Work Text:
It was perhaps late spring or early summer. You could remember how your nose was mildly itchy from the pollen as you found him sitting by the windowsill yet again. The breeze had felt warm, and the trees outside were rustling. It was supposed to be just like any other day until you heard the news that Luke will be moving away. In a week, nonetheless. It was surprising, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Luke has always been a genius. You often teased him for being a nerd (affectionately, of course, to which he’d respond with a pout, and, oh, of course, you just had to pinch his cheek). Why wouldn’t the National Central University, the country’s top university, want him?
Promises were made. You’re free to read Luke’s Sherlock Holmes collection that he left at his parents’ house. You’d call. You’d keep each other updated, about your lives, about your reading progress on his books, about all the food the capital has to offer. His moving away isn’t going to change anything. You’d take good care of yourselves, even without having the other around, even without Luke chasing off any geese who would harass you, even without you apologizing to the grumpy neighborhood grandpa for the ruckus Luke had made. You two were going to be just fine. Right?
As much as you wanted to believe that nothing was going to change, it was inevitable. There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. You know that. You sighed and closed Luke’s copy of The Boscombe Valley Mystery. Ever since the age of five, Luke’s presence has always been a constant in your life. Now you’re left anxiously waiting for him to call.
Luke had told you earlier this morning that he’d be rather busy today, what with all the classes he got, and he’s not even done with settling in. Despite his tight schedule, he still managed to take the time to text you several times throughout the day. Luke sent a picture of the egg sandwich he had for lunch. Apparently, he was in a rush in between classes, and the meal from the convenience store was all he could manage. He then complained about how it wasn’t enough for him, how he regretted not getting more.
He promised he’d call once he’s done with one of his assignments. You weren’t expecting it to take this long. It was past 10 already. You had finished your homework hours ago, and that’s why you’re left in the state you are now. Laying in bed, The Boscombe Valley Mystery still sitting on your chest because you couldn’t be bothered to get up and put it away. Is college that much harder? Luke must have been exhausted by now. Not wanting to keep him up just so that you could talk to him, you decided to text him to wish him luck on his work and that you two can just call some other time when he’s less busy. You considered adding a cute sticker of a bunny with pom-poms but decided against it. You’re a high school student now. Using stickers seems kind of childish and silly, doesn’t it?
You finally got up, put the book away, and went to the bathroom to wash up before bed. By the time you came back, you notice your phone screen lighting up, informing you of a missed call from Luke. You hurriedly dialed him back. Within two rings, you finally heard his voice.
“Hey.” There wasn’t much energy to his voice. “Did I keep my Watson waiting?”
As odd as it may be, despite you never going anywhere and staying in Stellis, hearing Luke’s voice made you feel like you’re finally home once again.
“You’re busy, Luke. I understand. You could have gone to bed right away, you know?” It really wasn’t a big deal. Sure, you missed him, but you’d rather have Luke be well-rested.
“Oh, uh, well,” you could hear a nervous chuckle from the other end of the line. “I’m not done with work yet, actually. It’s much harder than I had anticipated.” A pause. “I just wanted to make sure I could hear how your day was before you go to bed,” his voice softened.
You let out a long sigh. Luke putting yourself over his own wellbeing. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed, huh? You couldn’t admit that you thought that he was being very sweet and that you’re honestly happy about it. You can’t enable this behavior of his, can you? He seriously needs to put himself first.
“Okay, we’ll make this quick then. You really need to take better care of yourself, Luke. Make sure you get enough rest.”
“Alright, alright, I get it.”
This is how it’s always been. You two worrying and nagging each other, to the point that it may seem overbearing.
“So, the braised pork granny made for lunch, we still got plenty of leftovers left, so we also had that for dinner.” You could hear Luke groaning in jealousy. Granny’s braised pork was great. “I also read a bit of The Boscombe Valley Mystery.”
“Oh! How are you liking it so far?” Luke clearly perked up at that.
“I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I’m curious to see how they’re going to prove James’ innocence. All the evidence seems to be pointing at him right now.”
A hearty laugh. Oh, how you love the sound of it. “You’ll soon see, my dear Watson.”
It’s Luke’s voice. It’s clear it’s Luke’s voice. You’d recognize his voice anywhere. It’s just, it doesn’t sound the same over phone calls. Obviously, there’s the slight noise, it’s not a bother, but you do miss how clear his voice sounds in person. There’s also the fact that his voice doesn’t sound as deep, but that’s fine, this is fine, it can’t be helped. You’re just glad you could still hear his voice to begin with. You’re glad he’d make time for you instead of making you feel like you’re left behind.
“How about you, Luke?” you asked. “What are you working on?”
“Oh, it’s just some stuff on engineering chemistry. I also had to review some stuff for my engineering physics class tomorrow.”
Science has never been your best subject, so when Luke explained further all the things he had to do, you were honestly feeling a bit lost. You loved hearing him talk about it so giddily, though. It reminds you of all the times when you’d have a nightmare disrupt your sleep and Luke would come over to your room and tell you the lamest science facts to distract you and get you back to sleep.
Luke seems to have noticed your quieter yeahs and mms to his stories. “Hey, you should sleep.” You couldn’t see it, but you got his gentle smile perfectly imprinted in your mind. That’s probably how he looks right now.
“Sure, but,” normally you’d be too embarrassed to ask for something like this. But you’re too sleepy and you can’t think straight so you went ahead with it, “Is it okay if we stay on the phone like this?”
It took a while for Luke to respond, but he finally said, “What do you mean?” as if in disbelief of what you’re asking of him. That’s fair. It is a ridiculous request, after all. It almost makes you want to take back what you just said. Almost. It must be all the K-drama you've been watching.
“You can get back to work, and I can go sleep, we just leave the call on.”
“Alright,” Luke said. “We can do that.”
As you settled in bed, you could hear him tenderly say, “Good night, my dearest Watson.”
This is nice too, you thought. Things aren’t the same, but you two are going to be just fine.