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Adrien took a breath, looking down at the Liberty.
Luka was alone on deck, tidying up after a Kitty Section practice.
“Sass, Plagg- unify.”
There was no way he’d be brave enough to do this without Second Chance running.
He was feeling so anxious, so terrified of what might happen, that he needed some amount of control.
Adrien vaulted down from the rooftop, taking deep breaths.
This would be fine.
“Second Chance.”
He walked up the gangplank.
“Hey, Luka,” Adrien called.
Luka looked up, surprised. “Chat Noir! What brings you by?” he paused. “And why do you have…”
“Yeah, the snake,” Adrien supplied, holding up his wrist. “I wasn’t sure how to have this conversation, or if I even should.” he took a beat, looking down at the miraculous on his wrist. “Do you know what, this was a mistake. Seco-”
“Wait,” Luka said quickly. “It wasn’t a mistake,” he said more softly.
Adrien looked into his eyes as Luka stepped over, taking his hands.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Luka repeated. “Clearly, you felt the need to talk about something,” he said softly. “Something important enough to you that you wanted to use Second Chance to do it.”
“I…” Adrien trailed off, looking down at his miraculous- his ring. Ladybug always insisted they keep their identities secret from everyone, even each other. “I don’t know,” Adrien finished. “I think- I think I just wanted to have a conversation with someone who knows.”
Luka nodded gently. “But you don’t know if you want anyone to know when you’re done,” he guessed.
Adrien smiled, looking Luka in the eyes. Luka had always been intuitive, understanding. He always seemed to know what was going on in people’s hearts. “The identity rule,” Adrien said simply. “I get it, I do, but-” he stopped. He took a breath. “But I’m tired of not having anywhere to turn.”
“You can always turn to me,” Luka promised. “I know I won’t remember saying that, but it’s always been true.”
“Thanks, Luka,” Adrien said softly. “I just- everythings so hard right now, you know? Father has me doing all these photo shoots, and I barely get to see my friends, and- it’s hard enough dealing with all that, but I also have to hide being a superhero from everyone I know? It sucks!”
Luka gave a sad smile. “Come on, let’s sit down,” he suggested, plopping down on the deck and leaning against an amp. “C’mere, kitty.”
Adrien obediently sat down next to Luka, melting into his embrace. “It’s not fair,” he mumbled. “I just- I need him to back off, already.”
“Why don’t you tell him that?”
“You sound like Plagg,” Adrien chuckled.
“Oh?”
“Plagg keeps suggesting I run away.”
“Why don’t you?”
Adrien paused. “Good question. I just- father cares about me, he’s just not good at showing it. I can’t hurt him by running away.”
Luka shifted, looking Adrien in the eyes. “Does he care about you?”
“Yes.” Adrien furrowed his brow, confused how that could even be a question. “Of course he does. He’s my father.”
Luka just gave him a look.
The snake miraculous beeped.
Adrien sighed, and twisted it to avoid the question Luka wasn’t asking.
“Second Chance.”
He walked up the gangplank.
“Hi Luka,” he called. “C’mon, we’re sitting,” he added, returning to where the pair had been sat moments prior.
“What’s going on, Chat?” Luka asked curiously, taking his seat at Adrien’s side.
Adrien shrugged. “Irresponsible use of a miraculous, probably,” he admitted. “I needed to have a conversation I could take back.”
Luka raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like we’re in the middle of it. Want to catch me up?”
“Not really. You asked a question I didn’t want to answer.”
“And you reset the loop to avoid it,” Luka pointed out. “How mature.”
Adrien sighed. “I don’t know. I just- he cares about me, I know he does! I just don’t know how to- how to prove it.”
“You shouldn’t have to prove it,” Luka said simply. “If he cares, it should be obvious.”
“Why do I get the feeling you know exactly what we’ve been talking about?” Adrien asked, suspicious.
“I’m intuitive,” Luka shrugged. “Comes with the territory,” he added, indicating the snake miraculous on Adrien’s wrist.
Adrien was quiet for a while.
“What do you think I should do?” he finally asked.
“Honestly?” Luka replied. “If he doesn’t care about you, it means you don’t have to care about him. It means you can do what’s best for you, and your wellbeing, without worrying about how it impacts him.”
“What if I’m wrong?” Adrien asked quietly. “What if he does care?”
“Then he should want you to take care of yourself first,” Luka said, as though nothing was more obvious. “And you can do what’s best for you and your own wellbeing, without worrying about him.”
Adrien blinked. “So it doesn’t matter whether he cares?”
