Lucas and Eliott lay in bed as Sunday morning light filtered through the bedroom curtains. Lucas’s body was tired and achy, but in a good way. Eliott lay beside him, one long arm flung across his eyes, a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
“I am-,” Eliott started, but trailed off as if the effort to say words was too much.
“I know,” Lucas concurred. They would have to get up soon. There was cleaning and shopping to do and more studying for Eliott.
“That was really motivating yesterday,” Eliott continued after some time. “I actually got a lot of studying done. But if I don’t know it by now, it’s probably too late.”
Lucas propped himself on his forearm to face Eliott. “How do you feel about the last two upcoming exams?”
Eliott bit his bottom lip. “I think I’ll be fine. It’s just, after everything that happened last year, I can’t believe I’m finally here...about to graduate.” He paused again, turned to face Lucas. “I can’t believe I was lucky enough to find you.”
Lucas shook his head, “I think I’m the lucky one.”
Eliott smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Lucas knew that look. Lucas was still navigating being true to who he was, who he wanted to be. He knew he had trouble trusting people completely, of letting anyone see all the disjointed, sharp pieces that made him...him. He had been able to be vulnerable with Eliott, and Eliott had made him feel secure, safe. He wanted to do the same for Eliott, understanding it could be more difficult because of his disorder. Sometimes he felt like he succeeded, other times not so much. He wanted to show Eliott that he was not a burden, but he would carry him if and when he needed to; he wasn’t too heavy.
Lucas had dived headfirst into understanding bipolar disorder. He would get excited when he came across anything hopeful, like the research finding that many people diagnosed with the disease at a relatively young age, often outgrew it by their 30’s, but then he’d read something heart-stoppping, like the suicide rate for people with the disorder was relatively high. At first it stressed him out, but Eliott’s experiences had made him start to consider a career in the sciences, specifically medical research. It could be an option.
“Where are you?” Eliott asked.
“I’m here, babe. I’m right here.”
Lucas scrunched his body under Eliott’s side, wrapping an arm and leg around Eliott’s longer frame.
“I can’t wait until summer break. I think we should go to Les Calanques for a few days. We need to go as soon as classes end, or it may be difficult to visit the beaches. But we could still hike if the beaches are closed to the public.”
“Hmmm,” Lucas said. He could imagine them lying on the beach in the warm sand, the aquamarine water before them, the sunlight warming their skin. “I’d like that.”
“Maybe we could invite everyone, rent something close by.”
The picture in his mind changed a bit. It was no longer just him and Eliott, but their friends laughing and running on the beach, hanging out around Marseille. It could be good for them; it had been a tough year all around, although having Eliott all to himself in such an idyllic locale was also ideal.
“That could be fun,” Lucas said. “Might be a lot of drama.”
“We’ll have everyone sign an agreement to keep it chill.”
“Not sure that would actually work,” Lucas chuckled.
“Not sure they would come, but...I could invite Idriss and Sofiane.”
“I’m sure Imane would love if Sofiane could make it, and her parents might be more inclined to let her join if Idriss is there...but didn’t you have a crush or something on Idriss?”
Eliott looked down at him, one eyebrow quirked upward, “Didn’t you have a crush on Yann?”
Lucas buried his head into Eliott’s side, “Ah, Putain, I should never have told you.”
Eliott laughed. “It’s ok, mon amour, I’m not the jealous type...and you’re all I’ll ever need, ok?”
Lucas nodded, and finally pulled his face from the warmth of Eliott’s side to look into his eyes. “Me, too.”
“So...what’s my gift for today,” Eliott said, rubbing his hands together. “I feel like I got a two-for-one yesterday.”
“Well, that gift was for sharing.” Lucas wiggled his brows, but still felt his face heat up a little. “I do have a little something for you, but we’ll need to go to your place later.”
Eliott looked intrigued, but didn’t press him for more information. Lucas had finally met Eliott’s parents, and they had been kind and welcoming, but luckily they were out of town for the weekend.
The rest of the day was spent snuggling in bed until Eliott finally got up to complete a couple of hours of additional review. They ate and joked around with Lisa and Mika, as well as Manon, who had stopped by to hang out (as she often did when she wasn’t with Charles).
Later that evening, they took the bus to Eliott’s. They walked the tree-lined streets hand in hand, stopping here and there to steal kisses in the dusky evening light.
“We can stay here tonight. We’ll just need to get up a little earlier to make it to school on time.”
“That sounds good,” Lucas agreed.
Once inside, they placed their backpacks in Eliott’s room and sat on the couch.
“I’m curious...why did we have to come here?” Eliott asked.
“Well, at first I was thinking we could hang out and dance to your ultra cool Dubstep collection.”
“Ah, really?” Eliott snorted. “You told me you liked it.”
Lucas laughed. “I like it more now because you like it.”
Eliott huffed in mock offense, but he was still smiling.
“So...you know the last song I played for you here was called, ‘I Love You’.”
Eliott nodded, his face beaming . He had been so happy when Lucas told him the title of the song several weeks before, playing the song for him at a music shop. “So, you loved me then, before we really knew each other...or was it just a song?” Eliott had asked him then.
Lucas told him that he had felt something he had never felt before, and if it hadn’t been love then, it had been the potential for love, and he had been right.
Eliott had told him he loved him the first time he saw him, that first day of school...it just had taken him a couple of months to be able to verbalize what it was.
“Well-,” Lucas continued as he sat down at the piano and opened the cover. “I want to play an original song I’ve been working on.”
Lucas thought all those piano lessons his mom had made him take as a child had paid off, if only for him to have another way to express his love to Eliott.
He began to play, the notes light at first, but then changing, quick here, slow there, different melodies melding together, but with the same simple chord arrangement throughout, linking the different pieces into a whole. He started the song with that simple chord arrangement and ended with the same notes, repeated three times until the last singular note ended the song.
There was silence as Lucas finally turned to face Eliott. He was sitting up, his eyes glistening in the dim light from the side table lamp.
“Did you like it?” Lucas asked softly.
“You created that? For me?” Eliott asked in amazement. “It was beautiful. You still find ways to surprise me.”
Lucas stood and walked over to Eliott. He bent over to kiss him. The kiss was light, gentle, but deepened as Eliott pulled him closer until Lucas was straddled across his lap, lost in the taste of Eliott’s mouth, lost in the echo of music that seemed to reverberate around them.
They finally separated to catch a breath, and Lucas moved to sit beside Eliott, resting his head against the back of the couch.
“Does it have a title?” Eliott asked.
“Working title only...but it’s called, ‘Every Path’.”
“Ok?” Eliott nodded, questioning.
“As in, every path leads to you.” Lucas felt a little embarrassed trying to articulate the meaning of his work, but was buoyed by Eliott’s enraptured gaze. He continued, “The song is about us in every parallel universe. And also a hope that in every one, no matter what choice I make, you are the one unchanging thing...that no matter what path I choose, I will find you, or you will find me...eventually...to love.”
“Wow.” Eliott kissed him once, then again. “I love that.” Lucas noticed that Eliott’s eyes were bright, still glistening. “Thank you.”
“Thanks, and you’re welcome.” Lucas rested his head on Eliott’s shoulder, grabbed his hand to interlock their fingers. Maybe in a few minutes he would put one of Eliott’s Dubstep records on the turntable, have a bit of fun and loosen up before the stressful week ahead. Eliott’s last test would be Tuesday, and Lucas couldn’t wait to celebrate his birthday afterwards. He’d needed to get his friends involved, but they had been happy to help.