A cute one-shot featuring a sweet moment between Luke and Ravi during 4x03. Just a quick thing that popped in my head because I was bored and binging. Hope y'all like it! Enjoy!
Luke looked around Tony's apartment as horrible memories flooded his mind. No, they weren't exactly memories, more like... oh, he didn't know what to call them. Words and faces kept popping up in his head, even as he tried to tamp them down. He crawled out of the hammock and slipped over to the window, trying to sleep at some point that night. Words floated into his head along with images that made him shiver.
A hand descended towards him, poised to strike him.
"...you'll never amount to anything..."
"...Scott! Leave him alone... Scott! Stop..."
The sharp sting of a hand striking his face.
A woman screaming in terror.
A gunshot. A siren. A rough hand on his arm.
Luke could remember the horrible smell of an old apartment, much like this one. Crumbling walls, mold, and one room. He stared out the window as lightening cracked through the sky, lighting up the small room. He frowned as he saw Ravi curled up in a tight ball, arms wrapped around himself, shaking. Luke sighed, that was Ravi's nightmare posture. He had a lot of them when he first came. Back when they were closer. Luke crawled off the window sill and over to his little brother.
"Ravi," he whispered, gently shaking him awake, "hey, Ravi, come on. Wake up, kid."
The smaller boy jolted awake, crawling backwards, "wha- who?" he blinked, "Luke?"
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, "you looked... like... well, you know..."
"Oh," Ravi looked down, "sorry. Did I-"
"You didn't wake me up," Luke hurried to reassure his brother, "I was already awake," he admitted quietly, looking away.
"Couldn't sleep?" Ravi asked concernedly, "was something wrong Brother?"
Luke shook his head, "too many things in my head tonight I guess. It's weird, I guess I'm just remembering too much."
Ravi frowned, "what do you mean 'remembering too much'? What would you have to remember?"
Luke backed up, "yeah, um... not much, I guess," he laughed quietly, not meeting Ravi's gaze, "not a thing really."
"Do not lie to me, Luke, I can see right through you," Ravi sat up and tugged gently on Luke's arm, "what is bothering you brother?
Luke shifted uncomfortably, they were shifting into emotion territory, a territory that he was very uncomfortable in. So, he did what he always did: he deflected,"I'm fine, man. Just not tired I guess."
Ravi rolled his eyes, he'd been on the receiving end of Luke's deflection before and knew how to break through it, "Luke, come on. I have known you for many, many years now. You cannot lie to me. I know you better than this."
Luke wrapped his arms around himself and curled in a little, "just memories I didn't know I had, I guess."
"Like what?" Ravi pressed gently, "why can't you sleep Luke?"
Luke hesitantly opened up to his brother about the things he was remembering, "and I feel like I know exactly who those people are but..." he pulled his knees up to his chest, "I don't know if I want to remember..."
Ravi frowned, "why don't you want to remember?"
Luke rested his head against the cabinets, "Mom and Dad adopted me when I was nine and I can hardly remember anything from my birth parents or the foster care system..." he sighed, "I tamped down those memories for a reason but I've always remembered a few things."
"Things like?" Ravi persisted when Luke paused.
"A lot of pain," Luke dropped his chin down to his knees and tightened his grip around his knees, "I don't remember anyone being nice to me before Mom and Dad. Really, I only remember a lot of pain. And a really strange floating feeling," he shook his head, "I dunno. It's weird. What about you?" he questioned, "why can't you sleep well?"
Ravi shrugged, "my nightmares have returned," he looked down, dropping his hands into his lap, "I thought they were gone, but they came back."
"What are they about? Same as the last ones?" Luke asked, remembering Ravi's nightmares about his old orphanage.
"No," the younger boy shook his head, "these ones are different," Luke glanced over at the bed, ensuring that the others were asleep, before wrapping his arm around Ravi as the younger boy shuddered, "before I came to live with you guys, I was almost adopted by a couple other families. I actually got to spend a couple of months with one of the families, but I always got sent back. Both of the families ended up either losing money or not being able to afford another child, so I was sent back," he leaned against Luke, "I do not want that to happen again."
Luke dropped his head on top of Ravi's, pulling him a little tighter, "it won't," he promised, "I won't let it."
"As appreciative as I am of that sentiment, Luke," Ravi sighed, "you do not have any control over that. Besides, if mommy and daddy cannot get their money back and cannot support us, Child Services will take us all away anyways."
An icy hand clenched around Luke's heart at the thought of going back into the system, "I won't let that happen. I'll get a job and help pay for bills and everything else. Besides, we also have Emma's paycheck to help, and a bit of Jessie's. We'll stay together, and everything will be okay, you'll see. We'll all stay together, I promise. I won't let them take you back."
Ravi hummed in response and Luke could feel him drifting off, gradually getting heavier and heavier against him. Surprisingly out of character, Luke was content to let him stay there. If leaning against Luke made Ravi feel better, then he was more than happy to step into the big brother role and let the younger boy sleep. Luke rested his head against Ravi's and let himself drift off a little. The mold was making his eyes sting, yeah, that's what it was. Luke rubbed his eyes as he felt Ravi's breath even out completely. he eased his younger brother back onto his pallet on the floor, making sure to cover him up completely so he didn't get cold.
"G'night Ravi," Luke whispered, moving silently back to his perch on the window sill.
"Alright, God," he whispered, "I know I don't come to you much, but this time I really need you to help with this. I really need you to, like, work your magic or whatever you do. Okay? Just make sure no one takes my brother and sisters away from me. I know you make things happen for a reason, but a lot of things have happened to me already and I don't want to lose anyone else. So, if you can just do this one thing for me. Just this one, okay? I will be good... maybe... listen man. Honestly, I don't know what I'm saying anymore. Listen, I know I haven't done anything for you to ever want to help me... but just this once, okay? Just this once..." he let his voice trail off, not knowing what else to say, "I'm gonna go to sleep now... and even if it's not all better in the morning... just don't let us get separated, okay? Just keep us together. If not for me, then for Ravi. He's never done anything wrong, so just do it for him..." he paused, "so... thanks, I guess."
He slid off the window sill and back into his hammock. He curled up and sighed, all he could do was hope and pray that tomorrow would be better. Tomorrow, everything would be okay. It had to be.
Okidoki, y'all! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't forget to leave a review! It makes me ridiculously happy when I see what y'all think, so drop a review after reading and lemme know! Love y'all!
-storyspinner16