#luxyweek

[daily-miracuclass]

[#140] and he looked at me and I looked at him

for @luxyweek and the APS server Kwami Swap AU by @chataclysmes and Monster AU by @bugaboo-n-bananoir

[emsylcatac]

LuXY Week, day 3: Style Swap

My wee participation for @luxyweek​ with a traditional drawing haha

...Yeah XY may keep his hair half purple for quite some time afterwards

[lllluka]

A LUXY Conversation with a Debatable Amount of Eye Contact

Been doing assignments and exams all week, so I’m doing all my LUXY week content late. Here’s my day one (on day 5 lol). ‘Eye Contact’. @luxyweek .

This is the same Universe as: 

1. ‘THIS IS WHY XY ISN’T ALLOWED TO WEAR SHIRTS WITH TEXT ON THEM’ - A comedy oneshot about a shirt selection gone awry. 

2. ‘ ONESHOT ’ - In which Bob Roth and Anarka Couffaine are now ‘drinking buddies’ and XY stays over on the houseboat. Luka hates him. Luka hates him SO much. 

3. ‘THIS IS WHY LUKA SHOULDN’T LOSE HIS MIND AND COOK DINNER’

 - A chaotic comedy/unique horror crack-scenario from the POV of a 26 y/o Marinette.

From start to finish this experience had been living Hell for Luka, and as more and more time passed by, Luka began to mirror his feelings about this whole ordeal with his body language; leaning on doorways, brooding, with his arms folded- sitting near Bob and his mother as they attempted to play poker on the deck, with his guitar, but ONLY electing to ‘tune’. At some points it seemed as though Bob was about ready to say something in reaction to his purposeful intermissions, but Anarka somehow managed to grasp the old man’s attention back whenever his moustache-endowed lips begged to open.

The worst part about Bob and Anarka hanging out so much recently, wasn’t even the presence of the producer in his home space. For the most part, Bob just minded his business and didn’t really acknowledge Anarka’s adult live-in son. It was Bob’s OWN live-in son that was actually the problem, and this was specifically because the SOB (Son of a Bob) had not only brazenly stolen his band’s music, pissed off his former love, AND gotten him Akumatized on multiple occasions, but was now rubbing his decorated fingers all over Luka’s equipment. He figured, save from physical violence, the best he could do was try to drive the company away at the source, hence the live tuning entertainment, but… there was apparently no budging.

One particular night, after playing the same four-note riff about a quarter of a thousand times, Luka begrudgingly picked up his guitar and headed downstairs to call it a night. Now, as much has he’d been worried about XY snooping about and digging through his equipment, it hadn’t occurred to him until now just what an inattentive, easily distractible person could do to his bedroom. The air was suddenly deathly quiet, as his footsteps creaked the pastel floorboards, body allowing for an involuntary shudder as he approached the poorly-designed door handle to his bedroom. After hefting the majority of his bodyweight into it, he opened the door.

Luka just about had a heart attack when he realised XY was not there. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He worked out how to turn the doorhandles? He’d just figured Xavier was too stupid to consider turning it with both hands. So much for that, it’s not like that guy could not be trusted on such a delicate vehicle-slash-home. God forbid the asshole got into the controls or sunk the boat.

It was definite. He had to be found, and that was not an action Luka had voluntarily elected for in the past. Though there was an extreme sense of urgency, Luka, of course, did not forget to stop and gently tuck his guitar under the sheets of his bed—leaning over once the instrument looked cosy, to kiss it good night. The strings rung out in tangy appreciation, and that’s how he knew he did a good job. God, he’d make a great father- but that was a thought for later. NOW, at least, he should probably redirect his attention to finding the hidden celebrity.

Just as he rammed back through the door, he saw the guy. Xavier was just standing there, staring blankly, with a half-eaten cup of noodles in one hand, and chopsticks in the other.

“What are you looking for?” He inquired, twisting more noodles onto his chopsticks. Luka stared egregiously at the man, first thinking ‘he’s eating my food’, and then ‘he can use chopsticks??’. He would have figured, with the guy being XY and all, he would have just mistaken them for, like, rectal thermometres or something. …You know, after consideration, he should probably start hiding everything that a second-grader wouldn’t recognise. Especially eating utensils.

“You.” Luka replied cautiously, a hand lingering on the doorframe. To be honest, he was still completely spun from the situation, and watched at half-attention as XY continued slurping up the ‘dles.

“That’s sweet. Want an autograph?” After blowing out the steam of his last bite, XY pecked an air kiss in Luka’s general direction, although his eyes were still fully focal on the food. It irritated Luka a lot, that the guy didn’t even have the decency to look him in the eye when he mock-kissed at him. Like, really. Where is the etiquette? Didn’t XY learn this in bully school? Luka bit the inside of his cheek for a moment.

“No thanks, I’m fine.” The words were civil, the tone was tense. It at least earned a double-brow raise from the disk jockey, but still no eye-contact.

“You know,” Xavier began, “you’re really mean to me.” Luka was more than taken aback. He had never been called mean in his LIFE. Not by anybody, and not at any point. He felt his flesh freeze under his skin, stomach wobbling with tense anxiety. The worst part about it was that he couldn’t even say that it was untrue. He’d been nothing but a jerk to XY since he’d gotten there, and even before. …Maybe they had some old beef, and he didn’t care for Xavier’s taste, but… he had to admit, out of the two of them, the guy had been pretty civil this whole time.

‘Oh God’, Luka realised. ‘The asshole might have been me all along’. It was physically nauseating to him, and he struggled to find anything to say. All he could do was stare intensely at the guy.

At the silence, Xavier finally lifted his gaze, double-taking-in Luka’s stunned face with pleasure.

“See! You totally know it too! I knew I wasn’t wrong!” He seemed delighted to have struck a chord (haha). Luka swallowed, shaking his head through throbbing confusion.

“I’m not mean.” It was the only thing he could think to say, though it was tense, almost like a question. XY nodded, getting through another mouthful of noodles.

“No, I know. I didn’t say you were mean, I said you were mean to me.” He elaborated, moving to rest his shoulder on the doorframe, next to Luka’s hand. “And because I know that you’re, like, this SUPER goody-goody guy to everybody else, it’s kinda, like… twice as mean that you’re only being like this to me.”

The shock didn’t fade in Luka, but the already-seated distaste for XY caused him to swallow the guilt for a singular moment. “I’m just being myself. It’s pretty hard to get me to dislike somebody, but, yeah, someone being amoral is one of the things I can’t stand.” …He couldn’t forget. XY was worse, and in action. He was a thief, and a liar, and a senseless egotist who didn’t care about music, or other people. “You’re the one who’s… mean.”

Xavier didn’t flinch. His voice fluttered away, casual as can be.

“Yeah, I’m mean, but I’m not mean to you.”

The polar opposite of Luka, apparently. …And yeah, maybe there was a point there. He’d been suspiciously tame around Luka, despite being incredibly judgemental of everybody else. No where near what Luka had anticipated when he’d found out he’d be in the presence of XY again.

He wondered why that was.

“…Yeah, but why?” Well, that was an easy way to coax an answer. Maybe he was just too lazy to fight with him, or… maybe XY was, like, in love with him or something, like that lady that kept ordering pizzas at his last job.

He scrunched his face at the thought.

XY shrugged, draining the cup of its broth and then moving to place it on a barrel within arms-reach.

“That’s not an answer.” Well, not really. At least not one that satiated Luka’s curiosity. With a pained sigh, Xavier waved his hands back and forth like he was using his hands for invisible pinball. He seemed to be considering his reasoning.

“…I don’t know, dude. I just don’t feel like that toward you. …I mean, it’s not you, it’s me. I just need a little time to focus on myself-“

“You don’t feel... mean toward me? Wh---Are you using breakup lines?” Luka stared incredulously. A light in XY’s mind popped, and bright realisation appeared on his face.

“Oh, shaa! I guess I was just copying my old convos.”

It took all of Luka’s willpower to not slug XY right in the face. His fists balled, but he let out a long breath. One of these days, he really should to get back into meditation, lest he be in jail for hot-blooded murder due to some rage fit.

“…XY-“

“It’s because I respect you.”

Luka paused, opening his eyes to meet a strong blue gaze from the other artist.

“What?” Wire-pitched numbness took over the fuzz in the guitarist’s head.

“Your music, and stuff. …Like, it was good enough for someone like me to draw inspiration from.” XY shrugged once again. ‘Inspiration’, yeah, right. He tried that line years ago as well, if he recalled correctly. …Still, there was something weirdly flattering about it.

