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andromeda---galaxy · 7 years ago

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glows world-wide welcome

With every birthday that passes Lukas feels weirder and weirder. He can’t believe they only have one more semester of college before they’re done, he can’t believe they managed to get through the last six months without completely crashing and burning, or doing anything too insane. Well, getting married in Vegas was insane. But there could have been worse things.

They got a restraining order against Dour and Philip won his case against him, which resulted in a major fine, probation and five hundred hours of community service, though Lukas was really pissed off there was no jail time. They’ve been trying to ignore it since it ended, trying to focus on better shit—the fact that he’s gone, that he won’t bother them anymore. But it still comes up in therapy, and Lukas entertains the notion of not going anymore. He still needs to talk to Philip about it. He knows the Ryan shit won’t ever go away, not really, but he sorta feels like he’s talked it to death, at this point. It comes and goes like the rising tide, and right now, when he’s not being questioned about it, the waters seem calm. The catalyst is gone. The dreams have subsided. Lukas thinks, for the moment, that Ryan and all the hell of that time have retreated back into his subconscious.

“It’s still so weird we haven’t done this yet,” Philip says, looking up at Lukas from one of the middle benches on the ferry. He’s bundled up in about six different layers and is still shivering. The boat is so full that Lukas didn’t get a seat next to Philip, having given his up to an older lady and her husband.

“I was lucky I got the tickets,” Lukas says. He’d booked their Statue of Liberty Crown experience like nine months ago, before he went off on the circuit. They’d been tossing around the idea of doing this for years, but it was so damn hard to get the crown tickets that Lukas gave up at least ten times before remembering to try again. Lucky was definitely the word for getting a booking on his birthday—more so that he actually remembered with enough time to get tickets for the right date.

“It’s probably better we’re doing this when it’s cold,” Philip says, looking over his shoulder as the boat makes a slight jump. “Uh, because—in the summer it’ll be grossly hot and we’d probably die on those stairs.”

“If you lose me on the stairs just keep going,” Lukas says. “Hopefully someone will drag my body the rest of the way and they can just leave it up there.”

“Shut up,” Philip says, smacking him on the leg.

Lukas grins, leaning down and kissing him on the top of his head. Philip looks absurdly cute sitting there, and Lukas doesn’t ever wanna stop looking at him. He can barely move in all these damn layers, but it feels a lot better than being cold. “I forgot to tell you, Rose’s RSVP came in the mail.”

“Oh?” Philip asks, his eyes getting brighter. “She coming?”

“Yeah,” Lukas says. “Bringing that dude, too, so we’ll get to see him again.” He makes a face.

Philip makes one back. “Oh, well—he’s nice enough.”

Lukas scoffs. “Sure, that’s exactly what you said when we first met him.”

Philip shrugs, smiling a little bit. “That’s the last friend we needed, right?”

“Yeah,” Lukas says, his heart doing that little flip it does whenever they talk about the wedding. “Just need some of my family members, but they’ve got some time.” He keeps trying to tell himself that they’re married already, that it isn’t a big deal. But he keeps thinking in a little over a year from now we’ll be having our ceremony. People are gonna watch us get married. People I used to be terrified of knowing I was gay are gonna watch me marry Philip. The love of my life.

He feels like a dickhead picking a date so close to Christmas, but then again he’s happy with the day he chose. He loves deep winter, he loves how Philip gets at this time of year. And plus, it’s so close to his birthday, which is a bonus. The best birthday gift ever. They just bought their wedding bands the other day and Lukas nearly puked, antsy to start wearing them. They are married, after all. But Gabe is still the only person that knows, and even though this secret isn’t nearly as big as hiding the fact that they witnessed a triple murder while trying to hook up, he still feels a little pang in his gut when he realizes what they’re hiding from everybody else.

“We’ll get ‘em,” Philip says, smiling. “We haven’t had anybody say they aren’t coming yet, even though my stress level doesn’t reflect how easy it’s been for people to say yes.”

“We’re more important than the holidays,” Lukas says.

“Oh, of course,” Philip says, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, it’s not even a choice.”

