"With the whole world crumbling, we pick this time to fall in love." —Ilsa, Casablanca
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Chapter 72
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Maggie

"You know, I'm still pissed at you for not letting me know your birthday was coming up." I tugged at the back of Luke's hair, leaning back to look at him. "Why didn't you want me to know, anyway?"

"It wasn't important." At my scowl, he shrugged, "There are three hundred and sixty five days in a year, Maggie. Me being born on one doesn't mean anything special."

I frowned, flicking him in the chest with my finger. "Are you kidding me?" How dare he? "April 14th gave me the best person in the world. My Luke. If anything, it's my favorite day, now."

His sour mood cracked, and fondness took its place. "Thank you, baby." He pressed a kiss to my shoulder, but it was really him trying to bribe his way out of the conversation. "But, my comments still stands. You don't have to make a big deal of it or anything. I promise it's fine."

In a fist, he trapped my hair and with a tug, I found myself robotically following his movements. His lips trailed up my neck, ending on the corner of my jaw. Shudders took me over in every way there was, but I forced myself to respond.

"It's a little too late for that."

His kisses paused. "What do you mean?"

I smiled. "When Levi told me, Kade and Kimberly went to go get cake, food, decorations—"

"I'm gonna kill him." Luke groaned, thumping his head back against the headboard. "Fuck."

I rolled my eyes, raising myself on his chest. "They think your casualty about your birthday is as stupid as I do." My arms fell on top of his shoulders, using one hand to toy at his hair. "What do you usually do, anyway?"

"Kade, Levi, and I used to just go out and do a bunch of really dumb shit, but that's about it," he responded, wrapping his finger around a strand of my hair.

I didn't want to ask about the 'dumb shit' part, since I figured the meaning behind it, but I caught the rest that went along with it.

I tilted my head just as he started to play with the strand of hair. "Have you never had an actual birthday party?"

"No."

I frowned. "None?"

He tugged at the strand, appearing to have the time of his life just playing with my hair. I rolled my eyes, but didn't move since I loved him doing so.

Finally, he responded, "None. The only birthday present I've ever gotten from my family was this ugly thing." He tapped at the pale scar along his arm, chuckling.

My frown deepened as I thought it over. I should have known those evil sons of bitches never celebrated him.

I shook my head to clear my anger, but it was still there. "Well, they can kiss the both of our asses, because that changes today." I kissed his cheek before peering back at him with a glare. "And, if you ever, ever, say your scars are ugly, again, this party is gonna turn into a funeral, real quick, Luke, you understand me?"

At his groan, I pecked his lips to clear it. "Come on. Get up." Once we finished breakfast this morning, we went back up and ended up getting lost in the other for the next couple of hours. We had stayed in bed for way longer than I intended, but when we did get dressed, we ended up laying down together just to talk over whatever came to mind, again. "I got you your favorite cake and all. You have a lot of presents to open, too—"

When I tried getting up, Luke tightened his arms around my waist, drawing me back into him. With an additional tug, I was tumbling back down onto his chest, and my laughter was escaping with me.

His lips lifted at me. "You already gave me two of the best gifts in this whole fucking world, Norris."

"Yeah?" I smiled, playfully. "What are they?"

"First word of the last thing I just said, baby." It took me a minute before I recounted: you. My heart squeezed at him before he continued, "And, the second is obvious."

"It is?"

"Mhm," he hummed, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I laughed softly. "Tell me, then."

Luke locked his lips together to hide his mocking grin. Humor clung to his eyes, but wariness, as well a heavy dose of honesty and a clustered, yet stable emotion was inside, too. It looked like the one I'd been dreaming about all night.

I huffed in frustration. "You can't just get me all excited about it, then go quiet, Luke."

His tongue pressed into his cheek to stifle laughter. "I can't?"

I crossed my arms. "No. Whatever it is, you—"

"It's telling you that I love you more than anything and more than anyone in and out of this world, Maggie."

My heart soared. Stopped. Soared, again. All the way to the stars, then back down to earth, again.

Physically, I knew it wasn't possible, but the pounding of the organ was enough to let me know Luke's words could let it be. 

