Take My Hand - Lashton

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

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Four hours had passed and Luke hadn't looked up from his screen apart from going to the toilet and to get something to eat. Aaron didn't bother him when he came home and didn't ask if him if he wanted any dinner. Instead, he left Luke alone to write whilst he sat in their room thinking.

It was ten when Luke entered their room, a bottle of water being held between his arm and his body. His phone and book in one hand, the other free to open the bedroom door. Aaron watched Luke as he put his stuff down on his bedside table in an organised manner and collapse onto the bed, his eyes closed.

Aaron lent over the blonde's face and kissed his lips gently before retracting and observing the blondes face once more. "You need to shave."

Luke's eyes flickered open wearily and stared up at his boyfriend. He brought one hand up to his face and ran it over the stubble that had formed over the last couple of days. He had been confined to his office, not seeing any sunlight or air, except that which came from the window in their office. "Maybe on Friday, I kind of like it."

"I don't," Aaron disagreed, taking Luke's chin and roughly tilting his head to look it at some more. "I don't like people with beards."

"You have a beard!" Luke complained. Aaron shot him a warning look. "Maybe I don't always want to look like a child."

"You're beard is messy Luke. You look better without it."

"I never leave the house, Aaron, no one is going to see me!" Luke argued. He had been writing an opinion piece of the evening and was bursting with passion. He was not in the mood to back down.

"I have to, and I don't like it. Shave it tomorrow," the older man stated simply.

Luke wanted to reject and ask what would happen. He wanted to see what would happen. There was nothing Aaron could do, besides further complain. But Luke did not like confrontation. He thought it was easier just to obey. It wouldn't hurt him not having a beard. So he found himself nodding and succumbing to Aaron's grip.

Luke slowly sat up and made his way towards their chest draws to grab some clean pyjamas. Aaron watched him observantly. He could tell Luke was angry, but he was also upset and confused and wondered if now was the time to push him further.

He watched Luke eagerly as he pulled off his t-shirt confidently. Confidence that had blossomed in the relationship and wasn't there when they first met. But neither were the curves to Luke's body that hid his bones. Aaron liked the bones, it was something he could hold onto. Keep Luke close to him.

"You're letting yourself go, Luke," Aaron said tactically, filling the silence.

"Why are you being so horrible to me today?" Luke asked, spinning around shirtless, tears in his eyes. Aaron didn't know whether they were already there, or if they had suddenly formed. "It's all you've done this past month," he added, knowing this was not the first time his boyfriend had brought him to tears over the past couple of weeks.

"Sometimes the truth is horrible Luke. Especially to those who are living in a fantasy world. Just because you write about fiction all day, doesn't mean the things you do in real life won't affect you. You can't just go around eating three pieces of cake when you want—"

Luke's eyes widened in shock and he quickly pulled his pyjama shirt on, not feeling as confident anymore. Aaron's bullets penetrating his mind. "You saw that? Why were you counting? And besides, that's all I ate today, and it's not like I do it every day. And you brought it for me, you can' complain if you brought it for me." Luke was trying to find excuses, trying to stop Aaron from saying anything further.