It had taken Lucas an hour to find the lone weapon shop in town. He had never been in before, because back then it hadn't been something he ever considered. He knew it was a push since the owner wouldn't want to sell to someone under eighteen, but Lucas could make enough of a persuasion.
"I need a knife." He pointed through the display glass. "That switchblade, there."
"Once I see some ID," the owner didn't even bat an eye.
Lucas huffed and laid down his wad of cash, pulled from the ATM outside. "How much is an ID worth?"
The man eyed the money, his eyes wide in surprise before he gathered himself. "I'll get you the switchblade."
Lucas left the shop with the switchblade twirling in his hand. It would take him a while to adjust to the new weight and handle after the cops had confiscated his old one. He had known that one like an extended limb. He tucked the knife into his pocket and he wasn't walking back into that house without it.
He sat outside and watched the streets curiously. He didn't remember many of the faces anymore after three years. He wondered briefly about some of his old friends, but the pit of anxiety in his stomach said he didn't want to see them. He was too... different. They would be on their way to college—he was on his way to laundering money and hiding from law enforcement.
He had the phone in his pocket because he wasn't stupid enough to leave it at home for them to find. They would take it and wonder who he got it from. He flipped it open and found only a contact for Nick listed in it. He knew how to contact Tom and Joshua without needing their phone numbers saved, and it would be too risky to have it that way if anyone found the phone.
He testily dialed the number and put the phone to his ear. Nick answered quickly and in a huff. "Lucas," he breathed. "Are you okay?"
"Wish I was back," Lucas grumbled, pulling out his knife and admiring the blade of it.
"They said you were a run away," Nick muttered. "That your parents had been looking for you."
Lucas rolled his eyes and looked skyward. "My parents kicked me out," he stated simply. "They reported me missing out of guilt. Besides, I don't belong here anymore."
"Why not?" Nick challenged him.
Lucas laughed. "The biggest crimes in this town are Billy-bob moved his fence three inches onto Bob-joe's property and maybe the scandalous cow tipping."
"Small town, huh?" Nick laughed. "Why did they, uh... kick you out?"
Lucas held his tongue for a moment before giving in. "They found out I was gay." Lucas rubbed a hand over his shoulder, his fingers grazing the scar tissue that was still there as well. "They got abusive. They gave me an ultimatum of their way or the high way, and so I took it and left."
"Are you safe there?" Nick asked quickly. "Maybe if you tell services, they can take you out."
"It's too late, and I don't care anymore." Lucas twirled his new knife. "I got a knife if they try anything. I'm not defenseless anymore. God, I almost wish Joshua could come and visit and intimidate the shit out of them... I think I already scare them, though."
"Where did you end up anyways?" Nick wondered.
"Utah," Lucas sighed. He chewed his bottom lip. "I don't like it here," he added quietly.
"It's just two weeks," Nick tried to say. "I—I asked if I could follow you out there. Crash at some sort of motel or something... Joshua said it would have been too risky. That, and I don't think they really trust me enough to give me the funds and means to do it."
Lucas ducked his head down and tried to hide a smile. "Damn. If you got a motel out here, I'd just stay there."
"You can always call me," Nick promised. "I can just dip out on the restaurant for a few minutes. It's you, so I'm sure Tom would understand."
"It has to be late there, though," Lucas commented. "It's sundown here."
"It's not that late," Nick protested. "I didn't have to close tonight, so... is the sunset any good out there? Maybe you could send me a picture?"
"I don't think this phone does pictures, sorry," Lucas chuckled, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. He was going to have to find a place to sleep or go back to the house—there wasn't enough street here for him to sleep unnoticed.
As if on cue, he could recognize a cop when he saw one. "Look, I've got to go for now. I'll call again soon." Lucas hung up quickly. Even here he wasn't going to trust that he wasn't about to be in trouble when a cop showed up.
They'd bothered him more when they found him sleeping under bridges and stoops. Now the closest they got was sitting outside the restaurant hoping for a stroke of luck. Lucas found himself frowning as the cop got closer. He was a younger one, and fit.
They stared at each other before the cop recognized him first. "Lucas!" He was excited and friendly.
"Justin," Lucas realized. "Shit, man. You filled out." He remembered Justin more as the geeky older brother of one of his friends in middle school. Now he was very much an adult. Lucas couldn't help but lick his lips.
"I didn't think you were around here anymore—they said you ran away," Justin remarked innocently.
Lucas snorted and averted his eyes, but he wasn't going to advertise to the whole town what had happened. It wasn't their business. "I didn't think you wanted to be a cop." He still wasn't going to trust Justin for it.
