never be alone

Luke scrubbed a hand over his face as he packed his things after a day of writing at the studio. Ashton had text him early that morning saying he was onto something with some lyrics, and he'd asked that the boys joined him with one of the producers. Lo and behold, it was now nearly six pm, it was getting dark outside, and the day was done with a full song written and a melody thought of. Still, Luke was excited to get home, although things hadn't exactly been paradise there, either. Sighing, Luke frowned with the thought, looking to Michael, who had he been talking to. "I can't wait to see Alesia," he confessed. "Maybe we can have a quiet night, and, you know, actually spend time together."

Keira exhaled a shaky breath as she wiped her face. Working in an old people's care facility was something she loved doing, but God, it came with it's difficult days, and this was one of those days. Mrs Lucas had, very unfortunately, passed away, and Keira was always told not to get attached to the patients, but Mrs Lucas was one of her favourite people to speak to, always so kind and willing to speak, and Keira had even told her about some of the problems she was facing at home, with Michael. Neatening out her uniform, Keira went to phone the woman's family, hating to break the news to anyone.

Michael couldn't believe how long the day felt. It'd been a productive day, of course, and that was good for the band, but all Michael wanted to do was get home now, especially since they were getting out a little earlier today than usual - even if only a little earlier. "Tell me about it," he said with a nod when he heard Luke's voice, "I can't wait to see Keira - if she's even home." He chewed on his lip with the thought, frowning to himself with the thought, because he knew how busy they both were and he wasn't even sure what time Keira got off from work or what time she would be getting off. It'd been a while since he could even pay attention to that, having in the past been able to easily pick her up from work or even met her at home right on time, because he'd used to keep track of her work schedule. Lately, though - and for a while now - he'd been too busy to do so, and they'd both been too busy to really tell each other what their day plans were. It felt like they barely even got to say more than a few words to each other the past few months and he hated it, because that wasn't them, but he wasn't sure if it could be helped at this point. He wanted to try to fix it all, because a part of him was worried that Keira was slipping through his fingers, but, with everything they were both doing, it didn't seem like there were many ways to do that. "I'm not used to this, man. Keira and I used to be able to talk about anything and everything, but now we don't even have the time to do that. I miss being able to just have an actual conversation with her, rather than just a 'good morning' or 'see you later.'"

Today was not Alesia's day. The morning had started out with Petunia getting sick and Alesia had made sure to take Petunia to the vet, worried about the pup, but she'd then gotten called into work early before she could even find out what was wrong with Petunia, and had had to ask Luke's parents to pick up Petunia in her stead and to update her. Luke's parents had been wonderful about that, but they'd asked about how things were with Luke, how Luke was, and that had just reminded Alesia that she didn't know; she and Luke hadn't had time to sit around and talk lately, she couldn't even remember the last time they spent more than a few minutes in each other's presence before they had to rush off to work. When she'd gotten to work, she'd been so distracted by her concern for Petunia that she couldn't focus well and it didn't help that most of the customers were being just awful and rude - that was usually how Mondays went and, normally, it wouldn't be a problem, she could put on a smile and ignore it, but she was already overwhelmed with so much that she couldn't ignore it this time. The final straw had been her boss yelling at her for not simply agreeing with one of the customers - such a small thing in retrospect, but, with everything else that was going on, all the weight just fell on her at once and she nearly broke then, quickly heading to the employee break room to try to breathe.

