#luby ff

[docjen]

This applies to Luka too. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Stop telling me what to do. Love your characters, I’ll love mine. 😘😘

[mearcatsreturns]

15 for Abby/Luka

For reasons ;)

Under a cut because it's long.

July 2003

To: Luka Kovac <“[email protected]”>

From: Abby Lockhart <“[email protected]”>

Subject: I’m drowning and praying ghosts are real

Dear Luka,

Something about knowing that I’ll never talk to you again is just unbearable. I’ll never laugh at your malapropisms, look into your beautiful eyes, feel your strong hands holding mine, or make love to you again. There won’t be any more jokes about jam and cheese on toast, or you teasing me for my weak but constant supply of coffee. I’ll never hear your amazing, deranged laughter after you prank someone again. No more of your hugs—which are somehow the best hugs in the world. Because you’re gone.

It’s been three days since we got the call telling us you died thousands of miles from home, whether that’s here in Chicago or in Croatia. I didn’t know your dad’s name, Luka. We needed to call him, and I didn’t know. How did I not know? And now I can’t. I mean, L’Alliance told us his name, but the fact that I’ll never learn pieces of your history, of the wonderful man you are, FROM you...how am I supposed to go on and live my life?

For years, I’ve thought medicine was my great thwarted love. I’ve wanted to be a doctor for so long, and I thought I was bitter about having to let go of that dream. Now I wonder. I let obstacles get in the way of pursuing medicine, and it’s made me...well, it’s part of why I was so unhappy. But that makes me think about how I also let obstacles get in the way of us. I was happy with you, you know, until I let fear and my mother and Carter get in the way. God, I wish I could do that over again. We could have had everything, and if I hadn’t gotten in my own way, I’d be happy. I think maybe I could have made you happy, too.

It’s funny. I knew things with Carter weren’t working, and he implied you were part of it. I said it wasn’t, but then five minutes later, I found out you were—are—dead. And I realized you were the reason, or one of the big ones. As soon as Chuny told me, I knew I loved you and had loved you for years. Yeah. Great timing, isn’t it? I keep thinking that maybe I could have kept you from going if I had known or if I had told you. I didn’t want you to go when I thought you were my very attractive friend and ex that I still was fond of. Knowing that I love you—how do I move past that? Knowing that I lost you, first to my stupidity and then to death?

I just...I miss you, and I don’t when I’ll stop, or how to. Susan caught me crying on my last shift, and I didn’t even know what to say. I feel like I’ve been crying or standing still, brittle and stuck in time, since I heard the news. I can’t, Luka. I know I have to keep on moving, and I thought maybe writing you would help. I know you’ll never see this, never have a chance to respond. But the idea that some fragments of your soul linger and can maybe sense...I don’t know. That I’m writing? What I’m feeling? Jesus, this is crazy.

All my love,

Abby

Abby angrily swipes the tears from her eyes. God, what’s the point of writing this? He’ll never see hsi email or her again. Just...without Luka, how can the world be anything but grim and sad and pointless?

She laughs mirthlessly. Maybe it doesn’t matter. No, she knows it doesn’t. Because Abby knows the futility of it, aches with the meaninglessness, she presses send without another thought.

&&&

Three days after that, a miracle occurs. Luka, the Lazarus of this new millennium, comes back from the dead. He’s never been dead, and maybe, Abby thinks, there’s a God above after all. So many people wish for this exact boon, and she—they, the world—gets it. Some higher power believes this planet is a better place with Luka Kovac in it, and Abby is ecstatic.

Until she remembers the email and that they can’t be unsent.

It’s fine. She’ll be fine. Luka is coming back, apparently with a French nurse. Maybe he’ll just delete it without reading it. Maybe it didn’t go through—how does email work for the dead, and how quickly is all that processed?

Abby shakes her head. It doesn’t matter; Luka is alive and returning to them. She can handle a little awkwardness in the face of the sheer joy of knowing the world is a brighter, kinder place. He’s coming back, and that’s what’s important.

