Xander had fucked up. Twice. 

First when he woke up this morning and saw Luka sweetly smiling at him, with those gorgeous amethyst eyes that he loved so much. Xander had felt a sense of pure unadulterated joy. And the way Luka whispered his name, like a morning songbird welcoming the new day. Of course Xander smiled back, enjoying the absolute bliss of this wonderful daydream. 

But then he remembered that they were no longer sex friends, and they were most definitely not dating. 

Then he fucked up again when he was leaving the apartment and he had casually hugged Luka—the two hadn’t hugged each other in over a year! He did enjoy it, without a doubt, and he also enjoyed the hug Luka had given him just before he left. But all these little points of physical contact between them were beginning to dredge up old feelings he thought had been buried deep down in the bog of his broken heart. 

Perhaps because it was broken, that made it easier for these heavy feelings to slip through the cracks.

He knew they weren't romantically compatible—even though physically they were like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, perfectly shaped to fit one another. Every groove, every curve, every edge of their bodies slotted in place to make the perfect picture. If things kept going the way they were going, Xander knew he was going to fall for Luka again. 

And yet, he did nothing to stop that from happening. 

“Alex! Just the man I was looking for!” the raspy voice of a lifelong smoker called out from one of the rooms Xander was passing on his way to the staff kitchen. 

Shoving his thoughts aside, Xander backtracked a couple of steps to the door of his boss' office. Grey filing cabinets lined the muted green walls, the colour akin to something one would expect after eating too much bad seafood, along with a multitude of framed photos depicting children wearing matching outfits. Xander assumed these were photos of his boss’ grandkids. The desk in the middle of the room was covered with folders and papers, while a white cup with the word Nanna and little red hearts sat on the edge with a dozen of the same type of black pen inside.  

“What can I do for ya, Carol?” he asked from the door. 

“Come in, come in,” she insisted, waving her tiny hand, a flash of bright red reflecting off her nails. “I wanted to talk about next year.”

A small lump formed in Xander's throat. His contract to work at the clinic only lasted until the end of the year. It was expected that the person on maternity leave would return in January and Xander would need to start looking for his next job. Something he was dreading. 

“Yeah?” A hint of nervousness could be heard in his voice as he stepped into the office and took a seat across the desk. 

“So, have you enjoyed your time here with us so far?” Carol interlocked her fingers, placing her hands on the table between them. 

Now that he was closer, Xander could smell the scent of expensive perfume being used to cover up the smell of tobacco. Regardless of the odour, Xander really had enjoyed his time working at the clinic these past several months.

“Yeah, I love it,” he replied without missing a beat.

“Good, good.” A large smile beamed across Carol's face, stretching her red-stained lips. “Well, we also love having you around.”

The lump in Xander's throat began to melt away—

“But unfortunately we can't extend your contract next year.”

—before forcing its way down his throat and turning into a huge, discomforting boulder in his stomach. Like lava that had scorched its way through town, setting everything and everyone in its way ablaze. 

Xander hated feeling this way, and it seemed to happen a lot lately. 

“Lucy is coming back from leave next year, so she’s returning to her old job,” Carol explained. “We are, however, opening a second clinic soon and are going to need some talented staff to help start up the place.” 

Carol waited for Xander to react. 

“... Me?” He pointed to himself, the rocks in his gut still churning. “Are you being serious?” 

Carol smiled while nodding her head, and finally, the discomfort in Xander's stomach began to ease. But only a little. 

“Oh! Wow! That… that's amazing!” he exclaimed, unable to control the smile that spread across his lips. 

Carol relaxed back into her chair, unravelling her fingers and placing her hands on her lap. “Jacob will be moving to the new clinic. When we asked who he'd like to work with, he said without a doubt you. Seems you've made a good impression on him.”

The compliment brought another smile to Xander's face, finally completely removing the knot, the rocks, and the discomfort from his insides.

“Wow! Guess I better buy the man another energy drink,” Xander joked. 

One of the senior vets, Jacob Chew, had a reputation for consuming energy drinks like a camel that hadn't drank water in months. The middle-aged man had taken a liking to Xander when he started, stating he reminded Jacob of his son who now lived in London. And in all honesty, Xander enjoyed having a father figure at work who helped train and guide him while he was still getting a feel for the job.

“Hah! I'm sure he'd love that. So, now that I've confirmed that you'd like to stay on with us, we can start preparing a new contract for next year.”

“This is great news,” Xander said. “Thank you so much.”

“Well, like I’ve said, we've loved having you around,” Carol said. “Oh! And you'll be happy to hear that the new clinic is in Thornbury, so that's closer to home for you, isn't it?”

By home, Carol meant Xander's parents' place back in Bundoora. 

At the beginning of his contract, Xander had been commuting an hour by public transport into the city each day. On the days that he drove, the commute was only half an hour, but parking in the area would cost him anywhere from $26-$69. The situation was not ideal. 

But his home now, his home with Luka, was in North Melbourne. Less than ten minutes to work by train. Xander felt jetlagged this morning when he didn’t need to catch the 7 am train. But if he started working at the new clinic in Thornbury, the time it would take him to go to work from ‘home’ was now closer to an hour! He may as well move back in with his parents. 

But wasn’t that what Xander wanted? A reason to move out of Luka's at the end of the year? That was always the plan, right? But how serious had Xander been about that? It's not like he had continued looking for rental properties that allowed pets or anything. 

If Xander wasn't going to do anything to stop himself from falling for Luka, the universe would do it for him.