Luke nodded in understanding to Michael's words, feeling the exact same frustration with Alesia. "I know what you mean," Luke spoke quietly. "I just... I've been so busy, and so has Alesia, but something's gotta give." Luke frowned with the thought. He'd hated himself for being so wrapped up with the band, that it was Luke's escape for when times at home got particularly stressful, but somewhere along the way, he and Alesia lost their communication, their love for one another. Of course, the love wasn't completely lost - Luke still loved Alesia with everything he had in him, and he still, very firmly, believed that she was his soulmate, the one that he'd wanted and needed and prayed for his whole life. Luke had felt guilty, and he didn't deny that, but Alesia had been busy too and all they could usually manage was a quick kiss on the cheek in the morning and a goodnight kiss in the evening, with barely any conversation. "I miss having Alesia to myself, I miss those late nights we used to spend talking about everything. Now, there's nothing to say..." Luke toyed with his lower lip. "But I don't want to end things, man. Alesia's meant to be the woman I ask to be my wife, but, I don't know how long this can go on." Luke frowned with the thought, grabbing his car keys. "Need a ride home?"

Keira sat in the employee room with her head in her hands. Her shift was due to end, but the stress of the whole afternoon was enough to topple everything that Keira had been falling for the past few months over. All Keira wanted to do was go home, wait for Michael, hold around him and tell him she loved him, but with the distance that had been put in between them recently, Keira was unsure if she could do that anymore. She did love Michael, more than anything, but the past few months had been non-stop. The care home had lost a number of employees, which meant Keira had to start picking up extra shifts, and all that was ever said between Michael and herself now was good morning or goodbye, and it hurt, how the space between them in a double bed felt like a whole ocean, a whole continent apart. Running her hands through her hair, Keira wondered if it was even worth going home sometimes, because most of the time, she'd come home to an empty house, with the lights off, and the loneliness she was beginning to feel was overwhelming, and sometimes, just sometimes, she wondered if going to her parents' house would be better.

Michael nodded in understanding, breathing out quietly with the mention of it. "I hate not being able to just relax with Keira," he admitted quietly, "I hate how strained everything feels, but I don't want to lose her, I never want to lose her." But, a part of him worried that, if things didn't calm down for them soon, if they kept going like this without ever being able to just relax with each other and enjoy each other's presence, he might lose her, that one of them would have to walk away to save them both before things got too bad between them and all that love turned to hate or distaste or some other negative feeling, because it so often did when things got too hard. But, Michael didn't want to give up or back down, either. He wanted to continue building his life with Keira, because it had been all he wanted for so long. "I miss just being able to talk to talk to Keira about anything and everything, confiding in her with every little thing that came to my mind. Now, there's not even any time to do that and I hate that this is how things have turned out for us - especially when, just several months ago, I was looking at engagement rings, before everything got so busy with the band, and then the past few months, she's gotten more busy, too. She's everything I want, she always has been, but it's like I can't even tell her that between everything that's been going on for the both of us." He sighed, though, running his hands through his hair, clearing his throat as he tried not to let his emotions get to him, but he nodded. "Sure, yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

Alesia found herself pacing the break room, chewing on her thumb anxiously. All she wanted in that moment was to talk to somebody - preferably Luke, but there was so much she hadn't been able to tell him lately because there hadn't been any time to, and she wasn't even sure if he'd be home at this point or if he'd be gone for another few hours by the time she got home and she'd have to fall asleep alone, because it was all too much and everything had mentally exhausted her. She still loved Luke with everything in her, she did, but there was never any time between them anymore, both of them too busy. Work had picked up for Alesia because she'd gotten a promotion a few months back, which came with more work, less time to spend for herself and Luke, and a huge part of her regretted accepting the emotion, especially with all the problems it came with. And, when Alesia wasn't busy, Luke was - but Alesia was hardly ever not busy lately and she knew that and hated it, almost hated herself for it. A part of her couldn't wait until Wednesday, so she could get this all out to her therapist, having started seeing the woman for depression a month or so ago, because it helped to talk when she couldn't bring herself to confide in anybody else - another reason why she'd had so little time to spend with Luke.