Lukas blows out a breath, grinning a little bit. He looks up and sees the Statue of Liberty coming into better view. “C’mon,” he says, reaching down and taking Philip’s hand, pulling him up. “We can see it.”

“Of course we can see it,” Philip says, following along behind as Lukas maneuvers over and gets a spot at the railing. Philip shoves himself against Lukas’s side, shivering a little bit.

Lukas wraps an arm around his shoulders, tugging him in closer. “Don’t you wanna get a picture?”

“I’ll drop my camera into the water and then I’ll die.”

Lukas snorts. “It’s around your neck!”

“It’ll come loose,” Philip says simply, sniffling a little bit and holding his head high.

Lukas gazes down at him as they get closer and closer to the Statue, clicks and gasps all around them. He can’t help smiling, every day his love for Philip eclipsing any other feeling he’s ever felt. Lukas pulls him in and presses a lopsided kiss to his temple. “You’re cute as shit and you’re gonna regret it later.”

“Being cute?” Philip says, adorably.

“No,” Lukas says. “Not getting this photo.”

Philip looks up just as the boat is making it’s turn, the Statue of Liberty in the foreground and the New York skyline etched out behind, glittering in the shining sun. He makes a face like he’s debating between being stubborn and getting the shot he obviously wants, and finally he huffs, taking his camera in careful hands.

“Told you,” Lukas says, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

“Lukas don’t drop your phone into the water.”

“I won’t—”

“Lukas, don’t drop it.”

Lukas snorts, snapping a couple photos. “Babe.”

“Lukas, if you drop your phone—”

Lukas growls a little bit, leaning in and mouthing at the corner of Philip’s jaw. “Just hush and take your goddamn pictures.”

Philip smiles, smug, then gasps harshly when Lukas rattles him a little bit, edging them closer to the railing. “I’m gonna—kill you, Waldenbeck.”

“A little hesitation,” Lukas says, turning his camera into selfie mode and twisting it to face them head on. “What else are you gonna do to me, Shea?”

They both grin at the same time for the camera. “You don’t even wanna know,” Philip says, through gritted teeth.

Lukas is one thousand percent sure he does wanna know. In detail.

They stop in the shop before they start the climb and Lukas grabs a bottle of water to buy, eyeing a statue of liberty magnet that would look good on their fridge. He feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around—Philip is standing there with a green crown like Lady Liberty’s around his entire face. He’s smiling and he looks like sunshine.

“So, so cute,” Lukas says, warmth flooding through his chest. “I’m buying that for you.”

Philip laughs, pulling it off. “You don’t have to.”

“Yes,” Lukas says, taking it. “I need that in our pictures.”

“I should be buying you things,” Philip says, getting into the line as it moves closer to the counter. He wraps tentative hands around Lukas’s elbow. “It’s your birthday.”

“Um, please,” Lukas says, narrowing his eyes. “You’re my present.”

Philip hums a little bit, sliding his fingers up and down Lukas’s arm. “Maybe you can wrap me up tonight and make it official.”

Lukas’s stomach flutters a little bit.

“And I’ll wear this,” Philip says, tapping the crown. “Since I know you like it.”

Lukas scoffs. “Perfect. Just what I always wanted.”

They step forward in the line and Lukas feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. He told his dad what they were doing today, resulting in a lot of lamenting about how they’re probably gonna be living in the Statue’s crown from now on, because if they make it up there they definitely won’t want to attempt to come back down. Sure enough, DAD flashes on the screen when Lukas pulls his phone out.

“He’s probably checking if we’re still gonna go through with it,” Lukas says.

Philip snorts. “No faith, I swear.”

Lukas answers the phone. He feels Philip reach into his jacket pocket and retrieve his wallet as they approach the counter. “Hello?” Lukas says into the phone.

“Yeah, hey, Lukas,” Dad says. “Happy Birthday, son.”

“Hey, thanks,” Lukas says, putting the water bottle and the crown on the counter. Philip nods at him and Lukas nods back, stepping inside towards the lockers and trying to listen harder. “What’s going on? We’re about to go up.”

Dad laughs. “So you’re going through with it, huh?”

Lukas shakes his head. “Yes,” he says. “We’re hauling a couch up so we can start furnishing immediately.”

