"Lucas! The hell are you doing? You're supposed to help me with dinner, remember?" Axel's muffled voice called from the bottom of the stairs, and the two men stiffened, staring at each other with wide eyes as the dreamy atmosphere was broken and reality hit them like a freight train.
Lucas glanced over at the door, narrowing his eyes in displeasure as he finally backed away from Harley, gripping the doorknob as he looked back at the shorter man still pressed against the wall.
"We should probably keep Axel in the dark about this," he murmured, and Harley nodded dumbly. He full heartedly agreed, but more with the fact that it wasn't any of Axel's business in the first place.
"What is. . . this?" He questioned bashfully, just as Lucas opened the door a crack, that playful expression back on his stoic face as the corner of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Something that can continue if you want it to."
"I would like that. . ." he breathed, a megawatt smile taking over his face as Lucas winked and exited the room. Harley stared down at the beige carpet incredulously, bringing a hand up to rest against his forehead as he tried to process what had just happened. He made out with Lucas, that's what the hell just happened.
Holy shit.
Axel looked unimpressed as Lucas slinked down the stairs confidently, attempting to keep his expression neutral.
"And what the fuck happened to you? Trying to get out of your promise?" He griped, leaning against the kitchen counter with crossed arms.
"Oh piss off, I was just moving some money around. We did pretty well on our budget this month, I was able to put some away into our emergency fund," Lucas shrugged, pulling out a large metal pot to fill with tap water.
"Is that why you're in a weirdly good mood? Because the money's good?"
"Somethin' like that," Lucas replied, smiling slightly to himself. The kink in the system was now a well oiled gear.
"You know what, that's great. More cause to celebrate tonight," Axel nodded, flipping the hot dogs.
"What else is there to celebrate?" Lucas glanced at the side of Axel's face, lifting a sharp eyebrow in question.
"You'll see tonight," Axel hummed, remaining steadfast in his will to keep whatever ridiculous surprise he had up his sleeve, and Lucas merely rolled his eyes.
"Alright, whatever. Have your little fifteen minutes of fame tonight," he teased, the other man shoving his arm as Lucas began chopping up some potatoes.
"How's your old man's campaign goin'?" Axel asked lowly, knowing it was a stressful topic at the moment. Lucas simply snorted, giving one potato an especially violent chop in half with the knife.
"Unfortunately, he's just as good with money as I am. They've got a lot of backing, Axel. The mayor could actually be in trouble."
"Which means so are we," Axel grumbled, eyebrows furrowing in thought.
"Yeah, the entire Southside is in dire straits. You notice policing is up around here?" Lucas gritted, slamming the knife down harshly again. "Something is giving them a morale boost, and not the good kind."
Axel hummed. "If we're doing good on money, let's back off the sales for a bit. I don't want anyone getting thrown in jail."
"Fine by me. Seems like the smart move for right now," Lucas agreed, to which Axel turned on him like he had grown two heads.
"Wait, no argument? Slowing sales is fine by you?" Axel gasped.
"Given the current circumstances-"
"My God, did you just get laid in the ten minutes you were upstairs? This amenableness is alarming for you," Axel interrupted as the front door slammed open before Lucas could retort, Jackie rushing in with her large purse slung on her arm.
"Sorry I'm late, Dakota and I lost track of time," she huffed, rushing over to peck Axel on the lips. Lucas ignored them, with not the slightest clue, or care, who the hell Dakota was. He was thinking about Harley's flushed face, and how his body felt against his as he pushed him further into the wall-
"Oh- hey Jackie," Harley spoke from somewhere behind him. Speak of the devil.
"Harley! Oh my God- it's so good to see you again, it's been awhile," Jackie rushed over to envelop him in a tight hug, her strong perfume invading his senses as he wrapped his arms around her torso. Lucas glanced over his shoulder, locking eyes with Harley as he peered over Jackie's shoulder. His lips were still a bit unusually red, and Lucas smirked slightly knowing the real reason for that. Harley seemed to grow bashful just by looking at Lucas, so he forced his gaze to remain on Jackie's face as Lucas bored holes into the side of his head.
"Yeah, you and Axel have been enjoying your date nights out, huh?" He teased, but Jackie's face blushed as she glanced over her shoulder at Axel, an awkward smile coming over her features.
"Uh, yeah, lately it's just been more. . . life, stuff. . ." She fumbled out an explanation, which only caused Harley to grow more confused, but wasn't able to question her further as Axel clapped his hands obnoxiously.
"The feast is almost done, where are the other lads?"
"Oh, they were right behind me," Jackie glanced at the front door as though the trio were about to burst through right then and there. "I think they stopped to get carts."
"Of course they did," Lucas grumbled, stabbing one of the pieces of potato floating in the boiling water, then moving to the sink to strain the water out of the huge pot. Harley watched as Lucas' arm muscles flexed under the weight, a slight sheen to them as the steam from the hot water plumed into the air. He was snapped out of his lustful trance as Axel called out for him to help set the table, and Harley rushed to his task with fervor, grateful for the distraction from Lucas.
The other men came barreling through the front door shortly after they were finished setting the table, laughing loudly about something.
"Hey, chuckle squad!" Axel barked, shooting a pointed look at them and pointing at the table. "Dinner's ready. Let's get a move on."
