Another Chance

After catching up on much needed sleep, Lucas heads immediately over to Jake’s, wanting to share the latest turn of events with his friend, despite the reaction he knows he’s going to get. Still, he has to talk to someone and Jake, being the only person who actually knows what’s going on, wins by default.

That, and Lucas has found he really cares for the sweet natured teenage dad. Just not in the way he knows Jake wishes he did.

Jake welcomes him in, his face lighting up at the spontaneous visit. He quickly ushers Lucas upstairs to his bedroom to avoid his parents, who are happily playing with Jenny in the living room. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

“You won’t believe what’s happened,” Lucas begins, feeling like a big girl for needing to offload all of this on the nearest shoulder. “Nathan almost killed himself taking drugs and the hospital called me, which of course scared the crap out of me until I got there and realised he was going to be okay. Somehow we managed to come to an agreement. We’re friends. I think. Well, it’s not like we talked about it, but…”

“Whoa, slow down,” Jake sits on his bed, frowning up at Lucas. “Nathan’s okay?”

“His mom took him home this morning. He’s fine,” Lucas explains. “Now I’m just waiting for him to call and we’re going to…hang out, I guess. Try and be friends, so we can still play on the same team and socialise with the same people.”

“So, you’ve made up?” Jake asks, worriedly.

“I feel better about this,” Lucas tells him, cheerfully. “I think things are going to be okay. I mean, it’ll be difficult, but bearable. This way I don’t have to avoid him, but I can avoid getting hurt. It’s a win/win situation.”

“Lucas, come on!” Jake moans. “You have to know this is just another ploy to win you back?”

“It was my idea.” Lucas points out, defensively. “I know you’re worried, but seriously, you don’t have to be…”

“You deserve to be with someone who you can trust. Someone who won’t mess with your head and break your heart.” Jake tells him.

“I’m not getting back with him!” Lucas objects. “We never had the chance to be friends. And if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just go back to being enemies. Either way, he’s not going to break my heart again.”

“Then why don’t you give me a chance to show you how much I care about you? If you and Nathan are really over…” Jake begins, looking up nervously at his friend. “You know how I feel about you.”

Lucas nods, wishing he could return those feelings. It would solve so many of his problems. “I’m not over Nathan yet. I know it’s pathetic, but…give me time.”

“You deserve better, you really do,” Jake assures him.

“So do you. Which is why it’s not fair of me to use you to get over Nathan,” Lucas explains, softly. “Like it or not, I’m still in love with him.”

“Which is why being friends is not going to work,” Jake tries to tell him, wishing he didn’t have to be the one to burst Lucas’ bubble like this.

But the other boy just forces a smile. “I’ll make it work.”

*~*~*~*

“Shit, you’re early! I thought we agreed to meet at the River Court at ten?” Nathan exclaims as Lucas appears at his door the next morning. Nathan’s only wearing his boxers, a fact which Lucas is only too aware of as he waits to be let in. “I was just making pancakes. Want some?”

“Okay,” Lucas replies, dumbly, thrown by the sudden reminder of just how fucking gorgeous Nathan really is. “Sorry, I was just up early, so I figured we could head over there together.” He steps inside as Nathan moves out the way and decides looking at Nathan is not a good idea, so he finds a place in the kitchen to lean against where he can stare off in another direction as they talk.

Nathan cheerfully continues his work in the kitchen, casually casting glances at his distracted brother every now and again, but not mentioning the strange behaviour in the hopes it’s just left over awkwardness between them that’ll pass with time.

Lucas, meanwhile, tries very hard not to look at Nathan, especially not the curves of his muscles or how low his boxers hang on his hips, or how tightly they hug as Nathan bends down to grab a dropped eggshell. He remembers the last time they made breakfast together, right after hours of mind blowing sex where Lucas had admitted for the first time just how much he was falling for Nathan, only to be kissed on the forehead and given the reply, ‘I love you, too.’ They’d done more touching, kissing, biting, licking, sucking and more importantly, fucking, than they’d ever done before and it had been so perfect that Lucas had continued to feel euphoric for days after.

Before Lucas realises what he’s doing to himself, his dick is hardening in his pants and all he can think about is how badly he wants Nathan. And that maybe he should have laid down some ground rules about their friendship. No walking around in boxers would have been a good start.

“Luke, you awake?” Nathan teases, waving his hand in front of the blond’s eyes. “I need to get in the drawer.”

Lucas realises he’s leaning against the drawer in question. And that in Nathan’s attempt to get in there, the dark haired boy is now standing very close and leaning in, waiting for Lucas to move so he can grab the handle currently digging into Lucas’ ass. His suddenly very dry throat constricts as he swallows nervously, darting out the way before Nathan catches how red his face is turning. And more importantly, notices the size of the bulge in his pants.

