A/N: So there's this lyric that I wrote after having it linger in my head for like a month called Need You More, which will be included in the beginning of this. For some reason, the title kept coming back up when I was thinking about Lucian, so I finally wrote it. Also, the movie plot they're discussing is a story that I may or may not share eventually. That said, this is intended to be nothing more than fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything, blah blah blah (except for what I stated above). Also, I know absolutely nothing when it comes to record labels and releasing things and all that good stuff, so I apologize if what I'm stating is wrong.
Wanted
(AKA Lucian Fluff)
Music pulsed through the earbuds currently resting in Lucy's ears as she stepped off the elevator, into the penthouse. She'd bought the penthouse only a few months earlier with Ian after they had decided to relocate to New York City. Granted, it hadn't so much been a decision as much as Lucy knew that eventually they would end up moving. New York City was Ian's favourite city, and there wasn't a single person who knew him that didn't know that.
She unbuttoned her black wool pea coat and then slipped it off her body, and hung it up on the rack standing nearby before pulling the red hat off her head and tucking it into one of the pockets of her jacket. Finally, she removed her grey gloves and tucked them into another pocket before pulling down the sleeves on the white sweatshirt she'd worn to work. She finally removed her earbuds and pulled her iPhone from her pocket before turning the music off and unplugging the earbuds before returning both to the pocket of her jeans.
"Babe?" She called out as she toed off her boots. She kicked her legs a bit as she did, loosening up her jeans from where they'd been tucked into her pants.
As she walked through the apartment, she was aware of the silence. She ran her fingers through her ivory hair, pulling it off to the right side of her head. The index finger on her right hand twirled around a strand of hair that fell to just below her breast as she walked into the kitchen. The lights turned on from motion detection, and she could see leftover takeout containers sitting out over the breakfast bars, but general silence gave way to the fact that Ian was apparently not home.
"Jack!" She called out in a sing-song voice. The maltipoo quickly dashed into the room from the bedroom, and she chuckled as she knelt down, to greet him. He quickly hopped up on her knee and began licking her face. Lucy laughed as she patted his head a few times before standing up. She checked to make sure he had an adequate supply of food and water in his bowls before she walked over to the counter and grabbed one of the containers which still had a fork in it. She scooped out a generous amount of dirty rice and shoved it into her mouth before picking up the note resting on top of a manila envelope.
Luc,
Figured you'd be late, ran to pick up some groceries.
Fridge is empty – left you some takeout.
Be back soon. Love you!
-Ian
PS - your agent sent this
She heaved a sigh as she removed the letter from the top of the envelope. She had been putting of everything her agent had sent her way lately because she didn't want to commit to anything. In the two years since Pretty Little Liars had ended, she had committed herself almost entirely to doing as much work as she was could. The determination had come from the fact that when the show had finally ended, and the movie the cast had wanted so desperately had wrapped, she and Ian had made an agreement. Already three years deep in their relationship, they had agreed that they didn't want to rush into marriage or having kids after finishing the show. And even though he had proposed just two months later, that agreement still stood. They had waited another year and a half before walking down the aisle, and it had done nothing to keep her from recording her second album or Ian from landing another TV show as a main cast member. The show had lasted two seasons, and upon announcement that it was officially cancelled, they had finally made their choice to pack up and move to New York.
What was weighing on Lucy, was that even though she and Ian had yet to talk about it, she desperately wanted to take the next step in their relationship, and have a baby. They had put their careers first for nearly a decade, and she wanted to be able to take a step back for now and focus on something more personal.
She grabbed a container of sesame chicken and pulled it across the bar as she turned the envelop over. As she stabbed her fork into a piece of chicken with one hand, she fussed with the seal of the envelope. After shoving the piece of chicken in her mouth, she returned the fork to the container and then picked up the envelope and then slipped her finger into the small tear she had created at the top of the package, and slid it across until the package was completely open.