“Oh.” Thanks. Say thanks, Luka. “………What the fuck.”

That wasn’t it. …But still, the unexpected reaction made XY laugh out loud, chuckling hysterically in waves that he evidently couldn’t contain. Luka watched blankly at his reaction, his neck feeling itchy all of a sudden, and his face very red- a reaction surprisingly hard to evoke within him.

When he watched XY straighten his posture and finally wipe the tears from his eyes, a smile of his own peeked out, but soon faded to neutral in stubbornness; a natural response, whenever Xavier made eye-contact.

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: G

Summary: While Luka is throwing out his Jagged Stone merch, he and XY have a heart-to-heart in a dumpster.  Takes place after the episode "Truth."  For @luxyweek 2021

Word Count:  1,594

XXX

Rebuilding a whole personality wasn’t fun, to say the least.  

No.  No, he was sick of saying the least.  Rebuilding his personality sucked.

This whole freaking week sucked.

Luka swept his guitar pick collection into a plastic trashbag.  He tried not to flinch as Jagged’s face seemed to wink at him as it tumbled in.  He grit his teeth, but kept going.  This was no time to lose his nerve.

The old Luka took what everyone gave him.  The old Luka kept waiting.  Waiting, waiting, waiting for things to change.

For Marinette to love him back.

For Mom to tell him the truth.

For Jagged to follow through on his promise.

Jagged wasn’t going to call.  They weren’t going to make a song together.  Luka didn’t want to, not anymore.  He didn’t want to be his dad’s—his backup guitarist.  

He squeezed the neck of his guitar, but set it back on his bed.  Maybe he’d never pick it up again, but it wouldn’t go in the dumpster.  Jules would kill him if he threw out a perfectly good instrument like that.

Jules.  She was taking all this in stride—she said that she was used to being forgotten.  Expected it, really.  Knowing the name of the man who’d forgotten her didn’t change anything.

Then again, Jagged hadn’t looked her in the face and chosen Adrien instead.

That was months ago now, but Luka still seethed at the memory.  Jagged had taken Marinette’s guitarist recommendation like it was gospel—he visited her bakery, praised her sunglasses—but he couldn’t even spare a phone call for his son?

He wasn’t jealous of Marinette and Adrien.  Not really.  But the way Marinette effortlessly connected with his dad… that pain dug in its painted nails, and wouldn’t let go.

Posters crumpled and tossed in the bag.  Vinyls followed.  CD cases, t-shirts… man, he was going to have to get some new clothes.  How had Mom let him fill over half of his closet with Jagged Stone merch, knowing what she did?

He clenched his fists so hard his palms hurt.

This was so, so screwed up.

In the end it took three trash bags.  He hauled them over his shoulders like some kind of grunge Santa Claus.  Mom and Jules weren’t around to comment as he walked the plank back to the street.  Jules was probably at Rose’s house, and Mom… who knew where Mom went when she wasn’t home?  Maybe she was off with some other famous loser, like Bob Roth, or— 

Luka paused a few meters from the dumpster.

“XY?”

He’d recognize that tall troll-doll hair anywhere, even covered in… substances that Luka was better off not knowing.  It also helped that his name was on the giant necklace over his bare chest.  

XY slung his arm over the edge of the dumpster.

“Look, if you want an autograph, you’re gonna have to wait like—oh.”  He blinked at Luka.  “It’s just you.  Well, you can get your own dumpster.  This one’s taken.”

“I—I’m not here for the dumpster?”  He blinked back.  The sight of a shirtless XY dumpster diving… it was enough to shock him out of his spiral of rage.  “I mean, I’m here for the dumpster, but I was—just taking out the trash.  What are you doing here?  ...And where’s your shirt?”

“Didn’t want it to get slimy.  And you know what they say, homeslice.  One man’s trash is another man’s next hit single.”  XY held up a stained pigeon plush before dropping it again.

“Uh… no.  No one says that.”

“Whatever, breadslice!  Just gimme your garbage if you’re gonna be such a hater about it.”

Luka sighed.  What was he supposed to do?  Actually find another dumpster?

“You’ll be disappointed.”  He tossed the first of the trash bags up to XY.  “I know I was.”

XY ripped open the thin plastic and scowled.

“What the heck, man?  This really is garbage.”  He held one of the Jagged Stone shirts up to his chest.

“That’s what I told you.”

“No, I mean—this is the kinda garbage you like, though, right?”

“How would you know?”  Luka frowned.

“Stalked your YouTube after ripping off your music.”  XY shrugged.  “Don’t worry, I didn’t steal anything else.  Dad doesn’t need my help with that anymore.”

Luka shook his head.  He was never going to escape Jagged Stone.  It wasn’t like he could take down all Kitty Section’s music videos, videos where he wore Jagged’s merch, covered his songs…

“You got anything else down there?”  XY called.

“See for yourself.”  Luka tossed the other two bags.  They were both met with groans of disappointment.

“I can’t rip off Jagged Stone.  I already tried that.”

“Don’t bother.  He’s not worth ripping off.”  Luka crossed his arms and leaned against the dumpster.  He was probably getting his hoodie—one of the few pieces of clothing he still owned—dirty, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Huh.  You’re a weird guy, Lu.”

“Says the one who’s waist-deep in a dumpster.”

“Nowhere to go but up then, right?”  XY gave a nasal laugh.  

What was wrong with him?  He was a famous popstar; he shouldn’t be out here sounding happy to dig in the trash.  What else had he said?  His dad didn’t need his help?

“Did you get fired or something?”  Luka asked bluntly.  He might not have Truth’s powers anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get answers.

“Eh.  Or something, I guess.”  XY shrugged.  “Does it count as getting fired if you get permanently replaced with a hologram?”

Luka grimaced.  “Probably.”

“Oh.”  XY was quiet for a moment.  “Then yeah.  I’m fired… but only until I find some real inspiration and show Dad I’m not useless!”

Luka snorted.  He wished he could be surprised, but apparently that was just what fathers in the music industry did.  Threw away their kids as soon as they were inconvenient.

“What!  You saw my cardboard costume!  I made that all by myself, y’know, and I can do it again!”

“Sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you.”  Luka climbed up onto the lip of the dumpster and perched there.  It smelled horrid, but it felt easier to talk to XY face-to-face.  “I just don’t see the point.  Of trying to prove you’re not useless.”

XY snapped one of the Jagged Stone records in half.  Stupidly, Luka still flinched at the sound.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  XY scowled.

“Sorry.  I’m still… everything comes out wrong.”

“No it doesn’t.”  XY pouted.  “Not for you.”

“Now it’s my turn to ask what that means.”

“You can—you just—your music is real!”  XY threw his arms in the air.  “My dad would kill to have a kid like you.”

Luka couldn’t help laughing.  The irony was just too rich.

“Shut up!”  XY threw half of the record at him.  Luka didn’t even have to lean to dodge it.

“Sorry!  I—my dad pretended I didn’t exist!”

XY paused with the other half of the record still poised to throw.  Slowly his arm lowered, until he dropped the broken vinyl to the pile of trash.

“Oh.  Uh.  That’s rough, dude.”

Luka shrugged.  Man, this was awkward.  XY was probably the only one who was too self-absorbed to have seen the news, but Luka took that as a mercy.  It was nice that someone saw him for him, and not as Jagged’s reject.   

“It’s fine.  I didn’t know he existed, either.  Sort of.”  He wasn’t about to explain the situation in detail.

“Huh.”  XY rubbed the back of his already-messy hair.  “We could always swap places.  Parent Trap-style.  You can have my crappy dad, and I’ll beat yours up for you.”

He flexed a bicep, which was surprisingly defined.  Climbing in and out of dumpsters must have done something for XY’s physique.

“Heh.  I’d almost take you up on that, but I can’t stand Bob Roth either.”

XY pursed his lips and nodded.  “Fair, cheeseslice.”

“I preferred ‘breadslice.’”  Luka smiled a little.

“Really?  I’m trying to pick up some new slang.  Y’know, since I’ll probably have to rebrand.”  He flashed his hand sign, then mimed it blowing up.  Complete with dramatic explosion noises.  “You think I’d look good in your old t-shirts?”

Luka’s brow furrowed.  “I thought you said they were garbage.”

“Eh, Dad says I’m an awful judge of quality.”

“Your dad sucks,” Luka said bluntly.  “And so do those clothes.  But, speaking of rebranding… that’s why I’m throwing all this out.  I’m looking for a fresh start, too.”