"You just..." I blinked back at him, realizing my mouth was agape. My heart was getting there, too. "You just said—"

"I love you," he smiled, softly, his voice as sincere as ever. "I know what I said, and I'm not taking it back, either. I said it, because I do, because I love you." My arm buzzed as his grazed it, and he grabbed my hand, laying a kiss to the palm. "My heart's been screaming this shit ever since it started beating for you. Even when I couldn't place a name on it, it was still there, and I'm never gonna not tell you the most honest shit I've ever known." His gaze only continued to gentle up with his words, and they were the biggest blessings to my ears, "I've loved you since, well..." He thought it over before sighing into a smile, "I could say since forever since when I first started loving you, learning you, knowing you, having you, my life began."

I love you.

The words echoed through my heart, luring my own out in ways that warmed my chest. Their counterparts had always been there for him.

Tears cruised along my eyes as the feeling overwhelmed me. I never thought it could be mine, that Luke, and everything he was by being my soulmate, could be mine.

It had only been a moment ever since the words passed my ears, yet they were influencing me as if they had been there forever. It was like I had a new pair of lungs that could breathe without being disappointed with myself at each passing breath, rose colored glasses that only saw good in myself and in the world, and a heart of gold that had only gotten to that point because of the beautiful hands that had stored it right back into my chest with his own stubborn, yet meaningful influence behind it.

My heart twisted in my chest as Luke leaned up, soft lips brushing away a tear. "Luke."

"I know, baby, but as fucking terrified as I am of your response, right now..." I gave a tearful laugh, earning his grin before it loosened into my most favorite smile. "I'm gonna say it again, and I'm never gonna regret it, not a single day in my fucking life." His gaze was held down by the heavy honesty of his words, an image of my own heart and his conjoining for the millionth time in it. Luke ended his final kiss on my forehead, as soft and gentle as his next words, "I'm in love with you, Norris, and I'll continue to be, even after the air and the life leaves my body. I'll forever love all of you, only you. Every fucking part of you." His last word tripped my heart up in ways that couldn't be reversed. "You."

My heart pounded as I pressed my lips against his face, trapping it in my hands. Just before I got to his lips, I made sure to get the message through, the most honest one I'd ever known.

My lips tingled as they met his, and in between the cracks, I whispered the most sincere mirroring of the heart he'd revived, "I love you."

Luke's widened eyes met mine, full and spilling with emotions. His entire being relaxed from under me at the confirmation, his nervous expression earning my laugh, before it broke into hives of smiles. A grin began to stretch his lips into the air, giving me the most beautiful sight there was.

Our heartbeats ran a marathon against the others as he pulled me in for a hug, murmuring, "Say it, again, and I'll come downstairs."

I laughed through my tears. "I'm not falling for your bribery—" Before I could finish, Luke was lifting the both of us from the bed, then heading for the door with the biggest grin in tow. "Say it for me, Norris. Loud and clear."

My laughter bounced through our bedroom, even through the giddiness in my heart. "Fuck no. I'm not boosting your ego."

"Getting to wake up to your pretty face every single morning does that for me just fine, angel, trust me on that shit."

My laughter settled at the sincerity in his tone until a soft smile, and a blush was left behind. Luke took it with a peck to my lips, but just as I leaned into it, he was wrapping his free arm around me, too, then rearranging me. He didn't stop until I was hanging off of his shoulders this time.

Groaning, I didn't even try to bother with my screams. It was no use, I had finally learned. I would never admit it aloud, either, but him carrying me around like this was honestly one of my most favorite things.

I hadn't found out until three days ago that Luke's birthday was today. Of course, I had asked him about it months ago when we were friends, and when we got together, because I wanted to celebrate it with him. But every single time, he had avoided the question by turning the conversation over, or just simply walking away mid-sentence. I had tried to look it up in the blogs, but not even that told me his birth date.

Kade and Levi had let it slip at dinner while Luke was in the bathroom, but they both mentioned that Luke didn't make a big deal of it. They still tried to celebrate it with him, anyway, but it was never any regular birthday activities.