Dad laughs even harder and Lukas smiles.

“So what’s up?” Lukas asks again. “You really just calling to see if we’re still gonna go up?”

“No, uh,” Dad says, clearing his throat. “I might have—I might have done something. That hopefully you’re gonna, uh—you’re gonna like.”

Lukas narrows his eyes, turning to see Philip paying for their stuff. “Oh yeah?” Lukas asks, one hand on his hip. “Sounds ominous.”

“Hopefully not,” Dad says, laughing again. He sounds nervous, which isn’t something that Lukas is used to. “Uh, I wanted to let you know that, I, uh—I booked you and Philip a honeymoon.”

Lukas’s whole body goes stiff and he tries to rewind a little bit to make sure he heard correctly. “Uh—what?”

“Well, I know you two are spending a lot on the wedding, even with our help,” he says, clearing his throat again, and Lukas is reminded of how nobody knows about the goddamn Vegas winnings, “and I know you were saying you didn’t have any plans and I thought I might… I thought I might help you out and take care of this for you completely.”

Lukas is a mess of emotions. He can barely speak, and when he does it’s only a strange sort of babble, maybe some stupid noise a baby would make when it’s still learning to talk. Philip walks over, cocking his head, and Lukas tries to express his current state of mind by using facial expressions, but only manages to look upset and constipated.

“I got you two a four night stay in the Bright Angel Lodge at the Grand Canyon,” Dad says, and Lukas’s heart does something he’s never felt before, banging up against his ribs and stuttering and plain plummeting into his stomach. “It’s a little historic cabin, but I made sure you got one of the better ones with a great view, you’re feet away from the canyon—I did, uh—late January—right after that race you were talking about, about a month after the wedding.”

“Wow,” Lukas spits out, and the word sounds warped. “Dad, I, uh—”

“I know you need to talk it over with Philip,” Dad says, fast. “So take your trek today, let him know, and uh—I hope it sounds like something you might like to do. It’s all set for you if you want it, and if not, well—that’s fine too.”

“Thank you,” Lukas says, his mouth dry as he looks into Philip’s increasingly panicked eyes. “Dad—”

“Call me back later when you’ve talked about it,” Dad says, clearly trying to get off the phone. “There’s lots to do up there, beautiful scenery, I’m sure you remember from when you were little—”

Then it clicks in Lukas’s head and he feels a little dizzy.

“—and I think it’d be—it’d be nice, if you—if you want. Anyway yeah—have a great time with Lady Liberty, tell her I said hello.”

“We will,” Lukas says. “I’ll, uh—I’ll call you tonight.”

They say their goodbyes and Lukas hangs up, slipping his phone back into his pocket. When he looks up again Philip is wearing the crown and Lukas laughs, covering his mouth.

“What was that all about?” Philip asks, his serious expression not at all matching the adorable look the crown gives him.

“Uh, my dad did something cute,” Lukas says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe a little misguided but very cute.”

“What is it?” Philip asks, grabbing Lukas’s arm and letting the cold water bottle press against his skin. “Something that has to do with us?”

“He got us a honeymoon,” Lukas says, meeting Philip’s eyes again. “In a cabin at the Grand Canyon—and he totally did this because it’s what my mom and him did—they never got to have a honeymoon when they first got married, and when I was three years old they planned this Grand Canyon trip for us and we went and they always called that their honeymoon.”

Philip is grinning wildly. “You never told me this.”

“I mean, I barely remember it, I was too young—I sorta do, I think I remember more from the photos we have—”

“He—wait—” Philip’s mind seems to do some rewinding too and he blinks a bunch of times, looking cuter and cuter with that dumb crown on. “He got us a honeymoon? In the Grand Canyon?” He’s nearly yelling.

“He didn’t know where we’d wanna go!” Lukas says. “He just did it without asking!”

“He did it because that’s where you guys went,” Philip says, and he’s got this soft look in his eyes that Lukas knows means he’s essentially done for.

