Who: Bunny & Luke What: Bunny checks up on Luke to make sure Thomas is not being evil. Where: Aubade When: Backdated to the Friday of the inhibitions plot (11/12) Warnings: Nothing too serious
How long had it been since Bunny had an actual conversation with Luke or seen him? It’d been about two weeks, hadn’t it? She’d dropped by his apartment again, only to find he still wasn’t there, but that only meant that he was still living with hot rich evil dude of evil. That was not cool. She had to check up on her bud to make sure he was okay. If she’d thought ahead, she probably would have called beforehand, but she’d been on this kick of not thinking before doing lately. She’d taken the stairs down to the first floor of the Hamartia, using the railing, carefully. She didn’t exactly trust it, but she didn’t trust those stairs either. The stairwell was creepy as hell.
The Aubade was a palace in comparison. She felt like she’d walked into another dimension the moment she crossed the threshhold. Apparently, it was a dimension where they couldn’t actually get anything done. Bunny was having a little trouble trying to get the doorman to contact Luke up in Thomas’ apartment. It was something about the privacy of their tenants and that she didn’t look like the kind of person who should be there, and she was about to seriously climb over that counter and strangled the snooty looking bastard. She had made such a fuss, they’d almost escorted her out, but someone else had come out and told the guy to do it, because what could it hurt. If who she wanted was there and wanted to see her, he’d see her. If he didn’t, he didn’t.
Fridays were by far the best day of the week. He had no classes that day, and work had been lax with hours lately so he had more free time than usual. Sometimes he still felt a little guilty about living in such an expensive apartment, but he tried to pay for whatever he could - which mostly involved basic necessities. The cupboards were fully stocked with food again thanks to a quick grocery store run earlier, but practicing had been put on hold in favor of numerous requests to get on Live and play some Black Ops to make the teams even. Fortunately Luke managed to hear the phone even over the sounds of the headset positioned over his ears, and he scrambled to grab the receiver before it rang for too long. The voice on the other end was a familiar one - he still didn’t know the doorman’s name (and admittedly it wasn’t always the same guy) but he’d gotten familiar with the faces he saw every time he entered the building, and they’d stopped giving him strange looks a while back.
Apparently there was a teenage girl named Bunny in the lobby who wanted to see him, but they’d needed to confirm that he knew her before sending her up. Luke sighed, shutting off the TV and telling the doorman that he’d come down instead before hanging up the phone. At least they were careful around here, and it wasn’t like Thomas had many visitors to begin with. He took the elevator down, pressing the proper buttons without thinking twice.
It didn’t take long for him to spot Bunny once the doors slid open and he stepped out, trying not to laugh at how disgruntled she looked and the way she glared at the doorman. “It’s fine, she’s with me.” Luke nodded to the doorman before turning to Bunny with a grin. “Hey. I didn’t know you were planning on stopping by.”
"See. I told you, you jerk," she said angrily at the men who were now getting out of her way. She'd considered making a crazy dash for the stairwell, because waiting for the elevator would've been stupid. The only problem was she didn't know what floor he was on. Also, for some reason they thought she was here to as some sort of crazy Thomas fan girl. Did he get a lot? Man, were they going to be surprised when they found out, if he ever came out that was.
It felt like ages, waiting there, but she felt vindicated. The man looked annoyed, but she didn't much care about that. He deserved to be upset, because she was upset, and actually just about everyone around her was probably starting to feel the creeping effects of being upset.
When the door opened, and she saw Luke step out into the hall, all of that seemed to melt away as if she had not been offended a moment ago. A bright smile curved the edges of her mouth and she waved, "You didn't tell me you hadn't moved back home yet," she countered his statement easily. "I can't visit you if I don't know where you are, unless you're avoiding me. You're not avoiding me are you?" She looked worried for a second. "Your cousin told me you were still here, and I haven't seen you in a while and I just wanted to hang out, and I brought brownies!" She'd bought them on the way here, because she just really wanted brownies. Brownies were important.
He’d been planning on letting Bunny know when he moved back to Hamartia, assuming that she’d realize he was still in Aubade if he never told her anything different. “Oh, sorry. I was going to tell you when I moved back but... I haven’t yet.” He shrugged. It was something he was getting around to, he really was, but it never seemed like the right time to bring it up. “Of course I’m not avoiding you. Why would I want to avoid you?” There were some people he’d rather not see, sure, but Bunny wasn’t one of them. The mention of brownies made him brighten, and he realized they were something he hadn’t had in a while. Ignoring the looks of the doorman and other men (he wasn’t sure who they were or what they did), Luke turned away and nudged her towards the elevator.
“Brownies are great, thanks. And I’m glad you’re here - I’ve been wanting to show you around. This place is great. It has three pools - one is outside, so obviously that’s out of the question, but the other two are indoor. The apartments are really nice inside too.” Usually he tried to downplay the extravagance of Aubade, feeling slightly uncomfortable whenever he told people about it, but for some reason that didn’t apply now.
Bunny was feeling a little better about the visit the more Luke talked. He seemed really happy to see her, and that made her happy. He even smiled when she mentioned the brownies. When he nudged her, she snuggly attached herself to his arm, before turning around to stick her tongue out at the ridiculous door people. They totally deserved that for the way they treated her, even though logically they were just doing their jobs.
"THREE POOLS?!" She'd been listening to him up to that point, but she had to interject. What kind of place had three pools. Five star hotels didn't have three pools. Two indoor pools was just insane. Bunny had come here on some sort of mission that she was trying to remember, but she was getting distracted by the idea of the fact that there were three pools. Oh right! He mentioned apartments. "Does this mean I get to see your new swinging bachelor pa--is Creepy McCreepster up there? Is he holding you hostage? I swear it was like I was trying to get a hold of Rapunzel down here. What floor are you on anyway?" The questions just started flowing out as usual, with just a bit more bite. She didn't mean to sound as upset as she did, but she couldn't help but be extra suspicious of Thomas generosity, despite their last discussion.
