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Neither Luke nor Gerard could be bothered to cook. Well, they could be bothered, but they had decided to have sex instead. A good choice, in both of their opinions. Luke, in addition to being a little lazy, was also in the mood to go out; and the two had decided to get sushi. He could almost taste the salmon rolls. “Ubers 4 minutes away!” Gerard raised his voice as he spoke- making his way down the stairs as he slipped his watch onto his wrist. Luke was battling with his laces, trying to get them to stay tucked in. Gerard paused himself in front of the door; casually groping himself as he patted his pockets and mentally ticked that he had everything. He picked up his jacket, and swivelled it round to put it on as he spoke once more “You ready?” Luke looked up at him, hopping off the sofa and readjusting his shirt- Gerard had moved to preen himself in the mirror. “Are you?” Gerard rolled his eyes; Luke could see it in the mirror. “Hey, I’m not the one who spend an hour and a half in the shower.” Luke folded his arms “I wouldn’t have been that long if you hadn’t joined me half way through.” Gerard chuckled at him, and turned himself round to give him a kiss. Luke lifted himself slightly onto his toes, enjoying the brief moment and intimacy. Gerard was sure the Uber could wait 30 seconds.
Luke slid into the backseat, taking Gerard's hand once he had buckled himself in. Gerard rattled off the address, and let his fingers lace through Luke's. Sure, he could have driven. But then he couldn’t drink and he really wanted a cocktail. “What would you do if I got your name tattooed on me?” Luke looked to his partner, whos eyes widened slightly. “What?” Luke shrugged one shoulder “You know, like would you like it?” Gerard furrowed his brow; going to speak several times before finally doing so, unsure of how to phrase his sentence “It’s your body, but I've never really been fond of name tattoos. It seems a little…” Gerard tilted his head to one side, searching for a word “white trash?” Luke provided, and Gerard chuckled- nodding in confirmation. “Yeah, something like that.” Luke gave him an innocent smile “Don’t worry, I'm not going to do it. One tattoo is enough and I'm already perfect, I'm not going to ruin this with needles.” He gestured to himself with his free hand, and Gerard gave him a sly smile “So modest.” Luke rolled his eyes, unlocking his phone as he spoke “Like you disagree.”
Gerard and Luke were sat at their table; Luke was running his foot absently up and down Gerard's leg. “What are you thinking for our next trip? I have a week off coming up. I was thinking Switzerland” Luke groaned at Gerard. “I am not going skiing again, I almost broke my arm last time.” Gerard smirked- he was greatly amused by that memory. “I know, it was fucking hilarious. Where do you want to go?” Luke let out a noise of thought, tapping his finger on the table as he pondered. “I wanna go somewhere romantic. Paris. Let’s go to Paris…and if we end up at Disneyland so be it” Gerard chortled, and rolled his eyes. “Of course you want to go to Disneyland again.” Gerard paused for a moment “France does have some wonderful ski resorts.” Luke put his elbow on the table, resting his forehead in his hand as he spoke “I am not going skiing. It’s dangerous, and cold.” Gerard was about to speak, when their waitress returned; “Hi guys, I have nigiri” she was bright and cheery, and clearly intended to list one item at a time. “Just put everything in the middle, thanks.” Gerard looked at her; momentarily distracted from their conversation by the presence of food. “Alright, I’ll pop these down and be back with your drinks” she put the three plates down (an assortment of sushi, and tempura) and left to get their drinks. Gerard picked up his chopsticks (which Luke had essentially tortured him into learning to use) and picked up one of the rolls as he spoke “I'm sure we can reach a compromise” Luke rolled his eyes, picking up one of the rolls himself as he spoke “I will go skiing, if we can go to Disneyland too.” He popped the sushi into his mouth; enjoying the freshness of salmon, the salt of the seaweed, and the creaminess of the rice. It was such a wonderful marriage of flavour and he had no idea how Gerard had lived without it for so long. “Fair. But I'm not wearing matching shirts.” Gerard pointed the chopsticks at Luke as he spoke, emphasising his point. “One day of matching shirts” Luke bargained, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice “And I’ll take a nurses uniform with me.” Gerard blinked at him, sly smirk appearing on his face as he enjoyed the image it conjured in his head. “Two days. No underwear on the plane.” Gerard countered, enjoying their bargaining. Luke was about to reply when the waitress returned, holding a bottle and a glass. She put the beer in front of Gerard, and the cocktail in front of Luke, before speaking “alright, everything okay with your meal?” Luke nodded- mouthful of fried aubergine, and Gerard looked to her “Great, thanks.” She gave them a smile “let me know if you need anything else” she added, before walking away. Gerard and Luke raised the drinks in front of themselves, and swapped them round. “You know it’s a little rude to assume I'm the one with the fruity cocktail.” Luke commented, taking a swig from the bottle. “This has a much higher alcohol content than beer. I have no idea why this isn’t classed as manlier than that piss water.” Gerard nodded to the bottle; enjoying his vibrantly coloured and so very, very delicious drink. “It’s delicious, and perfect for broke students.” Replied, picking up another roll and dipping it into soy sauce as he spoke “Three days. Uniform, no underwear on the plane or water rides.” Gerard let his eyes widen slightly, roll hovering over the wasabi “Sold.”