Whenever he thought of Alesia, he thought of a bright future, but all that fire seemed to be nothing but ember now, and Luke's heart ached at the thought. Still, there was a chance to rekindle it all, Luke knew it, but he wondered what was going to fall apart before things were fixed. Grabbing his car keys, Luke lead the way to his car, dumping his bag in the back seat, lacking his usual enthusiasm. All he ever wanted was Alesia, and he felt her slowly slipping through his fingers, and this is not what Luke had in mind when he asked her to be his all those years ago. Biting his lip with the thought, Luke climbed into the drivers seat, watching as Michael did the same for the passenger side. "I don't know what to do." Luke confided in his best friend, putting on his belt before beginning to drive, reaching their street in no time. It was a beautiful neighbourhood, and Luke was so grateful he'd purchased this house, but if things broke down between himself and Alesia, he wasn't sure he'd be able to face it anymore. Stopping outside Michael's house, Luke sighed. "Good luck, man."

Keira accepted a hug from her co-worker, smiling at him. "I'll see you tomorrow." She told him gently, grabbing her jacket and checking her phone, her heart sinking in disappointment when she didn't see Michael's name. A name she did see, however, was Karen - Keira's therapist, making sure she was still booked in for Friday morning. I'll be there. She confirmed, although she hated the fact she had to see her in the first place. About a month ago, Keira went to the Doctor and was instantly put on medication, along with being put in touch with Karen, and although Keira hated it, she was grateful to the woman, because Keira felt like she couldn't confide in Michael anymore. Grabbing her car keys, Keira offered a wave to her co-worker, leaving the building and sighing, tightening her jacket as she felt the cold.

Michael nodded in understanding to his friend's words and sighed as he relaxed into the passenger seat, bracing himself for when he got home, hopeful that Keira was home by now. "Thanks," he said when they finally got there and he climbed out of the car. "Same goes to you." He offered a sympathetic smile, waving slightly, before he closed the door and headed up to the house, though his heart sank when he didn't see Keira's car in the drive. Rubbing a hand over his face, he made his way to the door, unlocking it, and headed inside, peering around. After the talk with Luke, the house felt all the more lonely, and he chewed on his lip anxiously as he headed to the kitchen to get something to eat, though his brows furrowed when he saw a pill bottle resting on the counter. Moving over to it, he picked it up to examine it for a moment, seeing Keira's name on it. His brows furrowed at the name on the medicine bottle, not quite recognizing it, and he pulled out his phone to do a Google search quickly, his heart sinking when he saw that the medicine was an antidepressant. He felt the guilt wash over him again, because he knew this wasn't a medicine that Keira had been taking when they first moved into the house and she definitely hadn't been taking it several months ago, so it had to be a new thing, and he worried if it was because he wasn't around often enough to tell her how much he loved her, how much he didn't want to lose her. His guilt still taking hold, he wanted to see if he was right and he set the medicine down before he headed to where he knew Keira kept her calendar, spotting a date circled with a Doctor's name and a time and he chewed on his lip, flipping to earlier dates, finding the first date being from a month ago. He stared, then, in shock, his heart breaking at the thought that Keira was depressed and he hadn't been there for her, that she'd been going through this alone. Had she tried to tell him? Had she tried and he hadn't listened, too busy getting ready to go to work or too in a rush to pay attention? Or had she not tried because they were always so busy? Chewing on his lip, he thought for a long moment, anxious and worried about her, wanting to make things right even more now.

Alesia looked at the time, relieved to see that she could clock out now, and she quickly moved to do so, wanting to get out, wanting to get away from this place. She checked her phone quickly as she made her way to her car, chewing on her lip anxiously. At first, her heart sank at the fact that there was no text from Luke, but she relieved to see that Luke's parents had texted her regarding Petunia, letting her know that, while Petunia's vomiting that morning, according to the vet, must have been from her eating too fast, but Petunia had an ear infection and they'd gotten medication for it. Alesia had texted them to thank them quickly and assured she'd be right over to get Petunia and that she'd pay them back when she got there, before she climbed into her car and headed there to get her.