He couldn’t believe he was saying this to XY of all people, but maybe the popstar was exactly who he needed.  Someone the old Luka would’ve never spoken too.  Someone who, despite everything, understood some of Luka’s pain.

“So if you want to get out of this dumpster… we could go shopping.  If you want.  Get some new stuff.”  He shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal.  As if he had plenty of friends he could go shopping with if XY said no.

A friend.  Did XY even count as a friend?  All they’d done was have one conversation in a dumpster.

“That sounds dope!”  XY beamed.  “I’ve never gone shopping with a real breadslice before!”

Luka blinked before letting out a genuine laugh.  Who would’ve known XY could be so funny?  Maybe this was the real him, the one that wasn’t tied down by his dad’s expectations.  That’s what Luka hoped, anyway.

He held out a hand to pull XY out of the garbage, and into a new chapter in their lives.

[iveofficiallygonemad]

Happy @luxyweek yall! Here r some headcannon based off of Classical Music

-aight so there are some orchestras where they'll play the soundtrack for a movie projected on screen live

- au where luka and xy both work as part of this orchestra, luka as a cello player and xy as the tech guy working w the lights and effects and stuff

- they started off on the wrong foot cuz xy was like "why dyou look like a rocker if ur gunna play orchestra" and luka was like "why dyou look like ur in a boy band if ur gunna be behind the scenes"

- so yeah theyre coworkers who sometimes jab at each other

- but then

- this years movie is star wars

- and luka manages to hear xy talk passionately abt it and explain a buncha his theories for the next episode complete with vreew vreew lightsaber noises

- that week during lunch break a large group of people decide that this Friday everyone who has a lightsaber is gunna bring it

- Luka has two: a purple and a cyan one

- xy brings his entire collection, he's got one in every color and even some of the double sided lightsabers

- so they end up battling it out

- they make eye contact

- its very gay

- xy does a buncha twirls n baddass stuff and lukas faster on his hits

- whenever one of them lands a hit on the other they stop using that limb, like in the game ninja

- long story short after luka got xys leg (hes hopping on one foot) he ends up falling on luka

- for the brief second xy is laying on lukas chest hes like, this is nice but no its not hes Luka

- anyways back to their kind of rivalry, one day xys being an airhead and lukas like, how hard is doing sound and lighting anywayz 🙄

- so xys like plenty hard and shows him all the equipment and gives detailed explanation and lukas like wait this is cool actually

- and then he's like I guess I coukd show u some basic cello stuff so we're even and xys hella excited bcuz music (even if he doesn't play it in this au) is hella neat!

- so he sits and holds the cello and lukas like, aight imma teach u part of the opening theme and xys like !!!!!

- so luka has xy hold his hand at approximately the distance the stickers are when you're first starting out so he's ready for the beginning note. After a lil bit he can do the very start of the opening! Hes very excited about it

- so yeah! Xy decides to go home n learn how to read sheet music, and prints it out and under each note writes down how many fingers hes gotta use

- so the next week he hesitantly asks luka if he can pluck on his cello during their break and lukas like sure?

- so xy pulls out his marked out sheet music and tries to play thru the song. As he gets to the harder parts he goes slower so the tempos off but its definitely Star Wars and when he's done he just grins at luka like :D how was that!

- and lukas kinda suprised/impressed yeah u wouldn't be half bad it u took some lessons and xys like ohoho maybe I will, then ull have some competition >:3

- except rather than it being a jab its more teasing/joking and they realize they are now friends!!

- oh yeah they also bond over Luke being gay and xy tells luka that he was his fave character as a kid xuz he made the death star go KABLAM! When Luka was a kid he liked han solo best but purely because he drove the millennium falcon and little luka loved pretending the Liberty was actually a space ship

[landturtlealyce]

Eye Contact for @luxyweek

A little something I made for @janaikam and @bugaboo-n-bananoir that turned out surprisingly well despite it being my first (and probably only asjdhgf) edit!

ko-fi | redbubble | linktree 

[airi-p4]

Luxy Week

May 24th - Eye contact (v2)

@luxyweek

[janaikam]

30 questions about me

@landturtlealyce thx 4 the tag boo ilysm

name: officially on tumblr jay but the real ones call me janai

gender: u can call me whatever and i will probably responds

star sign: virgo

height: taller than alyce

time: currently 11:44am not sure what time it’ll be once i finish tho

birthday: september 17th

fav band/group: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh probably big time rush and one direction. tbh i dont listen to a lot of new music so i’m very much stuck in the 2000-2010s music range

fav solo artists: ed sheeran, lewis capaldi, sam smith, basically anyone who can make me cry through song

song stuck in my head: currently nothign because its still early and i have yet to listen to music today

last movie: ummm all the way through was probably rise of the guardians (which is so good omg im in love with jack). i did wach most of barbie the island princess at a sleepover but fell asleep before the end (don’t judge me it was four in the morning)

last show: i wanna say a series of unfortunate events was watchin with a fren on discord and we just finished the other day 

when i created this blog: i think i made this thing late 2016 but i didnt really start using it until 2018/19

what do i post: mostly reblogs, every now and again i might post a fic or maybe my attempt at making art

last thing i googled: new york song (it got brought up with friends and i was like jay z is also in that song right? i was right lol)

other blogs: this is my main @luxyweek is where i hosted luxy (luka x xy) week @mlficadoption is the dead page where people can send in fic ideas for others to write if they want @jmajkawrites wow can’t even tag it cause i haven’t posted there, but that is gonna be my writing blog once i finally get it properly set up

do i get asks: sometimes mostly when i’m being a fool on main or i reblog one of those fun ask games. i have a bunch of those pass the love ones that i keep meaning to answer 

why this url: this is just the username i’ve been using all my life so when i first got to tumblr i was like yeah this works

following: 318

followers: 242 (love all y’all)

average amount of sleep: 7-8 hours sometimes more sometimes less

lucky number: 8 no reasoning just 8

instruments: i used to play the piano before i stopped about 2 years ago

what im wearing: ‘pjs’ its really a fancy hoodie dress i got online for very cheap

dream job: man i wanna know this too i really don’t know what i wanna do because i find so many different things interesting. all i know is that whatever i do i wanna be able to work from home for part of it 

dream trip: probably just a trip around east Asia. I’ve already been to Japan and I really loved it and I wanna just explore those areas more because it’s so different from where I’ve traveled before

fav food: oxtail most likely

nationality: american

fav songs: just the way you are - bruno mars, hold me while you wait - lewis capaldi, introducing me - nick jonas

last book: Tale as old as Time by elizabeth braswell. its apart of those twisted fairytale series and it was so good highly recommend reading it

top 3 fictional universes i’d love to live in: 1. the universe of black bird of the gallows by meg kassel(one of my favorite books ever) i know its not THAT different from this world but the myth that is created in the story is so good that i wanna just go there and research and explore it myself 2. the keepers of the essence worlds (another book series ik. it’s by rebekah aman) wonderful world building and there are so many worlds hidden inside i just wanna explore them all 3. uhh stealing from maddy and alyce the world inside of my brain

tagging: @emsylcatac @pawsomelybuggy @iveofficiallygonemad and anyone else (also feel free to ignore the tag)

[ominousunflower]

Crazy Composed: Chapter 1

Written for Day 1 (Eye Contact) of @luxyweek

Fic summary: Luka Couffaine is known for his saint-like composure, but five seconds with Xavier-Yves Roth is enough to make him completely lose his cool. And yet, after the two meet again at Le Grand Paris, they somehow find themselves spending more time together—which either means that something is going on between them, or Luka Couffaine has officially gone crazy. (According to his friends, it’s a bit of both.)

Rating: T Word count: 4545

___________________________________

“Thanks for staying to help,” Marinette murmurs to Luka, as she picks up a macaron with a pair of tongs and sets it on a businessman's plate. “I know you only came to the hotel to make a delivery.”

“It’s fine,” Luka says. Pouring another glass of punch, he smiles awkwardly at the businessman, then sets the glass alongside a dozen others. “You needed help, so I’m happy to be here.”

Normally, Luka would stay as far away from a catering event as possible. These sorts of things are always crowded and cramped, loud with chattering, and he tends to prefer quieter, emptier spaces. But the moment he’d walked into the hotel and seen Marinette off to the side wearing a half-smile-half-grimace, he’d resolved to stay and make her job easier.

