Title: All That Is Left
Chapter 2
Five years ago...
Grace and Luke lay naked on his bed, a sheet barely covering them. Luke's head rests on Grace's stomach as she idly runs her hands through his hair. "I'm going to miss this when I leave in a month." she muses.
Luke looks up at her from his vantage point on her stomach, "You better." he says. His tone is light, but it is obvious that there is concern and tension in his words.
"Don't worry Freak, I'm not going to forget about you once I go to university." She taps him lightly on the forehead, showing her contempt for that particular fear.
"You can't promise these things Grace, it's a long way away and..." Luke's words trail off as Grace grabs his shoulders and pulls him up to face her.
"Are your feelings going to change because I'm so far away" she asks him, a challenge in her voice.
"Of course not!" Luke protests, "I love you Grace, that's not going to change!"
"Then don't think it will for me either. I don't just tell anybody that I love them, so have some respect for that. You and me together Luke, that's the way it's going to stay." Kissing him deeply, she pulls back with a twinkle in her eye. "Now stop this stupid worrying...because I was planning on having sex with you again before your parents get home. Or do you want to continue with the Top 10 list of your baseless fears?"
Not bothering to respond, Luke slides his hands around her body and pulls her close, crushing his lips against hers.
Luke dismissed the memory as he opened the door to his childhood bedroom. Almost nothing had changed in the four years since he moved out. His parents had left things almost exactly as they were. There were a few boxes piled in a corner, stuff they needed to store and didn't have the space for anywhere else, but other then that, it was like stepping into a time warp.
Coming in behind him,Penny took in the room. "So this is where you spent your larval stage...interesting." Walking slowly around the room, she examined the different pictures and objects from Luke's teenage years."We're both sleeping in here?"
"Sorry about that." Luke apologized as he brought their suitcases into the room. "When I told my mom that I'd be bringing you, she got the mistaken impression that we're dating or something." The two looked at one another and shared a short chuckle. "Don't worry, I set her straight. Told her that there is no way that you and I are together."
"Luke, I'm hurt!" Penny mock pouted, "Don't you even find me the least bit attractive?" Luke just shook his head and gave a small smile, "Not in the least my dear."
It was an old joke. There had never been anything even remotely romantic between them. For Penny, it was because she wasn't into guys. For Luke, well, he rarely ever dated, if you could even call it that, and Penny was not his type.
"Still, " he continued, "we'll have to sleep in here because there's no other available space in the house. I didn't think you'd mind." Luke glanced at Penny, but it didn't seem as if she was about to object. "I'll go get some fresh towels and stuff for us. Back in a minute."
Penny watched as he walked out, then turned her attention back to her examination of the room. She saw several pictures of him from different points in his childhood. There were shots of him with his siblings, winning an eighth grade science fair, standing beside his first car. In all of them, he had an easy, open smile that Penny had trouble reconciling with the man she knew.
For the more than three years she had known Luke, most people had regarded him as something of a "cold fish". Everyone in the physics department at MIT knew he was a brilliant scientist, top of all his classes, but he was also regarded as a loner. Luke was invariably polite and pleasant, but he had a guarded, cynical air about him that put a distance between him and others. There was always a sense with Luke that he had boundaries that no one would ever be allowed to cross. A girl in her class once referred to him as "force field boy", as if he was surrounded by an invisible, impenetrable shield that kept people away.
It was actually for these very reasons that Penny had gravitated towards him for lab work. Luke was a dream to work with. He was smart, driven and didn't get distracted by irrelevancies. She had never been one who liked to "share" her feelings or her past with people and Luke never pried or tried confiding his own secrets. Also, he never tried to hit on her which was a definite bonus. Some guys would constantly try to pick her up, despite knowing she was gay. In fact, some tried even harder when they knew, acting as if they would get a toaster-oven as a prize for "converting" her. That wasn't Luke. She always felt comfortable in his presence. Over the last two years they had developed a quiet friendship. They still didn't talk about their pasts or do any heavy confiding, but Penny knew she could depend on Luke and hoped he felt the same way. She figured he did, considering he'd asked her to come to this wedding with him. Penny had a feeling that this was not going to be an easy few days for Luke and she was glad that he felt he could rely on her for support.
"Here are the towels." Luke said as he came back into the room. "Also, I put some face cloths and hand towels in the bathroom for you. They're the yellow ones."
"Thanks." Penny replied as she moved to the door. "I'm going to use the bathroom for a minute, then we can go back down and make small talk with your family."
Standing alone in his room, Luke thought about how odd it felt to be back home. Altogether, in the last four years he hadn't spent more then three months here. Luke loved his family, but it just seemed easier to stay away. He had kept in contact with them. His mother insisted on a weekly phone call and his siblings usually called once or twice a month. They kept him apprised of what was happening in their lives and around town. Initially, they had all tried to broach the subject of Grace at one time or another. However, they quickly learned that he would not talk about her and that trying to make him do so always caused his phone to malfunction for several weeks. Even Joan, who kept in regular contact with Grace, never mentioned her anymore.
Listening to the sounds of the party downstairs, Luke was happy for his sister and Adam. They had found joy in each other and were probably going to be together for ever. He figured that for them, he could suffer through the next few days. As long as he limited his contact with Grace, then he might just make it.
"Ready Luke?" Penny's voice called from the hallway.
Moving to the door, Luke paused as if listening to an echo.
"You and me together Luke, that's the way it's going to stay."
Shaking his head, he closed the door behind him and went downstairs.
