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A soft song was already setting the background in Luka’s room before he walked. It drowned out all the mixing melodies he constantly heard, but not so much that he couldn’t feel the warming embrace of a sweet tune mixed from two of his favourite people. If he had the choice, he would always play it, and he tried to in the back of his mind and on the strings of his guitar. It never came out perfect, but one day he was confident it would be beautiful enough to finally play to them.
“Thank you guys so much for tonight…” Adrien had only had to give a few half truths to be let out of the house for a night. ‘It’s for band practice’ and ‘it’s just with my friends’ were two things Luka remembered being mentioned. Still, it seemed like they were big things to Adrien. Luka knew as well as anyone that Adrien wasn’t a big liar, especially not to his father. A hider of truth, maybe, but certainly not a liar.
“It’s been so fun!” Marinette rarely had to lie to get out of the house. She still did sometimes, made up dramatic stories or silly anecdotes, and as much as Luka adored them, they weren’t always very necessary. He had met the Dupain-Chengs, and he was wholeheartedly sure that for something like this, they wouldn’t hesitate to give Marinette some freedom. All they would ask was if she wanted any pastries, cookies or other baked goods, and that she stayed safe.
“It has. Thank you both for being with me tonight.” And Luka? Stuck on the houseboat. Well… maybe not as stuck as he sometimes felt, but it was so loud outside. Every person, every song, every melody. It all got too much for Luka sometimes. He found himself wondering more frequently recently if there was something wrong with him, but this wasn’t the time to focus on it. As long as he was comfortable now, he intended to make the most of it.
Adrien latched onto Luka as the three of them finally made their way into the bedroom. Juleka had organised a night with Rose tonight, so Luka was confident they wouldn’t have to fight over the speakers or space. He found himself and the shorter blonde toppling to the bed, Luka’s back hitting the soft fabric before Adrien’s body collided with his. He felt like he was dreaming when their lips met, a soft kiss shared between the pair as Marinette trailed behind a bit.
“You guys are so cute!! It makes me want to die!!” Marinette exclaimed, rushing over as their faces pulled apart. She planted a kiss on both of their foreheads, and they both smiled at her with varying degrees of awareness and wakeness. Adrien looked about ready to fall asleep right then and there, moving to be next to rather than directly on top of Luka. There was enough space in the bed for all of them, Luka reasoned. And if there wasn’t, Adrien was small enough to sleep on either of them when he inevitably fell first.
“I need to go to the bathroom, but I promise I’ll be right back!” Marinette rushed off with that, leaving the two boys huddled close on the bed.
“You can go to sleep, if you need,” Luka reassured, turning over enough to get a good view of Adrien’s increasingly tired face. His emerald eyes still shone, but they were heavy lidded, sleep threatening to take him every second. Luka couldn’t help but smile.
“But I wanna stay awake with you guys…”
Luka ran a hand through Adrien’s soft, golden hair. He did it repetitively, soothing him until he closed his eyes and let his head fall against Luka’s chest. “We’ve had a great day, Adrien. It’s okay. Let yourself rest. We love you, you don’t have to tire yourself for us.”
Adrien seemed to already be asleep by the time Luka was finished talking. At the least, Luka hoped he’d heard that they loved him. He rested so peacefully now, leaving Luka proud of how far he’d come. When they first got together, things had been so rough. Adrien refused to sleep around anyone, and when he did, he writhed. He seemed in agony, as if all his worst nightmares had chosen to haunt him any night he was out of the house. Now they were much fewer and further between. And with others? Adrien almost never seemed to have them. It was like he couldn’t fathom a nightmare surrounded by people he loved.
“Aww, is he asleep?” Marinette asked, turning the corner where Luka’s bed sat. Luka simply nodded, he hadn’t stopped running his fingers through Adrien’s hair either. Marinette padded over in her socks, sitting on the very end of the bed and carefully shuffling up to be next to her boyfriends. Luka fixed her with an adoring gaze as she gently tucked some loose hair behind Adrien’s ear. “He’s so cute…”
Luka nodded in agreement as Marinette laid herself down on the other side of Adrien. Right in the middle, as he preferred it.
“You know… sometimes I wonder how you two see the world,” Luka started, his eyes focused on Adrien as he slept. He envied the calmness. “How do you see your friends? Each other? Me?”
“Well, obviously I can’t speak for Adrien, but you’re both very precious to me… To me, it’s kind of like Adrien is an amazing star far up in the sky, and you’re like an ocean, so deep and so beautiful that sometimes I’m scared I’ll get lost. But I could stare at you both forever wondering what secrets you have…”
Luka felt his face soften. An ocean was far from anything he expected to be compared to, but he didn’t hate it. He would have to think about it later, maybe when everyone was asleep and the songs had all quietened down.
“Why do you ask this?” Marinette finally questioned, catching Luka’s eyes in her gaze for a moment before he let go. How was he going to say this…
“I wanted to know if we saw things differently,” Luka started, his voice a smidge softer. Marinette sat up a little, sensing a shift in his demeanor.
“Do we?” Marinette asked, filling the quiet that was only overpowered by whatever song was in the background. Something about never leaving someone’s room, and being told everything that bothers them. There were heavier guitars too, bht nothing distracting.
“Very.”
Marinette let a beat pass. “How so?”