&&&

August 2003

It takes Luka almost a week after returning to Chicago to convince Kerry and the other staff to let him go back to his apartment. Even so, they only agree when Gillian assures them she’ll see to his every need.

Abby winces when she hears that, and it makes something flutter in Luka’s chest. Which probably isn’t good for his malaria, but the hope...that is.

It’s another two days of lying in bed before he has the energy to ask Gillian to bring him his laptop. At this point, it’s been months since he’s checked his email, and Luka grimaces at the undoubtedly horrible state of his inbox. He briefly considers never checking again and just getting a new one, but he knows his father struggled to add him to his contacts once already. To expect it of him again would be absurd.

With a sigh, Luka opens his email. It’s just as bad as he feared. He snorts at the myriad messages about Viagra, Nigerian princes, and Russian brides, deleting them without thought. He saves a couple from his dad. He slowly whittles down his inbox, but he freezes when he gets to one email in particular, sent about a month ago.

It’s from Abby, during the time everyone thought he was dead.

Luka considers calling and asking her if someone hacked her email or is sending spam from her account, but the subject line...it looks real. And Abby’s been odd around him lately, seeming both deliriously happy to see him and awkwardly nervous.

His heart pounds, and he clicks to open it. If this is a spammer, they’re probably about to get whatever they want.

&&&

Abby pours herself another coffee, internally swearing as she prepares for the last two hours of her shift. Deciding to go back to school is great; having to coordinate all the details is less thrilling and leaves her tired and cranky.

Frank ducks his head into the lounge, beady eyes narrowing on her. “Hey, Abby. The Croat is on the phone for you. Line 2. Try to get back out there as fast as you can, Weaver’s yelling at the med students about IVs.”

“Okay, Frank,” Abby says, though she flushes and her palms start to sweat. It’s fine. She can always hide the panic and butterflies in her stomach with sarcasm. It has yet to fail her.

Frank gives her one last suspicious look, then nods and heads back to Admit.

Abby takes a deep breath, then picks up the phone. “Hey, Luka?”

“It’s me. Glad I could reach you. How are you?” He sounds...ugh. So good. And eager and happy, and her heart could leap right out of her chest.

“Doing all right. I just have a couple hours left on this shift, and it hasn’t been too awful today. Only one MVA. How about you? You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Recovering. Listen, did you want to come over for dinner?”

“Please tell me you’re not trying to cook.”

“What? I’m a good cook, even if you don’t appreciate wonderful, traditional Croatian dishes,” he says with a chuckle.

“Luka, you just got out of the hospital five days ago. You still need to be resting.”

“Abby, don’t worry so much. I was just kidding. I have some sandwiches from Manny’s, and Anna sent me home with lots of matzo ball soup too.”

Abby bites her lip. Of course she wants to go. But the prospect of spending the evening with Gillian cooing over Luka, knowing that she shares a bed with him, is decidedly less appealing. And there’s the email she sent, which Luka hasn’t acknowledged. He might well have deleted it, or he’s giving her a gracious out.

Her conscience twinges as soon as she thinks about bailing, though. Didn’t she promise herself she wouldn’t take life for granted anymore? She’ll go back to med school, she’ll have dinner with Luka when he asks.

“Abby?”

She starts, realizing she needs to respond. “Yeah, sorry. Yeah, I can do that. I can be there an hour after my shift, if that’s okay.”

“Sounds great. Looking forward to seeing you.”

“Me too.” He has no idea how much, even if she wishes she knew for sure that he’d deleted the email.

&&&

Abby rings Luka’s doorbell three and a half hours later. She’d meant to come straight from work, but after a patient vomited on her, she decided to head home, shower, and splurge on a taxi to Luka’s. The poor man is recovering from being deathly ill and doesn’t need County’s fumes making things worse.

There’s the sound of the deadbolt sliding, and Luka answers the door, grinning happily at her. “Good, you made it! Come on in!”

