AN: Rewatching Desperada made me think of a "Seven Minutes In Heaven" style scenario for Luka and Adrien in that scene. After writing it, I felt like adding more, about what happens after, about how that changes things. By now, the outline for this 'ficlet' grew pretty extensive, several additional chapters already written as the first draft. This story will have short chapters and it won't be as heavily edited or beta-ed as some of my other stories.

. o O o .

"You can hide here. It's a bit tight for the two of us. I'll go in another one."

"Okay. See you lat—"

The sound of an explosion echoed toward them, then Desperada's voice made both Adrien and Luka freeze in place. "Where are you, little guitar boy? Come here so I can show you what a real musician is!"

"There's no time," Luka hissed. He pulled Adrien into his locker and closed the door.

Not a second too soon, as it turned out.

With a loud BOOM!, the door to the maintenance room flew open and Desperada strolled in. "There's no point in hiding," she called, her voice echoing through the tunnels outside as her eyes scanned the entire room. "I'm going to find you anyway."

Adrien held his breath, hoping the supervillain wouldn't spot them.

"Where are you?" she said, quieter this time, almost as if only to herself. Her footsteps—though not overly loud—were like thunder as she sauntered into the room, forboding, threatening.

Luka's hand on his arm trembled, holding on so tight that his fingers dug into Adrien's muscles. But the pain barely registered in his mind, his body tense with anticipation.

With a shrill creak, Desperada opened the door to the locker, and Adrien pressed his eyes shut. It was over, it was over, it was—

But it hadn't been the door to their locker but instead the one two doors to their right instead.

"Bah!" Desperada yelled. "Where are you?"

She opened more doors, moving away from their hiding spot.

"Gah, this is pointless!" she snarled. "These are too small, anyway. But I will find you, you hear me?" she shouted. "Nobody will escape me!"

With an angry stride, she left the room, throwing the door shut with a loud BANG!

With wide eyes, Adrien and Luka stared at each other. That had been damn close. Too close, in Adrien's opinion. If she'd found them...

"Do you think she's gone?" Luke whispered, but Adrien quickly shook his head.

Quiet! he mouthed with no sound. He knew all too well how much the powers of the Kwamis could enhance one's senses. The chances of Desperada still being in hearing range were far too high.

For several minutes, they stayed where they were, unmoving, trapped, waiting. Time for their heartbeats to calm down. And time to realise just how physically close they were to each other. Luka's hand on his arm had loosened by now, not holding him quite as tightly as before. But really, that hadn't been necessary, anyway. Aside from their faces, which had a few cm between them, their bodies were aligned chest to toe with barely any spare room left on any side. He could feel Luka's breath on his face, felt his warmth radiating through their close, even felt his heart beating against his own chest.

The realisation made Adrien blush. Even with how awkward the situation was to him, he couldn't exactly say that he felt uncomfortable. Even though he was quite open with proclaiming his love for Ladybug… He couldn't deny that he liked Luka, too.

Ever since their first meeting all those months ago, he'd felt this connection to the other boy. They were similar in so many regards, their love for music and for justice only being two examples. And yet... With that dreamy smile and relaxed attitude, he was just what Adrien sometimes wished for to balance his own chaotic life. And those hands! During countless meetings for band practice, he'd watched those hands as they created sounds both beautiful and soft or loud and powerful. And he loved it all. Oh, how often had he dreamed of what those hands could do when not playing a guitar? Hidden in the depth of the night, thoughts such as these were his guilty pleasure, his crush on Luka something he hadn't been quite ready to admit even to himself yet. But here now they were, feeling every part of the other's body and… and the further Adrien spiralled down that road in his mind, the warmer and more nervous he felt.

He had to get out before Luka noticed anything!

"I think it's safe now," he murmured, leaning his head to the side as if to peer through the slits in the door when really all he did was try to get some space between them. "I think I should…" Adrien trailed off, his mind too messy to form words. As he'd turned, their bodies had moved as well, the changed angle meaning Luka's breath now caressed down his neck. The sensation made him shiver, his cheeks blushing, and robbed him of every coherent thought.

But what was almost more distracting was the noise Luka made. A low grunt had escaped the other boy's throat, a sound like… like hopeful wanting, like a repressed wish. Had their involuntary closeness affected Luka in the same way as Adrien? Was he… feeling similar?

One glance back into Luka's eyes told him… Yes! Yes, he did.

"Don't go out there," Luka murmured belatedly. "It's too dangerous. Let Ladybug and Chat Noir handle this."

Right! Ladybug needed him! He had to—

A shiver ran down his spine when Luka moved. It was subtle, just shifting his weight from one foot to the other, but it was distracting enough to wipe all worries from his mind. Ladybug was gone for the moment, probably to get an additional Miraculous from Master Fu. He had a few minutes until she'd come back.

"You should... stay here. It's not safe out there."

Luka's voice was barely more than a low rumbling now. Like the purr of a cat. Adrien wanted to hear more of it.