“What if we wanted to go somewhere else?” Lukas asks, a big family pushing past behind him to start putting their things into a locker. “We’ve talked about Colorado,” Lukas says. “I was thinking about going there for our—”

“Lukas,” Philip says, smacking his arm with the bottle. “We can go to Colorado later. Another time—this is such a big deal. That he did this. For us, the two of us together—this is—Lukas, of course we’re going on this goddamn honeymoon.” He tugs Lukas towards the wall and puts the water bottle down, so he can scan his fingerprint in and open a locker.

“What if it’s a trap?” Lukas asks, letting Philip manhandle his backpack off of him.

“How could it be a trap?” Philip scoffs.

“It could be really shitty,” Lukas says.

Philip pushes Lukas’s backpack into the locker and closes the door, making sure it’s locked. “It’s the Grand Canyon, dummy,” he says, giving Lukas the most disappointed look as he picks the water bottle back up and hands it to him. “It’s gonna be great.”

They start heading towards the entrance past the lockers, the two attendants nodding at them.

“You really wanna do it?” Lukas asks.

“You don’t?” Philip asks, looking over his shoulder at him.

Lukas realizes he’s looking for an ulterior motive when there probably isn’t one. He’s been so used to feeling the need to question his dad’s actions that this new, accepting version of him feels like a glitch in the system. He’s confused as shit.

“Is this like the old torch?” Lukas asks, peering at a stagnant flame larger than both of them put together.

“There’s a plaque,” Philip says. “Maybe if you read every once in a while.”

“I like just assuming things and probably being wrong,” Lukas says, grabbing onto Philip’s belt loops as he heads towards the stairs. “Why are you so eager to start climbing?”

“I wanna get up to the pedestal, if you don’t mind,” Philip says.

Lukas snorts, tromping up the stairs behind him. “You look cute in this jacket, I ever tell you that?”

“I was just thinking we probably should have ditched the jackets,” Philip says. “Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean we aren’t gonna sweat to death when we start up the staircase.”

“Just prepare for me to freeze up about halfway,” Lukas says. “I’m amped to see all the firemen that’ll have to come and get me.”

“If you had a fireman fetish you should have told me,” Philip says, looking over his shoulder as he keeps going. “We could definitely make that happen for you.”

Lukas thinks about it a little too hard and nearly trips up the stairs. Philip looks super happy with that reaction, a smug little grin on his face, and Lukas takes a few big leaps to catch up with him.

There aren’t a ton of people here at the moment and they walk out onto the outside rim of the pedestal without much fanfare, instantly greeted with a beautiful view of New York. Philip sighs happily, taking a few photos, ushering Lukas into the shot and coaxing a smile out of him.

“You’re not still adding to your portfolio are you?” Lukas asks, grinning for the photo.

“Not unless I get something really good,” Philip says. “I still have to do the printing and arranging but I’m pretty much done with my choices.”

“Okay,” Lukas says, and then he pulls a stupid face, sticking one finger into each of his nostrils.

“Oh, beautiful,” Philip says. “No, Lukas, I lied—this is the cover photo.”

Lukas drops his hands and laughs, shuffling up close to Philip as he lowers his camera. Lukas plants a kiss on his mouth, reaching around and sneaking his fingers under the jacket.

“Okay,” Philip says, laughing against Lukas’s mouth. “Let’s go around once and then back inside, start this death climb.”

Lukas never really focuses on how tall the two of them are until they’re trying to climb an almost 200 step staircase that’s the size of a small pantry. They both have to bend over just to make it under the stair above their heads, and Lukas thinks he made a mistake in going first because of how Philip keeps raving about the view.

“I mean,” Philip says, panting a little bit now, “I haven’t gotten a better view of your ass since…well, since…you know, the other night…”

“You’re the worst,” Lukas laughs, shaking his head. “How long have we been doing this?”

“Five minutes,” Philip says, taking a swig from the bottle.

“A lifetime,” Lukas responds. The next family is a little ways ahead of them and there’s no one breathing down Philip’s neck and trying to make them go faster, which Lukas thinks is good. “Okay, babe, distract me.”

“With what?” Philip asks.

“I don’t know,” Lukas says, his legs straining with every new step.

“Wedding checklist?” Philip asks.

“Sure,” Lukas says, since they haven’t actually gone over everything in a while. He likes doing this. It makes him feel pretty accomplished, considering how early in the game it still is. They’re right on track, according to the websites he’d already deleted from his browser history.

