Lou would be lying if he tried to say he didn’t miss Erik. Things seemed to have been a bit rough for the other man lately, and it had been a good bit since Lou had seen him. Lou missed Erik much more than he cared to admit, but he knew that today he would have the chance to see him. Even if only for a minute. Lou had been working hard on a present for Erik for a while now, meant for Eriks birthday in a few months. He’d really lucked out stumbling onto it, it was such a rare flower, and Lou had been slaving over it for months. He had decided to give it to Erik early; he seemed distant, and upset, and Lou hoped it was enough to cheer Erik up a bit.
Lou very carefully took the potted plant and apparated near Erik’s apartment. He wasn’t going to force Erik to let him stay, he was going to drop off the plant and... just let him know that he wasn’t alone. Lou’s brow furrowed, though, when the other wizard wasn’t at his apartment. After a bit of thinking, Lou realized that maybe Erik was down at that bar he’d spoken about, the one Erik liked to frequent.
Lou straightened his coat, his heart fluttering a little in his chest as he walked towards the bar. It had been a very long time since Lou had let anyone into his life, and even longer since he had really cared for anyone else. Lou knew he cared about Erik, deeply, and that he dreamed of maybe building more with the other wizard. It was a silly dream, perhaps, but Lou found that he often felt silly in the best ways when he was with Erik.
But as Lou walked into the bar, eagerly looking around for his favorite person, he realized immediately just how terribly silly, in the worst ways, that he had been. He stood frozen for several long moments, the color draining from his face as he watched Erik practically on top of someone else.
Lou didn’t realize that he was shaking, didn’t realize that tears had formed in his eyes, didn’t realize that slowly every inch of him had started to go numb from the pain. It wasn’t until the potted flower slipped from his grasp, until it shattered on the floor, that Lou was brought back to himself. For one brief second, Lou thought that his heart had made that awful noise as pain ripped through his chest. But as he cast his eyes downward to the broken mess on the floor, the rich brown soil and the wilted and battered flower, as his eyes fell to the yellow and black butterfly he’d so painstakingly, slowly painted onto the ceramic pot, split perfectly in two, Lou crumbled.
His shoulders dropped and a trembling hand came up to cover his lips, his eyes shut tightly as tears began to fall, and with a soft, choked cry, Lou turned on his heel and bolted out the door. He flew down the street again, barreling into an alley and apparating blindly, slamming into the familiar wall of his room as he came together again.
Lou crumbled to the ground, curled in tightly on himself, heartbroken sobs wracking his frame as he pressed himself into the cool wood. How could he have been so stupid? The soft words, the sweet kisses, it had all been nothing, he had meant nothing, and he had been an utter fool to ever believe otherwise.