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Lucas loved being on Eliott’s shoulders.
There were many things Lucas loved about his boyfriend; if he were to list all of them down, he would fill up an entire notebook. Simply, being on his shoulders consisted of one of the traits on that list.
Regardless of Lucas and Eliott’s considerable height difference, the concept of Lucas riding Eliot’s shoulders hadn’t occurred to either of them until several months into their relationship. It began when they were spray painting the abandoned building near Eliott’s beloved bridge with Arthur, Yann, and Basile. Lucas was enjoying it at first, but he soon became frustrated. Him being the shortest one in the group, he was unable to reach as high as the rest of them.
After constant reaching and standing on his tip-toes, Eliott could tell how frustrated Lucas had become. Eliott wasn’t sure how, but in the spur of the moment, that’s when he got the idea.
He had placed a hand on Lucas’ shoulder and squeezed it gently. Lucas immediately stopped painting, standing still as he met Elliott’s gaze.
“Eliott?”
“Lucas, let me help you.”
He rose an eyebrow. “Help me. . .?”
Elliott smiled as he turned around and bent over, peering his head to instruct, “Get on my shoulders.”
“Your should – oh.” It took Lucas a second to understand what Eliott was instructing. After the initial surprise of Eliott spontaneously proposing his idea, Lucas found himself grinning as he climbed on to his boyfriend and clamored his legs around his shoulders.
While having only Eliott’s neck and back to support him looked precarious, Lucas had no worries. He felt secure when having any kind of physical contact with his boyfriend, and was pleased that he was now able to reach higher on the mural than Eliott or any of his friends.
Ever since that day, Lucas would occasionally find excuses to sit on Eliott’s shoulders. When he felt too tired to move from the couch to the bed, he’d make grabby hands towards Eliott, asking him for a hoist. Eliott would always comply, sometimes taking him around the apartment for a ride before placing him on their bed.
However, Lucas was currently notlooking for an excuse for a (literal) lift-me-up. He was preparing to cook dinner, but unable to start because he could not find the olive oil. He was puzzled, as he clearly remembered placing it next to the stove the other day, yet it was nowhere in sight.
As Lucas was searching for the olive oil in their cupboards, he heard Eliott enter the kitchen. Lucas was too busy on his mission to point out how Eliott was breaking their rule that he was never allowed in their kitchen for any reason, ever.
“Looking for something?” The tone in which Eliott had asked that question told Lucas that Eliott was up to something. While he had been up to many somethings throughout their relationship, Lucas knew by now that these “somethings” didn’t always mean something good.
“Yeah, I can’t find the olive oil.” Lucas rummaged through the cupboard directly above the stove. No olive oil.
“Oh?” Lucas was faced away from his boyfriend, but he could hear the smile emerging on Eliott’s face. “Do you have any idea where it might be?”
“Uh, I last put it next to the stove. . .” Lucas gestured to the spot he remembered putting it before turning around, intending to go to the other side of the kitchen to check the cupboards there. However, he froze in his tracks when he found Elliott standing right behind him, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.
Normally, Lucas loved seeing Eliott grin. His smile was absolutely breathtaking; seeing it made Lucas get butterflies in his stomach, even this far into the relationship. However, nothing made Lucas happier than being the one to make Eliott smile. During his lowest points, knowing he could make his lover feel so much joy gave him a reason to keep going. It was a significant trait in the list of reasons why Lucas loved him.
Regardless, what Lucas did not love was this shit-eating grin of Eliott’s, mainly because of the context he was making it in. All he wanted was the olive oil to make some goddamn dinner, and Elliott had turned a simple task into the fundamentals of rocket science.
“Eliott.” Lucas’ tone became stern. “Where did you put the olive oil?” He didn’t need to ask if Eliott had moved it to begin with; his shit-eating grin already answered that question.
Eliott’s grin only got bigger. “Oh, nowhere special. . .”
“What do you mean, nowhere special?” Hoping Eliott hadn’t removed the olive oil from the kitchen altogether, Lucas resumed his search, looking in the cupboard across the room. As he scanned the shelves, a wave of relief washed over him when his eye caught the gleam of the glass bottle.
