Sincerely, Yours

55. An Adoption

Luan stayed at the apartment because of Thoma's insistence. Their conversations were not comfortable and they didn't touch each other, but they both felt that they needed to be near the other, if only in proximity. Luan had planted himself on Thoma's couch and worked on homework while Thoma was in his room working at his desk. 

Thoma was looking through his cabinets for a snack and turned to Luan, "You hungry? I was gonna order in something to eat?" 

Luan had glanced at him and was replying that something small would be fine, but upon seeing the traces of their fight this morning on Thoma's face, arms and neck, he'd looked away shamefully and shook his head. 

He hadn't noticed Thoma approaching until he was kneeling in front of him. The scratches and light bruises on him brought tears to Luan's eyes and he wanted to run away again but Thoma placed his hands on his knees. 

"Don't suffer in silence. Talk to me," Thoma said softly and Luan slowly brought his fingers to touch Thoma's face lightly. "Do they hurt?" He asked, his voice heavy with emotion and Thoma smiled sadly at him. 

"No. Seeing you like this hurts more than anything." Thoma admitted.

"I just.. I feel so miserable right now," Luan admitted and Thoma waited for him to continue. "I know things were technically resolved but the residual effects of everything still feel so fresh. I want to.. I just want to run away but I know that would be bad for our relationship, but I can't just sit here and act like it didn't happen." 

Thoma rested his head on Luan's knees and Luan began to run his hands through his hair. "Yeah, our fight this morning was really rough for our relationship. But I think it was necessary. We both hurt each other and like any kind of pain, it'll take some time for us both to heal from it. But you're right. Being cooped up here probably isn't the best thing for either of us."

Thoma stood up and offered his hand to Luan. "Let's go out." 

Luan gingerly took his offered hand and stood up. "Where are we going?" 

Thoma lead Luan to his room. "Put on something comfortable and casual, okay?" Thoma said and Luan nodded. Once he'd shut the door he stood with his back against it for a sec. He knew that Thoma was doing this for the sake of their relationship but Luan was still at a loss on how to feel. It probably was much too late to be worried about that now though. 

He got dressed comfortably and even styled his hair for the first time in a while. It seemed like Thoma was going to be picking a date spot for them and since they hadn't been on many, he wanted to look nice, especially if they were going to get pictures. 

When he walked out Thoma was sitting on the couch on his phone. He stood when Luan entered the room and walked over to him, pulling him into his side and planting a kiss on his head. 

"You look so handsome," He said and Luan blushed. Thoma usually just called him cute or pretty and though he enjoyed those compliments, there was just something about being called handsome that he quite enjoyed. 

"Ready to go?" Thoma asked and picked up his keys. Luan nodded and they made their way to the garage. 

Luan didn't understand where they were going until they parked. Thoma turned to him and showed him his phone. 

"I saw ads for attractions at the Aquarium and also the Art Museum. Which one would you be more interested in?" Thoma asked and Luan thought for a bit. Both places held different crowds and he didn't know if he was in the mood to be around a bunch of families and screaming kids. That could wait for another day. 

"Let's go to the Art Museum. I never got a chance to check it out since I've been here," Luan said and Thoma nodded.

When they walked in the museum, Luan felt a different air about Thoma. He hadn't seen Thoma interact with people much but he was so charismatic and nice. Luan wasn't overly fond of the way that the women working here would make sure to smile at Thoma, but that was just his own insecurity. After getting their tickets, Luan wasn't sure exactly what they were for since he'd been too busy being jealous, but Thoma reached his hand back to Luan and they walked through the doors hand in hand. Luan looked down at their hands and couldn't help but smile to himself. Thoma must've sensed how he was feeling and wanted to reassure him.