Luke nodded with Michael's words, quickly putting the car into drive. Luke was eager to see if Alesia was home yet, the conversation he'd had with Michael bouncing around in his head. Parking in the drive, Luke's heart sank slightly, seeing that Alesia's car wasn't in the drive, meaning that she was probably still working. That damn promotion, honestly. Getting out of the car, Luke unlocked the front door, walking inside and slamming the door behind him, feeling the disappointment and sadness bubble up in the pit of his stomach. "Fuck," he murmured, treading in the direction of the downstairs bathroom, hoping that splashing his face with cold water would bring him back to some sense of normality, hoping that Alesia had some medication for the headache he could feel coming on. Opening the door, Luke smiled, the bathroom smelling distinctly of Alesia's usual perfume, and even with all the heaviness he felt, the scent was one that put Luke at ease. Splashing his face, Luke sighed, opening the medicine cabinet and pausing when he saw a pill bottle he didn't recognise. Taking it from the shelf, Luke studied it for a long moment, seeing Alesia's name on it. Frowning, Luke didn't recognise the name... fishing his phone out of his pocket, Luke quickly googled the name, his heart almost stopping when the result came up as an antidepressant. Fuck. Luke closed his eyes as he felt tears burn in the back of his eyes, had he really been so damn negligent that he'd not noticed that Alesia - the woman he wanted to marry, the woman he wanted to carry his children, had depression? When the hell did this even start? Turning to exit the bathroom, Luke noticed the calendar on the back of the bathroom door, seeing an appointment for Wednesday circled in red. Luke read the the name, seeing therapy scribbled underneath it quickly, his heart sinking further. Flicking back a page, Luke saw that these appointments had been continuous for about a month, and Luke wondered if Alesia had tried to tell him, or if she hadn't, knowing that he'd been too busy to really pay attention. Feeling the guilt, Luke wiped his face, going to the living room, wanting, now more than ever, to make things right between himself and Alesia, not wanting her to carry the burden alone.

Keira parked in the driveway, pausing for a moment as she pressed her forehead to her steering wheel, letting her sobs take over. It had been such an awful day, a long day, and all Keira wanted was to go inside and relax. Taking deep breaths to calm down, knowing if she didn't, she'd go into a panic attack, Keira used the sleeves of her jacket to wipe her eyes, exiting her car and locking it. Making her way to the front door, Keira pushed it open, seeing the light in the hall was on, meaning Michael was home. Frowning the thought, Keira closed the door a little louder than she usually would to signal that she was home, not even calling out a hello as she headed to the kitchen for a drink of water, her throat dry from her tears. Seeing the back of Michael, Keira put on her usual fake smile. "Hi, honey." She spoke, her voice a little weak, but she figured Michael would figure it was from exhaustion.

As Alesia pulled up to the driveway after she'd gotten Petunia, she felt her heart sinking in her chest when she saw Luke's car - not because she didn't want to see him, but because she didn't want to break down in front of him, not after the day she'd had. Swallowing hard, she looked over to Petunia, relieved that Petunia was okay, but it didn't take away from all the stress and concern she'd felt all day. Her eyes watered as she sank into her seat, scrubbing at her face as she tried to calm down, her shoulders shaking despite how much she tried not to sob. Taking a few slow, deep breaths, she waited for everything to pass before she climbed out of the car, grabbing Petunia's leash and medicine, and went to the side she'd put Petunia in on, clasping the leash onto her collar. "Who's a good girl?" she murmured, scratching at Petunia's head before she kissed the top of her head and led the way into the house, trying to calm herself down during the walk from the car to the door. Pausing at the door, she took a few moments longer to gather herself, wiping at her eyes to try to get rid of any stray tears before she walked in. Once Petunia was inside with her, she knelt down to undo the clasp on Petunia's leash, watching Petunia pad off, and she took another breath. "We're home," she called out quietly, unsure of where Luke was, but she treaded through the house until she spotted him in the living room and she offered a forced smile. "Hey."

