Synopsis: Lucas always takes forever to do his hair, and Sanctum often takes the opportunity to ogle his handsome boyfriend. Today, though, he'll get to learn why the man picked up hair gel in the first place.
A/N: This is a repost of one of my Choices fics from last year GAHHAHAHA I LOOOVE Lucas and I want the boyo to be happy so I wrote this oekmd vcjbvvjcv ALSO I apologize for the switch up to everyone here because of One-on-One, I'll post more smut soon!! ALSO I RLLY WENT OFF WITH THE OUTFIT DESCRIPTIONS LMAO MY BAD BESTIES
Credits: @/aquazero for the divider and @/whatisreggieshortfor for encouraging me to do Choices stuff <3
I picked this one just for you! I hope it's the sweetest of the bunch...
“You know, with today, you’ve brought the average time you spend doing your hair in the morning to seventeen minutes.”
Sanctum was on his and Lucas’s shared bed, typing away at his sticker-covered laptop. With confusion and a bit of concern, Lucas stopped tying his blue tie. The fabric still undone in hand, he looked to his boyfriend.
“What? How do you know that?”
“Data and observations.”
“You’ve been recording my hair routine time?”
Lucas felt self-conscious all of a sudden. When Sanctum looked at him, he could see that pang of uncertainty in Lucas’s eyes. He knew it well; it had painted Lucas’s face nearly every day of middle school when he sat down for lunch, having just been teased and ridiculed for whatever reason cruel kids would tease and ridicule him for.
“Yeah… it’s rather difficult to keep my eyes off you, so I figured I may as well be ‘productive.’ I can stop, if you’d like.”
Sanctum spun his laptop around to reveal a spreadsheet. Lucas pulled on his glasses, noting that his boyfriend had been cataloguing nearly every day since they moved in together a half year ago. A sinking doubt started to weigh in his stomach.
His words came in a mutter, almost indistinguishable and inaudible.
“I‘m surprised you’d want to watch me in the mornings that much.”
Sanctum was taken aback. He closed and set aside his laptop, motioning Lucas to take a seat by him on the bed as he sat up. He held Lucas’s shaking hands, and his thumbs brushed over the man’s knuckles.
Did Lucas really think Sanctum wouldn’t want to look at him?
“What do you mean by that?”
With a deep breath, Lucas took his seat by Sanctum’s side. Sanctum’s hands never let go of his, and his eyes never let go of a concerned expression.
“Well, I figured that without the gel and the clothes you…”
His voice trailed off as he remembered the day that cemented his daily usage of that drugstore hair gel.
“You can tell me.”
Sanctum’s hands found Lucas’s just as their eyes did. With a soft smile, he urged his boyfriend on.
“It- It started back in high school…”
“Oh, you’re here. Morning, Lucas.”
It was freshman year. Although the friend group of Sanctum, Ava, Lucas, and the others who had met Reddield didn’t communicate much, these three did from time to time. At least, they did back then.
Lucas remembered that Ava was on the steps of one of the less busy entrances to their school. Having just fully realised her true alternative style, her clothing was a mish-mash of dark leathers, spiked boots, stripped leathers, and a skirt. She had this awkward haircut, with straightened and dyed hair accompanied by some horrendously large bangs. It was so strange, too, because her makeup had yet to, well, exist. She would get her personal style well and cohesive eventually, he thought.
But Lucas couldn’t really judge. He was in an awkward phase in terms of style as well. Blazers and v-necks were being replaced by cotton sweaters and button-ups. His pants, however, lagged behind, with ripped jeans rarely being swapped out for what he would come to wear more often, dress pants.
The biggest change ongoing, however, was his hair. He had been tired of sideswept hair, envious of seniors with their pushed back and immaculate hair. The cause for all of that jealousy?
“Hi Lucas!”
Sanctum Alexander Arroyo.
Sanctum and Lucas had remained the closest amongst the group, save for the former and Ava. Sanctum, in that time, also remained as a permanent and prominent part of Lucas’s heart.
Sanctum’s awkward phase had just finished by then. Once, he wore plain clothing. Sneakers, baggy pants, and plain shirts he left untucked were all slowly but surely replaced throughout middle school.
