Would It Smell As Sweet? [open]

[serenity]

It was a busy Tuesday afternoon in the West End of London, the cars racing by with their tinted windows stopping the eyes of pedestrians from looking in at the mysterious drivers. Most people could tell that the people driving were werewolves from the obvious price of the car zooming by. Serenity didn't pay much attention to them as she fixed her bouquets of flowers in their tall metal buckets.

Near the corner of the one shop, a restaurant allowed Serenity to have a small flower stand as long as she provided small, fresh bouquets for its tables every day, which she did when she went home every day. She sat in a small metal chair surrounded by seven buckets of flowers, six holding individual flowers and one holding already made bouquets.

Today, she had white roses, red roses, tiger lilies, purple irises, pink foxgloves, and pale purple forget-me-nots in her six pails. In a small vase behind her she had mint and baby breaths with finish the bouquets. Resting next to her on the ground was her basket where she kept her money wrapped in a small cloth. A stool in front of her, layered with brightly color tissue paper and plastic wrap was her materials for wrapping the flowers up in.

A man approached her, scanning over her flowers with determination and thought. He picked up one of white roses, tiger lilies and mint. "How much?" He asked, glancing over at Serenity. She calculated a price in her head, tossing and turning over a price.

"About 13 pounds(( About 8 US Dollars))," she said, glancing up at the man. She could tell that he was debating over it was worth it or not, something people often did when buying flowers from her. 13 pounds could put some food on a table for a family or even buy you at least two rounds at a pub. Besides, flowers died, sometimes faster if you don't treat them properly. But they provided an escape from the dark and dreary life they all lived in and it was in that one second that people found serenity.

The man took out his beaten leather wallet and held out the bills to Serenity, which she took with a smile. "Thank you sir. Have a lovely day," she said, the man grunting a goodbye before walking away with the flowers. She happily placed the money in her already steadily growing pile. She had already made enough today to buy two whole months worth of insulin, which made her very excited for all the extra money she would have for the month. Serenity watched people pass as she started on a new bouquet to spend her time doing something and not simply just sitting there.

[lukecolburn]

reality is bullshit, reflection is a concept
based on your own fucked up ideal

Another day. The alarm clock screamed in Luke’s ear for the fourth time in a row and he shifted underneath his blankets. A low groan came from within the tangled mess and his hand reached out to turn the alarm off. Another day. Another means of survival. Another test to see if his doors were locked tight enough and his windows were all shut. Luke slowly shifted until his legs dangled off the edge of the bed and he hunched forward, burying his head into the palms of his hands. The light was streaming in from the window enough to make it obvious that he had slept in. Surprising, since Luke almost never slept in past 6 AM. The realization sparked his wariness and he stood up, changing quickly into yesterday’s jeans and a blue turtleneck. Another day, another house check. He shuffled to the window and yanked on it, but it stayed firmly in place. The process repeated through every single room in the entire house until he was sure that nothing had been broken into, and that his fortress was still in one piece.

Luke, however, was alone in the house. When he had gone into his old room, which he had cleared out some time ago for Serenity to move into, she wasn’t there. He expected it, due to the fact that she had a job with selling her flowers and she usually left not long after he woke up every morning. While her leaving wasn’t anything out of the norm, he still felt uneasy noticing the vacancy of her room and not knowing for sure where she was. Usually if he hadn’t woken up on time, her bustling around the house was enough to get him out of bed to complain to her to keep it down. Luke quickly brushed his hair and teeth and walked out the door to sunlight and to chaos.

He was never one for slow walking. Luke never liked the idea of making himself vulnerable, so he looked straight ahead of him and walked with purpose down to the west side of London. Cars swerved past him. Large, expensive cars with six or seven people piled inside of it, and small cars with the windows heavily tinted, cracked open just enough for smoke and fumes to pour out of the interior of the car. He ignored all of them. It was common knowledge that many of these drivers were not human, and if someone showed any weakness, they were likely to become a meal or a victim of their sick games. Luke wasn’t the most frightening person on the street but he knew how to hold his own. He knew when to run and he knew when to stay and fight. Throughout his life, he has had to do both more than he would like to remember.