Michael looked up when he heard Keira's car pulling up the driveway, his heart racing in his chest, desperately needing to see her, desperately needing to fix things. He'd already known that he didn't want to lose Keira, but, knowing what she was going through, it made him all the more determined, because the fact that the woman he'd always loved had been depressed and he hadn't been there for her when she needed him most made him realize that he really needed to be better for her. Hearing her come inside, he cringed a bit when he heard the door slam, and he leaned forward against the counter, mentally trying to come up with anything he could think of, any way that could come to mind, for how he could help Keira with what she was going through. He could hear her footsteps getting closer, her steps almost in sync with his heart beat, and he chewed on his lip when he heard her words, thinking for a moment before he turned to her, watching her, his expression softening when he saw her face, how red the areas around her eyes were, the fake smile on her face - had she been giving him fake smiles lately and he just hadn't noticed? When was the last time she'd truly been happy? When was the last time he'd played a part in making her happy, in making sure that she was happy? "Hey," he greeted quietly, offering a weak smile in response before he made his way over to her, lifting his hand to brush her hair out of her face before he cupped her cheek gently, searching her eyes, determined to pay more attention from now on, determined to notice any subtle traces of sadness, determined to notice when she was faking. "Are you okay?"

"Hey." Luke lifted his head once Alesia entered the room, and he smiled weakly upon seeing her, although that smile quickly fell into a concerned frown when he saw her eyes, puffed up and red, and she'd so obviously been crying. Standing to his feet, Luke carefully approached Alesia, kissing her forehead, noticing her smile was completely forced. How many forced smiles had Luke missed recently? How many tears had Luke not wiped away? Frowning at the thought even more, he sighed, kissing the top of Alesia's head. "I need to talk to you about something." He told her, wondering how he should approach the subject. Still, taking Alesia's hands within his own, Luke was determined to show the incredible woman in front of him just how loved she truly was, no matter how difficult things had been recently. "I found your medication." He told her outright - there was absolutely no way in Hell Luke could ever lie to her, even with all of their troubles. "Your antidepressants." Studying Alesia, Luke felt tears come to his own eyes, and he ducked his head with shame. "Alesia, I'm so fucking sorry. I've been such a crappy boyfriend, I've neglected you, and I suck and I certainly don't deserve you, but baby, why didn't you say anything?"

Keira smiled weakly as Michael approached, although her emotions almost got the better of her when Michael cupped her cheek. "Uh," she squeaked slightly, clearing her throat to make herself seem like she hadn't been crying, trying to remember the last time Michael had been this close to her, the whole gesture giving her mixed emotions. "Not really." She admitted, tears finally coming, but she didn't feel comfortable enough to fully let go in front of Michael, despite a few tears escaping. "Mrs Lucas died in work, and it was..." She wiped her eyes. "It sucked." But that wasn't all that was bothering her, but it had certainly tipped the scales, and she tried to make it seem as if that was the only bad thing that seemed to be plaguing her thoughts at the moment. "She passed in her sleep." Keira sniffled, shaking her head at the thought as she pulled away to get some water, although she paused when she saw her pills out - had she left them out this morning while in her rush? Frowning with the thought, Keira moved to put them into the drawer, hoping Michael hadn't noticed them. He didn't seem to notice much of anything, recently.

Alesia paused with surprise with Luke's affection, caught off guard, though she froze at first when Luke mentioned needing to talk, her first thought going to a break up. With how her day had been, she wasn't sure she'd be surprised by it. But, then, as Luke continued to speak, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her nerves heightening, and she found herself staring at him in shock, unsure of what to say for the longest time. "I - what?" she asked quietly, trying to process everything he'd said, and she shook her head quickly. "I just - there wasn't time to. It's not something that I could just say in passing when we're heading to work or when we just get home and we're both too tired. And why are you -" She shook her head again, her eyes watering again despite herself. "You can't take all the blame, Luke. It's not like I haven't been busy myself. God, when your parents asked how you were doing, today, I didn't even know how to answer them."

