pretty boy • bradley bradshaw

09

Distant giggles were vaguely registered in Luke's mind as he slowly woke up. He licked his lips, groaning at the small headache he felt rippling through his skull. Rooster's arm was now wrapped around his shoulders, keeping Luke's head resting atop his chest. By the deep rise and fall of his chest, Luke would take a guess that he was still asleep. He made quick work of untangling his legs from Rooster's own, before the bedroom door swiftly creaked open.

"Luke!" Nearly matching five year old voices shouted out followed by the laugh of a ten year old. He felt Rooster's arm tense around him before the feeling of twin weights dipping into his bed caused him to face his nieces.

"Hey, girls." He attempted nonchalance, looking up to meet Rooster's tired eyes. The latter of the two immediately moving his arm to allow Luke to sit up.

"Who are you?" May asked from where she sat at the end of the bed, awkwardly shifting around. Her twin sister Marnie shared the same sentiment, growing embarrassed in front of the stranger. Both girls shifted uncomfortably, sharing wary looks.

"Uh," Rooster began, sitting up before looking to Luke for support.

"He's Luke's boyfriend I guess." Their older sister, Sam, shrugged as she moved further into the room.

"Woah!" May shouted, smile growing on her face. Marnie's embarrassment settled slightly at that, leaning closer with a curious look on her face. "I didn't like his last one very much." She murmured, calculating eyes looking over the stranger's form. Rooster reeled back at that, frowning in thought.

"I'm Sam. This is Marnie and May." Sam spoke up from where she stood behind her two sitting sisters, placing a hand atop each girl respectively when saying their names. "We're Luke's nieces. It's cool to meet you." She gave a half smile.

"Bradley," Rooster greeted with a matching smile. He shifted slightly under the girls' scrutinizing eyes, but still kept his head up in confidence.

"Girls!" Their mother called, nearly walking past the ajar door. She stopped in her tracks, quickly stepping into the room, her cheeks flushed pink. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She muttered, attempting to avert her eyes from Rooster as she grabbed at the youngest girls, placing them on the floor beside her and holding either of the hands do as to not have them further embarrass her.

"It's fine." Luke murmured, his own face warming at the awkward moment. He looked to Rooster to find him leaning against the headboard, confident smile on his face.
"Besides, Mom wanted Rooster to eat breakfast with us." Alice immediately nodded her head, still riddled with embarrassment, shooting a welcoming smile in Rooster's direction without quite looking at him.

"Rooster," May laughed, tilting her head incredulously at the name.

"Oh," Sam connected immediately, gesturing to him with widened eyes. "You're a pilot too?"

Rooster nodded his head, running a sneaky hand up the back of Luke's shirt, gently skirting his fingers across the other's skin. Luke flinched at the contact, eyes still honed in on his nieces.

"It's his name sign?" Marnie asked timidly, hand still fastened around her mother's. "Like Grandpa's?"

"Yup." Alice quickly confirmed, beginning to tug the two girls out of the room. She gave a pointed look to Sam who immediately began to follow them. They made it to the doorway, their mother quickly pushing at both of the little girls' backs to get them moving along.

"So why is Luke's name sign, Pretty Boy?" Marnie voiced her curiosity, looking up at her mom.

"Because, uh," Alice began uncomfortably, moving to shut the door behind them. She widened her eyes at Luke, mouthing "help me" before closing it. "Well, because you're uncle—" Their voices cut out as Luke listened to the herd of girls stomping down the stairs.