She turned over the contents of the package a moment later and let the thick packet of clamped papers fall onto her palm. Once she had a grasp on them, she pulled the envelope off the packet entirely, and then settled the envelope aside and settled the script down on the counter. A note was stuck to the front of it.
Lucy,
I know you're not looking to commit right now,
but this came my way, and they like you for
the female lead. Look it over and get back to me.
She stared at the note with a slightly frustrated expression for a few seconds before grabbing the container of sesame chicken and stabbing her fork into another piece.
Footsteps filled the room just as she was finishing her third forkful of dirty rice a few minutes later. She looked over her shoulder and grinned at Ian as he walked through the spacious room, over to her. He walked around the bar to settle the bags down on the counter before walking back over to Lucy. He leaned down and kissed her.
"Hi baby," he said with a smile after pulling away from her a few moments later. He walked back towards the elevator to remove his coat.
Lucy followed after him, tucking her hands lightly into her pockets. "Hey. How was your day?"
Ian shrugged as he pulled his gloves off and tucked them into his coat before removing his coat and hanging it on the rack. He stepped over to the elevator and leaned down to pull three more bags out of it before he leaned in and pushed a button on the panel. He stepped out once more, and a few seconds later, the doors slipped shut.
"Boring," he finally replied. "Looking a script that is apparently going to launch my career in movies. Yours?"
"Not much different, apart from picking album tracks instead of scripts." She followed him back through to the kitchen, carrying one of the bags. When they reached it, she handed over the bag and grabbed one of the food containers once more. "I have good news though."
Ian looked up at her curiously. "And what might that be?"
"They finally approved me to release Need You More. It's going to be the first single, and the album title." She announced cheerfully.
Ian smiled back at her just as happily. Need You More had been the first song she had ever written about Ian, but she'd been held off by her label from releasing it onto any of her albums for more than five years, because they always argued that the song wouldn't do well. Even when Lucy had argued that her fans would love it because it was about Ian, it still was never enough to sway her label's opinion.
However, she was only signed to a three album deal with the label, and given that she would have free reign to any material she recorded with them when the album was finished, she had finally convinced them to let her release it. She had certainly helped generate enough buzz about it on her own by playing it at a private show and tweeting lyrics of the song earlier in the week.
The funniest part of it to her was the fact that the fans had known about the song since her first album had been released from comments that had been made in passing. There had even been a point in time when there had been talk of the song being used on Pretty Little Liars, but it had later been passed over for a song that her label was planning to release as her next single.
"Are they going to make you rerecord it?" Ian asked as he pulled a jug of milk out of one of the bags and walked over to the fridge.
"There's talk about putting the original demo on the album as a bonus track, but we tweaked the master a little today. Finally put the new piano arrangement on it," Lucy explained, referring to the changes she'd made to the song when they had gotten married. She might've written it in 2012, but she had continuously updated the song in the years that had passed, wanting perfection.
"Did you get a copy before you left?" Ian asked.
Lucy chuckled, knowing he would be eager to hear it. Ian loved that song as much as she did. She nodded and pulled her iPhone from her pocket. She turned it on and then brought up her music library before pulling it up. The sound of tinkling keys quickly began to emit from the small speaker before slowing down, and Lucy's voice joined in.
"i remember the day we met
standing on the hotel's front steps
you in your jacket,
and me in my jeans,
i remember the first time you looked at me
it's been years since then,
and you call me your best friend
and when you say those words
its all i can do to touch the ground again
don't you know those words
will be my undoing?
you say 'i need you'
and it sets me on fire
for all the things
you've ever made me desire
and as i'm holding back the screams
standing in front of you
my heart races like
a fist wrapping on a door
don't you know i need you more?"
Lucy watched as the smile tugged across Ian's face, as there was a brief pause in her singing, followed by the recurrence of the high tinkling of the keys, before it slowed down once more for the second verse.