Sanctum’s style was very close to both Lucas and Ava’s, at least, what they would become. Some days, he would wear black mesh and turtlenecks, well-fitted leather pants or studded jeans, and he always had a perfect boot to match. These would often be accompanied by clip-on earring studs, chokers and bracelets with chunky spikes, and necklaces of all sorts. He often claimed that version of him to be the fault of his older sister, who would give him “advice” as to what to wear, which is to say would dress him each morning without his input. He liked it though, and never had many complaints.
Lucas found that version of Sanctum’s dress attractive. Mesh shirts that showed a bit too much skin, especially for their age, and the specifcially devious smile he would wear left a hormonal, confused Lucas’s head spinning. But what really drew Lucas in was the clothing Sanctum claimed as his ultimate favorite, his truest style.
Sanctum’s style was characterised by curly hair being done in what was essentially a fluffy poof. He wore sweaters that were just smack dab in between something loose and perfectly fitted. His pants were khakis a size or so too big for him, which he kept cuffed and held closed by a leather belt with his initials on the buckle. His socks often matched his sweaters, going stripped and stripped, dots and dots, or any manner of patterning, and his shoes were either his favorite brown boots, one of his hundreds of pairs of colored sneakers, or even dress shoes.
That day, Sanctum had opted for a deep green sweater and his boots, which Lucas had to admit he loved the most. But Lucas’s eyes never got the chance to flick down to his footwear.
“You want to have lunch later?”
He was far too focused on the way the hazel of Sanctum’s eyes became hypnotizingly vibrant and the way his voice sounded like a long-perfected orchestra.
“Yeah!”
Little Lucas shouted a bit—okay, a lot—too eager with a blush to his cheeks.
Ava snorted.
“You were really cute back then.”
Sanctum tried to lighten the mood as he and his boyfriend stared down at a picture the three had taken that day. The three were smiling—well, Ava was sort of smiling—at their usual lunch spot.
“Cute, sure…”
Lucas took another deep breath.
“But do you remember what happened that day?”
The three were hanging out in one of the back corners of the cafeteria, one with the perfect balance of enough light and little noise. They had been sitting in that spot for the two months of freshman year that they had managed to survive.
Lucas and Ava were trying to stomach the school lunch: a strangely texture pizza and some indescribable diet coke. Sanctum took pity on them and shared some of his quesadillas, although he fully hogged his bacon and rice. He even gloated a bit.
“Mm- So, Mr. Packed Lunch, how were tryouts?”
“Tryouts?”
Lucas swallowed the piece of quesadilla in his mouth. He looked between his two lunchmates, trying to gleam what they were talking about.
“I, uh, tried out for the cheerleading squad.”
“Really? That’s awesome!”
“Yeah… it’s just that I-”
All of a sudden, a large hand clapped down onto Sanctum’s shoulder.
“Did amazing?”
There, with a hand on Sanctum’s shoulder, was Jason, the student body president and vice captain of the football team. He flashed his pearly whites, taking his seat right beside Sanctum.
Lucas had to admit, the senior was really, really handsome. He was obviously well-built, dressed in nicely styled but simple clothing, had beautiful emerald green eyes, and had an amazingly styled head of sweptback brown hair.
“You guys have a little prodigy over here! Little ‘Tum did amazing!”
He smiled and chuckled, an arm coming to hug Sanctum across his shoulders. The boy was speechless, mouth agape and cheeks dusted rosy pink.
Lucas could feel the jealousy flood his system. He couldn’t bear to watch it, to be frank. Sanctum was being held so close—was it too close? And the way that this handsome, older guy made Sanctum blush without even trying… the way called him “‘Tum”? It was starting to grate on him.
“That’s… great to hear.”
His words were steady, but his hands were gripping his knees like they were a lifeline.
“Hell yeah! ‘Tum here showed up with some of the best freshman gymnastics Kate or I have seen.”
“Jason, you’re being too kind-”
“I’m just telling the truth!”
God, Lucas hated the Sanctum blushed when Jason ruffled his hair. He wanted Sanctum to blush for him, not Jason.
“Best dressed, too. We’ve gotta go shopping sometime, I admire your style.”