“Outfits,” Philip says.

“Done and already hanging in our respective closets in Tivoli.”

“I hate that we’re gonna be apart the night before, just to remind you,” Philip says. “Whose idea was that? We’re married.”

“Another reminder that no one knows that,” Lukas says, laughing. “It does suck, but it’s one night. It’ll be fine…I’m sure.” He’s not so sure. It was definitely their parents’ idea, some kind of old fashioned tradition that they wanted them to take part in. It’s definitely dumb, considering they’ve been living together for so long and are essentially attached at the hip. But their houses are close enough to each other that it won’t be much of an issue if one of them needs the other.

“It sucks,” Philip sighs, like he won’t be budged. Lukas looks over his shoulder and smiles at him, but Philip pouts. He pulls the crown off and lets it hand around his neck. “Venue, decorations.”

Lukas’s thighs are screaming. “The barn, duh. Uh—Helen and Gabe are all ready with the decorations and shit. They showed me that picture with all the flowers, you signed off on it—uh, I don’t know, Dad and Sarah said they were helping…I think they’ve got it under control.”

“Maybe we should check on that,” Philip says.

“Maybe we should stop and rest at the little platform up there,” Lukas says.

“Maybe absolutely yes,” Philip says. “How many more steps til then?”

“Like ten,” Lukas says, heaving. “We’ve—got this.”

“Okay,” Philip says. “Uh. Rings and ring bearer.”

“Rings done,” Lukas says, picturing where they locked them away in the coffee table drawer. “Uh—are we really gonna make Izzy and Samson do this? Will they be capable?”

Philip laughs as Lukas steps up onto the rest platform, and he turns around and pulls him up the last couple of steps. Philip collapses against him, still laughing into Lukas’s neck. “Worst comes to worst,” he says, “if they can’t do it themselves after some practice then Sarah is gonna walk them down. I talked to her.”

“Okay good,” Lukas says, arm wrapped around Philip’s waist. He knows that’s gonna be the cutest fucking thing and he can hardly wait to see it in action. He doesn’t care that they’re ‘that couple’ that involve their dogs in their wedding. “Uh—photographer? Can’t be you.”

“You know I asked Jennifer from my workshop,” Philip says. “I told you that.”

“Oh yeah,” Lukas says, trying to catch his breath, vaguely recalling the conversation. Philip hands him the water bottle and he takes a sip. More like a gulp. “Okay, food and drink—”

“Helen took care of all the catering and shit,” Philip says. “Got that open bar for a good price—”

“So we’re gonna forget this wedding too?” Lukas asks. Philip smacks him on the stomach and Lukas doubles over a little bit, laughing. “No, fine—good.”

“They come with this whole team of servers so we don’t have to do it.” He takes the water bottle back.

“Were you planning on serving people, weirdo?” Lukas asks. “At your own wedding?”

“I don’t know,” Philip says. “Maybe.” He sucks in a big breath and peeks over the banister. It’s so weird and mechanical looking in here, and it’s super strange to think that they’re actually inside the Statue of Liberty. Just casually discussing their upcoming nuptials. “Let’s keep going,” Philip says.

“Fine,” Lukas says. “But I wanna be in back this time.”

Philip smiles at him, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. He walks back over to the stairs and bends his head a little bit, continuing the climb, and Lukas follows. It feels a little easier watching Philip’s beautiful ass as they go.

“Tables and chairs and shit are covered,” Lukas says. “Dad has everything for the reception and Sarah got some long benches for the ceremony.”

“She came through with the arch, too,” Philip says. “It’s really similar to the one we had in Vegas, which is cute. We can compare the photos later when people find out.”

Lukas is a little terrified of the people finding out thing. He sucks in a breath and keeps trudging along, trying not to feel panicked and trapped in this small space. He just focuses on Philip’s ass in those jeans.

“And Gabe did his thing online,” Philip says, looking over his shoulder. “So he’s ordained or whatever. Which is cool, he’s excited.”

“When did he do that?” Lukas asks.

“I think it was like day before yesterday,” Philip says. “He texted me about it and I just remembered right now.”

