⤿ LUKA COUFFAINE ౨ a new song ৎ
⟢ content warning : one-shot , adrienette , younger!reader
luka couffaine is the friend you will always go to to get advice. his wise words able to resolve all the issues you could have. but the reality of luka couffaine is that even though he can listen to the melody of other people's hearts and guide them to what they really want. he's unable to feel a difference in his own.
“you are not able to get over your first love”, they say. a feeling luka knows all too well. but he doesn’t want that—to be stuck in the past, clinging to the girl he once thought of. he doesn't feel like that is the path he wants to follow. yet something inside keeps him tied to it. his heart yearns for something different, but the echoes of the past still make it hard to hear anything new.
during a gathering, luka’s fingers strummed his guitar while many of his friends sat around him, enjoying the sound of the boy’s playing. they all knew he had talent. after all, he was known as a prodigy. while his fingers focused on the strings, luka’s eyes focused on two things. first, sitting among the small crowd in front of him was a couple that seemed to be smiling from ear to ear. the hand of the blonde boy rested on top of his girlfriend’s. her blue eyes locked in on his. she never looked at luka that way before.
luka himself knew not to be offended by his ex-girlfriends past actions. as for the little time he was with her, he tried to force the idea that she loved him into his head. definitely not something he’s proud of.
his gaze drifted to the second thing that caught his eye. the girl sitting near by, laughing softly as she whispered something to her friend zoé. the smiley girl was a year younger than the rest, but she blended with the friend group so easily. and luka knew why. maybe it was a mix of things, but he likes to think it was her gentle nature. the kind that made people feel at ease.
luka, who always felt the need to bring peace to others, found that with her, he finally felt it himself. it was comfortable, being next to her, like he didn't owe anything to anyone. her way just made things feel real.
after he played a few more songs, everyone just returned to conversations. luka, stood up and approached the punch, his throat sore and in need of something refreshing. while pouring himself a cup he heard a delicate voice from behind.
he turned his head at her voice and met her eyes, making his heart flutter at the sight. “you think so?” he replied back to her.
she nodded her head, her grin becoming wider. “i think it was awesome, you truly are incredible luka couffaine.”
there it was again. that feeling. like his heart was shifting keys mid-song. it was so strange, unexpected, but not unwelcome.
he swallowed, trying to regain his composure. “thank you.” he said, a little quieter than normal.
she tilted her head slightly, as if debating something before shaking the thought away and smiling again. “you should teach me how to play sometime.”
a laugh threatened to escape him, not because he found it funny, but because of course she would say something like that. his fingers curled slightly, recalling the feeling of the strings beneath them. then he pictured her with her hands on a guitar. his guitar. and there was the flutter again, how can this keep happening?
“yeah, yeah.” he said, trying to sound casual but the words coming out a little too eager. he cleared his throat before speaking again. “i can teach you.” and once again he felt his heart going faster. as if she was killing him softly with her words and looks. but for luka it felt like the notes of his new favorite song.
as the night carried on, luka found his eyes going back to her, and his body moving closer to her presence than he intended to. it wasn't just the way her lips moved when she talked, or how her eyes reflected the dim glow of the fairy lights above. it was the way she understood. she wasn't just hearing his music, she was feeling it.
at one point, she laughed at something zoé said, and the sound tugged on his chest in a way that he hadn't expected. like a guitar that had just been strung. the vibrations feeling like a quiet hum settling beneath his ribs. it wasn’t loud or overwhelming, just a gentle presence, steady and real, like something waiting to be acknowledged. it was warm, easy, and unburdened. so unlike the emotions he used to chase.
he never had to wonder what she was thinking, never had to decode the meaning behind her words. she was simply there, and for the first time in a long while, he realized how much he liked that.
and yet, somehow, the thought of feeling something different, something new, made his fingers tense against the strings of his guitar. was it really that simple?
he had spent countless nights believing that love was something difficult. that it came with waiting, longing, and trying to be what someone else needed. but this? this didn't feel like chasing something just out of reach. it didn't feel like random chords thrown together. it felt like a progression—each note falling into place, creating the perfect harmonic tune. it felt right.
and maybe that was the biggest surprise of all. not that he was moving on, but that he already had.
“you okay?” her voice spoke from behind, softly but curious. luka blinked. snapping back to reality.
“yeah,” he breathed out, giving her a small smile. and maybe for the first time, he actually meant those words.
while looking at her bright eyes and soft lips, and the look of genuine care in her face. it had finally hit him. not in a grand, sweeping way, but in the quiet certainty of a heart that had already moved on before he even noticed.
after always feeling like his life was played to the tune of the same song. that the strings on his guitar were only capable of playing that same melody. he has finally realized that his life cannot be told by the same repeated sounds. the strings of his guitar can play different songs. his heart has a different tune now. it’s not the same overused one that has dictated him for so long. it’s a new song. a new song made for her.
