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Lucas was getting sicker by the day and it wasn't only him that started to notice that.

Ever since the day they were locked in the meeting room, Joy and Lucas went back to normal, or well, as normal as things could get between them. It was back to running away from time, thinking they could have more time, more memories, and finish the bucket list.

They still had a couple left, but it wasn't as easy as it was at the beginning. Lately, Lucas had to dump the contents of his already emptied stomach out more frequently than usual. Other times, when Joy and he would walk, he needed a couple of minutes to rest, his body aching, exhausted.

Joy didn't seem to mind, but another issue with him getting sicker is that they had no time to consider what happened between them.

However, part of him wanted to know what they were, and where they stood. Joy hadn't said much since then, and Lucas guessed it would be brought up eventually. Whenever 'eventually' was.

"Lucas— don't you have a wish? Y'know, when terminally ill people are close to kicking the bucket, they get a wish?" Joy asked, after driving for a mile or two in complete silence. 

Lucas, on the other hand, wasn't so impressed.

"What?" Joy deflated when she noticed he was frowning at her.

"I already used my wish," Lucas's nose crinkled.

Joy's expression fell, "You what?"

"Yeah," He shifted awkwardly, fixing his gaze ahead. "I used it as a joke when I first got diagnosed. I decided to go to Disneyland."

"Disneyland. Fucking Disneyland?!" She blinked incredulously at him. "Do you even like Disneyland?"

"Nope and eyes on the road," Lucas shrank in his seat, pointing forward. "I mean, I went with Laura, and it was fine. It wasn't like a bad memory, so don't get me wrong." He meant it, although part of him did regret using his wish on something as generic as Disneyland.

"But you didn't go with your parents? Y'know, I've kinda realized you never told me where they are." She said carefully. And at that, his shoulders tensed. "Do your parents even know you're sick?"

If this was somebody else, he would have snapped at them to mind their own business, or at least say something unpleasant, but it was Joy who asked. Not some random stranger trying to pry into his life and find something to pity, to hold above him, and belittle him in the process.

However, few people knew what happened except Laura and some of their relatives that remembered he existed. Lucas was aware of them only because they sent cards and flowers whenever word got out that he was starting treatment. Otherwise, his world mostly consisted of Laura.

But Joy was different. Somehow, she pried apart his world and fit herself right in smoothly. Even though he absolutely despised her at the beginning, believing she was just like the rest— he was wrong. Horribly wrong, because this douchebag idiot with that stupid, witty smile made his world feel a little less small and a little more special.

So it didn't faze him like it would have when his lips parted and the answer slipped effortlessly off his tongue because telling her felt right. Strangely right. Like he could tell her things, and Joy wouldn't treat him any differently regardless, and that— that was refreshing.

"My parents gave me up when I was young and they don't talk to Laura, so, no. I don't think they know." He said. Joy's eyes widened for a split second before she regained her composure.

"Really? I mean— that's just heavy. If you don't wanna talk about—," Joy stammered, only sealing her mouth shut when Lucas gently placed his hand on her forearm resting on the blank space.

"It's fine," He murmured, feeling his heart throb. Her expression was unreadable, but eventually, she gave him a small smile in exchange and she nodded at him to continue.

Swallowing dryly, he slowly began, "I don't remember much of them except what Laura tells me. Apparently, my mom was a drunkard and abusive and wasn't fit to take care of me. My dad left before I was born. Haven't seen either of them since I was sent to Laura during her student years, but I mean, it's fine I guess."

"You never wanted to contact them?" Joy asked. He shook his head, feeling like some invisible weight was lifting off his chest.

"If they cared enough about me, they would have reached out years ago," He shrugged. "Some people aren't meant to be parents, but I have Laura. She's all I need."

"I'm glad you have her too. Some people aren't meant to have kids," Joy whistled. "But hey, if they didn't do the dirty, you wouldn't be here." She teased, nudging him.

"Oh shut up," He rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to smile as he was flooded with that familiar warmth— the only warmth he was able to feel recently. 

"Don't make me regret telling you shit, Jones," Lucas muttered, glaring at her.

"You will not regret this," Joy beamed. "I have somewhere to bring you anyway. Feel tired?"

"Tired? No, not really, why?" Lucas asked, lifting an eyebrow at her. Joy grinned and winked at him.

"You'll see," She said, and with that, they were on to their next adventure.

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Lucas's brows bunched together when he realized they were pulling onto a nearly deserted stretch of beach, the kind that looked like it had been lifted straight from a travel brochure. The bright sun sparkled against the waves, and the sand glimmered like crushed diamonds. 

Casting a confused glance over at Joy as she parked, he noticed she was steadfastly ignoring him, her lips pressed into a determined line.

"You brought me to a beach?" he asked, his tone flat, glancing at her as she turned off the car.

"Yes, Einstein," Joy replied, unbuckling her seatbelt with exaggerated cheer. "Good to see your eyes still work."

