Loving Luke | muke [c]

Twelve

Waking up to the sound of Luke's voice felt very unfamiliar, but very nostalgic at the same time. It seemed quite distant, and I had to focus very hard on listening to his scrappy voice to make out what he was saying, but I couldn't fight the smile on my face. Still with my eyes closed, I listened to the conversation Luke was having with an unknown person. His serious tone suggested he was speaking to a doctor, and my heart tightened at the thought. Luke's voice, however, didn't waver or crack, which to me, made it seem like a good sign. All I wanted was for all of this to be over.

I sat up with a groan, rubbing my eyes slowly to rid them from sleep. My back was aching and my head was pounding; there was no other way to describe it other than I felt like complete and utter shit. I was still dressed in the jeans and t-shirt I had worn on our trip over and I couldn't help but wonder how I had managed to sleep with jeans on. Every single question seemed to disappear from my mind as I heard Luke's footsteps on the wooden floor nearing the living room. And the louder his footsteps got, so did the beating of my heart. I looked up to see him standing there in a pair of grey joggers and a white shirt, different from what he was wearing when I put him to bed. His hair was sticking out in various different directions and his eyes were puffy from sleep. He gave me a faint smile, stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his joggers as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Morning." He murmured as I followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat at one of the stools and leaning my head against the marble counter.

"I'm glad you didn't say good morning, because there is definitely nothing good about it yet." I groaned, hearing Luke chuckle lightly over the sounds of clattering pans as he rummaged through his things. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty bad." The blond sighed, finally pulling out a frying pan and putting it on the electric stove, walking around the kitchen opening cupboards as well as the fridge. "I felt pretty weird all night because of my stomach but I'm better now. How was your night?"

"I don't know." I yawned, stretching out my arms as I did so. "I'm not sure if I feel this destroyed because I spent my night on a small couch or if it's because I'm just that tired."

Luke stopped what he was doing, turning to look at me. I couldn't deny the sinking feeling in my heart as I caught a glimpse of hurt flashing through his eyes as he frowned. He bit down on his lower lip, not looking at what he was doing as he took two eggs from the fridge and placed them next to the stove. I already knew Luke was making omelettes. Those were Luke's favourite thing to cook after he discovered there was a whole other world in cooking other than mac and cheese. 

"Why didn't you sleep with me?" Luke whispered, looking down at his hands as the words left his lips. I wondered if he was actually looking at his soulmate tattoo, most likely answering his own question. 

I didn't respond. I let the silence answer Luke's question as he continued to pull things out of the fridge and place them next to the eggs on the counter. I wondered if Luke was even checking to see if all those things had expired, but I was pretty sure his mind was reeling with other worries other than the expiry date on his food. He was biting on his lip so hard I was scared it would start bleeding and the creases on his forehead were so prominent I thought there would be a permanent mark of them being there.

"We've got to start going through Ale's things today." Luke cleared his throat, back facing me as he spoke. I closed my eyes, swallowing hard as I nodded in agreement, even though Luke couldn't see me. The air between us was growing thick, and I could tell Luke was desperately trying to make things better. "I have to decide what stuff I want to take back home with me, what stuff I'm going to want to donate and what I'll be taking back to his parents."

"Right." I muttered, looking down at my wrist. I would constantly find myself imagining what my wrist would look like with the small black anchor inked onto it, in the same way Luke's was. I wondered if Luke would've been as happy to find out I was his soulmate as he was when he found out about Ale. I wondered if he'd look at me with as many stars in his eyes as he did when he looked at Ale and if he would speak so highly of me to everyone else like he did with Ale. "I think we should also call the moving company sometime soon and just get a quote for all the stuff, you know. What're you doing about the lease on this apartment?"

"I'll have to pay the fine." Luke huffed heavily, shaking his head. His back was still facing me, but I knew that he was holding back the tears by how strained his voice sounded. "Ale's parents have decided to give me his shares on their company, which I guess means I'll have enough money to pay for the fine anyways, but it just feels so wrong, you know? Like, using Ale's money to pay this thing." Luke clicked his tongue, letting his head hang down as he breathed in deeply. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way."

"It never is." I spoke up after a long silence. The only sound that filled the small kitchen was the sizzling of Luke's food on the frying pan, and the smell of omelette made its way around the area, making both mine and Luke's stomachs grumble loudly. I hadn't even thought how long it had been since I last had a meal. "But, you know, we never get more than we can handle. So, I know you can handle this."

"I know I can." Luke nodded as he placed both omelettes on their respective plates. He finally turned around, smiling sadly as he placed one of the plates in front of me, taking a seat across from me so that we could both eat. "I just really wish I didn't have to."

"I know." I agreed as I took a bite. I had forgotten how good Luke was at cooking and just how much I missed having him make me simple meals. Those were some of my favourite memories with the blond, and sitting with him at that moment was only making me miss everything from before. I had turned into a sad, nostalgic mess and I wished I could go back to being the Michael I was before Luke came back. I wished I could just be over him. "I wish you didn't have to either."

"I'm glad you're here, Michael."

"I'll always be here, Luke."

~~~

when the last chapter only has 6 comments :--------------------------------)))))))))))))))))

*edit* i stand corrected, 3 comments. lol.