. “Heard what?”

The two laugh. Luka runs his thumb over Adrien’s nail. “Y’know what we should do sometime? We could paint each other’s nails. I’d have to get a color other than black, but…” He glances at Adrien.

“That would be awesome! I’ve always wondered what it feels like.”

Luka grins wider. “I think a light green would suit you well, it’d match your eyes. Maybe this week-”

Ring.

As if God himself is against them having plenty of time together, Adrien’s phone is loud and vibrating beyond reason before Luka can finish his sentence. It brings both back down from the clouds and back into the present.

His fingers leave Luka’s, grabbing at his phone. He smiles apologetically. “Sorry, just give me a minute.”

The other boy nods and turns to the side.

Sighing, Adrien sees Nathalie’s caller ID and hits accept. “Hello? Is something wrong?”

Nathalie’s voice is calm in a manner that Adrien knows immediately as a sign that nothing is too bad. “Your father is requesting your presence soon, you should head home so he doesn’t realize you’re late. I’ve already made plans for you to go on a tutoring-based museum tour after fencing practice on Sunday.”

It comes in handy to have Nathalie making up things for Adrien to attend alone so that he can spend plenty of time with Luka. Sometimes he wonders how he exists without her aid.

“Okay, thank you. I’ll be back soon then.”

He hangs up and already notices Luka rubbing the back of the neck. “I guess I’ll see you Sunday then?” His eyes go wide. “Oh wait no- Juleka’s friends and Marinette were all coming over then to hang out. Should we meet somewhere-”

Adrien nudges his shoulder. They have two days to figure out details and yet no matter the time, Luka worries more about Adrien’s father and reporters than Adrien.

“We’ll work it out, it’s fine blueberry,” He stands up and waves, blowing a kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

He makes his mad dash home.

—

“I feel you’ll be pleased to hear I am dating a very pretty, very sweet guy now.”

Ladybug raises an eyebrow and they lean against a chimney. “We can’t be revealing that sort of stuff Chat, our identities need to stay hidden. But I’m happy for you.” They both hear the akumatized villain and Ladybug quickly turns around and jumps up, grabbing the object with the akuma inside. They make quick work of everything as usual.

This time the villain was some baby again, similar to the other baby akuma villain, so they both take pleasure in the easier job.

Chat Noir leans forward, using his stick to hold himself up. “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t heartbroken over the oh so tragic loss of me.”

They tap the stick with their foot and Chat Noir flops to keep balance. “I think I’ll be okay Kitty.”

He grins, unable to resist gushing over Luka in front of Ladybug Luka. “Man he’s just got the prettiest eyes, amazing voice, and fluffy hair. So incredible.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Ladybug rolls their eyes, the only thing to give the fake anger away is their small smile.

Now’s my chance.

His confidence in costume helps a lot, but also imagining Ladybug’s masked face without the miraculous magic or the mask makes things easier. “Also in return for earlier, I have something.”

A single deep breath.

“Blue hair and blue eyes, shining brighter than the moon, my heart pounds near you.” He does a little bow mixed with a hand kiss at the end to add charm to the performance.

When he glances up to see Ladybug’s expression, he’s surprised to see confusion. Luka should be able to tell what he’s talking about.

Ladybug furrows their eyebrows. “...What? Was that a haiku?” They laugh amidst clear bewilderment. “It’s sweet?”

Of course! He’s just trying not to give himself away. I can respect that. I’ll just ask him more about it later.

Chat Noir bounces up, knowing the two should be going separate ways soon, but just happy he managed to come up with a good love poem in response to Luka’s. “Till next time bugaboo!”

Chapter Text

[he's everything she isn't.]

Adrien and Kagami wave goodbye to his bodyguard as they walk onto the Liberty.

“How oblivious am I supposed to act?”

He stops right before the steps downstairs. “Enough to where we’re not immediately outed.”

She smiles mischievously. “But not enough to where I can’t tease you?”

God, why did I even tell her?

As if reading his mind, she giggles. “I saw your Luka shrine in your closet, I don’t think you could’ve gotten out of telling me.”

Blood rushes through his face. “I told you not to mention that again!”

The two clamber down the steps, Kagami laughing hysterically. The people already downstairs turn to look at the two. Adrien notices Luka showing Marinette something on his guitar and he tries not to pout. Alya raises an eyebrow at him and Kagami.

“How’d you two get your parents to let you come?”

Kagami’s grin widens as she fully leaves behind the manners and perfections Adrien knows she hates doing for her mother. “Oh no, Adrien, this isn’t fencing practice!”

Adrien snickers, feigning shock. “Oh my! We must have taken a wrong turn.”

The two collapse onto the couch. Luka meets his eyes and they share a private greeting without saying anything. Marinette grabs a tray of drinks and rushes forward to offer them to Kagami and Adrien.

Wait-

He glances at Kagami and notices her slight flush as she accepts the drink from Marinette with a “thanks.” His revenge is present. He nudges Kagami and watches as her eyes fill with an understanding. He raises an eyebrow and she begins to glare as they have a silent war. It’s strange how he manages to be able to speak to those he’s closest to without saying anything.

“They’re so cute together.” Mylène squeals.

Huh?

His eyes dart to Luka helping Marinette with the empty drink tray and then over to where Alya, Alix, and Mylène watch from the couch. The implications of their whispers make him angry. He knows they shouldn’t, none of them know that he and Luka are even close, let alone dating. And yet, it makes him feel frustrated.

Shouting begins above, “I will not be your second choice!”

The teens look at each other and he swears he hears Alya whisper to Marinette in relation to Luka, but he tries to ignore it as they all go up the steps to see what the fuss seems to be.

Jagged Stone sits at a piano on top of a stage bus, playing dramatically. “But you've always been my muse, please.”