“I have two options, and you have to pick one.” Luke looked at his partner as Gerard shrugged his jacket on; bill paid. “Hit me.” Luke smiled at him, returning his phone to his pocket “Diner for a chocolate coated waffle, or divorce” Gerard laughed at him, holding his hand out and letting Luke take it “I suppose I don’t have much choice then. I’ll start getting the papers.” Luke rolled his eyes as they walked out of the restaurant “You’re an ass.” He replied, tone light as the two fell into step. It was a nice night; the transition period between evening and night left the sky a lovely bright blend of oranges and almost unnatural reds, and the weather was surprisingly mild for the time of year. A slight breeze made everything feel fresh and alive. Luke enjoyed the security that came with holding his partners hand; he felt safe when he was near Gerard. Like nothing could hurt him. Luke let go of his partners hand, and leaning into him instead; prompting Gerard to put his arm around him, pace slowed. “comfortable?” Gerard quipped, Luke nodded loosely “Yeah, I'm just cold.” Gerard shook his head “Probably because you’re in shorts.” He replied, moving Luke off of him and shrugging off his jacket as they walked “I don’t see you complaining about them.” Gerard handed Luke his jacket as he replied “Oh, I'm not. I would hate for you to be any more dressed than you are.” Luke took the jacket from him; it was too big- Gerard had a larger frame to begin with, and the jacket wasn’t a tight fitting one to begin with. “See, this is why I wear long sleeves. Because I always end up giving you my fucking coat so you don’t get pneumonia” Luke smiled up at Gerard; an innocent glow on his face. “And that’s why I love you.” He provided, taking Gerard's hand once again. “More than anything. Except marshmallows.” Luke rolled his eyes “I know my place. Why do you think I keep marshmallow fluff in the house?” Gerard chortled, glancing down at his partner “Which I fully intend to eat off of you later.”
They decided to stick to one dessert; they both knew damn well how big the waffles were, and they had just eaten dinner. “You’re looking at this waffle the same way you look at me when I get out the shower.” Luke looked at Gerard, taking a forkful of chocolate and caramel coated waffle. The waffle itself, was chocolate; it was coated in caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, ice cream, and strawberries. The strawberries, in lukes opinion meant it was healthy. “I know…I enjoy eating both equally.” Gerard provided; punctuating his sentence by shoving a sizable forkful into his mouth. Luke took out his phone, putting his own fork in his mouth and holding it up to take a photo of his partner; who gave him a very pleased cat-that-got-the-cream look and a closed mouth smile; mouth evidently full. Luke giggled at him; not his manliest laugh, but it was genuine. “Enjoying that?” he asked, taking another forkful before Gerard got to it. “Mmm” Gerard replied; declining to speak in favour of chewing on the chocolatey, painfully sweet and so very moreish waffle. Gerard had fond memories of diners. His first decent sexual experience aside (as enjoyable and painful as that was) he’d spent a lot of evenings sat in them eating burgers and venting to undoubtedly underpaid waiting staff about the horrors of A&E. A few of them had given him free desserts. He was, admittedly glad that part of his life was over though. There was nothing he’d rather do than sit across from Luke with a mouthful of sugar. “I like it when you look at me like that.” Luke's voice broke Gerard from his mind, and he looked to his partner. “like what?” Luke let his finger run along the plate; lifting chocolate syrup from it “Like I'm the only person you see.” He provided, sticking his finger into his mouth absently and enjoying the bitter-sweet chocolate. “I’m just thinking about…well, everything. There's nowhere I would rather be right now.” Gerard took his partners hand; enjoying, as always the contrast of his soft and warm skin, and the somewhat cool rings that sat on his finger. Luke gave him a small, but whole smile; eyes full of love, as they always were when he looked at him. “I’m so, so glad I met you Luke. I owe so much of my happiness to you and I can’t articulate the feeling I get from being around you. Its infuriating.” Luke smiled at him; showing his teeth and squeezing his partners