Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luke could hear the roar of Michaels Motorcycle outside the small café and just couldn't help himself but watch as Michael parked the motor and jumped off, smoothing out his leather jacket in the process.

Luke always had a secret liking towards Michael; unlike most people. Michael, Michael Clifford, was the typical towns 'Bad boy', didn't care for anyone but himself. He always walked around with a toothpick or a cigarette placed between parted lips. His hair was black and slightly messy, as if he spent ten minutes running his hands through it. To top his 'I'm a greaser, beware' look off, he had a signature smirk on his face and an unzipped leather jacket. Very delightful in Lukes eyes.

The café door opened and a small bell chimed loudly, shaking Luke out of his thoughts and causing him to lock his eyes on the figure that was walking towards him; Of course, Michael Clifford. Luke felt his heart jump into his throat and he scrambled his hands around the counter he was standing behind to try and look for the small notepad he used to wright down orders. "G-Good morning!" Luke squeaked out as the other male rested his elbow on the table, placing his chin in his palm. The greasers inviting green eyes locked with Lukes baby blue ones and Luke could feel his cheeks heat up as Michaels mouth twitched into a smile, "Alright, love?" Michaels voice was low and calm. Luke nodded frantically before bowing his head down to look at his notepad.

"What could I get you today, sir?"

Michael hummed in thought and looked through the many options before him. Flickering his eyes up, Luke stared at the mans sinfully red lips and tried with all his might to hold himself back from tasting them. "Just give me a cappuccino, would you sweetheart?" Michaels finally decided and Luke scribbled down the order before nodding, trying not to let the pet names get to him.

Michael was always like this; showering Luke with pet names and just charming the daylights out of him. Luke didn't mind, he just hates how shy he was around him.

"Your Cappuccino, sir." Luke got the hot drink ready as fast as he could and popped the lid on, handing it to the greaser. Michael smiled and placed a £5 note on the counter before taking a sip of the coffee. "Ah, thanks love."

Luke leaned himself on the counter in a dreamy manner and glanced up at Michael, letting his mind drift off in a daydream. He just wanted to run out of the café, hop on Michaels motorcycle and let Michael drive him off to God knows where.

It took Luke almost minutes to realise Michaels eyes were inches away from his. Luke felt his cheeks heat up in pure embarrassment as Michael whispered lowly in his ear.

"Doll, you're staring."

Chapter Text

"God, I'm so stupid!" Luke cursed to himself as he walked home from a long day of work. Michael caught him staring and told him. Well, he smiled and winked before walking out to his motorcycle so it's not too bad, right?

As soon as he got home, he ran up the stairs without even saying "I'm home!" to his mother, guess he didn't want her to see his flushed cheeks and ask about it. Poor Lukey.

The next day was just like any othe day; busy. Luke didn't mind the café being so full, it meant he could talk to more people and judge who's nice and who's not. People watching was like a hobby to him.

"That old lady over there ordered this latte," Lukes best friend, Calum, who also worked at the café, spoke to him while handing him the small tray with the hot coffee placed carefully on it. "Why can't you do it?" Luke raised a brow and Calum just gave him a look as if it was so obvious. "I'm busy, aren't I?"

Before Luke could even handle one coffee, Calum placed two more on the tray and told him who they belonged to. Yikes, Lukes arms were too weak for this!

Luke began daydreaming as he walked around the café to give the people their orders. It was a bad habit of his because he always blanked out and never watched where he was going. Like right now.

"Ah!" All of a sudden Luke fell to the floor with the three coffees going with him, landing dangerously close to his head. Luke could once again feel his cheeks heat up as a familiar mouth smirked at him.

"Oh, my bad sweetheart." Michael reached his hand out for Luke to take and the blonde boy accepted it, letting the boy pull him back to his feet. "I uhm-" Luke cleared his throat. "I better clean this up." Luke mumbled as he looked at the massive puddle of coffee surrounding him and Michael hummed. "Gosh, Doll," Michael frowned, "I'm ever so sorry, should've watched where I was going." Luke could tell there was a trick up Michaels sleeve, he could see it in his eyes.

