Luke was in the kitchen making himself a cup of tea. He grabbed his favourite mug off the drying rack on the counter and began rifling through his tea boxes. He was feeling adventurous tonight so he decided to go with one of his grandmother's special blends. A midterm was coming up and he was planning on forgoing his usual green tea for something stronger. His grandmother often combined different tea leaves and claimed they were ten times more potent than whatever was sold in the shops. Usually Luke wouldn't even think twice about the box she had unceremoniously thrust in his hands when she visited, now though, he needed all the help he could get.
He takes a sachet out and puts it in the cup, adds in the hot water, and watches the color change into a deep brown. It reminds him of a murky swamp, which probably doesn't look so appealing. He walks over to the couch where he's set up his study station, as he calls it, after stirring in honey and putting everything away.
He sips on his tea, noting how earthy yet pleasant it is, then begins. The term hasn't been as taxing as last year had been in his opinion but he guesses that's bound to change as it goes by. He wonders what it says about him that he's already mildly struggling and he isn't that far into the term.
He's halfway through his mug and he's contemplating taking a break. It's already been, he glances at his timer... thirty minutes. Well, if he feels he needs a break then he probably does. He reclines into the sofa behind him from his position on the floor, after stopping the timer, and drinks more of his tea. He makes a mental note to commend his grandmother the next time he sees her, her recipe tastes great. He wonders how long it'll take for the effects to kick in.
Just when he thinks he should get back to studying the door opens. He watches as James walks in. He glances at the clock, it's close to midnight. His brother doesn't usually stay out till this late. He sits up on the couch, taking his mug with him.
He watches as he stumbles slightly as he gets in, closes the door, and leans against it. He has this dopey smile on his face and his gaze seems far away.
"So, I take it the date went well," Luke says, eyeing him.
"Better than I could have ever imagined," is his brother's reply. And that combined with his expression makes Luke snort. James seems to snap out of his reverie at the sound, looking abashed.
"Sit down. I want to hear about it," Luke snickers as he pats the spot beside him. He closes his books as well. Studying wasn't going that well anyway, he'll do it tomorrow with a fresh cup since it's almost done anyway.
James joins him on the couch after taking off his shoes and drops his jacket over the arm of it. Which is a coat and one Luke knows isn't James'. "Oh, it was amazing. His name is Thomas and he's so handsome, and hot, like it's insane how hot he is. And he has such a pretty smile. And his laugh," he sighs here, " And he's really funny. He's a gentleman too. He opened my door and everything," he places a hand on the coat, and Luke barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. "And he makes me feel..." he shrugs, "nice," he finishes lamely, and now Luke rolls his eyes though he's smiling a bit.
Luke remembers how frantic James was before the date. Thinking about conversation topics and such, Luke seemed more concerned about the possibility that he could be a serial killer. It seemed likely. He was glad James was safe and had a good date by the look of him. He kept smiling and there was a slight flush on the apples of his cheeks.
"Okay, so you had a good, ney, magnificent date by the sound of it, while the rest of us were left to languish away in the dark."
"Yes, wasting away in my absence, of course," James nods.
"No. Never mind what I said, I was thriving without you."
James chuckles and lightly shoves him away. He leans forward intending to peruse through Luke's books, but Luke beats him to it, smacking his hand on them. "Not yours."
