Thief | Lukadrien

Part 1 - Catching Feelings

(Adrien's POV)

Kagami and I arrived at Luka's place just in time for rehearsal. We were playing a very risky game; if our parents found out about us skipping our fencing lesson, we'd be locked in our rooms for at least a week. I had already missed three band practices this month, and I wasn't about to let today be the fourth.

"Adrien, you made it!" Marinette exclaimed as we walked in through the door. "And you brought Kagami!"

"Yes, I came to watch," Kagami smiled. "But if anyone asks, I spent the afternoon training, got it?"

"You playing hooky, Agreste?" Luka asked, raising an eyebrow as he softly strummed his guitar. I wasn't sure why, but the way he was smirking at me made my chest all fluttery. Not in a bad way, it was like... huh. I wasn't sure what that feeling was. It had been happening for weeks, now.

"Come on, we have a song to rehearse!" Rose suddenly called from above deck.

Everyone immediately rushed up the stairs and took their place by their instruments. I was about to turn on the keyboard when a familiar voice started yelling at Ms. Couffaine. I glanced up to see Jagged Stone sitting at a piano, which was perched on top of a truck. I wasn't really paying attention to what the star was saying, but instead wondering how the heck did he manage to get a piano on top of that thing?

"Hey, Marinette, you're here!" Jagged Stone noticed. "You're the one who designed my glasses! You don't happen to play guitar, do you?"

"Who, me? Oh, no! I only play the flute..." Mari turned her head towards the rest of the band. "But you know what? I think I know the perfect musician for you!"

"Yeah!" I agreed, realizing where she was going with this. "Luka's an awesome guitarist! I'm sure he'd be happy to play for you."

I put my hand on Luka's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. He looked straight into my eyes, but I turned away quickly and took a step back. I could feel my face going red.

"Perfect! Thanks, Marinette and what's-your-name!" Jagged said.

"You dare try and replace me?!" a new voice bellowed.

Just great. Another akumatized victim.

"No, sorry, I would never try to—"

Before Luka could finish his sentence, the villain—Desperada—pointed her trumpet at him and launched a blast. I gasped and pulled Luka out of the way by the wrist. He crashed into me, hitting his head against my chest.

"Oops, sorry," I muttered. My face was definitely on fire now.

Desperada continued to shoot at my friends, and although it was my first instinct to protect them, Luka grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the area.

"Follow me," he ordered, running off of the ship when Desperada wasn't looking. "Come on!"

He led us behind a brick structure near the bridge. I caught a glimpse of Ladybug in action as I waited there with Luka.

"I don't think Chat Noir will get here soon enough," I muttered guiltily.

"Don't worry, we can buy him some time," Luka said confidently, taking his guitar off his back. Before I could stop him, he stepped out into Desperada's view and started playing. The villain noticed him, and started firing in his direction.

Alarms went off in my head. Without hesitation, I jumped out from my hiding place to push Luka out of the way, knocking him to the ground. As soon as I realized what I had done, I sprung off of him and sat back on my knees. My breathing quickened; what was wrong with me today?

Luka pulled me up off the ground and towed me by the arm away from the bridge, which was now crumbling into the water. The two of us met up with Ladybug, and while I would normally be ready to offer my help, I was currently still speechless. I must have hurt something when I knocked Luka to the ground, because I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

"This way!" Ladybug instructed.

I didn't move until Luka started running. We climbed down a hole into the sewer pipes below the city, where we still continued to run.

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that," Ladybug scolded Luka.

"I'm fine, thanks to Adrien," Luka said, nudging me with his elbow.

I started to blush again. Why did I want to curl up on the ground and scream?

"Lucky charm!" LB called out, which made a red and black teapot appear out of thin air. She seemed to know exactly what to do with the object as soon as she got it. "I have to go take care of something. You two get somewhere safe."