He only glanced back to pull an apologetic face at the doorman, deciding that later he’d make sure they knew to just let her up next time. Luke figured Thomas would mind since he wasn’t around much anyway, but just in case he’d let Bunny know to call or something before she came by - although, depending on how much longer he stayed here, it might not be a problem. “Yeah, three. The indoor ones are in the basement and on the roof.” He hadn’t known any of this himself until he decided to explore the apartment complex one day, although teenagers wandering the halls apparently weren’t exactly welcomed by all residents.
“Creepy McCreepster?” He couldn’t help but laugh, although he hadn’t done a very good job of improving her opinion of Thomas. “No, he’s not there. He’s... out, taking care of stuff. He’s usually busy.” He waved it off with a shrug, because he’d gotten used to having the apartment to himself. “I’m on the fifth floor - 506, to be exact. And no, he’s not holding me hostage,” he added, pressing the button for the elevator. “I know you think he’s creepy, but he’s not that bad. His social skills are just a bit... rusty.”
"Isn't it creepy to have a pool in the basement?" Bunny wasn't exactly hinting at the one on the roof, but it was creepy to have a pool in the basement. That's where teenagers went to die. At least, that's where they went to die in horror movies. She shuddered at the thought of it as she waited for the elevator to come down. "That's probably where he is all the time. Lurking...waiting..." She made a suspicious face at the thought of Thomas in the pool up to his nose, waiting for defenseless teenagers to jump in.
That led to a shudder, although the fact that Luke said he wasn't in the apartment made the imagery all the more real. "At least your elevator works here. I think you might have a thing for the fifth floor. I mean, I know the view has to be better here than over at the Hamartia, but seriously, it's the same floor, did you notice that?" She did. She could remember distinctly walking up five flights of stairs because the elevator didn't work. "How do your social skills get rusty when you're like the most popular man alive. He was all over that party he threw, remember?" There was a pause there before she added, "and he's in a ton of magazines, goes to a bunch of meetings. He's never home. What the hell does he do that doesn't ooze social?"
“Not if it’s a nice basement.” The concept was admittedly a little creepy, but that was only if you thought of some kind of horror movie basement, and a pool that was mostly dark with flickering lights all around and shadows on the walls. He laughed again, trying to conjure up a mental image of Thomas waiting in the pool like some kind of monster and failing horribly. What had he ever said to give her such a terrible image of him? Luke tried to think about it, but he was pretty sure he’d been diligent about avoiding talking about him too much. Maybe she’d just come up with it on her own.
The elevator doors slid open as he tilted his head to the side, considering the fact that he’d never realized the fifth floor thing until now. “You’re right. I never noticed that before.” This time around he hadn’t exactly chosen the fifth floor - it just happened to be the one Thomas lived on. He pressed the ‘5’ button, distantly recognizing that he should’ve been more careful about what he let slip. Yes, Thomas didn’t quite have the most polished social skills, but he wasn’t supposed to say that. “Yeah, I remember. I meant that his social skills are rusty sometimes. Everyone knows who he is, right? So it probably gets tiring after a while, having to deal with all that publicity and stuff.” Luke exhaled heavily and stopped talking, watching the elevator numbers climb higher. This wasn’t something he was usually so willing to talk about, and the fact that he was did strike him as a little odd.
"He's turned you into his minion and now you're trying to lure me down there for him," she said eying him suspiciously. She'd somehow put some distance between the two of them in the time he'd try to defend the basement to the time he started trying to defend Thomas and his lack of social skills. "I see it now." It was so true. Thomas was slowly brainwashing him, and she needed to save him, but she didn't know how. No, she needed to gather more intel on the enemy. She had to go into the belly of the beast, his home.
She had to prepare herself for the perilous journey, eyes watching the numbers light up one by one as they ascended toward the number five. By then, her expression had turned from suspicion to determination. She could do this! She was going to save Luke! She wasn't sure how, but she could figure that out when she got there.
“What?” Luke stared at her like she’d lost her mind - which, judging by what she was saying, might have actually happened. “Bunny... we’re not going to the basement. We’re going to the fifth floor.” Maybe it was a good thing that Thomas was out - he probably wouldn’t take too kindly to being accused of brainwashing and recruiting minions. Where was she even getting that from anyway? “I’m not his minion. That makes him sound like some kind of super-villain.” He pulled a face, deciding she’d probably just watched too many movies or TV shows or... something like that.
The elevator came to a halt at the top floor, and he waited until the doors slid open with a ding before stepping out and leading her along with him. Hopefully once she saw the apartment she’d forget all about thinking Thomas was some kind of weirdo that hid in basement pools.
Bunny knew exactly where they were going, but understood why Luke would want to lull her into a false sense of security. The fact that she was going into Thomas' home didn't make anything safer. She had to be on guard at all times. When the doors came open, she followed him, observing her surroundings, and the numbers. She had to remember everything exactly. Exactly.
Unfortunately, Luke was probably right. All that was most likely going to fly out the window the moment she saw the apartment, because she'd never been in a rich person's house before. Right now, she was focusing on attempting to figure out how she was going to get herself and Luke out if Thomas showed up, because saving Luke was extra important now that Thomas had him isolated all the time. That was what she figured since he didn't have to work anymore. He didn't have to pay rent if he was staying here. Was Thomas paying his rent?
HE WAS SEDUCING HIM WITH HIS MONEY.