Soon enough, Luke could see the little restaurant where Serenity sold her roses. He sped up some after seeing a man standing near her, but his pace slowed again when he noticed him walking away with some of her flowers. He scowled slightly. Luke never understood why people would waste their time on flowers and other little things that didn’t really benefit anyone. Meals were more important. Living and getting through the day. Luke found it difficult to understand his neighbor –now housemate. Though he tolerated her and sometimes enjoyed her company on those especially lonely nights, everything about her was perplexing. He walked up to her and crossed his arms in a scolding manner. Even though she was only a year younger than him, he often treated her like a child, and couldn’t help doing so most of the time. “You shouldn’t leave the house without waking me up.”

[serenity]

Serenity was about to add the finishing touches to her all white bouquet when suddenly a shadow cast over her and her flowers. She glanced up nervously only to find Luke scowling down at her. She was used to this look he gave her; he gave to to everybody. She bit her lip as he commented on her not waking him up before she left for the day.

True, usually her getting ready for the day woke him up. In fact, she was almost used to the "Keep it down Serenity, damn it!" in the mornings. But today, she received no rude calls or slamming of doors. She was quite scared when Luke didn't make a noise; she even dropped a pot to try and wake him up. Serenity had checked on him before she left, just to make sure he wasn't dead. But no, he was sleeping peacefully in his bed, the early morning sun cast on his face in such a way, Serenity left the room blushing.

Her green-blue eyes shut tightly, her head dropping in defeat."I am sorry Luke! You just don't seem very long so I thought I would let you get a few extra hours in. And besides, I usually walk to work by myself anyway," she pointed out, waiting for his reaction. She was used to the werewolves walking past her with bloody paws from the nights kill. Or vampires hissing at her from the lingering shadows between buildings. Doesn't mean she wasn't scared; Serenity was terrified. But it was such a routine now that she almost didn't mind the familiarity to it. It finally made something normal in the crumbling world.

"Are you mad?" Serenity asked, watching a mother and daughter stare in awe at the roses in the metal bucket. Serenity grabbed a red one and held it out to the girl, the small child giggling in delight as she grabbed it and walked away with her smiling mother. Serenity looked up at Luke with a smile but it slowly faded away from the look of his scowl.

[lukecolburn]

Luke was always a very cautious person. Curiosity rarely got the best of him, and going on dangerous adventures was never his idea of fun. Many times it caused people to ridicule him and call him a stiff. He was told many times to live a little and enjoy life, but they were always greeted with a scowl and a reminder that some day it would be them running to his door for safety in the middle of the night, not the other way around. That usually shut people up. It was true. Luke was not the most fun character to be around. He had his moments of humor and silliness, but they were few and far between. He lost his innocent laughter many years ago, and the smiles faded alongside it as time passed on. However, no one could deny how useful he was in London these days. His home was always a safe haven, and one could always depend on him for shelter, food, or anything in his power if it helped their lives become easier, even if only for a moment.

Some may think that Luke is depressed, or only an empty shell of what he used to be before his parents’ deaths. While some truth can be found in that statement, Luke is quite far from depressed, and if you asked him he would list all of the reasons why he is even more of a person than he used to be. Through time, and through realization of what the world truly is, he developed into a person shaped by his environment. He became protective and wary. He became hard-headed and very demanding of the people around him. He realized that when it all came down to it, the only real point to the world was surviving. Though he was often told he was over-reacting and that murders only happened to one person a day, Luke remained convinced that London was on the brink of a very deadly riot, and that in a matter of seconds what security was left in the city could be turned to dust.

In a way, Luke couldn’t understand why Serenity managed to stay with him these past few years. Their personalities were so polar opposite that she must not enjoy her time around him. In the few moments of companionship, where they both found themselves laughing once in a blue moon, or whenever she needed comfort, Luke saw a different side of her that made him quite uncomfortable. He noticed sometimes the way she shied away from him and the way she averted her eyes. He noticed her blushing often times, and he never knew how to react. He tried to ignore the fact that she liked him, and instead of allowing his moments of desperation and loneliness get to him, he set a very strict barrier between them early on when Serenity had just moved in. They stayed in different rooms and their time together was not as often as one might think. Their relationship never passed a certain level of light friendship, and he was comfortable with where it was now.