Michael felt his heart twisting painfully when he heard Keira's voice squeak, breaking even more when he saw the tears in her eyes. "Keira..." he murmured gently, his own eyes watering, because of the pain the woman he loved was going through. He wished he could take it all away - he'd do absolutely anything to take all of her pain away, even if it meant taking it on himself. "Baby, I'm so sorry..." He swallowed hard when he saw her pull away, trying to ignore the way the action stabbed at his heart, wanting nothing more than to comfort her, hold her, and never let her go. He watched her, though, watching as she put the medicine away before he ducked his head and made his way over to her, shifting a bit to take her hand gently, pulling her to himself. "I saw your antidepressants, you don't have to hide them anymore," he told her gently, shifting to slide his arms around her, holding her close to himself, just wanting her to know that, despite everything having been strained between them lately, he'd always be there to be her safe place. "I didn't... I didn't even know that you were depressed, I never even noticed, and I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am for that, Keira." His voice cracked as he spoke and he swallowed hard, clearing his throat. "I know I'll never be able to make up for that, for not being here for you when you needed me the most, but I swear I'll do better from now on and I just... God, I'm so sorry, Keira." His tears began to fall, but he pressed his lips to the top of her head, his tears falling onto her head. "But I just... I need to know - why didn't you ever bring it up? God, I can't even believe I never noticed and I just... I want to make it up to you, no matter what it takes, okay? Just tell me what I need to do, tell me how to help..."

Luke stood to his feet, approaching Alesia and just taking her into his arms, one hand at the back of her head, always wanting her to be protected, wanting to be Alesia's protector. "God, I'm such a fucking idiot, Alesia. I should of noticed that you were depressed." His voice cracked with that, his own tears falling. "I love you so much and I haven't told you that enough, Al. I've been so wrapped up with everything else that I lost sight of the most important thing in my life." His voice cracked further as he kissed the top of Alesia's head, his tears falling freely now, just wishing he could take whatever pain she had, whatever burden she was carrying, wishing he could take it on instead, never wanting her to be sad. Tightening his hold on her with that thought, Luke stroked through her hair. Sniffling, Luke let out a shuddered breath. "Can we just take tonight to talk? Please?" He asked meekly. "I need to know everything." He told her honestly, taking a small step back to cup her face instead, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I need this... we need this, Alesia, this needs to be fixed, and I need to be better to you." He told her, making a silent oath there and then that he would do whatever, even if he had to call into her work, even if he had to take a step back for a bit, the writing process for an album was long, anyway.

Keira wiped her eyes with her sleeves as Michael apologised, ignoring the way her heart filled with hope as he called her baby. However, when Michael took her hand and pulled her to his chest, Keira's eyebrows furrowed as she listened to him, and she mentally cursed herself for being so stupid and forgetting to put them away when she left, but feeling Michael's arms around her, Keira melted into his embrace, having missed it more than she thought possible, returning the gesture and wrapping her arms around him. When she heard Michael's voice crack, Keira felt the tears return to her eyes, the urge to cry stronger than ever at Michael's pain. "No, Michael, don't apologise, please." She begged, squeezing him gently. "It's not exactly like our communication has been great, it's not just you, baby, I should of taken the time to sit down and talk about it, but we were just... always passing." She frowned with the thought, burying her face into his t-shirt as she finally let herself cry, let her walls down. "I just never knew how to address it." She told him with a sniffle, frowning. "How do you tell someone that you're feeling like you're not worth anything?" She frowned deeply with that, more tears falling. "I didn't want you to feel guilty, or responsible." She sighed, her breathing shuddered.

Alesia swallowed hard as she buried her face against him as she tried hard not to cry again. “It wasn't just you, Luke,” she whispered, aware that she'd been too busy for him, too - and she hated herself for it, she did. “I love you, Luke, more than anything, but it's just… It's gotten so hard to love myself.” Her arms wrapped around him, her fingers curling into his shirt and she nodded slowly in response. “Okay, okay… We’ll just… Talk for tonight.”

