"What time does Calum's plane land tomorrow?" Luke asked Michael while opening the envelopes filled with either commercial or bills. It was kind of depressing for the 21 year old.

"Around three. When do you quit work?" Michael asked and drew cartoon doodles on the mail Luke had put in the 'trash' pile.

"One. I only have breakfast and early lunch tomorrow. I'll go home and shower and then we'll get Calum and then we'll get Leon from preschool"

"Leon doesn't know Calum's coming tomorrow?" Michael asked and looked up from his doodles.

"No, I thought it'd be fun for Calum to surprise him. Leon will be very happy" Luke said and Michael smiled before going back to his doodles.

A small voice from the living room was heard, calling out for 'dad'. Without lifting his head from the bill Luke was reading through, the father answered.

"Yeah?" he called but didn't get any answer back from the little one. It couldn't have been that important then, Luke thought and opened yet another envelope.

Michael started to sing Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit quietly and Luke nodded along, miming the words and placed yet another envelope in the trash pile.

"Dad?" Leon called from the living room again. Luke lifted his head and looked over to the doorway of the kitchen, looking over to where Leon was even though all he could see was the wall that was in the way.

"Yeah bud?" Luke asked again and there was still silence. Luke sighed and shook his head before chuckling at Michael who had now gone over to sing the guitar solo in Paradise City with too much passion.

"Dad!" Leon called again, more irritated this time.

"Yes Leon?" Luke called back, slightly frustrated when hearing he still didn't get any answer. He stood up from his chair with a grunt and Michael laughed before going back to singing in a high pitched voice, trying too hard to sound like Axl Rose.

Luke walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, sighing loudly when seeing his son sit on the couch looking through a book with pictures and small lines of text, wearing Michael's headphones and listening to music.

"Dad!" Leon called again without tearing his eyes away from the picture of the small kitten.

Luke rolled his eyes and laughed when walking over to Leon and took off the big headphones from his small head.

"You have to take these off if you're gonna be able to hear anything. Like my answers" Luke said and ruffled Leon's hair.

"Dad?" Leon asked once again and looked up from his book.

"Yes, what is it?" Luke asked and sat down on the small table in front of the couch.

"Can I have a kitten?" Leon said and pointed down on the picture of the small grey cat.

"You wanna have a kitten?" Luke repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"I heard 'kitten'" Michael said and walked into the room, sitting down beside Leon in the couch.

"I want a kitten" Leon said and smiled up at Michael. Michael gasped and nodded his head before looking at Luke.

"I want a kitten too" Michael said and Luke rolled his eyes. His friend did not help the situation at all.

"We can't have a kitten" Luke sighed and rolled his eyes when both Leon and Michael pouted.

"Why?" Leon whined.

"Because it cost money to own an animal and you have to take care of it, which we don't have time for. And we live in an apartment in the middle of the city so the kitten would never be able to go out. It's not so fun for the kitten" Luke said.

"That's true" Michael mumbled and Leon pouted again.

"Okay" Leon mumbled and looked down at his lap.

"Maybe when you're older?" Luke said and immediately his son's pout turned into a big smile. Luke sighed out, relieved that his son wasn't sad or mad at him.

"So," Luke said and stood up from the table, "I need to get to work"

"Am I going to grandma and grandpa's?" Leon asked and looked up at his father with big blue eyes.

"No, I thought you'd stay here with Mikey" Luke said and smiled when seeing Leon light up in happiness.

Leon turned to Michael and kept the smile, both of them grinning big before planning what they would do during the seven hours Luke would be at work.

Luke chuckled at them as he walked over to his bedroom, undressing himself from his ripped an old sweats and dressed in jeans instead. He had to dress in his work clothes when he came to work anyway so the way he looked now didn't matter really.

Luke went to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush and walked out to enter his bedroom again and laid down on his bed while brushing his teeth. He reached to the bedside table and grabbed his phone, pressing the home button to see he had gotten a text from Ashton.

My daughter just called me by your name.. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing?

Luke smiled at the text and read it two times to be sure it actually stood what he read before responding.

Haha, I think that's a great thing. I clearly made a great impression :)

Luke smiled. Knowing that the daughter of the guy he was clearly interested in likes him, just made everything so much easier for him.

Luke knew very well how you always picked people to hang around with after what your own child thought. You always wanted to make your kid happy and feeling safe.

When toothpaste ran down Luke's chin and dripped down on his bed, he cursed with his mouth still full and ran to the bathroom again to spit out all the toothpaste that was by now overflowing in his mouth.

Glancing on the clock once made Luke speed up his pace and collect everything he needed before rushing out to the living room, seeing Leon and Michael already on the floor with all the cushions from the couch, watching a movie.

