~perfect for pictures~ (luka couffaine x reader)

☆ chapter six ☆

(Y/N'S POV)

I rushed backstage, struggling against a sea of fans leaving the venue in the exact opposite direction I was trying to move. But I was a girl on a mission, and reached the stage door in no time. As I reached to knock on the dressing room door, Luka opened it. He froze for a second as I momentarily forgot why I had gone backstage in the first place. His hair was a sweaty mess and his eye makeup was smudged beyond belief. He still looked dashing in his dress shirt in a messy, laid-back kind of way. Then it occurred to me I had been staring. We had been staring. I blinked away my frozen state and tackled him in a hug.

"You were amazing," I whispered into his ear, as if it were a secret only we could know. Luka's hand slowly messed with my hair as we hugged, making me melt into his sweaty embrace just a little bit more.

"Yeah?" Luka whispered back, his arms still wrapped around me.

"Yeah."

"Luka!" I heard a few voices call out from down the hall. Luka finally pulled away to see who was shouting for him, only to get practically tackled in hugs from Marinette, Nino, and Alya. He shot me an apologetic look before turning his attention to our excited friends.

Reluctantly, I left Luka outside of the dressing room door and stepped in to congratulate my other friends. I found the three of them laying on the floor in a circle with their eyes closed. They all looked exhausted but I could see faint smiles playing on their faces. I cleared my throat, unsure of how to grab their attention. Adrien and Ivan snapped wide awake and scrambled to their feet. Juleka just groaned and turned on her side. Ivan walked a few steps closer and gave me a sweaty hug. Adrien joined in, latching onto us. After a few seconds, we pulled away laughing.

"Job well done, gents!" I spoke in a British accent and tipped an imaginary hat at the two of them. Ivan rolled his eyes. "And you as well, m'lady!" I addressed Juleka, who was still on the floor, barely awake. She turned over on her side to face me and smiled wordlessly. I heard the click of the door opening behind me and I whirled around, coming face to face with Luka.

"Hey," He waved, despite us being about four inches away from each other.

"Hi." My face flushed at how suddenly he had appeared. Up so close, he looked like a painting. His eyes revealed hints of emerald as they reflected the yellow tones of the dressing room lamps and all I could think about was how brilliant they would look against firelight.

My thoughts were interrupted with a snicker from Juleka to my right.

"Take a picture you two, it'll last longer." Ivan teased.

"Oh, leave them alone..." Adrien came to our defense, "...although we might have to come right back to pry them off each other." He finished, high-fiving Juleka. Luka flipped him off.

"Oh, fuck off." I rolled my eyes at our friends.

"We'll just leave, then." Luka took me by surprise, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room. He shot a taunting grin at them before closing the door. He turned around to face me and we both burst out in laughter. After a solid minute, we gained composure.

"So what now?" I asked. Luka scratched the back of his neck.

"Whatever m'lady desires." He half-bowed, holding his hand out for me to take. And I took it.

"Well in that case..." I took off walking down the hall, my hand still holding Luka's.

(LUKA'S POV)

The cool night breeze hit my face like (literally) a breath of fresh air. Y/N's hand hung loose in mine; a sort of lazy embrace that just felt right. Walking through the streets of Paris under the light of the moon, she was perfect. She looked like a song– the kind that makes you stop everything you're doing just so you can soak it in.

After some time, I put two and two together and figured she was leading the way to my house. We passed countless shops, most of them closed for the night. But every once and a while, we'd pass one with music playing through crackly speakers that echoed into the quiet night.

"You know, your set tonight got me thinking." Y/N finally spoke.

"Yeah? About what?" It's safe to say my attention was caught.

"That night on the houseboat. When we listened to Gami Gang for the first time. When I fell in love with Origami Angel's music."

"What about it?"

"I miss it." She didn't say anything more, and she didn't need to.

"Is that why we're going to my place?" I ventured.

"Bingo." A pause, "Also I miss your mom."

~

"Get up!" Y/N nudged me not-so-gently. "We gotta make it to sunrise, and then you can sleep." I groaned, but I felt myself cracking a small smile at her antics.

"I'm up. Just resting my eyes." I shooed her away.

"Absolutely not, Couffaine." She took my hand and hit me in the face with it. That got me up.

"Real mature."

"I take pride in my maturity." She looked straight ahead at the river. We sat on the roof of the houseboat under a deep night sky. Unless you count the dim street lights along the nearby street, the only light came from a single dull candle in between us. Origami Angel's Bossa Nova Corps played faintly in the background as we huddled in blankets.

"Hey Lu?" Y/N spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"Where do you think we'd be if someone else had shown me around school back in junior year?" I turned to face her, finding her already looking my way.

"Why do you ask?" I cocked my head to the side.

"I just..." she took a sharp breath in. "I'm just curious. I was so angry about moving and then I met you. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad and sometimes I wonder if I'd have made it to this point anyway." She pulled her blanket around her shoulders.

"What, you don't want me here?" I joked, elbowing her lightly.

"I'd never wish you away in a million years, Couffaine." Y/N rolled her eyes. She looked at me expectantly.

"Honesty, I don't know. I might have gone to college. You're the one who set me up with that YouTube channel that got the band to grow so much."

"What would you study?"

"Something with music still. Maybe music therapy?" I mused.

"And what about me? Where do you think I'd be?"

"Probably still studying photography. You were dead set on that when I first met you anyway. Maybe you'd have a different muse though. You could be taking pictures of Alya instead of me."

"Except I only met Alya because of you." Y/N pointed out.

"True. But I think we would have found each other anyway."

"Why do you say that?" She turned her body to face me completely. I mirrored her actions, leaving us sitting criss-cross, our knees almost touching. The candle flickered to the left, barely lighting up one side of her face.

"Cause it's just too perfect like this for any other existence to be possible." I shrugged.

"Stop being so good with words." She smirked. Her gaze drifted, and her eyes lit up. "Luka!" She placed her hands on my shoulders and got up on her knees. "The sun!" Her smile grew wider. I turned around. The sun was just coming up, staining the skyline shades of pink and orange.

"This is what you've been waiting for. You better enjoy it before I fall asleep." I said. She only hummed in response and rested her chin on my shoulder.

And so we stayed like that until morning had fully broken. And everything was good.

(A/N: New chapter! As always, let me know what you think! More coming soon!)