they don't know you

Lily sat down at a table by the window, appreciating the warmth of the sun on her. Sipping her cappuccino, Lily studied the establishment for a moment as she waited for Mercia to join her, her eyes falling upon a familiar face on the other side of the cafe, a man she was sure she knew, sitting with his own friend. Diverting her gaze somewhere else, Lily snapped out of her daydream as Mercia sat opposite her. "You scared me."

Luke sat against the wall, his feet kicked up onto the chair beside his own as he watched Mercia accept her coffee from the barista, twisting his ring around his finger - the object allowing him to remain in sunlight, unburned and unphased. "They look nice today," he commented, looking over to Michael. It wasn't exactly a lie, either, Mercia looked stunning, as she always did, Luke could hardly take his eyes from her, but knew if he didn't, he'd seem suspicious.

Mercia offered a playful grin to her friend as she sat down. “I'd say I’m sorry, but I'm really not,” she teased lightly. Lifting her coffee to her lips, she took a sip of her drink before peering around a bit, her gaze landing on a man with the prettiest blue eyes she'd ever seen and, for a long moment, she'd been unable to pull her gaze away, feeling almost entranced, but she cleared her throat and offered her friend a smile.

Michael found himself watching Lily for a long time, always finding it so easy to get lost in watching her. She was always the most amazing thing he'd ever seen, even in his hundreds of years of life. Toying with his ring, sliding it around his finger, he looked to Luke to avoid seeming like a creep and nodded slightly. “They do,” he agreed, though he really only cared enough to pay attention to Lily, having not really paid attention to Mercia. “It gets harder every day not to approach her.”

"Of course you're not." Lily laughed, taking a sip of her drink as she relaxed with Mercia there, smiling back. "They've been looking this way for a long time." She told her quietly, looking in the direction to which she gravitated towards, unable to help herself as she tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear. "I swear, something about that one," she gave a very subtle nod to Michael; "seems so familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it."

Luke had lived through centuries, he'd seen different standards of beauty, different ways of life, and yet Mercia still stuck out to him, and Luke swore that, in those hundreds of years, he'd never seen such perfection. "Maybe we should." He suggested, wanting to feed his own curiosity. "We've been watching for too long." He shrugged, looking to Michael. "What could be the harm?" And although Luke didn't want to know the answer to that question, he was still interested in Mercia, wanting to know her on a personal level, amazed by her presence.

Mercia offered an amused look in response, but she nodded slightly with her friend’s words, keeping her own voice quiet so they could avoid being overheard. “They have,” she admitted quietly, because she’d noticed their attention when they’d first come in. She chewed on her lip, though, and nodded. “The other one seems familiar, too. Maybe they’re just here a lot and we haven’t really noticed them before now?”

Michael peered over at Lily for a few moments, taking in the sight of her for a few long moments, amazed by her, by her beauty, by her perfection, and he found himself wondering how in the world somebody as wonderful as her even existed. “Alright, then, let’s give in to our own temptation,” he joked lightly before he shifted and stood up, making his way over first as he offered a smile to Lily. “Hi there, I’m Michael.”

Lily toyed with her lip, shrugging her shoulders lightly in response. "I don't know, Mercia, I feel like I've known him for a while." She told her friend, frowning with curiosity. "I just can't put a name to a face." She sat back in her chair. Although when she heard Michael's introduction, she turned to look at him, offering him a smile as if she and Mercia weren't just talking about the two handsome strangers. "Hiya." She smiled in return, swearing that Michael's smile was the best damn thing she'd ever seen. "I'm Lily."

Luke followed Michael's lead, shaking his head in amusement at Michael's jump to action. Still, Luke focused his attention on Mercia, and he swore he'd never seen perfection such as this. Still, Luke smiled. "Hello there." He greeted happily. "I'm Luke." He studied Mercia for a long moment, just completely transfixed by her beauty, before he cleared his throat subtly. "We were wondering if we could buy you ladies another drink?" He offered, his voice calm. He would do anything to spend time with Mercia, and Luke thought his offer was fair enough and not too suspicious.

Michael smiled when Lily spoke, captivated by her voice, just wanting to hear more of it, so absolutely entranced by her. “It's wonderful to meet you, Lily,” he told her gently as he watched her, just memorizing all of her features while he could now that he was closer to her, just wanting to never forget what she looked like, what she sounded like. “Like my friend here offered, I'd love to buy you another drink - and to invite you to sit with us, if you're alright with that?” He arched a brow, curious but hopeful.