He wasn’t sure if her silence was a good thing or a bad thing, but at least she wasn’t insisting that Thomas was the epitome of all things evil and creepy anymore. The money thing was still something that made him uncomfortable, especially since he was more than capable of paying for himself, but he knew what the general consensus was in that respect. The other apartments weren’t given much attention - he knew other people lived on the fifth floor, but he’d never actually met any of them. Thomas didn’t know them as far as he knew, and he didn’t feel particularly like trying to explain why he was there when he didn’t half half the money they did.
“Here it is.” Luke pulled out the key he’d shoved in his pockets and opened the door, gesturing for Bunny to go inside first before he followed her. It bore evident signs of being lived in, but overall he made an effort to keep things neat and clean. “Well, what do you think?”
When the doors opened to Thomas' apartment, she was completely silent. She'd walked in as she was gestured to, just inside, enough for him to close the door. Her eyes were wide like saucers as she took everything in. Maybe being evil wasn't that bad if you got to live in a place like this. All Luke would see was Bunny running from one room to the next squealing and flailing all the way. She even ran up the stairs, and then ran back down the stairs. "OH MY GOD, THIS PLACE IS AWESOME. HOWCOULDYOUNOTINVITEMESOONER?! THISTVISEFFIN'HUGE!" It really was just that easy. "You stay here all by yourself all day? Really? You were totally avoiding me, keeping this from me!" It wasn't said in a tone of betrayal or anger, because she was far too distracted by the awesome that was Thomas Brandon's chic bachelor pad.
"Wait, are you making new rich friends? You're dating rich girls, aren't you?" She wasn't sure where that came from, but you didn't just live in this sort of apartment. You had to entertain in it too. The huge TV told her that.
Luke grinned, pleased that his assumption had been right - seeing the inside of the apartment had obviously done the trick. Even though it wasn’t actually his, he still felt rather proud of it - and he spent more time here than Thomas did anyway. He stood in the middle of the living room and watched her run around like a little kid on Christmas morning, not even thinking that Thomas might not want someone running around his apartment. “Sorry. But you’re here now, right?” He hadn’t really invited many people over, deciding it would be easier to conduct his social life outside of the Aubade apartment - for now, at least. He still wasn’t sure when (or if ) he was moving out, which was another question he’d prefer to avoid.
“Well, I go to class and stuff. I’m not here all the time.” He wrinkled his nose. “No, I’m not making new rich friends. I don’t even know many people on this floor, never mind in the entire building. I still know the same people I did before, and I’m not dating anyone.” Despite what Bunny might think, Thomas’ entire social persona was fabricated - and it was weak at best, so it wasn’t as though he had swanky parties every night or anything. “You want to see the pool on the roof? There’s a sauna up there too, I think.” The apartment was nice and all, but the really great stuff was outside in the building itself.
Bunny only half heard what he was saying as she continued to look around the place, even going so far as to forage in the fridge. Who knew what kind of exciting and awesome foods were in there. Apparently, Thomas ate like normal people. It was fascinating and disappointing all at once. She had no idea that Luke was the one who stocked it. If only.
Bunny couldn’t wrap her mind around why anyone would want to go to college. She herself was going to live on retail for the rest of her life, or marry someone rich who would love her and spoil her. She was going to look fabulous with her fabulous husband and they’d be fabulous together. Yes, that was an excellent plan. She just had to find the perfect guy. For now, she was rakin’ in the bucks babysitting kittens for Brigs while he was at work. She had asked for Friday off to visit her friend, and so here she was.
When he admitted that he didn’t bring anyone around, she just turned and frowned at him. “Don’t you get lonely? He’s not here. You don’t have friends here.” She looked genuinely concerned. “It is like you’re Rapunzel.” She slid her arms around him and gave him a tight hug, which was only tight for a second. She remembered he’d been wounded and didn’t want to hurt him, still not sure how the healing was going, mainly because she hadn’t seen it. “Sure, you can show me the pool and the sauna. I’ve never actually been in one of those before.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “You can show me everything!”
If Luke hadn’t kept the fridge stocked himself, then there would be nothing but fruit and whatever protein things Thomas lived on instead of actual food. Luckily he’d just recently picked up some more food, or Bunny might have thought he was being starved to death. He was about to ask if she wanted anything, but found himself caught off guard by her question. Did he get lonely? It wasn’t as though he spent every waking minute cooped up in the apartment, but when he was here it was usually alone. He’d never thought of it that way before. “I’m not lonely,” he insisted, but even as he said it he began to doubt how true it was. He didn’t want to isolate himself, but maybe it was destined to happen whether it was by choice or not.
The hug was unexpected, but it felt nice and he didn’t hesitate to return it. “Okay.” He hoped no one would be up there, because that would be just a little awkward, but it wasn’t like they were going swimming or anything - neither of them had bathing suits. Then again, swimming in his clothes didn’t seem like such a crazy idea, even though it should have. “I’d suggest we go swimming, but neither of us are really dressed for it,” he added as they went back out into the hallway. Luke hadn’t actually planned on saying that out loud, but oh well.
Bunny snugged into his hug. She seemed to be okay with his answer. He said he wasn't lonely, and that was important. They said it was lonely at the top, and he was pretty far up there right now. After a moment, she noticed just about then how nice it felt to hug him, to have his arms around her. She was a little sad when he pulled away to take her out into the hallway, but they were going to go see the pool! They were also going to go see the saunas.
"Do you know if the pools are heated? Because it won't matter if we have bathing suits or not." Normally, she wouldn't suggest such a thing, but it just came out. "Bathing suits are just pretty patterned underwear and I have plenty of those." She said with a smile. "All we would really have to worry about are towels for when we get out."
