"Where do you want this?" Luke asks. He's standing in the doorway of Michael's new room, clutching a box awkwardly to his chest.
Michael gestures carelessly towards a growing pile of boxes stacked against the wall.
After setting it where he was told to, Luke sighs loudly. He makes a show of rolling his shoulders and huffing. "This is so much work. I think I need a break.." His playful tone of voice informs Michael that fatigue has nothing to do with the reason why he is plopping down on the bed right now.
"Lazy sack," Michael teases.
Luke flashes him a smug grin before saying, "you know, you look like you could use a break, too."
Michael glances down at the box of miscellaneous objects he's currently unpacking. It not meant to be a hesitation, but that's what Luke takes it as. In an instant, Luke has his arms wrapped around his stomach and is dragging him back towards the bed. Michael squirms around a bit, mainly for the sake of pretending to put up a fight.
They crash down onto Michael's bed in a mess of giggles.
"You're a dork," Michael laughs.
"But I'm your dork," Luke replies in that same smug tone.
Michael just shakes his head at him.
The two lay so close that Michael's practically on top of Luke. Their breathing and heartbeats begin to intertwine until it's almost as if there's only one person in the bed.
Michael rests his head against Luke's chest, listening to what has become one of his favorite sounds. It's strange to think that what beats inside is metaphorically his. Michael smiles to himself at this thought.
A moment later he looks up to find Luke's gaze caught on him. Fondness fills his blue eyes.
No words are exchanged in the next few minutes. Luke meets Michael's lips halfway. Their kisses are slow to start but quickly pick up. Within no time at all, their kisses are deep and needing, their hands roaming each other.
"Shit- um I- sorry."
Michael rolls off of his boyfriend to find Calum standing in the doorway with an armful of his possessions. He shuffles awkwardly between feet and his expression is a cross between uncomfortable and proud.
"Just toss those over there," Michael instructs.
"I didn't mean to interrupt. I just.. We're still unloading your stuff, right?" Calum asks.
"Yeah we were just taking a quick break," Luke says, smirking.
"I can see that." Calum eyes them while crossing the room to set down Michael's things. "I'll be sure to warn Ashton."
The two boys erupt into more laughter the second Calum's out of the room. Michael can't even find it in him to be embarrassed. "Oops," he chuckles.
For the next couple attempts at kisses, they're laughing so hard they can't seem to move their lips together.
Ashton comes up not much later, one hand shielding his eyes. "Is it safe to look?" He calls out.
Michael rolls his eyes before answering, "Yes, Ashton."
"Are you sure? Because from what Calum said-"
"Fuck Calum," Michael mumbles without thinking.
"Already done," Ashton replies without missing a best.
And then they're all howling. Michael had realized a second too late what he set himself up for, but it didn't make it any less funny. By the time they all calm down, his cheeks are hurting from the amount of smiling he's done today.
They finally get out of bed to help again after that. Needless to say, the rest of the unloading and unpacking goes a bit smoother.
By the end of the day, Michael's new room is looking great. Band posters cover his walls in a half-hazard yet intentional way. His shelves are assembled and pushed against the back wall, while his bed takes up the other corner. Random touches of Michael are also present throughout, such as the notebook placed carefully by his bed.
It's such an improvement over his previous place- the cramped attic. It's so freeing to know that this is now where he lives, away from all the drama.
To top it all off, Luke's room is only down the hall. One of Luke's father's few conditions was that they cannot share a room, but that didn't dishearten the boys at all. They'll only be a shout away from each other for now, and it's not like he's going know if one happens to sneak into the other's room at night.
"Luke, thank you so much," Michael says for probably the hundredth time as the two lounge around. The other couple is long gone; they left as soon as the sun had set.
"Stop thanking me," Luke responds.
"But-"
"Honestly Michael, stop. Actually, thank you for moving in with me. Now it won't be so lonely around here."
That tugs at Michael's heart. "You won't be lonely ever again, okay?"
"And no one will ever hurt you again, okay?" Luke says sincerely.
Michael nods. Here, encompassed by the safety that is Luke, he can finally believe those words. He's free. He got away. Now it's time for his life to truly begin.
There's this feeling growing inside him that he's recently become familiar with. He feels like he's walking on air and his head is light with joy. It took eighteen years but he's finally found happiness.
He steals a peak over at said happiness and feels his stomach do a flip. He thought he was over those silly reactions, but apparently not. Luke is merely reading from a piece of paper and yet Michael is overcome with how gorgeous he is. From the slight parting of his lips, to how his fingertips gingerly wrap around the paper, to the way his eyes drift through the words, Michael loves every minute detail of him.
He hates to break the moment, but the curiosity eventually gets to Michael. "What are you reading?" He asks.
Luke's lips curl into an immediate smile. He doesn't answer right away. When he does, he sounds almost dreamy. "I've been meaning to show this to you.."
He holds the paper out to Michael and right then, Michael realizes that it's actually an envelope. A tattered envelope with hasty writing scrawled across it. The envelope.
Michael takes it and is lost in a state of disbelief. "I can't believe you kept this," he whispers.
"Well it's sort of sentimental- to me at least. I like to think of it as what started it all."
A night that seems so long ago replays in Michael's mind. He can remember the anxiety and their first meeting. He recalls Luke's drunken snuggling and the poem he wrote by the moonlight.
Michael rereads it, realizing that he still means every word of it.
The rest of the night is then filled with hushed promises. The word 'forever' is even whispered a few times and for once, Michael has not a single doubt that forever is on both their minds.
The End.
Final A/N: Before you freak out, I do have a little surprise if you turn the page. I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who read this story. I apologize if the ending seemed rushed or sudden, but let's just remember that in Cinderella she put on the shoe and in the next scene they were married. So yeah thanks again you're all beautiful people. I love you. A lot.