Lucas didn't answer right away. He watched as she stepped out of the car, slamming the door with a little too much force, and stretched her arms above her head. He unbuckled his seat and stepped out onto the warm sand, the salty breeze hitting him full force. The ocean stretched endlessly before him, its waves glistening under the midday sun.

"What are we doing here?" Lucas grumbled.

"We're here to have fun," Joy simply replied. "You said you wanted to come to the beach. So, we're at the beach."

"I didn't mean today," He muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And I didn't mean in the middle of fall."

"Oh, come on. You'll survive." She brushed past him, heading toward the shoreline. "It's perfect weather."

"It's freezing," he shot back, trailing after her reluctantly.

"You're such a baby."

Lucas stopped at the edge of the wet sand, watching as Joy took off her shoes and waded straight into the shallow water, her jeans rolled up to her knees. She let out a squeal as the waves lapped at her ankles, hopping slightly on her toes.

"Okay, yeah, it's cold," she admitted, laughing. "But it's not that bad once you get used to it!"

"Come on swim with me." She said running up to him, shoes still in hand. 

"No. I am NOT doing that." He shot her down.

"What? You are the one that wanted to have a beach day," She retorted. 

"Not when it's freezing." He said trying to scramble anything

"Woahh, Woahh, Woahh, whoa— who told you to fucking strip?!" Before he could further convince her that this was a horrible idea, Joy's hands lifted the hem of her shirt up.

"You're just looking for an excuse to get naked, aren't you?" He stammered, near hysterics, hating how he was burning up. 

"No, not at all," She tugged off her shirt in one fell swoop as she revealed her black swimsuit underneath. The light danced against the scars on her chest. She dropped the shirt on the floor and Lucas's gaze went down with it.

He gulped thickly, shoulders caving together when she took a step closer to him.

"I'm not stripping, you fucking imbecile," He hissed not sparing a glance at her.

"You don't have to be naked, Lucas,"

His eyes traveled to her scar from her face. The skin was marred and scarred over in a straight line. He picked through his memories, trying to remember what surgery that scar would come from and-

"You're staring, my guy," Joy cleared her throat when Lucas said nothing.

"Sorry," He whispered.

"Lucas, listen," He watched in complete horror and disgust as Joy started tugging off her jeans. "If you swim with me, I will tell you how I got this bad boy. Deal? " She pointed at her chest.

"What if I don't wanna know," Lucas bit at his lip. Joy only rolled her eyes.

"Then, I will leave you alone on this deserted beach. Sound good?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Please, Andrews!" She added giving Lucas these incredibly stupid puppy eyes that honestly put him on the spot.

He had no choice, did he? Of course, Joy was going to be like this, but besides all of the pleading and somewhat faulty reasoning, there was a point. He wrote this down knowing that it would lead up to this.

And on top of that, Joy was always going the extra mile to make him feel comfortable. Of course, she was going to be sweet about it, and as much as he hated it, he wasn't an unappreciative asshole. Well, he was an asshole but certainly not the ungrateful kind.

He inhaled unevenly, running one of his hands down his arm, debating whether he should just go for it. Chickening out wasn't something he'd usually consider. However, this was a different circumstance. A completely different circumstance.

But eventually, he let out a sigh and murmured faintly, "Fine. But you can't... just— just don't look at me." For some reason, forcing those words out left his chest all heavy and gross and, all he wanted was just to simply disappear.

"That's fine." He half expected her to tease him, but he was met with nothing. "Take your time. I'll be waiting for you in the water." She brushed past him and ruffled his hair with one of those understanding smiles.

Throat tight, he refused to look in front of him once he heard the splash of water echo. His fingers trembled as he unzipped his jacket and let it fall with Joy's clothes on the sand. He bit down on his lip, shivering when his bare skin came in contact with the beach's cool atmosphere.

It was no secret that over time his body deteriorated.

He used to exercise on the daily to stay fit. Once upon a time, he cared about his muscle index and girls would drool over his physique. That was before everything went the way it did, and the muscle mass he struggled to maintain faded with exhaustion and medication.

For a while, he assured himself that it was fine. It happened and there was nothing he could do but move forward and ignore it. But now he was aware of it. So painfully aware of it.

He took off his shirt, breath hitching when the hem got caught on his neck. He ran his trembling hands over his shoulders and down the expanse of his arms, feeling his breath exit in soft, labored puffs. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting his head hang as each exhale eased into dry laughter.

He was stupid getting insecure over something he couldn't control. He needed to get this over with. No amount of wishful thinking could change this, this was him now.

And as much as he hated it, and as much as he missed his old self, there were some things he had no choice but to accept.

Even if it pained him too.

He clumsily got out of his pants, kicking them aside with the rest of their belongings so they wouldn't get wet. He tried not to focus on the fact his lungs were wrapping around his ribs, or that his shoulders were beginning to shake along with his stuttering heart.