He sighed quietly at her response and shrugged his shoulders. It never took long for his scolding to get to her. He knew he was usually right, but her easily defeated manner bothered him sometimes. Sometimes a fight or two would be refreshing. Even a fistfight in the middle of the street over walking to work alone. Anything to calm his tense muscles. But Serenity always gave into his logic and he forced himself to relax in front of her so he didn’t seem so ominous. “No, I’m not mad.” he said simply and walked over to the restaurant to lean against the wall. He watched her give the rose to the young girl and his eyes softened for a fraction of a moment. Though a tough person, Luke was no ogre. He was rough around the edges, but he knew the meaning of love and knew what it felt like. If it came to him, he would never deny happiness. He looked at Rose again and attempted a more relaxed expression. “It looks like you’ve made a lot this time around. If you think you can spare an hour, we should grab some lunch. I’m bloody hungry from sleeping in.”

[serenity]

A weight lifted off Serenity's shoulder when Luke said he wasn't mad. She was always afraid of pushing him a little bit too far, doing something or saying something that would would make him kick her out into the streets to fend for herself. It was why she gave into him a lot; but also because he was right most of the time. She felt bad making him scowl so much but nothing she did made him smile so she had to settle with scowls.

When Luke mentioned lunch, she nodded in agreement. "That sounds lovely," she said, finishing up the bouquet and placing it gently into the metal bucket with the other ones. She stood up and brushed off petals and leaves from her long tan skirt. She adjusted her light blue tank top and pushed her long red hair over her shoulder. It was straight today, her shower flattening the long ruby colored hair even in the humid summer air. She tied it up in a ponytail and walked towards Luke.

"I hope you don't mind but we have to eat outside, otherwise my flowers get stolen. Wait here, I'll get a menu," Serenity said, walking quickly inside to the restaurant. She snatched one from the hostess stand, smiling at the girl taking people's names. She walked back outside into the sunshine and took it over to Luke.

"Here you go. You can get anything you want, I've made some extra money today," Serenity smiled at the basket she was looking through for some bills. She took out the two months supply of insulin money out and stuffed it in her small coin purse she had strapped over her chest. That left enough for them to get full meals, drinks and desert. She smiled up at Luke, happy with all the money she had made. "What you going to get?"

[lukecolburn]

Luke watched Serenity for a while from the sidelines with his arms crossed, fiddling around with a loose strand of string that hung from his right sleeve. It was a particularly warm day but he didn’t complain about his turtle neck and pants. Skin protection was key in this city these days. If you showed too much or accidentally scratched yourself in an area you couldn’t cover up, you could be in one hell of a bit of trouble. Perhaps he was just superstitious about it. Plenty of people walked around with tank tops, like Serenity, and survived at the end of the day. He just didn’t want to risk it, or go through the trouble of finding out the hard way. After thinking through it for a moment, he pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and crossed his arms again, going back to watching Serenity fix her hair and situate her flowers. The entire process women seemed to have to go through just to walk inside a building boggled his mind sometimes.

His stomach growled and he shifted his weight to the side. Right when he moved, Serenity seemed to be done pulling back her hair and getting herself all tidied up. “Yeah, sure.” he said, almost a little too quickly. The hunger was speaking for him now. Luke found a seat while she went inside to grab the menus. While he waited, he watched the people walk by her flower stand with a scrutinizing gaze, ready to kick the ass of anyone who thought it might be funny to take a flower from someone who was trying to make an honest living instead of turning to crime. Even though selling flowers seemed like one of the most ludicrous occupations someone could have in this day and age, it was still a respectable one. Serenity worked hard for those flowers, and Luke wasn’t about to let anything happen to them under his watch. They were necessary for her diabetes medication, after all. If he could help it, he didn’t want to have to deal with her going into cardiac arrest or having terrible seizures.

Serenity came back outside with the menus and he practically snatched his from her. If it had been five minutes later, he might have actually eaten the menu instead of waiting for his meal. He glanced through the list of foods and nodded haphazardly to her words. Even if she didn’t have enough money, Luke had enough pocket change on him to pay for himself. Serenity usually insisted on paying for everything, though. He figured, even after all of this time that they lived together, that Serenity thought he was unemployed. He was always home when she left and home when she came back. He kept the house very clean and orderly and gave off the impression of someone somewhat like that of a house wife. Luke had his own ways of making money, but Serenity never asked him about it, and even if she did, he would have told her a quick story to explain where his money came from. He did, after all, pay for the monthly home bills, the food, the electricity, and almost everything else on his own. Why she never asked before, Luke didn’t know.

