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Like so many things between them, the idea had been born on stream. More specifically, it began with a throwaway comment about spending more quality time together. Pangi hadn’t expected anything to come from it, but once more Lukey had managed to surprise him.
After all, Pangi knew just how busy Lukey had been lately, how stressed he had been by the last stretches of his degree and the impeding house move that was proving far more difficult than expected. Still, somehow, Lukey had been making a point to call when he could, talking with Pangi for a bit while he cooked, edited or was on one of his famous night walks.
But today was different. Today, they were going on a proper date. Just them, no distractions.
It was hard to say who had it suggested the idea first, casually built up during a late night phone call. But it was Lukey who had stepped up and started organising the date, everything from logistics to locations, even down to the food.
And it hadn’t been easy, considering both their busy schedules as well as the fact that they were in different countries. Finally, after a lot of back and forth, they had found a free afternoon for their date. No cameras, no fans, just them. Exactly what Pangi needed after putting in such long hours streaming Lifesteal World in the last few days.
That was how Pangi found himself sat on a picnic blanket in the shadow of a tree in a nearby park. There was a basket of treats he had prepared earlier next to him and an incoming video call on the phone in his hand.
Pangi was already smiling like an idiot when he picked up the phone, Lukey’s equally big, goofy smile filling his screen. In the background, he could just barely make out the stony landscape of the Brighton beach. Somehow, Lukey had managed to secure a spot away from other people, despite the great weather pulling everyone outside.
“Hi”, Lukey greeted, his smile growing somehow even wider.
Pangi was well aware he probably looked equally lovesick when he returned the greeting, but couldn’t resist teasing Lukey a little anyway. “Hey dude! You look so stupid right now!”
“So do you”, Lukey returned, the lovesick look in his eyes betraying just how much he didn’t mean it.
The two of them fell into easy conversation about their days, about Minecraft, about stream plans. It was one of the things Pangi loved about Lukey the most – just how easy it was to talk to the guy, how they never seemed to run out of topics, the conversation flowing so easily.
After a while, Pangi opened his picnic basket. Lukey just pulled his food out of his backpack because he didn’t actually own a basket. They had made an effort to get the same foods, only grabbing things they could get in both countries. There were sandwiches, tomatoes and other cut up veggies, mango and some stroop waffles that Lukey had bought during twitch con. For drinks, they had both bought some iced tea, mango and peach flavoured.
Sitting on call together, enjoying the same foods, it almost felt like the real deal. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend Lukey was sitting right next to him, the heat of his body warming Pangi and not the sun that was slowly but surely creeping in, chasing away the shadows from Pangi’s blanket.
“I wish you were here right now”, Lukey sighed into his ear, breaking Pangi’s immersion.
“Soon”, he promised. “I’ve been looking at flights actually. I’ll be with you before you know it.”
“For real this time?”, Lukey checked and Pangi felt a guilty pang in his chest. He remembered far too well how many times he’d had to let their plans fall through in favour of other commitments.
“I’ll try my hardest”, he promised. It was just that it wasn’t always up to him. “You know how it goes.”
“I know and I don’t even blame you”, Lukey sighed into the phone. “I just miss you.”
“I miss you too. But today has been really nice. How about I plan something similar for next week?”
Lukey groaned. “My next week is already super busy. Can we do the one after? I’ll send you my calendar.”
“You’re ridiculous and you work too much”, Pangi scolded fondly. “But yeah I’ll figure something out.”
What he didn’t say was that perhaps that date could be in person. He didn’t want to disappoint Lukey in case the timing didn’t line up. Besides, it was always a pleasure when he managed to surprise the guy. Lukey was usually so nonchalant, it was fun to see the mask slip just a little.
“I’m looking forward to it”, Lukey smiled fondly. “Hey, it’s getting kind of late. Do you want me to walk you home?”
“Such a gentleman”, Pangi giggled, playing along. “Yes, please. Take me home.”
The two of them packed up their leftovers and started walking in comfortable silence, occasionally broken by casual observations. Lukey stopped every few minutes to greet any dog he saw, making sure to show them to Pangi as well. Soon enough Pangi found himself doing the same, if only to see Lukey’s beaming smile in response.
Faster than he liked, they were stood at their respective front doors. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”, Pangi questioned, desperate to keep talking, to keep the date going just a little longer.
“Editing “, Lukey groaned, looking exhausted at the mere thought of it.
“Can I join?”, Pangi asked with a coy undertone. If it wasn’t Lukey he was talking to, he might have worried about coming off as too much, as clingy and codependent. But it was Lukey and he knew the sentiment was very much mutual so he saw no problem asking.
“Of course. Well, Jacob will be there because we need to talk through some stuff, but I’m sure he won’t mind”, Lukey agreed.
“Oh, he definitely will”, Pangi grinned, well aware how people perceived the two of them together.
“True, but he can deal”, Lukey grinned back. “I’ll see you later then?”
“Yeah”, Pangi agreed, relieved that the end of the date wouldn’t mean the end of his Lukey time. “I had a lot of fun today. Thank you for organising everything.”
“Of course. You’re worth it.” There was a faint blush dusting Lukey’s cheeks. It was something Pangi had learned early on about Lukey. He was happy to return the energy he was given, but it was hard for him to take the first step, to put himself into that position of vulnerability.
“I love you.” The words flowed easily of Pangi’s tongue, heartfelt and familiar. It wasn’t like they hadn’t said them to each other dozens of times before, both on stream and off. Still, it felt different in this context, no bit or plausible deniability to hide behind, after an explicitly romantic date. What if he had misjudged? Was he moving too fast?
“I love you too.” Lukey’s soft smile wiped away all of Pangi’s worries. As always, they were on the same page. “Today wouldn’t have been half as fun without you here.”
“Okay, okay, enough glazing”, Pangi laughed. “I’ll see you in vc in a bit. No need to get all sappy on me.”
“Don’t leave me waiting, sir”, Lukey threatened playfully, the grin audible in his voice.
The call ended, the phone’s black screen staring mockingly back at Pangi. For a moment, all he could think about was the fact that Lukey wasn’t here, wasn’t right next to him where he belonged. Soon, he promised himself and pushed open the front door. He had a discord vc to get into.