"Passing papers is a decent way to flirt, right?
If I'm not forward I can't possibly get hurt, right?"
– Passing Papers, song by Egg.
.
.
Passing Papers - Chapter 1
A Lukadrien fanfic by InfamousAmooogle.
In his bedroom, Luka lay, thinking.
He'd been doing this for a while now, and by 'while' we're talking a fair few months. But matters of the heart were not to be taken lightly, or so he'd been told. And though he'd been deflecting any prying questions from his family who had noticed his recent change in demeanor, he couldn't keep lying to himself, the truth was simple-
He had feelings for Adrien Agreste.
.
.
It wasn't that Luka struggled to understand his own feelings, nor did he feel insecure about his sexuality; his concerns were where Adrien stood on his own. As far as he was aware, the blond had only had romantic interactions with girls, but Luka was unsure whether that was him being flocked as a result of his being a model, or if he was initiating those interactions. That was what had been fuelling Luka's anxiety since the moment he'd realised he'd fallen.
While Luka had already dated Marinette, as well as helped Juleka with her feelings towards Rose, he felt like he was entering uncharted territory- the feeling both exciting and terrifying.
After some soul searching and some searching of the internet, Luka opted for a love note, seemed like the safe option, right? After all, if Adrien rejected him, Luka could always deny he wrote it and say somebody forged it. He figured that should surely save him from embarrassment.
It was settled; Luka would be confessing on paper.
.
.
The following weekend, Luka sat on his bed, picking at his guitar, riddled with anxiety. He'd decided to wait for the next rehearsal of Kitty Section to put his plan in motion but time was passing slowly, sending his nerves spiralling. He wasn't even aware of Juleka entering the room to tell her brother the rest of the group is there.
.
.
Much to Luka's surprise, the rehearsal sped by, probably because he'd been watching Adrien play, admiring how his fingers drifted between keys with ease, picking up on the blond's subtle smile each time he added a grace note.
As winter was approaching, the sun was beginning to set earlier and earlier, meaning the parents of Kitty Section had wanted the rehearsals to end earlier than before. Despite this, the member with the strictest parent was still around after everyone had left. Luka approached the boy who was leaning against the rail of the boat, staring out at the water, seemingly deep in thought.
"Hey Adrien."
"Oh, Luka, I didn't see you there."
"This is my house", Luka raised an eyebrow.
This made Adrien laugh awkwardly.
"Oh ahaha yeah, you're right."
'Oh great job, Luka, you've made him uncomfortable', Luka thought to himself, frowning and shutting his eyes as he tried to push away his negative thoughts. What he hadn't expected was to open them to see Adrien staring up at him, wide eyes filled with concern.
"Luka? Are you- alright?"
'Oh god, he's cute.' Luka struggled to keep his blush suppressed. "Yeah.."
Adrien only pouted in response, clearly not convinced. This was not helping Luka's case, and he searched his mind desperately for something to distract him. Then he said
"You haven't been picked up."
Immediately he mentally kicks himself. What sort of conversation starter was that? He continued his internal berating until he noticed Adrien's pout had morphed into a mischievous grin.
"Well that's simple", the blond began, "I didn't tell my father about the timing change."
Luka felt his heartbeat quicken in tempo as a voice in the back of his mind wondered if Adrien wanted to spend more time with him, he stared at Adrien, mouth a little agape in surprise.
Adrien continued, "The truth is…. Spending time with you all is when I truly feel happy. That's not to say I don't enjoy the time I spend with everyone else, but…"
He pauses, unsure where to go next. Adrien smiles softly at Luka, "I like the atmosphere here."
…
"Luka, are you listening?"
Luka nods quickly, even if Adrien was paying compliments more to his home than to himself, he still took the comments to heart. In fact, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that at first he forgot to voice his response.
"Of course, I was just thinking, I'm sorry."
"Is there something bothering you? You can talk to me if you'd like."
"Oh, no. I-It's alright."
That caught Adrien's attention, since when did Luka stammer? He was always so calm and collected. The blond was saddened, perhaps he didn't know his friend as well as he thought he did.
"Actually", Luka started up again, becoming aware he could use this as a way to start his plan, "you're right. I didn't want to talk about it at first because, I suppose I'm embarrassed? I don't usually talk to people about these sorts of things, y'know?"
Adrien's gaze softened with understanding, "I won't judge you, I promise."
The older boy nodded, "thank you. The thing is I…. I've been planning on confessing to somebody–"
Adrien gasps, interrupting, "really?! That's great! I'm so happy for you! Do I know who it is? I'm so happy for you!"
Luka tries to laugh his nervousness away.
"So, how are you confessing?"
"What?"
"Tell me how you're confessing! … Unless you didn't want to, I understand." Adrien smiled at Luka, hoping he hadn't made him uncomfortable.
Unbeknownst to Adrien, the boy had just made Luka's plan way easier. From his jacket pocket, he retrieved a small card, holding it up in the fading light to show Adrien. It was heart-shaped, the sort of thing you'd expect to see in shops around Valentine's Day, only the timing of the year would suggest it was handmade, or bought many months in advance.
Adrien ogled it with a small tinge of jealousy that he'd love for somebody to go through the effort of making a card, not buying the same cheap thing everyone else did, or in some cases even got somebody else to get on their behalf. He wasn't sure just how long he had been staring at it before Luka tucked it back in his jacket and began to explain how he was planning his confession, though in truth Adrien wasn't listening.
"And that's it."
It wasn't until Luka finished his careful explanation that Adrien was aware he hadn't been listening, but instead of admitting that, he nodded. Before anything more could happen, a grey car rolled up to the houseboat, honking to announce its appearance.
"Oh! That's me", Adrien said, "good luck with your confession Luka! Whoever it is will be happy to be with you!"
Luka smiled a little at that, as he watched Adrien get into his car. He wondered how long it would be before the blond noticed he'd–
The car came to an abrupt stop for Adrien to rush out, flustered and apologetic.
"I forgot my bag", he explained, grinning nervously.
Luka passes it to him, outwardly relaxed despite his quickening heartbeat as he sees the card through a gap in the zip.
He stood there a little while after Adrien left, the cold stillness of the night beginning to chill the boy. There'd be no going back now.
[Author's Note;
Hi there and thanks for reading the first chapter of my first ever Miraculous fanfic! I'm not a big fan of putting author's notes in stuff, so I'll get what I need to say out of the way now, and you won't hear from me again til the end.
I won't be uploading this on a schedule and I won't be giving myself deadlines to update on. I'll write and update when I want to, so please don't ask me to be quicker. Also, I have a personal life and other obligations, I hope you'll be understanding of that.
With all of that out of the way, I thank you again for reading, hope you enjoyed the story so far, and hope you'll stay around! (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧*。]