"It's okay, honestly." Shaking his head, Luke turned his body to go and fetch a mop but a hand grabbed his wrist, pulling him back.

Michaels mouth was pressed against his ear and Luke became shy as he could feel pairs of disgusted eyes burning his body. Not much people approved of men behaving like this to each other in public. They never said it out loud when it came to Michael Clifford, though.

"Say, how about we grab a bite to eat," Michael whispered, "To show how sorry I am."  Luke could only take a deep breath and nod slowly, "Oh uhm, alright," Michael grinned. "Great, I'll pick you up when your shift is over." Luke raised an eyebrow, "But that's not until eight tonight!" Luke didn't want to stay out to late with this man, he did but he knew it wasn't right.

"Aw, Doll, Ain't no harm in that." Michael nudged Luke gently in the ribs, "I promise to take you home like the gentleman I am." Luke let out a soft laugh and could've sworn Michaels eyes lit up.

"Bye, Sweetheart." Then Michael left.

After Luke got the place cleaned up and gave people their waited orders, he relaxed beside Calum. "God," Calum scoffed, "He's obsessed with you!" Luke raised a brow, "Hmm?" Oh no, the roll of the eyes. "Michael is always here and not just for the coffee, but for you. I swear he'd rather drink you than any beverage in this building!" Lukes cheeks flushed red. "Shut up, he was only being friendly!" Again, the roll of eyes, "He done that on purpose Lukey, you're so oblivious!" Calum sighed, "The bad boy falling head over heals in love with the nerd, how adorable."

By now, Lukes cheeks were on fire. Guess Calum was right, Luke was quite oblivious to notice the obvious when it came to Michael.

"He's not in love wi- Nerd? What you mean nerd?"

Chapter Text

Calum was wiping the café tables clean while Luke was in the store room, getting his stuff all ready before Michael arrived. The small bell on the door soon chimed and the echo of footsteps could be heard in the empty room. "Cal, right?" Calum looked up and saw Michel leaning his elbows against the table Calum was wiping. "Calum, actually." Calum replied, placing the damp cloth over his shoulder. "Luke should be out any minute." Michaels mouth twitched into a smile and gave the other boy a short nod before seating himself on a chair.

"Luke, Mister Loverboy has arrived." Luke rolled his eyes as Calum peaked his head through the store door. "Quit it," He mumbled before pushing past him. "Have fun!" Was all Calum could say before Michael gently pushed Luke out the door. "Gosh, Darlin'." Michael frowned as they reached the motorcycle. Lukes cheeks once again flamed up at the nickname, they just sounded so good rolling off an Austrailian tongue. "You're bound to be cold, hmm?" Michael ran his hand up Lukes goosebump-filled arm, making Luke shiver even more. "N-No, I'm okay." Luke squeaked out but Michael could see right through him. Lukes eyes nearly popped out as he saw Michael slip his leather jacket off his shoulders, leaving him in just a plain white shirt. "Take it, love. You need it more than me," Luke nibbled on his lip as he caught a strong scent of the jacket as Michael threw it over his shoulders; the inviting scent of aftershave.

"Now," Michael sighed as he threw one leg over his motorcycle, "Let's get going, shall we?" Luke just stared at the vehicle as if it was the most terrifying thing ever, he didn't want to get on it in case he fell off or something. Michael noticed and just smirked, "Come on," He cooed, patting the space behind him, "Hop on, love." Luke just took a deep breath and swung a leg over and quickly gripped onto Michaels waist, fearing that he might've fallen off. "Hold on tight, 'kay?" Michael whispered before letting the engine of the motor roar loudly in the empty and quiet street. Luke couldn't think straight as he was suddenly zooming down the road.

Luke was quite frightened as both of them weren't wearing any helmets, so he just buried his face in Michaels back, taking sneaky sniffs of his welcoming scent; don't judge him, we all like smelling good looking boys, right? 