The fuck-

The two adults argue and he wasn’t aware there was a history between the two, but it’s hard to focus on. He glances over at Luka and they meet eyes. He tries to convey everything frustrating him beyond relief, but Luka doesn’t seem to understand and Adrien can guess he probably didn’t hear Alya or the others. Luka moves next to him and nudges his shoulder. His whisper is so quiet that even Adrien struggles to hear it.

“You never told me what you thought of my poem or song...”

Huh?

He blinks in confusion before whispering back. “But I did, didn’t I?”

“No you-”

Jagged Stone yells for aid from Marinette. She seems to blubber, unsure of how to help someone in need of a guitarist.

“Adrien!”

Huh- I play piano????

She seems to put him on display, hyping him up despite him not having touched a guitar in his life. “He’s a h- great model! And he’s extremely talented.”

His mind fogs with more confusion as he leans over and whispers to her. “Uh Marinette, isn’t Luka the one who plays guitar here?”

Marinette doesn’t seem to understand him somehow. “Uh Luka, you can let Adrien borrow your guitar!” She grins, pleading with her eyes at Luka and Adrien feels a bit of displaced anger when he seems to ignore his obvious guitar experience to lend Adrien his guitar.

“Put it to good use, Adrien.” He smiles and suddenly it’s like all the past months of their private moments didn’t happen. Snap! Now it’s like they’re strangers.

It shouldn’t hurt this fucking bad. He knows Luka doesn’t like Marinette, he doesn’t even know if Marinette likes Luka. But Luka isn’t saying a word about him being more capable, he isn’t saying no to Marinette. Their relationship is non-existent here and Adrien wonders if there’d even be proof it ever was real if Kagami and Juleka weren’t here too. He can almost feel Kagami’s eyes in the back of his head.

Then there’s more yelling.

“Jagged Stone! So you fire me and replace me with what? A school kid?” His eyes move to what is clearly a person that’s been akumatized and suddenly adrenaline fills him. He knows what comes next, he knows what will be here sooner or later.

There’s a mix of more shouting and frustration between the adults when suddenly the villain, he vaguely processes her name as Desperada, shoots something at Ms. Couffaine and she vanishes.

Luka stills beside him and he wants so badly to reach out and grab his hand. There are people. There are eyes around them and they prevent him from being able to do anything. To their friends they barely interact, so why in the world would he grab his hand?

Kagami acts first, grabbing a microphone stand and charging forward. After a moment, she vanishes too and Adrien notices stickers on Desperada’s guitar case. Chaos seems to emerge once Kagami disappears.

Marinette runs and Adrien slips out of the way, watching Rose try to protect Juleka only for the two to end up vanishing as well. Adrien darts towards the helm, but Luka grabs his hand and the second their fingers intertwine, Adrien feels calm again.

“Not there! You’d be a sitting duck in that cabin! C’mon!” Luka guides him out towards where Jagged and Desperada are which turns into a bad idea the second Desperada notices them trying to flee.

Their hands are still intact, a small detail that if anyone really tried to decipher, they might realize the reason behind. However, Adrien doubts anyone would pay much attention when Desperada is causing such a scene.

“Where do you think you’re going, Wannabe?” She aims her trumpet weapon at Adrien, but Luka side steps to remain in front of him.

Fuck, he can’t get hit- I don’t want him hurt– FUCK I can’t fight this chick without Ladybug either-

Jagged Stone calls out, distracting Desperada. Luka slips away while her back is turned, Jagged fading with the yellow mist from Desperada’s trumpet. It’s all so fast that Adrien just lets Luka drag him.

The two bolt, but behind them, Adrien swears he hears Ladybug’s voice. That’s not possible though, right? Luka is in front of him, not behind him. He feels his eyes move to try and see if it’s real, but the blood in his body is filling his mind and every thought becomes too much for him.

He grasps at Luka’s guitar, the two boys hiding behind a pillar.

“We’ll be safer here.” Luka breathes out, letting go of Adrien’s hand.

Adrien nods, fingers curling as he tries not to reach out. “Thank you, Luka.”

There’s a loud crash and they both peek around the pillar.

I was right??

Ladybug struggles against Desperada. They slam into the ground, rolling away from Desperada’s guitar case.

How-

Luka whispers, “Where’s Chat Noir?” For some reason, his voice seems purposeful in a way that reminds him that he knows.

“He- He might not make it in time.”

What-

Blood swirls through his mind and he doesn’t have time, he knows Ladybug is Luka, whatever is happening, there’s some explanation and he’ll figure it out. He has to.

The dark-haired boy looks determined to aid Ladybug and Adrien feels a sense of familiarity in the kind expression. “Then we must help.” He reaches a hand out. “May I?”

This is literally your guitar.

He nods, handing the guitar to Luka, who grabs it and swings the strap around his shoulder in a fast, fluid motion. His eyes light up as he swoops around the pillar and begins to play a few chords. It’s an instant decision where Adrien knows Luka is aware of the most plausible outcome.

Desperada angers instantly. “Another new guitarist?!” She shoots at both Ladybug and Luka.

Every instinct in Adrien is put to the test, Ladybug blocks each shot from the trumpet with their yo-yo, but Luka ignores the incoming danger, playing onward. His eyes are soft and fear fills Adrien.

Adrien jumps forward, crashing into Luka. They collide into the ground as Luka’s guitar goes flying. The two boys struggle to their feet as Ladybug sends Desperada flying and runs over to them both. They motion to a sewer entrance.

“This way, now!”

It’s all rushing past him, panicking, anxious falling into the sewer. The adrenaline-filled running. Desperada’s screams from up above. The three of them are sprinting beside the green tainted water of the sewers.

It isn’t three of them though. It’s just him and Luka. He doesn’t know how Luka duplicated himself. He doesn’t understand how any of this is happening.

They stop in their tracks.

Adrien feels the frustration in his voice before he can process what he’s saying. “Why would you use yourself as bait!? You could have been caught.”

