Bollocks! I'm alive? Haha… just kidding… anyway…

I don't own Lukas, Mathias, or any other character names you may recognize. Would I be here if I did?

… actually… I probably would… Me gusta fanfiction… like… a lot. I may need rehab.

"And we want to meet him."

The phrase danced around my head as I stared at the muted television screen. Mathias was working the night shift at the coffee house he worked at and had left the apartment three hours ago. I had lain in our bed for about an hour and a half before realizing I wasn't going to get sleep tonight. I don't know why, but even since we started living together, I haven't been able to sleep without him. Luckily, classes were over for the year and I didn't have to worry about being exhausted for classes.

"What?"

"We want to meet Mathias, Lukas."

A commercial for some movie came on the television and I stared at it- not at all taking in what it was about, who was in it, or what it was even called. It ended and the crime show I was watching came back on. I watched as the main character dangled from the ledge of a building, screaming the other main character's name. If Mathias was watching this with me, he'd be clutching me- screaming at the woman not to fall (because apparently, television characters can hear people on the other side of the screen). He'd laugh in relief when the woman was pulled to safety by one of her coworkers, and then would seduce me into the bedroom when the two main characters started having sex.

"M-m-meet him? Meet Mathias?"

"Of course, darling. Your father and I were thinking that when you visit for the summer, he'd come with you."

The show ended and the next show came on, but I turned it back on mute and got off the couch. I went into the kitchen and scooped myself a large bowl of some ice cream Mathias had bought ("I watch this guy on TV, Lulu! And it looks delicious!"). It was carrot cake flavored- something I wasn't very fond of, but I ate anyway because it was there. I curled back up on the couch- breaking my own, "no-food-in-the-living-room-or-else-no-sex" rule.

Oh well, I thought sleepily. I guess I can't have sex with myself tonight. I chuckled at the thought and took a bite of ice cream.

"Bring… bring Mathias?"

"Of course, darling. Is that a problem?"

Hours passed and I watched from the little balcony as the sun started to peak over the buildings across the street. My eyes felt incredibly drowsy, but I couldn't sleep. Pretty soon, it got too bright outside for me outside and I shuffled sleepily back inside. The coffee I had drunk at two thirty had run its race and the crash was hitting me like Superman was throwing bricks at me. I closed all the curtains and blinds and settled back into the couch.

"N-no. Of course not, but Mathias doesn't like when I buy expensive things for him unless it's his birthday or Christmas. He won't… like it… if I just buy him an expense plane ticket out of nowhere. His birthday is next week, but I already bought him a present."

"Well, then just tell him it's a birthday present from his future in-laws."

Present from his future in-laws.

His future in-laws.

In-laws.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

I was finally, finally, drifting off to sleep, when Mathias alarm clock went off. I groaned and rolled over, only to fall off the couch. I had forgotten to turn it off its usual time. I grabbed the pillow off the couch and tried to block out the sound, but a muffled beeping still came through the pillow- loud enough that a headache slowly snuck its way into my brain. I hated the stupid thing (I always woke up an hour before it went off) but Mathias needed it to wake up in time for work. If I tried, he'd pull me back into bed and we'd make him late for whatever he needed to get to.

"I... I'll talk to him about it."

"Of course, darling! I need to get to the restaurant, Lukas. I'll talk to you later! Have a wonderful evening."

"Good night, Mother. Pass it on to Father."

Suddenly, the beeping stopped. That surprised me- the damn thing had to be shut off manually. Someone had probably broken into the apartment, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to sleep.

"Please do not take the brown vase. It was a gift from my grandmother. Take anything else but that."

I heard a muffled chuckle and the pillow was taken gently from my head.

"Yer so cute, Lulu. Did ya stay up just for me?"

I smiled sleepily. It was Mathias, home from work. He looked tired himself, but it didn't stop him from picking me up and carrying me bridal style to our bedroom. He laid me gently on my side of the bed and- after changing out of his work clothes and into something he could sleep in- he slid in next to me and held me close.

"Why didn't ya sleep, Lulu? Weren't ya tired?"

"Duvet jeg ikke kansoveuten deg." I mumbled sleepily, not realizing I had slipped into Norwegian. It only happened when I was tired, upset, or extremely excited. It had happened to me once or twice in class- the teacher would ask me a question after I had had a long night with no sleep, and the whole class would burst into laughter when the teacher had to ask me to speak English.

Mathias chuckled breathily and kissed my neck. "Some people think Germanic based languages sound ugly, but I think ya make it sexy."

"I said, you know I cannot sleep without you. Annoying."

