Wildflower - {lashton au}

Buttercup.

"Hemmings, keep up the good work."

Luke's boss slapped a harsh hand on his back with a forced smile as he walked off. Mr. Byrne didn't hate Luke; quite the opposite, actually. He just never told anyone they did a good job unless his boss was there, like he was today. Luke forced a smile to himself as he turned back around and continued entering numbers into his spreadsheets. One of his coworkers, Crystal, leaned over their shared cubicle wall and smiled sweetly at him.

"He so has a boner for you," she said jokingly, laughing as he scrunched up his face.

"Don't even say things like that," Luke said with a light laugh. "Just the thought of that man being with anyone romantically is enough to make you vomit."

Crystal laughed as she leaned her chin on her arms. "So," she said, catching his attention again, "Cal, Mikey and I are going out for drinks later. You wanna come with? Michael misses you."

Luke gave her a light, half smile. "I miss him, too," he says softly. "I'll see if I have anything—"

"Luke," she said with a playful glare, "we both know you have nothing else to do tonight. Please come out with us? We haven't really seen you in months."

"You see me everyday," Luke countered.

"We work together," Crystal said with a soft sigh. "I see you even if I don't want to."

Like gave her a playful grin. "You love seeing me."

She rolled her eyes but grinned back at him. "Don't get such a big head about it." She laughed gently before putting on a small pout. "Come on," she begged softly. "One drink? Hang out for an hour? Please?"

Luke sighed but smiled gently as he shook his head. "That damn pout of yours gets me every time," he said. "Fine. I'll be there."

Crystal cheered, clapping her hands with a wide smile. "Awesome," she said happily. "We're just going to Shasta's. Probably be there around seven or so."

"Alright, alright," Luke said, waving his hand gently. "Get back to work, gremlin. I have things to do."

"Love you too, buttercup," Crystal said before ducking back to her own cubicle.

Luke sighed gently, staring at his hands as he closed his eyes. "One night," he whispered to himself. "You can get through one night."

————

"Oh my god, look who made it!"

Like smiled and blushed slightly at Calum's words as he and his two other friends started clapping loudly at his appearance. "Alright, guys," he said as he sat down. "Not like I'm some famous mythical creature."

"Might as well be," Michael said as he leaned over to hug his friend. "Missed you, buddy."

"What are you, gay?" Luke said, laughing a bit.

"A little bit," Michael said before leaning over to his right kiss Calum's cheek and then to his left to kiss Crystal's. "Hence the polyamory, Luke."

"Yeah, yeah," Luke said with a wave of his hand. "How long have you guys been together now? Three years?"

"Three for me and Mikey," Crystal said, "and almost two for me, Mikey and Cal."

Luke smiled at his friends. "You guys make me believe in love sometimes."

Calum looked at Luke with soft eyes. "When's the last time you went on a date, Luke?"

Luke shrugged.