Ladybug nods, “You put yourself in danger, but thank you.”

Luka doesn’t seem to care. “You can count on us whenever you need help.”

Self-sacrificing pretty bastard-

There’s a moment of appreciation from Ladybug before they try to reach Chat Noir with little success. He feels Luka glance at him, but he doesn’t have the time or calm he needs to think about it.

I need to transform, fuck.

Ladybug’s annoyance is obvious as they call out for their lucky charm. Adrien and Luka don’t get what the gong means, but Ladybug seems to light up with some ideas as they usually do.

Yet again, Luka offers his prized guitar, no qualms or regrets in his eyes. Ladybug leaves with a blink of his eyes and the two are alone. Yet, they were before. The whole two Luka’s thing is confusing for him, but he knows he’ll figure it all out once he has the time to think.

I need to transform.

“Let’s find somewhere to hide, quick.”

The two travel until finding a room with lockers. Adrien all but shoves Luka into one, “You’ll be safe in there.”

Luka frowns. “What about you-”

Adrien knew he would say that. “It’s too tight for the both of us, I’ll go in another-”

“But I can’t protect you if you’re in an-”

God stop being so kinD-

“I’ll be fine. Just stay here-”

“If I hear anything, I’m going to leave and-”

He grumbles, unable to resist giving in. “Come help. Alright Mr. Hero, I'll allow it.” He winks.

With that, he closes the locker door and walks over to another one, slamming it open and closed. After a pause, he tiptoes to the door of the room and creaks it open, slipping out and shutting it quietly.

Plagg rushes out of his jacket as he turns a corner. “How about a nap while we wait for Ladybug to come back?”

Adrien snickers, “Not right now Plagg, it’s time for Chat Noir to make his appearance. Plagg, claws out!”

—

“Er.. looking for something, Bug?”

Ladybug seems to be searching for something before their face lights up and they grab a Miraculous box.

Wait- who would Luka be wanting to give a Miraculous to?

“Ah- yes. I need to find Adrien Agreste.” They flush.

Is this more code? I wish Luka and I could just talk about our identities.

He hums. “Well you know you can trust me and my incredible nose! If he’s around here, I’ll find him for ya.”

With a dash, he turns the corner and then the next one before de-transforming. Plagg glares at him, but Adrien ignores it. Luka most likely thinks that a different Miraculous is more needed than the cat one right now.

Plagg huffs. “If you ask me, this whole idea is worse than cheese in a can.”

As if.

“They need me for this, Plagg. I trust he knows what he’s doing.”

His mind doesn’t know what to take from Plagg’s expression, but he hears Ladybug calling for him.

The cat kwami floats around in annoyance. “You can’t be two superheroes at once, Adrien. You’re not meant for this job.”

Yeah sure.

He turns the corner and Ladybug seems to light up.

“Adrien, where were you- Is everything okay?”

Classic Luka worry.

Adrien smiles despite feeling Plagg’s eyes on him. “Yeah! I was just hiding further down.”

Ladybug’s hand extends out, the Miraculous box in their palm. “I need your help Adrien Agreste.” He takes a deep breath. “Here is the Miraculous of the snake, which grants the power of second chance. You will use it for the greater good. Once we defeat the supervillain, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I love- uh, trust you?”

Despite having already had an experience as Mister Bug, he still can’t help feeling weird transforming with a different Miraculous. The Snake Miraculous feels unfamiliar.

After a bit more explanation, Ladybug aids him as he pulls the bracelet, activating his five minutes for second chance.

The two leave the tunnel and in a flash, Ladybug vanishes. He reaches for his bracelet, but it suddenly feels like he’s blacking out because Ladybug is vanishing again.

Again.

He reaches for his bracelet. Again. He reaches for his bracelet. Again. He reaches for his bracelet. Again. Time becomes spotty and he feels as if each moment is fast, but disconnected from the others. He reaches for his bracelet. Again. He reaches for his bracelet. Again. Plagg isn’t helping, he isn’t, but what is he even saying? What is Adrien saying? He reaches for his bracelet. Again. How many attempts? Ladybug, Luka, the combination is so confusing and yet, Adrien knows he has to protect them- him. He reaches for his bracelet. Again. He reaches for his bracelet. Again.

Again.

He gets as far as Ladybug beside him behind a car. They’ve lasted longer than any of the other spotted memories. He needs to figure out what Desperada’s weakness is but there’s never time.

His brain is so muddled and time is so little, he can’t notice enough. He can’t do enough.

There’s a blur of someone in the corner of his eye. He can hear the sewer entrance slide shut, but he doesn’t remember it sliding open.

Luka.

Luka yells at Desperada and Ladybug is still beside him, if he leaves they’ll get caught. If he goes, Luka will get caught. Everything points to prioritizing Ladybug. He has to, but it’s still Luka, isn’t it? Luka is Ladybug, so he’s not sacrificing or betraying Luka if he lets Desperada get him. He can use this distraction to get the upper hand. Right?

The spotted memories start mixed with his own spotty memories from months, years prior. His mother collapsing. Ringing from the emergency car. Flashing lights. Luka is going to get himself killed, why doesn’t he care about that? Why does Adrien have to care for him, why-

He dashes forward, knocking Luka to the side. His heart is racing, but his mind is racing more.

There’s never been a good thing in his life like Luka. There was his mother, but he can’t lose another good thing. He can rewind time, but if it happens once then it can happen fifty million more times. He has to stop it.

Desperada turns on Ladybug.

“If he’s safe then so is Ladybug. They’re the same person, that has to be how it works.”

Luka seems to break him from the flashes and the blackouts. His hand touches his shoulder, it makes him capable of hearing again.

“What are you talking about?”

Huh? No-

“I’m not Ladybug.”

There’s comfort and bliss to ignorance, to denial. It just hurts because you can never keep that comfort.

Again.