So far, nothing too bad has happened. From what Marinette has told him, it’s some sort of business conference, which would explain why everyone is wearing suits and ties. Luka feels woefully underdressed in his hoodie and sneakers, but Marinette has assured him that no one will notice what he’s wearing underneath the apron.

The calm shatters when a familiar magenta-haired woman rushes up to the table, slipping between two people in line.

“Oh, Marinette,” Penny says. “Thank goodness. I thought I saw you down here earlier.”

“Penny!” Marinette says, eyes wide. “Um, what is it? Does Jagged need something?”

“There was a meeting earlier with some music folks. Somehow, Jagged and XY ended up in the same room, and…” Penny sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well, Bob Roth is in another meeting, and neither one of them are listening to me. I assume since you’ve dealt with both of them before…?”

Marinette offers Penny a strained smile. “Say no more! I’ll see what I can do.” She glances at Luka. “Do you want to come? I know you’re a fan of Jagged, but…”

But you got akumatized the last time you spoke to Xavier-Yves Roth and his father. That’s probably what Marinette is too nice to say out loud.

Luka clenches his jaw. “I’ll come with you. Maybe the sight of my face will remind XY to watch himself.” Belatedly, he remembers that Penny is still standing there. He clears his throat. “I’m not going to cause any trouble, I promise.”

Penny just smiles. “I’m sure you two can handle them. Oh, and here—give me that apron, Marinette. I’ll take over while you deal with the problem upstairs.”

Marinette slips off the apron and passes it over to Penny. “What floor?”

“Fourth,” Penny says. “Room 412.”

“Got it.”

Marinette takes off at a sprint toward the elevators, leaving Luka to throw his apron on the table and follow her. They stick to the perimeter of the room, avoiding the crowds of people milling around the center.

“You don’t have to help, you know,” Marinette says, as they wait for the elevator. “I know you and XY aren’t on great terms.”

Luka folds his arms across his chest. He’s used to people thinking that he’s calm and collected, so he doesn’t appreciate the implication that he can’t handle a confrontation with someone who has two letters for a name.

Well, technically it’s just a stage name, but still. How does no one else see how stupid it is?

“I’m fine,” Luka assures her. “I know I didn’t handle things well last time. But I’ve learned from that mistake—I won’t let the Roths get under my skin.”

The elevator dings, and he and Marinette step inside.

Silence falls between them. Now, of all times, Luka is reminded of the fact that Marinette never really responded to his confession. He hasn’t exactly retracted it, and she hasn’t explicitly rejected it, so where do they stand, exactly?

While he’s sure that he still has a crush on her, anyone with half a brain can see that she and Adrien are a perfect match. (Of course, anyone with half a brain could also see that the two of them are probably Ladybug and Chat Noir, so maybe the people of Paris just aren’t that smart.) Luka has a feeling that any romance he starts with Marinette will ultimately lead to her realizing that Adrien is the one for her, and he’s not too interested in being a relationship catalyst.

But Luka is also someone who says what he means, so he’s not going to take back a confession that’s still technically true. Unfortunately, that has resulted in the current awkward silence, where Luka can feel the anxiety rolling off Marinette in waves. No doubt she’s worried that he’ll try to make a move.

Should he say something? No, because what if she’s not thinking that? Then he’ll just seem weird and anxious.

Luka sighs to himself. He wishes that people were easier to understand. Do they really think that his musical talent makes up for the fact that other human beings are a mystery to him? It’s a good cover, he supposes: being able to play a few bars based on a person’s aura, in a smooth way that makes them think he understands them. Why, yes, fellow human, I completely understand you! Listen to this G-major chord! I heard it in your heart.

It’s not a lie, though—Luka does understand emotions. He just doesn’t understand the thoughts that come with them.

Fortunately, Luka’s musings fill up the time it takes to get to Room 412, sparing him from any awkward exchanges with Marinette.

“Yeah, Fang!” an accented voice—unmistakably Jagged Stone’s—yells. “You want this cell phone? Been a while since you had some crunchy technology, huh?”

“Give it back!” another voice whines. Luka rolls his eyes. There’s no question that’s Xavier-Yves Roth.  

Marinette glances at Luka, then knocks on the door.

“Why should I give it back?” Jagged snaps. “You were going to post a picture of me with the caption Ragged Stone. I’m not a has-been! I’m rock-‘n-roll!”

Luka sighs. “Is he always like this?”

“Pretty much,” Marinette says. Her foot taps rapidly against the carpeted floor, and she knocks again. “Uh, Jagged! It’s Marinette Dupain—”

The door flies open, and Luka’s sort-of-idol Jagged Stone is standing on the other side, signature guitar slung over his shoulder. “Marinette!” he says, his accent butchering the r in her name. He grabs her shoulder and shoots her a finger gun. “Great! I’m so glad you’re here. Deux-letters here is trying to harass me with his Instagram or whatever. Do me a favor and keep an eye on him? I’m all fired up now, so I need to get a drink or something.”

“Um.” Marinette leans around Jagged and peers inside. “You didn’t actually feed XY’s cell phone to Fang, did you?”

“Nah. I’ve got it right here. I only destroy my property, you know? I’m not a vandal.” Jagged pulls the phone from his pocket and drops it into Marinette’s hand. Then his eyes fall on Luka. “Oh, hey! You’re Marinette’s guitar friend. Luka, right? Sorry for arguing with your mom that one time. You’ve got talent. We should work together sometime! Any friend of Marinette’s is a friend of mine.”

He pats Luka on the shoulder, then squeezes between him and Marinette. Grabbing his guitar, he starts playing it as he walks toward the elevator, filling the hallway with the sound of rock ‘n roll.

Luka stares after him, slightly dazed. “Did he just say he wanted to work with me sometime?”

“He did!” Marinette says. “And he’ll keep his promise, too. Jagged is a good guy.” She purses her lips and puffs out a breath. “But we’ve got a bigger problem.”

“Right,” Luka says, sighing. “Babysitting XY?”

“And Fang,” Marinette says. “Jagged left him here, and I doubt he and XY get along.”

Grimacing, Luka looks through the doorway at Jagged’s pet crocodile. Fang is lounging on a sofa, yellow eyes fixed on XY, who’s draped across an armchair on the other side of the coffee table. XY looks every bit as infuriating as Luka remembers; his lazy pose makes Luka’s fists clench involuntarily.  

“Stupid crocodile,” XY says, pouting. He grabs a pillow from behind his back and chucks it at Fang.

Fang growls and catches the pillow in his mouth, his large teeth instantly ripping it to shreds. Soon, all that’s left is a few shreds of fabric and stuffing that have fluttered to the ground.

Luka glares at XY. “Why would you throw something at a crocodile?”

XY shrugs. “It’s just a dumb lizard. Hey, are you room service? I want something to eat.”

Luka deeply inhales through his nose, calling on years of meditation to keep himself calm. “No, I…” He trails off as Fang crawls off the couch and starts plodding toward XY. “Uh.”

Marinette presses XY’s phone into Luka’s hand and rushes forward. “Fang!” she says, in the high-pitched way a person might talk to a puppy. “Hey, there! Who’s a good crocodile?”

Bizarrely, Fang stops and almost seems to smile at her. The song “Never Smile at a Crocodile” plays in Luka’s head, and even though he trusts Marinette to handle things, he can’t help but be slightly concerned.

Marinette pats her thighs and beckons Fang toward her, then starts backing toward a door off to the side. “Fang, do you want a bath? Some nice water? I bet that would feel nice. Why don’t we get you in the bath while we wait for Jagged?”

Apparently bath and Jagged are two of the words Fang knows, because he changes course and walks after Marinette to the bathroom.

“That was unbelievably stupid,” Luka tells XY.

“What do you mean?” XY says, waving a hand as he stares at the carpet. He doesn’t even have the decency to make eye contact with Luka when they’re talking. “Your girlfriend’s got it handled. I figured she would.”

“She’s not my—never mind. I’m not talking to you. It will just make me angry.”

Luka folds his arms across his chest and scans the room, waiting for Marinette to finish drawing Fang’s bath. He can hear the sound of running water echoing from the bathroom, though the noise isn’t as soothing as it could be when he knows it’s for a crocodile bath.

“How am I making you angry?” XY asks. “I’m just sitting here.”

It’s the WAY you’re sitting, Luka almost says, before he realizes how dumb that sounds. Instead, he just shrugs and stares at what little he can see of the bathroom through the open door. All he can make out is Marinette’s shoe and a giant crocodile tail, but it’s better than looking at XY’s face.

“Hey, can I have my phone?” XY asks.