“I’m almost positive they’re heated. I think people would complain if they weren’t.” He didn’t find the idea of swimming in a cold pool very appealing, so he doubted anyone else would. Although he’d broken their hug, Luke still kept his arm around hers as they made their way to the elevator again. Normally he would have balked at the idea of swimming in their underwear, but he figured she did have a point. Besides, he could just swim in his pants or something. No big deal.
“Yeah, you have a point. I think they have towels up there. This place is too fancy for people to have to bring their own, you know?” He grinned at her as the doors slid open, and he pressed the ‘11’ button carelessly. “So you’re saying you want to, then?” It could be fun, so why not?
"Uhm, yes," she was just giddy all over. This place was amazing. The thought of creepy Thomas was miles away, and the thrilling idea of jumping into a pool in her underwear was exciting. Well, it was exciting if no one else was there, which she hoped. If no one else was there then they'd have the entire pool to themselves. There was also the small thrill of getting caught, but she didn't dwell too much on that, because it also made her nervous. She didn't like the nervous feeling so she overrode it completely by ignoring it.
When she stepped into the elevator a second time, she realized how nice it was inside. This ride was a lot shorter than the other one. That was probably because she wasn't all about planning. When the door open, she slipped out of his arm, and took a hold of his hand and tugged him out toward the room. She would have waited for him to guide her in, but she was too excited and he was moving way too slow. The pool was a little smaller than she'd expected, but there was no one there, and there were towels. She grabbed a couple, throwing them on the benches. Then started to undress. “C’mon, slowpoke.”
As long as no one was around, Luke couldn’t see anything wrong with their plan. There might have been an undercurrent of uncertainty somewhere beneath his anticipation, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. Most bathing suits were practically like underwear, so there was no reason for the situation to be awkward. They were just going swimming, and if they got caught-- well, they just wouldn’t. It was really as simple as that.
He was intensely grateful that he wasn’t wearing jeans, and let Bunny tug him out of the elevator and into the pool room without hesitation. “See? I knew there were towels.” And there was no one else around, which was awesome. All he had to do was tug off his shirt and roll up his pants a little, and it really didn’t make a difference that he wasn’t wearing a proper bathing suit. “I think you’re the slowpoke,” he teased, somehow able to register the fact that Bunny was in her underwear without turning red. “Race you in,” he shot over his shoulder, not waiting for a response before sprinting towards the pool and jumping once he reached the edge.
Whatever thoughts Bunny had, she paused in the middle of tugging off her pant legs when she saw the state of his body. Luke must have completely forgotten that he was covered in all sorts of bruises, but Bunny looked absolutely horrified as he jumped into the pool like everything was totally okay. It was not okay with her. Was Thomas beating him? No, it could be a trick of the light. Tugging her pants the rest of the way off, she hopped over toward the edge of the pool, throwing them behind her and fell in.
Graceful, she was not.
Quickly making her way over to Luke, she steadied them as best she could to get a look at him and her frown deepened. She looked like she was about to cry. "Oh my God, what has he done to you?" Her fingers touched a bruised area gingerly.
Luke had definitely forgotten about the bruises, which funnily enough were more of his own doing than Thomas’. Currently he was only being taught defensive maneuvers, which weren’t enough to give him bruises (except for the whole learning to fall thing), but practicing on dummies and the air only got him so far - so sometimes he found people to practice on. The gym was a good place for that, and he could easily head there after class without anyone knowing. He thought of it as testing out what Thomas was teaching him without actually going out and fighting criminals, and sparring with the guy who dressed like a giant bat wouldn’t end well on his end no matter what the scenario happened to be. They looked worse than they actually were, though, which was why it was easy to forget they were there; and the soreness had stopped bothering him a while ago.
He swam around underwater for a second before surfacing, rubbing the water from his eyes and turning back to glance at Bunny. His grin faltered at the look on her face, and it took a moment before his mistake hit him full force.
Oh shit. It wasn’t felt as strongly as it should have been, but even now he knew this wasn’t good.
“He hasn’t done anything to me, Bunny.” It came out easily, probably because it was the truth. “I’ve been working out lately, you know? I had time to think about health and stuff, and I guess I’m not really used to it yet.” He gestured down at himself sheepishly. “Plus, it looks worse than it is. I don’t even feel it much at all.”
It was hard to believe anything like that. Thomas was a crazy person, or at least Bunny had believed it so. She didnt' think of where all this was coming from. All she knew was the conversation they had was distressing and she thought she'd put her foot down. Luke wasn't supposed to be getting hurt, and he was hurt all over. "You call this working out? You don't get beat up when you work out, Luke. You get muscles..." The word trailed off as she began to notice he'd gained some. "Whoa, when did you get so buff?"
How did she not notice this sooner? Most of the time, she was all over this sort of thing. Underneath the bruises was a guy who was much more built and defined than she had imagined, most likely because she hadn't imagined it before. She became very aware of it now. No wonder Thomas wanted to touch up on him, but it still didn't give him the right to hit him at all. Was he trying to cover up for him? Bunny poked a bruised to see if he'd react.
He probably should have thought this one out better. But all hope wasn’t yet lost - he’d convince Bunny that it was no big deal. In fact, he was oddly confident in his ability to do so. “I’m buff?” Luke looked down at himself, momentarily distracted from the issue at hand. Oh, right - he’d been trying to hide it. So much for all that. “Like I said, I’ve been working out - I got sick of being weak. I’m not getting beat up - bruises happen when you’re using equipment, and sometimes I’ll find a sparring partner at the gym for fun. Honestly, they really do look worse than they really are.” He cut himself off when she poked one of the bruises, proud of the fact that he managed to keep from flinching.
“See?” He grinned and shook his head. “I can’t believe you think Thomas did this. He’d never hurt me.” Unaware of how that sounded (or maybe he just couldn’t be bothered to care), he sank down into the water until it reached the top of his shoulders and looked up at her. Hopefully she’d realize that she really had nothing to worry about.