Fuck that.

The boys ran into town to grab his favorite cake, as well as a few other things, too. The notice was short, but we had managed to get the presents on time, too. Raven and Kimberly helped me wrap and hide them while Luke was napping.

I could understand why his lack of enthusiasm was there, though. His family had taught him that he was less than, if even that, and of course, he had the same notion about his birthday, a day meant for celebrating his life.

He deserved the world, and even more of that, and I wouldn't ever let him think any differently.

Everything downstairs should be ready, by now. If not, I'd try my hardest to adjust.

Luke stroked my ass as he led us down the stairs, only setting me down before we got too close to the group. "Hold on."

"I just wanted to check on you." Concern took his expression over as he cradled my face. "Are you okay, Maggie? From last night?"

My stomach flipped at the mention of it, a natural smile raising my lips. At my nod, he asked, "You're sure? It wasn't too much? You don't need anything or—"

I laughed at his concern, my heart squeezing tight. "I promise I'm more than okay. It was perfect, so perfect." Honesty rang through me, lined along my gratefulness for him. "I only need you."

Last night, he had been as gentle and as caring as I'd ever seen him in bed, before. When we dragged ourselves to our bed, that was when the new rhythms were mixed in, and we didn't stop until who knows. It was a perfect, slow and sensual burn, and as exhilaratingly fulfilling as ever.

Making love to each other was different from anything else we'd done. It was sweet, and soft, our insecurities coming out to play, but burning to ash from the fire we ignited in one another. It was the most perfect thing there was in this world.

Luke nodded along attentively, his gaze softening as he reached out for me. "And I only need you, Norris." Strong hands pulled me into his chest, leaving a kiss to my forehead. "You know to talk to me or to come to me about anything or everything, and I'll always be right here to take it, angel. Always." His next words sounded like a promise, a softer edge to them. "Thank you for trusting me, Maggie."

I thanked him with a kiss to the neck. My heart, and soul alike couldn't agree more.

It was so different, but so relieving and blissful to have someone be an extension of yourself. They were hiding behind your soul's door at all times, except they were the key to it. Just them. They could walk in at anytime, stay, and observe the beauty they'd found when no one else could. There was no getting enough of the feeling.

Just as I went to respond, another sound did it for me. There was a wall separating us from the kitchen, but everything on the other side could be heard just fine. And, from it, I knew that something was definitely fucked.

"Do we say surprise first, then jump out or do we jump out first, then say surprise?" I heard Levi question.

"Either one...I think?" Kimberly pondered. "I don't know. I've never thought that hard on it before."

"I guess whichever one comes to mind first," Raven commented.

Levi sighed into, "Okay, but what if—"

"You guys do realize that when there's a surprise, you shouldn't be ruining the surprise by talking, right?" Kade queried, annoyed. "Besides. It's too late, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Kimberly returned.

"Oh, shit," Raven hissed. "I think I hear them."

"Him and Maggie are about five seconds away from us," Kade sighed. "Four, now. Three. Two..."

Just as he hit one, Luke and I stepped into the kitchen.

I sighed, shaking my head. I had already told Luke about the celebration, but I never told him of the group popping out to surprise him. They had done that themselves.

"Surprise!" Levi shouted, much earlier than he was supposed to, I guessed, since no one else joined him. At it, he swept a glare over the three of them, a scowl on, "You sneaky motherfuckers—"

Kade, who had a handful of confetti, stepped forward and threw it into Luke's face, the confetti pieces littering to his feet. "Surprise." Turning, he reached behind him for a present, then shoved it into Luke's hands. "Open mine first. And don't be a slow ass about it, either. Anything over a minute and I'm walking off—"

Kimberly chuckled, an arm going over Kade's waist as she offered a smile to Luke. "There's more presents for you in the living room, too."

Luke smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Well?" Kade snapped, raising a brow at him, and nodding at the gift. "Are you going to open it or not?"

I had to stop myself from chuckling at the edge in his expression. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was nervous about what Luke would think of his present.

