A/n: larger A/N at the bottom.

Adrien seemed to be in a state of shock for a while after getting dried off and wrapped up in some of Luka's clothes. All the couffiane's could do was sit with him and let him cry for a while before getting the full story out of him. Anarka was smart enough to make sure she got some pictures of the injuries Adrien sustained in case this ended up in court. Once Adrien was finally able to get the story out, everything from his suspicions that his father murdered his mother and the fight they had, it became clear as day that there was no way Adrien could go home. He was in danger as long as he was under that roof.

Of course, Anarka was all for letting him stay. But with how deranged Gabriel is, there's every chance he'd try and accuse her of 'kidnapping' Adrien and getting the police involved. So she had to be careful about this, and think through her options. There was no way in hell she was letting Adrien go home, not that Adrien wanted to anyway. There was also the fact Nathalie was deathly sick and could absolutely also be in danger under that roof, but Adrien was her top priority right now.

She looked over the kitchen counter, across the room Adrien lay leaned up against Luka in his arm. Silent, emotionally numb and holding an ice pack to his cheek. Luka could only keep a protective grip on him and make him feel safe as possible.

"Juels, can you get your schools number for me?" Anarka spoke up.

"Yeah hang on, why?" Jueleka replied, pulling out her phone to look it up.

"I'm making sure staff know whats going on, school staff legally have to report if a child is in danger. If the accusation comes from the school and not from me, Gabriel can't try and sue me for defamation or anything. No doubt he'll still try and get Adrien back but... that's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it. Avoiding has much legal consequences as possible for simply helping his son is the best route to go"

Sometimes Jueleka forgot just how smart her mother could be, she was so used to the fun loving mother that the times she got to see serious and smart mum were uncommon. She read out the schools phone number for her mum, and Anarka typed it into her phone.

"Thanks kiddo, I'll be right back" she said, heading into the other room to call the school.

Jueleka looked over at her brother and Adrien, part of her scared for Adrien but part of her smirking at her brother. He absolutely could not deny the crush on Adrien allegations now. Not with the way he was holding him, no totally hetero friendship held each other so tenderly and close like that. Even in a tense situation like this one.

Luka truly didn't know what to say, usually he did. He had some kind of wisdom to share or a guitar riff to express the right emotions. But he was completely blank, there was nothing he could say to Adrien that hadn't already been said. Adrien knew his dad was an asshole, he knew it would eventually get better, he knew he was safe under the couffiane's roof. Sometimes the only comfort you needed was a hug, being with the person you trust and love the most. So they stayed silent, and simply held each other.

And it was silent, until there was a knock on the cabin door that made Adrien jolt up and look out the window. A police car, parked by the docks. No doubt, that was an officer coming to check all Adrien's friends houses for him.

Luka tightened his grip, pulling Adrien back into his chest.

"Don't panic, let my mum handle it..." Luka insisted.

It was hard not to be anxious, but he knew he'd be found eventually. They heard Anarka open the door and start talking to however many officers were outside. Adrien glanced over at the clock on the wall, it'd been 4 hours since he ran off. It'd taken officers 4 hours to find him. In the grand scheme of things that was pretty quick, a sign of the police actually being competent and doing their jobs. He hoped that competency expanded into how they dealt with abuse and wouldn't send him back home.

When the officers entered the room, Adrien couldn't help but cower into Luka a little. He was terrified they'd try and send him back home.

"As you can see he's unharmed by us, the only harm done to him is at the hands of his pathetic excuse for a father. I ain't letting that boy go back home, or to his aunts place for that matter. Not with how unstable his cousin currently is" Anarka said.

"I understand the sentient ma'am, but we still need to get all sides of the situation. Adrien can we talk to you for a moment?" The older officer said.

Hesitantly Adrien nodded, as scared as he was this would go wrong there was still the chance that this could be THE moment.  The beginning of the end for Gabriel. He had a bruised cheek and three witnesses to the panic and fear he was in when he first arrived soaked and out of breath, surely that would be proof enough that something wasn't right... right?