"You are really buff," she confirmed, tracing the line of his shoulders, just beneath the surface. "Like totally hot buff," she said with a nod. "Is that why you're not lonely?" There was absolutely no transition into the question, but she quickly went in to clarify without missing a beat. "You've been going to gyms, working out with guys, and practicing Karate?" He was really adamant about protecting Thomas' reputation, and the way he said it made it hard to argue. Maybe Thomas wasn't beating him. He couldn't hide it from her for long. She said she'd tell everyone his secret. She wasn't lying. If he was trying to horde Luke, it would've been a lot harder to get into his apartment than it was.
Yeah, that's right, they would've told Luke something about express orders to not have visitors. That's how that sort of thing worked. "Okay, so he might not hurt you, but he's still really creepy," she said with a frown. She just didn't like him all too much after their last conversation. It wasn't what he said so much as how he said it. "I'm glad you're taking care of yourself." She hugged him...then swam back a little and proceeded to splash him in the face.
Although the purpose of his training wasn’t to impress anyone, he certainly wasn’t going to complain if Bunny thought he was ‘totally hot buff.’ Usually the word ‘hot’ wasn’t one that was associated with him, but it was kind of cool that it was now. “Then I guess what I’m doing is working,” he laughed, only faltering slightly when they returned to the topic of being lonely. “Well, that’s part of it. I keep busy - between all that and class, I get in some Xbox time too.” Luke didn’t want her worrying about him, even though he appreciated her concern. It was kind of nice to know someone cared.
He doubted anything he said was going to change her opinion of Thomas, so he just shrugged. “I’m doing just fine, don’t worry.” The hug distracted him enough to be taken off guard by the sudden spray of water, but once he got his vision cleared he wasted no time in splashing her back. Then he disappeared under the water and swam around her, tugging at her leg before surfacing with a laugh.
There was something in there about how they hadn’t played on Xbox together in a while. It was true, but they were both pretty popular, at least she was. She could have probably signed up for that gamecrush thing for some extra cash if she wanted to. Bunny wasn’t sure if playing with guys in her underwear for cash was the way to go though.
Regardless, whatever Luke was doing was working, because he looked great. At least, he did until she lost sight of him. She’d turned away to try and get a bigger splash in and he wasn’t there anymore. And then she found him. He had pulled her leg and she started flailing in the middle of the pool before he surfaced laughing. “You!!!” She called out floundering toward him as fast as she could before she hopped out of the water and pressed him down to dunk his head.
Her reaction only made him laugh harder, and his attempt to swim away from her to avoid whatever she had planned was ridiculously halfhearted. Luke decided right then and there that this was a brilliant idea, and he made a mental note to start using this pool so often. “I’m a master of stealth now, you--” He was cut off when she pushed his head under, although he surfaced a few moments later with a splash, half-choking on the water and half-laughing at himself. “Oh, that was unfair,” he managed, looking up at her with raised eyebrows. “Now I’ll have to pay you back.”
He swam towards her with deliberately slow strokes, lips twitching as he fought back a grin.
Did he say he was going to pay her back? The thought of it made her look at him in horror. Instead of attempting to stand up, she began to flounder away from him, picking up swimming toward the far end of the pool. Really, she’d just dunked him. She couldn’t let him dunk her. She was a delicate flower, or something. “That was not unfair, Mr. Ninja,” she said between breathes and strokes. At least, she knew how to doggie paddle. It wasn’t graceful, but it was something!
He had no intention of dunking her, but it was pretty funny to let her think he was going to. Despite the fact that swimming wasn’t a usual part of his routine - which he needed to change since he had two pools at his disposal now - it wasn’t difficult to catch up with her. “If it wasn’t unfair, then why are you swimming away?” Luke dove beneath the water again, finding it easier to swim that way, before cheerfully popping up at her side. “Relax, I’m not going to dunk you. I wouldn’t do that.”
It was said with the utmost sincerity, which seemed legit - at least until he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into the water with him.
Why was she swimming away? She’d been in a lot of pool fights in her life, and it never just stopped. It always escalated and she was just prepping herself, or in this case, attempting to escape inevitable retaliation. “I’m not going to relax!!” she proclaimed as he came closer. “No no no no no no NOO--!!” Her scream was cut off by the water entering her mouth as he pulled her under. If she wasn’t flailing earlier, she was definitely flailing now. It wasn’t angry flailing or sputtering, because she trusted he wouldn’t hurt her or let her drown, but she’d been so excited that she’d taken in some water.
She twisted and struggled to get out of his hold. She didn’t need to go up for air just yet, but the sooner she did, the better.
Luke only kept her under for a few seconds at best before surfacing, because the last thing he’d ever intend to do was hurt her or drown her. For a moment he was concerned, since she had screamed just before he pulled her under the water, but he’d figured her struggles were all in jest and didn’t actually mean anything. “You okay?” He shoved a piece of hair out of his eyes, realizing how annoying it was when the water plastered it to his head, and grinned. “Was my sneak attack too sneaky?” He didn’t bother trying to swim away to put distance between them, even if he was expecting some kind of retaliation.
Bunny just shoved him, which really just pushed her backwards and she splashed a little before gaining her balance. "I'm fine!" To be honest, she was starting to get a little tired. Flailing really took it out of a girl, especially when she did so as wildly as Bunny. She took a moment to just float up onto her back. "Yes, it was very sneaky," she said sticking her tongue out at him. If she was planning to get him back secretly, she was really bad at hiding it. The way she continuously squinted at him was probably a dead give away. Maneuvering toward him wasn't hard considering he didn't move away. She quickly spun onto her side and latched onto him. "Gotcha."
