Chapter Text
‘The night is still young’, they said as Luca headed out of the bar they were gathered at. Luca’s team had organised something to celebrate his biggest shoot so far, one that got him plastered on some of the largest billboards in the country, yet Luca couldn’t find himself caring. The cool night breeze was nice on his skin as he walked down the empty streets. Young, they said, night was almost day by now, not really, Luca was exaggerating to himself, it sure felt like it though. His phone screen read 3:27 am. He wanted to go home and just sleep, not think about shoots or skin care or what he has to wear or how he has to do his hair. He was getting tired all of a sudden, getting an itching urge to change something. Going against those who provide you with money wasn’t the smartest choice in the world, but he suddenly felt like a rebellious teen again. He just didn’t know what to do.
A sudden splash of cold water rudely snapped Luca from his daze. It had been raining that day, so the roads had water gathered in the sides. The sound of tires screeching to a halt caught his attention as he tried to swipe wet blonde hair from his forehead.
“God, I’m so sorry, are you alright?”
An unfamiliar voice called, when Luca finally looked at the source of said voice he was met with a young man. They looked to be a similar age, a motorbike was parked half-assed on the side of the road, it safe to assume it was both the one that splashed him, and that it belonged to the guy currently drying off his phone for him in a rush. Luca slipped the wet jacket off his shoulders, casually waving the guy off.
“It’s fine really, I shouldn’t walk so close to the road”
Luca replied, flashing a gentle smile at the slightly panicked guy in front of him.
“Do you want a ride home or something? It’s the least I could do”
The guy offered, his expression ridden with more apologies than he probably had breath to express. Luca tried to deny, but the other was insistent, in the end the blonde submitted and accepted. He was handed the bike helmet, there was only one and the other guy wasn’t taking no for an answer, slipping it over his head, he finally got a good view of the other, long mostly black hair, purple peaking out underneath and blonde in his fringe, bright purple eyes, sharp but kind, a unique look for someone on a motorbike at this time of night.
They drove down the empty streets, Luca directing the other as to where he had to go while holding onto him. It felt a little strange to be so close to a stranger, but the other was surprisingly comfortable to hold. It was a relatively short drive, they quickly reached Luca’s place of residence, as he got off the bike and the stranger was about to drive off he grabbed their sleeve.
“Hey wait, can I at least get your name?”
Luca asked, the other had the helmet on, obscuring Luca’s view of their face and expressions.
“Ah, right, I’m Shu, um-”
He reached into his pocket, fishing out a small card.
“Just call and tell me how much I owe for the cleaning of your jacket, it looks expensive”
As soon as Luca took the card from the gloved hand, Shu was off, gone into the night. Luca looked down at his jacket, wet with muddy water, and then looked at the card. It was a business card, ‘Purple Flame tattoo parlor’ it read, ‘Shu Yamino’, his full name, Luca assumed, a number and an address underneath. A tattoo parlor? He was a tattoo artist? Suddenly, as if the gods had handed him the answer, he knew exactly how to scratch his rebellious itch.