"Love, you can open your eyes now." Michael whispered as he parked at a small sandwich shop, gently prying Lukes tight grip off him. Luke realised eventually and blushes, quickly pulling his arms away. "You're bound to be hungry, I know I am." Michael groaned and Luke just simply nodded, shakily trying to climb off the bike. Michael chuckled at the blonde boys state and lifted him off the bike, setting his feet back on the ground before ruffling his hand through Lukes blonde hair. "Gosh, you're always red, aren't you Doll?" Michael teased and brushed his fingers against Lukes burning face. Luke couldn't help but pout.

Oh, how Michael was a charmer. He told Luke some corny jokes, complimented him as if his life depended on it and just couldn't keep his eyes off him. Luke even asked why he kept staring and Michael just replied with a simple, "You got a pretty face, Darlin'." Of course, Luke turned bright red.

It wasn't long until they were zooming down the street again, heading towards Lukes small house. Luke couldn't really if he wanted to go home or not, he just wanted to be showered with Michaels words, even though he always blushed furiously at them. When they finally pulled up at the house, the two boys hopped off. "I went the right way? You sure this is your house?" Michael asked and Luke just giggled, nodding his head. "Well, I had a good time," Michael admitted, making Luke grin and nod, "I did too, honestly!" 

Luke squeaked out a rushed goodbye and was about to turn away, but Michael pulled him back and gently held his hand, moving it towards his lips before placing a soft kiss to the blonde boys knuckle. Luke could feel his heartbeat quicken as Michael chuckled, winked and zoomed off.

And that's when Luke realised he still had Michaels jacket.

Chapter Text

The next morning was very chilly and Luke was getting ready to leave for work. Walking around his room, his feet got tangled on something and he fell to the floor with a thud. "What the-" Luke groaned and rubbed his head while picking up the object that tripped him up.

Michaels leather jacket.

Luke nibbled on his lip as he remembered how warm the jacket was, how comforting it was throughtout the whole night he spent with Michael. Luke decided to slip the jacket on and go to work. He knew people would stare and wonder how he got his hands on the greasers clothing but he didn't care; he wanted people to stare.

Luke arrived at the small café and pushed open the store door, nearly knocking Calum over. "Whoa, Luke watch where you're- is that Michaels jacket?" Calum was about to scold Luke for nearly taking the head off him, but his eyes immediately glued to the jacket. Luke smiled proudly while slipping it off his shoulders to hang it up on the coat hanger."Mmm-hmm!" Luke hummed a reply and grabbed his apron while Calum just stood there and smirked. "What?" Raising a brow, Luke watched as his best friends eyes crinkled up as he grinned and nudged his ribs. "You like him! How was it? Where did you go? Did you-" Calum was throwing questions at him at a rapid speed and Luke just couldn't keep up. "Calum!" Luke held his hands up and Calum instantly shut up.

"Right, sorry." Luke rolled his eyes and then quickly told him everything. "-And that's how I ended up here with his jacket." Luke finished and Calum looked like he was ready to explode in excitemen. "Jesus, that's so cute!" Calum cheered, patting Luke on the back before grabbing a small notepad and pen. "I'm happy for you, man!" Luke smiled and followed Calum out the door.

The café was quick to filll up in the early morning with small families, young couples and cheery children getting breakfast before they headed off to their next destination. As usual, Luke was in his own daydream. That's when the café toned down a bit when the small bell went off. Luke shook himself out of his thoughts and blushed, quickly straightening himself up behind the counter as he watced Michael walk closer and closer to him.

Michael looked less intimidating without his jacket but people still kept their distance. His dark hair was messy and he was wearing dark jeans with a slighty ripped, white shirt and there was a thin toothpick peaking out between his red, smirking lips. Luke felt himself tense up in either nervousness or happiness; He couldn't tell.

"Good morning, Darlin'." Michaels voice was low, quiet and calm as it rang through Lukes ears. "Morning!" Lukes voice squeaked and he felt himself cringe. 'God, don't do that again.' Luke thought to himself then brought his attention back to Michael, who was giving him a toothy smile. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have my jacket, would ya' love?" Luke wanted frown as he didn't want to give the jacket back, he loved the feeling and smell of it; It reminded him so much of Michael.