“That’s awesome,” Lukas says, grinning. He’s so goddamn glad Gabe is feeling better, because the off days come and go and worry them every damn time. He can’t wait to stand there and have Gabe marry them. It was really an amazing idea on Philip’s part.

“Yeah,” Philip says, breathing hard. “And uh—I’m almost done making the guest book—”

“Can’t wait to see it,” Lukas says. He’d tried to help a couple times since Philip has had so damn much on his plate, but Philip insisted on working on it on his own.

“I’m using some of those dumb ones,” Philip says, laughing. “With Izzy. We need to take some more with Samson I can put in there.”

“He fooled us thinking he could sit still in the beginning,” Lukas says, trying to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth. “Little maniac.” He feels like he’s been climbing stairs for years.

“Imagine if we adopt a dog every time we get that drunk,” Philip says.

“Hopefully we’re never that drunk again,” Lukas says, gripping the handrail and closing his eyes tight. “Oh my God, my legs are gonna fall off.”

“Lukas, you like—you run, you’re athletic—”

“No, I’m not,” Lukas whines, each step like dragging twenty pounds of meat behind him tied to his ankles. “I’m—a sack of couch garbage—”

Philip snorts. “Shut up, you’re so dumb.”

“But you—”

“But I love you, yes,” Philip says.

“It’s so dark in here,” Lukas says, sliding his hand along the wall. “I don’t even think we’re in the same place anymore—we’re probably not even in the Statue, Philip.”

Philip snorts. “Yeah, I’m sure we’re in some other random Statue that looks like all the videos we watched on the internet.”

Lukas groans.

“The only other thing I can think of is the DJ and we got that Scratch guy travelling for us,” Philip says.

“That dude was weird,” Lukas says. “He kept being like…overdramatically accepting of us being gay. Like, it felt fake.”

“I think he was just being nice,” Philip says, laughing.

“Maybe he was looking at you just a little too much,” Lukas says, narrowing his eyes. He feels like he’s being petulant and dumb but also he’s super exhausted and ready to just curl up on one of these tiny steps and live here already. But he definitely doesn’t wanna prove his dad right.

“Oh, first he’s faking acceptance and now he’s into me?” Philip asks. “I think you just had some weird thing against him.”

Lukas shrugs and hums a little bit. He’s being stupid.

“You wanna get somebody else?” Philip asks. “The change fee wasn’t too much, and it’s still early, if you really want—”

“It’s fine,” Lukas says. It’s not really that important. None of the other DJs were any better or worse. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

Philip stops and turns on the step he’s on, putting the water bottle by his feet. “You sure?” he asks. “Because I really don’t care, there were a few other people on our list—”

Lukas steps up so he’s on the stair below him. He wraps his arms around Philip’s waist and tucks his head under Philip’s chin. “Baby,” he says. “As long as we get married—officially and in front of our friends and family—you could hire a homeless dude to be our DJ and I’d be okay with it.”

Philip snorts, bending over a little bit and hugging him. “You really sure?”

“Yes,” Lukas says. “He’s probably amazing. I’m just being dumb because I wish we were in the crown already.”

“Okay, let’s keep going, pissy birthday boy,” Philip says. He turns a little bit and looks up. “I can see the light.”

“Hey,” Lukas says, tugging on Philip’s shoulders. Philip looks down at him and knows what he wants just by the look on his face. He presses a big kiss to Lukas’s lips.

“This would be a really cute picture,” Philip says, kissing him again. “I wish we had someone following us around to take pictures whenever we’re cute.”

“But we’re cute a lot,” Lukas says, raking his hand through Philip’s hair. “Cute and sexy sometimes…you know, in private…”

The corner of Philip’s mouth quirks up. “I feel like you’re asking for something right now that would definitely not involve a personal photographer. Unless we’re our own personal photographers. Us and a tripod.”

“Reading my mind.” Lukas kisses him again. “Mmmm, maybe, maybe,” he says, getting some really nice images in his head. “Could be interesting to, you know—see what we look like from like—different angles—”

“Oh my God, Lukas,” Philip says, hands still braced on Lukas’s shoulders. “Stop trying to turn me on when we’re literally inside the Statue of Liberty.”