He laughed as he began unbuttoning my shirt. "But that's why ya love me. Ying and yang make a perfect couple, Lukey." He began kissing my chest. "Ya tired, Lu?"

I moaned softly and nodded. He came back up and kissed me softly, chuckling seductively.

"I know what'll wake ya up for a while. Then we can sleep the day away."

…

"Um…"

I had started to tell Mathias about my parents, but stopped. He looked up at me, spaghetti hanging from his mouth. He waited for a second, but I looked away.

"Never mind. It can wait."

He slurped up the food and wiped his mouth. "No, it's ok."

"No, really. It is not important."

He laughed. "So adorable. Tell me, Lu."

I bit my lip and stared at my plate. I can't do this! I can't do this! I definitely can't do this.

"Lukas? Yer not breaking up with me, are ya?"

"Hva? Nei!Selvfølgeligikke!."

"English, Lukey."

"Of course not!" He let out the breath he had been holding in. "I just… I am going to… Norway. For two months."

I bit my lip and- for a second- I caught a glimpse of sadness in his face before he switched it for a smile. "That's good. I know ya miss yer parents and friends there. It'll be good for ya. It'll be good for us. A little separation will make us want each other that much more, I think."

"Yeah, I guess…" I trailed off, trying to think about how I was going to tell him the next part.

"And there's more, isn't there? Just tell me, Lukas. I won't get mad- promise."

I looked into his eyes and broke. "Myparentswantyoutocomewith!"

He suddenly smiled and laughed softly. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "One more time, babe. A little slower this time."

I took a deep breath and sighed. "My parents… they want you to… come… with."

His face fell again. "Oh."

It was silent for a few seconds- nothing but the sound of silverware scraping on plates.

"I can't, Lukas." I looked back up. His head rested in one hand, and the elbow of that hand was on the table. "Ya know how I feel about ya buying me expensive things. And I can't just leave work. I mean, I could. But I need the money. I want to go, Lukas- I really do. I just can't afford it."

We were silent for a few seconds- once again just the sound of forks scraping against the plates. I wasn't sure if he was watching me, but I was staring at my plate in deep concentration. I heard him get up.

"Are ya done with that?" Mathias was referring to my plate.

I nodded, and he took it from me- kissing my forehead sweetly in the process. He started the water in the sink and began washing the dishes, but I stayed at the table, wringing my hands. I had already paid for the tickets, and my parents seemed set on him going with.

You've met his parents! And they didn't even like you! Why can't he just let go of his pride and go with? You're parents already like him, and they've barely even talked to him! Tell him what your parents said! Tell him what they said about being his future in-laws! Say it! Say it out loud!

"Jævlahodet!Hvorfor erdette så vanskelig?"

And for some reason, I started hitting my head on the table. After a few whacks, Mathias grabbed my head.

"Luke! What are you doing? Stop that!"

"Dumtabellen. Stupid table."

Mathias laughed. "Silly Lukey. Why did you that?"

I groaned. "It is… another thing my parents said… well, what my mother said. I knew you would react to it like that, so she told me to... say something. But it is awkward, because I do not know where this is going and I do not want you to get mad and leave me and…"

I trailed off and looked up at Mathias. He looked confused but humored by my rambling. "I won't get mad. I promise. What did she say? It wasn't insulting, was it?"

I shook my head. "She said… anser det som engave fradin fremtidigesvigerfamilie..."

He chuckled. "Which means…?"

"Consider it a gift from your future in-laws… for your birthday."

He looked at me oddly and I looked away. Some people (Mathias's parents) wondered why we were together. He was a happy-go-lucky, social guy- unsure of his degree while struggling financially to make rent and school payments (his parents didn't make much money). He had played soccer (futbal- in most of the world- but here, football was completely different) for most of his life- starting when he was seven and he had been the star of the team at West Lake High School.

He only had two true friends- Bernwald Oxenstierna and Emil Stielsson- but he had been one of the most popular kids throughout his whole school life and it had been a huge shock when he had come out of the closet as bisexual our senior year. People accepted him- of course- but it was a little strange to them for a while. His parents still thought it was a phase and that he'd settle down with a nice girl and give them more grandchildren.

I was a sickly, emotionless-to-most-I-met, miniature adult- not having to work a day while I got my degree in business management. When I graduated, I was guaranteed three of the branches of my father's five star hotel branch (my brother getting the other three hotels and my sister getting my mother's restaurant). I'd never played sports in my life; most of my time had been spent practicing and playing my violin.

