Chapter 2

It lasted a week before Layton's conscience kicked in. He had after all, been restraining himself as much as possible so that he wouldn't end up with Luke in the very situation which he now found himself in. The problem wasn't so much that they were sleeping together. It was more that they were only sleeping together, and doing nothing else. Layton was old enough to know that he was in love with Luke, but he was concerned that he was giving Luke the wrong definition of the word. Layton, of course, knew that "love" did not equate to "sex", but he couldn't be sure that Luke knew that also. And after all, Layton was the boy's first lover. How could Luke have developed any other definition of the word? In short, Layton decided that the relationship was unsafe for Luke, and he resigned himself to break it off as soon as he could.

It was another two months before he could bring himself to do anything about it. He went back and forth on the issue at least three times a day. One moment Luke would be sipping his tea, innocent as an angel, and the next he would get up to wash his empty cup and trace his fingers along Layton's shoulders, sure and sexy, and it would send a shiver trough the professor's entire body that made him want to take of Luke's pants and fuck him right there.

The decision finally came one day when Luke decided to go for a walk. When he walked by the professor as he was heading for the door, he let his hand trail along the professor's crotch whispering, "I love you" as he did so. Those three words brought back to mind Layton's reason for finding the match so imprudent in the first place. He decided once and for all to talk to Luke and put a stop to it as soon as he returned from his walk.

"I understand, Professor," was all Luke had to say on the matter, once it was all put onto the table as clearly as could be. Luke got up to walk out of the room, and just as he reached the doorway he turned, sharing one last loving look with the professor, before turning away to hide his tears as he walked up to his room as calmly as he could.

The first four months were hell for Luke. He had nightmares of a constant flow of women in and out of Layton's bedroom, and as each of them left they bent down and pinched his cheek, commenting on how cute the little boy was. Luke woke himself up with a scream of frustration almost every night for the first two months. And then, when he realized that his night-fright no longer meant he would receive the professor into his bed, he began to cry. At first they were angry tears, but by the time the string of nightmares were finally beginning to cease, the tears had turned to plain sorrow.

The professor didn't know what Luke was screaming about, but unfailingly every night he would be awoken by a scream, followed by sobs that kept him awake for hours, tearing his heart out. He had no idea what was frightening Luke so in is sleep, and he wanted desperately to calm him, but he had a feeling that Luke's screams were caused by their break-up, and so Layton forced himself to remain in bed, listening to Luke's heart-wrenching sobs and praying for a way to make it better.

One day, about a year after they broke up, Luke brought home a girl named Sophie. After the necessary and polite introductions, Luke and the girl disappeared upstairs with Luke mumbling something about homework. Sophie wasn't over every day, but when she was, she and Luke unfailingly went straight to his room. Eventually Luke stopped bothering to pretend they had homework to do. Several times Layton walked quietly by Luke's bedroom door and heard bedsprings squeaking, hushed voices, and muffled moans. He tried not to wish it were he in Luke's bed instead of Sophie. It made him even more upset when he realized that, even though he broke up with Luke to keep him from thinking sex was the only way to express love, Luke apparently thought that anyway.

One Saturday morning, as the Professor and Luke were having their breakfast, Layton decided he should talk to him about it. If anything if would hopefully show the boy that Layton was still a person he could trust, despite everything.

"How long have you and Sophie been dating now?"

"Seven months this Tuesday," Luke answered, reaching for his tea.

"And do her parents know you two are having sex?"

Luke nearly dropped his teacup onto the floor. He managed to rescue it from its demise, but he spilled most of its contents in the process. He looked at Layton in disbelief. Layton met his gaze with one more commonly seen on the face of a man who had just asked you for the time.

Luke blinked and cleared his throat, regaining composure before answering. "No, I don't believe so."

"But do you love her?" Layton pressed.

Luke nodded slowly, unsure of what the professor was getting at.

"Then why don't her parents know what's going on? If you really love her you have no reason to fear her parents finding out about your intercourse. And besides, I don't feel comfortable withholding the knowledge of your actions from them."