“Mmm. I think a steak sounds good.” he muttered under his breath before turning around and waving down a waitress. He waited for Serenity to order before he ordered his meal, and when the waitress was gone he turned his attention back to her. He looked her directly in the eyes – something that either frightened her or embarrassed her almost every time he did it. Luke never took for granted the times where she actually looked back at him, like they were actually friends going through the same problem, trying to make it through life with each other’s help. Those sentimental moments were uncomfortable for him, but he never forgot when they happened. The few seconds of dangerous closeness usually left him feeling numb and shaken. The idea of really and truly caring about someone. It scared him shitless. “So Serenity… how has it been?” He never talked about her disease directly, but whenever he asked about it, she seemed to know. It must be the way he stresses the word. Who knows.

[serenity]

Serenity was never one to ask about people's personal lives. They always seemed to snap at her and say to mind her own business. Was she curious to how Luke always had money and yet the house was always clean and the bills paid? Of course. Would she ever ask? Of course not. Luke was his own individual with his own secrets and Serenity was smart enough to not pry any of them open.

When he asked about her diabetes, she gave a little laugh at how he addressed. Luke never said diabetes to her, as if she would be insulted by it or burst into tears at hearing the word. Serenity was past all of that and now it was simply just a part of her life. However, she still didn't like talking about it to strangers. Luke was the only who knew about her disease. She looked unto Luke's eyes and smiled, something she could only do sometimes in those rare moments.

"It is fine. Blood sugar at a normal level, insulin going good. I got enough today thus far for two months of insulin, so I have having an awesome day,"

[/color] she gave him a thumbs up and turned away. Any more eye contact she she would have turned as red as a cherry. She saw the waitress coming over to their table with their food, which made Serenity's own stomach growl.

"Here you are!" She said, setting Luke's steak down in front of him and Serenity's turkey sandwich in front of her. She was about to thank the waitress when she also set down a huge sundae with all the fixings from the chocolate syrup to the cherry on top. Serenity's eyes bulged as if someone had just placed a decapitated head on the table.

"Um... we didn't order this," Serenity said, pointing at the sundae. The waitress turned and pointed to a younger man at the bar, watching the three of them. "He ordered it and said to give it to "the pretty girl outside with her angry brother"," the waitress said, winking at Serenity. "If you need anything else, just call!" She said before entering back in the restaurant.

Serenity looked at the sundae, at Luke and back to the overly sweet treat. She took a bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly as beads of water ran down the glass dish. "What should I do?" She whispered to Luke, feeling the man's eyes on her from the bar. Serenity hated to be rude but that sundae would kill her for sure.[/blockquote][/size]

[lukecolburn]

She laughed at him and a crease formed in his forehead. Diabetes and laughing didn’t usually add up to him, but it seemed to be the common response whenever Luke brought it up. Serenity looked back at him, directly in the eyes, and he paused for a moment. He took the time to really notice her eyes. How green they were, and how deep they went. The different shades of green in her eyes made them seem even deeper than they were. They were innocent and momentarily bold, daring to stare straight back into his brown eyes. His hard, untrusting eyes. Really, Luke wasn’t surprised that Serenity almost never looked him in the eye. He made a habit out of it to show just how powerful he could become. He did it to prove he could not be intimidated. No person, or vampire, or werewolf, or any other bastard that crossed his path would be treated any different. They all got the same stare: the one that says “Don’t fuck with me.” Although he didn’t feel the need to be so assertive towards her, the look came involuntarily. He felt bad about it sometimes.

Everything appeared to be in order. She made enough money for two more months of insulin and a bit extra for lunch. All from flowers. He smiled slightly but at that moment her eyes turned away, shunning his attempt at visual happiness from the news. Serenity looked behind him and Luke instinctively looked back over his shoulder at the same time to see what she was looking at. There was the waitress with their food. His stomach growled with Serenity’s and he practically bounced up and down in his chair with anticipation. He hadn’t eaten since the night before, and his abnormal sleep had gotten his digestive track confused. The excitement suddenly came to a halt when not just two plates full of delicious food were placed in front of them, but an enormous sundae was put in front of Serenity as well. Luke paused in mid fork-dive and looked up at the waitress when Serenity spoke.

