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Published:
2022-04-30
Updated:
2022-07-06
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8,595
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8/?
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Cirque de la Cocinelle - Miraculous Ladybug Circus AU

Chapter 8: Confrontation

Summary:

[This chapter was originally posted on Wattpad along with the previous chapters, but I was unable to recover it. So I ended up re-writing this altogether. But I'm pretty sure it's close enough to the original. Sorry about slow updates, I have no motivation or self-discipline. Hope you enjoy, let me know in the comments if you have any pointers.]

Chapter Text

     Luka sat at his desk, removing each piercing for cleaning.  The man in the mirror was familiar to him, despite the shock it would have given most.  His skin was black and green, tattoos leaving no part of it uncovered.  Gold and silver piercings adorned his face and body, lines of rings trailing down his forearms and all over his face.  He even had two horn implants in his head, sticking out just under his black and dyed cobalt hair.  It wasn't an easy look to achieve - or maintain - but he knew what he was getting into when he joined this circus.

     Kagami suddenly burst into his trailer, ready to give him an earful.

     "Dragon man!" she growled.

     "Oh, hey Kagami," Luka said, without looking away from the mirror.  "What's up?"

     "What was that at the meeting?" Kagami slammed the door behind her.  "You and I both know you don't want anything to do with my act!"

     Luka turned around in his chair.  "It was Marinette's idea, and I thought I should give you a chance."  Kagami rolled her eyes as Luka turned back to his vanity mirror.  "Adrien tells me you're pretty cool.  Who knows?  You and I might have a lot in common."

     Kagami prepared to chew him out before noticing the contents of his desk.  There were things to be expected: the tank that he kept his pet snake in, its pet supplies next to it, hooks and racks to hold his piercings along with cleaning equipment.  But there was more she didn't understand: handwritten letters - both in his handwriting and someone else's - strewn along his desk.  A desk drawer had been left open, with organized containers full of envelopes and stamps.

     "Why do you have stationary?" Kagami asked.

     "To write to my mom?" Luka said, plainly.  "Juleka has some in her trailer, too."

     His mom?  "Wait," Kagami shook her head.  "You still keep in contact with your family?"

     "Yeah," Luka shrugged.  "I'm not the only one."

     "I know," Kagami agreed.  "It's just that those of us who do usually aren't so-"

     "Freakish?"

     "I was going to say extreme," Kagami stressed.  "But freakish works just as well.  Most of us joined to get away from our old lives.  We don't usually keep in contact with those we left behind."

     Luka chuckled, before explaining, "My mom was always real supportive of Juleka and me.  She actually paid for my first tattoo - my first piercing too!  I don't think she knew it would lead to, well, this," he gestured broadly to himself.  "But she kind of knew what direction Juleka and I were going in when we wouldn't stop talking about the circus.  When we told her we were joining, she was just happy the two of us were sticking together.  Growing up, we were always close.  It's hard not being a protective older brother to a younger sister.  Especially in a business like this, haha.  Plus, we both send our mom some money from our profits now and then, just to help support her as much as she has us."

     Kagami couldn't suppress a smile.  "That's really sweet."

     "Eh, I guess," Luka shrugged.  "What about you?  How'd your parents react to you joining?"

     Kagami frowned, trying to turn away, but too late for Luka to miss.  "I'm sorry," he said.  "Too personal?"

     "No, it's just," Kagami started.  "I... Wasn't as lucky.  My mom was pretty strict.  She wanted me to live by her exact blueprint.  She never let me leave the house for anything other than school, and the only extracurriculars I was allowed to do were the ones she considered 'esteemed.'  So I was stuck never doing things for fun.  Just for her."

     "I can see why you'd want to get away from that," Luka said.

     "Yeah," Kagami shrugged it off.  "But I have to give her credit, if it weren't for her signing me up for fencing, I may never have found my current talent."

     "Well, that's something!"

     The two shared an awkward laugh.  "You want to go grab a drink?" Luka asked.

     Kagami was taken aback.  No one had offered to hang out with her outside of the circus yet.  In fact, she had hardly even spent time with anyone other than Marinette and Adrien.  But Marinette never had time to go out, and Adrien was never interested in leaving.

     “We don’t have to if you aren’t up to it,” Luka said.

     “No - That sounds nice,” Kagami clarified.  “Maybe we’ll even find a tattoo parlor to add to your collection.”

     “Collection?” Luka chuckled.

     “Whatever you call it, haha.”

     “Not sure if they’ll work on me if I’ve been drinking,” Luka rubbed the back of his neck.  “But we’ll see.”