There’s no trying, no point, no nothing. He can’t focus.

“Sass, scales rest.”

Ladybug looks at him confused. They- He- She doesn’t understand. She doesn’t know what happened. Any of it.

“What are you doing?”

Adrien can’t look at her eyes. Luka’s voice runs through his blood and yet he can’t think about the implications, he still has a part in the fight. “It didn’t work, I'm sorry. I wasn’t the right fit after all.”

Luka’s voice isn’t in his head anymore.

“Adrien? Why did you-“

He doesn’t know.

A fake smile and fake energy. “I had just decided to hide in a different spot so we wouldn’t be grouped up.”

The look in Luka’s eyes isn’t something he can process right now. None of it is. He forces it down and farther down, something for him to think over when he has a better opportunity.

The Snake Miraculous. It was never meant for me, but maybe-

“Brave, determined, caring. I think your snake was right in front of you the whole time.”

Luka doesn’t even flush. The look is still there.

Ladybug doesn’t seem to notice anything. Instead, she turns to Luka.

No time I guess.

Adrien rushes down the sewers, around a few corners. Plagg appears with a knowing expression. For the first time in forever, the kwami says nothing as Adrien transforms into Chat Noir.

He rushes to return to Ladybug and Luka, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Fuck.

The Snake Miraculous definitely suits Luka better than him. He approaches slowly, forcing his feet to move. Luka turns and he notices that Luka’s eyes are similar to his when he was Aspek. The mask around his eyes has little fangs and Adrien can’t remember if Aspek had them too, but they look cute with Luka’s determined expression. The blue in his hair has become more teal and the suit outlines his biking and guitar muscles enough to be distracting.

Why is he so hot- me very gay

“Chat noir, I’d like you to meet-” Ladybug starts.

Luka cuts in. “Viperion! Can’t wait to work with you.”

God hot superhero name-

He tries to ignore how pretty the boy looks as the three climb out of the sewers and Viperion messes with his bracelet.

There seems to be a flash of change suddenly in Viperion as he reaches forward to grasp Chat Noir’s wrist and keep him from jumping into the fight.

Instead, Viperion climbs up onto a higher point and begins playing a soft melody on his lyre. Desperada turns to look at him and it creates the perfect opening.

Chat Noir, ignoring the fact that yet again his boyfriend gives no care to his own safety, realizes that Luka did the same thing earlier to give Ladybug an opening as well.

He and Ladybug hit both trumpet weapons out of Desperada’s hands, making quick work of her and her akuma. Viperion jumps in to provide aid and they seem to finish the job in a blink of an eye.

It seems so simple despite how much of a struggle it felt before. He glances at Viperion and can’t help feeling thankful for him, not only now, but in general.

“Pound it!” Is said in unison, before the final bit of wrap-up is done between the three of them.

—

It’s not until everyone has left the houseboat, when only Luka and Adrien remain, with Kagami getting a ride from Marinette’s family, that everything comes bubbling back.

Luka isn’t Ladybug- wait-

“Luka isn’t Ladybug.”

Luka glances at him, having been cleaning bread crumbs and pigeon feathers off his guitar. “What?”

Fuck fuck fuck-

Adrien feels the realizations hit him as he turns to meet Luka’s eyes. That look from before is back. And he can’t take it.

“You’re not- but- you- how-”

The other boy’s voice starts cracking like glass. “You thought I was Ladybug?”

Fuck fuck fuck- again- please again-

But he can’t rewind time anymore.

Luka places his guitar down, stepping forward with sparks in his eyes as he seems to piece things together.

“Did- Did you-” He freezes. “How long have you thought that?”

A day- a week-

Adrien can’t lie. He can’t. “Since we- since around when we met.”

I don’t want to keep looking.

And yet when he watches the light leave Luka’s eyes, he keeps looking in some form of self-punishment. Luka’s face hardens and he tightly grips his wrist with one of his hands.

“You made me believe I wasn’t someone’s second choice.” He laughs, but there’s nothing in it. “But I am, aren’t I? You want Ladybug.”

Adrien tries to speak but only small noises and short breaths come out. “I-”

Luka is crying, but he isn’t wiping it away. The second time he’s seen him cry and he can’t handle it. “I know you’re Chat Noir.”

There’s a cold that comes with it all. With truth.

How-

He can’t form words and Luka seems to notice.

“I’ve suspected it for a while, but today confirmed it for sure. The news, they always talk about you and Ladybug’s ‘secret’ love and I thought it was just gossip, but it’s true. You love her right? That’s why you chose me, because you thought I was her.”

His bones crack under the weight of Luka’s voice and he can’t breathe. Luka struggles to breathe as well, gasping around each sentence.

“The aquarium? The rooftop movie night? The dancing- The- The fucking kiss? Was all of it just a lie? You didn’t do it because you liked me. You did it because you liked her.” He’s sobbing now, angry, but it gets overshadowed by how hurt he looks. How hurt he sounds. “Why did I get my hopes up- Why after all this time am I still the only one who cares? Why am I never the first choice- Why should I care so much if you never did?” His voice starts cracking even more. “Why- Why- Why do I- I still love you. I-“

He takes a deep breath, looking directly into Adrien. “Please leave.”

Adrien hates that he has to say ‘please.’

He doesn’t want to go, but Luka is begging with his eyes and he can’t say anything. He’s willing his mouth to work, for his voice box to get into gear, but it’s not.

The second he goes up the steps he notices Juleka. He wishes he could tell her he didn’t mean for it to turn out this way.

He wishes he could say something.

He just wants to tell Luka he loves him.

Chapter Text

[he's all i ever needed]

“You know I’ve been wondering how Youtube views work because I’ve been watching that video of Kitty Section a lot this past week. What ratio would my contribution to the view count be?”

Adrien awaits an answer, but after a moment laughs dryly when his corkboard doesn’t react. The pictures of Luka remain lifeless.