His eyes followed the waitress’s finger to a man who was sitting at the bar, watching all three of them. Luke set his fork down for a moment and watched the guy quietly. So Serenity had people looking after her now. Normally, in any regular situation, Luke wouldn’t care if people were sending sundaes to her because she was an attractive woman, and it was something easily predictable. But, the red flag went up in his mind. If someone was trying to get Serenity’s attention through food, who knows what his real agenda was. He could be trying to lure her over to the bar by herself. He could be trying to calculate if Serenity showed just enough interest in him that he could find out where she lived. A whole slew of things could happen because of this one man. He could be very dangerous to both of them. Luke tried not to become too wary of him, though. If the situation got out of control, he would deal with it. But, for now, he would just keep his eye on the guy.

Luke gave a little huff of a laugh and shook his head at being called her angry brother. It wasn’t so much that the guy thought they were related that he found amusing, but more that he was so visibly angry, or appeared to be, all the time. Luke started eating his steak, which was especially delicious, until she asked him what to do. He noticed that Serenity was staring at the sundae and hadn’t touched her sandwich yet. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll eat it.” He grabbed the sundae and scooted it over next to his plate. He ate a bit more of his steak and then took a few bites of the sundae. The sweetness nearly killed him instantly but it was still delicious. Luke ate in silence and he ate quickly, devouring everything in front of him like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. He forgot about the guy at the bar and nearly forgot about Serenity as well. The food here was unusually good for the day, and there’s nothing like damn good food to sedate the usual tensions of the day.

[serenity]

Serenity watched Luke rip at his steak like a lion. 'He really was hungry,' she thought, taking a sip of her water. Her eyes went back to the sundae in concern when suddenly Luke said not to worry about it and he would eat it. She sighed in relief, smiling a little in thankfulness. Her green eyes met his brown ones for the second time the say and through a blush she whispered, "Thanks Luke."

Following Luke's example, she dove into her food with the same ferocity. She ate the whole sandwich, fries and drank her water. She sighed happily at the end and patted her stomach. Reaching into her purse, she took out her glucose measuring device, a needle, a vial of insulin and a syringe. Taking the needle, she quickly poked her finger and squeezed the skin around it until a little drop of blood formed. Placing some blood onto the strip of the glucose device, she waited for the numbers to pop up.

The waitress approached them again and cleared the dishes except for the half eaten sundae. She then placed the check face down on the table, a little bit closer to Luke. Serenity shook her head and smiled when she did this. Whenever they went out to eat, they would always place the check near him which she didn't mind; it was always easy to reach. Her hand grabbed the check when suddenly another hand appeared and forcefully placed it on her wrist.

"Excuse me missy, but I bought that sundae for you. Why you going and given it to him?" The man from the bar asked. His friends were standing behind him, laughing at the flustered man. You could tell from their rosy cheeks that they had too many pints at lunch. It was always the downside to most humans in this age; they didn't know when to stop drinking. The man's dirty hand gripped tighter waiting for her answer, making Serenity wince in slight pain.

"Um... I...I don't like ice cream," a panicked Serenity mumbled, trying to loosen his grip on her wrist with her other hand. The men laughed and the bar man grabbed the spoon from inside the sundae and grabbed a big scoop of melted ice cream and chocolate syrup.

"Come on girl, open wide," he said, moving the spoon closer. Serenity made the mistake of opening her mouth to protest and the man took the opportunity to shove the sweet soup into her mouth. She gagged and tossed back and forth, knocking her chair over and falling to the ground gagging and gasping for breath. Her face was bright red from the men's jeers and taunts, she covered her face with her hands and tried not to die from embarrassment.

[lukecolburn]

Luke felt nearly in love with his steak. His meal grabbed his entire attention for the next twenty minutes. Serenity’s diabetes no longer concerned him, the well being of the flowers left his mind, and his usual, wary looking around came to a halt. He gorged his empty belly like a wild creature, though on the outside he still seemed to be in control of himself. He still chewed before he swallowed and he still used his napkin, but his eyes were on that steak the entire time until it was gone. After his beloved steak was gone he ate the lettuce leaf and pickle that were sitting to the side of his plate, and then moved on to the sundae. He didn’t stop to look at Serenity’s progress until a quarter of the sundae was already gone. It was that moment where it hit his brain that he was no longer hungry, but actually quite full. He paused in his eating and sat back, spearing the sundae with the spoon, and looked over to Serenity again. Now that he wasn’t starving, Luke was feeling much less grouchy. For the moment.

