Chapter Text
Fuck.
That was the only thing that went through Luka’s mind as his leg accidentally bumped the table and sent his water bottle spilling right over his expensive laptop. He was paralyzed for a moment, just watching as his computer was soaking up the water like an expensive sponge. Luka darted up off of his bed, picking up the laptop as quick as he could and shaking it to get any of the water off he could just by sheer force. He raced to their small kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets for rice.
“Come on, come on! Where’s the fucking rice?!” He growled, tossing boxes left and right as he tried to find the rice that he knew he just saw the other day. “Juleka!” He called out, panic clear in his voice. “Where the hell is the rice?” His normally rather deep voice had raised like two octaves as he had nearly emptied the cabinets in desperation. It was times like this that he really despised the “lived-in” look that his mother loved so much.
Juleka creeps out of her room, sleep still evident in her eyes as she looks at her older brother quizzically. “Mom took it with her for some reason, I think she said something about making some instruments or something. Who shit in your cereal?” It was clear Juleka was exhausted, probably up all night texting the girl that she swears she doesn’t have a huge crush on. Luka stores that in the back of his mind to tease her about later when he isn’t freaking out over his computer.
“Damnit!” He shouts, slamming his fists against the counter before catching himself, taking a deep breath, and dragging his hands down his face in aggravation. ‘Deep breaths, Luka, this isn’t you. You’ll just need to buy a new one.’ He groaned and buried his head in his hands. After a few moments, he felt a hand touch his back softly and he felt a calm wash over him. “Thanks, Jules. I’m sorry for yelling, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”
That wasn’t entirely true, Luka knew what it was he needed to do: buy a new laptop. The issue was that it took him months to raise enough money to buy the laptop he was using. The issue was that this laptop was where he recorded all of his music, put all of it together, and promoted himself and now he couldn’t do any of that really. He’d definitely need a second job because the pizza delivery boy’s pay would take forever to pile up enough to afford a laptop.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure that you can manage to get enough money to repair it in no time!” Juleka tried her best to sound chipper, in her own very distinct Juleka way of course but chipper nonetheless.
Luka turned to look at his sister and managed a smile. “You’re right. Thanks, Jules.” He ruffled her hair, earning a scowl and a swat at his hands from his sister. He would just need to sign up for one of those job-finding sites, surely he would find something that he could do that would also pay well.
-
Fuck.
Adrien wasn’t much for using profanity, mostly because his father would kill him if he heard him utter a single word out of place. It was a relief then that his father was not a mind-reader because he is sure that right now his father would have had a stroke if he could hear the things currently going through his mind.
He was sitting outside of his father’s office, his ear pressed up against the door as he listened to his father rage at his music teacher. Adrien didn’t do anything wrong per say but his music teacher just felt that there was nothing more than he could be taught. It wasn’t the first time that his teachers felt that he was already at a professional level, the issue was that his father didn’t want professional but perfect.
“You’re supposed to be the best teacher? Ha! You are just like all the others, talentless hacks the whole lot of you!” He could hear his father crow, his music teacher’s words too quiet to hear. He did however hear the sound of footsteps approaching the door rapidly, Adrien quickly pulling himself away from the door and acting as if he hadn’t been trying to listen to the entire conversation. His music teacher came out first, tossing Adrien a sympathetic look before scurrying out the door in what was no doubt a mixture of annoyance and fear.
Nathalie walked out of the room a few moments later, perfectly composed as always, and turned to face Adrien. ‘Of course, my dad can’t even take the time to come and talk to me even a room away.’ Nathalie let out a sigh and pulled her glasses off to give them a quick clean before finally addressing him.
“As I am sure you can tell, your father has decided that your music teacher was not a sufficient fit and so we will begin looking for a better one immediately so that it doesn’t affect your studies.” Her voice was cold and to the point, it had to be to put up with his father for as much as she did.
“Nathalie, you know as well as I do that he was the best music teacher in Paris! If he isn’t good enough for my father then no one will be.” Adrien’s voice too was cold and concise, he feared that any sense of emotion in his voice would be quickly snuffed out by his father’s search for perfection should he show it. Nathalie nodded in response and pressed her fingers against her temple, letting out a long sigh of defeat.