"i remember the first time we kissed
nothing short of fiction, standing in a bathroom
me on the counter
you on the ground,
i remember when you laughed at me
i remember when i said that would never happen
that it would never be more than make-believe
no more than movie sets and TV screens
and when they called cut, you'd never kiss me
but it's been a while since then
and you say i'm the best thing that's ever happened
and when you say those words
it's all i can do to remember where it began…"
Lucy began to sing along somewhere after the first half of the second verse, and the smile on her face only widened when she saw Ian's lips moving to the words.
"'cause when you say 'i need you'
it sets my world on fire
for all the things
you've ever made me desire
and as i'm holding back the screams
standing in front of you
my heart races like
a fist wrapping on a door
don't you know i need you more?"
The piano came back in once more, playing from the very lowest to the very highest. She still remembered sitting at the keyboard on their wedding day, how he'd watched her as her fingers moved from one end of the keyboard to the other. And then came the silence as the final key stroke drifted into the air before her voice came back.
"i remember the last time you said it,
that we were only friends,
at 3 AM on a Sunday morning,
and i said never wanted to hear those words again...
and when you say i need you
i remember all those things
and why it is we're standing here;
what it took for things to change
'cause when you say 'i need you'
it sets my world on fire
for all the things
you've ever made me desire
and as i'm holding back the screams
standing in front of you
my heart races like
a fist wrapping on a door
don't you konw i need you more?you've gotta know - I need you more
can you hear me now - I need you more
it's okay to need me...
just know i need you more…"
Her voice drifted off with the last of the piano playing as the song closed out, and the smile on her face refused to wane as she looked up at Ian. He smiled back at her.
"It's about time the world gets to hear it," he told her.
Lucy nodded, turning her phone off once more and returning it to her pocket. "When the label starts talking video treatments, I want you in it."
"Don't you think your fans will be tired of that?" He asked with a slight chuckle. "I've already been in two."
Lucy shook her head. "I really don't care. This is our song. I refuse to let anyone else be in it. Besides I have this whole idea of doing it like we're on a set, how it really happened. Well, if the label will swing for it, anyway."
Ian smiled. "I'll be happy to do it either way, babe."
Ian finished putting the groceries away as Lucy resumed eating. When he was finished, he grabbed one of the containers filled with rice and took a few bites.
"What's the script?" He asked after swallowing his fifth spoonful of rice.
Lucy shrugged, pulling the note off the top of it. "Broken Halo."
Ian's eyes widened and he nodded. "I got a call about that earlier today. That's that book that they're turning into a movie. The newest Twilight."
Lucy chuckled. "They're not kids. They're twenty-something's."
Ian shrugged. "Either way. My agent said they like us for the leads."
"Aren't people tired of us playing opposite each other?" Lucy asked. "I mean they have six seasons and a movie of Ezria. Literally."
"My agent is all over how this movie is going to win me an Oscar," he told her.
Lucy nodded. "I believe it. The book was a best seller for like four months."
"For months and three weeks," Ian replied a bit too casually. Lucy chuckled at him, and he scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth.
"Do you really want to do it?" Lucy asked.
Ian swallowed before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. He cracked the seal and took a long drink from it before replacing the cap and settling it on the counter. "Do you not want to do it?"
Lucy shrugged, chewing lightly on her bottom lip as she moved her fork around inside a container of dirty rice. "I don't know. I thought we were slowing down; not taking on any big commitments."
Ian nodded. "I know. But it would be four months instead of four years."
Lucy gulped, trying to tame the knot in her throat. "I just…I really wanted to take a break after all this."
Ian's brow furrowed, clearly confused. "Babe, what's wrong?"
She looked up at her, mentally cursing herself at her inability to keep the tears that were forming in her eyes from staying away. "We agreed not to rush into anything and take on as many projects as we wanted these past few years, but after this album is done, I just want to take some time. Not commit to anything else. I want to focus on us."
"Okay," Ian nodded. "Then we don't have to do it. What do you want to do?"
