Soothing Sore Heartstrings - Luka Couffaine X M Reader

03

Marinette bolted one way, and without thinking, I sprinted in the other, breathless and disoriented. Glancing back, I saw Luka, my best friend, the person I thought I knew, enveloped by a dark, menacing aura as he transformed under the grip of Hawk Moth's corruption.

His form was twisted, shadows clinging to him like ink, and something terrible was beginning to form above him. A shape, huge and round, appeared. I couldn't bear to look any longer and forced myself to keep moving.

The houseboat seemed like a bad idea, Marinette had probably headed there, and it was the first place Luka would search.

Ducking into an alley between two towering buildings, I pressed my back against the wall, sinking to the ground, my mind spiraling.

If she hadn't been so careless with him..

If I had known how to help, maybe this wouldn't have happened?

Maybe he wouldn't have...

My heart throbbed with guilt and fear, and my thoughts spiraled, a whirlwind of anger
taking over until I could hardly breathe. I was desperate for something to break the silence as I waited.

I looked up, trying to clear my head, and froze at the sight of a giant, mechanical eye hovering ominously in the sky. Its gaze seemed to follow Luka, tracking him as he moved, looming over him like a dark sentinel. He seemed to be heading toward Le Grand Paris, though I had no idea what Hawk Moth's intentions might be.

My pulse pounded, reality sinking in hard. I had to leave, but I needed to know he was gone.

Once the massive eye drifted out of sight, I turned back toward the houseboat, my steps shaky and unsteady. My dad had called, and I wanted to reassure him I was safe, even if I didn't feel that way, but I sighed and shoved my phone back into my pocket.

The entire walk was filled with a cold silence, my mind racing as I replayed Luka's transformation over and over. It wasn't his first time being akumatized, I remembered, but I still worried for him.

Finally, I reached the boat, but something felt immediately... off. The deck was eerily quiet. Shadows stretched longer than they should, draping the boat in a suffocating gloom that pressed down on me as I stepped aboard.

I looked around, everything was in place, but the atmosphere was thick, weighted. I squinted, noticing something strange.

I scanned the deck, taking in everyone's frozen forms. Juleka, Rose, and a few others all stood in place, unmoving, as if frozen in time.

No one moved, no one blinked. Their faces were painted with expressions of terror, mouths half-open, eyes wide, staring into nothingness.

It was as if they'd all witnessed something horrifying but hadn't had the chance to scream.

A cold chill crept up my spine as I realized Marinette and Adrien were nowhere to be seen. Had they been caught? Or worse?

I took a slow, shaky breath, trying to shake off the feeling. I reasoned that Ladybug's powers would set things right. Eventually, all of this would be fixed. Still, the silence gnawed at me, clawing its way under my skin.

Unable to shake the feeling of being watched, I descended the stairs into Luka's room, hoping for a fragment of familiarity, something grounding.

The room was tidy, more than usual, and the scent of him lingered fresh on the blanket, as if he'd just left. It almost felt like he was still here, like he might walk in any second, but that unsettling thought made me shiver.

I lay down, pulling the blanket over me, letting his familiar scent comfort me.

My eyes scanned the room, noticing small things; his guitar still propped against the wall, a few scattered notes on his desk, and his favorite jacket draped over the back of a chair, oddly out of place.