“Why are you asking me?” Luka snaps.

“Because you’re holding it?”

Luka glances down at his hand, where sure enough, he is holding the phone Marinette gave him. The case is covered in some sort of obnoxious bling that makes Luka’s eyes burn. “Oh. Sorry.” Luka crosses over to XY’s chair and holds out the phone. “Here.”

XY grabs it from his hand without looking at him. “Thanks.”

Immediately, XY’s phone starts beeping, and a second later, an alarm tone goes off on Luka’s own cell phone. He digs it out of his pocket and sighs.

“What was that?” Marinette asks, running out of the bathroom with water dripping from her hands.

“Akuma alert,” Luka says flatly.

If his suspicions are correct, he knows exactly how this is about to go.

Marinette squeaks. “I, um—have to—macarons! Penny has no idea how to hold the macarons, and I…need to…go teach her.” She sprints across the room and pauses in the doorway, shifting from one foot to the other. “I’m really sorry, Luka. I hate to leave you two—”

“Go ahead,” Luka says, trying not to sound too resigned. “I know the…uh, macarons are important.”

With a nod, Marinette runs into the hallway and pulls the door shut behind her.

Luka wanders across the room to glance out the ornate hotel window. From this spot on the fourth floor, he can see part of the Place des Vosgues, along with some familiar houses and stores.

As he looks outside, though, he can feel eyes on him. It’s hard to describe—similar to when he senses a person’s mood—but someone is definitely staring at him.

Praying that it is not a hungry crocodile, he slowly turns around.

XY’s blue eyes are fixed on him, staring out from beneath his ridiculous blond hair. His brow is creased ever so slightly, almost with an expression of trepidation. But, well, why would XY be afraid of Luka? Luka’s the one whose career could be ended in an instant by XY’s capricious father. Luka doesn’t have the power to do anything to XY.

Luka stares back, hoping that XY gets the message. Don’t mess with me or my friends.

XY nods slowly and goes back to fiddling with his phone.

Luka’s fingers itch for his guitar, but of course, he didn’t bring it with him, since he thought this would be a quick delivery stop. Mirroring XY, he pulls out his own phone and pulls up his contacts. Surely there’s someone he can text to pass the time…

Adrien Agreste’s name stares back at him from the top of the list. Luka considers it—Adrien is pretty fun to talk to, and would definitely sympathize with Luka’s current plight—but then he realizes that if Adrien is Chat Noir, he’s probably busy fighting the akuma right now.

XY clears his throat. “Uh, you play bass?”

Luka scrolls further through his contacts, because surely XY isn’t talking to him. But when he glances up, XY’s eyes are fixed on him again.

“Me?” Luka says. “I play guitar.”

“Right,” XY says. “That’s the one with six strings.”

Luka barely resists rolling his eyes. “Yeah.”

XY doesn’t respond, so Luka goes back to his phone. He pulls up the Ladyblog and skims it for updates: apparently the akuma is some sort of food-themed monster stomping throughout the city, and Ladybug has yet to summon her Lucky Charm. Based on past data, Alya has projected the battle to last twenty minutes, and advises civilians to stay inside to avoid being trampled.

Really, though, wouldn’t it be better outside? XY isn’t outside. Luka will gladly risk getting crushed by an angry hamburger man if it means escaping this awkwardness.

“And you, uh,” XY says. “You’re in that cat band?”

Luka sighs, keeping his eyes on his phone. “Kitty Section, yeah.”

He braces himself for some taunt about the name—which Luka will fiercely defend, because cats are excellent, thank you very much—but instead XY just says, “Oh, that rings a bell.”

“It should,” Luka says, gritting his teeth, “since we’re the band you and your father stole from.”

“Stole is kind of harsh,” XY says. “I prefer inspired by.”

Luka glares at him. “Is that a joke?”

XY shrugs.

“Have you ever had an original musical thought?” Luka asks, before he can stop himself.

To his frustration, XY gives another shrug. “Eh. Everything’s unoriginal, you know?”

Technically, that’s true, and Luka would agree if the phrase was coming from an actual artist. But it’s coming from XY. Scowling, Luka says, “There’s a difference between unoriginal and plagiarized, you know.”

In Luka’s head and in front of his bathroom mirror, he’s played out this scenario dozens of times, and in those imaginary conversations, he has said much more insulting things to XY. Of course, Luka would never actually say any of those cruel things…but XY is testing his patience.

When he thinks about it, though, XY hasn’t done anything wildly offensive today, except make very unwanted small talk. And that’s infuriating in its own way. Luka wishes he would do something bad, so that his irritation felt more justified.

“Yeah, sorry,” XY says. “I didn’t realize that was illegal.”

“It’s not the illegal part that bothers me,” Luka says. He wonders if he should even bother trying to explain what’s actually wrong. “It’s that my friends and I worked hard on that song, and Marinette worked hard on those costumes, and your father threatened us and undermined our work. But it makes sense that legality is all you two are concerned about. After all, you can’t make as much money if your father is in jail.”

He bites down on his tongue the moment the words are out. Does XY just bring out the worst in Luka? Or does Luka have less self-control than he thought?

“I mean, yeah, we wouldn’t want to get sued,” XY says. He’s now tossing a TV remote up and down, catching it with one hand. He won’t meet Luka’s eyes, which might be for the better; if he did, he’d see Luka’s brief moment of guilt over snapping at him. “Besides, coming up with stuff is hard.”

“So you understand why we were upset,” Luka says slowly.

What, exactly, did he do to deserve this conversation? Is it the fact that he’s flirted with both Marinette and Adrien? Is the universe somehow blaming him for keeping those two apart? Because, if so, that’s wildly unfair. Marinette and Adrien could be the last two people on earth, and they’d still find a way to be oblivious about their feelings for each other.

“You could have been flattered,” XY says. “We thought your stuff was good enough to steal—um, borrow. Or…yeah.”

“Do you even hear yourself?” Luka asks in disbelief.

Maybe XY is wearing noise-cancelling earbuds that Luka can’t see. Maybe that’s how he manages to be so utterly tone-deaf.

“Yeah,” XY says. “Why? Am I talking too loud?”

Luka sighs. “You’re surrounded by music. You perform all the time. You must be able to come up with something on your own.”

Distantly, he thinks maybe he should give up on this conversation. He’s wasting his energy on XY. There are some people who just don’t get it, and this wouldn’t be the first time Luka has exhausted himself for a lost cause. (For instance: trying to convince his mother that maybe some laws are worth following for the public good, and that it might be a bad idea to install actual cannons on the Liberty.)

“Maybe,” XY says with another shrug. Luka thinks his shoulders must be pretty toned from all the shrugging he does. “But why bother, you know? The computers write lyrics and tunes that people like. Guaranteed success. Seems stupid to write my own stuff.”

If success was all that mattered when it came to music, maybe—and for XY and his father, that’s probably the case.

Luka’s curiosity gets the best of him, and he asks, “Have you ever tried to write your own songs?”

“Yeah, once.”

Luka frowns. Is this the set-up for a joke? Is there a punchline? XY doesn’t seem clever enough to set up a joke, given that Ragged Stone was the best insult he could come up with.

XY stops tossing the remote and holds it in his hand, fiddling with the buttons. “When I was eleven, I wrote a few songs and showed them to my dad.” Luka almost asks, Then why didn’t you keep doing that? but XY answers him in the next breath. “He said they were garbage. And I mean, he’d know, right? He’s, like, a music genius.”

Luka has doubts about how much of a music genius Bob Roth is, but he supposes it makes sense that eleven year-old XY would think that. Even now, XY probably conflates success and money with ingenuity.

But Luka’s mind is hung up on one word, blaring in his ears on repeat: GARBAGE.

Luka doesn’t want to have sympathy for XY. Sometimes, people are just rude and nasty, and they don’t deserve Luka’s pity. Unbidden, though, his brain is conjuring up a scene: a little blond kid with less-ridiculous hair, wide-eyed and hopeful, showing his father his songs—only to be told that they’re horrible.

Maybe that’s not how it went down. Maybe XY didn’t care about the rejection. But Luka has a feeling that, deep under XY’s blaisé exterior, he still remembers the pain of being told that his creations were worthless.

Damn it. Now Luka has sympathy for XY.

