Eddy obliged, guiding Luke along with his palm against his spine, and the boy resisted the urge to arch into the attention.  They walked down the stairs, to the front door, and then they were suddenly in the sunshine, the morning broken fully and spread across the sky.<br/><br/>It seemed mocking, in a way, that the sun be out and shining so brightly when the two had to part and neither wanted to.  Luke blinked against the rays, dark lashes fanned over pale silvery pools, and he studied Eddy in the doorway: the man was shaded, half hidden, and he looked how Luke felt.<br/><br/>Then Eddy pulled him close, one more kiss.  Luke had to smile at that, amazed and puzzled and delighted to have made such an impact in so little time; Eddy could have whoever he wanted, but he seemed to want to hold onto a silly, daydreaming boy that he'd only met twice.<br/><br/>Luke's lips tasted faintly of coffee, and he laughed into the kiss, a quiet, joyful noise to match the day.  "Thank you, for all this."<i>Thank you for the attention, for last night, for not kicking him out immediately, for letting him stay and sort of pretend things were real...<br/>
</i><br/>He pulled back from the kiss, though doing so was harder than it had any right to be, and then stepped back further into the alley.  No more delays.<br/><br/>Luke repositioned the bag on his shoulder, turned towards the direction he needed, and gave Eddy a small wave.  It seemed weak, but there was no easy way to do this, it just had to be done.  "See you, Eddy."<br/><br/>Not goodbye, not permanent loss...  A promise for the future.  Luke smiled at him again, then turned his gaze away and started off, footsteps light against the gritty pavement and heart aching in his chest.