"I'll be home later tonight" Luke breathed out and crouched down to leave a kiss on both boys foreheads in a rush. Leon smiled and Michael grimaced.

"It's Monday tomorrow so you go to bed early tonight" Luke said and pointed at Leon before turning to Michael and gave him a pointed look. Michael rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I know, I know. Go now, bye" Michael mumbled and turned his attention back to The Lion King that was playing on the TV.

"Okay, I love you" Luke said and smiled.

"Love you too daddy" Leon said and stuffed an apple slice in his mouth.

"Yeah, love you too daddy" Michael said and smirked before clicking his tongue.

Luke rolled his eyes and left.

**

"Since when is it okay to wear a snapback in the kitchen?" Tim asked as he looked at Luke from across the kitchen.

"Since Dan lost a bet against me" Luke said and smiled proudly. Tim laughed loudly before reading the new order he got and placed a steak on the grill, tossing the order to Luke for him to finish it.

"I'm bringing a snapback tomorrow" Tim said and nodded his head along to the music they always had playing in the kitchen.

While it was nice and slow music playing in the restaurant, it was always loud music playing in the kitchen.

The workers in the restaurant were all young adults, either students or newly graduates. Even though Luke was one of the youngest ones, he still was one of the workers that had worked in the restaurant the longest.

After Luke graduated from high school, he had to get a job as quick as possible since he couldn't let his parents pay for him and Leon more than they had. Thanks to Luke's father, he had gotten the job at the restaurant and he kind of actually loved it there.

Luke plated the food like an artwork, just like they had been taught to do, and rung the bell, making one of the waiters take it out to the right tables.

"How is The King doing?" Tim asked as he read a new order from the list.

"'The King'? That's what he's called now?" Luke asked, chuckling softly.

"Yeah, that little man is the coolest ever" Tim said, laughing lightly, "I wish we were better friends, he's just that cool"

Luke chuckled while cooking the food, fixing his Chicago Bulls snapback on his head.

"I don't understand how he got that cool though because you're not cool at all" Tim said and Luke sent him a glare before throwing a shrimp at him.

"You're paying for that one Hemmings" Dan said as he walked into the kitchen. Luke cursed under his breath and Tim smirked big.

"Fine" Luke mumbled and finished yet another plate. It was the same thing over and over again, but Luke was happy with it because he got a great pay.

"We've got compliments for the chef" Dan said as he checked through the list of orders today.

"Aw, I-"

"Not you Tim. Compliments for Luke" This time Luke smirked big.

"How could you possibly know if Luke made just that plate?" Tim asked, his eyebrows furrowed in a slightly childish frown.

"I can't, but the customer specifically said he wanted to compliment Luke"

"Who's 'he'?" Luke asked and looked up at his boss.

"I don't know. Go out and look if you recognize him, your shift is over in one minute. The pair sit at table 9" Dan said and shrugged. Luke looked up at the clock and mentally cheered when seeing his shift was over.

He gave Tim a pat on the back and did the same to Dan before taking off his snapback and walking out of the kitchen and into the actual restaurant. Tables were filled with families and pairs sharing a nice Sunday night dinner. It had been quite a stressful night in the kitchen and Luke saw now just why.

He made his way through the different tables, directing for table 9. Luke ran a hand through his almost sweaty hair and smiled at the people eating.

He got closer to table 9 and stopped when seeing who was seated by it; Ashton and a woman who had very similar dimples to Ashton's.

Luke took a breath before walking over, stopping by the edge of the table, making both of them look up.

"Hi" Luke breathed out and almost fell to the ground when Ashton smiled that big and cheerful smile.

"Hi Luke" Ashton said and stood up from his chair to embrace Luke in a hug.

"Oh no, you don't want to do that, I'm drenched in sweat and meat and-" Luke was cut off when Ashton pulled him into the most comfortable embrace he's ever been in. Luke smiled and hugged back for just a few seconds before Ashton pulled away and smiled.

"Luke, this is my mother; Anne Marie. Mom, this is Luke, the guy I met at Peach's preschool" Ashton said and pointed between Luke and his mother.

"Actually, we met in the supermarket the first time" Luke corrected and nearly blushed when seeing Ashton smile almost admiringly at him.

"That's right, my bad. Mom, this is the guy I met in the supermarket" Ashton corrected and his mother laughed as she stood up and shook hands with Luke.

"It's nice to meet you Luke" Anne said and smiled genuinely at Luke.

"Likewise" Luke said, smiling back.

"You had a son, right?" Anne asked and Luke nodded.

"Yeah; Leon"

"Leon" Anne said and nodded, "He sounds like a great boy from what I've heard from my granddaughter"

Luke smiled big and thanked her, telling both her and Ashton that Peach was an amazing little girl as well.

