. don't stray

[Deleted]

They are giggling like schoolchildren and he loves it, so used to being chastised by Becca for behaving childishly whenever he showed too much enthusiasm. He feels his age, which is an unusual sensation for such an old soul. "Oh yeah. I think by the end she felt I was clutter, not just my stuff." Don would probably be pissed in ordinary circumstances, but Luke knew his parents struggled to stay mad at him, especially when he made a big show out of making responsible decisions. The real sweetener would be the fact he was with Judith, and how obvious it would be that the two of them were starry eyed for each other. "He'd love to see you, it's me he'd be pissed at." He's relieved that she doesn't pursue the option, wanting to keep the night between them. He whips out his phone. "Jude, just stop. I'm paying for everything and the sooner you accept that the easier this'll be. Though I'm so broke, think it's gonna have to be one room with one double bed. I'm so sorry, it's such a shame."

[Judith Haddock]

It's a love that is messy and warm. Both present and silly. It feels troublesome, but that's more so because of a ten year resistance. It feels like a love that would have found a way, and it happened to be in the fullness of an Italian restaurant. A space where Lucas had his memories, but this happened to be her first. She grimaces through laughter, "oh, I'm sorry. My ex found me messy too. Juuuudith, you must take your shoes off immediately," she mocks her ex's tick for cleansliness. Judith taps gently at the stem of her wine glass before lifting it to her lips and finishing off her glass. God, she was going to be so hungover. "Oh, Don. I'd definitely puke in his nice new Mercedes," she closes the option, unwilling to let anyone intrude in their moment. "A shame you'll be sleeping on the floor," she jokes and takes a final forkfull of cake. "Let's have this for breakfast."

[Deleted]

A server slips their bill onto the table in a not-so-subtle hint that perhaps it was time they wrapped this up. It didn't matter how many times he came here or how much he spent, he had never been able to extract much warmth from the staff, and he sort of loved that about the place. Luke quickly pulls the leather folder across the table, scribbling down a good tip and signing away more money than he could comfortably afford. Worth every cent. "Oh Max, fuck Max," he says, about a man he has never met but spent more time than he should have thinking about. He asks the server to box up their leftovers, relishing the idea of lazing around in a king size bed with her, eating cake for breakfast. "Is that right? It's supposed to be good for your back, no problem," he says, feigning indifference. He scrolls through a hotel booking site on his phone, wondering if he should just opt for something cheap and cheerful... fuck it, he thinks, he'll just have to ask his mom to "lend" him some cash when he got home. Molly had never been very good at saying no to him. He books the Kimpton Marlowe Hotel, his parents' preferred choice on their many trips to visit him. "Come on, hotel's just round the corner."

[Judith Haddock]

"Fuck him," she agrees, sliding her chair backwards and throwing her coat over her shoulders. Judith had never felt attractive till she had left home for college. Even then, it felt like men only loved a half-finished version of herself. A version untrue and incomplete. A version that existed only in the dim light of college bars, where all that mattered was looks and a little charisma. She'd always felt like she had to apologize for herself. Then there was Lucas, who made her the most her. Who was the least half-hearted person she ever knew. The cloud that leaves her lips is a familiar ghost. Boston is chilly, but no colder than home. She forgot what it was like to stand between buildings. Her fingers find warmth in Lucas' and she pulls him along, her dark eyes looking up to his. "Boston's okay," she notes as she looks up at the starless sky. She pulls him in, leaning onto his shoulder for a brief second before nudging him an arms length away. She teases intimacy as her nervous heart beats. "This feels like a dream. We'll wake up soon and bam. Back slinging bad lattes."

[Deleted]

He slips his jacket on, a nervous energy building between them as they broach the daunting task of changing location. With one hand holding the doggy bag of food they realistically probably wouldn't even end up eating, Lucas slips his free arm around her tiny waist, pulling her into him. It's chilly and there's a definite shift in the atmosphere, though it has yet to settle long enough for him to read what's going through her mind. "Feels pretty magical to me." He's being cheesy but he doesn't care, everything he's feeling is so new to him, the prospect of playing it cool seems like the most ridiculous thing in the world. There was no fear of judgment, no worrying about putting her off. He falls quiet as she pulls away from him, watching her watch the sky. She seemed nervous. "Judith." He's still, his hands now in his pockets, the bag hanging from his wrist. His breath billows out around him as he says that one word. He closes the gap between them, looking down at her, studying her face again. That was quickly becoming his favourite thing to do. "You are so fucking beautiful," he says, more as an observation to himself than for her benefit. "C'mere." He slips his arm back around her waist, pulling her body against his own and bringing his lips to meet hers. It's a slow, relishing in the moment kiss, the kind of kiss he knew he'd be scared to give her back home for fear of there being more time to be caught together. When they part, he keeps her close. "I'm really sorry, I should have done that a long time ago."