Lukas hums, inching his hands inside Philip’s jacket. “You know, just….thinking. Musing.”

“I know you’re picturing a sexy little movie, but in real life Izzy and Samson would be howling at the door and banging on it like a pair of Godzillas,” Philip says, pressing another quick kiss to Lukas’s mouth before he turns around, grabs the water and continues scaling the stairs. “He’s a terrible influence on her.”

Lukas snorts, shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s…you’re probably right, yeah.”

“The only thing I’m eight thousand percent sure about is the rehearsal dinner,” Philip says. “We’re doing the taco bar, and then we're gonna practice.”

“Yes,” Lukas says, heart beating heavily as they keep tromping on and on. He feels like this is definitely closer to five hundred steps.

“Oh babe,” Philip says. “I see it—we’re almost there—”

“What?” Lukas asks. “Really?” He tries to peer around Philip but can only see the damn stairs. But it does look a little brighter up above them.

Philip speeds up. “Yeah, yeah,” he says.

Lukas follows him and after ten more steps and fire coursing through his leg muscles, they finally goddamn make it, Lukas nearly crashing his entire face into Philip’s ass when he stops at the top of the stairs. Philip snorts, looking over his shoulder, and reaches down to haul Lukas up into a straight standing position again. They stand there waiting for a family to get their pictures taken, and then the attendant sitting on a really uncomfortable looking stool waves them forward.

Philip takes his hand. There are a bunch of little windows and the brightness of the day streams through them, the cold air too. It really looks like they’re in the crown now—they can see all the ridges of her hair above them, and when Philip drags him over to the window they get a view of New York that’s beyond anything Lukas has ever seen before—they can look down and see the damn book the statue is holding.

“Whoa,” Lukas says, pulling his phone out of his pocket and taking a photo.

“So cool,” Philip says, taking a few photos of his own. He positions Lukas all over the place and takes his picture, and they manage a couple selfies before Philip notices something.

“Hey,” Philip says. “There’s an open window over there.”

“Are you planning on sticking your camera out that window?” Lukas asks, following him, another family invading the crown behind them. “You—who was terrified of taking photos anywhere near the side of the ferry earlier?”

“That’s water,” Philip says, putting their nearly empty bottle under his arm and adjusting the camera strap around his wrist.

“This is like, twenty stories high,” Lukas says, laughing.

“Still better than water,” Philip says. He holds tight to his camera and sticks his hand out the window, holding it up towards the statue’s hand and the torch, clicking a couple times before turning the camera to face them.

“Oh man, we gotta send this one to the parents like, immediately,” Lukas says, leaning in.

“Yes,” Philip says. They mash their cheeks together and grin as Philip takes the picture through the closed window next to the open one. “Okay kiss me,” Philip says.

“Yes sir,” Lukas says, and he does just that. He keeps kissing him until Philip makes a little noise against his mouth, laughing and pushing at him with his free hand.

“I got it,” Philip says, grinning, their noses brushing together.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure,” Lukas says, smiling back at him. Philip nudges into him a little bit, blushing, and Lukas’s stomach flips. He loves how they flirt, still, after all these years. He knows it’s never gonna get old.

Philip pulls his hand back in and looks at the pictures, and Lukas gasps. “Oh shit, those are so cool,” he says.

“Yes!” Philip exclaims. “I love them.”

Lukas leans in and kisses him on the cheek because he can’t fucking help it. He feels rejuvenated after their climb, but he doesn’t think about it too hard or his legs start to hurt.

“You guys want your picture taken?” the attendant asks them, a small smile on her face.

“Could you?” Philip asks, politely, even though Lukas knows that’s essentially what they’re there for.

“Of course,” the woman says. Philip undoes his wrist strap and hands his camera over delicately, wrapping his arms around Lukas’s middle, and edging them back towards the windows. They fall into what’s become Lukas’s favorite pose for photos people take of them, and he leans his head onto Philip’s a little bit, slinging an arm around his shoulder. The woman takes a couple, counting down.

“Oh, oh, put your crown on,” Lukas says, tapping Philip on the arm.

“Oh yeah,” Philip says, pulling it onto his head. Lukas beams looking at him.

