Customer Satisfaction [COMPLETE]

Bros before...

Unable to stomach the idea of going back into his apartment and face the woman waiting for him while his innards were in such a turmoil, Luke punched the elevator closed and rode to the offices. He walked into the darkened corridors, not really seeing where he was going, as the image of white blond hair and angry blue eyes flashed in his mind.

Kate. She was here. Living in a rented apartment in this building...how was that for fucking irony?

She had been such a timid little child, always shy, always stooping when someone looked at her for too long, huddling closer to Will every time she got too much attention. When Luke would glance at her whenever he was with Will, she would have been peeping at him avidly, ducking and blushing at getting caught.

Had it not been for the frosty good looks the O'Hare siblings had inherited, Luke would have almost doubted it was her, with the frigid confidence she had displayed in the elevator. A sucker punched part of him had almost convinced himself that he had hallucinated her the last time she had appeared in the offices, wearing a silver dress and looking out of this world, given him a stunned look, before whipping around to run away.

Like the idiot he was, he hadn't followed.

And now for her to appear here yet again, for good this time...wasn't that life's idea of a sick joke?

So many years he had worked himself to the bone to put himself and Will in a place where they could bring Kate back and hope to give her a halfway decent life...and so many years he had spent trying to convince Will that they were there. Wasn't that what Will had promised her everyday in childhood, when she had come to visit him at bedtime? That they would always take care of her.

Yet his stubborn friend had gotten into his bullhead that she was better off without them, and after years of putting up with Luke's hounding, he had one day snarled, "Who the hell are you to look out for her anyways? She is my sister!"

Nothing much Luke could have said to that, could he? Why did he care so much? He was nothing to her. He was nothing to anyone, really. An orphan, he could do whatever he wanted with all he had worked so hard to earn. He could travel the world. Become a hippie. Smoke weed until his lungs shriveled.

And yet he had never felt more weighted with responsibility and guilt. Every word that Will had promised her seemed to be imprinted in his heart, as he had silently promised to fulfill them if Will couldn't, all those years ago. It was all he could think about in his silent hours, tortured moments that could drive anyone to drink. So he worked. Worked till he didn't think about it anymore. Worked till he felt a little bit more worthy, a little bit closer to the day Will would say that yes, finally, they were ready to bring Kate back where she belonged.

And yet...and yet.

Seeing what a self-possessed woman she had become, he wasn't even sure anymore if Will hadn't done the right thing. She would never have had half that polish had they watched over her—and then Luke wouldn't even have had the passion to make himself the man that he had now. All they would have had was each other and nothing more. And looking at her, it felt like maybe that wouldn't have been for the best for her. The thought sent a sickening feeling through him.

She certainly didn't need them anymore. He wondered if she was always so distant and ladylike now, if her hair ever fell out of place. As a child she had worn it in side braid, tendrils always slipping out and he had reached up to tuck them behind her ear, liking the feel of the soft strands—and the little smile she would give him. Now it appeared as if not a strand moved without her will. It was painful how unapproachable she looked in those expensive clothes with those icy eyes. He wanted to ruffle her, to make her messy, to lower her abandon. The thought ashamed him.