[Judith Haddock]

Judith feels more exposed in the cold air. The warmth of wine was still inside of her, but the crowd had let way for clouds to bury the stars. She's beginning to let her thoughts tumble when he calls her name. The familiarity of his face felt like a comfort. She feels more at ease standing in front of him, studying him as he studies her. "I am?" she asks and she means it. His words feel like they hold more weight than when others had spoke them. The kiss feels charged. She melts into it easily, like second nature. Her hands tie around his back and for a moment it's like she's floating. She smiles as they part, reading sincerity in his eyes as he speaks. "You really are a natural at love," she tips her forehead to his. "Lucas Haddock has a nice ring to it," she teases, pressing her lips to his and interlocking their fingers. "I love you and I forgive you. I'll thank Emmy for teaching you the art of kissing."

[Deleted]

Lucas was a boy brought into the world with more love than most. The final, surprising end to a long and painful fertility journey for the Pattersons, they hadn't ever let a day go by without telling him that he was so loved, so desperately wanted. It mostly annoyed him but deep down he knew it was a huge part of who he was today, and he was grateful that they had taught him how important it was to say what you feel and let love grow. "You make it easy." He pecks her lips again, greedy for more but wanting to get her out of the cold. Pulling away, his hand finds hers and he tugs her in the direction of the hotel, grinning. "You'd break my parents' heart letting the Patterson family line die with me?" He gives her hand a squeeze, childishly swinging their arms ever so slightly. "You really should, she'd love that. It's not all she taught me." Was alluding to his sex life with her high school bully the best call? Cringing at himself, he's immensely grateful that they're at the hotel and hopes that it distracts her as he drags her to the check in desk. "Hey, can we check in? I just booked online... yeah, Luke Patterson."

[Judith Haddock]

In a way, it seemed at though Lucas and Judith were born for each other. His parents somehow moved within a couple of doors down from hers, her mom had found their cat and his mom had magically gotten pregnant after years of trying. Judith squeezes his hand and looks up at him as they swing open the door of the hotel. "Oh my god," she cries in dismay and holds her hands to her ears, "virgin ears!!" Judith pauses to look up at the ceiling in the lobby, her drunken eyes are momentarily dazzled by the details. "This is not on a barista budget, who are you trying to impress?" she teases and rests her head on his shoulder as he checks into the hotel. In truth, neither of them really needed to be working at the cafe. Build yourself some work ethic, Huey at told her when she came home with her tail between her legs, you'll be earning your keep. They slip in and out of the elevator, her hand stealing away the door key and frolicking up the hallway. "Number... 24?" she skips her heels and drums her fingers on the door, swiping the card and been answered by an angry beep. "Oh shit. Wait. Number 26?" Out of breathe, her feet shift to next door and she swipes once more. "Ah ha!" Judith grins widely and swings open the door. Her fingers slide into Lucas', "this is what I imagine the rooms in the Titanic to look like."

[Deleted]

As the key cards were slid across the counter towards him, he wishes he could afford to upgrade them to a suite. It wasn't Lucas' usual style to be showy on dates, if that was even what this was, but there was something about Judith that made him want to give her everything in the world, even knowing that she wasn't the materialistic type. "Just the love of my life. Probably," he grins drunkenly, kissing the top of her head as she rests it on his shoulder. Before long they are outside the door to their room and now it's Lucas' turn to feel faintly nervous, his heartbeat increasing at the prospect of having her all to himself in the four walls just beyond this door. Pouring in, he chucks the food to one side and locks the door behind him, laughing at her reaction. "You are so cute," he says, using their linked hands to pull her in for another kiss. "Don't hate me but I'm gonna have to give Molly a quick call before she sends out a search party," he gives her a genuinely apologetic look, embarrassed that his mom was still this way even now. "You relax okay? Have whatever you want from the minibar, I'll keep it brief."

