Eddy didn't sit next to him, instead a few feet away; it was polite and distant and not what Luke wanted.  He wanted Eddy to be nearer, to be able to curl up and lean against his broad frame, to rest his cheek on the man's strong arm...  But instead they were separated, looking at each other from opposite ends, and the boy could do nothing about it.<br/><br/>But Eddy smiled at his promise, seemed to understand and appreciated that Luke meant what he said.  Luke's gaze caught on the way Eddy's fingers rubbed at his beard, the soft rasping noise making him want to touch it himself.  Then Eddy called him sweetheart, and surely that was good...<br/><br/>Differences.  Ah.  Luke couldn't deny that; there were many, and each would be a barrier in most relationships, let alone more than one.  At best, people would think Eddy was his sugar daddy, paying for Luke's time and attention, a more subtle version of prostitution...  At worst, well...<br/><br/>Luke had been in questionable partnerships before.  They'd always started out just fine, lots of romance and the men oh so charming, but slowly things would change.  The younger ones still battling their issues with being gay, the older ones looking for a mild-mannered, easy piece of ass; they had all started out nice, but when Luke stopped acting like their ideal lay or wanted to be seen as a person with his own thoughts and feelings...  That's when things would go sour.  Sometimes the breakups were relatively amicable, sometimes not... Sometimes they were rougher.  But there were always reasons for the split-ups, some valid and some just excuses.<br/><br/>Luke didn't think Eddy would be like any of his old boyfriends, if he could call them that, but he could not say 100% that he knew the man would be different.  He desperately hoped so-- Eddy seemed so wonderful, so kind underneath his weathered exterior, so thoughtful and good.  But maybe the boy was looking for things he wanted to see, ignoring what was there... He'd done that too.<br/><br/>So Luke was silent, scratching the cat under her chin and looking at Eddy calmly.  Eddy was right, but that didn't mean it couldn't work...  There had to be a way...  "I don't care what other people think."  Not exactly true; Luke cared what people thought about himself, but he would defend this growing thing between he and Eddy if he could.  "I want to try and build this, if... if you do too.  If you don't, I get it.  Differences."  He gave Eddy a small smile; there would be no hard feelings if the man decided this couldn't move forward.  Luke would be ok by himself, and he'd never tell a soul about the strange bartender with the beautiful tattoos and the aching hands.