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chapter three; her
Luke could've cried when the doorbell rang and this time the social worker stood on the other side with a tired looking Lexi in her hold. The second Luke opened the door he was reaching forward and taking the blonde baby from her hold, pressing the two year old against his chest with a sob.
Lexi, blissfully unaware of the situation, continued to babble happily as she was reunited with a familiar face.
"Hello you" Luke whispered as he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Missed you." As he walked into the door, he smiled sadly when he saw Ashton stood biting at his nails anxiously until Luke leaned over and passed him Lexi.
Lexi grabbed a handful of Ashton's curls and tugged, causing both men to laugh softly. The first laugh they had shared in forever.
"Heya pretty." Ashton smiled down at her, dimples making an appearance. Lexi placed her head on his shoulder and placed her thumb in her mouth, causing Ashton's face to drop once more, a reminder that her parents are no longer here to comfort her or hug her when she's sleepy.
"I've set the court date for tomorrow. Bring the paperwork and we'll get Lexi in your custody." The social worker said, although it looked like she hadn't wanted to interrupt the moment between the three. Luke had forgotten she was there if he was being honest.
And then she was gone and Luke and Ashton were alone with a two year old.
"Breakfast?" Luke asked, causing Ashton to look up with a small frown while rocking Lexi back and fourth as a way to distract her from the tense atmosphere.
"What? So this is it? We pretend that this set up is normal?" Ashton said, his voice strained and Luke couldn't figure out if that meant that he was about to burst into a fit of tears or start screaming in anger. Knowing Ashton, it was most likely the second.
"What else are we supposed to do, Ashton?" Luke snapped back through gritted teeth, keeping his voice low to not startle Lexi. "Do you want breakfast of not?"
The day passed slowly, Ashton distracts himself by playing with Lexi on the floor, showing her how to build the best Lego sculptures while Luke sorted out the paperwork. Legally, he and Ashton could live here with Lexi- no more empty apartment with no purpose. However, he couldn't help but feel like if he moved in here he would be replacing Erica and Isaac, something he couldn't possibly ever do.
Because that's the thing, Luke and Ashton could try, but they'd never be Erica and Isaac, Lexi would always pine for them.
Luke watched from where he was looking through paperwork to see Ashton messing with Lexi's hair- "You have curls, Lex! Like me, can I tell you a secret?" Lexi looked up with him with wide eyes as if this secret was going to be the best thing she ever heard, "Only the best people have curls-" he whispered, although it was exaggerated so Luke could still here.