"Yeah, well, you know my dad is—was. He retired recently though. Hey, if you're back you should say hi to Kyle. He's a high school senior now, you know," Justin said happily.
Lucas shook his head. "No. I'm not sticking around long, and I don't want to see anyone. As soon as I turn eighteen I'm back out east."
Justin seemed confused. "What's out there?"
"My apartment, my roommate, my job," Lucas listed it all off. "I didn't want to come back here, but they made me."
"Yeah, I guess this town doesn't have much going for it," Justin seemed a little disappointed as well, but he brushed if off quickly. "You got tall though." He gave Lucas a once over that Lucas was almost ready to read as Justin checking him out.
Lucas tilted his head to the side curiously. "Are you dating anyone?"
Justin's face heated. "What? No." He waved his hands up quickly. "Well I mean, why?"
Lucas shrugged it off and flashed a smile. "Well come on, can't be that many single guys around town who pull off a uniform, right?"
The color of Justin's face deepened then. "Yeah... but... not many other guys..."
Nailed it. Lucas stepped a bit closer. "Well I can always appreciate it," he commented. He hooked a finger on the buckle of Justin's belt. "When are you off duty?"
"In—I mean, I don't know, dude. Kyle's friend and you're seventeen and—" Justin sputtered out a few excuses, but Lucas wasn't going to take any of it. This was his chance to not go home for the night.
"You know, I've always been curious about doing it with a cop." Lucas cocked an eyebrow. It was the truth and now it was a chance he could take.
Justin sputtered for an answer. "I get off in two hours," he said quickly. "I can uh... pick you up after?"
***
Lucas happily unbuttoned the shirt of Justin's uniform and undid the belt. Justin watched in a dazed state as Lucas went down between his legs. Lucas took Justin's shaft in his hand and gave it a few twists of the tip before wrapping his mouth around it.
Justin tossed his head back and swore. Lucas flicked his tongue at the slit and hooked his teeth on the ridge of the head. He took it deep into his mouth a few times, all while cradling Justin's sac in his hand and gently rolling it.
"Holy fuck," Justin panted. "How'd you learn all of that?"
Lucas just gave him a smile and didn't answer. "Do you have condoms?"
Justin nodded deftly and went searching through his bedside table. He pulled out a handful and a bottle of lube. "I haven't actually..."
Lucas was half surprised, but at the same time, he wasn't. It was too small of a town for someone like him and Justin to get around like that. Lucas nodded in understanding. "Don't worry about it. I can bottom." Lucas just wanted something to distract himself, and he would stay the night as long as he could.
He talked Justin through some of it—lube and the three finger rule, though Lucas wasn't really one for foreplay. Justin was nervous at first, right up until he got himself seated deep in Lucas.
Lucas rolled his hips back to urge him on and it didn't take much more than that. Justin grabbed him hard by the hips and let loose, thrusting himself deep. Lucas moaned and buried his face into a pillow, holding on tight to its edges as he felt the pleasant ache radiating in his body.
Despite his upstanding looks, Justin was swearing up a storm behind him and obviously enjoying himself. Lucas let himself get lost in the feeling of the pleasure and tried not to think about where he really was—if he closed his eyes he was back where he wanted to be.
Back out east, with his apartment and Nick.
That thought created a sinkhole for him in that moment. A small part of him imagined that it was Nick he was doing this with, as he wondered what he looked like naked and while he was having sex. It was a dangerous train of thought as Lucas soon felt himself nearing his orgasm. The more he tried not to think about Nick, the more he got into it.
His orgasm hit him like a wave, crashing into him and taking his breath away while spreading all over his body. He let out a strained moan as he tensed against the bed, numb to the world around him. Justin finished up and fell to the side, panting with a sloppy grin on his face. "Damn," Justin commented.
Lucas said nothing, glaring accusingly at the pillow for his thoughts.
"You okay?" Justin asked.
"Yeah, fine. Can I stay the night?" Lucas moved on quickly, shaking his disheveled hair out of his eyes before combing it back with his fingers.
"Sure," Justin agreed tentatively. "I'll get us some water." He hoped out of the bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants as he ran out of the room.
Lucas cleaned himself up in the attached bathroom and settled back into the bed. Justin came back with a glass of water and an armful of snacks for them to share. Lucas chuckled at the gesture and peeled open a snack pack of chips, enjoying the crunching sound in his head as opposed to wondering all of the ifs about Nick.