Luka gave him a sympathetic look, releasing the blonde from his grip to let him talk. The younger officer came to him, wanting his side of the story too. Slowly but surely, the officers gathered up all the details from each person in the house. Luka and Juleka gave the police everything they'd witnessed in the years they'd known Adrien, all the details they'd gathered from one off comments Adrien made and the reputation Gabriel had among the friend group as 'wildly strict asshole'.

Anarka stood her ground too, repeatedly telling them there was no way they could let Adrien go home. Or to his aunts for that matter, Adrien as mentioned how Felix had been acting rather harmful recently and she didn't want him potentially getting further hurt by his cousin too. She also mentioned Nathalie's condition, and how alarming it was she was so sick with the same mysterious illness Emilie had. By the time the officers had talked to everyone, they'd both come to the same conclusion: something was going on in the Agreste household. The weird similitude between Emilie and Nathalie's illnesses, the clear and blatant abuse of Adrien, the weird stuff going on in the family as a whole.

"Well... you certainly have a case against him Adrien. Don't worry, we won't send you home, we just need to make sure you're safe. You're 16, so while you can't be without an adult you do get a say in where you stay. So if you want to stay here, we can arrange emergency custody-" the older officer began.

"Yes please! I don't care what I have to do just don't let me go back there" Adrien said.

"Definitely not, you're clearly not safe there. Miss Couffiane if you're willing to take emergency custody, he can stay here. We'll get whatever he needs from home so he doesn't gave to go back"

"I'll do it, no questioned asked" Anarka agreed.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe, for now at least. He felt completely safe with Luka and his family, getting to share a room with Luka who he definitely had a crush on at this point was just a bonus really.

"It's quite late now, so well come back tomorrow to sort things out legally. And Adrien we'll need a full recorded statement from you about everything leading up to this incident too. I know it's stressful, but given the vey valid concerns you have about your mother and Nathalie, it needs to be done to gather as much evidence as possible ok?" The older officer explained.

Adrien nodded in agreement, the next few days would be beyond stressful but it meant things were finally going to be done about his father. At this point, given everything that's happened, Adrien was sure that Gabriel had a hand in Emilies death. Weather it was negligent manslaughter or first degree murder, he just knew that his dad caused his mothers death.

If he could hit his son with no remorse, who knew what else he was capable of.

When the officers finally left, it was late and he was beyond exhausted. Everyone was emotionally drained and it was definitely time for bed. Adrien would share Luka's room, as they were the only two boys and definitely the closest. Luka being Luka, offered Adrien his bed. But Adrien being Adrien, refused.

"It's your room Luka, I can-" Adrien began.

"You've just been though hell Adrien, you deserve a comfortable bed" Luka replied.

"But-"

"Damnit Adrien, stop being so polite for once and take something for yourself. I'm letting you"

Adrien did like the idea of a bed rather than a mattress on the ground... he was just too exhausted to really want to help set things up at the moment. But there was one other solution that sounded really nice right now too.

"Fine. But... stay with me? I just- I... I don't want to be alone right now..." Adrien admitted.

Luka was silent a moment not expecting the compromise, but there's no way he'd pass that up. Sharing a bed with a pretty boy he liked? Yes please. But more importantly, if it meant Adrien would feel safer and sleep easier, that was all that mattered. Luka gave him a smile, making Adrien crack a tired smile back.

"Alright" he agreed.

There was no heterosexual explanation for the way they slept in each other's arms that night. No amount of 'comforting a friend' could explain away the tangled up legs, tightly gripped arms and Luka's chin resting on Adriens head as he snuggled into Luka's chest.

Luka smelled really nice too... like sea salt and blueberry.

A/n: this is the scene that inspired this oneshot series. Kinda of heavy so TW.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

But I can't help but draw so many parallels between Adrien and the story of Lolita. It's a very disturbing story but extremely well done and a dark, raw conversation about abuse that needs to be had. Maybe my next Lukadrien book can be a kind of (less fucked up) recreation of the story that draws the parallels between Delores and Adrien. And yes, I have used the dialogue "murder me like you murdered my mother" before because damn it's just so good.