Luka let himself sigh, sitting up to face Marinette. “For me, it isn’t even about seeing the world,” Luka explained, averting his dark eyes. Marinette’s brighter blue ones searched for them, but she couldn’t grab his attention back. “I hear it all in musical notes and pieces, and it’s all so loud sometimes. Everyone has their own, and it’s beautiful, but at the same time, it all gets too much. Sometimes… I wonder if there’s something wrong with me…”
Marinette took a moment to try and understand what Luka was telling her. She could scarcely imagine what he experienced, but if she had to guess, it was like wearing headphones while other people tried to play music in your ears, only much worse and more intense. Marinette drew herself up into a full sit, tugging Luka’s arm. He was quick as ever to follow suit, sitting up across from Marinette.
“Luka, you sweet summer song, I assure you there is nothing wrong with you.” Marinette sounded confident, but the slight twinkle of tears in her eyes under the soft purple LEDs Juleka had installed into the room betrayed how Marinette felt about Luka’s own thoughts and questions. He thought about changing the lights to something dimmer so he wouldn’t see her tearing up, but he didn’t know where the remote was.
“Every person is different, Luka. Everyone sees and processes the world in different ways. If some things are too much for you, then that’s okay! All you have to do is let us know if you need a break, okay? We’re always here for you, we’ll listen when you want to say these kinds of things. It’s the least we can do when all you ever do is listen to us.”
Luka let out a chuckle, but it caught in his throat where his own tears were starting to form a lump. Marinette grabbed him the moment after, so tight he thought he might fall apart at the seams or burst from being squeezed so hard.
“I don’t want to hear these kinds of things from you, but if I have to, I will. And I’ll help you deal with them, just like we helped Adrien deal with his.” Marinette squeezed a little harder, and Luka finally gave in, wrapping sombre arms around his girlfriend. “If you ever feel like this, please, talk to us, okay?”
Marinette felt Luka nod against her shoulder, and the pair sat for a minute or two, tangled in each other and just absorbing their shared warmth. That was, until Luka pulled away and shuffled Marinette a little further away from Adrien.
“I know where this is going… Don’t you try and change the subject by kissing me!” Marinette tried to look defiant, but if she was honest, she would give the world just to be able to kiss either of her boyfriends.
“Consider it a thank you then. For being there for me. I love you, Marinette…”
“I love you too… so much,” Marinette muttered before Luka’s lips were hot against hers, their breaths both hitching with every movement and returning to them haphazardly with every moment they were pulled away. Luka entangled his hand in one of Marinette’s pigtails, and in return she locked her hands around his shoulders, wanting to hug him as badly as she wanted to keep kissing him.
“Guys…? It’s so cold,” A small voice interrupted, both Marinette and Luka immediately stopping in their tracks and looking directly over at Adrien as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes to clear the haze, only stopping when his eyes finally landed on his partners, both clearly having been just entertained with each other.
“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry we left you asleep there all alone, Sunshine!” Marinette exclaimed, clambering over the bed and wrapping Adrien up in her arms. He cuddled her back, resting himself in her arms. Marinette gave him a little kiss on the head, and he leaned up to give her a sleepy peck on the cheek in return.
“What were you two even doing?” Adrien asked, drawing his legs closer to his cold body. Marinette spared a glance at Luka, but barely caught his eyes before he closed them and started talking.
“I asked Marinette how she experiences the world. I… got a bit upset because I was worried something was wrong with me when I explained the way I experience things.”
Adrien seemed to take a moment to properly understand what Luka had said. “How do you experience it then?”
“Everyone has their own melodies, musical notes and pieces, and I hear them all at once. Some are louder than others. Sometimes they all get overwhelming… and I told Marinette I get worried that this isn’t normal.”
Adrien smiled. “Well… maybe it isn’t normal, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing! It makes it unique. Everyone has their limits too, Luka. Don’t be too worried about it. We love you no matter how you see or hear us.”
“How do you see the world, Adrien?” Luka asked, not knowing how to respond to all the kind gestures and words. Adrien in return sat not quite knowing how to answer his question.
“I never really thought about it,” Adrien responded, a thoughtful hand making its way to his chin. “I suppose to me, everyone is just a person. There’s no real colours or anything, just the person as they present themself to me.”
Luka nodded along. “Thank you both for answering my question. I feel better now.”
“Aww! Like I said, we’re always here for you, Luka!”
He let himself smile a soft smile again, before sliding up the bed and tugging the bedsheets out from underneath his partners. He then covered them both and himself, Adrien smiling in gratitude.
“It’s late, we should sleep,” Luka pointed out, laying down. Marinette and Adrien both followed his actions, Adrien laying on his back in the middle of the trio and Marinette facing both boys.
“What did you say to Luka’s question?” Adrien asked Marinette, swivelling his head slightly toward her. She couldn’t help the warmth that flooded her body. Even the smallest things either of them did still got her giddy sometimes.
“I said that you’re our little star,” Marinette replied, affectionately poking his nose. “And Luka is a beautiful ocean. Both of you have so many secrets I could explore, and that’s what I love about you.”
Glee took over Adrien’s face faster than a cataclysm took out an object, and he rolled over to pull Marinette into the tightest hug his tired body could muster. Marinette hugged him back even tighter, and Luka pulled the both of them into his longer arms.
“Oh my gosh, he’s already asleep again!” Marinette pointed out when Luka finally untangled himself from his partners. She gently laid down properly on the bed, adjusting Adrien as gently as she could so he didn’t end up with sore limbs from awkward sleeping positions. Luka laid down as well, planting his face into the back of Adrien’s head and taking in the scent of his probably ridiculously expensive shampoo.
“Goodnight, Luka. And goodnight, Adrien, who is already asleep.”
“Sweetest of dreams, Marinette…”