"I really don't want to risk anything like that… I'd be so scared I'd mess something up." Melissa whispered weakly, snuggling back up. "I honestly don't know how you've managed to keep up with yours… not anything against you. It just seems like a lot…"
Lucas smiled weakly. "Well, Cody brings them to me at the right time every morning, and I haven't got much else to do here that would distract me."
Melissa sighed softly as she nodded. "I-I guess that's fair… knowing me, I'd never be able to keep up…" She mumbled softly, giving him a gentle look. "Even if I was here. I'd probably forget about it."
"I guess so… unless Cody brought them to you, I guess." Lucas smiled gently. "He's very punctual."
"Mmm, probably because you trained him so well…" Melissa whispered, glancing up at him. She pushed up a weak smile, pecking his lips.
"I guess so. He's a delightful student, though." Lucas gently returned the kiss and pet Cody.
"I'm sure he is. He's such a delight to just be around, in general." Melissa hummed, bringing Cody closer to herself.
"Honestly, yeah. Cody's the best dog ever." Lucas smiled, rubbing Cody's ears. "We got real lucky with his personality."
Melissa nodded, her weak smile still remaining. "He's such a good boy. We could have picked any of the puppies, and I'm so glad he's the one we did."
"Mhmm! He's the one who cuddled up to me as soon as I sat down. I knew he was the one that I wanted."
"I remember that… you two were so cute, honestly." Melissa laughed weakly, scratching under Cody's chin. "I still have the pictures you sent me, of you two lying on the couch together."
Lucas smiled a bit. "Yeah… he's gonna get really big. He's in his awkward, gangly months right now."
"The poor baby… I hated my awkward years, honestly. I can't imagine what he must be going through." Melissa joked a little, still scratching under his chin.
"Mm… I don't think he cares as much as people do. He doesn't have to deal with acne or anything, after all."
"Or major emotional mood swings…" Melissa laughed softly, looking up at him. "Honestly, he's probably in it better than either of us were."
"Oh, yeah. I was a mess." Lucas snickered. "Even Claus didn't know how to handle it and he's the confident one."
"I'm sure it was a lot, having everything start happening all at once. That's how it was for me, at least." Melissa gave a short huff, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Yeah… at least I didn't have to deal with periods." Lucas laughed a bit. "I would not have handled it very gracefully."
"Trust me, Lu, I didn't take mine very well." Melissa sighed weakly, but still had a small smile up. "I thought I was dying at first. I was way over-the-top with emotions, too. I didn't want to tell anyone what was happening to me."
"Yeah, I'm sure… Claus got really aggressive for a while. Everything made him angry. And I just kinda cried a lot at home."
"Mmm, I remember that of Claus very vividly, actually. I think I was trying to ask where you were, and he didn't like that. Said something about not being your baby-sitter, I think?"
Lucas nodded and laughed again. "Sounds like him… "I'm not my brother's keeper" or something. He just got pissy for no reason."
"Mmm, yeah, something like that." Melissa hummed, sitting up to kiss his cheek. "I have to admit, even if he was kind of jerky, I miss him…"
"Yeah, me too… he was an asshole sometimes, but I still loved him, you know? He was my twin brother, after all."
"Mhmm. Just because you don't always get along, doesn't mean you can't love them. I know me and you don't agree on everything." Melissa hummed softly, starting to play with his hair again.
"True… luckily we don't fight too much, though. I'm pretty passive for the most part. I only ever really bickered with Claus."
"Mm, yeah… while we're talking about it, I'm sorry about the last time. I shouldn't have snapped at you for trying to help me." She apologized in a soft tone, holding his face in her one hand.
"It's okay, Mel… I don't blame you for being defensive. It's hard to admit you need help sometimes because it feels like giving up… I felt the same way when they sent me here."
"That's exactly what it felt like… though, um… it felt like I was giving up on myself. I mean, shouldn't I be able to handle my own problems?" Melissa asked weakly.
Lucas smiled weakly. "Mm… you know that I know how that feels Mel, but sometimes you have to let people help you. You don't want to spiral down to where I am."