"Y-Yeah, I'll get it now." Luke rushed to the store room and took the jacket off the hanger, giving it one more tight embrace and simple sniff before walking back to the counter, placing it in front of the boy. "Aw, thanks love!" Michael grinned and winked at the blonde boy, making Luke blush. "Right, I'll be off then." Michael slipped on the jacket and was about to turn away.

"Wait!" Luke nearly jumped over the counter and grabbed Michaels wrist, making him turn back and raise a brow, "What is it, Doll?" Luke almost stuggled to get the words out. "S-Stay. Don't- Don't go yet." Michael smirked and leaned against the counter, resting on his elbows. "Alright then, gimmie an Americano."

Chapter Text

Michael spent pretty much the whole day at the café talking to Luke. Calum was getting quite annoyed as Michael was distracting Luke from his job. Maybe Calum was just jealous? Maybe he also wanted a good looking man to distract him from work and sweep him off his busy feet. He tried not to let it get to him.

Luke and Calum went on their break and Calum was stuck listening to the two boys flirt away. "You alright, Calum?" Calum turned his head to look at his friend and just nodded, "Just bored." Michael then cleared his throat to get his attention. "My friend should be here any minute." Calum scoffed, "I don't want to meet any of your friends." Michael laughed, running his hand through his black hair. "Alright mate, suit yourself."

It wasn't long until the café door swung open and a man dressed similar to Michael appeared. "There you are, Mikey!" The stranger grinned and Michael slipped off his chair to give him some strange handshake. Luke thanked the lord that the café was closed, he didn't want to know what would happen if there was people here, they would just have looks of disturbance.

Calum went off to the small store room, so he hadn't seen Michaels friend yet. "Luke, this is Ashton, a good mate of mine." Luke smiled shyly and Ashton quickly pulled him into a hug, patting him roughly on the back, "Ah, Lukey! How's it hangin'?" Gosh, this guy was jolly. Luke just nodded and continued to smile. Luke had to admit, this guy was quite cute. He was tall, not as tall as Michael though. He had a mop of curly brown hair, hazel coloured eyes and a big, dimpled smile. He seemed less threatening to be a friend of Michaels.

"Well, well, well!" Ashton suddenly belted, looking behind Luke. The two other boys turned around and saw that he was looking at Calum who had finally decided to make an appearanc. "Who's this?" Ashton stepped closer and closer until he was leaning against the counter, staring over at the tanned boy who began to blush. "O-Oh, I'm Calum." Calum mustered up the best confident smile he could. "Call me Ashton or Ash, sweetheart." Ashton replied back and winked, before straightening himself up again.

"Right, I'll wait outside for you!" Ashton patted Michael on the back before heading out the door and walke to his motorbike that was parked beside Michaels. "Where are you going?" Luke squeaked and grabbed onto Michaels wrist as Michael went to turn away. "Just going for a little drive, wanna come with?" Luke nibbled on his lip. "I think I better stay here with Cal." Michael pouted but didn't argue, just nodded.

"Say, me and a pile of my other mates are having a small get together or whatever tonight, you guys wanna join?" Calum walked over to the two boys. "I-Is Ashton going to be there?" Calum felt like an obsessed boyfriend, but he really wanted to see Ashton again. Michael chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah he will-" "Luke, we're going." Luke almost snorted at his friend, "Fine, alright." Luke laughed, "Pick us up at 8:50, okay?" Michael nodded, kissed Lukes hand and headed for the door.

"Oh, Calum?" Michael put his hand on the doorknob and turned to look at Calum, "He's single, mate."

Chapter Text

Luke was very careful when it came to time. He knew 8:50pm was an odd time to be picked up at, but he had his reasons and Calum knew not to question them. Luke liked to relax when he got home from work; have some tea and watch some tv. So he done that with Calum for a while which took about 15 minutes all together, which equals 8:15. Then Luke helped Calum pick an outfit, but Calum got self conscious and started throwing clothes everywhere while rambling stuff like "What if he thinks I look fat? Or stupid? Or ugly?" Which got them to 8:23. Then, of course, it came to Luke who started to sweat with nerves, so he took a quick shower and then also started to panic and throw clothes everywhere. This got them to 8:40.

