#seriousluke

“what?” you gasped, your heart nearly stopping at the news.

“oh honey,” your mother reassured, moving towards you and comfortingly running her fingers through your hair. “i wanted to tell you for so long, but… the whole family wanted you to live a real life before you got involved in royalty and the politics of it and all.”

“but–” you sputtered, “you said there’s an arranged marriage?”

“darling,” your mom started guiltily. “his name is luke.”

you sprung up from your seat. “what the fuck?” your grandmother gasped. “you don’t tell me i’m next in line for a country i’ve never heard of for eighteen years or that i’ve been set to marry someone since i’ve been a baby and expect me to just throw away my college plans and my life here?” you paused, gasping for breath. “you’re fucking crazy.”

nonetheless, you complied because you could never really stand disappointing your mother and because Northwestern had agreed to defer your acceptance in case the whole royalty thing didn’t work out. immediately, when you arrived in your grandmother’s country, you were whisked off to lessens about the history of the country, all about their social culture and practices and customs, and whatever else you could possibly need to know. the first week in the castle you were expected to now call home were a blur, and the first sunday you were there, you were thankful there was only one meeting on your schedule. 

however, when you arrived at your grandma’s office (whom you’d actually become quite fond of), you were shocked to see an older man sitting next to a broad, young man with blond hair sitting with their backs to you in front of your grandma’s desk, his posture stick straight and shoulders square.

“Y/N,” your grandma prompted as she noticed your frozen posture at the door. instantly, the young man was standing and turning to face you, his jaw falling slack as he took in your appearance just as you were his. 

“Y/N,” you grandma repeated, rising gracefully from her chair and walking between the two of you, smiling knowingly as she introduced you to luke. also known as your arranged husband.

“your highness,” luke bowed in greeting, bending at the waist and extending his hand to you as his eyes stayed trained on your face.

you breathed your name as you thanked the high heavens you’d already learned the proper way to greet other royalty in your etiquette class and curtsied in response before taking his hand in yours and blushing as he lightly dusted his lips against it.

“luke will be staying here for a couple days in the castle, he wanted to learn our country’s policies and such before you two married so he’ll be attending your classes with you.”

you gulped but nodded anyways. 

“why don’t you show luke where he’ll be staying?” your grandma asserted. “he’s in the other bedroom in your hall.”

“sure,” you replied. you beckoned the boy- rather, man- to follow you and squirmed uncomfortably at the awkward silence that settled heavily between the two of you as you started to make your way to the other side of the castle. the only sounds in the hallways were the distant clatters from the kitchens, jovial laughs from the maids somewhere in the conference rooms around you, and the wheels on luke’s suitcase dragging across the floor. 

“so,” he started. “my uncle told me you just found out about…” he gestured to the walls of the castle and then to himself, “this… a month or two ago.”

“yeah,” you answered with a nervous chuckle, turning down a twisting hallway. “definitely did not expect this to happen.” 

luke was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again. “what was it like?”

“what do you mean?” you asked, beginning to climb the stairs and walking at a slower pace as luke lugged his suitcase behind him. 

“i mean,” he grunted. “what was the real world like? like, going to school? and being able to go out with your friends without three body guards or… having friends who aren’t royalty or…” his eyes twinkled as he trailed off. 

you giggled. “it’s definitely not that glamorous, i can promise you that.”

luke shrugged with a smile but it quickly slid off his face as a serious expression took your place. “i’m sorry though.” you shot him a questioning gaze as you continued your trek. “i mean, i’ve always known i was gonna marry someone i didn’t know, and yeah i guess it kinda sucks but that’s what was expected of me but… I dunno, you thought you were gonna grow up and find someone you loved and marry them and maybe have kids and…” he trailed off as you approached a quiet hallway with only two doors which he assumed one of them to be the bedroom he was staying in. he turned to face you, his frame towering over yours. “it just sucks that this got thrown in your face. like, you’re kinda stuck with me and we have to get married and we don’t have a choice on whether or not to have kids because we have to produce a heir-” you stomach lurched “-and you just, you don’t have a choice and…” luke gulped. “i’m so sorry.”

your eyes softened, because as much as you did resent the idea of marriage and companionship being forced upon you, the kid genuinely seemed distraught. “well, yeah, it kinda sucks but… i dunno, there could be way worse things.”

he raised his eyebrows teasingly but accepted your dismissal, beckoning you a good day considering he knew from your grandma’s warning that this was the first free day you’d had to yourself since arriving.

throughout the week, you’d basically been forced into spending all your time with luke… but you weren’t necessarily complaining. he accompanied you to every lesson you had and eagerly learned along with you, trying to soak in as much information about your country’s policies and politics as possible. when you asked why, he simply explained with a slight hint of a flush across his cheeks that it was important he knew his future wife’s country as well as she knew it, considering they were going to be bound for life and running both countries in no time at all. 

you’d noticed, after spending so much time with luke that you and him actually got along quite well. sure, there was the constant whisper in the back of your mind that reminded you he was going to be your husband soon but you found yourself genuinely enjoying his company despite the added incentive. and no, you weren’t quite there yet, but as you watched luke try to catch as many grapes in his mouth as possible during a break from one of your lessons just to make you laugh, you realized the probability of falling in love with the blond geek was much more than ‘extremely likely’ if the way his smile made your heart thump dramatically was any indication. 

"do you know anybody? ever since i stepped outside, you've been over here just standing and being borderline creepy," you shot back with a raised eyebrow.

luke felt his cheek heat up. it wasn't the he was shy or couldn't keep a conversation, he was just so fucking worried about giving away his identity. he was nineteen years old and not only was this his first real party (not including business dinners and the fancy balls he's dragged to) but this was his first time being around normal people his age. "i'm shy," he responded, his grin widening.

you laughed. "so, how'd you find out about my party? am i that popular that people are coming from out of town to attend?" you asked, taking a drink of the wine cooler in your hand.

"what makes you think i'm out of town?"

"if you lived around here, i would've been aware of your existence. trust me," you assured him.

he laughed. "do you know calum hood?" he asked, taking a small sip of beer once you nodded. "he's my best friend, he brought me along with him."

"do you want this?" you offered up your wine cooler. "it doesn't seem like you're enjoying that beer and there's plenty of other stuff inside."

"it's kind of warm, so," he began, letting you take the beer from his fingers and replace it with the wine cooler. he took a drink, the pink lemonade taste going down a lot easier. "thanks."

"no problem," you told him. "i'm y/n," you introduced, holding out your hand.