"No, because he's going to open mine, first," Levi cut in, shoving Kade out of the way by his shoulder, who glared at his backside. "I'm his favorite for a reason."

Levi placed his gift on top of Kade's, grinning back at Luke. "You're going to love mine most, trust me. Your stubborn ass never even let us get you presents until Maggie." He looked to me with a look of humor, but also appreciation. "Thanks for that, by the way."

I chuckled, wrapping an arm around Luke's waist, but it was stiff in my hands. I wasn't sure if it were because he was uncomfortable from all of the attention, or shocked. I didn't want to risk either option resulting in his discomfort, though.

I smiled at the group. "How about you guys go ahead and get the cake out? We'll be there in a minute." They all nodded in agreement, and left to do that.

As soon as they were out of sight, I took the gifts from Luke's hands, placing them down on the kitchen island. I took either of his hands into mine, and pulled us to the corner.

I squeezed them, raising my eyes to his. "Are you okay?"

Snapping out of his tensed trance, Luke blinked down at me, then nodded. An arduous smile lifted, then made his lips fall all over, again, before he shrugged.

"I'm fine," he reassured. "It just feels weird as shit, you know?"

My head tilted. "Having a birthday party?"

"That, and just...having people care about today, I guess?" Nibbling on his cheek, he glanced to the group, before returning to me. "I don't know. It's just different, is all."

My expression softened with my understanding. I lifted a hand to his jaw, smiling as he leaned into it, his eyes colliding with mine.

"Well, you've got it for a lifetime, now," I swore. "The moment you let me into your life, you basically signed away any types of rights to privacy. You're never getting them back, either."

Luke laughed, making my smile grow. "I never want them back, again, then." His hand fell to my waist to draw me into him, wrapping either arm around my figure, and pulling me into a hug. "Thank you, angel. I really appreciate this, all that you did. I really do."

My hand stroked up his back, until I leaned up to kiss the side of his head. "If you start to get uncomfortable by it all, though, just say the word, and we'll hide in our room for the rest of the night, okay?"

As badly as I wanted him to experience it, I knew how overwhelming it could be to have so much of something you'd never had before. I cared about his comfort and his feelings more.

At this, he pulled back, his grin already beaming back at me. "Yeah?"

I rolled my eyes, biting back a laugh, "You know what? Forget I said that."

***

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" I asked Luke, who was too busy playing with my fingers to take notice.

At my squeeze, his eyes raised to mine. A softened smile sat in place, one that melted my heart in return.

"It was perfect," he answered, bringing my hand to his lips and making my stomach do flips when he kissed my palm. The appreciation in his eyes swept over mine. "And, so are you, baby."

"It's your day," I scolded past the blood in my cheeks. "So, stop it with the compliments, already, Palce."

Luke rolled his eyes, looking ahead to the trail we were on. It wasn't really a trail, though, since we were just walking without direction.

"Seriously, though." Placing an arm over my shoulders, he pulled me in until I was under his figure, our gazes catching the others. "Thank you, Maggie. I've never had someone do something like this for my birthday or for me, in general. Not until you." The happiness lit up his eyes, even in the dark. I loved it so much. "I can't thank you, enough. It was scary as shit at first, but having you by my side made it so fucking perfect. More than that, honestly."

After the group had him open his presents and eat cake, we went out to dinner. When the girls asked him his favorite thing to eat, it took one look at his face to see that it was taking everything in him to stop from saying my name. At my glare of warning, though, he knew better than to go through with it.

His actual favorite food was pizza, as well as Jax's cinnamon rolls, pinwheels, and his cookies. I woke up early the other night to make all of them ahead of time.

His eyes lit up like Christmas trees the moment he saw the goods waiting for him, and it was the cutest thing there was, honestly. Over all of the other presents, I think those might have been his favorite.

Afterwards, we all took him to dinner at a restaurant called Napoli Pizzeria, where customers are able to build the pizzas from scratch with each other. Afterwards, we all toured some sites, and rented bikes to go mountain biking. Nearing the evening, we were so tipsy from the champagne we drunk, the girls and I convinced the boys to buy sleeping bags, then we ended up rolling down grass hills until our stomachs were turned. We ended the night by gathering at the fire pit, again, with a bunch of treats.

