Luke had caught a boat ride with a few people he recognized before his abrupt departure. None of them knew where he was, and they presumed him dead which did startle a couple of people for a moment. Until they got used to his presence, they stared at him as if he was a ghost.
"The day Em and Mitch were gone," one of the woman said, "we were already making plans of who was gonna take you meals when and so on. We didn't know they were going to take you, too." Luke had grown up with the woman's son in the boat, and he seemed the most spooked.
He said to Luke, "We really thought you were dead. We were like, they wouldn't keep him in prison for too long. And then months went by, and we'd go check up on your guy's apartment and plants every once in a while, to see if maybe you were back. Nothing changed. After a year, we were, no way Luke is still alive."
"It was either a do what I tell you or I'll kill your parents type of situation," Luke said to them. "I figured someone was taking care of the old place. Thank you."
"Anything for your guy's family," the woman said. "I heard that someone who had just come from the castle gave the information of the lack of security. Was that you?" Luke nodded.
"Just came from there a few hours ago. I haven't slept in a while. I just need my parents back. Caleb isn't going to win the war, and I won't let him take it out on them."
"He won't get the chance to," her son said. "Got messages saying a lot of the loyal kingdom soldiers have been disarmed and taken down already."
"Any word on the prisoners?" Luke asked. "I know they're out of the basement."
"They set up first aid places for them already," he said. "Your parents should be fine there." Luke let out a sigh of relief. He was antsy to get to them, the see them, to hold them without bars in between.
They boat pulled up to the shore near others and Luke thanked the family before speeding off past the sides of the castle. It was noisy, like a fully waged war going on as he saw the huge crowd up front. Luke could distinguish gunshots and took cover behind a couple of failed kingdom barricades. He looked around, wondering where they could set up a first aid area. Nowhere near gunshots for sure, but close enough they could carry the wounded without risking them bleeding out.
Luke remembered about the year King Caleb commission a garden maze on another corner of the castle and headed there. There were a couple of more purposeful gunshots blasted out that run in his ears hard and from the sounds the crowd made, only one of them had hit a rebel. They were winning, and he didn't have time to celebrate.
Luke found the entrance to the hedge maze in a far corner of the castle's front courtyard, and the moment he walked through the entrance, there were beds and beds filled with people. He ran through, looking for his parents in one direction before running back in another.
"Luke?" he heard his mom say. He turned around and saw her standing there with glimmering eyes and her arms open. Luke ran to her, almost tackling her over as he began to cry into her shoulder. His dad who was nearby joined the hug, and they three of them fell on the grass together, people in the area smiling at them.
"We can go home now," he told them as his mom wiped his eyes with her hands.
"Let's go," she whispered, smiling.
-
Luke and his mom were sitting out in front of the lake front at sunset a few days after the castle was overtaken. Emily spent most of her days outside in the sun and like a baby duck, Luke followed her everywhere like if she was going to get taken away again.
King Caleb was found dead by the time the Nation of Kingdoms came in to enforce peace and since he had no heirs, there was going to be a process to install a prime minister. There was currently a hearing against King Caleb's actions to pardon all the organizers and protesters. Luke had given a testimony in front of every kingdom ruler, including King Raymundo. Luke left out his relationship with Julie as much as he could. Even before he fell for her, he never wanted to be apart of the process. A part of a stupid plan that was bound to blow into uncollectable shrapnel.
They all looked so sorry for him. Even King Ray who at first look furious, ended up giving him a pitiful smile towards the end. Luke wanted to talk to him after, but he couldn't stay in the castle for too long without feeling nauseous. Julie spent the worst birthday of her life in there (not to mention he forgot to say Happy Birthday which plagued him for some reason), and even when everyone said it wasn't his fault, he still felt responsible. He should have done more.
People had been looking for Luke's mom, hoping she could help and be part of the renovating process. To possibly be a part of something bigger as they reestablished a new system of government. But she said it wouldn't be fair to take the credit after she was gone for years. And she just wanted to be home with her son for a little while. That's what she really wanted.
Luke wrote Julie's name in the sand as the sun started going down. His mom chuckled when she saw it. Luke stared at the name before wiping it away with his hand. It was so weird adjusting to being back with his parents while adjusting to Julie's absence. He felt like he was on a double pan scale, unable to find the perfect balance to avoid imploding.