He barely noticed how Luka leaned in, his face now even closer than it had been before. There was a hazy gleam in his eyes, his lips slightly parted. And he didn't think. There was no moment when he made a conscious decision, no point where he chose one way over the other. The kiss just happened, their lips finding each other without guidance, inevitable like the flow of time and fate.

Luka's moan against Adrien's lips was heartfelt, deep. True. Adrien couldn't help but fully melt into the kiss, his lips softer and warmer than he'd ever expected as they glided against each other, yielding and pressing. Perfect.

It took only seconds before their bodies followed, moving together within the limited space of the locker. It felt so good, Luka's hand grabbing at his shoulder, the other cupping his face. Nothing else mattered anymore, not the supervillain, not saving Paris, only this moment, chasing this sensation of bliss and connection. Nothing, except…

"No!"

Adrien turned his face to the side, away from Luka and his all-too-tempting lips. There was nothing Adrain wanted to do more than go on, his buried crush on the older boy rising and blooming at record speed. But still, there was one thing, one person, one reason to hold back…

"Why?" Luka's voice was just a low murmur, but he still sounded… Lost? Hurt?

Adrien pressed his eyes shut. He didn't want to hurt Luka. But no matter what, he had to be sure about one thing, first.

"It's… Marinette. Aren't you two together?"

That's what Kagami had implied earlier, at least. And if there was one thing he would never—no, could never do, then it was going behind Marinette's back and hurting her.

Luka, however, just let out a low and almost pained chuckle. He murmured something, so low that not even Adrien could understand him, but he thought he heard the word irony. Then Luka shook his head, his hair brushing against Adrien's cheek and forehead. "No, Marinette and I are not a couple. And I'm not with anyone else, either…?" He trailed off, his words almost sounding like a question at the end.

This time, Adrien took a moment to think, to accept and embrace the truth in Luka's words. If he wasn't with Marinette or anyone else, then there was no reason to hold back.

His lips found Luka's before he'd even fully turned his head, like a magnet, as if they belonged together. This time, their kiss couldn't be put off as a coincidence or accident. It was intentional, honest, and somehow, that changed everything. A sensation like lightning ran over Adrien's skin and down his spine, alerting all his nerves and senses at once. The scent of hair dye and Luka's cologne, his low groans from deep within his chest, a trembling hand on his waist, and the taste of his lips against his mouth. Luka was everywhere around him.

Adrien gasped when he felt Luka's other hand in his hair. His fingers carded through the strands, tugging lightly as his fingertips glided along his scalp, soft like when he played one of his heartfelt melodies. It felt so good! Adrien moved without prompting, without thinking, without guide or reason. It was pure instinct that made him reach up to burry his hand in Luka's hair in the same manner, bringing their bodies closer, chest against chest. He found himself wishing for even closer contact, for feeling skin on skin, and curled his other hand around the back of Luka's neck.

Luka grunted, surprised by Adrien's intensity, but didn't need any further invitation. His lips parted, his tongue poking out to caress over trembling lips, and Adrien found his own mouth opening as well without having to think about it. It just all felt so good, so right. As if they melted together without effort.

Their kiss grew more and more intense the longer it lasted, hands clutching, pulling closer, exploring what they could within the limited space they had. Pride blossomed in Adrien's chest as his tongue stroking the roof of Luka's mouth drew a deep moan from the older boy. He had no practice in kissing anyone beyond simple kisses he'd performed for the camera. But with Luka's soft guidance and how naturally it felt to be with him, it was easier than he'd thought. Effortless. Wonderful. Amazing!

Adrien trembled at the sheer intensity of it all, and for a moment, nothing outside of this locker mattered anymore, the world beyond their intimate bubble non-existent.

"Luka!" he gasped, his mind clutching at that single shred of reality.

Luka groaned, and for an endless heartbeat, he clutched at him even tighter. But then he let go, their lips parting, and they rested their foreheads against each other.

"Adrien…"

Luka's voice was just a whisper, so soft that Adrien felt its caress deep in his heart.

It took long for them to catch their breath, heads resting against each other. Many minutes passed without another word or even a movement. Slowly, Adrien's relaxed state turned into restlessness. He had a job to do, responsibilities. And yet… He couldn't bring himself to either regret or to do something about their situation. He felt too comfortable cuddled into this embrace with Luka, but also so confused. What… what had just happened? The situation was strange, surreal, and he needed more time to make sense of it.

"Is this some Akuma-induced dream?"

It took Adrien a moment to realise that Luka had spoken those words. It could have just as well been an echo of his thoughts. Then he grunted in surprise.

"You'd dream of… this?"

At Adrien's question, Luka pulled away, as far as he could in the limited space at least, and turned his head away. Adrien was sure that if there was more light, he'd see a blush on the older boy's cheeks.

"Uh… maybe?"

Adrien processed this reply. For him, this had been like one of his dreams. One of the secret ones, the hidden ones, the ones he hadn't yet been courageous enough to admit even to himself. But they had been real nonetheless.

"I… don't think this was because of an Akuma," he said quietly, then added with all his courage, "At least I hope it wasn't."

. o O o .

AN: Mmmhhh... where could this possibly lead them? O:)