Of moonshine and memories | BoyXBoy

Chapter nine

The next morning I woke up slowly, feeling Lucian's weight still half on top of me. He looked oddly peaceful, his face relaxed and calm. I watched him for a while, noticing how different he seemed without his usual edge.

Eventually, Lucian stirred, his eyes blinking open. Our gazes met, and he quickly pulled away from me, clearly uncomfortable with the intimacy. "What the hell? Did you watch me sleep?"

I let his jab slide with a smirk. "Well, you did crawl into bed with me."

Lucian rolled his eyes, but there was no real malice in his tone. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't make it a habit."

We went through the morning with an ease that hadn't been there before. Lucian ate breakfast with me, looking better than he had in the past few days. The symptoms of his withdrawal seemed to be fading, and that was a relief.

After breakfast, Lucian leaned against my desk as I worked on some blueprints and documents. He grabbed one of the plans, inspecting it with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. "So, you actually enjoy this? All this shit with drawings and numbers?"

I shrugged, glancing up from my work. "It's a job. It pays the bills. I guess I've just gotten used to it."

Lucian tilted his head, studying the blueprint. "Yeah, well, it's kinda interesting. Watching a mess of lines turn into something useful. Better than just seeing you scribble like a madman, I suppose."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't say. Here I thought it was just part of the grind."

Lucian smirked, tossing the blueprint back onto the desk. "Yeah, well, even if it's not my thing, I can appreciate the effort. Don't get all sentimental about it."

Despite his usual mocking tone, it was nice to have him around in a more functional capacity.
I continued to work, the steady rhythm of my tasks provided some semblance of normalcy. Lucian hovered nearby, observing quietly. His presence was a steady, if somewhat unsettling, reminder of how much had changed.

Eventually, he wandered over to the drawer, grabbing one of my cigarettes and heading for the balcony. I hesitated for a moment, then decided to join him. The quiet of the apartment was too stark, and I needed the fresh air.

Stepping outside, I found Lucian leaning against the railing, cigarette in hand. I reached out, taking the cigarette from his fingers and drawing a long, deep breath. The nicotine hit me almost instantly, a soothing comfort in the midst of everything.

Lucian watched me with a smirk, then stole the cigarette back. "Figures you'd get all sentimental over a damn cigarette."

I exhaled slowly, giving him a sidelong glance. "What do you want to do today?"

Lucian took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke curling lazily into the air. "Not sure yet. Trying to stay clean and not screw up again is about all I've got."

His response was blunt, but there was a weariness to his tone that spoke more than words. He didn't have any grand plans or illusions of sudden change, just the quiet struggle to keep going, one day at a time.

I nodded, watching as he flicked the ashes away. "Well, if you figure it out, let me know. Until then, we'll just keep trying."

Lucian shrugged, taking another drag. "Yeah, sure. If that's what you want."
I stepped back inside, leaving Lucian to finish his cigarette on the balcony. The sound of him flicking the ash once more drifted through the open door as I sat down at my desk, getting back to work. The room was quiet except for the occasional rustle of papers or the scratch of a pen.

Lucian wandered in not long after, glancing around the apartment as if searching for something to entertain himself. I could feel his boredom without even looking up, the restless energy building in the air. He circled the room like a caged animal, poking through old drawers, flipping through random objects, clearly losing interest in each one as quickly as he found it.