Michael shook his head as he held her close to himself, trying to get control of his tears because he wanted to be strong for her, but he couldn't help it, crying with her instead. “I should have noticed,” he whispered, “I should have been here for you and I'm so, so sorry I wasn't, Keira. But I'm going to be better, I'm going to pay attention from now on, because I love you so much and I just can't bare the thought of losing you, okay?” He ran his fingers through her hair, sniffling quietly. “I'm gonna be more involved, I want to know everything, I want to be here for you, and I want to make this right.”

Luke felt his heart break with Alesia's words, and before he could stop them, his tears came foreward once more, and his grip on Alesia tightened, holding her protectively to his chest as he let them escape. Luke felt like such an idiot for not recognising just how bad Alesia had gotten, Luke felt like an idiot for not knowing she was bad in the first place, but the fact that she found it hard to love herself, when he loved her with everything he had in him, was a difficult pill to swallow. Rubbing her back, Luke nodded. "I want to make this right, Alesia." He told her quietly, kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much, and I promise, we're gonna fix this."

Keira buried her face into Michael's t-shirt, just needing his comfort, having almost forgotten what his cologne smelled like. When they'd first gotten together, it was Keira's favourite smell in the whole world. Listening to Michael's words, Keira bit her lip as she heard the strain in his voice, hating that he was upset. "We can do this together." She told him softly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "We have to do this together, Michael, or it won't work."

Alesia chewed on her lip anxiously, hating hearing the pain in Luke's voice, wishing they didn't have to go through this. She nodded, though, to his suggestion, pressing her face to his shoulder as she breathed out quietly. “I love you, too, Luke,” she whispered, clearing her throat a bit so she could brave talking louder, “Yeah… We'll fix it. I believe in us.” She always had, even if she didn't always believe in herself.

Michael kept Keira as close to himself as he could, wanting to protect her, wanting to help her, wanting to be her safe place, her solace, her home, and he nodded slightly. “We will,” he promised quietly, knowing that he'd go to every length he'd ever have to in order to make sure that she would get better, that they could fix this. “We'll take some time off from everything else, figure things out together, get away for a while, talk. We'll do better. We'll be better.”

As Alesia buried her face into his shoulder, Luke tightened his hold around Alesia, wanting her to know that within him, she always had a place to go, to let go of everything that was weighing her down. "I believe in us too." Luke promised, kissing the top of Alesia's head. "I always have, I always will." He told her gently. "We can take some time away, just spend time with each other. I love you, Alesia, more than anything in this world, and I'm not letting you go through this alone anymore." He promised, pressing another kiss to the top of her head, nuzzling into her hair.

Keira buried her face into Michael's chest, blinking away her tears as she nuzzled into him, because he'd always been so damn amazing. The situation wasn't the best one, and she knew that, but Michael's arms around her reminded her that it would be okay with a little bit of love and care. Listening to him speak, Keira squeezed her eyes shut to calm herself down, but still, she nodded. "I'm sorry Michael." She whispered. "I never meant it to get like this."

Alesia listened quietly to Luke’s words, though hearing him say everything that came from his lips lifted such a weight off her that she honestly couldn’t believe it. With how little they got to see each other and talk to each other and be around each other lately, it’d started to feel like she was all alone, like she would have to carry it all on her own, and knowing that Luke was still there, that he still loved her, relaxed her heart in a way she didn’t know was possible. “I love you, too, Luke,” she murmured quietly, chewing on her lip before she peered up at him, “Are you sure that’s okay, though?”

Michael held Keira close to himself, wanting to be her shelter, her solace, wanting to take every ounce of pain from her and either hold it within himself or throw it so far away that it could never touch her again. “You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart,” he whispered, rubbing her back as he pressed a loving kiss to the top of her head gently. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll get through this together. I’m not gonna let you take this on all alone anymore - I should have noticed it, I should have seen the state you were in, and I’m so, so sorry I didn’t.” Chewing on his lip, he tightened his hold gently with the thought. “Let’s get away for a while, yeah? Take a vacation? Wherever you want - as many places as you want. Just the two of us.”