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Grace stood on the Girardis' porch, staring at Luke's car in the driveway. She remembered when he first got it, about 4 weeks after he graduated from highschool. It had been a joint purchase between Luke and his parents. He'd scraped together enough money for most of the down payment from summer jobs and Helen and Will had supplied the rest. Grace was pretty sure that Kevin had even kicked in a bit of cash. They had all been so proud of him for getting a scholarship to MIT.
Standing there, looking at the car, Grace couldn't help but think of that night more than four years ago.
They had driven out to the park to look at the stars. Grace hadn't even mentioned that they could have easily walked and how bad driving such a short distance was for the environment. Luke was so happy and so proud of his car that she didn't want anything to spoil it.
Sitting on the back bumper, they talked in low voices about the summer to come and plans for the year.
"What about a cross-country road trip? Now that I have my own wheels, we could go anywhere." Luke was excited, spinning idea after idea.
"That would take a bit longer then we have at the moment." Grace reminded him. "Have you forgotten that you have to be in Cambridge for orientation in a few weeks?"
"No," Luke said, wrapping his arms around her, "I was talking about next summer. We could do it then."
Grace shifted uncomfortably, It made her worry sometimes, how much of the future he might have planned. "You know I don't plan that far ahead Geek boy. Let's stick to right now."
"I'm just saying Grace, we have all the time in the world." Pulling her close, Luke placed a kiss on her lips and hugged her tightly. Nestled into his shoulder, Luke couldn't see the slight frown that crossed her features as she agreed with him.
"Of course we do."
Turning away from both the car and memory, Grace took a deep breath and rang the door bell.
The door swung open and suddenly Joan was standing in front of her, a surprised smile on her face. "Grace!" she squealed, "You came." Joan wrapped Grace in an excited hug and pulled her into the house. "Can you believe I'm getting married in two days?"
Smiling at her friend, Grace just shook her head. "Blows my mind Girardi, but even back in highschool I knew you and Adam would end up together. After all the whining I had to listen to about your relationship...you better get married!"
Laughing, Joan led Grace over to where Adam was making conversation with someone she guessed was a distant Girardi relative. Seeing Grace approach, he excused himself from the conversation and walked over to her.
"Polk," he greeted her, smiling.
"Rove," she smiled back.
They stood like that for moment, beforeJoan enveloped the two of them in a hug. "It's so good to all be back together." she said, sounding slightly teary.
"I can't believe you're gonna marry this nutcase." Grace commented to Adam, as soon as Joan released them from her embrace.
"Sometimes I can't believe it either." Adam replied as he stared at Joan, a dreamy look crossing his face. With an "Awww" expression on her face, Joan leaned in to steal a kiss from her fiancé.
Looking away from this gross public display of affection, Grace glanced around the room. Luke was nowhere in sight. Glad that she'd have a few minutes to get comfortable before having to face him, she made her way around the room, speaking to various people whom she hadn't seen in a while.
After the break-up, Grace had stayed away from the Girardi home. She had wanted to avoid any possible contact with Luke and she doubted that the rest of his family would be too keen on having her around. Joan stayed her friend, accepting her decision, although even now, she would occasionally mention Luke and try to get Grace to talk about him. As for the rest of the family, the few times she had seen one of them, they treated her with a polite warmth. They weren't happy with how she'd hurt Luke, but they understood that things sometimes fall apart. This understanding made the party a lot easier for Grace. She could move from family member to family member, discussing light topics, without feeling as if she were an enemy. Still, at times during the evening she would catch Helen gazing at her with a sad look in her eyes and Grace couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.
After making polite conversation for more than thrity minutes, Grace was about to head out to the porch for a breath of fresh air. Suddenly, Joan was by her side, grabbing her arm and leading her into the kitchen.
"Make it look like we're deep in conversation." she hurriedly whispered. "Adam's great uncle Isaac is coming this way and I know he wants to continue telling me about his goiter operation. You have to save me!"
"Relax Girardi," Grace said as they walked into the kitchen, "We'll go out to the backyard. He won't follow you out there in this weather. He's so old, he'd probably catch pneumonia in a second."
Pausing for Joan to put shoes on, Grace noticed a rather attractive young woman who was seemingly deep in conversation with Mr. Girardi. She was tall, with long red hair and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. Her eyes flashed as she laughed at something Will said.
"Who's that?" Grace asked her friend.
"That's Penny, Luke's date." Joan answered in a conspiratorial whisper, "Although he claims they're not seeing each other. Who knows? It's almost impossible to get any information out of him anymore."
"She's not unfortunate looking." commented Grace, looking away from the girl as Penny suddenly turned her eyes towards her.
"Yah, if you have a thing for Pippy Longstockings!" Joan said. "Grace, Luke is my brother, but you're my friend and I am fully prepared to hate this woman for you."
"Not necessary Girardi" Grace told her, although she suddenly hoped that Joan wouldn't listen, "Your brother and I were over years ago. He can date whoever he wants. I hope they're happy." Her words were spoken with a sincerity that was only belied by the fact that she was clenching her fists inside the sleeves of her jacket. "Let's get some air."
Moving out the door, Grace could swear she felt the redhead's eyes on her and it took a great deal of effort not to glance back and check. She was concentrating so hard on not looking back, that she didn't register that there was someone else in the backyard besides her and Joan.
"Luke!" Joan cried in an overly cheery voice, "You're out here too!"
"Avoiding that Isaac guy." he said in a neutral voice, "I don't need to hear anymore about the proper method for draining more than a quart of puss." Luke shifted his gaze from his sister to the figure behind her. The night was already cold, but under his eyes Grace felt as if the temperature had dropped another ten degrees.
"Hello Grace."
TBC
A/N: Joan's "I am totally prepared to hate this woman for you" was inspired by a scene in BtVS.