So, with ten minutes to spare, the two boys just talked until a faint knock came to the front door. The two boys left the house and saw that the other two boys didn't have motorcycles, but a black car. It was nice and clean and Luke approved of it. "Hop in." Michael motioned the two boys to get it as he held the back door open for them, and then off they went to wherever it was they were going.

The car ride was actually very lively. Michael and Ashton would crack some jokes to get the two boys more comfortable, and it definitely worked. Luke could sense they were getting close to their destination as he could hear The Beach Boys blasting faintly in the distance and people singing and laughing. As they got closer, Luke could see people running, dancing and lying on top of their cars. He felt pressure on his hand then turned his head to meet Calums eyes; Calum was nervous. The blonde boy gave a reasuring  smile to his friend and squeezed his hand. "Relax." He silently mouthed to him.

"Here we are, lovelys!" Ashton yelled as he parked the car and they all hopped out. The whole place was filled with happy people, happy music and just a happy atmosphere. It was dark outside but you could faintly see people by the help of the big fire blazing in the middle of the place. "Mikey and Ash are here!" A girl squealed and suddenly, people began to cheer. They must've been popular here.

"Come with me." Ashton said to Calum, and before you knew it, they dispeared in the crowd of people. "It's so crowded here." Luke mumbled nervously and Michael suddenly got the impression that he wanted to leave. "Stay with me, love." He pleaded and gently held onto Lukes arms. Luke couldn't help but smile and nod. "I'm not going anywhere."

The whole night was fun, the boys enjoyed themselves. Ashton had Calum pressed up against a wall, giving him small pecks all over his face while Calum laughed and struggled to continue his sentence, only to be cut off again by an actual kiss. It went on like this for awhile. Meanwhile, Michael and Luke were Laying on the roof of the car, staring up at the stars.

Michael laughed at something Luke said. "You're something special." He chuckled, shaking his head. "I really like you, Luke." Luke liked it when he was showered with pet names, but he also liked it when Michael said his real name, it sounded nice. "I like you too, Michael." Luke turned his head to Michael and blushed as he realised Michael was already looking at him, so he shyly looked away. It made Michael chuckle. "Doll?" "Yeah, Mikey?" Silence. "M-Michael?" "Can I kiss you?"

Chapter Text

Lukes cheeks flushed ever so darkly and his breath caught in his throat. It was silent for what felt like forever, until Michael chuckled. "Ah, sorry Doll." Luke stayed silent, he was too scared to open his mouth. Michael sat up and was about to slide off the car, but Luke quickly reacted and grabbed his wrist. "W-Wait!" Michaels head tilted to the side and he raised a brow. "Yeah?" "You want to...Kiss me?" Luke watched as Michael got back to his previous spot and Michael just laughed, leaning close to Lukes face, so close that the blonde boy could feel the others breath hitting his face. "Yeah," Michael admitted quietly, "I do." Lukes breath was becoming shallow and heavy as he felt the older boys thumb skim across his lower lip. Do it! Just do it! Lukes thoughts were screaming so loud.

Suddenly, Michael pulled back quickly and nearly fell face first off the car. Luke was about to yell at him, asking him if he was okay until he saw Ashton smirking up at him, gripping tightly to Michaels jacket. Luke frowned but then made eye contact with Calum who was glued to Ashtons side with Ashtons arm loosely wrapped around his waist. "Seriously, man?" Michael mumbled as he shoved Ashton away from him, brushing himself off as Ashton just smiled. "Me and sweet lips over here-" Calum squeaked in surprise, "Are getting hungry, let's get some food." Michael just looked over at Luke sadly, but also in question and sighed, holding his hand out for him to take. "Come on, Love, let's join them." Luke just went along with it and took hold of his hand.

Luke and Michael were sat silently in the front of the car, trying to block out the loud noises of Ashtons and Calums sloppy kisses. Luke had to admit, he was jealous. Calum was sat on Ashtons lap with his arms around his neck as the curly haired boys hands were placed comfortably on his ass, trying to pull him closer; Luke wanted Michael to do that to him.

