Starlet • Lukadrien [Miraculous]

Chapter 8 | taking time

Carrying heavy instruments home was the one part of this course Luka didn't like. He'd finished his latest project, it'd been assessed and now he was just waiting on a grade. So now he needed to carry this big, heavy horn home and find somewhere to put it. Sometimes he wondered what his neighbours thought of him always showing up with some kind of instrument. He'd already apologised in advance when he moved in for any noise, luckily his neighbours were decent people who agreed as long as the noise was during the day, it was fine.

So after a tiring walk back home with a massive Celtic horn in his arms, Luka propped it up in the corner for now so he could sit down for a moment. The second he did, Quinn jumped right into his lap.

"Attention seeker" he snickered, scratching the cat behind the ears.

He couldn't help but think of Adrien whenever he saw a cat, Cat Noir was forever going to be part of that boy. The two had actually been hanging out a lot recently. It was like as soon as they reconnected they couldn't stay away from each other. And just as he was starting to think about giving Adrien a call, there was a knock on his door. He got up to answer it, much to his kittys protests for daring to move. And on the other side was none other than Adrien.

"Adri!" Luka smiled.

"Sorry to just show up unannounced but I come bearing pesto" Adrien replied.

Luka snickered, he recalled Adrien telling him about his neighbour with the massive tomato garden that had way too much for one person and their grandchildren each year.

"Your nona neighbour?" Luka asked.

"Yep, there's tomato and basil take your pick. She gave us heaps there's no way me and Nathalie alone can finish it all" Adrien snickered.

Letting him in, Luka was glad to take some of that pesto off Adrien'd hands. The homemade stuff was always the best, and this would save him some money for a while. That could clear up his dinner for the night too actually, he could make spaghetti with it.

"Oh damn- you finished that horn?" Adrien said, spotting the new instrument in the room.

"Yeah, just waiting on a grade now. Had to carry that thing all the way home too..." Luka replied.

Adrien carefully picked it up, observing the craftsmanship amazed as always that Luka was this skilled. The few tiny dents or wobbly edges made it more obvious it was completely handmade, gave it that artists charm to it.

"Can you play it?" Adrien asked.

"Let's see if my neighbours tell me off for this" Luka replied, taking the horn.

This was an ancient Celtic instrument, the carnyx. Used in battle to spook the opponent with its very loud and eerie noise. It was tall too, Luka having to duck slightly to hold it up without hitting the roof. Making sure it was playable was part of his grade, so he was very careful to make sure the inner workings were perfect so he could make the right noise with little to no skill in brass instruments. He took a breath and blew into the mouthpiece, the loud almost ghostly sound filling his apartment. Adrien just watched in amazement, not only did it work perfectly but it sounded very cool and super creepy at the same time.

"Dude..." he muttered.

"If I were a Roman and heard that in the woods not knowing what it was? I'd just up and leave the war" Luka joked.

"Same, that's spooky. In a cool way"

"It sounds best out in the open where it can echo, spooked a few people on campus with it"

Putting it back down before he got noise complaints, Luka's collection of handmade instruments was starting to take over his small lounge room.

"Hmm... I need to organise this... I got no damn room though" he muttered.

"Hang them up, get some of those ultra strong hooks and have a wall of instruments" Adrien suggested.

Genius as always, Luka snapped his fingers and gave Adrien an approving point.

"That, it's a good idea. Definitely doing that" Luka said.

"You'll definitely pass this course with flying colours, I mean look at all this" Adrien replied, admiring the growing collection of handmade instruments.

"I hope so, this is my future job if things go well"

"They will, you've got this in the bag"

Luka gave Adrien a smile, heart admittedly racing at little at the compliment from someone like him. Luka held Adrien's opinions in high regard, even if he wasn't an expert in the field. It was because he truly cared that deeply for Adrien, his words carried more weight to Luka than anyone else in Italy.

"Wanna stay for dinner?" He offered, partly as a thanks and partly because he just wanted to hang out with Adrien more.

"Of course, I'll help" Adrien replied.

"It's ok dude, you're the guest"

"I feel bad if I don't help. Let me stir the pot at least"

What an absolute Angel he was, insisting on helping no matter what. Every time Luka caught up with Adrien since meeting again, he'd just grow more and more attached. He'd always liked Adrien, but there was something about having him all to himself out here in Italy that was making his heart swell. No love squares, no akuma threats, no shitty dad dictating his every move. It was just them, their early 20s and the beauty of seaside Italy. Quinn seemed to like Adrien too, rubbing his head against the blondes legs for attention.

"Oh you sook Quinn!" Luka snickered.

Adrien picked the cat up, giving him a snuggle.

"He knows I'm Cat Noir, it's that Cat-on-Cat telepathy" Adrien joked.

"He likes you more than he likes me"

"I might have to steal him then"

After some cooing over the cat, and a quick cooking session to make some spaghetti with fresh basil pesto, the two sat out on the balcony overlooking the street and beach across the road to eat as the sun went down. It was nostalgic in a way, of the evenings on the deck of the boat after band practice, waiting for Adrien to be picked up. They'd always chat and snack on something as the sun set.

"Do you miss Paris?" Adrien asked, looking out over the horizon.

"Weirdly enough... no. I miss the people, not the place. Maybe it's just because I associate the city with stress after hawkmoth... but I like it better here" Luka replied.

"Me too... I don't think I could ever go back for very long"

Luka couldn't blame him, that city was full of trauma for Adrien. A bit for Luka too, being forced into a superhero role at the ripe age of like 15. The pressure of the safety of the city and the people in it in your hands that young would surely mess something up in one's head. Luka missed his friends and family back home, but the city itself didn't feel like home. And Adrien just never wanted to set foot there again aside from the duties he has as cat noir to check up on the place. He could handle that, but living there again? Too much trauma.

"You think you'll stay here after university?" Adrien asked.

"I want to. I might have to go home for a bit, you to see family and sort out finances and stuff. But I'd like to stay here" Luka replied.

"Please stay here, you're kind of the only person I have aside from Nathalie"

If the sunsets and food weren't enough to keep Luka here, Adrien was.

"I could never leave you" Luka assured.

"Neither could I" Adrien replied.

They have each other a smile, one that lingered a little too long as they caught each other's eyes and simply gazed into him for a moment. This tension was starting to get to a point they really couldn't ignore it anymore. It was just a matter of who was going to admit their long time feelings first...