“I did. Sorry it took me longer than expected.” Abby steps into his apartment, looking around. It’s been such a long time since she’s been here, and she notes the subtle changes in the art and decor.

“No worries. I know how it goes.” He places a hand at the small of her back, guiding her inside.

Abby stiffens for a second at how his touch burns even through the layers of her shirt and light jacket, but she relaxes, enjoying the feel while she waits for Gillian to appear and end the fleeting joy.

Luka is unfazed. “Now, of course we can just eat the sandwiches, but if you want to heat up the matzo ball soup, you can. Since you don’t want me standing,” he says with a wink.

Abby smiles back, shaking her head. “Oh, I see how it is. Make the woman who worked all day do more household work when she gets ho—wait, where’s Gillian? Isn’t she supposed to be taking care of you?”

“She’s not here,” he says simply.

Going to the fridge and taking out the containers of soup, Abby places them in the microwave. Is Gillian out for the evening, or is she gone gone? “Shouldn’t you be with her? Or her here with you, whatever.”

Luka is quiet for a long minute, and Abby wonders if he intends to answer. Finally, he breaks the silence. “I asked her to leave.”

Abby’s pulse speeds up. “What? Why?”

Luka takes a deep breath, clearly ready to respond, and—

The microwave dings, and they both jump. Exchanging a sheepish look, they laugh.

“Look, let’s get some food, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Abby dishes up their soup and sandwiches, preparing trays so they can sit on the couch. Luka turns on the television, and Abby’s heart rate comes back under control. They sit together in companionable silence while they eat and watch Thom and Jai and the rest of the Fab 5 whip some hapless lawyer’s life into order. When they finish their meal, Abby cleans up, taking the trays back to the kitchen.

She heads back to the couch at the opposite end from Luka, not daring to get closer when she really has no idea what’s going on.

Luka clears his throat and mutes the TV. “So, yeah. I asked Gillian to leave.”

“Oh. So, um, did you break up?”

“She was never my girlfriend, really. She has a boyfriend back in Montreal, they just…” Luka shrugs and runs a hand through his hair.

Abby is more lost than ever. “Ah.”

Taking a deep breath, Luka continues, finally looking over at her. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful she helped me get here and took care of me, but we were never serious.”

Something starts to tug at Abby’s heart, squeezing and twisting and kicking to get free. Is it...hope? “Well, I’m glad she got you here safe, but you should have someone staying with you while you recover, Luka. Malaria is dangerous.”

He gives her a look. “I know how dangerous malaria is. I’m getting better. And besides, it wouldn’t have been fair for me to ask her to stay when things are over because I’m in love with someone else.”

Her heart leaps into her throat. “Someone else?” she squeaks.

Luka nods, swallowing. “Yeah. And I have a reason to think she might be in love with me too.” He slides over to her side of the couch, reaching for her hand.

Abby meets his eyes—those beautiful green eyes that are the best color in the world—and squeezes his hand, incapable of words. Does he mean…?

With his other hand, Luka reaches up and cups her cheek, running his thumb along the subtle arch of her cheekbone. “Abby, if you’ve changed your mind since you sent that email, please tell me to shut up.”

That stupid, ridiculous email might be the best thing she’s ever done in her life. She leans into his hand, licking her lips as she shakes her head slightly. “I haven’t changed my mind. I didn’t mean for you to see it and hoped I could learn how to hack computers and delete it but—”

Luka cuts her off. “I would never forgive you if you managed to delete it. You wouldn’t believe how much faster I healed after that.”

Abby leans forward, sliding into Luka’s waiting arms. “Then maybe I’ll write you some more emails.”

“Emails aren’t what I want right now,” Luka says.

Funny, Abby doesn’t either. Then his lips brush hers, and all her worries and fears fade away. She knows she has to tell him about med school and he needs to finish recuperating, but when Luka deepens their kiss and pulls her closer, Abby ceases to think at all.

She has Luka back, and now they have each other again.

