9. Heartbreak and A Lullaby

"I can do this." You took a deep breath as you pulled on your jacket and glanced in the mirror.

Your phone was clutched tightly in your hand, the nerves of the day before you were creeping in. You flipped your phone over to check the time, seeing that if you didn't leave at that moment, you were going to be late.

"Shit."

The whole adventure down the stairs consisted of you grumbling to yourself, an attempt at convincing yourself not to go.

You knew it was a bad idea the moment the plans were made...but you were drawn to the idea more than you'd like to admit.

"Good morning sweetie!" Your mom called from the kitchen, serving eggs to Marinette. The two of them looked surprised to see you fully dressed and ready to leave the house. Your mom motioned for you to sit in the place next to Marinette and you forced out a smile as you shook your head.

"I have plans this morning, could I take a plate to go?" You asked with a soft tone, nervous she was going to insist that you stayed.

She hesitated, but nodded with a sigh, handing you one of your favorite pastries.

"Thanks." You smiled as you ran over and kissed her cheek before waving to them as you left.

The closer you got to the houseboat, the tighter your chest got. The barge was soon in your line of vision and you stood in front of it for a few moments, fiddling with your fingers and trying to catch your nerve.

The idea of writing a song with Luka was very exciting, but it would just be the two of you.

And that was terrifying.

"Hey Y/n!" Luka called, waving from his dock.

You took in a deep breath, hoping to breathe away your flustered feelings. You lifted your hand slightly and smiled. "How are you?" You asked him, feeling incredibly awkward with this greeting.

"I'm good," he was still smiling, "We've got a couple of hours and I have a few ideas. The band is coming by later if you end up wanting to stay and watch us practice." He had you by the wrist and was pulling you towards his bedroom.

The two of you made it in and it was almost the exact same since you had last seen it on the night you met. The only change you noticed was the new picture of Jagged Stone and Luka to replace the poster.

"No way! You met Jagged Stone?" You exclaimed as you pointed to the larger-than-average photo on the wall.

Luka had his hand cupping the back of his neck as he laughed softly. "Yeah, turns out he's my dad." His back was turned to you as he pulled out a spare keyboard.

Your hand fell slowly as you stared at the photo wide eyed. You couldn't believe how casually he said all that.

You cleared your throat and walked over to him. "Do you play?" You questioned him, trying to sound casual, and he shrugged.

"I can play everything."

"Jealous." You grumbled as you took a seat on the stool he had set up behind the keyboard.

Luka sat on his bed with his eyes closed and his guitar laying across his arms. His hand hovered slightly over the strings and he sat there completely silent and still.

You weren't sure what he was doing, but you watched him curiously.

Luka suddenly opened his eyes and looked back over to you. "Did you feel that?" He asked.

You raised an eyebrow at his odd remark, "Feel what?"

"The power of the melody in this room, that's playing between the two of us." His lips curled into the smallest smile and you felt your heart drop at the comment.

"What's wrong?" He asked as his smile dropped.

You lifted your shoulders in a simple shrug. "I don't really know." You lied.

"You have that same look that..." he stopped himself and you lifted your head with a slight tilt. You clearly wanted to know and he felt horrible for even beginning to think that out loud.

"That..." you spoke with drawn out syllables and he sighed.

"That Marinette has when she thinks about or sees Adrien." He whispered and you snorted.

"Isn't that look more like a combination of a gremlin and a puppy?" You asked with an innocent expression which threw Luka into a laughing fit.

"Yeah I guess you're right about that one." He tried to mimic the expression she always makes, but it just seemed too out of character for him to appear accurate. His attempt sent you into your own fit of laughter, and you missed the way his eyes softened at your elated state.

He smiled softly, "You're cute when you laugh." His voice was quiet but he immediately clamped a hand against his mouth, signaling to you that he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Your laughter stopped rather abruptly and your expression was laced with surprise. "Thanks." Your voice was almost a whisper and Luka cleared his throat as the two of you nervously readjusted your positions where you were sitting.

"What were you thinking about writing?" You asked him and his lips shifted into a mischievous grin.

"A song, dummy."

You rolled your eyes, having no idea he could be so playful, let alone teasing. His calmness towards it was almost irritating. "I meant what should it be about?"

"I was thinking heartbreak." His face was stoic and you nodded your head as you let out a breathy laugh.

"What?" He questioned, confused by your response.

"I feel like all the two of us ever think about is heartbreak." You spoke and he stiffened.

"Well uh...it's just been a center point of my life for so long."

You nodded, noticing his uncomfortable expression. "Mine too." Your words eased his tension almost immediately.

"Who broke your heart, Y/n Dupain-Cheng?" He asked with a lazy smirk on his face. He knew you had it rough, but with your tough exterior you always tried to put out, you made it seem like those barriers you had were impenetrable.

That was unless you were having a breakdown, and he had witnessed a few of those so far.

You sighed, leaning your head back as you gripped the round edges of the stool you were sitting on. "Want me to pull out my detailed list?" Your lazy grin almost mimicked his smirk.

Luka chuckled softly. "No, but I feel like if we talk about heartbreak then it will make the song writing process much simpler."

You sighed because you knew he had a point. "Well what do you want first? Romance, family, or loneliness?"

"Well of course I want to know everything...but I have to admit the romance option is very intriguing." There was humor dancing around in his eyes and you couldn't remember on the spot if you had even told him about your history of feelings for Adrien.

Well, history is a term you use

"Well, I was in love with Adrien for a long time." You whispered and the expression on his face never changed. He simply nodded and remained on his bed, clutching his guitar.

You gulped as you continued on, "Him and I have always had a close bond. He always tries to remind me that I belong here when I'm questioning it the most. I-"