The fans ate it up. They loved getting to see Luka’s video clips of the band being ridiculous, getting into mischief, curled up together on the couch, and practicing hard once they were off hiatus. Luka’s accounts blew up even more with each video, and he learned to embrace the chaos of it all.
He made bad cooking and skating videos, both of which he’d never done before, and everyone loved watching him makea mess of himself. Sometimes, he made videos about language learning, and he found it really fun to try to talk to people across the world, even if most of the time he made a mess of himself with that too, stumbling over his words.
Mostly, he posted art videos and Voltage logs where he spent his time poking fun at his boyfriend and the rest of his friends. His followers loved having access to the members like this, and one night, Reno had broken down with gratitude, sobbing that, for the first time in his life, he felt like a human being in the eyes of his fans.
The proof was in the pile of gifts at the front of the stage, and the way Reno bent down with his guitar pushed to his side and tried to brush hands with the people at the front. They loved him, adored him, and Reno loved them all back just as much, if not more.
Arnaud ripped open the stage with a scream, and Voltage took off.Even after spending the last year getting to know the bandpersonally,watching Voltage perform live was still one of Luka’s favorite activities. It seemed like every time he got to watch, they improved.
The magic of hearing the songs that kept him going, the lyrics that touched him and millions of others, the music that bound him and Reno together, never faded away.
Luka loved this music almost as much as he loved the person who wrote it, and he’d always be grateful that he’d been lucky enough to not just listen to it, but also thank Reno for making it real. It took Luka three months after he moved to finally find the courage and the right words to tell Reno how his music had kept Luka alive during the hardest points of his life.
Reno, in response, broke the band’s hiatus and started writing again the very next day.
Maybe Cane was right and Luka needed to be in the crowd more often. He liked watching from the wings when he could.Sometimes he’d lie on the ground, just out of sight of the audience, and feel the music push through the stage floor and through his back, and when Reno came off stage, sweaty and flushed, he’d pull Reno down with him to praise and kiss until Reno was red for a brand new reason.
But he loved this too. He’d almost forgotten the energy of being with the crowd, of hearing them singing along with Arnaud, every word memorized like it’d saved their lives too. Reno tapped his hands together, just like he had all that time ago, motioning for the pit to open up and Luka launched himself up onto the barricade, his back to the stage to watch as people crashed into each other during the breakdown.
It wasfun. Reno had broughtfuninto his life the way no one else ever had. And, the more time they spent together, the easier it was for Luka to let go and join in. He’d even started in with Arnaud, getting too drunk sometimes and play-wrestling, the way he said he liked to do. Luka didn’t worry about getting hurt anymore. He was safe, with people who loved him and watched over him, and Reno would never so much as yell at him. He was sure of it.
Sebastian stepped up onto the platform, center stage with Arnaud, for a bass solo, and the crowd yelled for them together. Arnaud’s hand tugged at Sebastian’s fluffy hair, and their legs slotted way too close to be casual before Jaewon joined in again, breaking Sebastian free from his solo. Arnaud leaned back with a scream and Sebastian leapt down from the stand to slide into the next breakdown, acting like he didn’t just have his vocalist’s knee pressed between his legs moments before.
Luka wished he’d caught it on video to send to Angel and Amelia, knowing they were always thirsting for content of their partners flirting shamelessly on stage. They had a group chat together now, but it was mainly Luka and Amelia who kept it active, having grown close after Luka officially movedto London. Arnaud had been right about her having a lot of valuable insight into how to date someone who dealt with as much fame as the Voltage boys did. One of the main reasons Luka wanted to go to France so badly during the upcoming tour was to get to hang out at Arnaud’s home and finally meet Amelia in person.
Angel, as sweet as they were, usually only appeared in the chat if Sebastian had done something funny or frustrating, or if Luka had sent off videos of the boys curled up too close on the studio couch again.
Luka didn’t blame them at all for wanting to see it and he fed directly into the nonsense. And, when he saw Arnaud join Reno on his side of the stage, he had his phone out in a hurry.
It wasgay—and they were allowed to do it. No one could stop them anymore and Luka was almost glad they hadn’t been allowed to flaunt it on stage this much when he had been younger. He was sure he would have ended up much more strange than he already was if he’d spent the last decade of his life watching Reno and Arnaud practically make out on stage every show.
Someone else handed him another gift, and he quickly took a few photos and a video for Maria and August before putting his phone away, and signaling to the security guard to set the gift with the others.
August messaged back immediately and Luka couldn’t help thinking about the recent trip they’d taken to Missouri for August and Iris’ wedding.
At the end of the wedding reception, Iris had started playing some recordings from their most recent shows in front of Luka and Reno. She had been drunk as hell and outright asked if Reno and Arnaud had ever been a thing.
August had ushered her away, laughing and apologizing, saying it was time to drink some water together, but Luka hadturned to Reno and opened his big mouth and didn’t regret saying:
“I still wanna see it, you know? You two.”
For Luka, it was a testament to how far he’d come. He’d spent so much time in so many relationships, treated like he was second best.
But he looked at Reno and knew with his entire being that Reno had chosen him over everything. He’d picked Luka, over and over. He’d picked him at risk of his career, even. Luka didn’t have a doubt in his mind that Reno would be faithful and honest with him about everything, so maybe it would be fun, instead of terrifying, to have someone else he trusted in bed.
And Luka watched Reno on stage now and knew,he knew, how much Reno loved this.
He loved Luka more.
“Thank you all! We are Voltage," Arnaud yelled over the mic after they’d been playing for a few hours, and Jaewon blasted them with double bass kicks. Arnaud raised his hand, and everyone calmed down with his command. The lights in the venue turned blue, and Reno tapped a pedal, making his guitar sound soft and sweet. “We’ve come so far for you, but we are home now. We love it here in London.”
People in the crowd cheered and Arnaud smiled, wide and true, before wiping his face dry with his shirt. Someone in the audience wolf-whistled at his exposed stomach, making him laugh, then flip the crowd a rude gesture.
He settled down, cleared his throat in the mic, and said, “You know we’ve been working on an album.” He waited for the cheers to die down again. “Thank you for waiting for us. I know we usually put one out every other year, but we are enjoying the freedoms we earned to make something really special for you. It is taking a while, but we have one for you tonight that we’venever played before.” Arnaud looked over at Reno and said, “Let’s do something new, okay?”
Reno nodded at Arnaud, then took a slow step, followed by two more, until they were close. He leaned forward with his eyes downcast, a shy smile on his lips, and he spoke into the mic.
“I wrote this for you.” His eyes flickered up, searching the front of the crowd until he found Luka. “Yes, you.”