“That’s ridiculous,” Luka says. He tells himself that he’s just angry on behalf of a fellow musician—because technically, XY is a fellow musician. “I can only imagine if my mom told me that my songs were garbage when I was eleven. I mean, they probably weren’t that good, but—”

“Your songs?” XY interrupts. Luka’s sympathy ebbs, replaced by the irritation he feels every time XY opens his mouth. Luka shouldn’t have mentioned his own music; now XY is going to criticize it, and of course his opinion doesn’t mean anything, but Luka will still be annoyed. “Nah, I don’t believe that. Your music’s good.”

It’s certainly not the most glowing compliment Luka has ever received, and it’s delivered with a shrug—and yet, Luka finds his cheeks warming slightly at the comment. Maybe because he never expected XY to actually compliment someone besides himself.

“Have you…heard my music?” Luka asks.

“Just the one song you played on that broadcast. The one we tried to…” XY trails off, and Luka stares at the side of his head, silently demanding him to finish the sentence. “You know.” Frowning, XY tosses the TV remote onto the sofa where Fang was previously sitting. “At least my dad thought your music was good enough to use.”

Luka winces. “I’m sorry.”

The moment the words leave his mouth, he can’t believe he said them. Did he just tell XY that he feels sorry for him?

“Don’t be sorry that you’re good,” XY says. “He knows talent when he sees it, right?”

“But that’s—that’s stupid,” Luka says, taking a step toward the couch. XY doesn’t look up at him. “Your father should have encouraged your music, or helped you to make it better. He shouldn’t have just—” He growls. “I’m not a big fan of him, so of course I’m not surprised, but that’s still unfair.”

XY tilts his head toward Luka, though he still doesn’t quite make eye contact. “So you’re a fan of me, then?”

“No,” Luka says flatly.

XY nods, seeming unbothered. “Anyway, that’s cool. No one’s ever gotten mad for me. Well, my dad yells at people to make them do things for me, I guess. Does that count?”

Luka resists the urge to facepalm. The way XY says such spoiled things so casually—is this how Adrien feels, dealing with Chloé all the time? Then again, Adrien and Chloé are friends, and Luka and XY certainly aren’t.

Although, if Adrien can be friends with Chloé, does that mean Luka could befriend someone like…?

No. Luka refuses to consider it. He’s not getting involved with someone this rude and high-maintenance. People might think Luka has the patience of a saint, but in fact, he does not. And why would he take XY under his wing, after he and his father tried to screw over Kitty Section? XY’s personal issues aren’t Luka’s problem, and it’s certainly not his responsibility to nurture XY’s creative side.

Xavier-Yves Roth is young, Luka’s conscience says. Of course he makes mistakes. His brain isn’t fully developed yet.

Neither is mine, Luka thinks back. Which is probably why I’m even considering something this stupid.

“You know,” Luka says slowly. “If you…did write another song, and wanted to run it by someone…”

XY is silent for a moment, and then he finally looks up at Luka with a quizzical expression. “You? You’ve never sold albums or topped a chart. You wouldn’t have any useful feedback.”

Ah. Yes. This is why Luka wasn’t going to get involved with XY. Luka sympathized with XY for having his father tell him his offerings were worthless—and then XY turned around and said the same insensitive thing to Luka.

So what if Luka hasn’t topped the charts with an album full of banal, soulless songs? At least he makes music he’s passionate about.

It occurs to Luka that XY isn’t looking at him with scorn in his eyes. He just looks confused, which means he doesn’t even realize that what he just said was insulting.

Since Luka is feeling charitable—and XY’s words are meaningless—he decides to shrug off the comment. “I’m not interested in songs that sell,” Luka says. “I was just offering a second set of ears.”

“Oh.” XY blinks. “I don’t really see what’s in it for me…but, yeah, I guess it could be good practice for you. You know, learning how to work with someone in the industry.”

This is not worth it, Luka thinks. You will gain nothing from helping him.

Be a charitable person, his conscience insists. Do something good without expecting anything in return.

Luka snorts to himself. He’s already helped Ladybug and Chat Noir save Paris several times as Viperion. Isn’t that enough charity for the year?

“What’s so funny?” XY asks.

“Nothing,” Luka says. “I was thinking of something else. I’ll…keep your offer in mind.”

“Sure,” XY says, going back to his phone. “I’m not usually this generous, so, you know—it’s a special offer. I bet a lot of people would be jealous.”

Luka sighs. XY might not know much about music, but he’s certainly talented at infuriating people.

Before Luka manages to think of a response that doesn’t involve scathing sarcasm, there’s a loud knock on the door.

“Luka? XY? It’s Marinette!”

Luka rushes over to the door, checking his phone as he does. According to the Ladyblog, the akuma was defeated about a minute ago.

He opens the door and Marinette runs inside, panting. “Sorry, the, uh—the…”

“Macarons,” Luka supplies.

“Right! Yes,” Marinette says. “But then I got distracted, and, uh—there was an akuma, did you hear? Crazy! I mean, not crazy, because Paris has had a lot of akumas, but, you know…”

“I’m glad you’re back,” Luka says.

Marinette nods, then leans forward and whispers, “How was XY?”

Luka shrugs. “About what you’d expect.”

That feels a bit disingenuous, though. Because XY isn’t quite what Luka expected. Yes, his attitude is infuriating, and he oozes upper-class shallowness—but Luka’s starting to realize that there might be a reason that XY acts the way he does.

Not that Luka intends to stick around long enough to find out.

XY groans and stands. “I guess that lame rock star isn’t coming back for his dumb lizard. You two can watch him. I’m going downstairs to get food or something.”

He crosses the room and brushes past Luka and Marinette without a word. His eyes meet Luka’s as he leaves—and there it is, again, that look of almost wariness.

Then he shrugs and leaves, and Luka and Marinette are alone with a crocodile in a bathtub.

“Thanks for not feeding him to the crocodile,” Marinette says.          

“Yeah, well.” Luka shrugs. “I didn’t want to give my favorite rock star’s pet indigestion.”  

A second later, they hear a grunt and a crack, followed by a tidal-wave splash; and for the moment, at least, Luka’s thoughts of Xavier-Yves Roth are forgotten.

[luxyweek]

LUXY Week 2021

Hello! I’m starting planning for Luxy week 2021. No official dates have been set, but I am taking prompt requests! So please feel free to send them to this blog!

[mari-onberry]

@luxyweek​

Luxy Week Day 4: Collaboration

Read on ao3

Luka is fast to forgive. Sure, XY was the reason he got akumatized, and he was angry for a while about how he had hurt Marinette. But after getting to know the guy, Luka started to realize he wasn’t so bad. He was maybe even nice at times, and as much as Luka hated to admit it, he was actually pretty talented.

So, when Xavier asked Luka to collaborate with him on a new project, he jumped at the idea. Their styles of music weren’t the best match, and he found it a little odd working without the rest of his band, but he was always open to trying new things. The only problem was, the more time Luka spent working on this ‘new project’ with XY, the more he became convinced that he had no real plan in mind. They tended to sit around and talk instead of working on their music.

“So, you and that Mary Anne girl, are you together?” Xavier asked.

“It’s Marinette,” Luka corrected, and then said, “but no, we aren’t. We’re just friends.”

“And you don’t want to be anything more than friends?” He leaned back on the couch, which resided in his parent’s penthouse suite that they had been meeting in recently. Luka wasn’t usually one for such extravagance, but he liked the view. “Because you were pretty overprotective of her that day.”

Luka frowned, and the boy was starting to get on his nerves, which was difficult to do. “I guess I’m just protective of my friends. Plus, it was kind of all your fault.”

That seemed to bruise something inside Xavier, most likely his ego. “Sorry about that,” he said ever so quietly, then jumped up off the couch to hide his vulnerability. “So, any ideas about this song?”

Luka was glad he finally asked. “Actually yeah, I have a few.”

It was obvious Xavier tuned out after that, because it didn't take long for him to interrupt with another rather invasive question. “So you’re not seeing anyone?”

Luka was perturbed by the interruption, but hoped that if he kept answering Xavier’s questions, he would at some point stop asking them. “No, I’m not.”

“It’s just an attractive guy like you--” Xavier stopped talking once he realized what he had said. “I mean, you know. I just thought that you and Marinette were together, since you seemed to like her a lot.” His attempts to backtrack were less than convincing, and it seemed as if he knew this, because he mumbled out some excuse about needing to leave and ran into the other room in a hurry. Luka almost smiled. If it was true that Xavier was attracted to him, that would explain a lot. He followed him into the other room, which he remembered was his bedroom, but Xavier seemed to not want anything to do with him at that moment. “Leave me alone.” He yelled from the other side of the door.

Luka ignored him. “Do you have feelings for me?”

