Work Text:
"...We leave for just three days, and all you've been eating are my protein chips?!"
"Well...no!" Lumine stammers, paws kneading against the carpet. Eyes flicking away from the little trash bin Lucas has just stared into, with about a dozen protein chip and protein bar wrappers stuffed inside. "I went out to eat when I felt hungry enough! Otherwise, when I- if I forgot to until it was too late out, some coffee and your protein chips were a sufficient-"
"You are not about to tell me that they're a 'sufficient replacement for a meal', Lu," Lucas huffs, striding into the room and tossing his travel bag down onto their carpet. He plops down onto the couch next to his partner, slinging an easy arm around him and pulling him close, planting a kiss on his cheek. Then another atop his forehead. A half-miffed, half-amused smile is plastered across the Riolu's cheeks, and it's all Lumine can do to bite his lip, ears folded down as he stares into Lucas' eyes. "They're...sorta filling, sure, but you should be getting your nutrients from, y'know...actual food! You're thin enough as is, Lu—and do I even want to know what you ate back when I was gone for eight months?!"
"Swirlix was there back then! And...willing to force me to eat actual meals! She didn't-" He sighs. There's not much point in trying to argue with him, and he knows it. Even if Lucas of all people should know by now that eating or resting just slips his mind sometimes, especially when he's focused on something. "It's...not my fault both of you went on reconnaissance with the others and left me with the only other member who can't cook."
"Okay, well... We sorta thought Jirachi might know how to make something for the both of you. Sorta." Lucas' legs bounce up and down, the excitement of returning from an expedition clearly still running through him. Lumine's chest flutters, the sight alone filling him with flickers of warmth—maybe that excitement is...at least partly from being reunited with him, too? "But I definitely thought that you'd know how to make something by now! Like...some nice noodles, at least! Haven't you been trying my cooking and watching me work for, like, the entire two years we've been together?"
He fidgets with the fabric of the couch between his paw pads. "I...guess we just never got around to teaching me how to make anything myself. Somehow."
Not that the real reason is quite as much a mystery as he's making it out to be. It's a little embarrassing, how reliant on Lucas' cooking he's become, but...they just hadn't left each other's side much at all before Lucas disappeared, to the point where he hadn't really had a reason to learn. And while Lucas had been gone...he doesn't blame himself for turning down Swirlix's offers to teach him. If he'd barely been able to step foot in a mystery dungeon without being plagued with thoughts of him, how could he be expected to pick up the Riolu's favorite pasttime?
"Yeah, maybe, but...that's not just it, is it?" The other's voice grows gentler, a soft sigh escaping him as he takes Lumine's paw and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Clears his throat quietly to make sure Lumine's eyes meet his. "I don't mean to nag, I promise! But I don't want to see you fall back into those habits from before. Before I returned...before we ran away from the village, even." Lucas takes a breath, smile growing softer. "I know it's still not easy to believe—trust me, I know—but you deserve to take care of yourself, even when I'm not around. To indulge yourself from time to time." He swallows. "You...you deserve to be happy. With or without me. Isn't that what I've told you for...forever?"
The snowy Vulpix winces, smile fading a little. Eyes drifting away from Lucas'. "No...no, you're right. I just...mm..."
"You never quite took the time to learn how to take care of yourself instead of just survive...did you?"
A short silence falls over them before Lumine gives a single nod. Eyes trained to the floor. And he murmurs under his breath, far too quietly for even Lucas' practiced ears to hear, "Not without...you."
"Well..." Lucas begins. His paw lifting up to gently cup his boyfriend's cheek. Letting him nuzzle against it gently as he rubs circles into Lumine's fur with his thumb. "It...is still a way to live, I guess. And, I mean, there is a time and a place for it—it got you through when nothing...when no one else would, yeah?"
"Yeah." His head quivers as it dips in another nod, a small grimace taking over his lips. "It did. Barely, but it did. It was all I could do—survive. That part wasn't my fault..."
"None of it was your fault! It's just that...you're not alone anymore, Lu. You've got me, the Society, all our friends! We're still gonna worry about you, even when we're not right here beside you. And we're not going anywhere anytime soon," He chirps, tail starting to wag behind his back. "And as much as I'm gonna nag...you know I'm not gonna make you to change if you don't want to. I'm your boyfriend, not your Pops. But I still think you deserve far, far better. No, I know it!"
A spark of determination flashes behind his crimson eyes as he goes on, Aura tassels rising a little from the side of his head. And the warmth that surges through Lumine, an echo of the day when Lucas rescued him—that same bright spark, that same hope to see him heal—it all reminds him why he'd fallen so hard for this Riolu in the first place. How they'd gotten to this point.
How lucky he is to have him.
A sheepish grin takes over Lucas' face. "So...if you do want to change...unlearn a habit or two..."
With a little chuckle, Lumine squeezes Lucas' paw back, cutting off his mumbling. "I'd...love for you to teach me how, Lucas."