“I know, Adrien, you’re tired of going through so many teachers but your father just wants your education to be the best it can be.” Nathalie tried to reason, looking at the young boy’s face for a moment before tapping a bit on her tablet. “If you want, I will convince your father to perhaps try a younger teacher this time.” She practically whispered, not wanting her boss and Adrien’s father to hear.
This made Adrien beam and nod eagerly, the boy quickly catching himself and returning to this stone-faced facade. “Thank you, Nathalie. I would greatly appreciate it.” He uttered out before hurrying back to the solace of his room, the only room in the house where he could feel emotions freely without fear of being judged by his father. He punched his fists in the area, ecstatic at the idea of having a music teacher that wasn’t multiple times his age. His happy thoughts were quickly dampened as he remembered just how alone he was, the boy staring out his large glass windows at all of the people walking around Paris and conversing with friends.
Adrien didn’t have friends, except Chloe but even then it felt as if their friendship was one out of both of their needs to have somebody, anyone, to talk to. He cared about Chloe but they had little positive in common, just their neglectful parents and having to constantly strive for perfection. He tried to convince his father to let him attend school with other kids but that idea was shot down nearly immediately. Well, he did have one other friend when he thought about it-
Ladybug. She was so strong, so free, so- just everything. He treasured the moments he got to spend with her as Chat Noir, those nights when the two of them patrol the city and then spend some time with each other afterward just talking and teasing each other. He found himself taking up this flirty persona that wasn’t quite him but if it wasn’t him then- who was it? Chat Noir, he supposed, was the obvious answer. He did have feelings towards Ladybug, or he thought that he did? He wasn’t sure, truthfully. He flopped down on his bed and groaned into his hands, why did feelings have to be so damn complicated?
-
Luka was hanging out with some of Juleka’s friends, he liked them all well enough and it was nice to get out of his room every now and then. Marinette, someone who he hadn’t known long, looked over at him and gave him an inquisitive look. “You there, Luka?” She asked jokingly, motioning as if to knock on his head.
He shook himself from his thoughts and looked at her quizzically. “Sorry, thinking about a lot. What’s up?” He asked, flashing her a smile. She returns it and motions with her head at Juleka, his sister wiggling her phone in his direction. “I’m not going to look at another one of your memes, they’re never funny.” He quipped and stuck his tongue out at her.
“It’s a job opportunity, jerkwad.” She quipped right back, sticking out her tongue in retaliation. “It’s some music teaching job, looks like the pay’ll be pretty great too. There is one downside, though.” She looked sheepish at that as if she didn’t want to say what exactly the mysterious downside was.
“Spit it out, Jules. If the pay is good, it can’t be that bad.”
“Fine, it’s a job for Adrien Agreste.” The name meant nothing to Luka but it was clear that he was alone in that as the rest of the friend group that was hanging out all stared in disbelief and some shivered at the mention of that name.
“What? I don’t follow.” He asked, looking around the room for anyone willing to shed some light on who exactly that was and why it’s a big deal.
Marinette was the one to break the eerie silence, pointing at a billboard nearby. “That is Adrien Agreste, one of the most popular models currently. His father is Gabriel Agreste, he’s a pretty big inspiration for me in regards to his designs but he has a certain reputation that follows him and his family-”
“Yeah, they’re a buncha jerkwads. I heard that Gabriel blacklisted a model who tripped once during a fashion show.” Nino butted in, earning a few nods in response from people who must’ve heard that same rumor.”
Luka nodded in understanding, the man definitely didn’t sound nice but- “What exactly does that have to do with Adrien, just because he’s the man’s son doesn’t mean he’s an asshole too.”
“I don’t know, man. I don’t trust that guy, wouldn’t be surprised if he was a robot or some crazy shit. Plus, Chloe loves to brag that they’ve been friends since they were babies and anyone who’s been friends with her for that long can’t be a good person.” Nino explained.
Luka didn’t know much but he knew that if Chloe was involved that it meant trouble. He’d heard Juleka complain about Chloe on end and the idea of having to deal with a rich asshole every week was not an appealing one. He cursed under his breath and looked back over at Juleka. “Could you send me the link for that job application?”