"Alright, alright," Daniel huffed, hurrying upstairs to deposit the plastic bag he was carrying into his room.
Harley returned to the kitchen, faltering slightly as he noticed Lucas was the only other occupant, meticulously seasoning the potatoes. Chewing on his lip, he hurried over to the counter next to where Lucas stood, beginning to cut up the rotisserie chicken they had purchased as a special treat.
As Harley was sawing off one of the legs, Lucas suddenly shuffled over to his side. "I need to get into the cabinet above your head, so watch the door," he voiced nonchalantly.
"Oh, I can get out of your way-" Harley began, until Lucas came up behind him, his entire back burning with warmth as Lucas plastered himself against Harley to reach up into the cabinet. The knife clattered out of Harley's hand as he choked in surprise, the edge of the counter pressing firmly into his stomach.
Harley finally heard the cabinet door above his head shut, and that heavy, hot weight on his back lifted. He turned to look over his shoulder at the tall man, who appeared to be trying very hard to keep a shit-eating grin off of his face, as he playfully shook a bottle of seasoning in his hand.
"Got it," he sang playfully, moving back to his former post in front of the stove. Harley turned back to stare at the backsplash, eyes wide and unblinking as his brain short circuited. He finished cutting up the chicken as quickly as possible, bringing the platter out to the table and settling down in a chair, pulling a little at the collar of his t-shirt that had suddenly become stifling. Lucas was the last to sit down, bringing with him a large bowl of seasoned potato wedges.
The table had its typical level of chatter of people joking around and talking about their day, while Harley remained quiet, simply enjoying his food as he listened to others speak.
"So, um, Jackie and I have something to tell you all," Axel began, taking an extra long sip of his beer before grabbing Jackie's hand that was resting in her lap. The voices around the table steadily decreased until everyone in the house was staring expectantly at Axel, and Harley felt his eyebrows furrow as his hands grew slightly cold with nervousness. He quickly spared a glance at Lucas, who sat at the other end of the table from Axel with a neutral expression, arms crossed and leaning back in his chair. "You want to tell them, baby?" Axel leaned in closely to whisper to his girlfriend, as though they were in their own little bubble, causing Lucas to roll his eyes and shake his head lightly. Even Elijah held a look of exasperation, a piece of chicken still poised on the end of his fork and displeased he had to wait for this to end before resuming his meal.
"My home situation isn't the best, I know a lot of you can relate," Jackie started. "I was living with my parents, but. . . it's no longer safe for me to live there. Axel and I have been working to get me moved out quickly and without too much attention, that's where we have been for the last few nights. I'm going to be moving into Axel's room, so. . . I'll be living here with you all," she finished softly, casting an anxious glance around the table.
The room was slammed into complete silence, everyone around the table continuing to stare at the couple as they processed what Jackie had just said. Then, like a pack of meerkats, all gazes turned towards Lucas, who still held a neutral expression and calculating eyes.
"I have a job and will be contributing to food and rent, and I know you all didn't really get a say in this, and I'm really sorry for that. I- I don't have anywhere else to go, and I hope that I can give enough financially so my presence is not as big of a burden," she added quickly, disliking the sudden quietness, and wanting to make an appeasement with Lucas. Everyone knew Lucas was the one who had to be sold on this, for the rest of the men really had no strong feelings one way or the other. As long as she wasn't taking up another room, they didn't have an ounce of care over Jackie's presence in the home. Harley was even a little excited to have Jackie living with them, he felt the house needed another calming presence like his own to balance out the other rowdy personalities.
Lucas continued to stare at the other end of the table, where Jackie and Axel waited with bated breath, his lips pursed in thought. Growing tired of the ridiculous posturing Lucas was doing, he slyly stretched his leg out underneath the table to nudge Lucas in the foot. Although the other man didn't spare Harley a glance, his defensive posture melted, shrugging as he continued to dig into his food.
"Fine, I guess," he mumbled, yet his tone was light and he didn't seem to be sincerely bothered by the sudden roommate addition. Daniel's mouth hung open in shock, glancing towards Harley with a suspicious look before settling back on examining Lucas' demeanor, as though he was trying to piece something together. Harley remained steadfast in his effort to avoid everyone's eyes, staring down at his plate as he smashed a piece of potato down with his fork.
"Um- well, this is great!" Axel grinned, squeezing his girlfriend's hand in comfort. "We can get your stuff moved in from the car tonight," he nodded, but his eyes slid back over to Lucas, regarding him with a look filled with uncertainty, even a hint of curiosity.
Harley felt the urge to slam his head against the table. He genuinely wondered how long they could keep up this front, given how something had so clearly changed within Lucas. This was not a man who just says fine when something is sprung up on him out of nowhere- hell, Harley knew that much from when he had first arrived.
Axel also had this knowledge deeply ingrained within him, and along with Lucas' out of character moment from earlier on, he knew something was up. At face value, Axel was glad to see this change within his best friend, because Lucas appeared to be happy. He didn't even seem to be bothered by his relationship with Jackie anymore, and while Axel was truly relieved about that- he couldn't shake the feeling that something was up.
Only time would tell, he supposed.
~
Another day another chapter- what do we think? It looks like some people are already suspicious of what's going on with Lucas. We have some really interesting chapters coming up, more information about what is going on in the background. Things will get a little angsty.