Serenity was just finishing up and went about pricking her finger for her usual diabetes check. It was at that moment that Luke remembered the world did not revolve around his steak, and that just a little prick of the finger could draw some very unwanted attention to their table. He stiffened and glanced over at the bar where that guy had been before, but he must have left while he was eating, because he was no longer sitting there. Luke sifted through the small groups of people, laying eyes on a few that glanced back his way, but almost everyone else continued to go about their business. The waitress came and set the check down near him. Luke had just a moment to glance at the price before Serenity reached out to take the bill. How cruel did that make Luke seem, making the girl with diabetes pay for his steak?

Suddenly the atmosphere did not look too good anymore. Another hand reached forward and grabbed Serenity’s wrist when she reached for the check. Luke looked up, instantly aware and ready to kick the shit out of someone when he realized it was the man at the bar. He was flushed and obviously drunk, as were his friends standing behind him. The man grabbed the spoon and forced the ice cream into her mouth, which made her gag, lose her balance, and fall out of the chair. It was then that Luke stood up, suddenly very big, and suddenly very angry. Usually in situations like these, Luke wouldn’t lose his cool, but seeing as it was already out of hand, Luke was going to deal with this quick and mostly painlessly.

He took a quick step out from his chair and grabbed the man by the shoulder with quite the vice grip. When his drunken face turned to look at him with something resembling surprise, Luke’s fist caught him square in the nose. It happened in a matter of one second and the guy was about ten feet back and doubled over, cupping his bleeding face in his hands, making a high pitch, somewhat groaning sound out of pain and shock. His friends all stood frozen solid. One was looking at Luke’s fist, the other was stumbling towards the leader of the group, and the last one was quickly heading towards the exit. “I suggest you get him out of here before the real trouble starts.” Luke said smoothly, calm and completely under control. The two remaining followers helped the bleeding guy out of the restaurant. Everyone was looking at Luke. Some were frightened, but most of them seemed relieved to have the drunkards out of there. He stepped around the table to help Serenity up and at last, a small chuckle came from him. “Are you alright?”

[serenity]

Serenity wished the earth would grow a hole around her and swallow her up, that way she wouldn't have to face the public was was probably staring at her at the moment. Her face was as pink as her roses that bloomed so beautifully in the tin buckets. Her fingers moved away from her eyes just in time to see Luke punch the drunk man in the nose. She gasped in shock and watched the men stumble away.

She carefully watched Luke walk over to her and blushed more when he chuckled at her. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. "I am so sorry Luke," she whimpered, looking up at him with a sad, embarrassed and pathetic-feeling look. "I didn't mean for this to happen..." Serenity looked up at him but avoided his eyes.

A thought crossed her mind and her eyes wandered around the area that surrounded their table. Their cups were on the ground and the sundae was dripped onto the table from its side. And on the cement ground, her vial of insulin was smashed, the glass dripping with insulin.

"No!" Serenity cried, pushing past Luke and sliding to her bottle. She touched the pieces lightly, biting her lip to stop the forming tears from falling on her cheeks. That vial was supposed to last her for the rest of the month and it was only the beginning of September. She turned towards Luke, a worried look on her face.

"I don't have any extra insulin at home, Luke... This was it..." Serenity turned back to the broken glass as the waitress began to sweep it up. She stood up, rubbing her bear arms as if a chill had passed her. She was scared; she wouldn't be able to get any insulin until the day after next. That was if she was lucky enough to get it before it was sold out. That meant a flared reaction to no insulin unless she starved herself of course.

[lukecolburn]

It took Serenity a minute to realize what was going on. Attention in the room was all directed towards where Luke stood in a rather relaxed manner considering what had just happened. The table was a mess. How that happened, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t paying enough attention to the dishes and the cups when everything happened. He assumed that Serenity knocked them over when she fell out of her chair. Either way, his attention quickly went from the broken glass-wear and dripping sundae to his housemate crumpled up in embarrassment on the ground. The first thing he thought to do was chuckle. Of course this would happen on a day like today. Of course. At least he got a good meal in him before the bullshit started, because the satisfaction of that steak was keeping him levelheaded and pleasant despite what had just happened. Luke reached a hand out to Serenity to help her off the ground.

She started apologizing. He half expected it to happen, and half became irritated that it actually did. Why did she always apologize for everything that wasn’t her fault? She acted like a beaten dog, and she treated him like her abusive master. She wouldn’t look him in the eye and spouted out words that she didn’t mean for it to happen. Luke scowled, his signature pinch point between his eyebrows creasing twice what it had been before. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair and heaved a sigh. What else was he supposed to do? When Serenity got like this, he did not cater to it. He never wasted his time patting her back and cooing to her about how she was the victim in this situation, not the cause of it. She was twenty-five years old. She could handle herself; and if she couldn’t, she’d have to learn how to without him. Luke wasn’t her babysitter or father.