-
A week later and Luka was playing with his guitar, trying to pen down a melody and thinking how much easier it would be to just record it but the audio of his phone sucked and his computer was still out of business for the time being. He heard his phone going off and he was going to just let it ring before he remembered he’d actually been waiting for a call to find out if he’d gotten the job yet or not. He scrambled to pick up the phone and answered, trying not to sound too hopeful as he uttered a hello.
“Hello. Is this Luka Couffaine?” A woman’s voice asked, Luka shivered at how robotic she sounded and thought for a moment that maybe Nino hadn’t actually been that far off when he said that Adrien was a robot. “Hello? Are you there?”
“Sorry! Yes, I am here!” He quickly replied, he could entertain the crazy theories later when he wasn’t trying to score himself a job. “I am Luka Couffaine, you’re calling about the job offer I assume?”
“You would assume correctly, Mr. Couffaine. I was rather impressed with your resume given your age, though your style isn’t what we would typically be looking for I believe that it would be a welcome change for Adrien.” He fought the urge to shiver again, something about her voice made his stomach twist.
He composed himself for a moment before responding. “That’s great to hear, are you saying that I have gotten the job?” Luka said hopefully, fingers crossed. He really needed the job, like really.
“Not quite.” His face fell. “We need to assure that you will mesh well with Adrien, I am sure you understand. I expect that you will be here tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp for our trial session. If all goes well, then the job will be yours. Of course, you will be compensated for the trial session regardless of if you get the job. See you then.” And with that, she hung up and left him no time to ask questions about anything.
He grinned and fist-pumped the air. This was great!
-
This was awful.
He had followed the instructions to get to the place that he’d be giving the lessons and when he’d arrived, he nearly just turned and went back home. He knew that the Agreste family was rich, Marinette had told him as much, but the house was something else entirely. It was a beautiful piece of architecture but it was cold, a building more fit to be a museum or something than a home. He walked up to the large ornate gate and buzzed the intercom, unsure what to do with his hands as he waited for a response.
“Excellent, right on time.” A voice chimed from the intercom, the same cold and unfeeling voice from the phone the previous day he noted, and the large gates opened and beckoned him in.
He made his way to the large front door and watched as it opened to reveal a very formally dressed woman. The only real sense of individuality that she carried was the flash of red in her hair, besides that it felt as if she was trying to make herself blend in as much as he possibly could which was a large contrast to himself.
She looked over him and sighed, turning around and motioning for him to follow behind her. “You’re fortunate that Gabriel is not here, seeing you dressed like that would have you rejected in a heartbeat. He’s off on business though so I suppose that I will let it pass.” She admonished, something that had Luka biting back a retort. He really needed the job, as much as he wished he could defend his appearance. She led him through the large mansion until she stopped in front of a door.
“Adrien, a candidate for your new music teacher is here.” She called and began to walk away. He almost called out after her, confused as to what he was to do, but before he could the door they had stopped at opened and all the words he wanted to say fell flat. He had seen Adrien before in the billboards and later when he did more research into the boy to find out who he’d be working with but none of the images did him justice.
Luka didn’t know until that moment what people had meant when they spoke of losing yourself in someone’s eyes. He had no idea that someone’s eyes could be such a shade of green, he was utterly entranced. Right as he felt that he could see no greater sight, the boy smiled a greeting and Luka felt like a fool for doubting. He remembers looking up at the sun as a child, ignoring his mother’s protests not to, and yet it was not even comparable to the immense brightness and warmth of the boy in front of him’s smile.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This was not part of the plan! Luka was just trying to get some money to replace his laptop and now he’s standing in front of a really cute boy struggling to say something, anything. He cleared his throat and returned the smile, motioning to the room. “May I?” He managed out, though his voice felt foreign to him. “Come in, I mean.”
Adrien nodded excitedly and turned to lead him into his massive room. Luka’s mind was taken off of the boy’s smile as he was introduced to the boy’s room. He had never seen a room quite like it, he supposed that is because he’s never really met someone with as much money as Adrien Agreste.
Adrien looked so excited to show someone his room but suddenly stopped and turned, his dashing smile now gone from his face. Luka wanted nothing more than him to bring it back, a thought that made his stomach twist. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.” Adrien apologized, rubbing at the back of his neck absentmindedly. “I’m Adrien Agreste, thank you so much for coming to teach me.” He gave a polite bow that Luka would have laughed at if it weren’t so utterly genuine.