He was completely quiet.

“Because if so, I’d rather use this time getting to know you if we’re just going to procrastinate working on the “project” anyway.” At this point, Luka was convinced there never really was a project. It made more sense that Xavier merely wanted an excuse to spend time with him.

It took him a few moments, but Xavier opened the door a crack. “Getting to know each other?” He liked the idea.

“Well, actually, I already know you pretty well. You’re a whiny, spoiled, emotionally stunted little brat.” Luka joked, and it caused Xavier to shut the door on him again. But he wasn’t finished. “But I’m sure to you I’m just a broody, emotional guy with a guitar. And I’d like to know the real you, no matter how entitled the outside you is.” Luka liked to see the best in people, even those that seemed irredeemable on the outside.

Xavier finally opened the door all the way and stepped out. “Fine. You can come in.”

Luka took the suggestion and looked around Xavier’s room. At first glance, he might’ve merely reinforced his less-than-kind first impression of Xavier. His room was full of posters showing his own face, but as Luka looked closer, he saw hundreds of names signed on one in particular. “Who are all these people?” He asked, pointing at the poster.

Xavier seemed surprised that that was the first thing Luka noticed. He stepped behind Luka and put a hand on the poster, tracing each name with his finger. “Fans. They sent it to me a couple months ago. I’m sure it seems self-absorbed--”

“No.” Luka could actually see below the surface now. He could see the look of pride on Xavier’s face. “There’s nothing wrong with celebrating your own accomplishments, but this in particular is actually quite inspiring. And I can tell you really care for your fans.” He sat on the bed, and Xavier followed suit.

Xavier blushed. “You’re amazing, Luka. How do you just give everyone the benefit of the doubt like that?” Xavier wished he was better at seeing the best in people, or even better at dealing with people in general. Being famous so young wasn’t too great for his social skills.

“It’s hard, sometimes. But people like you give me hope.”

Xavier’s heart soared, and he realized Luka gave him hope too, but in a different way. “To tell you the truth, I do have feelings for you. You’re the first person who ever treated me like a person, you know?” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, wanting to feel something to hopefully counteract the embarrassment he was already feeling.

Luka didn't laugh, though, or even take pity. In fact, he looked just as embarrassed. “You’ve surprised me so many times, I’m almost used to it,” he said, getting up, and Xavier was content with leaving the conversation at that. But it seemed like Luka wasn’t. He stood in front of Xavier, his frame looming a few feet over him. “Can I kiss you?” Luka asked, and Xavier burst out laughing.

When he realized Luka was being serious, his eyes went wide. “You want to kiss me?”

“If you’re okay with it.”

“Well, of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” As soon as Xavier closed his mouth after uttering the last word, Luka kissed him, but it was short-lived. Xavier pushed the other boy off of him.

“Too much?” Luka asked, and Xavier nodded. His heart was beating too fast for his mind to catch up, and it was almost too much even to feel Luka grab a hold of his hand and stroke his thumb across each finger. “That’s okay. How about you tell me more about yourself?”

They spent the good part of two hours in Xavier’s room as he explained every little detail about the objects in his room. Xavier swore he learned more about Luka that day than he shared about his own life.

Photo credits: 

x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x  x

[komorebirei]

Project Repo (Luxy Week) - Chapter 2: Heroics

// Read on AO3 // Written for @luxyweek //

Screams trail down the hall, accompanied by a pattering of footsteps and an unnerving crackle-slither that makes XY’s skin crawl.

He picks up the fox kwami and shakes it. “It’s getting closer, you need to transform me!”

“Hey, stop that!” Trixx glares at him. “I told ya, I can’t. I need to eat! There’s gotta be something—chips, fries, popcorn, something.”

XY scratches his head. “Why do you need food? You’re magic!”

A strange creak precedes the appearance of green and brown under the door to the dressing room—roots and vines warping the wood of the door and causing the carpet to ripple.

“Hurry,” Trixx croaks weakly from XY’s fist.

Read More

[lllluka]

@luxyweek  - day 1 on day 5 bc i’m on a lag <3

look at them!!! idiots!!

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: G

Summary: XY tries to steal Luka's non-existent gym badges.  Instead, they both end up making a new friend.  (For @luxyweek day 3: Pokemon)

Word Count: 2071

XXX

Luka woke up to a stranger rummaging in his bag.

He should’ve known better than to fall asleep in the Pokémon Center, especially in a city as big as Lumiose.  Exhaustion after a late concert was no excuse to be careless.  Even if crime was rarer after the takedown of Team Flare, there were still unorganized thieves around.

Like this idiot who thought Luka was an easy target.

“C’mon, he’s gotta have at least one…” The idiot was mumbling.

Without opening his eyes, Luka slowly moved his hand to his pocket.  He pulled out the one pokéball he had on him.

“Who the heck carries so many metronome items…?” 

While the thief was distracted, Luka pressed the button on his pokéball.  One click, and his Loudred burst free.

“GWAHHHH!!!”  She boomed, and the thief jumped back with a shriek.

“Wh-h-hey!” he stammered.  Luka finally got a good look at him.  Tall blonde hair, tacky outfit—was this some remixed Team Flare grunt after all?  He was wearing purple rather than red, though.

“That’s an, uh, nice dude you got there.”  He eyed Luka’s Loudred dubiously.

“Symphony is a girl.”  He scratched her behind the ear, and she made a low rumble.

“Uh.  Nice babe then.”

Luka snorted.  Why had this thief bothered to stick around?  He thought he’d have run off by now.  Luka really hoped he wasn’t going to have to battle.  Symphony had worked hard enough tonight.

“Why were you looking through my bag?”

“Pshaw, I wasn’t doing that.  Besides, you don’t have anything useful.”

Wow.  This guy really was an idiot.  The Team Flare grunts were never too smart, either.  Just a bunch of kids who got mixed up with the wrong crowd.

Well, Luka was no trainer like the ones who’d busted them up last year.  But maybe he could keep one kid from following down that road.

“What do you count as useful?”  Luka asked.  “Money?  Items?  Pokémon?”

“Maybe Pokémon would be useful, if they’d stop being haters and listen to me.”  The guy crossed his arms and pouted.

“...So you’re not a trainer?”  Luka glanced around the Pokémon Center.  Everyone else was very determined to mind their own business.  Not that Luka needed their help to deal with a guy who couldn’t even use his own Pokémon, but still.  Someone could’ve tried.

“I’m going to be a trainer.  Just as soon as I steal a badge and get this Zorro dude to listen to me.”

Luka raised an eyebrow.  “Zorro dude?”

“Yeah.  Dark type?  Sick red ponytail?  Likes to copy me and make me look stupid?”

He sat up straighter.  “You have a Zoroark?”

That Pokémon was rare enough to border on legendary.  They didn’t even live in the Kalos region.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.”  The guy looked at Luka like he was stupid.

“How did you catch a Zoroark if it won’t even listen to you?”

“Dad gave ‘im to me.  He wants me to get famous here, but it’s harder to fake battles than I thought.”  He sighed dramatically and sunk to the seat next to Luka.

Clearly the ‘get famous’ plan wasn’t working.  Luka had no idea who he was.  At least he was pretty sure he wasn’t a Team Flare grunt, though.

“And you’re telling me this… after trying to rob me… why…?”

“Cause you asked.”

Luka blinked.  “Touché.”

He gave Symphony one last pat, then returned her to her pokéball.

“Traded Pokémon won’t listen to you without badges,” he told the would-be thief.  “And I don’t have any of those, if that’s what you were looking for.”

“Really?  But you look—”  The guy gestured to all of him.  “Y’know.  Cool.  Tough.”

“Thanks? I guess?  I’m just a musician, though.”  He patted his guitar next to him.  It was pretty telling that this guy hadn’t tried to steal that.  “I only battle if I have to.”

“Huh.  Well that’s pretty cool too, I guess.”  The guy shrugged.  “I did Pokémon Contests in Hoenn for a while.  Before I got banned for using holograms.”

Luka raised an eyebrow.  “Any other international crimes you want to confess to?”

“Crashed my boat into a herd of Luvdisc in Alola.  But that was an accident.  How was I supposed to know they were endangered?”

“I was being sarcastic, man.”  Luka shook his head.  “Nevermind.  Come on.”

He stood and hoisted his guitar over his shoulder.

“Huh?  Where are we going?”  The guy trotted after him.

“To catch you a Pokémon.  Before you get yourself kicked out of another country.”