“Why are you talking to your Luka shrine?” Plagg floats beside his ear.

He doesn’t respond, he isn’t sure why. He’s so tired and scared and he doesn’t know what to do. It’s been a week. He only knows because Nathalie reminds him of time passing. Everything is a mess and the hours blend like milk being mixed in with a cup of coffee.

Plagg keeps trying to get life into him, but the guilt is dark, thick sludge that clings to him and traps his every bone and organ. The sludge keeps him from moving, his feet acting as a dolly that Nathalie, Nino, and Kagami have all been pushing his dying body on.

School is worse. Juleka won’t look at him, won’t even talk to him. She seems to find some reason to need to leave whenever he joins the group conversation, whenever they request he join some gathering or event, she opts out. He wants to ask her how he’s doing. He wants to get her help so he can fix it, but she refuses to acknowledge him. All she knows is that he hurt Luka.

Adrien did the one thing he promised her he wouldn’t do.

His lunches seem wrong and like mini fever dreams, lacking his usual dose of Luka or fast-paced little trips to and from Luka’s school. His phone seems empty and void, no messages and no calls. He wanted to send something, but he didn’t want to do that to him.

He shouldn’t be forced to hear my excuses.

“Plagg, why can’t things go back to the way they were?” His voice sounds wrong, he hates it.

The kwami seems hesitant, taking a moment to respond. “You got used to a new routine, now it’s gone.” He floats onto Adrien’s shoulder. “You’re not going to get anything back to normal by talking to a corkboard though.”

But what could I even do to fix this? I lied, but worse he was right… I only started doing all this because I wanted to test my stupid fucking theory.

His finger moves on its own, tracing the red string lines connecting each photo. The Ladybug photos are torn and broken into shards of glass that stain his hands red. “I like him for him, in the end it wasn’t even about her. How am I supposed to explain that though?”

“I- apologize. Be honest, it seems like that’s a trait he values.” Plagg grumbles, whispering to himself. “Once this is over I better be getting so much thank you food. I’m already missing Luka’s contributions to my well-rounded cheese diet.”

Luka… if he noticed about me being Chat Noir… did he know about Plagg too? Is that why he’s been bringing bits of cheese with snacks he gives me? Or well, why he brought…

His smile returns. Luka would’ve definitely done that. It makes him imagine Luka with Plagg. He wonders if Luka likes cats more than dogs. He should ask-

When? When would I ask him?

The guilt and loss combine, the sludge mixes with a thin dose of cold acid. It burns his skin and makes him long for the healing touch he got so used to the past month or two.

There’s a knock on his bedroom door.

He pushes down the acid tinted sludge.

—

Chat Noir falls into the park. He groans, getting to his feet. He can see Ladybug and this week’s akumatized villain moving fast ahead of him.

A streak of blue appears in the corner of his eye.

Instinct overwhelms him, akin to an Adderall rush, and he glances over.

Him.

Luka guides an elderly couple into a stall with more protection. He looks just as he did before.

There’s an electric strike in Chat Noir’s veins. He hasn’t seen the other boy for nearly two weeks. Every part of him stops.

I can… I have a chance. We could talk. He already knows my identity.

His eyes are unmoving. Luka’s face turns and goes blank at the sight of Chat Noir’s staring. It’s hard with all this distance and Luka’s unrevealing eyes to understand what the emotion is that matches with his current expression. His eye lids are stretched, but his blue eyes seem more focused, not as surprised as more of something else. His mouth remains closed, and Chat Noir swears he can see his lower lip being dragged inside to be nervously chewed at. He can’t tell what is anger or what is on its own.

The villain and Ladybug seem to be making their way back round towards the park. A tree goes flying and he dashes out of the way, stumbling beside Luka.

“Crazy running into each other here huh?”

Luka doesn’t respond. He stands there quiet, eyes having already moved out of Chat Noir’s line of sight.

Please-

“You should go help Ladybug.” He seems to force out the female heroine’s name. The dark-haired boy heaves a sigh before turning and running off towards the park exit.

He- He just left.

He joins the fight again. But what’s even the point if he still feels like all of Paris’ air has been morphed with cyanide? He can’t think, let alone breathe right.

There goes another rewatch of the Kitty Section video.

—

“You sure you don’t want to come hang out on the Couffaine houseboat?”

And make Luka miserable?

Yeah no.

AND get my balls ripped off by Juleka?

Please no.

Kagami frowns. “You still won’t tell me what happened between you two.”

He pokes at his knee. “It’s not exactly easy to talk about.”

She sighs, untying her shoes and retying them. He picked up on that habit of hers a while back. Anytime emotions get tricky to talk about she gets a pair of shoes with laces.

“You don’t have to tell me. I just- I want to help, but I don’t know how.” Her voice cracks. “You know you can count on me right? I just- I don’t want you dealing with whatever this is all on your own. I’ve had my own share of that and it isn't healthy.”

How do I even begin to explain any of it, it’s barely about hiding my identity… It’s just so… messy.

His brain feels so chaotic and hot, an overworked iPhone that’s burning in his hands.

“He and I had a falling out if that wasn’t obvious already. I messed up really bad and I don’t know how to show him I still care. We’ve run into each other once already and all I could do was make a joke to try and lighten the mood because my stupid anxiety kicked my brain into overdrive.” His words scramble, his mouth a slip 'n slide that each phrase and sentence tumbles down.

Kagami takes a moment to truly understand what she was just told.

She picks each word carefully. “The most important thing you can do is to apologize and try to explain what you just told me, but with more explanation.” Her hands leave her finished laces. “I don’t know how you’d get into contact with him, but when you do, bring some gift. A token of you being genuine.”

I still don’t even know how to get him alone long enough to do any of this.

Her mother’s car arrives after a few minutes and Adrien still feels at square one.

—

His head rests in his hands, he knows he needs to be more careful and make sure he seems normal, but most students are calm.