“Th-thank you, Jason! I… think your hair looks really nice!”
Lucas could feel a spark of anger and an explosion of jealousy inside him. He watched as Jason laughed some more, wishing with every second he had been the one making Sanctum blush that cutely.
Gah, Sanctum was cute.
“Babe, you were jealous of Jason?”
Sanctum and Lucas were closer now, resting their backs on the headboard. Their hands were intertwined, and Sanctum’s head was rested on Lucas’s shoulder.
“…yeah.”
“I see… do you want to continue? We can talk more now, if you’d rather not.”
“I… I’ll finish the story.”
Sanctum waved goodbye to Jason, who had give his own polite niceties to Ava and Lucas. But Lucas didn’t mind that, no, he simply let Jason’s words to Sanctum resonate through him.
“I’ll see you at practice, ‘Tum.”
Abruptly, Lucas shot up. As he stood, he knocked his tray, the food swishing to the other side. He couldn’t take it.
“I’ve got to go to my locker. I’ll see you guys later.”
He rushed out, his mind a mess. He focused on one step, then the next, and the next again. He was making good progress. Excellent, even.
Until he realised he forgot to give Sanctum a goodbye hug.
He was mad, sure. He was brimming with jealousy, sure. But the last person he was upset with was Sanctum, and he didn’t want him to think he was mad at him. It would be the furthest thing from the truth, in fact. He turned on his heel, steps thrice as fast as they were when he was leaving.
He could see their table. Ava and Sanctum were still side-by-side and faced away from him, Ava using her elbow to nudge Sanctum as he laid his head down.
Lucas was not pleased to hear what Sanctum was whing out.
“Why?! Ava, tell me, why is Prez so handsome?!”
Prez? Who’s Prez? Prez… president…
“I dunno. Why is he so handsome, Sanctum?”
Jason?
Sanctum groaned loudly.
“Because he looks so good in that shirt! And his smile? It was so pretty! And and and his hair- gosh, his hair! I just-”
Lucas was running again, now trying to hold it together as he ran back into the hallway. It was empty, he noticed, and boy was he glad.
He slowed down, trying to steady his breathing, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
And then he walked into a wall, falling back in recoil. Except it wasn’t a wall.
“Woah, Lucas, you okay, little guy?”
Jason. Lucas pushed himself up, fumbling with his glasses for a moment before slipping them on. Jason was holding out a hand with an apologetic, perfect smile on his immaculate face.
Lucas wanted to cry, just a bit.
Instead, he took the offer, using the leverage to pull himself up.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m… I’m fine.”
“Hm. You sure? There’s something going on, I can see it on your face.”
Jason leaned in, a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m telling you, Jason, I’m alright. Thanks for asking.”
“Oh come on! You don’t gotta tell me what’s wrong, but you could at least let me help cheer you up. Is there anything at all that I can do?”
Lucas’s mouth fell open. For a second, he wanted to tell Jason to stop being so close with Sanctum. But it felt wrong. It was wrong. Instead…
“How do you get your hair to look like that?”
“What? Really? That’s… that’s what you need?”
“Yeah.”
He was stone faced. Inside, on the other hand, he was waiting with bated breath.
“Gel. I buy it from Marv’s in town. Are you sure that’s all?”
Lucas was already setting off, eager to get his phone. He had to tell his mom he was going to get something from the store. He needed to do this.
“Yeah! Thank you!”
“That’s where you got the idea?”
Sanctum laughed a bit, and Lucas did as well. He wanted to begin reassuring his boyfriend, but he could see it in the way Lucas’s face returned to a bleak expression.
“You can keep going, Lucas. I’m here, and I’ll listen.”
The next day, Lucas was running late. Late for Lucas Ron Thomas, at least.
With an absent Ava, who had gone on a trip with her dad, Sanctum was alone on those steps. When it had reached twenty-two minutes prior to class starting, he sort of lost hope. Lucas was ten minutes later than normal, and he figured he probably had something going on and had forgotten to text Sanctum about it.
Sanctum, crestfallen, stood up. He dusted his pants off, pulled his backpack straps taut, and began to turn on his heel. Lucas, emerging from his car, noticed and began to run with an accompanying cry.
“Sanctum! Wait!”
