twenty
Michael was somewhere in between sleep and consciousness. His bent arm rested over his closed eyes, keeping out the light from Luke's apartment windows.
He could smell pancake batter, the sizzling sound was probably the original source waking him up.
"Lou," Luke whisper-yelled as he peered over at the seven-year-old, "don't touch him."
She lifted up her hand, poking her index finger into Michael's side. "He's asleep," she informed her uncle.
"I know, let him sleep." Luke moved their breakfast over to a serving plate before turning off the stovetop and heading towards the breakfast able.
Lucille was sitting on a wooden chair, her head barely able to see over the table top. Luke sat down with his youngest niece, placing her on his lap and helping her cut her breakfast into smaller pieces.
Lou poked Michael once more. "Wake up," she whispered, poking him again and again.
Michael opened up his hazy eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the daylight. A smile rose on his face as he spotted the small child standing in front of him, an equally happy smile as she realized he has awoken. "What're you doing?" He asked her, his morning voice low and hoarse.
"Waking you up!" She responded, giggling a wide-mouth smile. Lucille was missing her two front teeth, making her more adorable than usual.
He reached out his arms, stretching his back. Mike got up on his feet, following the second grader to Luke and Lucille. "Luke never makes breakfast when it's just me," Michael told the two girls as he sat down.
He took a still-warm pancake from the serving, tearing it apart with his hands and beginning to eat. He knew it disgusted Luke to watch him eat like that, but it didn't stop him.
"You don't get up until noon when it's just you over," the blonde shot back.
"Do you have sleepovers, too?" Lou asked, her blue eyes wide with fascination. Michael's existence made her fascinated.
"Yeah, kind of," Michael responded without missing a beat. He had a grip on his lips while Luke's cheeks were turning a shade of crimson.
"We're going to the zoo today," Luke informed Michael as he changed the topic, "I've got the girls until this evening."
"The zoo? I love the zoo." Michael's mouth was filled with his breakfast as he tried not to slobber over the kitchen table. "Do they still have the flamingos?"
"I think they're away for the winter."
"Everything is garbage," Michael stated, making Lou giggle. "I'm glad she thinks I'm funny."
The four finished their breakfast, Luke and Michael taking glances at each other and unable to hold in their smiles.
They arrived at the park a little before 11, Lou holding onto Michael's hand as if her life depended on it. Luke had Lucille on his hip, the five-year-old whining anytime the blonde tries to put her down.
They found the zoo map, deciding what their priorities were. Polar bears and penguins were top priority, next came the African animals, then the aquarium. Everything in between was obviously important, but not as important as polar bears.
Somewhere around giraffes, Luke's hand bumped Michael's and they were drawn closer together. Their fingers entwining as they watched Luke's nieces run up to the wooden fence, getting as close to the animals as they possibly could.
Luke liked the way he treated the two girls. He was the fun one, while Luke was more sophisticated. Michael would pretend to throw them in the flamingo cage, and Luke would pull them down and scold Mike. Michael would put Lou up on his shoulders and spin her around, Luke would come over and steady Mike to make sure he didn't drop the child. Michael would hold out his hands from the zoo bus when the announcement went "Keep all body parts inside the bus", Luke would [again] scold him.
Luke and Mike dropped off the girls at their own home a little before dinner before going into the city for a dinner date of their own.
Luke looked over the candle-lit table at Michael and knew that he felt something more than just fond for the man. He was worried he missed his chance, though. There comes a point in any friendship where the two know that they'll always be better as friends than anything more.
It's okay to not be attracted romantically to your friends, it's okay to cherish their friendship without claiming you got friend-zoned.
Luke didn't realize that until Michael pointed it out.
Luke doesn't want to be friends forever, he wants to be something more. He knows he's not entitled to Mike, though, or any bullshit like that.
He wants Michael to be happy, and it's okay if that happy doesn't include Luke as a lover.
Michael feels something stronger than fond for Luke. He's simply too afraid to take a step forward. He's not sure if he and Luke want the same things in life. Luke wants a forever partner, Mike just wants a heart to fill the other side of his bed.
A little before midnight (11:56 p.m. to be exact), Michael walked around Luke's bedroom, looking up at all the photos and books surrounding his spacious bedroom. There were plants thriving on his windowsill, all of his shoes stacked on the top of his bookcase.
His room had a vibe that Michael could flow to.
Luke was in the bathroom, the shower running. Mike didn't know what to do, he didn't want to go to sleep without debating life with Luke.
His fingers went across a notebook, looking at the yellow-ing pages.
He picked it up, hoping for a cool book from some other country. Instead, he found Luke's diary. Pages were filled to the the maximum with doodles and words, his inner thoughts and inner demons.
A note to my ex-love and new love, a page read.
I will forever be in love with the memories we made. But, I'm making new ones with someone better.
I am not in love with you anymore, I am in love with someone new. You moved on before I, I was mad for too long.
He took your side of the bed, your side of the closet. He leaves plates out like you, he is unable to fold laundry like you. He makes me smile like you once did.
I have moved on.
He doesn't love me, but you didn't at first either. I will be there for him like I was there for you. He cares for me, Alice, even though you rarely did.
I will be happy, and he will be part of it.
