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“Ok, it’s nice and all, holding hands, but I’m not sure how constructive that is during a blackout.”
“C’mon Luke,” whines Michael, “it’s not like we have anything else to do! What, you’re gonna go open up the fusebox? How? And more importantly, how’re you going to do it without leaving me alone in the dark.”
“Michael, Ash has literally gifted us packs of candles every Opening Day since we met. I think it would help a lot if you found those and lit a few. The apartment isn’t that big, so we should be pretty successful.”
“So you are gonna stay with me!”
“It was a loose ‘we.’ You can do it, and for your information, I do know how to open up a fusebox, but we live in a fucking apartment and they’re all in the basement, where the super can get to them. ‘M not going far, just checking to see if the neighbors have lost power too.”
Michael grumbles as Luke stands and firmly pulls his hand out of Michael’s grip, “Fine…you should be able to tell if it’s not just us—the lights out in the hallway are out as well.”
“That’s true,” and even though he was the one insistent on leaving, Michael can tell Luke is no more excited about the power outage than he is, “Do we have a flashlight somewhere?”
“You’re kidding, right Luke? Like you are seriously joking?” Michael switches on the flash of his phone and shines it up at a now half-blinded Luke. Even squinting and emphatically trying to slap the phone out of Michael’s hand, Michael’s in love with Luke, so happy to have him.
After Michael directs the phone away, but keeps the light on so they can just make out the half-shapes of their furniture, Luke starts laughing, the same high-pitched giggle as when he’d met Michael, “’M messing with you Mikey—I know how iPhones work. You’re a lot braver when you have someone to roll your eyes at.”
They’ve been together nearly four years, and while it’s less and less often, he’s still struck sometimes that Luke knows him so well, can get at the parts Michael himself doesn’t realize drive him.
“I’m going out in the hallway now—get those candles, ‘k? Phone batteries don’t last forever, especially yours.”
“What does that mean, Luke!” Michael yells at the slamming door, “What does that mean, asshole!”
He stands up then, gently making his way to their bedroom, and the closet he thinks he’s thrown the majority of Ashton’s gifts over the years. It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate them, it’s that there are so many times he wants to see a card with “Give this seaweed a try” or “I found these lotion socks with the team logo on them!” And the number of times is zero. How Calum puts up with Ashton is a mystery, though he supposes the long distance can’t hurt.
He winces to himself, because that is definitely not a nice thought; he can’t imagine being away from Luke for weeks at a time, much less playing against him every few months. But that’s the way it is, and that’s life in the Majors sometimes. He and Luke were pretty broken up over Irwin’s trade as well—Michael suspects he actually cried more than Cal did—but they’d all gotten past it. And despite the distance and Ashton’s weird obsession with carob, Luke had told Michael that he’d overheard them Skyping once, and the m-word was thrown out, and not lightly.
Grinning again, Michael reaches the closet and leans down, rummaging inside for the candles he’s sixty percent sure he threw out to make room for Luke when his boyfriend moved in.
Something soft brushes against his calf, “SHHIIIIIIIIIITTT!!!”
He tries to jump backwards and onto the bed, but in the half-gloom, misses and falls to the floor, but even before he hits the ground, he’s realized what touched him and begins cooing, “Hey Castaway, here girl, don’t be scared, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for shouting, you scared me, you giant goof.”
Her head, eyes glowing, peers around the corner of the bedroom door before she breaks and runs up to him, curling in his lap. And that’s when his phone dips below 20%, and the flash cuts out.
Michael’s not as worried as before with the little cat pressed against his stomach, even though arguably he’s more alone now than he was with Luke when the lights first went out. Candles forgotten, he perks up when the front door opens, “Luke?”
“Michael!” light flickers from the hallway, “What happened, you screamed and—” when he slides into the bedroom, the concern melts off and he smiles gently at them.
“Castaway snuck up on me.”
"I see, she’s a very vicious predator.”
“Thank you for acknowledging it; she’s very appreciative.”
“Michael, it's the whole floor that’s out, seems the kids a few doors down microwaved something they shouldn’t have—“
“Me.”
“—and tripped a breaker. It’ll be back on soon though.”
“Ok, good. Sit with us?”
“We can go back to the couch…or you could just get on the bed?”
“Wow Luke, it’s a little early for that, and you're supposed to be pitching tomorrow, but if you’re offering now…”
“Nope, not offering ever again now, you loser. Just stay put.”
Luke flumps on the floor and wraps his left arm around Michael’s shoulders, snuggles into his space, bumps his fingers as they both try to pet the cat.
“You won’t tell anyone I was scared of the dark, right?”
“No Mike, never…maybe Calum.”
“NOo! You won’t!”
“You’re right, I won’t. I was scared too Mikey, for like a half-second, but you make me brave.”
Michael stops stroking Castaway and takes Luke’s right hand, “That was the fucking sappiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Luke laughs, and turns off the light on his phone where it dangles loosely in his left hand, “It was. Unfortunately, totally true.”
Castaway meows and stretches her head towards Michael’s unoccupied hand, so he resumes scratching down her back.
“We can stay here a little longer, but we’re moving when the power comes back, got it? I’m not getting all stiff sleeping on the floor with you, Michael.”
“Mmh hmmm, but we can nap here now?” Mike mutters softly, already breathing slowly where he’s turned against Luke’s chest.
“Yeah, ok, but don’t get too comfortable.”
“Couldn’ ‘nyway, you’re too stretched out.”
Luke just pulls Michael closer, glad eyerolling is a solid foundation for their relationship.
When the lights do come back on, Castaway leaps out of Michael’s lap and sprints off to look for her food in the laundry room. Her subsequent meowing doesn’t wake up either of the sleeping men, twined together on the floor of the bedroom, hands still clasped and loudly snoring.