I’m so tired.

Three weeks.

It’s been three weeks since the fight with Luka.

He’s tried stopping by the Liberty, but Juleka either shoos him away with her eyes alone or Luka isn’t there. He doesn’t know how to get Luka alone. How to get him to listen long enough for him to write this whole mess.

“Are you okay Adrien?”

His head hurts, but the soreness of his mind and heart remain worse.

Adrien glances up to notice Marinette. She clutches her design book in her arm.

I don’t have the energy to pretend.

“Not really.”

She sits beside him. “Anything in particular wrong?”

He laughs joylessly. “Struggling to resolve a fight with Luka, but I can’t because I can’t figure out how to talk with him.”

Her eyes widen and she nearly drops her design book. “Luka? I didn’t realize you guys were close- or in a fight.” She purses her lips. “Is that why Juleka has been acting weird around you?”

Oh great, they’ve been noticing.

“We’re dating- or were dating, I don’t know. Is it really that obvious that Juleka’s avoiding me?”

Marinette laughs nervously. “Alya thought she was scared of you.” Her mind seems to process. “Wait-“ Every part of her face goes wild, shock layering over each bump and pore. “You- You two were dating?”

Wait did I say that?

FUCK- WAIT NO FUCK FUCK-

The conversation with Luka from ages ago floods his memory and he remembers Luka’s scared expression, wanting to keep his friend’s feelings safe. He knows now that he wasn’t talking about himself as Ladybug.

“No- no I mean- well- ugh.”

Realization hits her in many waves. “You- you didn’t mean to tell me that did you-“

His expression seems to answer that question.

She smiles, “I won’t tell anyone. You need to get him alone though, right?” Her surprise leaves, replaced by her genuine support.

Adrien nods, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees.

“He volunteers at the library.”

huh?

He recalls every memory, never once remembering Luka telling him that. “He does?”

A dose of caffeinated jealousy at Marinette knowing something about Luka that he doesn’t shoots through his system; A deep breath and a reminder that he literally dated Luka helps wash the jealousy through.

Marinette doesn’t seem surprised he doesn’t know. She runs her hand over the cover of her design book. “He only does it occasionally, Juleka mentioned recently though him doing a lot more. I guess it’s a coping thing.” Her eyes move to connect with his own. “He didn’t mean to tell me. I ended up bumping into him at one of his times when he was there. He’s only told Juleka I think.”

Huh…

Adrien looks away from her, glancing at a clock. “When does he volunteer?”

She hums in thought. “I ran into him really early in the morning, so he’s probably there to help open the library. I don’t know what days he’d be there, but since he wouldn’t have any school tomorrow with it being Saturday, he’s probably going to be there.”

I’d have to sneak out to get there, Nathalie wouldn’t be able to cover me that early.

A plan forms within him as he feels energized for the first time in weeks. “Thanks for the info Marinette, I think I have an idea.” He bounces to his feet, but Marinette grabs his arm.

“Good luck Adrien.”

And he sure as hell is going to need it.

—

Apology? He has notecards in case he needs them. Gift? In his pocket with the notecards. Location? He’s been waiting behind a tree in front of the library for twenty minutes.

They opened an hour ago, c’mon I need to just go and do this.

What if he cries again? What if he’s not even there? What if people see me?

Anxiety, guilt, regret, loss, fear. The burning and the sludge it gets thicker and thicker, it’s filling his lungs. He knows that going inside might be his only chance to fix this, but he can’t shake this fear clinging to his joints. It weighs him down, he can’t move.

Plagg flies from his jacket. “You gotta go inside.”

I know.

Words can’t push through the sludge.

“Adrien, you can do this. You’ve fought every monster Paris has ever seen, you just gotta push through.” He flicks his forehead. “I’m with you every step of the way.”

Move Adrien. Move move move move-

His feet lead him to the doors to the library.

Inside lies Luka. He can see him. He’s here. It looks like he’s occupied with organizing new books onto the shelves. His hair is tied up in a tiny little ponytail that is likely going to completely fall out within a few hours. He’s wearing a blue hoodie and jeans. He’s there and Adrien is so close.

I have to do this.

He takes a deep breath.

No turning back now.

With a quiet nudge, he opens the door to the library, and the bell dings, crushing his every hope and dream.

Luka turns, meeting his gaze. His expression isn’t the same as it was during that one akuma fight.

He looks afraid.

Why- Why is he afraid?

Adrien reaches a hand out, a low wave mixed with a pleasing gesture for Luka to hear him out. He steps forward. “H-hi- could we-”

The dark-haired boy places the books in his hands back into the cart carrying all the new books and then takes off with the cart through the bookshelves.

WHAT-

Fuck I won’t get this chance again-

His feet start working better, he notices, as he tries to run after Luka and his book cart. He feels his plans slowly going down the drain, he anticipated so many bad outcomes and yet his brain couldn’t prepare him for Luka just running?!

Blood pumps through his body, hot and nerve-wracking. He can see Luka’s cart of books bombing as he weaves between the shelves he knows way better than Adrien, someone who never goes to libraries, does. He notices the hair tie holding Luka’s hair slipping and it falls as the two run through the library. Adrien grabs it quickly as he runs past.

“Luka- please- we don’t have to talk here, I know it’s a public space, but I want to explain everything.” He heaves, breathing hard as he manages to slip around a corner and end up in front of Luka.

Luka’s internal brakes don’t seem very fast, his feet stumbling as he runs into Adrien. The book cart tips over on him and he collapses onto the ground being hit with a third of the books in the cart.

“Ow.”

Adrien squats down next to him, cleaning up the cart spill of books. He grabs at a book that landed on Luka’s face, and when he takes it away Luka is staring at him.

“How did you know I’d be here?” He breathes quickly, teeth digging into his lip. His hands seem to twitch as if he’s resisting his other nervous habits.