Serenity didn’t grab his hand to get up. Instead she stared around her at the mess that her falling had caused. She took in the cups on the ground, the dripping sundae, and the eyes that still stared at them, though a vast majority had gone back to what they were doing, shielding their curious glances from them to the best of their abilities. Serenity seemed to catch sight of something much more traumatic than all the rest, though. In an instant she was fumbling through little bits of broken glass, and Luke realized what had happened. His shoulders slacked suddenly, defeated by the one thing he could not control. Luke was very capable of protecting Serenity from harm, but he could not keep her from having seizures from lack of insulin.

He swore under his breath. The satisfaction of the steak and sundae quickly wore off at that moment. Her words sunk into him and he stared down at her, worried for her, but mostly boiling towards rage. Tears were in her eyes and she was obviously scared again. Part of Luke wanted to smack some sense into her. Though he was usually calm in difficult situations, his patience was quickly coming to an end. He pulled Serenity up by the arm and led her to the exit. The waitress detoured around to stop in front of him, demanding the bill for their food. Her hands were on her hips and she glowered at him. Her lips, painted even larger than they were with lipstick, ordered Luke to pay up. He leaned forward, enough into her personal space that the waitress shifted uneasily backwards, and spoke quietly to her. “Unless you have medication to keep this girl from having a serious reaction, I suggest you let us through. Those drunk bastards are your responsibility, not ours.” He hissed and shoved past her, dragging Serenity with him.

“Get your flowers and let’s go to the clinic.” he said. His words had grown terse and irritated. He did not ask her to do it, he demanded. He paced back and forth outside the entrance of the restaurant while he waited for Serenity to get her work things together before they would try to solve this problem, trying to block out the thoughts of how fucked over they were.

[serenity]

Ah the clinic; every humans worst nightmare. Sure, they did make you healthy again. But they didn't have an "emergency" room if you will. It was pretty much a first come, first served basis. You die while waiting? Well, that makes room for the people behind you to move up. The pharmacy was about the same. They had a set number of drugs they could sell in one day and once they were gone, you would have to wait until the next day for them. Luckily, most people didn't have diabetes so there was usually lots of insulin leftover.

Serenity nodded to Luke and walked over to her flowers. She grabbed armfuls of flowers at a time and shoved them all into two of the large metal buckets. She walked quickly over to the side kitchen door and tapped on it. A scruffy looking man with brown eyes answered the door, a frown almost as bent as his mustache.

"What you want Seren?" The man asked, coughing from years of tobacco layered in his lungs. She explained to him where she had to go and he nodded in understand.

"Please take the flowers and put them in the fridge for tomorrow. Thank you so much Carl," she said, walking back over to Luke. She nodded and they began to walk towards the clinic. Every once in awhile she would glance up at Luke but his face never changed. It was always angry and pissed, which she was not surprised about. What Serenity just wanted to know was if it was directed towards her or the men.

'Probably you. I mean, why didn't you put your insulin away? Oh right, you never even injected anything into yourself. Still, you idiot. You could have put it away once you saw danger. No wonder he is mad at you,' Serenity thought, beating the hell out of her own self-esteem. She did a lot when it was about Luke because she always seemed to piss him off. She sighed and kept in pace with him as they reached the clinic.

They stepped inside the sterile lobby and was met with a line. Luckily it wasn't the line for them. It was the line to be treated in the hospital. The two walked and stood in the much shorter line for the pharmacy. Serenity leaned up the wall, slouching a bit and looked at the people in line. One woman was in labor, three were bleeding profusely, one had glass in his face and two were lying on the floor and Serenity presumed they were dead by the way people were stepping over them.

She didn't flinch of scream or faint. She was no stranger to death and it was such a common occurrence in her life now, it was almost like another activity like breathing. Serenity sighed and moved a foot as the line got shorter. "So... did you enjoy your steak at least?" She asked, smiling innocently up at Luke.