Her shove didn’t accomplish much, but he took a step backward just for the hell of it. She was talking, breathing and standing, which definitely meant ‘okay’ in his book. “It wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t,” he countered. Luke knew she’d plan some kind of retaliation but didn’t mind, treading water for a little while he watched her. The water was warm enough to make him reluctant to get out, although getting out before anyone found them was probably a good idea.
He was expecting to be splashed, not latched onto, and he nearly lost his footing before managing to right himself. “Yeah, but how long can you hold on if I decide to tickle you?”
"You wouldn't dare," she said indignantly. Truth be told, she didn't want to get out either. It'd be cold if they left the water. It was warm here, and he was warm. "Not if I tickle you first," she said wriggling her fingers against one of his more sensitive spots.
Where Luke had been coming in constant contact with elevator buttons, it’d been quite some time since Bunny had traveled over from the Hamartia, and the ride had been long, and she’d been in the water with him for a while. She was slowly coming to the realization that she was in a pool, alone with Luke, in her underwear. She wasn’t sure what had made her think this was a great idea, but it was a little worrying. She was just thankful that she wasn’t wearing white and she wasn’t nipply.
For all his self-restraint and outward resiliency, Luke was unfortunately ticklish. “Don’t,” he said instinctively, trying and failing to keep from laughing. He splashed a bit of water at her to get her to stop, just long enough to give him a chance to tickle her in return. The number of times he’d actually come into contact with the elevator buttons meant that the potential awkwardness of the situation was still a distant thought at the back of his mind, not pronounced enough for him to really pay much attention to it yet. For now, it still seemed like there was no reason to end the fun.
“I should really start using this pool more often,” he commented idly. “And you should come by more. In fact, I should start inviting more people over in general.” At least it would prove that he wasn’t lonely, and it would keep people from wondering what he did with all his time.
"Ah ha ha ha ha," she laughed in triumph as he began to laugh and squirm beneath her attack. That was before he started tickling her, and she started dissolving into her own attempt at defending herself from him. "Eek!" Her hands went to grab his in an attempt to pull them away from her body, until he finally stopped and she took a moment, still holding them to breath, and make sure he wasn't going to do it again.
"Yes, I should come by more! This place is great," she said with a bright smile, which only faltered after a moment. "Wait. Are you moving in here for good?" She couldn't complain about the location. It was a leap up from the condition of the Hamartia. "Are you going to have your cousin move in here too?" She wasn't sure how Thomas was going to feel about that, but she looked really serious.
Oh yes - in tickle wars, Luke was a formidable opponent. He decided that it would be smart to call a truce, though, to save his own pride. Trying to walk in a pool wasn’t the easiest of feats, and he could only swim so far before she ended up catching up to him. Normally he would have avoided her question, but his inhibitions hadn’t entirely returned to him yet.
“Yeah, I think so.” He frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t know yet. We haven’t really talked about it.” Now that Thomas was officially adopting him, he figured he’d be sticking around for a while. Of course, he hadn’t exactly told anyone yet - mostly because he had no idea how he was supposed to explain it to his friends. No one would understand, but he’d figure something out. Somehow. “My cousin? Oh, no. She’s not really my cousin, but she needs a place to stay and I’m not using my apartment at the moment, so I don’t mind. We just agreed to say she’s my cousin to make things easier.” Distantly Luke was aware that was supposed to be a secret, but it didn’t concern him. Not yet, anyway - he’d realize his mistake soon enough.
She took his truce as a victory, because she had to take whatever she got. In this case, him saying that they were done meant that she totally won, because her agreeing wasn’t her giving up or anything. It had been a good distracting, but the awkwardness was starting to settle in again. "Maybe we should go get those towels now.” It was a suggestion, one that lead to her getting covered up. “We can go sit in the sauna for a while to keep warm.” That sounded like a sound plan.
When he started referring to Poppy as not his cousin and just someone who needed a place to stay? Saying that making her refer to herself as his cousin because it would be easier made her look at him oddly. “Is she pregnant?” She looked so worried. “Luke! You’re not ready to be daddy! When did this happen?!”
He only considered it for a moment before nodding. Saunas were warm, so at least he wouldn’t have to towel off really quickly before getting dressed - in hindsight, maybe wearing his pants in the pool hadn’t been the best idea. Someone was bound to be pissed off if he ended up tracking water back to the fifth floor. Maybe the sauna would help with that. “Sure. Good idea.” Luke hauled himself out of the water in one fluid movement, trying to squeeze some of the excess water from his pants before grabbing a towel and draping it over his shoulders like a cape.
“Wait, pregnant?” He turned back to look at her in surprise. “I don’t even know her - we met for the first time when I went to get some stuff from my apartment. She’s not pregnant.” That was something he was about 98% sure of, and even if she was, it wasn’t his. “I just felt bad kicking her out. It’s not like I was using the apartment anyway.”
Bunny climbed out of the pool after him, and grabbed a towel to keep herself warm. In fact, by the time she was done, she was wrapped in about three as she made her way over toward the small wooden room, where the heat was promised to them. She did this while he was busy trying to squeeze the water out of his pants and tried to figure out how the room worked. She'd never really worked on before.
She felt a little better when he said that he hadn't gotten Poppy pregnant. Bunny just found that she was really confused with the idea of the girl staying at his house randomly. "Why is some random girl living at your apartment? How did she even get in?" She'd stopped messing with the sauna long enough to look at him in concern. "She's touching all your stuff and sleeping in your bed, and that doesn't bother you?" It wasn't even really about that. His home had been breached by a complete stranger, and he even said he didn't know her.