Luka shrugged. “It only matters if you want it to matter.”
The miraculous beeped, and Adrien sighed.
“Second Chance.”
He walked up the gangplank, and threw himself down into a heap without saying anything.
Luka turned at the noise, and looked him up and down.
Adrien just looked at him, and patted the ground beside him.
“I take it we’ve been talking a while,” Luka observed, calmly stepping over and joining Adrien on the ground.
“Yup.”
“And?”
Adrien sighed again. “I don’t know what I want, Luka.”
Luka chuckled. “Who does, Chat?” he asked. “I certainly don’t know what I want.”
“Really? You seem so… together.”
“It’s an act,” Luka insisted. “Noone has their shit together, least of all me.”
Adrien let the silence hang for a moment. “I could run away,” he said simply. “The suit would make it easier.”
“Do you want to?” Luka asked gently.
“I don’t know,” Adrien admitted. “I have no idea where I’d go.”
Luka sat up, looking Adrien in the eyes. “Different question. Do you want to stay?”
Adrien sat with that for a while.
Luka seemed content to wait for Adrien to figure out the answer, so they both sat in silence for some time.
“No,” Adrien finally decided. “I don’t want to stay.”
“Then don’t.”
The miraculous beeped.
“Second Chance.”
He walked up the gangplank, cursing.
Luka looked up. “Chat?” he asked. “Wait- you’ve merged miraculous.”
Adrien just looked at him. “I really should’ve walked up here and sat down before I set the start of the loop,” he deadpanned, dropping into a seated position.
“Ah,” Luka said softly. “What’s up?”
“You’re helping me run away from home,” Adrien supplied. “I think.”
“You think?” Luka probed, sitting down.
Adrien shrugged. “S’not why I came here, but it’s where we ended up.”
“So what is there to figure out?” Luka asked.
“All of it. Where I’m going, how I’m paying for it.”
“You could always come here,” Luka suggested. “The Liberty’s open to strays, and we don’t pry. If you showed up as a civilian, even if we don’t know you, we’d put you up.”
Adrien snorted. “You’d have a lot of questions, trust me.”
Luka shrugged. “We’ve put lots of people up before.”
“Ever put up a famous runaway?” Adrien asked. “Seriously, I’m like- on par with Adrien Agreste.”
Luka just chuckled.
“I’m serious!” Adrien insisted. “I’m famous outside the suit, too. It would be too much to ask you guys to put up with, if the paparazzi figured out where I was staying.”
“If you’re that famous,” Luka said, an amused hint to his tone, “couldn’t you afford your own place?”
Adrien considered that. “Maybe,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t know how- well, how to do anything. I’m not equipped to live by myself.”
“Get a roommate,” Luka said nonchalantly.
“I don’t know if I could live with someone and keep my identity secret,” Adrien pointed out. “Maybe I should stay with f- stay where I am, until Hawkmoth is defeated. Until it’s safe to reveal my identity.”
“Pish posh,” Luka scoffed. “You’ve managed to keep it from people where you are now. I’m sure you could do it.”
“I get a lot of… room, so to speak,” Adrien explained. “And time to myself. It makes slipping away easy.”
“A roommate who respects your boundaries would be easier to hide things from, not harder,” Luka pointed out. “Assuming you choose to hide it, that is.”
“Why wouldn’t I hide it?” Adrien asked.
Luka turned to look at him, a devilish glint in his eyes. “If you lived with a teammate, for example,” he said coyly. “Someone who knows how to keep a secret.”
“What, looking for a sugar daddy now that you know I’m famous?” Adrien joked. “In all seriousness, though, I think I’m stuck where I am.”
“Who said I wasn’t being serious?” Luka asked. “I mean, sure, I made some implications as a joke, but the premise of moving in with you was serious.”
“Really?”
“Dead serious. Snake’s honour. I’ve been meaning to move ashore for a while now, to be honest.”
Adrien reflected on that. He could see himself living with Luka, come to think of it - they got along decently well, and he had no real objections.
“The identity rule does apply to teammates, though,” Adrien pointed out. “You wouldn’t know you were living with Chat Noir.”
Luka shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You’re a fun guy, Chat. I know we’d get along fine as roommates, either way.”
The miraculous beeped, and Adrien groaned.
“Second Chance.”
He started to walk up the gangplank, and stopped.
“Sass, scales rest,” he whispered. “Plagg, claws in.”
He walked up the gangplank.
“Hey, Luka!” he called.
“Adrien!” Luka beamed. “What’s up?”
“How would you feel about being roommates?” Adrien asked.