Unfortunately, that relief didn’t last long. Because the bottle was on the very top shelf of the cupboard. In other words, too high for Lucas to reach. . .without assistance.
Lucas’ face fell as he came to the realization. His head snapped towards Eliott with a glare. “You didn’t.”
By now, Eliott was giggling. As adorable as Eliott’s giggle was, another part of him that Lucas loved, it wasn’t what he currently wanted to hear.
“It’s awfully high, isn’t it?” Eliott stepped closer to his boyfriend. “I don’t think you’ll be able to reach it.”
“I. . .don’t think I will either.” Lucas frowned. “Eliott, this isn’t funny.”
“You’re right, it isn’t funny.” Eliott’s giggles ceased. “It’s hilarious.” He burst into full-on laughter.
Lucas sighed. “I see how it is. You want to try your hand in the kitchen again and risk poisoning me. Is that it?”
Eliott’s laughter was cut short with a gasp. “No! I don’t want to poison the love of my life!” He wrapped his arms around Lucas, holding him close.
“Okay, so if you don’t want to poison me. . .” Lucas didn’t hold Eliott in return. He knew this pained Eliott, but he was adamant on refusing to give his boyfriend affection until he knew why he did something so absurd.
Eliott didn’t hide his pain. He pouted before speaking. “I want to help you, my love. And hold you. And touch you.” He slid one of his hands down Lucas’ back, stopping at his thigh and squeezing it gently.
Lucas was about to ask Eliott how wanting to do those things to him was relevant to hiding the olive oil. Except once Eliott grabbed his thigh, he didn’t have to, because that was when the answer became clear.
The only time Eliott touched Lucas’ thighs (outside of sex) was when he was sitting on his shoulders.
“Oh.” Lucas couldn’t be mad at his lover anymore. “You like it when I sit on your shoulders?”
Eliott nodded. “I like carrying you on my shoulders because when I do, I know I’m helping you. When I help you. . .I feel like I matter.” He held Lucas’ face as he kissed his forehead.
“Eliott. . .” Lucas put his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. “Even if you didn’t carry me on your shoulders, you’d still matter to me more than anything in the entire world. It’s just a bonus.”
Eliott smiled. A genuine, heartfelt smile, not a shit-eating one. “But I like giving you bonuses. I want to make up for all the times when I’m. . .not so great.”
Lucas squeezed Eliott closer. “You can’t help the way you are, love. You don’t need to make up for it. You’re enough, and I love you.” He pressed a chaste kiss to his lover’s nose.
Lucas noticed Eliott beginning to tear up before he pulled Lucas into a tight embrace. “I love you too.” He kissed the top of Lucas’ head, cradling his boyfriend close.
After a moment of hugging each other in silence, Eliot asked, “How did I get so lucky?”
“I could ask the same thing,” Lucas said. “But we’ll argue all night if we do.” He reluctantly pulled out of Eliott’s embrace. “Now, bend over so I can sit on those giant shoulders of yours.”
“Giant shoulders, eh?” Eliott bent down, grunting as Lucas climbed on to him. “My giant shoulders are for more than just sitting on, you know.”
Lucas didn’t have to see Eliott’s face to know that he had winked and smirked. Heat rose to his cheeks, letting his flustered giggle be his response as Eliott fully stood up. He properly positioned himself in front of the cupboard, allowing Lucas to grab the olive oil with ease. He lowered the bottle into Eliott’s hand, who placed it on the counter.
Eliott then made his way to their bedroom; it was an unspoken rule that he always let Lucas off his shoulders on their bed. Eliott carefully laid down on his back, letting Lucas clamber off of him. Rather than going right back to the kitchen, Lucas shifted so he laid on his side of the bed.
Eliott peered up at his boyfriend. “Oh? Is it that time already?” He rose his eyebrows.
“No, not yet.” Lucas flushed all over again. “I just want to give you some love before dinner. You need some.”
Eliott flashed another one of his award-winning smiles before crawling into his side of the bed. Him and Lucas held each other close as they exchanged warm, gentle kisses.
As impish and insecure as Eliott could be, when being held and kissed by this wonderful man Lucas got to call his boyfriend, his heart was so filled with love, he wouldn’t have it any other way.