A/N: I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated. I am sooo sorry! Please enjoy this kind of short chapter.

With so many people helping, Niki's old apartment was packed up and emptied quickly. Niki felt overwhelmed with gratitude for friends who were so willing to help her move on such short notice. Technically, she could have taken her time but even her friends were excited for her and eager to help out. She bought a few pizzas and plenty of beer as thanks and they all had a huge slumber party in her studio.

Luka had thought to bring the projector from the boat. Juleka brought her laptop and logged into her streaming services. After everyone had mostly decided on a movie, Niki pulled down the white backdrop screen and Luka aimed the projector at it.

Everyone had settled into smaller groups among the pallets spread out amongst the floor. Niki hit the lights then sat close to Luka. She found it harder to keep her eyes on the movie the heavier they got. She leaned into Luka and he threw his arm around her. She found the hand draped over her shoulder comforting as it tapped along with the soundtrack. It wasn't long before she, and everyone else had fallen asleep.

Niki's eyes shot open. The "Are you still there?" screen dimly lit the studio. She squirmed out of Luka's hold and stretched. She quietly made her way up the stairs to her new apartment. When she opened the door, she once again felt the appreciation of her friends who had helped her pack, organize, and even start unpacking.

Her furniture was all pretty much in place, though she didn't have much, to begin with. The pieces she had were heavy and old. The boys had taken care of moving them up. Her friends had taken care to put her dishes up, unpacked her living room and kitchen, and helped move her bedroom furniture in. Alya and Rose had taken care of her bathroom, neither mentioning Luka's stuff in Niki's bathroom box. That left Juleka and Marinette claiming kitchen detail.

Luka, Alex, Mattie, and Jeremy brought her bedroom furniture up and had arranged it exactly how she told them, then left her and Luka to unpack her room. While she and Luka were unpacking, the other boys brought in her boxes of books and left them in her room near the shelf.

When they had finished bringing up her books, they moved to the living room to set up her stereo system and television. With everyone helping, it took a total of 2 hours to unpack and settle in. Luka broke her reverie.

"Insomnia?" He asked already knowing the answer.

She smiled a bit and nodded.

"I figured. We didn't finish unpacking your books. We can get that done quickly. Maybe that will settle your mind. Then we can just chill up here or head back downstairs and turn on another movie."

"That sounds good."

She had three boxes of books waiting on her floor. Luka knew she had a specific order she liked to put her books in. One that only made sense to her, but that was one of those funny little details he kept to himself about her. One of the things that to him, made up who she was.

Luckily, her books were packed in the same order they had been on her shelves. So they sat on the floor in front of her shelf and began to unpack. As they worked through the boxes, Luka laughed when he held up a worn copy of The Brothers' Grim.

"You still have this old thing?"

"Of course, books are best when they've been well-loved." She shrugged. "It was also one of my favorite presents."

His mother had picked it up on one of her trips abroad and given it to him to give to Niki. Luka smiled and thumbed through the pages and a folded piece of paper fell into his lap. Niki wasn't paying attention; she was double-checking that her books were in the order she preferred. Luka picked up the folder paper and recognized his name in her handwriting.

"What's this?" He asked, showing her the folded paper without opening it.

"Oh," She looked down at it. "I forgot that was there. It was a note I had written you a long time ago, probably when we were still in lycée. I never got the chance to pass it to you, and it's just been kind of marking places in my book since then." She laughed. "You can keep it and look at it later. No telling what I wrote. I honestly don't even remember what's in it."

He laughed and tucked it safely into his pocket. Niki took her book back from him and stuck it on the shelf. It didn't take long to finish the books. Luka made a joke about thumbing through the rest of her books to see what else he could find. She tinged pink at that. The more primal side of him reared up, supplying other times he'd seen her flush. He cleared those thoughts as quickly as they came.

He loved Niki. He knew that he loved her in ways he could never hope to put into words but it was also more than just loving her. There was a bond between them that went beyond simple words and emotions. Friendship, companionship, lovers, words, and emotions just bubbled inside of him thinking about her.

Niki noticed as soon as his fingers started tapping on his leg.

"Go grab your guitar and play for me."

He kissed her forehead and walked quickly out of the apartment and into the hall that led to the studio downstairs.

While he was gone, Niki dug around for a pen and paper. She had a feeling he would need it. His creative chaos fascinated her at times. It didn't take him long to come back. He settled onto the couch in her living room and began strumming. He changed the tuning a few times before settling on something a little lower. Niki wasn't great with tuning nuances, so she wasn't sure what it was set in, she just knew it was different. The sound was lower, deeper. When his fret hand began working the neck, her eyes couldn't help but follow.

The way his hands worked over the guitar held her captive. There was something truly magical about when he played like this, just the two of them. Luka was so engrossed, he didn't notice Juleka as she sidled down by where Niki sat. She leaned against her pseudo-sister and stifled a yawn. Juleka leaned into her as well and whispered something to her. Niki whispered back, both girls careful to not distract Luka as he worked.

He stopped playing briefly, eyes searching around the room, only to land on Niki, who was pointing at the coffee table where she had left a pen and notebook for him to write in. He flashed the girls a smile and went write back to work. Juleka and Niki watched patiently for an hour as Luka wrote and played bits of a song at a time. When he was finally finished, he handed it over to Juleka, who nodded.

"This is really good. It will definitely make a great ballad. It's…" She broke off trying to find the right words. "Melancholic isn't the word, though it's a definite undertone. There's longing and nostalgia too. It just tugs at you more deeply." She shrugged.

Rose was the lyricist for the most part when they were in Kitty Section together. Juleka knew Luka would understand what she meant though. Niki, too. Niki and Jules were truly like sisters in every way that mattered, and she couldn't help the smile that formed when she saw Niki nodding in agreement.

"Jules is right. I don't think you've played like that since…" she broke off.

Luka always played amazing. Though, something like this…she hadn't heard since he first played Marinette's song. Jules nodded, knowing exactly what Niki was thinking. Luka flushed a little.

"Do you really think it's that good?" He asked. "It's just a bit of random inspiration."

Niki laughed.

"Sometimes, I forget who Luka is." She smiled. "You're so adorable and sweet like this. Other times, you're a Casanova rock god."

"Don't forget his moodiness. He's terrible first thing in the morning." Juleka tossed in.

"Only to you." He stuck his tongue out at her.

The three laughed.

"Well," Luka changed topics, "did it look like anyone else was waking up?"

"Dude, it's like 2 in the morning. We're the only unlucky ones in the group. Damn insomnia." Juleka mumbled.

Luka conceded. It was true.

"Will you play that song?" Niki asked him.

She and Jules had gotten off the floor and settled into the small love seat, leaving him on the bigger couch alone. He picked up his guitar and Rose came stumbling in.

"I got cold and you weren't there." She yawned.

Eyes still blurry with sleep, she squinted, adjusting to the light. She padded over to the love seat and squeezed in with Niki and Jules and grabbed the throw blanket Marinette had left over the back of the couch for decoration. She wrapped the other girls in the blanket with her and leaned into Juleka.

No one said anything else as Luka's fingers danced along the guitar neck. Rose's eyes clouded with tears and she sniffed a bit. Juleka hugged her a little tighter. Niki's eyes never left Luka. Luka's voice came out soft and throaty as he sang to her. The song ended and Rose told Luka how beautiful she thought it was. He smiled and thanked her and said he wouldn't have wanted anyone else but his three best girls to hear it first. He wasn't sure who threw the decorative pillow at him, Niki or Juleka.