Author Notes: Okay, so I am a die-hard BLer, but Cari, Kels and I challenged each other to write a Lucas/Peyton one-shot involving a song and an object. My object was a flower pot, and the song I had to use was Backstreet Boys' 'Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)'. So here it is, in all it's flangst glory. I hope you enjoy.

Nothing's Like It Used To Be

"Lucas, watch out for the-" Peyton's warning was too late as Lucas tripped over the edge of the rug that wasn't quite straightened. The expensive flower vase in his hands went flying and landed on the wooden floor with a loud thump.

She sighed helplessly as she bent down to pick the pieces up, inspecting each one to see the full extent of the damage to her mother's favorite vase. A guilt-ridden Lucas ran a hand through his hair as he watched his girlfriend somberly clean up.

"Hey, Peyt, I'm sorry. I just didn't see…" he trailed off when she stood up and brushed past him, making her way briskly into the kitchen.

"It's fine, Lucas," she said, though her tone told him otherwise. "It was only a vase. It doesn't matter." Peyton came back into the living room with a dustpan and brush in her hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What does it look like?" she retorted as she began sweeping up the mess, "It's ruined."

Lucas's hands stopped her as he took the dustpan and brush away. She stood up and held a hand to her forehead, "What are you doing?" she questioned, the irritation and exhaustion was evident in her voice.

"I'll fix it," he promised. "With a bit of superglue and patience, I'm sure I can get it almost new."

"What's the point?" his girlfriend asked him as she sat down on the couch. At first he thought she was talking about the vase, but as she went on, he gathered otherwise. "It's a sign, Lucas. It's like the whole universe is working against us to remind us that we're not supposed to be moving in together. It's a conspiracy!" she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Lucas stood with the dustpan in his hands, the broken pieces of the red vase sitting patiently as if they were waiting to be fixed or disposed of. Setting it down on a nearby table, Lucas crouched down in front of his girlfriend and took her hands in his.

"Peyton, I know it seems that way, but you've got to have a little bit of faith in us. I mean, if we weren't supposed to be together, then why are we here now?" he questioned. "If the Powers That Be were so set against us then Brooke would never have left me for Nathan, and Jake and Haley wouldn't be together now."

Peyton didn't seem too convinced, "So why are they so happy and we're so… why do things go so wrong for us?" she sniffed as she wiped away some of her tears. "Are we just supposed to settle for each other now because we don't have Brooke or Jake?"

Lucas looked downwards. He had to admit, it was kind of true. Ever since Nathan and Haley's breakup three years ago, things had begun to unravel in everybody's relationships. While he and Brooke had supposedly been happy when college started, it was difficult to keep up their long distance relationship between him in New York, and Brooke back in Tree Hill.

He suddenly got a call one day from Brooke informing him that she wanted to break-up. He'd taken the first flight out of New York back home to salvage their relationship only to find her with Nathan.

Lucas had been hurt, obviously, and it took him a while to accept his ex-girlfriend being with his brother. And even then, it was more tolerance than acceptance.

But nobody was prepared for the next pairing that had popped up. Jake and Haley somehow had fallen in love between her divorce and his breakup with Peyton three months earlier. Of course, things got messy and eventually, after lots of fights, tears and backstabbing, Lucas and Peyton had been left with each other.

Well, not exactly left but… they'd just returned to where they had been way back when Lucas had joined the basketball team in their junior year.

Lucas never returned to New York. Though it was difficult seeing the girl he'd claimed to be 'The One' going home with his brother, and for Peyton, the guy she'd fought for playing house with Lucas' best friend; they could at least find some peace with one another.

Now, eight months into their new relationship, the blondes had decided it was time to move in together. Though, things hadn't been going so great.

It didn't necessarily mean that 'they' were wrong.

"Peyton, I'm convinced that this is how it should be. Otherwise it would never have happened. This is what we've both been waiting and fighting for." He nudged her gently, "Come on, the old Peyton Sawyer wouldn't have cared about a broken vase… a broken CD maybe…" his joke edged out a small chuckle from her through her tears.

"The old Peyton Sawyer liked that vase," she replied, though her mood did seem to be lifted.

"I'll fix it, okay?" Gathering her head into his hands, Lucas placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "So are you going to help me bring in the rest of the boxes or are we just going to live on a couch, no TV and a refrigerator with cheese and three-day old pizza in it?"

"We do have a radio," she reminded him as she got up and turned the small electronic device on. She fiddled with the tuner dial until it settled down and began blasting out some cheesy pop music. Her laughter filled their living room as she pointed to the radio. "Oh my gosh!"

Lucas cringed, "Is that the Backstreet Boys?"

Peyton nodded, "God, I totally forgot about this song." She sighed, "I had to hear it over and over and over again because it was Brooke's favorite song when we were, like, ten. She made us make up a dance to it and-" Peyton turned to see Lucas visibly straighten at his ex-girlfriend's name. "Let's see what else is on," she decided, flicking the dial back and forth until it settled on something more suited to their musical tastes.

They continued to bring in boxes and pieces of furniture to furnish their new home, and by the late afternoon, Peyton had even started to unpack before retiring to the bedroom for a well-earned rest.

Lucas, though he'd promised he would sleep after some basketball game on the TV, spent the night alone at the kitchen table, working as patiently and as quietly as he could to fix the vase he'd broken.

It meant more to her, and their relationship, than he'd previously thought.

And one way or another, he would fix it – hoping that by fixing the vase, he could also fix the insecurities that she held in their relationship.

"Lucas, the shower is free!" Peyton yelled the next morning as she left the bedroom entered their living room, drying her damp hair roughly with a towel. "Lucas?" she repeated as she scanned the apartment for her boyfriend.

Lucas jerked awake at the kitchen table, a piece of newspaper attached to his cheek. Pealing it away, he rubbed his eyes and greeted his girlfriend.

"What time is it?" he asked, searching for a clock. Peyton reached into the box marked 'clocks' and peered inside.

"Around eight in the morning. Have you been here all night?" she asked. He nodded and presented her with the vase he'd finished in the early hours of the morning.

"Uh, I fixed it." He told her proudly. She gasped in amazement at the jigsawed-together vase, complete with various chips and cracks.

"Lucas…"

"Now, we probably can't put water in it or anything, but I figure we could by some plastic flowers and fool everybody." Lucas explained.

"You didn't have to do this," she said to him as she picked it up and looked it over.

"I did," Lucas replied with a nod. "Because I need you to know that we're not like Brooke and Nathan or Jake and Haley. We're different. We're like this vase."

"Broken?" Peyton frowned. "Fixable? Non-returnable?"

"Unique." He finished. Lucas pulled Peyton onto his lap and kissed her neck.

"Ah," she rested her head against his, "This is a symbolic thing." She noted.

"See, the vase is flawed, and these cracks tell a story of how it came to be, but that's what makes the vase our vase. It's just… unique." Lucas explained.

"Just like us?" she asked. He nodded.

"Just like us."

The End.