Throughout the day, I made sure to kiss his frown off until it finally went away on its own. The uneasiness edged out of him the more that time went on, and as I hoped, he enjoyed himself, as well as his first birthday party.

Now, we were taking a walk along our own snow covered trail. I wanted to give him a minute to calm his nerves, just in case they were muddled from the day.

To finish the night off, I planned on getting into bed together, pulling him into my arms, then binging Harry Potter until he fell asleep. The last thing he would remember for his day would be me, and us.

I turned my smile to him. "Guess what?"

Luke squeezed my waist. "Tell me, baby."

I grinned, excitedly. "I have more gifts for you."

"Really?" At my eager nod, he tilted his head down at me. "You didn't have to, Norris. You've already given me more than enough."

I'll be damned. "Fuck modest shit. You're getting my presents, whether you like it or not. End of discussion."

Luke laughed at that. "Yes ma'am." His kiss to my head brightened my smile, before I pulled myself together, retorting, "Really? You usually make me work harder for it."

"When I have a girl who nearly knocked my ass into heaven's gates during our first kiss, I'm honestly too nervous to ever tell her no, Norris," he teased before shrugging. "And, maybe, a little excited to see what you got me, too."

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out the first present. It was hard to fit inside, but I kept it hidden with the dark. I had a few more gifts, but I had placed the bag somewhere else so that he wouldn't see them.

I handed it over to Luke, who stared down at it, confused. I chuckled."Open it."

Slowly, he did, his eyes raking over the gift a million times over as if they would open it for him. To help my nerves, I took the wrapping paper from him in order to give my hands something to do.

"100 Reasons Why I Love You," he recited the writing. His eyes raised to mine, already glimmering with love. "Maggie..." His voice wavered, so I picked up on it for him, my voice soft, "Read it."

It was a glass jar with the printing of 100 Reasons Why I Love You stretching around the glass. I had gotten it custom made so that it had his name printed in specifically, too. There were wooden hearts inside, and on them were said reasons why he was my soulmate, my Luke, and my love, and why I loved him for being exactly that, too.

A woozy smile touched his lips as he unscrewed the golden lid off. Inside, he grabbed the first little heart, reading it over.

His laugh bounced through the air as he recited the writing, "Because you put fuck and shit in nearly every sentence."

I shrugged, humored. "And I love every bit of it."

I hadn't just listed off the basic reasons, though, because that didn't feel personal enough. It was much more than that when it came to him, so I listed them down, just so that he'd always have them.

"Maggie," he whispered, studying another one of the hearts over. Love poured over his face until it was covered as he reached for the next one, and read that, too. "I can't believe you did this."

"You know..." I squeezed his arm, using that same hand to stroke up to his jaw. "It only took me half an hour to fill up. That was how easy it was to give the reasons as to why I love you," I said, honestly. My hand squeezed the one he had around the jar. "Do you like it?"

His emotional eyes raised to mine. "Are you fucking kidding me? I love it so much, Maggie. I'm gonna stay up all night reading them, too." I laughed at that, since I believed it. Placing the lid back on, he pulled me closer. "Thank you, angel."

"Don't ever thank me." It was hard to break from the cozy feeling he brought on, but I had to give him the other presents, too. "Wait right here, okay?"

Luke shook his head, tightening his grip to trap me into his chest. Over the kisses he left to my head, I could feel the scowl, too. "I'm not letting you go, Norris, no way in hell."

My heart blared in agreement, but I was determined. Laughing softly, I leaned back. "Stay, Luke."

His grumpy look made me laugh harder, but he remained in place.

Quickly, I ran to where I had left his present, where the gift bag was perched against a tree. I had only managed to get it here by waiting until he was using the bathroom before our walk, and bolting to the outside of the house to drop it off.

Once I had the bag, I hurried back to Luke, who was waiting in the same spot, an impatient scowl on.

Amused, I stopped right in front of him. "Keep your eyes closed, okay?"