XXX

The stranger’s name was XY.  It stood for Xavier-Yves.  It didn’t sound like an Unovan name, but that was still the least weird thing about the guy.  Maybe that was just a pseudonym.  He probably needed one after all of his criminal acts, accidental or not.

“Alright, XY.”  Luka stood knee-deep in the grass of Route 4.  “You’re going to be borrowing Symphony for this.  Borrowing.  If you run off with her, she’ll suplex you into the ground.”

XY eyed the Loudred next to him.  Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Got it, Mr. Couffaine.”

“Just Luka is fine.”  He sighed.  This was such a weird way to be spending the night after a concert, but it was still better than going home.

“Got it, Mr. Luka.”

Close enough.

“Alright, now follow me into the grass.”

“I can’t do that!  That’s where the Pokémon are!”

Luka rolled his eyes.  “That’s the point.  You’re going to catch one.”

“I thought you were going to catch me one.  Because you’re cool and sexy like that.”

“Flattery’s not getting you out of this.”  Luka grabbed his wrist and tugged him into the grass, Symphony following behind them.

XY squealed again.  “But what if they eat me!”

“We’re on Route 4, dude.  The biggest Pokémon out here is a Skitty.”

“...Those things eat meat, right?”

“No.”  Even if they did, they would probably know better than to eat XY.  They didn’t know where he’d been.

“If I die, you’re paying for my funeral,” XY grumbled, even though he’d already gone off on four tangents about how rich his dad was.  Luka didn’t even bother responding.

Suddenly XY screamed again.  A few Fletching flew out of the red flower patch.  At this rate, they’d never catch anything.

“What is it this ti—oh.”  Luka blinked down at the tiny Pokémon clinging to XY’s ankle.  “It’s just a Flabébé.”

The little girl seemed to have mistaken XY’s socks for a flower.  She was shuddering, cowering against the fabric even as XY tried to shake her off.

“Dude, cut it out.”  Luka gripped him by the shoulders.  “This is perfect.  She already likes you.”

“Y-you think so?”  XY set his foot back on the ground.  The Flabébé tentatively looked up.

“You might not even need Symphony to weaken her.  Here.”  Luka took out a pokéball, but hesitated to hand it over.  “Are you going to take good care of her if I give you this?”

“What gives, man?”  XY snatched the ball.  “You were gonna teach me about catching Pokémon, not about, like, parenting stuff.”

Luka hadn’t thought this through enough before seeing the little Flabébé.  He couldn’t in good conscience condemn her to a life with XY without knowing that he would treat her right.

“Are you staying in Lumiose?  I live at the edge of the city.  I could come check on her.  Just to make sure she’s not giving you too much trouble.”

“I didn’t know you were gonna want joint custody.”  XY smirked.  “But sure, whatever.  Can’t complain if you want to do half my work for me.”

He knelt down and tapped the Flabébé on her head.

“You are just a little thing, aren’t you?”  He let out a nasal laugh.  “How do you feel about me being your new dad?”

“Please don’t say it like that.”  Luka groaned.

The Flabébé fluttered into XY’s palm and nudged the pokéball.  Wow.  She must really have no standards.

“Sorry.  Me and Lu are gonna be your new dads.”  XY grinned.

“Aaaand that’s even worse.”

The Flabébé looked at Luka.  He looked at her.  She looked at him.  He looked at her.

“...I’m not being your other dad.”

Symphony blasted out a honk of laughter.  He glared at her.

“Don’t make me put you back in the pokéball.”

She just smiled innocently.

“Okay, okay.  Shut up.  We’re doing this.”  XY took a deep breath and pressed the button on the pokéball with his thumb.  It split open, sucking the Flabébé into its light.

The ball glowed red while rocking back and forth.  Once.  Twice.  Three times.

Then it went still.

“I—I did it?”  XY stared at the ball in his palm.  Luka swore there was wonder in his eyes.

Hopefully this hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

“You did it.”  Luka clapped him on the shoulder.  “Why don’t you let her out now?  She should get used to you before you take her home.”

After fumbling for a moment, XY popped the ball open.  The Flabébé flashed back out and hovered in the air.  She quickly zipped down and plucked a red flower, hugging it close.

“Aww, our first date and she’s already giving me flowers.”  XY laughed.

“It’s not for you.  Flabébé has to keep one close for protection.”

“Ah. Like a comfort blanket.”  XY nodded sagely.  “That’s okay!  I’ll pick my own flower.  Then we can match!”

He snatched up another red bloom, then tucked it behind his ear.

Luka was surprised to find himself smiling.  Who would’ve thought XY could actually be cute?  When he wasn’t trying to steal Luka’s non-existent gym badges, anyway.

“Are you going to name her?”  He asked to keep his thoughts away from that tangent.

“Huh?  Oh.  Uh… hmm.”  XY’s brow furrowed.  He stared at the Flabébé, who had fluttered back into his palm.  “You can’t tell me your name, can you?”

She let out a tiny squeak.  

“Hmm.  Yeah.  I feel that.”  He nodded.  “How about Cheeto?”

“Cheeto?”  Luka burst before he could think better of it.  Who named their Pokémon Cheeto?  

“Yeah, ‘cause she’s got that yellow dust all over her.”  XY rubbed a tiny bit of it off with his fingertip.  Flabébé almost seemed to purr.

“You mean… pollen?”

XY raised an eyebrow.  “Ew, gross.  What kind of name is Pollen?  Sounds like Pole-men.  And she’s a girl.”

Luka wanted to smack his forehead.  Symphony gave him a sympathetic pat.

“Well.  Have fun with Cheeto, I guess.”  He sighed.  “I’m going to go get some sleep.  You’ve got my Holo Caster number.”

“Wait!”  XY jogged after him, cradling Cheeto close to his chest.  “I didn’t get to say—thanks, man.”

Luka looked back over his shoulder, surprised.  “No problem.  This is better than stealing gym badges, right?”

“A lot better.”  He looked down at his new Pokémon fondly.  “Uh, sorry about that, by the way.  I—I’m gonna make it up to you.”

“Yeah?”  He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah!  I’m gonna—take you to the hotel I’m staying at!  So you don’t look homeless!”  XY grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him back towards the city.

“I literally told you I live in town…?”

“Then why were you sleeping in the Pokémon Center like a hobo?”  XY smirked.  Symphony laughed where she was lumbering after them.

You’ve turned my own Pokémon against me.  Luka scowled.

“Didn’t feel like dealing with my mom,” he said under his breath.  

It was stupid, running away just because he’d finally found out about his dad.  His whole band was here. Including his sister.  Lumiose was a big city, but he couldn’t play guitar for Kitty Section and dodge his parents at the same time.

“Perfect!  There’s no moms allowed in my hotel room!”  XY beamed.

If staying out was stupid, then even considering XY’s offer was downright moronic.  XY had tried to rob him just hours ago.

But the dude was rich.  Luka didn’t have anything else he could want.  And whatever hotel room they ended up in was bound to have a more comfortable couch than the Pokémon Center’s.

“...Alright,” he finally agreed.

XY’s holler of joy could probably be heard in the next route over.

“Sweet!  Bro co-parenting slumber party, here we come!”

Luka let Symphony laugh at him.  He deserved it for ending up in such a ridiculous situation.

But somehow, he felt better anyway.

[luxyweek]

LUXY Week 2021 Prompt Voting

Hello all! I come with prompt voting for LUXY WEEK 2021! 

You can vote using this google form!

Please let me know if you have any trouble or questions! 

[luxyweek]

LUXY WEEK 2020 Prompts

Here it is! The prompts for the first ever Luxy Week!

Prompts:

May 24th: Eye Contact

May 25th: Heroics

May 26th: Style Swap

May 27th: Collaboration

May 28th: Kwami Swap (”Swap”)

May 29th: Serenade

May 30th: AU

Rules:

When posting, you can either tag @luxyweek​ or post on #luxyweek2k20

If you don’t see your work on this blog, just sent an ask. It’s completely possible that I just miss your work. 

You can include other characters and ships, but just make sure that the focus is Luxy

This isn’t hate on other ships, but they get their own weeks/months as well and we don’t want to take appreciation from Luxy

No ship hating or salt allowed

This is supposed to be a fun event with a crack ship, so please keep hate an salt AWAY from whatever you decide to contribute

NSFW.....

You can create NSFW works, but just know if it’s not under a cut then it will not be reblogged. If you do include it please age up the characters, sothey are at least 18.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to send an ask to this blog.

Special thanks to @chatnoirinette​ for letting me use her glitter Luka picture!