“Lucas?”
Sanctum turn around mid-step, seeking a slightly-out-of-breath Lucas. Something was different today, something had to have changed.
“Your hair…”
His dad had helped him brush and style his hair that morning. Lucas’s hair was brushed back, swishing to the side as it got further and further from the base. It was so, so very new, and as Sanctum noted, it all held in place even as Lucas moved his head.
“I, ahem, tried gel. For my hair. What do you think?”
The next few moments were tense for Lucas.
Lucas’s left hand fiddled with his right hand pointer finger as he gazed at Sanctum with uncertainty. Sanctum had his arms crossed by then while his face was scrunched in a look of scrutiny. His eyes seemed to track the flow of his hair, his weight even shifting in an effort to get another view.
Lucas’s chest let out the tension when he got finally a beaming smile back.
“You look very handsome, Lucas!”
“I was never handsome to you before that.”
Sanctum tried. He really, really tried. His darnest, in fact. But he couldn’t hold back his laugh.
“Lucas, I love you!”
“What?”
Lucas looked up as his hands stopped their nervous fidgeting. Sanctum’s smile was so wide Lucas was almost offended.
“Lucas, do you know who ‘Prez’ is?”
Lucas winced at the mention of Jason. He could feel his chest tighten with jealousy.
“Jason Rousseau.”
More laughter.
“Lucas, my stupid, lovely, handsome genius, you’re ‘Prez’. Have been ever since you were student body president in middle school.”
It was like a chord being plugged in and a circuit starting. Lucas’s breathing began to steady once more, only for him to break into a chuckle as well.
“What?”
“Babe, Ava and I were talking about you that day—we were most days. I was obsessing over how handsome you were in your cute new blue polo.”
Lucas saw it then: Sanctum’s eyes, wiped clean of laughter tears, were filled with nothing but affection.
“I remember it, in fact. I was talking about how if you ever came home in a polo like that, I probably wouldn’t be able to stand. Just drop to my knees out of pure joy; your pretty face would be the culprit.”
“‘Come home’? You were thinking about us moving in by then?”
“Moving in? No, not just that. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I was imagining our life together, idiot. Do you know how long I’ve liked you?”
Lucas let out a chuckle of disbelief and relief. His body felt lighter, his heart less sunken, and his cheeks starting to ache from the abrupt and overwhelming amount of smiling he was doing.
“I bet no longer than me. I’ve been imagining it since fourth grade. Well, I was imagining us holding hands at that age.”
“...I suppose you’re right. But we’re tied! And I was imagining us dancing by then! So really, I win.”
He couldn’t help himself from leaning over and pressing a kiss to Sanctum’s cheek. Sanctum huffed and pouted before pulling Lucas in for a proper one. Then another, and another, and another.
When he finally stopped, he felt obligated to explain something.
“Lucas, you look handsome with the gel. But you’ve always been handsome to me. Always have been, always will be.”
His hand rested on his boyfriend’s cheek.
“Always?”
“Always. Even when you had those chunky Simon glasses.”
Lucas laughed properly now, letting any tenseness fully melt away. He pecked his boyfriend on the lips yet again.
“So, if I stop wearing gel tomorrow, I won’t get any less kisses?”
“Less? Babe, you won’t be able to keep me off you.”
His smile was wide and his ears were red.
“I’m throwing my gel away. Immediately.”
Laughter and kisses kept them occupied that day. So did Sanctum running his hair through his boyfriend’s soft, luscious hair.
THANK YOU to any and all Choices enthusiasts. We are TOO many, but we're here!
ilitw love interests (namely dan, lucas, stacy, andy) having to introduce devon to their friends from college who, by the way, do not know that they were dead/was a shadow monster for four years that just recently came back to life so instead of warm welcomes devon gets the third degree and “why did you ghost our friend? they’ve been pining after you for years!” and devon has nothing to say because they turn to their love interest like “what do you mean you told them i ghosted you?!!!” and love interest is just “what was i supposed to tell them ???”
I would like to call to everyone’s attention that even though Andy is the most passionate and hotheaded guy out of all the dudes in the ILITW gang, he canonically gives the most tender kisses of all the guys in the ILITW gang