"Are you sure you two are hungry?" Michael grimaced as he looked at the two boys through the review mirror. "You look pretty occupied back there." Luke giggled a little at the small joke and smiled over at the dark haired boy, earning him a quick wink in return. "Hmph- D-Dude, just drive me and Cal to my p-place, would'ya?." Ashton was panting hard and and trying to catch his breath from after all the kisses and Michael turned his nose up in disgust. "Alright, man..."

"Bye Calum," Luke flashed a small smile to his friend and Calum just waved before running into Ashtons house. Calum had never been this forward with people and it slightly upsetted Luke. "I'll just drive you home, that okay with you, Love?" Luke didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay with Michael. "Uhm, yeah," He mumbled, "Sure."

The only kiss Luke got as he was dropped off home was a kiss to the cheek. Not quite what he wanted, but he didn't complain.

The next day, Luke just felt like punching Calum right in the face. The tanned boy just wouldn't shut up about how great Ashton was. It was sickening. Maybe he was just jealous as hell.

"His lips were so soft," Calum would say. "God, his hands were so strong!" He would swoon. "Have you seen how fluffy his hair is? It felt so good around my fingers!" God, shut up!

"That's great, Calum." Luke mumbled as he scribbled absentmindedly on a piece of paper. Calum frowned and nudged his ribs. "You okay, Lukey?" Luke gave him a fake smile and nodded.

He just really wanted to kiss Michael.

Chapter Text

The next day, the small café was very busy, sworming with so many people that Luke almost couldn't cope. That wasn't the only thing he couldn't cope with, though.

"Look at him," Luke snarled to Calum as they both carefully watched Michael flirt with almost every girl the room. Luke didn't know what to think about it. Michael looked a lot more happier than he usually was. Was he planning on telling Luke that whatever they had was over? Oh God, Luke really didn't want that.

"I wonder what that boy's up to." Calum thought and furrowed his eyebrows in wonder as he kept his eyes locked on Michaels figure, watching his every casual move. The boys were becoming very suspicious as they saw him smile, laugh and wink at all the pretty, petite girls. 'What a jerk, I can't believe I fell for him like that!' Luke angrily thought to himself as he turned away and decided to clean some of the empty tables. All the few, good memories they had together was thrown out the window. Calum frowned at his upset friend and decided to just let him go.

"Ah, there's my pretty boy." Luke almost blushed but just carried on with his job as he felt Michaels arms wrap around his waist. "Doll?" Michaels voice sounded a bit sad. Good. 

"Aw, what's wrong?" Michael was begging for Luke to talk to him, to tell him what was bothering him as he followed the blonde boy around the café. He was about to give up, seeing as the boy was avoiding him. So he said his goodbye and slowly walked away. "Oh for Gods sake." Luke mumbled to himself and quickly reached his hand out to grab Michaels wrist before Michael could get any further away. "Wait." He spoke.

"What the hell was that?" Michael almost snapped, his face filled with confusion and anger and Luke just glanced down at the floor in a guilty manner. "You seemed very confident and happy when you talked to those girls." Michael almost laughed. "That's what this is about?" The black haired boy reached his hand out and cupped Lukes cheeks in his palm. "It hurt me." Luke admitted and this time, Michael laughed. "I was just in a good mood, that's all." 

"I thought you were annoyed with me." Lukes face turned red as he felt stupid admitting his thoughts to the greaser. Michaels thumb skimmed over Lukes cheekbone in admiration and his voice became low. The two boys could feel everyones eyes on them, especially the girls who Michael was flirting with.

"Want to know why I was so happy?" Shivers ran down the blonde boys spine as he had hundreds of ideas running through his brain. "Enlighten me." He whispered. "Because," Michael started, leaning closer. Lukes heart started to beat so fast, he was convinced that it was going to burst through his chest.

"I can finally do this." Michaels unbelievably red lips eventually found their way to Luke pale pink ones and Luke felt relief wash over him as he finally got what he wanted.