"Maggie..." he chuckled, scrunching his brows up with fake worry. "Don't you dare take me out like this."

Laughter built in my chest as I placed the gift bag in his hands. "Wait. Don't open—"

His eyes popped right open to glance down to the bag. 

I threw my arms into the air, "Damn it, Luke."

"You were taking too long." He chuckled, and glanced to the bag, then me, softness creeping over his face. "Norris, baby, you didn't have to get me all of this."

"I wanted to." Any excuse to see him smile was always enough for me.

We shared a quick, heated kiss before his attention went to the bag. Each gift that he saw seemed to overflow his expression with tenderness.

Black glittery gift paper filled the the bag, and his favorite candy was tucked inside, as well. I had already given him his other presents earlier with the group, but these were more personal.

The first two were a Harry Potter teddy bear, and a Harry Potter snow globe he had mentioned liking when he saw me scrolling through a website a couple of months back. We weren't together at the time, but I never forgot it, nor the other thing, either. I had planned on getting it for him, even when we were only friends.

Luke had told me that it was the one thing he ever asked his dad for on one of his birthdays. It was from Harry Potter, too, a package of candy called: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which were jelly beans of different, random flavors. It was all he wanted to eat after reading the books and watching the movies as a kid.

Considering it was under five dollars, and could be found online, his father, whose a fucking millionaire could have easily afforded it. It was the only thing Luke ever asked his father for, and for that, his dad dislocated his jaw. Afterwards, he never asked for a thing again, and had put the idea out of his head.

I never forgot the story, not only because of how livid it made me, but also because of how I planned on changing the meaning of that memory for him.

Inside his gift bag was a bag of the jelly beans for him. I had bought an entire case to be delivered to our house, too, as well as several different treats from the series, like the Chocolate Frog, Bottled Butterbeer, and Exploding Bon Bons.

Raven, and the boys had looked at me as if I had five heads when I was naming them off. Kimberly was the only one who knew what I was talking about, though, thankfully.

Fuck his dad. The son of a bitch could choke on a damn acid dipped dildo for all I fucking care. Luke would be getting and eating any damn thing he wanted if I had anything to do with it.

Luke finally got to the bag of jelly beans, his smile slowly falling. Lifting them from the bag, his brows tightly pinched, until they ended up on the roof of his head.

His eyes widened once he realized.

"No way," he breathed out, his shocked gaze jumping up to mine. "No fucking way, Maggie."

I grinned. "Way."

"What the fuck, what the fuck..." he continued to chant, his eyes bouncing between me and the bag. "Maggie, what the fuck?"

I laughed at his cuteness. "There's an entire case of them, and more treats from the movies waiting for you at the house, so you won't run out anytime soon—"

Arms going around my waist, Luke pulled me in until I was lifted off the ground. My laughter built through it, but I returned the hug, nonetheless, settling into his neck.

"I can't believe you..." Luke shook his head, a single breath of disbelief folding through the air. "How did you even..." His head shook again as he buried himself into my neck, too, breathing out against it, "Holy shit."

"I wanted you to try them. I know that it can't erase the original memory your dad gave you, but maybe I can create a better one for you." My heart constricted as I voiced its truth, "You deserved it, and everything else, regardless of what that shit fuck told you."

Luke's smile against my skin confirmed that he loved it just as much as I did getting it for him. "Thank you so much, Maggie. I can't even..." A rushed curse came from him. "I honestly can't even fucking believe it."

I kissed the side of his neck. "Believe what?"

"That I have you."

My gaze softened, my chest on fire as I kissed him, again. He was one to talk.

I knew it was a small part of his gifts, but small things to people who were given nothing for so long that were owed everything could mean exactly that. I wanted to give him that, as well as a turn and different outlook on so many things. Seeing his beautiful smile, beautiful him, was worth it, every single time.

His kiss against the side of my head was as loving as ever, as well as our hug. We both stayed in it for minutes, but it only felt like seconds. With another kiss, we finally tore away.

Setting me down, he picked up the bag, his smile big as he took the jelly beans out, again. "Try them with me."

I laughed, softly. "It's your gift, not mine. They're all yours."

