i love you, but.. // lierra

15

Golden Age - Ethel Cain

Luke and Sierra spend the next week trying to tell Calum they're together, and it should be the easiest thing to do, but somehow it's not. They don't want him to just find it out by coming across them kissing. But they also don't want to make a fuss about it - it's all still very new to them.

It's one Thursday afternoon they see Calum come back home with crying Cory, when they decide that maybe they'll cheer the kid up with the news as he was the one to say they'd be together. No one else said that aloud before Cory. Some may have assumed, but they never said that Luke and Sierra would be a couple in the future.

Cory is crying quietly, hiding his face in his small hands, when he enters Luke's room. Calum makes him feel safe, but Luke makes him feel better. And Calum will never say it out loud, but he hates how much Cory relies on Luke for emotional support. He hates the fact that he can't be everything his little brother needs. But at the same time he's glad he doesn't have to do it on his own.

And he understands Cory's emotional dependence on Luke - Luke is open with his emotions, he's not afraid to cry or to tell people that something is wrong. Calum likes to keep things to himself. He doesn't really see a point in telling people something. Not in a 'they don't care' way, but in a 'I'm fine with this' way.

Sierra jumps from Luke's lap when she sees them come in, and goes to sit by Calum's side. She already knows Cory is here for Luke.

"Hey, buddy, what's up?" Luke smiles at him wholeheartedly.

"Lu," the boy gets on the bed next to Luke and goes for a hug. "It's Greg, from sch-school." he sniffs.

"What did he do?" Luke asks quietly.

"H-his friends and he s-started saying th-that it's weird that you g-guys always pick me up." he stammers. It's difficult for him to talk when he's so shaken. "They don't believe that you're my family, they say you're too young to be my parents."

"Well Cory, we are too young, but it doesn't matter, right?" Luke says. He wasn't ready for this topic. They all knew it'd come up some day, but they're never ready to handle it. How does one tell a child that he doesn't have parents? None of them know the answer.

"But it d-does matter. Because you all are my parents." Cory frowns.

"We can't be your parents, technically. We parent you, and we bring you up, but we didn't give you life. Right?" Luke asks, looking at Calum out of the corner of his eye, and he nods at him. It's not like Calum can explain it better. Cory still looks at him frowned. It's weird to him how they can do everything that parents do, and not be his actual parents.

Sierra hands Luke a picture of Calum and his parents with little Cory in their arms. "Here." she says. "Tell me, do you remember your parents?"

"This is mom and this is dad, yes." Cory nods.

"So? They're your parents." Luke nudges him, smiling.

"No." Cory says as if he was explaining something to Luke and not vice versa. "This is mom and dad, and you three are my parents."

"Honey, listen, we are your family. And parents are not always your family. So overall, Greg was right - you don't have parents, it just doesn't mean that you don't have a family." Sierra says. Calum tries his best not to let the tears go down his face, because he honestly doesn't understand why he's so lucky to have found people who are even closer than family to him. And he never had to ask for it. They're just always there. They really are a family.

"But w-why are they making fun of me then?" Cory tightens his arms around Luke's.

"Maybe they're jealous that you get so much love from people who aren't even your parents." Luke says, and Sierra looks at him firmly. She knows that it's not a completely appropriate thing to say, but it's probably true. He looks up at her to meet her eyes, and she nods at him, encouraging to continue. "Listen, do you want us to cheer you up? "