"And you sound like a great boy from what I've heard from my son" Anne said and chuckled lightly when seeing her son sending her warning glares.

Luke turned and looked at Ashton with raised eyebrows and a small smile playing on his lips.

"Your son's pretty great too. From what I've gotten to know anyway" Luke said and Anne laughed lightly.

"Yeah" she said and smiled at her son who smiled back lovingly. "I'm gonna go now honey, call me tomorrow if it doesn't work out" she said and Ashton nodded. They said their goodbyes, hugging, and Anne thanked Luke for the delicious food and hugged him as well before walking out of the restaurant.

The two boys stood quietly beside each other and looked out over the restaurant.

"Well, I think I should get going myself-"

"I've ended my shift. You wanna take a walk or something?" Luke interrupted Ashton and the older one turned to look at Luke, smiling big before nodding his head.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Perfect" Ashton said and Luke smiled. They smiled at each other for what felt like 4259 hours but in reality were only seconds.

"I have to change first" Luke said.

"Okay" Ashton answered.

Luke didn't move. Neither did Ashton.

"Okay, so I'll do that now" Luke said. He still didn't move.

"Okay" Ashton said again and smiled bigger, and Luke thought he might just die right on the spot.

"Go change, Luke. I'll be waiting" Ashton said with a small chuckle and Luke nodded his head about 23 times before actually acting on it and running past all tables and into the changing rooms.

Ashton stood still in place and watched the idiotic 21 year old run away excitedly, and Ashton just smiled.

**

"So," Luke said as they were out of the restaurant and walking on the city streets at 9:37 PM, "You've talked about me with your mother"

Luke had a satisfied grin on his face as he talked. Ashton looked at Luke and giggled lightly, making Luke feel like he was flying.

"I might have" Ashton said and shrugged, grinning back at Luke and all the blonde wanted to do was to trace his dimples like a drawing by dots.

"It's not weird that Peach call you by my name if I'm the only one you talk about" Luke said and Ashton laughed.

"Okay, yeah. I'll try to stop talking about you all day and all night"

"No, it was only a joke. I don't want you to stop talking about me" Luke said and turned his head to look at Ashton as they walked, hands in their pockets and shoulders pushed up a bit because of the cold night air.

"Okay, then I promise I won't" Ashton said and even though Luke knew Ashton didn't actually talk about him all day and all night, Ashton still made a promise and it warmed Luke's body.

The two boys grew silent for a while, only walking beside each other and enjoying how the city lights looked through the smoke from their breaths.

Ashton removed one hand from his pocket and scratched his jaw, and Luke kept his eyes locked on him all the time. Luke was hypnotized.

Before Ashton had the time to place his hand in his pocket again and before Luke had the time to change his mind, the younger boy caught the older one's hand in his.

Ashton was shocked by the act and turned to looked at Luke with surprise shining through his big eyes. His shocked expression soon softened to a gentle smile when seeing Luke bite his lip in nervousness.

Ashton intertwined their fingers and brought their hand down between them, letting them swing back and forth slightly and smiled even bigger when feeling Luke relax.

"This is nice" Ashton whispered and Luke answered by squeezing Ashton's hand.

Luke smiled. Ashton smiled. It was all smiles, and Luke hoped it would last forever.

The two fathers walked hand in hand through the different streets until slowing down to a stop outside a big apartment building with a view out over the boring cement streets that now at night looked pretty beautiful.

"This is me" Luke breathed out and Ashton enjoyed how he could see the the words Luke spoke by the light white cloud dissolving into the air.

Ashton nodded his head and looked at the building before looking up at Luke again. Both boys studied each other's faces like it was some kind of puzzle, but like the puzzle was already solved and they enjoyed the completed picture.

Ashton looked at Luke breathing in and out heavily and smiled before pulling Luke into a hug again. Luke breathed in the smell of Ashton as he wrapped his arms around him , holding him close.

They pulled away soon after and was back to locking eyes. Luke truly enjoyed the way Ashton's eyes changed color in different lights, and he could study it all night.

He didn't though, because Ashton leaned closer and placed a sweet and gentle kiss on Luke's cheek, close to his jaw. It lingered a little bit longer than a normal kiss on the cheek would, and Luke could feel his knees grow weak.

"Bye Luke, I'll see you tomorrow" Ashton whispered against Luke's skin before pulling back to see Luke's whole face.

"Bye Ashton" Luke breathed out and watched as Ashton smiled at him before walking down the street again.

Luke didn't move for at least 2 minutes and 17 seconds because he waited until Ashton was no longer in sight.

Luke sighed hopelessly and brought his fingertips to his cheek, feeling the spot Ashton had had his lips on just 3 minutes ago.

Luke shivered. Luke breathed. Luke smiled.

•••

thought i'd make luke top in this story, would you hate or love that??

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