Growing up, I had two true friends back in Oslo- Aesa Martinlein and Maeva Johnsen- and I had a few friends at Warrington Academy- Tino Väinämöinen from Finland and Nebula Wonder. My parents were fully supportive of my sexuality and were proud of me for staying true to myself when I came out freshman year. My brother Rulf felt a little awkward, but my sister Inge was just as supportive.

I had been sick most of my life with a terrible genetic disease called Multiple Hallucination Durations Disorder. Before the medication had been developed the summer between my junior and senior years, I spent a week every two months or so- deathly ill with fevers, hallucinations that had me screaming and tossing anything I could get my hands on, and pains that were more or less real (the pains that were real were caused by me basically attacking myself while hallucinating). The medication I had now had made things a lot better. Now when I was sick, it was for two to four days and it was just felt like if I had bad pneumonia (of course, I can only assume because having actual pneumonia before would have killed me).

"Lukas?"

I looked back up. "What?"

He chuckled nervously. "I've been trying to talk to ya for five minutes. Yer so cute when ya space out like that, Lu."

I hugged him and buried my head in his shoulder. "I really want you to come with. Behage?"

I thought I had mumbled it, but the way Mathias hugged me tighter let me know he heard it as well.

"Lukas." He pulled me away from him and stared into my eyes. Bright blue eyes full of humor stared past blonde lashes into my own sickly pale, near violet eyes, trying to read my apathy. "Give me until Saturday. I just… really need to think about this."

I nodded. "Of course. But…ah… I already…bought the… tickets."

Mathias groaned. "Lukas…"

It was at that point that my eyes decided to betray me. Tears fell from my eyes and I wiped them away. "I just… I… I hoped maybe if I got them in advance…" I took a deep, shaky breath. "Maybe you would be more open to it. I just… I cannot be without you that long, but I need to see my family. But I also need you, and Gud bevaremeg... I do not know what I will do if I lose you. Every day, I worry about I worry about whether you are actually going through a phase, like your parents say, and I know you will say I should not worry about that, but I am so unsure of everything around me that my brain can't help but doubt everything I have og jeg bare...Gud, jeg vil bare at du-Jeg trenger deg. Jeg vil alltidtrengedeg og...Jeg elsker deg,Mathias. Jeg kan ikkesi detofte, menjegelsker deg. I love you, Mathias."

He pulled me into a hug and rocked me softly. "I love you too, Lu. And if you really want me to, I'll come with."

I looked into his eyes with surprise. "Really? You will?"

He nodded. "Of course. It really is fair; I mean… ya've met my parents. Sure, they didn't like ya, but ya still met 'em. I should get to meet yer parents. And a free trip to Europe? I must be stupid for even denying it. Of course I'll go."

He grabbed my chin softly and pulled me into a kiss- one of those sweet ones that made my heart melt into my stomach. He kissed away my tears (a terrible cliché, but Mathias was sappy like that) and touched his lips just below my jaw.

"Don't cry, Lu." He mumbled into his skin. "I can't say no to that."

Aesa was right. I am spoiled.

I doubt anyone has any idea how long this story has just sat on my computer… being basically finished. My life has been so busy recently- between my summer play, my school play, the campus play, band and choir stuff, and senior year- that I've done almost no writing for months (as well as putting off filling out college applications)…

I blame David.

Hahaha… no. But seriously… it's been a long time you guys. Thank God for early releases (my school's equivalency to late starts) and no play on Wednesday. I literally haven't seen my youngest brother in… like… a month (but somehow, I was able to make it to Culver's twice a week; D). But, on the bright side, I met this kid named Yveney (hell, I aint foreign) - called Jimmy- who was from Russia (along with two other Russians, but they don't count, because I don't really like one of them and the other is technically from the Ukraine). And he's such a Russia creep, every time I talked to him reminded me of dear ol' Ivan (like… seriously. Unhealthy obsession with my hair).

Anyway, I'm much too lazy at the moment to put down translations, and Lukas mostly makes them clear enough in the plot, so if you're really that desperate, just GoogleTranslate or ask your friendly neighborhood Norwegian who is actually fluent in Norwegian and not like me, who likes bragging more about her Norwegian heritage more than the German, even though I'm half-half (like Thomas Finnegan! Only… not half muggle).

And if anyone caught that Castle shout out, props! Seriously, I could watch that all day (and I would have if school- and my brother insisting FIFA was more important- hadn't interrupted. And I don't really like carrot cake ice cream, but we had some just sitting in my freezer (because I had bought it and decided I didn't like) and I threw it in there. Sorry that Emil and Lukas aren't brothers. In this particular insanity of mine, I really wanted Lukas as the youngest son.

Deuces! 3