“So cute,” the woman says. She takes a couple more and nods at them, handing Philip’s camera back.

“Thank you!” Philip says, taking it.

Lukas sees a bunch of people coming up the stairs and he sighs, taking a look at Philip. “Think our time is just about up.”

“Ugh.” Philip takes more pictures through the window. “We should be able to live here after making that climb.”

“I feel you, baby,” Lukas says. He turns towards the window, peering out. At all the people down in the courtyard, all the water surrounding the island, and New York in the distance. Their city. Their home.

The climb down almost feels worse, which isn’t usually the case, and Lukas nearly tumbles down like an asshole about a hundred times. Finally they take the last couple steps and race back outside like they’re drunk, and Lukas doesn’t think he’s had a workout like this in a long time.

They both sit down in the courtyard against the brick wall and stare up at the statue.

“We gotta go get my backpack,” Lukas huffs.

“Yeah, we will,” Philip says, stripping off one layer.

“You wanna take more pictures?” Lukas asks, leaning on Philip’s arm.

“In like…ten minutes, maybe,” Philip says, pulling the crown off again. “We’ve got Ellis Island and then we’re gonna go back home and I’m gonna make you dinner.”

Lukas laughs.

“Don’t laugh at the idea of me making you dinner.”

“I’m not,” Lukas says. “I’m…very excited.”

Philip scoffs. “Make fun all you want.”

“No, I’m—super excited for the Philip-loves-Lukas birthday special, whatever it may be.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

Lukas sits up as fast as he can in his diminished condition and cups Philip’s face, pressing a long, sloppy kiss to his mouth. Philip laughs, tangling one hand in Lukas’s hair, pulling him down a little bit and kissing him harder. When the kiss breaks Lukas lays down in Philip’s lap, staring up at him now rather than at the Statue of Liberty. “I’m proud of us. We seem like we’re pretty prepared for the wedding a whole year in advance.”

“Yeah,” Philip says. “Which is good, like—we have plenty of time to figure it all out and make sure it’s all right and what we want. Time to change shit if we need to. You know, like a DJ you think is creeping on your fiancé slash secret husband.”

Lukas snorts, covering his face. “Everything about that sentence.”

Philip laughs too and every time he hears it Lukas is sure he wants to bottle the sound—he could put it in a seashell, something he can hold to his ear in those rare moments when he’s alone, too far from Philip to draw the lyrical sound from him in real time. Lukas moves his hand and sees that the sun is behind Philip’s head, shimmering amongst the curls of his hair, the cold wind whipping through it.

“I think it’s so, so nice,” Philip says, “that your dad did that…for us, with the honeymoon.”

“Yeah,” Lukas says.

“And calling about it on your birthday is just…adorable.”

“I know you like it,” Lukas says, with a snort. “I can tell you’re really into the idea.”

“We don’t have to go,” Philip says. “If you don’t want to, we can—we’ll figure out something else—”

“We’re gonna go,” Lukas says, and Philip breaks out into a grin. “I’m gonna call him when we get home, before everybody comes over.”

“We’re gonna have our honeymoon in the Grand Canyon?” Philip asks, eyes wide.

“We’re gonna have our honeymoon in the Grand Canyon,” Lukas repeats. “Thanks to Dad. Overstepping and being cute at the same time.” He’s actually touched by it, when he stops to really look at the situation. It means a hell of a lot. Especially because it’s sentimental. Something that meant something to him, so he wants to pass it on to Lukas and Philip. It feels like the final state of acceptance. Putting them where he and mom once were. Where the three of them were as a family.

And Lukas loves how much Philip loves it.

“Thank you,” Philip says, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to Lukas’s lips. “We’ve got so much to look forward to.”

Graduation. Philip’s exhibition. A couple races. Then everything that comes with the wedding, including the honeymoon a month later.

And then the future. Whatever that means.

Lukas arches up a little bit, nuzzling their noses together. “I can’t wait.”

#philkas #eyewitness #philip shea #lukas waldenbeck #my writing #the boys visit the statue of liberty #there are only three-four fics remaining in college verse my friends #then i'm writing that star AU and then y'all will be rid of me

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