Foreign Affairs ❥ lrh

Chapter Seven: Sugar Veins

Downstairs, the Princes danced on top of the counter with a crowd cheering them on. The younger of the two had downed three shots as soon as he'd entered the kitchen, so his head now spun in circles standing still. His slack jaw and half-closed eyes offered a nice touch to the exaggerated air guitar strums that narrowly missed the chandelier thanks to his lengthy limbs.

Ashton challenged Luke to a fist fight on the tabletop but, thankfully, Roy stepped in and told them they weren't allowed to. The youngest was pretty sure he heard something about a security deposit and then saw his older brother roll his eyes at the concept. Luke gave the interceptor an appreciative nod before throwing back another shot of tequila that he was handed by a girl in the crowd.

As soon as he stood back up from his dramatic dip, he looked at the faces under him and couldn't see the one he was looking for. He barely had time to think, Violet, before his best friend entered the room cheering loudly, without a shirt but with a girl sitting on his shoulders.

"What'd we miss?!" Calum shouted loudly with a light tap to his girl's thigh. He was down to just his dress pants. The girl on his shoulders... Sage, that was her name- let out a high-pitched cheerful giggle as the crowd screamed out lyrics to the song that was playing, but Luke didn't know them. He joined in with the cheering for Calum and his girl, pointing at them.

"Caluuum!" He shouted, drawing out the second syllable and stumbling a little bit on the counter. When he looked down at his feet, he saw that he was still wearing his dress shoes. The Prince wished he could take them off but he would slide around on the counter too much.

"Luke!" The Duke shouted back, mocking him and making his way over to the counter for a messy handshake. "You in for party favors?!" He shouted loud over the music, but the Prince couldn't hear him.

"What?!" Luke shouted back, leaning down carefully for a better listen. As he bent over, he felt his center of gravity shift and his vision go blurry. He held his arms out sideways to to balance, as if he were snowboarding.

Calum flashed an amused smile at his distress and covered one of his nostrils with a finger and made an exaggerated sniff. Luke leaned back to cackle and accidentally hit his head on the chandelier as he did.

Several things all happened at once. The lights flickered above the rowdy ensemble; it only made them scream lyrics louder and jump up and down with the beat. Luke slid and recoiled from the impact on his skull. He was saved immediately by Ashton's hard arms around him, holding him up. Despite being several inches shorter, he was much stronger and had no chance of dropping him. No one thought this was funnier than the subject of the rescue, however.

"You caught me!" Luke cheered with a fist in the air and another laugh. The atmosphere around him was so hazy and warm. Being held up felt comforting, even if it had been preceded by a momentary worry he was going to fall over.

"Of course I did!" Ashton shouted, patting his stomach a couple times with a smirk. "Are you okay, little buddy?" He pushed him back onto his feet. Luke stumbled a little bit and knocked a few glasses off the side of the counter as the lights came back on. They shattered immediately but not a single person cared.

"I'm this close to leaving you here!" Calum yelled, holding up two fingers pressed together. Or maybe it was only one finger and Luke was seeing double.

Luke looked down once he was back on his own two feet and saw a bunch of crystal glasses half-full but no way to get down. There was broken crystal on the other side but he didn't give it a second thought.

"I don't think I can!" He told him, slurring his loud words. After he spoke, he immediately forgot what he had been asked and who had asked him.

"Not tonight, Cal," Ashton yelled back, still watching his brother intently; the baby was still a fall risk.