Lucy bit her bottom lip once more. She knew even after album was done, she'd after to get on promoting it, which meant touring. She already knew that several labels were interested in signing her when she was finished touring, which didn't worry her much. But having a baby wasn't exactly going to happen if she was out on the road while Ian was off shooting a movie.
"Come on tour with me," she offered. It was an off-the-handle statement, but she knew she meant it as soon as she said the words. "It'll be four months, and then lets come home. After that, I'm not committed to anyone or anything."
"And do what?" Ian said with a soft laugh. Lucy hadn't answered his question.
"I want to have a baby," she spoke in a rushed manner. She wasn't even sure Ian understood what she'd said.
"You want…. To rob a bank? What?" Ian's brow furrowed, even more so confused.
"I want to have a baby," she spoke once more, this time slower. Her voice trembled as the words were left in the air between them. When Ian didn't speak, she continued. "The album is almost done, and it'll be out right after the new year. The tour will start once it's wrapped, and then we would be back home by March or April at the latest."
Ian was still silent, which only continued to make her panic more. A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek as her voice trembled. "We could g-go visit our parents. O-or go to England and visit Julian while he's shooting that movie. Or we could go back to LA and look at other stuff, if you want…" Lucy's voice drifted off as more tears began to fall down her face. Ian clearly didn't want the same things she wanted.
She gulped, and her bottom lip found its way back between her teeth as she moved away from the bar and walked through the penthouse to their bedroom. She grabbed a small fleece blanket that sat at the end of the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders before walking over to the balcony and opening one of the glass doors. She slipped her feet into a spare pair of boots sitting next to the door on a mud matt. She stepped out onto the cheery wood deck and walked over to the glass wall that was supposed to protect anyone from falling the fifteen stories of the building.
She wasn't even sure how to proceed from this point with Ian if he truly didn't want a child. His lack of an answer had never happened before. Every time there had been a major decision between the two of them, he had always been very quick to answer.
Jack scampered out behind her and sidled up to her, rubbing against her calf as he sat down upon the deck. She knew it was far too cold for him to be outside without at least booties on, but she also knew that he wouldn't be likely to stay out too long, given that she hadn't properly dressed him to be outside.
"Luc?" She could hear his voice calling her name before she heard his footsteps in the bedroom, and then on the balcony as his boots crunched the half-inch of snow coating the balcony. Jack scampered away from her, back into the penthouse as she continued standing there.
"Luc," Ian spoke once more. This time his voice was louder, now that he was standing next to her. She felt his hand come to rest on the base of her spine as he faced her. "I wasn't saying I didn't want a family with you. To be fair, you didn't really give me a chance to say anything."
Lucy continued to stare out at the city. From where they lived, she could clearly see the giant screens in Times Square, and the many billboards.
Ian sighed softly, stepping closer to Lucy. He placed both his hands on her arms and turned her slightly, forcing her to look at him. "Lucy Hale-Harding. I want to have babies with you."
Lucy gulped, daring a glance up at him. "Just not now."
Ian shook his head. "I didn't say that either. I was just very surprised that you said you want this all right now. I'm not negating any of it. I was just under the assumption that when your album was done, you would want to focus on something else. The last time we talked babies, you said you weren't ready."
Lucy nodded, breathing in a deep breath. That conversation had been only three months previous, but it had been that conversation that had driven her to make this choice. Ever since they'd last talked about having kids, she'd never forgotten about it.
"I thought I wasn't," she admitted. "But in the last few months since that talk, all I've been able to think about is how much I want those things with you. And there's always going to be time to record another album or do another movie or TV show. I don't want to be halfway through my thirties before I realize that I haven't even considered slowing down for us to have a family. I don't want to be one of those Hollywood moms who's so wrapped up in her career, she's thirty-eight and pregnant with her first child. I want those things now."
"You're sure?" Ian asked.
Lucy nodded. "Positively."
Ian smiled. "Then lets do it. Lets have a baby."