Honesty, okay let’s go.

He places the last book in the cart and then sits in front of Luka, who remains on the ground, frozen.

“Marinette told me earlier. I came here because it is very hard to catch you at the Liberty and I genuinely want to talk. I know how badly I hurt you and I have a lot of explaining to do. I swear to tell the whole truth, I just need a chance to tell you it.” He offers Luka’s hair tie to him.

Luka stares at his hand. The gears twist in his head and after a moment, his hand slowly moves to take the hair tie. He reties his hair and stands up. It’s hesitant, but he offers Adrien a hand to help him up too.

Okay, okay this is going somewhat decent?

He takes the offered hand and Luka lets go of him the second he’s up. The lingering presence of his touch is painful.

“We- We can talk near the back I guess.” His hands stop resisting as he begins messing with his bangs again.

Adrien nods, motioning for Luka to lead the way. The two boys make their way to a private back corner, Adrien offering to push the book cart. He notices that this area seems to be where all the “18+” books seem to be. It makes him feel suddenly extremely embarrassed.

Luka seems to notice Adrien’s realization. “There’s rarely customers over here- That’s- I didn’t-” He flushes. “Anyways-”

It’s fine. Just ignore the extremely questionable book covers and get to the explanations.

He fumbles, trying to grab the gift and notecards. They fall to the ground, only one managing to stay in his hands. “Okay well- I- Fuck-” His brain is overheating.

Grasping at the notecards, he shoves them in his back pocket as Luka watches him in confused curiosity and astoundment. He picks up the small light blue box and pushes it towards Luka. “It wasn’t- nothing was a lie Luka. I wanted to go out with you because I like you. You’re the reason I was able to accept and figure out I like guys in fact. Ladybug was a really stupid side quest of mine that I just thought would be cool if it were true. I realized though that she doesn’t like me, and I don’t really like her. I thought we had to be this cute superhero couple that saves Paris together, but that isn’t what I want. The rooftop- I transformed into Chat Noir with you right there, I vaulted us onto the roof, I risked my identity because I wanted to impress you. Dancing? I really did want to help Juleka and I feel so safe in your arms, like I know you’d protect me better than anyone ever could. Our- our kiss- I kissed you because you just made me feel so loved and happy I didn’t even have to think before I did it. The Aquarium- I-”

He gently opens the box in his sweaty hands, making sure Luka can see what’s inside.

Luka’s eyes widen and he looks back up at Adrien. “A fish necklace?“

All he can do is nod and keep going. “It’s when I first realized I liked you, even if past me didn’t know what that meant yet.”

Adrien pauses to give himself time to breathe, but he keeps going before Luka can think he’s done. “I was an idiot, and I really hurt you. I am really sorry Luka. I love you, not her. No matter how many second chances there could be, I would always pick you first.”

Luka swallows, seeming a bit overwhelmed. “I um-” He laughs nervously. “You uh- must have small handwriting. I don’t know how you managed to fit all that on three notecards.”

Most of that wasn’t on the notecards-

He shrugs, taking the necklace out of the box. “I- I hadn’t planned to say most of that actually. I just said what came to mind. Also, I couldn’t find a lionfish so I tried to get as close as I could, sorry.”

The other boy giggles. “It looks like Dory from Finding Nemo-”

His heart does a backflip as he gets defensive. “It’s all they had! I swear I tried.”

“Nono- It’s amazing, thank you.” He smiles. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for things to immediately be like they were before, but… I think I can get there eventually.”

He places the necklace on his neck. It seems he’s thinking through something.

He isn’t going to change his mind about not hating me right-

Luka leans forward and gives a peck to his cheek. “I appreciate you being honest.” He pushes a piece of hair behind his ear. “I get done here at 8:30 if you want to go do something after?”

God fuck yes pleasesrefwe-

“I would love that.”

Progress.

Chapter Text

Three weeks. That’s how long it’s been since he apologized and they started speaking again. 

Now in terms of them actually going on a proper date? Or them acknowledging really any of their previous dating status? That doesn’t start till today. 

“You’ll be fine Adrien.” 

Except will I be fine? 

Kagami tugs lightly on the collar of his striped button-up, making it puff out. “Even if you still won’t tell me what you did, he forgave you and you guys haven’t had any major issues so far right?”

Adrien grumbles as he reaches for his bag. “Yes.”

She glares. “I’m holding you to that. I better get zero whiny ‘but what if-’ calls tonight, okay? Marinette said she wants to hang out so any interruption from your whiny ass and I will slap you.”

Geez, angry gay much?

He nods and motions zipping his mouth shut and quiet. “I understand your majesty, I will not interrupt your date time.” 

“IT’S NOT A DATE! Sadly.” 

—

He taps his foot awkwardly as he sits on a bench next to the bridge. Nobody seems to question his sunglasses or beanie disguise, but he hasn’t seen Luka yet either. 

“Kit Cat?”

What?

His eyes dart up to see Luka staring at him and he realizes he didn’t say his actual name on purpose. However, then his brain decides to play on loop the nickname and that combined with Luka is a lot for his poor blood circulation.

Luka moves to sit beside him on the bench, wearing a cropped black hoodie and high-rise black jeans that scream Juleka’s decision like last time. His hair is in a small ponytail too which he decidedly doesn’t look at. 

All of his whispering turns to stuttered words barely coming from his mouth. “H-Hey Luka! Fancy seeing you here?”

The other boy smiles and leans slightly closer to whisper back. “Hi there. Wanna get going?”

Adrien grins at him, hand reaching to grab Luka’s. His frown falls when Luka moves his hand the second their hands touch, but he doesn’t question it. “Yeah, of course.”

The two stand up and walk towards André’s ice cream stand. The silence makes Adrien’s skin crawl. He hates how consistent that’s become. No peaceful silences or fun banter, ever since they made up it’s been too much eerie silence. He doesn’t know how to fix it.

