I'm Here { Lukanette FF }

24 - I'm Happy For You [ FINALE PT. 2 ]

A few days have passed. Juleka constantly urges me to go out and have fun, but she always has this look in her eyes, she wants me safe and protected at home, where nothing bad could happen to me.

One day, I hear an excited Juleka rush into the room. "LUKA!" she squeals.

I turn my attention to her as I bring a cup of warm milk with honey to my lips. (A/n: it's really good, just microwave some milk then drizzle in as much honey as you like! Half a teaspoon is good for a regular-sized mug, add a bit more for sweeter results!)

"Let's go to the mall!" Juleka demands. I raise my eyebrow, "Huh? Right now?"

She nods enthusiastically. "Um, okay. Do you need to buy something?" I ask as I get up from my chair. She nods, "Um, I need to buy new guitar strings!" she says.

"But we have extra in my case-" she cuts me off, "Nope! Let's go!" she grabs my arm and yanks me out of my bed. I hold my mug firmly in my hand before setting it down on the counter as I pass by it.

Just before we leave, I spot a few boxes on the deck of the houseboat. I poke Jules, "Hey, what are those boxes for?" I question.

She looks at them nervously, "Oh, uhh, bubble wrap!"

Bubble wrap...?

I decide not to question it for now.

After we bought the guitar strings, Juleka took me to an ice cream place to grab a cold snack. As we were eating out ice creams in our seats, I glanced at Juleka.

"So now that you bought what you needed, shall we head back home?" I questioned. She glanced nervously at her phone screen before biting her lip.

"We can't! I uh... we need to get groceries! I wanna cook tonight." she told me hastily. I tilted my head, "You don't need to, I take care of the meals." I told her. She shook her head, "You always cook. This time I want to be the one to make our dinner."

"It'll be delicious," she promised with a cute little nod and a determined face. I snickered behind my hand, "Jules, no offense but... I definitely surpass you when it comes to cooking. Remember the last time you tried making lunch?"

Her face reddened at the mention, "Y-yeah..."

"It's alright. Let's just go home. I can make Chinese dumplings." I said as I stood up from my seat. She jumped up and grabbed my wrist, "No!! It's too early!" she exclaimed.

I looked back at her with a curious expression. Too early? Too early for what? For dumplings? It's never too early for those.

She shook my wrist, "Let's go to the arcade! We haven't been there in a long time, right? What about the cinema?" Jules blurted. Her eyes were alight with panic.

I narrowed my eyes, "I'm starting to wonder if you're trying to keep me away from home." I murmured suspiciously.

Juleka frowned, "Do I have to have a reason for wanting to spend time with you?"

I chuckled, "If you really just wanted to hang out with your big brother, you could've just said so." I murmured softly, pulling her close to me as I rested my chin on her head.

"Lukaaa," Juleka groaned, "stob!" she tried pushing my away but her strength was that of a mere ant's compared to the godly power of brotherly love.

"Heh, 'aight. Let's go to the arcade. Then maybe go do some archery afterward?" I let her go and walked beside her as we left. Inside my head, I was questioning whether or not I had enough money for either of those two.

~ A few hours later...

"Juleka." I groaned in exhaustion. She turned to me, "Hm?" clearly not as tired as I was. "Can we go home now?" I mumbled.