He scowled. "I don't give a shit, because you're my girl, and what's mine is yours." I laughed at his stubbornness. "Put your hands out."

I giggled at him. "You know, I've never been given candy so aggressively before."

He grabbed my hands. "There's a first time for everything, Norris."

Even through the dark, I could see his anticipation all the same. A child's glee had taken him over, causing him to nearly bounce in his spot.

"I've never been so fucking excited to try candy before." His grin was big as he opened the bag, and poured half of it into my hands. His gaze raised to mine, just as soft as it was before. "I honestly can't tell you thank you enough, angel."

I rolled my eyes. "That's because you don't need to." When we leaned in, we kissed the other until the invisible bridge in between our lips was tangled with electricity. Luke's smile built against it, and mine joined it. "Happy birthday, pretty boy."

We started to eat the jelly beans, and as I hoped, Luke remained just as giddy as ever. We continued to converse over the flavors, but I was more focused on trying not to awe at how adorable he looked, right now.

It was too hard, so I kissed his cheek to get the message through. It started to lift into the air, before he returned my kiss to the forehead.

"You wanna head back?" he asked, taking my cool hands in his. He had to drop one to pick up his gift bag, to which he placed his jar inside. "It's getting cold as shit out here, and I don't want you to get sick."

I smiled, nodding. I hadn't told him about the movie binge, yet, but I knew he'd love it, either way.

As we walked, the silence was comforting, but it allowed my mind to drift a bit. Possibly, because the trip was coming to an end, soon, and with that, we would be hit with reality all over, again.

Just as the wind around us, my reality was cold. It was chilling me from the inside out the longer it settled into my head.

By the time we returned home, my father would be out of prison.

There was no avoiding it, or the possibilities. The possibilities were the things that scared me most, though, and in that, my mind had switched to another word.

"You know what's weird?" I broke the silence.

"Mhm?" Luke hummed, lifting my fingers and turning them in different directions.

"Birthdays and death dates," I pondered, my brows scrubbing in concentration. "Why aren't they called death days?"

Luke cocked a brow at me, pausing on my fingers. "Because, one is a happy, nice celebration. The other is sad as shit because it means death, and that's all there is to it."

"I don't know..." I shrugged. "Both should be celebrated, I think."

At this, Luke stopped walking. We had grown much closer to the house, so I could see the confusion on his face clearly. "Why do you think that?"

"Well..." I shrugged, again. "It's obvious why birthdays are a happy thing. Death dates, though, of course are still sad, but I don't know..." I picked my feet up to continue our walk, and Luke followed. "Of course, everyone gets sad about someone dying, but you had to have really known someone in order to genuinely be broken about it, right?"

Luke took my words in, his gaze on the ground. "I guess so, yeah."

"So...that part should be celebrated," I explained. "The parts that you knew about them. The days and memories that you shared together, you know, shit like that. It won't take all of the pain away, but those memories won't ever be forgotten. Just having them is always something to celebrate."

His gaze was burning into the side of my head.

I turned my eyes to him when it became unavoidable. "What?"

Luke stared back at me, a quick thought passing over his face. His lips parted to voice it, I assumed, but instead, he shrugged. "Nothing."

My eyes lowered as I kicked a small rock out of my way. If only my thoughts went with it. This part was the one that was biting at me most. "You wanna know what I want at my funeral?"

Luke paused, again, this time for good. "Hey."

I followed up, looking at him.

"Maggie." His gaze darkened. "I don't wanna think about this type of thing with you. Now now, and not ever."

I knew that he thought I was being silly, but with everything that was happening, everything that had already happened, a part of me knew that I wasn't. Not at all.

My father was coming for me, whether we liked it or not. His hits had been indirect so far, but still just as deadly and as planned, and he wasn't even out of prison, yet. It would be even worse when he actually was out. There was no avoiding it.

I knew that Luke and I had talked about precautions, but there weren't enough when it came to the line between life and death. Not with my father.

A gush of wind swept past my face, centering me back to reality. I pushed past the drop of my stomach to finish.

