Belief

4.7

"I think we should get out of bed now, it is almost noon," I laugh, running my fingers through Luke's hair. His head was resting against my bare stomach, avoiding the rays of sun trying to wake him.

The sheets of the bed had become our home for the morning. The crinkles in the layers matched the crinkles in the corner of our eyes as our laughter filled the nearly empty walls. There was no motivation to get up when we could simply lie in each other's arms.

"Never." He shakes his head against my chest. I hear his stomach growl, making him giggle against my skin. "Well, maybe we should go eat some breakfast."

He pulls the covers off of us, lifting me out of bed. Luke sorts through our pile of clothes on the floor, handing me his t-shirt to put on, and slipping into a pair of boxers himself. I slide into his shirt which fell just below my finger tips. Normally I would insist on getting dressed, but Luke's parents were out for the day.

He traces my fingers with his own, interlocking them and pulling me down the hallway. The house was peacefully silent, the kitchen filled with sunlight.

"How about I make you breakfast?" Luke grins, raising his eyebrows hopefully.

"You can cook?" I cross my arms doubtfully.

"Better then you can," he teases, running his fingers down my arms and uncrossing them, pulling me forward to give me a quick kiss.

"Prove it," I push him away playfully.

"I think your attempt at cooking me birthday dinner proves enough," Luke rubs his hands together before turning towards the cupboards, getting out all the food he needed. "I am the master chef."

In the meantime, Jack walked into the kitchen, dressed for work in a suit and tie. "Morning," he pats Luke on the back, but Luke was too busy whisking eggs to care or notice. "Morning," Jack whispers in my ear, giving my bum a quick pinch before smirking and grabbing an apple off the counter, quickly leaving the house. I open my mouth, ready to yell, to tell Luke, but he turns around with such a genuine smile on his face that I couldn't bring myself to ruin his good mood. I didn't have the heart to cause trouble when everything was finally calm.

Sometimes it is worth the pain and endurance of unbearable acts if it means the ones you love can smile with innocent peace. What is someone's happiness worth? Only as much as you are willing to sacrifice to keep their smiles from becoming lost in an unattainable distance.

"Come on over," Luke wraps his arms around my waist, my bottled anger dissipating as he lifts me up onto the kitchen counter.

He gets to cooking, humming softly as he concentrates on his work. Every now and then he would give me a small task like opening a package, or peeling some apples.

"How is this?" He would ask randomly, giving me a spoonful of whatever he was attempting to make.

"Not going to lie, I doubted you, but this is impressive," I motion to the counter filled with eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, sausage, fruit, and the lot.

"Now you just have to eat it all," Luke washes his hands, walking over to where I sat on the counter, and flicking water at me. He stood between my legs, hands trailing up my thighs and resting at the hem of his shirt. Luke smiles, pressing his lips softly against my neck, tracing the marks he left last night.

"Well you have to help me eat it," I run my hands down his back, resting my head against the cabinet.

"I dunno, I'm sort of hungry for something else," Luke mumbles, fiddling with the hem of his shirt against my thighs. The warmth of his lips against my neck disappeared, a playful gleam in his eye.