[Judith Haddock]

Meredith Haddock used to tell her teenage daughter that Lucas cared very deeply for her. At the height of their friend break-up, when Judith would lay in her bed in a heap of saddness Meredith would stroke her soft brunette head and tell her that she knew this wasn't forever and that they would mend what they had. Judith would bury her head into her pillow and cry, because the world felt so empty and uneventful. Back in the hotel room, Judith lets her coat fall from her shoulders and hangs it on the hook. She nods at Lucas, glimpsing at the mini bar and then back at him, "brief," she returns a bit sternly. Their parents would suffocate them with delight and she wasn't sure if she could handle that. She decides that Lucas had spent enough money and that she was too drunk already, so no mini-bar. Her feet slip from her boots and she lays back in the King sized bed, the soft white linens engulfing her. The soft chatter across the room silences and she looks up from her fortress of pillows. "We shouldn't say anything," Judith falls onto her belly, "seriously. I think we should just go from here to Vegas, get Elvis to marry us and then we'll tell them at Christmas. We'll never have to get a gift ever again. We are the gift that keeps on giving."

[Deleted]

It doesn't take long for Lucas to pull up his mom's cell number, given that it rarely strayed from the top of his call log. He sits on the edge of a huge bathtub, though he leaves the bathroom door open, unbothered by Jude's ability to listen in. "Hey mom, yeah, I'm alive... it was fine, yep, all moved out... yeah, she did. She did. Anyway, I'm just letting you know that I'm not gonna be back until tomorrow now. ... What? No, fuck no! I'm never getting back with her, don't worry... um, a hotel. ... Yeah, Judith too. We had too much wine with dinner at DiMarco's... He sent you the picture? What a snake... Mom, stop. Just stop. It's not like that, we-- Mom, seriously, stop... Of course I got her a room, it's my fault she's here... I can hear you telling dad. ...Hi dad. Yes. Miss you too. Listen, I'm super tired so I'm gonna go... don't go spreading rumours... uh-huh. Right. Sure. Will do. Okay, love you guys, see you tomorrow. Bye." According to his phone screen he was on that call for a total of three minutes and fifty-seven seconds, but he could have sworn it was six hours. Heaving a sigh, he pulls himself up and goes to lean in the doorway to the bedroom, grinning down at Judith as she lay on the bed. "My parents say hi." Without warning he throws himself onto the bed beside her, disrupting her peace. "Hi." He lies on his side, still grinning like a maniac. "You know, I'd one hundred percent do that. You're a genius."

[Judith Haddock]

"Hi," she shuffles to face him, her fingers reaching to brush hair from his gold speckled eyes. "Your mom is going to call my mom," then her mom would tell her dad, and Huey would call it in to the local paper. Emmy would post an updated Tik Tok tomorrow, with a generous 4 million views. She leans in to kiss him, attempting to shut off the tumbleweed of her brain. His lips taste like sugar and wine, when she pulls back she's smiling again. "Do you think this should be weirder?" her thumb traces the sharpness of his jaw line and she kisses him again. "We might wake up and it'll be weird."

[Deleted]

Everything she's talking about feels so far away that it might as well be in space. This would be like Christmas to the Patterson-Haddocks, a dream in the making for over two decades that came so close to collapse. Drunken happiness stops him from being able to care that the rumour mill will be in full force back home. He kisses her back, thinking about her question. "Hard to say, isn't it? It would be weirder if it wasn't us." It's a vague statement but he's confident she'll understand what he means. Lucas turns slightly more serious, looking at her intently. "I'm not gonna let that happen," he says with a level of confidence that only alcohol can provide. "Seriously, I'm gonna become as bad as our parents from now on. This is my OTP."

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[Judith Haddock]

Judith absently presses her thumb against her chin and falls against the downy pillow. Her expressive eyes move from him and then thoughtfully around the room. She knows what he means and it makes her feel warm. She always did feel most true and safe with Lucas. This was as true today as it was ten years ago. "Woah, it took you a while to realize that," her teeth catch her nail and she narrows her eyes at him, grimacing before rolling against him. "Cheesy," she remarks, gently reaching her cold hands underneath his shirt and feeling the warmth of his belly. "I think I've spent so long thinking you're gross and then hating you, it's almost weird to not make this weird," she presses her nose against his and kisses him, "very weird."

[Deleted]

Lucas takes a moment to drink this moment in. It was so unusual, and definitely unexpected after so many years of her managing to avoid him with ease. If this had been any other girl he would have been desperate to rip her clothes off at this point, and though his mind kept wandering to that possibility, he was also desperate to hear what she'd say next, relishing every little insight into the way she thought. He rolls onto his back, bringing her with him. Cradling her, he stares up at the ceiling, flinching slightly as her cold hands meet his warm skin. He laughs. "Maybe you're just weird," he says, grinning into the kiss. He slips a hand under the hem of her shirt, resting it against the small of her back, where he draws gentle circles. "It'll be weird when we're home, both living with our parents and trying to keep this on the downlow. Like being teenagers all over again."

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