She looked up at him through the layers of towels. "You're a really nice guy Luke, and you're a really good one too," she said taking his hands in hers, "but sometimes I wonder if you're too nice. I might not know her, but neither do you. You can't just trust everyone. You might get hurt."
Luke was slowly starting to remember why he and Poppy had agreed to go with the cousin excuse in the first place. He’d wanted to avoid this kind of questioning, and for a moment he faltered, unable to remember why he’d even admitted the truth in the first place. He distracted himself by trying to figure out how to work the room’s temperature and pushed the door open first, holding it open for her to enter before sitting down. Slowly but surely the ability to lie was returning to him, and he began to remember why he hated it so much. Lying had become almost necessary. “I-- she didn’t think anyone was living there. I’d been away for a while.” He shifted uncomfortably, letting the towel fall from around his shoulders. “I have pretty much all my stuff with me in Aubade. It’s just... I don’t know. Maybe it should have been a big deal, but it’s just an apartment - and a kind of crappy one at that.”
He frowned slightly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I know.” If only she knew that in reality he trusted just a few select people. To him the apartment wasn’t important, because he didn’t have much of value there and it had never really felt like a home - especially since he’d only lived there for a few months. Even when he went back, it would really just be a place to stay. The problem was that he didn’t know how to explain that. He didn’t know how to explain that he lied to practically everyone he knew about certain things, not because he wanted to but because he had to. “I probably shouldn’t have let her stay. I should be more careful.” He sighed, willing to relent and agree that she was right.
She listened to all his reasons and they were good ones, but they were beside her point.
The heat was welcomed and as it began to seep into her skin, she dropped a towel or two, using them as cushions to sit on. This was actually really nice and she could seriously get used to it. She could also see why Luke was still living here. Despite the heat, she hadn't let go of his hand, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Yes, you should have," she said as if he'd made the right conclusion, because he had. Strange people living in your apartment was never a good thing. What if it hadn't been her? What if it had been someone who could have hurt him, or her, or anyone else who went to visit him. These were all thoughts she didn't voice, because she felt he really didn't need a lecture. He wasn't stupid. He just had a really big heart and that was half the reason she cared about him so much.
She was starting to feel tired now and a little hungry, but she continued to sit there beside him in the sauna, quietly. Her damp hair clung to his shoulder and back.
Luke had a feeling he was going to be coming up here a lot once it started to get ridiculously cold, because this kind of warmth was nice - not for long periods of time, but for now it was at a comfortable enough temperature. He hated the fact that there was a lot he couldn’t tell Bunny, but there were people he had to protect and that meant keeping their secrets - besides, she was better off not knowing. It was too dangerous to get her involved in the disaster that had become the sort of lifestyle he was accustomed to. “I’ll remember for next time,” he said with a sigh, leaning his head against hers.
The heat did make him feel a little tired, but he didn’t want to move - not even when he felt some of his inhibitions creep back was he in any hurry to leave the sauna. After a few more minutes of sitting there in silence, though, Luke finally lifted his head. “We might end up falling asleep in here soon,” he told her, smiling a little. “We could go back down to the apartment, and get something to eat. There’s stuff in the fridge - or we could order food.” Plus they’d probably been up here long enough already.
"Hmmm?" Bunny was halfway there when Luke had mentioned falling asleep. It was warm. He was comfortable. She was tired, possibly too tired to eat. Eating took effort, if getting up and leaving the sauna didn't. When he shifted, she let out groan of protest. He wasn't allowed to move even if he was right.
Eventually, she just relented. "What kind of food? I have brownies," she remembered. She'd bought brownies on the way over and they were sitting somewhere in the apartment. She wasn't even sure where she'd left them. She remembered running around like crazy, because it was pretty epic. "Food sounds good!" Her stomach had let out a crazy rumble just at the thought of it and she instantly curled around it as if to hide it from him. Grabbing the towels, she wrapped herself up again and prepared to go out into the cold.
He couldn’t help but laugh at her reluctance to move, and for one insane moment he considered just picking her up and carrying her out - she was already bundled up in towels, and she’d probably stay warmer than if she walked out herself. It was a tempting thought, and if he’d had it fifteen minutes ago then he probably would have gone through with it, but now he let it go. “Yeah, there’s your brownies... and we could have pizza or something.” Nearly everyone liked pizza - it was like some kind of unwritten rule.
Luke shot her a teasing look when her stomach rumbled, wrapping the towel around his shoulders again and pulling open the sauna door. Luckily their clothes were far away enough from the pool to avoid being wet, so they wouldn’t have to worry about that. “It sucks coming back out here,” he muttered, pulling off the towel and folding it into a sloppy rectangle before quickly tugging his shirt back on.
“Only if it has pineapple and mushrooms,” Bunny chimed in after the mention of pizza. Honestly, she’d eat just about anything a pizza. It was the food of the gods after all. After chocolate. “Mmm, chocolate pizza.” She wasn’t aware she said that out loud, but the thought was pleasing.
If Luke had carried Bunny anywhere, she would have totally allowed it, inhibitions or no. She was just lazy like that, and she would have dyer fresh towels to protect her from the cold. For now, she just followed him out of the sauna and reluctantly discarded those towels and put on her cool clothes. She didn’t bother putting on her shoes or socks. She just carried them in her hands. “If I wasn’t so sleepy, I’d challenge you to something on that big screen of yours.”
“Pineapple and mushrooms?” That was an odd combination, but he figured he could get half that and half something a little more normal. “Wait, chocolate pizza?” Luke had no idea where her train of thought was going or even coming from, but it actually didn’t sound too bad. He wondered if there were actually any places that did chocolate pizza. “Well, whatever you want. I’m not too picky.” Besides, he could always just take off whatever toppings he didn’t want to eat.