[burgundy-time-bandit]

Disaster Twins 'Verse, Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - The Gift

Chapter by DoctorLia, DraejonSoul, RedGold

Summary:

#FlynnFriday imagine: It's Lucy's birthday & they just had a successful mission against Rittenhouse! Denise arranges for dinner at a restaurant. But before they leave, Flynn pulls her aside to gift her her locket he had gotten at the mall.

Sweet and short-ish follow-up to the previous chapter. Apologies that it took so long to upload. ^^;

[docjen]

Prompt 49.

“I know you don’t like sharing, but can you share the blanket? Just this once?” Abby scowls and yanks on the blanket, making Joe snort in his sleep and curl up even closer to her. Exactly like his father, she thinks. Bed hogs. Both of them.

Rolling over, she drags the tiny corner of the blanket she’d managed to get over her shoulder. Rolling her eyes, she tries to sleep again.

Luka watches from the bedroom door, home early from a very rare night shift. He grins at his wife fighting for her share of the blanket and wanders in, crouching next to the bed. Stroking Abby’s temple, he smiles when she opens her eyes.

“Hi. You’re early.”

“Yeah, it was slow. I see my spot has been usurped.”

Abby yawns and reaches over to stroke his hair. “For now. I think you can probably put him in his own bed at this point. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t scared.”

Luka chuckles and bites his lip. “He does the same thing when you work nights.”

Abby smiles when Luka reaches over her and carefully lifts their sleeping son. “He’s just protecting us, Luka.”

He winks at her. “I know. Go to sleep. You can be sure to get your share of the blanket.”

Abby rolls her eyes as he walks out. “For now.” she mutters.

[docjen]

17 for Abby x Luka, please!

Also requested by @crookedsmileys

“I can’t sleep, can I stay here?”

Luka shakes his head, shifting the bag he carried to his other arm. “Of course you can, why would you even ask me that?” Luka reaches down and pulls Abby to her feet from her position slouched against his door.

She shrugs. “I don’t know.”

Unlocking the door and setting the bag down, Luka wraps his arm around her shoulder and kisses the top of her head. “This reminds me to give you back your key.”

Abby glances up at him and quickly glances away. “You don’t think it’s too soon for that?”

Luka rolls his eyes, reminding himself not to spook her. “We’ve been spending a lot of nights here. It just makes sense. Besides, it’s not like I’m giving a key to just anyone. Regardless of the time we’ve spent together this time, I’ve known you for six years. There’s nobody I trust more.”

Abby smiles and nods a little. “Okay. Thanks.”

Luka pulls her down on the couch, snuggling her in. “Why can’t you sleep?”

She yawns. “I don’t know.” Except she did know, and it was because Luka hadn’t been sleeping beside her. “Just couldn’t.”

Luka stands and scoops her up, “Well, next time, let yourself in with your key and climb into my bed. I promise, I won’t be mad.”

Abby leans her head on his shoulder while he carries her up the stairs. “Oh really.” she says dryly.

“Nope.” He drops her on the bed and grins. “And I have the perfect way to help you sleep.”

**

[docjen]

Prompt #9 fluff/angst list.

“You meant too much to me.” Luka swallows and looks up at her through his lashes. “I didn’t know I could feel that way again. That I would want to.” He squeezes Abby’s hand, reassuring her after her offhand comment that she didn’t even remember why they were so angry with each other when their first go-round ended.

That takes the breath right out of her. “Luka…..”

Luka shifts from where his head had been resting between her breasts. “No, I need to say it. I keep… not saying things and it always screws us up.” He brings Abby’s hand to his lips. “I realized too late that I loved you. I could see you building your walls like you do, but back then, I didn’t know how to stop it, and it pissed me off.”

Abby blinks the tears that were welling up back and away, for now. She lifts her free hand to stroke his hair. “I won’t ask you why you didn’t just tell me. That part’s obvious.”