Luka didn’t understand how someone so warm could exist in a house so cold, it seemed so strange to him. He brushed that thought off and stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “Nice to meet you, Adrien. I’m Luka Couffaine.” was all he uttered and he swears that he saw the lightest dusting of red cross the boy’s face in response.
Adrien shook his hand and flashed his smile before walking on over to the beautiful grand piano that was situated in the one corner of the room. He sat down on the bench of it and lifted the piece that covered the ivories, looking over at Luka expectantly. Luka had to remind himself that he was not here to be friends, he was here as a work obligation. He nodded at the boy and gave him a light smile. “How about you play me your favorite song, as a benchmark so I know your skill level?” Luka asked and he saw panic flash in Adrien’s eyes.
“M-my favorite?” He stammered out, his fingers frozen in place as he stared at the keys. Luka raised his brow at this, surely he had a favorite song to play. “Sorry, I’m just not used to being allowed to choose what I play.” He apologized meekly and took a deep breath, his hands instinctively moving to the keys. The room was deathly silent until he began to play and Luka felt his heartache for the boy. The story he told with the keys was one of melancholy, so much pain and beauty tied up in the way his fingers moved from key to key. Luka had never heard a melody so bittersweet, not even just the song that he was physically playing but the song that resided in his heart.
When Adrien was done playing, Luka was at a loss for words. Adrien looked at him expectantly and blushed when Luka began clapping, his hand moving to rub at his neck once again. “That was amazing, truly.” Luka praised, he wasn’t huge on classical music but the song he just heard (both the real and the song of Adrien’s heart) were some of the favorite things that he had ever heard. “Respectfully, I’m not sure what all you need to keep having music lessons for. You seem like you know everything already, you’re clearly very skilled.”
Adrien seemed scared at that and shook his head. “No!” He shouted, taking Luka aback. “Sorry, it’s just-” He lets out a sigh and looks out his windows, his hands still resting on the keys. “That’s the same thing that my past few music teachers said, it’s actually why you were hired. Can you just- I don’t know- tell Nathalie that you think my technique could use a little work?” He pleaded, looking at Luka hopefully.
“I don’t understand. Why do you want me to lie? Your technique is great, you’re great” He asked, puzzled at why the model wanted him to do such a thing.
The boy sighs, defeated. “You’re the first person I’ve seen who isn’t a huge amount older than me in a long time. I just wanted someone I could relate to, a friend.” He explains and Luka just can’t bring himself to say no.
-
“You think that his technique could use work?” Nathalie asked incredulously, looking at him from over her glasses.
Luka nodded. Liar. “I think Adrien is very talented but I think that his former teachers were just too old-fashioned to notice.” He prayed that she would buy it, he couldn’t tell a thing from her cold eyes either so he was left waiting in suspense for her response.
She gave him the first semblance of a smile and nodded. “Mr. Agreste will be very pleased to hear that you had identified the problem area, I will have to make up the proper paperwork but consider yourself hired.” She stood up from the table they were sitting at and led him outside to the gate. “Oh, and Mr. Couffaine?” She asked before he could hop on his bike and head home.
“Yes, ma’am?” He replied, looking at her expectantly.
“Thank you for lying for him.” She replied and a smirk graced her face for a brief second before she went back to her usual self. Damn it, she didn’t buy it for a second. Did she? He biked off, hurrying back home as Adrien’s inner melody danced in his head. “Need to write this down.”
-
Adrien closed the door after he waved his goodbyes to Luka, leaning against it and letting out a sigh. He liked Luka, he didn’t talk very much but he seemed kind. It felt nice to play that song again after so long, though Adrien wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to play that song for Luka. Perhaps it was because he felt he could trust Luka, though he hadn’t even shown Chloe the song and he’s known Chloe since he can remember. He groaned, he didn’t understand how feelings worked.
Both Adrien and Luka had restless sleep, their thoughts occupied by one another though for reasons that they couldn’t explain. Adrien couldn’t stop thinking about the boy with blue hair and the cool clothes that had such a gentle smile. Luka couldn’t stop replaying the song of Adrien’s heart in his head and thinking about those damned green eyes. Plagg on the other hand? Slept like a baby knowing exactly where this all was going.