He made sure no one was around before pushing open the door and going out into the hallway, rubbing his arms while they waited for the elevator. “Yeah? Well, there’s always next time. It wouldn’t be fair if I won because you fell asleep halfway through.” The elevator arrived with a faint ding and he stepped inside, waiting until she was in to before pressing the ‘5’ button.
“Maybe you should have stolen one of those towels. You look really cold,” she said while poking him in the arm. He had little goosebumps and they felt funny under her finger. “And you cannot beat me. I am the gaming queen goddess of gaming,” she said haughtily. “And yes, that totally made sense.” Once they were in the elevator, she leaned her head on his shoulder, still obviously sleepy. “Besides, you’re sleepy too, aren’t you? We were both in the pool. It wouldn’t be fair for me to beat you if you were to pass out halfway through.” Knowing Bunny, she’d take that victory regardless, just for some statistical proof that he was the weaker of the two!
As the elevator came to a stop, she lurched with it and made a noise. The doors opened and she stepped out making her way down the hall back to the apartment, stopping at the door and waiting. “Oh hey, do you think he has one of those super swank liquor cabinets?” It probably came out of the ceiling or something fancy like that.
“I’m not that cold,” he protested immediately, although he could have been freezing and probably would have said the same thing. Besides, he’d be fine once they got back to the apartment. “Of course it made sense,” Luke agreed with the utmost sincerity, managing to keep from laughing. At least she sounded as tired as he felt. “I’m a little sleepy, yeah.” Not that he particularly minded having her rest her head on his shoulder. “It wouldn’t be fair to either of us, then, unless we both passed out halfway through and no one ended up winning.”
He tried not to yawn as he followed her down the hallway, unlocking the door and pushing it open. “I don’t know,” he said, slightly surprised. From what he could tell, Thomas wasn’t much of a drinker - in fact, he didn’t seem to be one at all. “Probably. I don’t know where it is, though.” He let the door swing shut behind him. “He never really mentioned it.”
Bunny let him say he wasn’t too cold, because she knew he was totally cold. When they got back in the apartment she was going to find him a blanket. In fact, she wondered which bedroom had been his. She’d just ran through everything so quickly, she couldn’t remember what looked like what. “Fine, I will let you win this round, Gadget,” she said as he made the excuse that they’d both fall asleep and not win. Mostly, it was because it was true. They’d both pass out and then they’d wake up and the X-Box would probably be overheated or something.
When he opened the door, she moved inside. Just as she’d planned, she’d went around looking for his room while he talked to her. He probably thought she was crazily looking for the bar, but she suddenly re-emerged with a blanket. Rushing over, she wrapped it around his shoulders. “Did you find it?”
Luke honestly had no idea if Thomas even had a bar that he was aware of. Maybe there was beer somewhere, but it wasn’t like it was kept out in the open even though he doubted Thomas even considered the possibility that he might drink some of it if he did. Honestly, getting drunk on his own was just sad, and doing it with someone else with the risk of Thomas walking in on them didn’t make the idea very appealing - not normally, at least. If he hadn’t touched the elevator button on the way up, then he probably would have been against the idea. As it was, he saw no problem with potentially drinking alcohol that wasn’t his even if Thomas might find out about it.
He tried to look until Bunny emerged and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. “Not yet.” He scratched his head absently. “I’m trying to remember if he ever mentioned a bar, but he’s not here too often and I haven’t seen him drink. Usually he drinks these health things, but that’s in the morning.” He didn’t realize he was thinking out loud, not that he really would have cared.
Bunny seemed to be satisfied with him being all snugged up in the blanket. She let out a yawn, before crawling underneath it to join him. “Health drinks are disgusting,” she noted after he mentioned Thomas drank a lot of them. “I think ‘healthy’ is a euphemism for ‘tasteless’ or ‘gross’.” Not bothering to wonder if he wanted to follow her, she began to drag him around the apartment with her until she found the brownies.
Abandoning the blanket, she devoured two of them before shoving the bowl over toward Luke. She was really hungry and they were like bite-size. “You know I think I should go wash off all this chlorine,” she said thoughtfully remember that the clothes under her clothes were still wet. “You don’t think he’ll try to murder me if I take a shower do you? And can I borrow a shirt?” If she was lucky, the pizza would probably be there by the time she got out.
“I think they are too, but whenever I tell them that he just gives me this look.” Luke rolled his eyes, lifting up the blanket to make room for Bunny to crawl underneath. “One time he drank this green one, with peppers in it. Peppers. I get putting fruit in, but vegetables? Why can’t you just eat vegetables like a normal person?” He stumbled along behind her as she made her way towards the brownies, not particularly minding that she was leading him around.
He grabbed a couple of brownies happily, devouring them in one bite each as she spoke. “Nah, he won’t mind. The bathrooms are really nice.” Even though that really didn’t have anything to do with whether Thomas would be okay with it or not. “Sure. My room’s up the stairs and on the right - it’s pretty obvious, since it’s the messy one. Grab whatever you want, and I’ll order the pizza.”
Bunny couldn’t even form words to describe how gross the concoction Luke described sounded. Instead, she’d just flailed in a bunch of incoherent noises that displayed how she felt about it perfectly. Well, it was less of a flail and more shudder. “That doesn’t sound like a health drink, that sounds like...” She couldn’t even think about what it could possibly sound like. “It sounds really bad. Maybe he’s on some weird liquid diet and can’t process solid foods?” She’d never actually seen the man eat anything, so it was completely plausible.
Stealing a few more brownies, she took her time with these as they’d have to last her to the bathroom. She nibbled on a corner taking in his directions. “Remember, pineapples and mushrooms,” she said as he mentioned the pizza again. Not bothering to look back, she skipped off and tried to find a suitable bathroom to get cleaned up in.