Lucas isn't always going to be there for him. Nor Swirlix. Nor Mawile. Lumine knows that, as...much as the thought terrifies him. As much as he's tried to avoid considering the possibility, even when it would be smarter to prepare for it.
But...maybe that doesn't mean he can't learn to worry about himself in the same way. At least a little.
He's not about to make Lucas deal with another loved one too stubborn to change their self-destructive ways, after all.
Lucas' expression lights up like a star. "I thought you'd never ask! Lesson zero: getting you to actually eat, you dum dum!" He announces, hopping up to his feet. He turns around, paws taking hold of Lumine's and pulling him up with him in one gentle, insistent motion. The sudden move earns a yelp out of the Vulpix, forcing energy into his body so he can try to keep up, but...he'd be lying if he said he minded. It's not like he'd been doing anything exciting besides a cafe shift and a (safe, on Lucas' insistence) expedition while waiting for Lucas' return.
"Lucas, wait!" He laughs. "I need to tell you-"
"What is it? If it's about the recon, never mind that; we can talk while we cook! C'mon!"
"No, not that; just wait!" He calls, and the Riolu finally slides to a quiet halt on the stone just before he yanks Lumine out the door. He turns around with a hum and tilted head, big crimson eyes shining.
"What is it?"
And he watches as Lumine closes the distance between them, pulls himself up to stand on his hind paws, and plants a slow kiss on Lucas' lips, resting his paw on Lucas' chest. Making him quietly gasp in response, fur standing on end and tail swishing wildly behind his back. A little squeak escapes him, and Lumine opens an eye to make sure his petrified partner won't Self-Destruct before his eyes—until Lucas finally relaxes and melts into the kiss, wrapping an arm around the smaller Pokemon to hold him steady.
"Thank you for worrying about me," Lumine murmurs, breaking away with a bashful smile and breaking off eye contact. "And...I'm glad you're home." And it's all he can do to nuzzle up against him as Lucas bends down without a moment's hesitation, pulling him into a proper, loving embrace. Stroking him behind the head. Lumine's snout twitches on instinct, taking in Lucas' familiar (if somewhat stronger) scent. He's not surprised that the Riolu didn't shower before rushing in to meet him—nor does he blame him, just this once. Even he can't expect Lucas, in all his neediness, to wait an hour and a half to dry his fur before reuniting with his partner.
"Hehe... Of course, cutie. And I missed you too—more than you can ever imagine."
"Mm... That's a bold claim."
"It's true! Remember that night when we kept texting on our Expedition Gadgets 'til, like, two in the morning?"
"Mhm?"
"I only stopped talking to you 'cause my gadget was out of power and Dedenne was getting sick of charging it while I typed." Lumine's blissfully shut eyes fly open, eyebrows furrowed. He pulls away, mouth slightly agape. That...explains why Lucas' messages had slowly grown a bit farther apart as the night had went on, he supposes. More and more unfiltered, as if the Riolu was really falling asleep at his side and babbling vulnerable nonsense like any other night. He remembers grinning and chuckling like an idiot through it all...despite getting a bit miffed, typing out so many (ignored) reminders to shut off the device and go to bed. He remembers sleeping wonderfully warm afterwards with the knowledge that Lucas was safe and happy with the others, but...
...But that's not as important as recon! Where's Lucas sense of shame? His regard for others?! If the Riolu won't listen when Lumine tells him to go to sleep, that's one thing, but Dedenne, too?
"You're telling me you made her stay up during a mission...just so you could talk to me?"
"Yeah! Isn't that romantic?!" He giggles, his ears giving that familiar little wiggle. "Maybe one day, I'll be good enough at Aura to talk to you through brainwaves or telepathy instead. But 'til then, I was right—you didn't imagine that's how much I missed you!"
Despite himself, despite how irresponsible the whole thing was from the both of them...he feels his cheeks warm once again. He clicks his tongue, breaking off the hug and letting out a sigh of mock disapproval. "I imagined that at least one of you would've had enough sense to actually get some rest. We've been together for so long, I'd hoped you'd pick up at least a little of my discipline."
"Okay, I know you're not talking, Mr. 'my best—no, my boyfriend loves cooking but I can't even make rice for myself.'"
Lumine feels his cheeks start to heat up, eyes widening with embarrassment. "I...I tried, but it burnt, like I told you! No one ever told me you had to add water first."
"And no one told you you had to then eat the burnt rice to 'not waste food,' either! No wonder you just ate protein chips all day if that's what you were making for yourself..."
"It wasn't all day, it was just...mm..."
Again, Lucas giggles, hopping to his feet and pulling Lumine up with him. "Well, by tonight, it'll be none of the day. I'll make sure of it, adventurer's honor—no matter how long it takes. No more distractions; come on!"
"No matter...? I'm going to make sure you sleep in early tonight, and- whoa!"
"Less talking, more learning! To the kitchen!"