forty
It was Darcy's tenth birthday party.
Luke was in a bright pink tutu with his black skinny jeans underneath. He has stopped wearing dresses and skirts and lipstick. He's stopped coloring in his eyebrows and contouring his cheeks.
It was his choice, he wanted to be more of society's version of a man. It's been ten and a half years since hurtful words spit from the mouth of his lover, but he can still hear them every time his reflection shows.
Words will always hurt.
Michael was in a tutu too, two of Darcy's friends were braiding his hair as he scrunched up his face.
Luke laughed as he placed another set of cookies on the glass table. The blonde was doing better, he could afford a house of his own for him and Darcy in the suburbs outside of New York City.
He still worked at Kate Spade, being promoted a few times and is right where he left off at C & C Incorporations. Michael bought out an old record company and has been improving it since.
Michael stands up once the small girls leave him alone. He flattens out his skirt, glitter falling from the top of his head. When he walks past Darcy, he tickles her neck, causing her to shoo him away.
Luke stands in the corner sipping at his iced tea. His blue eyes meet the daring green ones as the tall boy walks towards him. "You look like a princess."
"I am a queen," Luke responded, pretending to flip his hair off of his shoulder.
Michael smiled as he took a standing spot next to Luke. It's been ten years and Michael has never stopped loving the blonde boy. Even after Luke rejected his checks. Even after Luke got a new boyfriend. Even after Luke broke too many hearts (including Michael's).
Luke rolled up and down on the balls of his feet. An old Taylor Swift album was playing on the radio and it was hurting Michael's ears. He wanted his daughter to be punk rock, yet she was everything but. "How was your week?"
"It was alright, just got back from LA so I'm a bit jet-lagged," Michael responded. He made a move, placing his arm around Luke's hip.
Luke froze up, yet still managed to lean into Michael's side. He rested his head on the soft chest of his ex-fiancé, taking in his scent that hasn't changed in a decade. "That seems nice, thanks for coming here. I know Darcy appreciates it."
The trio meets up for lunch every weekend, then once a month Darcy stays at Michael's house for the night. Nothing has really gone wrong yet, and Luke doesn't think it ever will.
"She's growing up so fast, I can't handle it," Michael laughed. His fingers held tighter onto Luke's waist, his fingers running slow lines up and down the black tee shirt.
"You should come over more often, if you ever have time or whatever," Luke spit out. He looked up at Michael, his blue eyes filled with hope.
"Yeah, I'd like that."
"She asks about you a lot. She started asking about Cy too, and I don't know how to explain it," Luke expressed his worries.
"You can't hide it from her. Sit her down and tell her about the sadness of the world, we don't want her finding about it on her own," Mike offered his opinion.
Luke still misses Cyril every day, he would have been almost twenty-seven now, well into the life he was supposed to be living. "I think we should do that together."
"I think we should be together," Michael said with a smirk.
"Yeah," Luke responded, "Me too."
THE END