[lukecolburn]

The walk to the clinic was a quiet one. Luke kept his eyes straight forward the entire time, taking only a few momentary glances either to Serenity, who was silently walking next to him, or the traffic, which was screaming in his ears. Horns blasted and traffic backed up at every streetlight they crossed. Multiple times, while trying to cross the street, dark shaded cars would fly past them, inches from their faces, through the red light and speed down the street. Drivers like that were the norm in downtown London. The police force was often too busy checking murder scenes or corporate robbing situations to worry about holding up the traffic law. Luke reacted like every normal, pissed off person would. He’d stop and shout after them to watch where the hell they were going, and then he’d stalk across the street and continue on his way. Unfortunately for both him and Serenity, his mood was quickly declining and staying in that downward slope. He was losing his patience more often than usual, and the look in his eyes was growing darker as time passed.

Every time Serenity glanced up at him, he would quickly look down at her and attempt a half smile to cheer her up a bit. Sure, he was in an awful mood, but Serenity was the one with a medical crisis right now, not him. She was the one risking horrible side affects to not having her insulin. Luke realized this and kept his anger to himself. He didn’t harass her about her nervous glances, and he didn’t shout at her when she fell a little bit behind his quick pace and long strides. Every once in a while he heard a quiet sigh coming from her, but he left her alone to her thoughts. A little while after leaving the restaurant, they reached the clinic. Luke stopped and peered up at the name to make sure they were in the right place, and afterwards he and Serenity walked in.

The two of them walked in and branched off into the line waiting for pharmaceutical needs. The line was short but moving nowhere fast, as the half-capable nurses and workers behind the desks lounged and wandered down the medicine shelves to look for various pills and other medications. They took their time and took breaks in between every customer, and sometimes even during helping out a customer. Going to the pharmacy was always a nuisance. Usually Luke went with Serenity, even if it wasn’t an emergency, to make sure she was safe. Many of the people who came here to get treated were not mentally stable and were quite unpredictable. Multiple times, the pharmacy had to be evacuated due to an uprising in an enraged person who was told to wait five more minutes. Windows were broken and a few nurses had a few scratches, but in a place like that, who knows what could happen next.

Luke stood in front of Serenity where she was leaned up against the wall. He had his back turned to the many people waiting in line to be treated for medical emergencies. Though Luke liked to keep an eye on everything around him, the number of disturbing images in that line kept his curiosity at bay and he focused instead on his housemate. She was looking over the people behind him with an interest he couldn’t quite understand. He had noticed the people lying either dead or passed out on the floor, but no one was there to help them move in the line, so they were left and forgotten. Luke scowled and dipped his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He stayed like that until he heard Serenity speak to him and he smiled a bit. “Best damn steak I’ve ever had.” He grew quiet again and waited silently for the line to dwindle down until it was Serenity’s turn. At last he was, and he stepped to the side to let her step up and check if there was any insulin here. By how long they were waiting, there had better be some damn insulin.

[serenity]

Serenity genuinely smiled when Luke said that he enjoyed the steak. Her heart felt a little bit lighter even with the heavy atmosphere weighing everything down. The line moved a lot faster once an angry looking werewolf got the medications he needed after threatening the nurses enough that they actually felt threatened. After a few minutes, she was at the window to the pharmacy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke step to one side to let her talk.

"Hello there," Serenity said, smiling to the nurse. He looked at her with a very angry look and rolled his eyes. "What the hell do you want so I can go home," he growled, making Serenity swallow in slight fear.

"Um.. I need a vial of insulin and two syringes for injection," she said, her voice shaking in fear. The man turned and shouted to the nurses that were scurrying through the shelves like rats in a maze, "I need a tub of bad candy juice and some prickers!" He turned back to her and held out his hand. "That will be $45.94, human," he mumbled.

Serenity opened her small purses and took out $46 and handed it to the man. She didn't bother to ask for change or to even tell him to keep it. They did that regardless to what the patient said. The hospital staff called it a "deserving tip that was rightfully theirs". She never argued about it and just stood there, waiting patiently for her parcel.

A rather fragile and wild looking woman brought a small brown bag wrapped in string to the man at the counter. He snatched it away from her, making her flinch, and shoved it into Serenity's hands, making her fall back a step. He smiled, his pearly fangs sparkling in the fluorescent lighting. "Have a lovely day in hell," he said, before barking for the next customer. She stepped over to Luke and held up her bag as if it was a prize.

"We are all good! Could we stop somewhere so I could..." She never finished her sentence when it came to diabetes. Clearing her throat, she started walking out of the hospital, knowing Luke was one step behind her as they walked back onto the streets of London.