Luke nuzzled into Alesia's hair, his hold on the love of his life tightening to the point where he was unsure if he was being too overbearing, but he didn't care. He hadn't been there for Alesia when she needed him, and that was on him entirely. "I'll make sure it's okay." Luke promised quietly. "I'm not letting you do this by yourself, and the guys will understand." He promised, his voice calm, wanting to influence Alesia to do the same. "Even if we have to get out of this place for a while, go somewhere entirely new -" with his words, Luke perked up, looking to Alesia. "That's not a bad idea. How about it, baby? We can take a vacation, just us two, somewhere where people don't know us. Somewhere we can be us. Somewhere where we can be a couple again."

Keira felt Michael's hold tighten around her, and she remained silent, wanting to appreciate the moment. It had been so long - too long - since she and Michael had been like this, so in love and in each other's embrace. Allowing her fingers to curl into the material of his sweatshirt, Keira exhaled, feeling the weight of the world loosen for a moment. When he spoke, Keira didn't interrupt, and feeling his kiss made Keria's heart squeeze fondly in her chest. "I love you, Michael." Keira murmured softly. Hearing his offer to get away, Keira's eyebrows furrowed and she looked up to Michael. "What about the band?" Keira asked with worry, toying with her lip.

Alesia blinked with surprise with Luke’s sudden idea and she pulled back a bit to eye him. She wasn’t sure that would fix anything; she was naturally skeptic and she’d become increasingly pessimistic the past few months, but she wanted to try, for Luke, and at the very least, it might help them forget, for a while. “We can try that if you’re sure it won’t affect the band...,” she said eventually, offering a small nod, before adding a little jokingly, “Though I don’t think there’s anywhere where people don’t know you.” The joke felt off, and she was sure it was because she’d had a rough day, but she was grateful to Luke for trying to make things better, grateful that she didn’t have to hide it anymore.

Michael held Keira close to himself, lifting his hand to brush her hair out of her face, wanting to do whatever he could to make things easier for her, to show that he intended to be here for her, to make things easier for her, to help carry the weight that she was burdened with. “I love you, too,” he told her quietly, but his tone was full of the love he felt for the woman who had held his heart for as long as he could remember, the only woman he intended to have a future with. “The band will understand. We need this, Keira, especially with everything you’re going through and everything I wasn’t here to help you with - this will be good for us.” And, he was certain of that, because he’d go to every length to make sure things were perfect for her, because she deserved it.

Luke kept his cool as Alesia pulled back, taking his hands gently within his own, his thumbs running across her knuckles. He couldn't help but chuckle, pressing a sweet kiss to Alesia's forehead - she'd always been a natural skeptic, and it always amused him. "Listen to me." Luke murmured into her hair. "You mean more to me than anything else in the world, the band just have to wait." Luke promised. "You're my one, Alesia. And wherever we go, that's going to be the same. We can go to the most remote island if it makes you feel more comfortable." Luke kept his determination, because there was nothing he wouldn't do to make this work. "I love you." And as he kept his words sincere, Luke pulled away a little, still holding her hands. "I love you." He repeated, a little slowly. "And nothing will ever change that."

Keira stayed against Michael's chest, swearing that in that moment, their hearts were beating in sync. Hearing the sincerity in Michael's voice, the love behind his words, Keira bit her lip to stop herself from crying, although when she blinked, her eyelashes caused her tears to dance down her cheeks, instantly betraying herself - but these were tears of relief that, despite the distance between them, he still loved her. "This will be good for us." Keira repeated quietly, looking up to Michael. "Okay... I know where we should start." Taking Michael's hands, Keira took a step back. "Where we first met."