"I know, but just in case..." I smiled, squeezing at Luke's hand. His own had loosened from mine. "I'm not gonna lie, I did steal some of these from granny, but..." My smile softened. "I want a party, instead. A bunch of booze, and belladonna lilies, everywhere. Kimberly and Raven can have whatever they want from my jewelry box, my clothes, and whatever else. Everyone has to wear light colors, and I don't want any tears, either." Nodding to myself, I slipped my hand up to push the strands of hair back out of my face. "You and Jax get front row seats, obviously. I want you to bring Fang, too, and make sure you leave one of his toys in my casket. I want the girls to pick out my dress, and shoes. I want you, and only you, to take my bracelet off, and tie it with your own so that you know I'll always be there to call you out on your shit, no matter what. You can't forget that. You and Jax have to—"

"No," he interrupted, shaking his head back at me. His voice has thickened. "Maggie, no. Fuck no."

I sighed. "Luke—"

Grasping me by the arms, he turned me to face him. His lips were stuck in a frown, and a glaze of darkness had drowned his features.

"Maggie," he forced out past a cotton throat, an intense gaze digging into mine. "We're not having this conversation with each other, because we don't need to. Nothing's going to happen to you, and you're not going anywhere. I refuse...I won't let you, okay? I won't." His eyes dipped, and a cool, dreadful mold of pain claimed his face. His throat constricted as he shook his head, his sigh trembly. "And, I don't like to think...I can't imagine or even fucking think of you being..." He couldn't finish.

When he raised his head, he released a tensed breath. "We're going to take care of your father, and the rest of them, just like we planned. That'll be the end of it, and everything will be okay. Then, it'll just be me and you. Safe. Happy, and together. Forever together. That's it. Nothing else." The determination in his voice held no argument. "Nothing's going to happen to you, and we're not going to talk or act like it is. We're not going there, Maggie, you hear me?"

How I wished that to be true.

My lips lifted into a false smile. I couldn't keep it real, because I didn't know how real it actually was.

I remembered how I had once accepted my fate if it came to be. I had been so ready to give it all up in order to finally find peace. Whether it be in life or death.

That was before I found the person who was my peace, though. The one who took an entirely different meaning to the word for me, because they were my first.

And now...I wished for life more than anything. I wished that when the time comes, I make it out. If not for me, then for Luke. Just seeing the look on his face when he heard me say those things was heartbreaking. And, that was just a theoretical statement. I couldn't imagine it if it became reality.

Luke's eyes ran me over, and if I leaned close enough, I was sure I saw the loss of life, as well as the glimmer in them. And, if not that, then the tragic masses of angst in them. I couldn't imagine it being there forever.

Before I could make the final observation, though, he was shutting his eyes, and shaking his head at it. Breathing in through his nostrils, he released it, meeting me, again.

His arm went over my shoulder to tuck me under him. Even from the cold of both the weather and my thoughts, he turned it over into the comfiest warmth there was. If I were feeling it right, though, his body had started to tremor, so I clenched him tighter.

In no time, we were approaching the front steps of the house.

Luke turned to me, a crooked smile on his lips as he lifted a hand, gently dragging it through the back of my head. It stroked and hugged at my skin until I was well in its embrace, leaning right into his palm.

His gaze softened. "Is this the part where I tell you to have a good night, beautiful?"

Amusement broke my expression up. "That and you ask for a second date."

He cocked his head. "I don't already have it, Norris?"

I rolled my eyes playfully. "You're not that lucky, pretty boy."

His laugh lingered through my bones as he lowered his neck. My heart jumped as I did the same, ready to catch all that he offered.

"I am, though," he murmured, pressing a sizzling palm to the corner of my jaw. Homely eyes gained my own, and just one second in them had me forgetting about all else. "I'm the luckiest fucker in the world, Norris."

My lips lifted until they couldn't. I placed my hand against his chest, wrapping his shirt in my hand to hold him as we both leaned in.

Just as our lips grazed, a crash sounded out from our house. The screen door was already open, so we could hear just fine. Another one followed up a second later. It was coming from the house.

Fuck.