hand. “I know. I have an English degree and I can’t think of the words either.” Luke let out a sigh of a laugh; he really did love his partner- it was why he found it so frustrating when people looked at him as a stereotype. He wasn’t here for money. He married Gerard because he was everything he wanted in a partner. He was interesting, and full of life and spunk, but he was still stable. He was secure, and Luke understood why people called their partners their rocks. He was always there, and Luke had more fun when he was. He felt safe when Gerard went clubbing with him; he could relax and let loose, and have fun. Gerard made nights in on the sofa seem so appealing, it was him he enjoyed; more so than the activity. Sure, having a partner with money was great; he didn’t have to worry about rent, he could pay for a round if his friends were broke, and the regular holidays were nice. But it was the fact that Gerard was willing to share his money, and everything he had with the people he loved that appealed to Luke. If he had £1 or £100, he would give it to you if you needed it more. Gerard leant himself forward, meeting Luke in the middle and giving him a kiss. It wasn’t deep, or hungry. It just said what words couldn’t. Gerard had not had a horrible life, and he wouldn’t say he had. He had struggled with himself for a long time; he didn’t want to split from Elizabeth if it meant she would struggle financially, and especially not if it meant he wouldn’t see his kids. He knew Elizabeth wouldn’t do it intentionally, but he had an erratic schedule back then and it would have happened. Luke was the first person he had loved like this. Romantically. He loved Elizabeth as he imagined people loved siblings, and he obviously adored his children, but this was different, it filled a separate part of his being; one that he hadn’t had filled before. Pun aside. He loved Luke because he embodied everything he needed in his life; everything he had missed. He was spontaneous, and intense, and so open with his affection. Luke was young- and so he had a young soul; he wanted to belong and be accepted, and Gerard enjoyed being with him so much. He kept him young and gave him access to the world he had denied himself of for so long. Gerard of course, had wanted a partner. And lukes age had appealed to him because he didn’t want to sit on the sofa and do nothing. He wanted to go out, to get lost in cities, and tease him with tight shorts and chocolate syrup. Gerard wanted to live and the mop of blonde that he saw in the morning said to him he was doing just that- it wasn’t a lie anymore. He was being honest with himself, and the people around him and he had found the love of his life as a result.
Once they were home (Uber really was the modern world’s greatest invention) the two made their way upstairs; Luke striped himself down and climbed into the bed (after brushing his teeth), blanket over his waist and lamp on, before dropping his book on his lap. He was reading ‘Journey Under the Midnight Sun’ an incredibly frustrating, but wildly interesting book. Gerard came out of the bathroom after about half an hour, rubbing his hair with a towel- clad in nothing but boxers. “Do you want to come to the gym with me tomorrow?” he asked, balling up the towel, and throwing it towards the wash basket- wiggling his brows at Luke when it landed cleanly. Luke rolled his eyes with an amused smirk, replacing his bookmark and putting the book on the table. “Sure. I should probably burn off that waffle anyway…” Gerard gave him a loose smile, dropping into the bed beside him “I think you’re perfect as you are. Do you know what I would do for a stomach that flat?” He tucked his legs into the blanket, putting an arm around Luke, who shuffled himself down to lie on his chest. “You’re in great shape. But if you want a flat stomach maybe stop eating 4 packets of marshmallows in one sitting?” Gerard snorted at the very idea “Nope, not worth it.” He got himself comfortable; kissing the top of his partners head. “I love you.” Gerard mumbled into his hair, enjoying the softness of it against his face. “so much.” Luke mumbled; he hated saying I love you too. It felt less genuine. He rested his hand on Gerard's chest, enjoying the steady beat of his heart in his ear, and the way the hair on his chest felt against his palm, and let himself drift to sleep. He would dream of waffles, and Disneyland.