Luka’s lips curve as he turns his cheek to nuzzle her palm, eyes closing a little when she cups his jaw. “Is it?”

“You felt guilty, and I understand that. And you were afraid of scaring me.” Abby laughs a little when he nods. “Jesus, we were a mess. Both of us had so much baggage, it’s amazing we lasted as long as we did.”

Luka slides his arm around her and cuddles her close. “Yeah, but I still wish we hadn’t been so stupid.”

Abby slides up to take his mouth. “Me too.” she mutters against his lips. “But…”

Luka leans his forehead against hers. “What?”

“I kind of like how things happened. Mostly. We needed that time apart to figure ourselves and each other out. Joe might not be here if we hadn’t. We might not be married and insanely in love with each other. We took the time to figure out that this is it. Forever.”

Emotion welling up, Luka tightens his grip on her. “I know. It’s just always hard not to wish for more time when you love somebody.”

Abby smiles and turns her head to kiss his neck. “You told me right before our wedding that if there was ever anything not rushed into, it was you and me promising to be together forever. You were right, and I like to think it’s because we know ourselves and each other well enough to finally get it.”

Luka pulls her over and on top of him. “Were you always this smart?” He grins up at her.

Abby drops a kiss to his nose. “Of course, but also, we’ve both fucked it up enough times to learn from our mistakes.”

Luka cups her head and pulls her down for a deep kiss. “Well. Here’s to not fucking it up anymore.”

[docjen]

Sometimes I still worry I’m going to screw it up again.” Abby stops and faces the water, pausing one of their last walks in Chicago together.

“You’re not alone and you never will be as long as you have me, got it?” Luka scowls. “You’re not going to screw it up.”

Abby swallows at the passion in Luka’s voice. She turns her head to study him, standing by the pier on Lake Michigan, where she had once told him she wanted to have a baby with him. “Luka, you can’t fight my demons for me.”

Luka turns and takes her by the shoulders, pressing his lips to her cheek, her nose, her forehead and finally her mouth. “The hell I can’t.” he mutters.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Abby laughs a little. “You know what I mean.”

Drawing her in, Luka rests his head on top of hers. “I know I can’t fight yours any more than you can fight mine. What I can do is be there for you when they show up. Be your wing-guy.”

The corner of Abby’s mouth twitches. “Wing-man.” She rises on her toes to kiss him. “Same goes. You know that, right?”

Luka nods. “It took me a while, but yes. I know that. I’m glad we’re talking about that stuff more. I’m afraid I’ll screw it up sometimes too.”

Abby sighs. “I know you are.”

Luka wraps his arms more tightly around her. “As long as we have each other, we’re gonna be okay.”

Tucking her head against his chest, Abby feels relief flood through her. Her faith that they would make it had been slowly rebuilding in the month since their reconciliation, and now she was looking forward to leaving with Luka and Joe. Turning the page and starting a new chapter in their lives. She glances up at him. “I love you. Let’s go home and finish packing.”

Kissing the top of her head, Luka smiles. “I love you too.”

[docjen]

Nobody asked for this one, but I did it anyways. 😆

41.

“I’m not scared of spiders but there’s a spider in the bathroom and it’s taunting me.”

Abby turns from the sink, where she had been loading dishes in the dishwasher. She smirks at her husband, standing in the kitchen in only his towel. “What’s it doing?”

“Hanging out in the corner of the shower.”

“So do you need me to take care of it?” Abby lifts a brow. Amused, as usual, at his aversion to killing bugs. “Spiders are good for the environment, you know.”

Luka rolls his eyes. “Not IN the house, Abby.”

She takes a cup and lid out of the cupboard. “Fine, you big baby.”

Luka follows her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Grabbing her hip, he turns her and lowers his mouth to hers, nibbling gently. “Maybe once you take care of it...you can join me.”

Abby pulls back, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You expect a reward?”

He gives her his sly grin. “I was thinking of giving YOU a reward.”

Tugging on his hair, she kisses him hard. “Well in that case…”