“Did you know that some sea snakes can breathe through their skin?”

Luka’s eyes dart to him and after a moment he laughs tightly. “Yeah, actually I did know that.”

Oh. Uh, fuck more fun facts-

“Alright well, what about the fact that the moon has moonquakes?”

He watches as Luka makes a face and then snorts. “No, I didn’t know that.”

Andre starts grinning and singing at the sight of them two. “My name is Andre, Andre. Glacier, The sweetheart matchmaker!” He makes a whole scene and Luka hides his face. “With one scoop or two, I’ll find love for you with magical ice-cream flavors!” 

Adrien whispers into his ear. “If his ice cream is magical then I’m Ladybug.”

Luka laughs for a moment, but then his laugh abruptly ends and the discomfort on his face grows. 

“A new couple, yes? I haven’t seen you two lovebirds before. A mint scoop atop a lovely blueberry scoop for you two lovebirds.” He hands them his usual scoops with two small spoons and a cherry on top.

“Thank you, sir, how much will this be?”

Andre waves his hand. “No charge for the new pair of lovebirds.”

Should I be concerned about how invested this man is in two teenagers' love lives?

Nah, free ice cream is a good trade-off.

“Okay.. thanks again.”

He walks with Luka down to a more secluded spot below the bridge, the spot Luka once showed him. They both sit down and Adrien offers him a spoon.

“Blueberry and mint seem like an interesting combination.”

Luka nods. “Yeah, I’d peg you for more of a pistachio though.” 

Actually, is mint even green? It’s more light turquoise. 

Adrien nudges Luka’s shoulder and tries not to notice how Luka flinches. “I don’t think I’ve even tried pistachio, have you?”

“Yeah, I um, tried making homemade ice cream a while back and that was one of the flavors I attempted. It ended up sucking though, but that's more because I’m bad at making it.” He hums, taking a spoon of the mint ice cream.

Plagg peeks out from his jacket. “You should try making cheese ice cream.” He takes a bite of camembert. “I’d offer my services.”

Luka laughs. “I don’t think so.”

Even though I introduced them two weeks ago, seeing someone besides me talking to Plagg is weird.

“Plagg, I think you should stick with your regular cheese.”

The kwami shakes his head. “No taste.” He disappears off to steal more cheese.

The weird silence returns and Adrien almost wants to call for Plagg to come back. Instead, he thinks back to all the fun facts he looked at this morning as silence fillers. 

“Did you know you can sneeze faster than a cheetah can run?”

There’s a small chuckle, but Luka simply stares at the ground for a moment before opening his mouth as if to say something and then closing it again. His hand shakes as he moves to pull on his bangs. He furrows a brow before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“Hey, Adrien?” He taps his foot.

This is fine this is fine this is fine-

“Yeah?”

PLeaSe dont break up with me- don-t please dont

“This is real right?” He lets go of his bangs, gripping his wrist. “You know I’m not Ladybug and you actually chose to be here right.” 

Oh.

“Oh-”

Luka’s speech becomes rushed. “I know you said that it’s different, but it still feels like it did back then before I actually knew … and I keep wondering if it’s all fake. 

“I-I think it feels like before because it was always you . You’re the one I love, the one I daydream about, the one I go to for safety and warmth. It’s not fake, at least I know it isn’t fake for me. I deeply care about you Luka, I always have. Besides, no one can possibly beat your heartwarming personality and gorgeous sparkling eyes.”

The other boy chokes on air. “I uh, your speeches definitely haven’t changed.” He laughs dryly. “But okay, you’re right, I’m just feeling silly, it’s fine.”

Goddamn it how should I fix this…?

He carefully takes Luka’s hand and raises it slightly before looking into his eyes for silent confirmation.

Luka nods slowly.

Adrien then places a gentle kiss on the back of Luka’s hand whispering, “I love your smile.” He keeps their hands intertwined as he leans up to leave another peck on the other’s cheek. “And your contagious laugh.” He moves up and kisses his forehead. “I love your incredible wits.” He kisses the skin right below Luka’s eye. “And your incredible bravery and strength.” He moves closer, lips ghosting each other as he drops his last statement. “But most importantly I love you, Luka.”

He pauses, waiting for Luka to give the ok, but instead what comes sooner is Luka closing the gap to give Adrien a short kiss. He leans back after a moment, staring at Adrien before leaning forward to rest his head on Adrien’s shoulder.

His lips curl into a shit-eating grin. “Your cute face is a bonus too.”

Luka moves his head to the side to look at Adrien. “Out of curiosity, how many rom-coms have you watched?”

I could count them all, but I’m not going to.

Adrien bonks him on the head gently. “That is classified information, my good sir.”

“My my, so when I get promoted high enough, I might be privy to this classified information?” Luka grins. 

“We’ll just have to see when the time arrives now won't we?”

The other boy reaches forward, to peck Adrien’s cheek. “Thank you.” He takes a spoon of ice cream while his other hand fiddles with his fish necklace. “Y’know, I saw that really cute superhero on the news yesterday.”

“Oh really now? Was he tall, handsome, and per se cat-like?”

Luka hums. “Actually he was, how’d you know?” 

Adrien smiles. “Oh y’know, just a hunch.”

—

“I am requesting zero action, I seriously do not know how you do this so often.” Luka collapses on the couch, while Adrien flips through Movie genres. 

A mere hour ago they’d been battling an akuma, but now they’re comfy on the same rooftop they spent their first date. 

Adrien cuddles up against Luka. “Got used to it after the first 3 times.”

Luka grabs a blanket to wrap around the two of them. “Fair enough. We should watch something with no superheroes anyways though.”

“I’m in a bit of a Rapunzel mood, how’s Tangled?”

“That sounds good, but I expect us both to sing along.”

“Have you even met me!? Of course we’re singing along!”

“Good.”