He roughly shoved his fingers through his hair and forced himself to turn around. He was fine. He was fine. I'm fine, he chanted in his head with every step. Luckily Joy's back was turned, so she didn't have to awkwardly watch him get engulfed by the water.

"You joined me!" Joy whipped around. Lucas, on the other hand, flinched, not quite adjusting to the cold water just yet.

"Yeah, I did," He muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He met her gaze expecting her to frown. To be disgusted. To pity him. But she was smiling wide and circling around.

"We're in the water. Naturally, you'd swim. I don't think there's anything else we could do," she said, stepping closer.

"Wait! No, don't come over here!" He yelped, holding a hand out, and by mistake, his hand touched her chest. Realizing what he'd done, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Now you're touching my scar? Do you have a thing for scars, by chance?" She teased, running a wet hand through her raven hair and shoving it back.

"Not at all," he recoiled his hand back as he gave her a death glare. "You have a fat forehead."

"Ouch. All I get is an insult when I've been nice this entire time," She splashed him lightly. At that, he swore loudly at her, prompting a smile to appear on her lips.

"Don't come close to me," He warned, clutching his arms tighter. "Put your nasty limb on me and I will drown you."

"Come on, why can't I stand next to you?" She asked, blinking at him innocently.

He scowled, "Because I don't want to catch your germs."

"Lucas, I don't have cooties."

"Stop talking," He begged, watching as Joy waded into the deeper end, her raven hair catching the sunlight, her laughter carrying over the sound of the waves. She came to a stop when the water was to her shoulders.

"I'm trying to make you more comfortable!" She defended, splashing him yet again. Man. If only he could drown her.

"By talking about the universal phenomenon question that If I had a kink on your scar?"

"Precisely."

"God, I hate you," He shook his head, rolling his eyes as Joy went ahead and swam around.

Although Lucas did admit that he wouldn't dare say it out loud, their stupid conversation brought some ease to his nerves. The bitterness lingering in his mouth tasted less sour than it previously was.

"You can stay in the shallow end!" She called from the other side. Lucas whipped his head to where she was swimming back to him, water splashing everywhere.

"You're just showing off now," He grumbled when she appeared by his side. He hugged himself tighter, feeling his teeth begin to chatter.

"No, I'm being considerate. You risked it all to swim with me anyway, so I'm repaying you with kindness," Joy reached over and placed her hand on Lucas's back.

Realizing what she was doing, he yelped, splashing around as he failed to get away. But before he could catch himself, he slipped on the wet sand and ended up diving face-first into the water.

When Lucas resurfaced, he was met with booming laughter. Pushing back his wet hair out of his eyes, he gathered all his strength to splash Joy with a massive wave of water. He smirked smugly when he caught her off guard, watching as her entire face got drenched.

"Oh now you're asking for it— C'mere," Joy pushed her hair back, raven locks plastered over her forehead as she rushed toward him.

He screamed, trying to dash as far away from her as possible. This was incredibly ridiculous. Two grown-ups were chasing each other around in the water like little children.

And yet, he was having the best time ever.

The next few minutes were a blur of laughter and water, each of them trying to out-splash the other. Lucas didn't realize he was enjoying himself this much until the moment he started bursting into a fit of ugly laughs.

It was that type of laughter that left his gut aching, eyes squinting too much that he could barely see, and his mouth hurting from how wide he was smiling. It was euphoric in the way his lungs burned and his throat ached from all the shouting and curses that left his lips in a flurry of empty threats and bad names.

Perhaps at one point, they were doing these things to complete a bucket list.

But now? They were just simply making memories.

Eventually, they both stumbled into deeper water, the waves reaching their chests. He shivered slightly, running a hand through his wet hair as she floated a few feet away, her head tilted back to look at the sky.

"You doing okay?" Joy asked as they both tried to catch their breaths.

"Yeah," Lucas said, blinking away the droplets of water caught in his eyelashes. "I think I am."

"That's good," She murmured, attention focusing solely on him. It was like, at that moment, nothing else really seemed to matter. Like they were normal and had all the time in the whole of this world. The water was calmer now, the waves lapping gently against them.

"Mhmm," He breathed out, finding himself tilting his head to the side, unsure when the tension in the room shifted this way. His breath hitched for a different reason, the strangling sensation in his lungs feeling painfully good.

He could feel her knees brush against his thighs sending a wave of chills through Lucas's spine. He hesitantly wrapped a hand around her waist, tugging her closer, the other keeping him afloat. Her hands were placed on his chest, their breaths synchronizing with each other.  

She was close, so close. If he were to lean forward, Joy's lips would meet his, and god, how he wanted that. For a moment, it felt like the world had stilled, the only sound the gentle crash of the waves around them.

"Lets head back to the shore," She whispered, her face flushed and voice higher than usual. 

"Yeah," Lucas said, his throat tight.

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