His mom reached over with her finger and wrote Mitch into the sand, Luke smiling. She said to him, "You're so predictable. Even after these years."
"Only because I'm exactly like you," Luke said to her, smiling. His dad got bullied from early elementary school to middle school until his mom started being his personal bodyguard, physically tackling anyone that tried to cross him. She said he looked like he needed a friend, and she wanted to be that friend. Years later, they were married and had Luke who as much as he didn't want to take credit, was the spark that helped finish off the reign of the man that took everything away.
Emily wiped out Mitch's name again and wrote Luke and Julies inside a little heart. Luke watched and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Mom, can you not. We all barely survived a war."
"I think I'm allowed to mess around after being locked up for so long," she said. She looked up at the sun in the distance, squinting her eyes before slipping on her sunglasses. It wasn't that bright, and Luke was fine with staring directly at the warm orange and red star making its nightly descent. "I still need to get used to the sun."
"We should start a community garden," Luke said to her. "I hear there's a plot on Saint Paschal Street. Have something to keep us busy while I figure things out. You can get used to the sun there." Luke had received a letter saying he was allowed back in the Inmarcsesible Kingdom and that if he needed work, there were opportunities lined up. But he looked at his parents from the corner of the letter, laughing in the kitchen as they cooked together. He couldn't leave them so soon again. He ripped the letter up before they could see it.
"I haven't had time to say this," his mom whispered. "But thank you." Luke looked curiously at her, his mom looking straight ahead. A tear slipped down her face from the side of her sunglasses. "You gave up many years of your life for our lives. You're a good son." Luke exhaled.
"You're a good mom," Luke said. She looked at him and smiled. "That's why I am the way I am." Luke reached out and wiped her tear away before they continued to look at the sunset. "I thought you would hate me. For following orders from him. For basically becoming part of the system you hated."
"I could never. I would've done the exact same thing if I was you, you know?"
"I know," Luke nodded.
"We are the same," they said at the same time, making them both laugh out loud. Luke reached over in the sand and dug out a stick, starting to write random lines in the sand. Once again, he found himself writing out Julie's name, wondering if his name was also stuck in her head. He wanted to say it out loud and to have her turn around to see him with those big brown eyes of hers. To reach out and fix her hair. To have her believe she was truly safe with him.
"It's weird," Luke admitted to her, "to not have to miss you anymore. To be able to hug you and dad whenever I want. Don't have to dream it anymore."
"Now it's someone else you miss," she said. Luke sighed, knowing she was talking about Julie.
"Yeah," Luke mumbled. "I was with her every day. Every single day from morning to night, even some days when I had days off, we spent them together. Now, she's so far away. Like I can't ever see her again."
"Have you talked to her? We're getting a phone tomorrow."
"No. I don't think I should for a while," Luke said, remembering the hurt in her face. Yes, they had technically confessed. But nothing she could say could erase the fact that he had stabbed her and her entire kingdom in the back. He couldn't make her pick between him and her duties. He could read her so well, and he knew all the turmoil she had. The war fucked them both over. "I need to give her space. I know this war hurt her a lot. I'd rather not be a constant reminder."
"I think you also need to start your healing process. Maybe try therapy. Us, too. We were all taken away from each other suddenly. And you were just a baby."
Just a baby.
-
A/N: Hellooo! I thought I took a bit with updating but it was only a week haha. I finally plotted out these final 8 chapters, and I'm really happy with how it's going to develop :) Sorry for continuing the slow burn, just hold on a LITTLE BIT longer I swear!! I could not leave Luke and Julie so damage and force a happy ending. I rewatched the show for like the fifth time today, and yeah, I definitely scarred these kids in my version lmao.
ALSOOOOO, for some shameless self-promo, my story titled "Juice Box" which is another Luke and Julie story in a college setting will be posted sometime on July 13 :) It's my Big Bang fic which is complete and reached 21k words! It'll all be posted at once. I'm not going to lie, the quality of that one is much lower than what I expect for myself but since I was on a strict time limit, there were only so many details I could keep. I think if you've been reading BWW for a while, you'll notice the stark contrast. That one was more of a "loose, have fun" style that I rarely let myself write in so I still love it personally. It's heavy dialogue which is saying a lot considering most of my fics are like that.
Okay! Bye now :) Thank you for reading! Remember to vote!! It helps me a lot <3