Page 124 of Hi-Voltage
“Okay—he can stay," Sebastian said. “You’re staying, right?”
“I don’t know," Luka admitted, flushing a bit at his collarbones, and Reno had to try to get everyone to back down before Luka burst into flames on the spot.
Reno said, “We’ll figure that out. He’s smarter than me and asked for me to wait a few weeks before demanding an answer. I’ll respect it, even if it’s all I can think about.” He tucked a stray hair behind Luka’s ear and Jaewon groaned in disgust. “And, even if he leaves me, I’ll just have to ask for him to come back in increasingly desperate and convincing ways.”
As Luka’s face turned bright red, Reno realized he’d not only failed in his attempt to keep Luka from turning into charred soot, he had actually made it worse.
“Gomen?2," he mumbled.
“Daijoubu?3," Luka replied and Arnaud gasped.
“On mon Dieu! Ça ne peut pas être?4. Are you learning?”
Luka looked like he wanted to hide away but still replied clearly, “Oui, j'apprends?5.”
Arnaud turned to Reno and gave him a serious look that sent a small shiver down his spine. “He is staying.”
“That is not up to me.” Reno glared back until Arnaud lost their staring contest, and next to him, he could feel Luka squirm.
“He really is smarter than you,” Jaewon said, smirking, and Luka poured himself another glass of wine before pushing the half-eaten plate away. “He can even handle more spice in his food than you.”
“Oh, don’t start that again,” Reno groaned. “Even if I built a tolerance to your insane foods it would still wreck my stomach andno onewants to deal with me when my stomach hurts.”
Luka perked up. “Are you pathetic when you’re sick?”
“You have no idea," Sebastian chimed in, pulling more meat off the center dish to pile on his plate. It was probably his third or fourth round at that point. “He doesn’t stop whining, he won’t sleep, won’t eat. Then you tell him to get on stage and it’s like magically nothing was ever wrong.”
“The moment he’s off stage again, you bet it’s back to complaining, though.” Jaewon pushed his plate away and poured himself another drink right as the waitress checked in on them again, offering dessert menus and coffee.
Luka ordered and Reno looked down at his own plate, feeling a bit bad about how little he’d eaten. He’d been distracted, mostly trying to make sure his friends wouldn’t harass Luka too much. He was grateful they had behaved for the most part.
Sebastian asked for food to be boxed up, and then someone set a cup of coffee down in front of Luka, who poured milk and sugar into it, mixed it until it was the perfect color, then pushed it in front of Reno. He sat back and continued chatting with Reno’s friends like nothing important had just happened.
Luka sipped on his wine, an arm thrown over the back of Reno’s chair, looking so much more comfortable than he did at the beginning of the evening. And, as Reno wrapped his hands around the warm cup and took in the smell of sweet coffee, he realized that he’d never told Luka how he took his coffee. He’d never told Luka that when everything felt a little bit too bright, a little too much, a hot cup in his hands snapped things back into place, and made him feel centered again.
He wasn’t sure Luka even knew, or if he just guessed correctly that Reno was flagging after a long day, and just wanted to sit quietly and watch his friends get to know Luka at last.
Luka reached across the table to steal a bite of Jaewon’s chocolate cake before Arnaud could finish it, and it kind of felt like things had always been this way. It made sense to Reno, and the smile Luka gave him when Reno was caught sneaking a piece of chocolate into his coffee was the kind of smile he’d love to see over and over again.
They were only three steps out the door when the first flash went off.
Reno’s heart jammed in his chest as he put a hand out to stop Luka from exiting the restaurant, the light of the flashbulb searing itself into his memory. At that blinding moment, Reno felt their private world colliding with the public eye.
Luka, thankfully, had been walking behind Reno, but unaware of what was happening, Luka wrapped a hand around Reno’s and lowered it from his chest, confused.
A second and third flash—the sound of multiple shutters capturing their every move—and Reno yanked Luka’s hood overhis hair and tried to block him from view. Arnaud was already pushing forward, his hands waving about and his voice carrying over the questions several people shouted out, telling them to back up and clear a path.
There were only a few photographers and tabloid reporters, but Reno couldn’t spare a second to try to identify them as Jaewon and Sebastian pushed themselves between Reno and the paparazzi, forming a crude barricade.
It was just enough cover for Reno to grab Luka’s hand and run.
They were around the block and down the street, ducking into an alley between shops when Reno pressed Luka against the brick wall and held him there, trying to catch his breath. Luka stood utterly still, his eyes wide but in much better shape than Reno, who was trying and failing to catch his breath.
“You should run more often.”
“Don’t.” Reno hated how harsh the word came out, and he realized belatedly that Luka had cringed and looked down at his feet. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Luka shrugged. “You think they got me?”