Both Layton and Luke were silent for a moment, then Layton continued, "what do you two do together when you're not here?"

"Nothing, really. I don't see her much in school or on the weekends. I've got one class with her in the morning, and we eat lunch together."

"What do you talk about at lunch?"

"Class, people in our grade, the usual stuff I guess?"

"What about the weather?"

Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. Layton sighed.

"Luke," he said, "being in love with someone means more than just having sex with them. A relationship will always fail if there's not something substantial to keep it up."

"Sex isn't substantial?"

Layton looked Luke straight in the eyes, sternly, and Luke's reaction made it clear to Layton that he could figure out the answer.

There was another moment or two of silence as Luke poured himself a new cup of tea, and after taking a sip of it he asked, "why?"

Layton had his answer prepared. "When I was your age, Luke, I had a girlfriend. We would—well, no one had sex then, but we were as intimate together as we could be without feeling as if we were breaking any societal laws. Just as you and Sophie feel you're doing, I believe. Time certainly takes its toll on morals, doesn't it?"

He waited for Luke to defend his actions with Sophie, and when Luke said nothing, he continued. "After a while, it became second nature to us. I would pay a visit to her home, make friendly with her parents for a minute or two, and then we would slip away to some park, hide in the bushes and, well, you can guess."

"So what went wrong?" Luke asked.

Layton shook his head sadly. "I suppose she just got bored. She left one day, without warning. At first I thought nothing of it, but after a day or so, I…Well, Luke, to put it bluntly, having sex requires more than what it would seem. A person really does give up a piece of their heart when they sleep with someone and, well you see, the human heart is much more fragile than we are ever taught to believe. Losing a person with whom you have been intimate is a stronger heartbreak than I have ever experienced."

"I know," Luke said, so softly Layton almost didn't hear it. The words made him want to hold the boy and never let him go, never let anything bad ever happen to him again. He took a few calm, steadying breaths before he was able to speak once more.

"From what I have gleaned of Sophie's personality from the very few interactions she and I have ever had, she is a very nice young girl. I don't see any reason you two shouldn't be happy together. I think, if you want to keep this girl, it would be wise to relate to her what I have just told to you. It may not be too late to set your relationship on the right track. Why don't you phone her now and invite her for tea or, if you would rather I not be around while you talk to her, take her out on a walk?"

Luke nodded and got up from the table, clearing his place and walking into the other room to dial Sophie's number.

When she arrived Layton made pleasant conversation with her for a minute or two, but Luke seemed anxious to be out of the house, so he let them leave.

He hoped for the best. He really did. He tried to convince himself that he believed Sophie was a nice, reasonable girl, and that she would understand the safety of restraint. Of course, he didn't expect the two young lovers to cease all sexual activity on the spot. To be honest he didn't even think that was healthy. His only hope was that they would find something solid, something time consuming, that they both enjoyed, something that would keep their relationship strong and Luke happy in love.

Luke's face, when he returned, assured Layton that Sophie had let him—let them both—down immensely. Layton immediately rose from his chair to attempt to comfort the boy, but he shook his head and walked toward the stairs. Layton watched his slow ascent helplessly. Before Luke reached the top he turned and said, "Just so you know, Professor, she wasn't the one who called it off. I did. She didn't want us to change anything, so I told her we'd better stop seeing one another." With that he turned again and retreated to his room, leaving Layton's heart aching to see a smile on Luke's face once again.

Author's Note:

Oops it got sad. CLIFF-HANGER!

P.S. I had one of the most awesome camping experiences ever last night (swam/almost drowned in a 68 degree lake, threw up, slept in my car) and I was still able to get this chapter finished/touched up for you to read. How awesome am I?

I've got the concept for the third chapter sort of mapped out. I hope to have it finished and up and posted a week from today (9/30/11). In the meantime, I posted another story, "It Was Only A Joke". You can find it on my profile.

If you've got the time, I'd love a review. Even just a smiley face would warm my heart. Just let me know what you guys are thinking.

Thanks!