Mercia watched her friend, not wanting to admit that a huge part of her felt the same way towards the other man; it was like an odd sense of deja vu. Before she could speak, though, she blinked when the men came over, her gaze going to the one who called himself Luke. “Oh, uh… Hi,” she greeted with a small smile. “I'm Mercia. And I don't know about my friend, but another drink would be amazing.” She chewed on her lip. “It's nice to meet you, Luke.”

Lily smiled, biting her lip as Michael spoke, wondering why she was so captivated by him. "It's wonderful to meet you too, Michael." She spoke gently, but she watched his lips as he spoke, appreciating how damn handsome he was. "But I'd love to take you up on that offer." She smiled, finding herself curious, wanting to spend more time with him.

Luke smiled at Mercia. "It's lovely to meet you, Mercia." He took her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand with a smile. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you'll join us." He spoke with a smile, just studying her, memorising the sound of her voice, her gorgeous face, unable to pull himself away from her, happy to be close to her.

Michael grinned slightly to her words, relieved to hear it. “I’m glad to hear that,” he told her quietly before he shifted, offering his hand out to help her up. “Come on, I’ll show you to our table, then I’ll go place your order for another drink.” And, admittedly, he was eager to be near her, to talk to her, to learn about her through her rather than by watching her.

Mercia blinked as she watched him, though she smiled slightly, her heart swelling with the way he’d kissed her hand, and she tried not to feel flustered by the interaction. “Thank you for inviting us,” she said quietly before she shifted to stand, grabbing her cup. “Do you frequent this place?”

Lily bit her lip, smiling as she placed her hand in Michael's, looking up at him intently as he helped her up. "Such a gentleman." She spoke softly, the contact between them having her a little flustered, her eyes meeting his for a long moment. "Call me crazy," she told him, hesitantly at first. "I just... feel like I've seen you before." She told him, her eyes flickering from his eyes to his lips, and back again.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation." Luke grinned, squeezing her hand gently as she stood beside him, her presence making Luke feel like he was the most important person on Earth. The fact Mercia's attention was on him at all was so incredible to him. "Not often." He told her, not letting go of her hand, but keeping his grip loose. "So, Mercia, what's your poison?" he hinted to her drink with a smile.

Michael perked up a bit with Lily’s words, and he watched her for a moment, grinning slightly. “I’m glad to hear you think so,” he told her quietly, feeling his heart swell with the thought, because he wanted to leave a good impression, a lasting impression, hopeful that it would stick. He blinked, though, as she spoke again, and his grin softened to a fond smile. “I don’t think you’re crazy at all. Maybe we’ve seen each other around?”

Mercia smiled slightly as she watched Luke, surprised with how… Right it felt to be in his presence, to listen to his voice. “You don’t have to thank me,” she assured, shaking her head slightly, taking him in, silently admiring him before she was brought back to reality with his question, and she cleared her throat. “It’s just a coffee, nothing too grand.”

Lily smiled with Michael's words, studying him fondly as he spoke, because his voice was so sweet, she could listen to him speak all day. "Maybe we have," she hummed happily, unable to take her gaze from him because she was so certain he was right - she'd seen him before, perhaps met him in another life. "Maybe we were meant to meet." And as the words slipped from her mouth, Lily realised she hadn't meant to say them out loud.

Luke smiled with Mercia's words, still keeping a loose hold of her hand, the feeling of her skin against his own bringing him a comfort he could never quite verbally describe. She had been all he'd wanted for so long, and having her this close, speaking to her, just confirmed to him that she was meant to be his. Smiling with the thought, Luke shook his head in amusement. "Of course I have to thank you." Luke promised, admiring the light behind her eyes. "Oh, just a normal flat white?" Luke asked with a grin.

Michael took Lily in, enjoying the sight of her, enjoying the sound of her voice, and he smiled to himself, nodding slightly. “I think you’re right,” he told her honestly as he took her in, admiring her unashamedly, enjoying being near her, in any way he could be. “I think we were absolutely meant to meet. Fate and all.”

Mercia smiled slightly as she listened to Luke, and she chewed on her lip, surprised with the way it felt so… Right, so natural, just speaking to him, being near him. Still, she nodded slightly. “Yeah, just that sounds good,” she assured as she watched him. “Are you going to get anything for yourself?”