#ft. maxine

MOVING OUT IS WEIRD –– he’s never done it before. he packed to go to gallagher at the start of the year but he didn’t exactly move out of the family home back in quebec. once he’s gathered all his things from room 408 ( or 4o8, though he’s rolling his eyes at the thought ), he’s feeling a bit WEIRD. he loves rizo, jai… scott can go fuck himself, but the other two ? he’ll miss them a lot as roommates and he’s not sure he’ll be so lucky to get a two-out-of-three victory like this next year. then again, he had made some unexpected friends… max, grey, ellie, noah, asher, emmett, even aspen if he has to admit it, so there was always something to look forward to next year even if his roommates turned out to be scott-level-trash.

once he’s on the plane, he’s thinking about the party, the year, how he was supposed to be at blackthorne with his older brother, marc and yet neither were standing today. he had changed his mind about gallagher, though, something he’d keep to himself and not discuss with his father but he would be telling charles and elias about how he’s happy to be there and how he’s looking forward to the next year.

the dynamic back home is strangely different to when he left. after marc died there was such a shift in luc’s position in the family, going from the montagnier obedient golden boy to making it known he was no longer going to be taking his father’s orders and ensuring he stood up for his brothers instead of competing with them. and he’s not nervous often but once the front gates to their estate open up he’s wondering if he still has the resilience to stand up to his dad, whether charles and elias even need helping anymore and what’s in store for him over the next two weeks.

charles and elias rush out the front door to greet him, shaking the car vigorously ( much to the driver’s disdain ) until he steps out with a big grin on his face and they dive him to the ground. his mother, ameline, is next to come outside, she looks as radiant as ever and her smile is subtle but soft.

“ charles, elias… let him get inside first. ” and they’re off him instantly, elias helping luc to his feet. wandering up to his mother, luc’s happy to see her. he has a complex relationship with her, unsure if he blames her for the treatment against her sons, for marc, for always turning a blind eye and staying quiet — but she’s also so tender, comforting and she knows when something’s wrong every time. he didn’t think it was obvious he didn’t want to be home but she knew as she brings her palms to his cheeks for a moment before placing a kiss on his head, he almost feels better.

he’s not surprised his father hadn’t met him outside, he has to find him in his study. he looks older, which is weird since it had only been a year, but something had changed. maybe an extra few grey hairs or a wrinkle or two, luc can’t pin point it. the door is closed once he enters and luc had been stood in the spot he was many times in the past. whether it was him being praised, finding out a new target or simply learning about their business, luc was always stood in the same spot while his father sat at his desk.

“ son, ” he begins, and for a moment luc isn’t sure what to expect, he’s focussing on not shaking, keeping his composure just a bit longer until he’s out of the room. he wants to hate the man in front of him. he does hate him. everything he’d endured and for what ? to have a dead brother and a damaged perception of what family was supposed to be. he’d learnt more at gallagher about what family was, what love was, than his entire life at home.

“ welcome home. ” that throws him off a bit. he nods, but remains silent. his father had never said anything remotely welcoming to him before and he’s not sure if it’s a test. after a moment of silence, his dad speaks again. “ well, how is gallagher academy for exceptional young women ? ” and just like that the anger is there, suffocating any fear or hesitance he had before and he snaps.

it had been over an hour and when he forcibly pulls the door open, charles and elias stumble down from their positions as they were listening through the crack. luc just steps over them and heads to his room, ignoring their calls as he does so. his throat is harsh, his heart still beating rapidly and he’s too warm for comfort as he tries to breathe. so much was said. gallagher. marc. gallagher. blackthorne. marc. their upbringing. marc. going in circles continuously until he’d ran out of things to scream. he stayed in his room for the rest of the day until leaving to walk their three dogs early in the morning.

they had a few animals, mostly dogs but his mother had a siamese cat called baroness that often clung to luc — she didn’t love the twins and his father didn’t love pets so luc was often just there for when she demanded attention from someone other than ameline. plus, he didn’t mind baroness sleeping in his room, whereas the dogs always moved too much. after a few days of silence between him and his dad, multiple dinners with an absent luc, his mother finally called an end to it.

ameline montagnier was not one to raise her voice. when she did it was frail and prone to break but that did not occur once when she was stood screaming at the male members of the family who were all sat at the dinner table. their father at the head of it, watching his wife, luc on the opposite end with his gaze low, and charles and elias awkwardly sat in the middle and wondering why they had to be present for it. when they’d tried to ask to excuse themselves, they were promptly shut down by an intense glare from their mother and they didn’t make another sound until she was finished.

luc still avoids his father where he can but he shows up to dinner, for his mother’s sake if nothing else. he’ll help his dad with the family business, bringing up suggestions and settling into the idea that he’ll be taking over once he graduates. he helps the twins with their techniques, shows them some things he’d learnt at gallagher and there’s a positivity and enthusiasm within them that hadn’t been there before.

he stays for almost the full two weeks and by the end of it he’s feeling weirdly cathartic. he watches silently as elias decides to shave his head, then even more silent as his mother finds out and cries. he had nothing to do with it, of course. definitely didn’t convince him to. charles wants to match his twin but their mother hides all the scissors and razors in the house — he attempts it with one of his knives and ends up looking worse than elias.

when it’s time to leave, his dad is outside with the rest of the montagniers to send him off and he places his hands on luc’s shoulders to tell him he’ll see him next year, excited to learn more about the gallagher school. his mother actually hugs him and the twins try to take him to the ground yet again to stop him leaving, annoyed he hadn’t spent the entire month with them.

unfortunately luc had already promised to meet @brandtmax in bali for a week and he’d much rather piss off his family than her. plus, he’s really excited to see her again, even though it hadn’t been too long since they were at gallagher. it’s such a contrasting week to his time at home, mostly just him falling asleep in the sun, relaxing, and taking what felt like a billion photos with max. he’s grateful to have a proper vacation, though. 

then after bali he’s heading to ethiopia to meet @gregcollins. perhaps it’s an unusual vacation destination, but for grey and luc it’s where google told them to go for good coffee. they get flights to land at similar times and he’s smiling once he sees him waiting for him, in a coffee shop no less ! he can’t quite hide his excitement as he goes in for a hug, which is new for them, and he’s unsure if it’s too far as grey hesitates… but it’s kind of nice. plus it’s not just coffee they spend their time on, they go to the national park and hike around several different spots to find hidden waterfalls and just talk about whatever comes to mind.