Chapter Text
There are several timelines that are almost exact. There are those in which Lucas and Eliott last a lifetime, there are those where, sadly, they do not. But in every timeline, they find each other, they are each half to a complete whole, and no matter how long they are partners, they are love in its most wonderful, imperfectly perfect state. The following is timeline 534; this is just one of the stories about Lucas and Eliott.
Lucas
When the call came, it took him back to the breakup. Eliott had just had a manic episode that had somehow ended with him going on a binger with Caleb, a guy with whom he had attended University. Lucas had never trusted Caleb, but he never thought Eliott would ever cheat on him, not even during an episode. They had moved in together, had been through so much (good and bad) in the six years they’d been partners, that he knew their bond was greater than any adversity.
Eliott had it tough after graduating. It took him a while to find a job and find his footing. Lucas was pursuing his Masters, so had two more years of school before he could work full time. They fought over money because Eliott always tried to fix everything on his own instead of talking it through with him so they could figure it out together; it was an indication of a bigger problem they had dealt with since they were teenagers. And yet, they were still deeply in love, still dated each other, still couldn’t get enough of each other. They were still going strong, or so Lucas had thought. It had been one of Eliott’s most manic and depressive episodes, and after the smoke cleared, Eliott wrote Lucas books of letters and poems, most of them about how terrible he felt, how he could never forgive himself, how he needed Lucas to forgive him even if he couldn’t stay.
Lucas’s heart had been torn to pieces, but he’d held it together for the sake of Eliott’s mental and physical health. There had been a wife involved, and she had not been so forgiving, had almost physically hurt Eliott, which had caused a whole host of other problems, both legal and mental.
Eliott had gone to the doctor, had sought therapy, and they had even gone to counseling. It seemed like they would make it through, but Lucas could tell something had switched in Eliott; he could feel that he was being pushed away, or rather that Eliott was pulling away, although he promised Eliott that everything was fine. He promised him they could heal from it, learn from the pain, and be stronger for it. Eliott, however, obsessed about making it up to Lucas, obsessed about making amends with Alison, the wife, who wanted, understandably, nothing to do with them. He needed her to understand...forgive him. Eliott had broken all ties with Caleb. After learning more about what transpired between Caleb and Eliott, Lucas knew he had been right to distrust Caleb, but Eliott took all the blame, accepted all the blame, even the part that was not his to own.
Then came the night. They both drank so much that everything that had been bubbling beneath the surface spilled from their mouths like water from a breached dam. Lucas said things he regretted in the light of day, but the damage had been done, and Eliott had been convinced he had irrevocably severed what had bound them so tightly together.
He’d left the next day, and Lucas had not been able to get in touch with him for three weeks; it had been the worst three weeks of his life. His already small frame dropped ten pounds as he wasn’t able to keep much food down. His friends rallied around him, and slowly, bit by bit, he returned to some kind of normalcy. Eliott sent him a text confirming that he was alive and well and that he just needed time to reset. The weeks turned into months, and when Lucas tried to call, Eliott would not answer. It had taken Lucas a long time to feel like himself again.
Eliott finally reached out about two years later, but they found they could not really be friends. Lucas had just ended an on-again-off-again dalliance (he couldn’t even call it more than that), and Eliott was dating someone at the time, but as soon as they hugged, they knew it would not work. They could never be “just friends” even after all that time apart. Eliott had kissed him that night, just an innocent brush across the lips, but Lucas had felt like he was sixteen all over again, all the memories rushed back in an instant. Eliott still smelled the same, still looked the same, although he had a little more facial hair and sported a shorter hairstyle. They had said goodnight and promised to keep in touch.
They remained in touch through social media, but weekly messages turned to monthly updates, and then just the obligatory annual “happy birthday” comment or post. He knew Eliott had dated, both women and men, the longest relationship, and the one that admittedly caused him a little pain was with a guy named Tomas. Tomas was small in stature and wore hipster glasses. His hair was thick and black, but what stood out the most was his toothy smile. The relationship seemed serious. Lucas might have stalked Tomas’s page for a few months, but then he had met Michele, a doctor who joined the medical research lab where Lucas worked as a chemist -- tall, violet-eyed Michele. He was not Eliott, but the way his fingers danced, the way he smiled, was close...enough, and he had fallen, first slowly then all at once.
At first because, yes, Michele reminded him of Eliott, if just a little, but really because Michele was sweet and funny and sexy. He got Lucas, really understood him. Michele demanded honesty about everything -- his fears, his kinks, his dreams, his desires. He encouraged Lucas to be honest and open about everything, even if the truth would hurt, and he gave the same in kind. Lucas had never been with someone so honest and transparent from the start. None of his relationships had ever been that way.
And then, right when he thought he was finally getting into the groove of his life, the call had come. It was Eliott. He looked over at Michele sleeping in the bed beside him, already feeling like he was cheating by just answering the call. Why would Eliott call him at 2 a.m. and after so long without any direct contact? It could not be anything good.