Nathan is seemingly oblivious to the effect he has on the older boy, grabbing what he needs out the drawer and continuing making breakfast, making small talk with his suddenly very quiet brother. Until, that is, a small drop of pancake mixture hits his naked chest, narrowly missing his right nipple.

Lucas knows what’s coming next, but can’t bring himself to look away as Nathan runs a finger up his chest, catching the stray mixture and slipping it into his mouth, lips tightly wrapped around the finger to wipe it clean. Rule number two, Lucas thinks to himself. No obscene sucking.

“Hey, what’s with you today?” Nathan asks him, catching the distant look on his brother’s face. “You sure things are cool with us?”

“We’re fine!” Lucas replies, his voice much higher than it should be. He’s sure his face is still flushed, but thankfully the kitchen counter is doing a good job of hiding other signs that things are definitely not cool.

“You want me to put some clothes on?” Nathan asks, hint of amusement in his eyes while he tries his best to look serious.

Lucas’ eyes widen, afraid he’s been caught out. “Uh…doesn’t bother me. Whatever.”

Nathan raises an eyebrow, not quite believing Lucas’ nervous reply, but resigned to the promise he’s made to himself that he won’t try and push anything. Even if Lucas is currently sporting a pretty obvious hard on. “I’ll go get changed. You mind finishing up here?”

Refusing to be disappointed at the loss of a view he definitely does not jerk off to on a regular basis anymore, Lucas nods, trying to look perfectly at ease. So much for friendship. He tries to concentrate on making them breakfast, but all he can think about is Nathan stripping off in the other room and that only makes him mad because he doesn’t want to be hung up on Nathan anymore. Still, he finds himself moving away from the kitchen to look over at the door to Nathan’s bedroom, which is only half-closed. Nathan isn’t in sight, but a few more steps and Lucas thinks he might be. And what difference do a few steps make anyway? He could be heading to the bathroom for all Nathan knows…

A few steps turn into enough to take him practically to the door and then there’s Nathan, dragging shorts up around his hips, boxers showing over the waistband while his chest is still blissfully bare. It makes Lucas’ heart ache almost as much as his cock.

An alarm snaps him out of his voyeurism and he realises he’s left the pancakes to burn. He’s back in the kitchen faster than he’s ever moved on the court, his heart thumping. Did Nathan see him?

His brother appears less than a minute later, t-shirt thrown on with the shorts. He looks questioningly at Lucas and then at the burnt pancakes. “One job, man. That’s all I asked.”

Lucas knows this isn’t Nathan’s fault. It’s him, he can’t do this. He can’t be friends, he was stupid to ever think it could work. Dropping the pan in the sink, he looks at Nathan regretfully. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I just can’t.” He goes to leave, no longer turned on but desperately unhappy at where this whole mess has left him.

“Lucas, wait.” Nathan rushes after him, grabbing his arm gently and holding him back. “I didn’t mean to fuck things up again. Just tell me what I did wrong and I won’t do it again, I swear.”

“You didn’t fuck up, I just can’t do this, go back to being friends. We were barely ever friends, all I know how to be is…” He shakes his head, unable to say it. “I thought it’d be easy if you stopped trying to get me back.”

“It’s definitely not easy,” Nathan tells him, his own experience written in the pain on his face. “Gets easier.”

Lucas looks doubtful. “Yeah?”

“No,” Nathan sighs. “Really doesn’t. But I deserve it. You don’t. If you can’t be around me…”

“But I want to be,” Lucas interrupts. “How are we supposed to fix this?”

Kiss me, Nathan desperately wants to say. “I could start by keeping my clothes on?”

Lucas thumps Nathan’s arm in mild annoyance and maybe even the slightest bit of amusement. “Don’t joke about this.”

“Gotta admit, it’s kinda funny. Neither of us can have what we want. Can’t live with each other, can’t live without…” Nathan breaks off, his smile dissipating. “You don’t have to be this miserable, Luke. Just tell me how to make you happy and I’ll do it.”

“Take it back?” Lucas asks, pointlessly. “I don’t know, Nathan. If I knew how to be happy I’d be happy right now.”

“I think you know,” Nathan argues, hesitantly, afraid of how Lucas will react. “You just don’t want to admit it.”

Lucas just looks up at him with confused eyes that are desperately looking for the right answer. It takes a second for him to discard all the doubts clouding his mind and slightly longer to gather enough courage and plain old stupidity, but he finally does it and the second he kisses Nathan, he gets his answer.

Nathan can see it coming, and yet nothing prepares him for the overwhelming rush to his brain as their lips connect, soft and gentle quickly turning to fast and desperate, as if they’d been starving for each other and more importantly, for this. As much as Nathan wishes he could lose himself in just how amazing it feels to have Lucas back in his arms, he’s terrified that Lucas is going to see sense and pull away any second now. He tightens his hold around the blond subconsciously, never wanting to let go.