They're the same

"Hey, Dia? Dia? Earth to Dia?"

Luciano yells and waves his hand in front of Lydia. And it took her a while to realize that.

"Huh? Oh? Yes?"

Lydia doesn't know how much time she went deep in her thoughts. But looking at his face, she guesses it's quite sometimes. Enough for him to get worried and go pale.

"You okay?"

He asked.

She knows she should say something but in the end, she doesn't know what else she can say. She's afraid of changing. She's afraid they three can't stay the same as they were when they were kids.

She can't bring them up to her mouth. After all, they're changing doesn't mean what they had is all fake. 

She's just scared that those days can't continue even when she moves in with them.

But she can't tell Luciano that… she can't let his mood down just because of her silly thoughts. 

"It's okay! Let's get home!"

Luciano's eyes froze a little bit but then he said nothing more. After he paid for all the food, he drove her home and they didn't have a word since then.

Outside the car, the sky is still as cloudy as ever. And inside the car, an uncomfortable silence remains around them. Maybe it's true that a cloudy sky is not a sign of good luck.

She lightly sighs.

Once the car's parked, the engine has stopped, a complete silence covers them. At that moment she truly did not realize we had returned. She continues to keep her head down as she lets herself sink in those endless thoughts.

All of the sudden, she feels a strong hand, lays on her head as it rubs her hair.

"Geez…! Luciano! What's this all about?"

Lydia lightly hits his hand trying to force him to put his hand down. 

"You know, if you want to talk, Raylan and I will always be here for you, okay?"

Hearing him say that, she giggled a little bit. 

"Thanks Luciano! You're the best brother I could ever have!"

"I know it, right?” - said him as his nose upturned - "Even better than our RayRay, am I right?" 

"Yes, yes, whatever you said!"

She laughs out loud and continues to shake her head.

It's true that ever since Lydia was a kid, Luciano has always been the best brother she could ever ask for. Even though he's a little bit different from back then, the way he comforts her like this makes her know for sure that deep down, Luciano is still Luciano.

And she do really, truly hope that goes the same for Raylan. Hopefully, he's still the Ray that she knows.

She opened the car door soon after that and stepped out.

"Since you are my dear and best brother ever, would you be so kind and help me with the groceries?" 

She winks at him as she closes the door. Leaving him in the car with his questionnaire face.

No longer after Lydia enters the house and makes herself comfortable on the sofa, Luciano steps in with his pouty face.

"You know that even if you didn't say so, I'm still willing to help, don't you?"

She smiles a little bit then stands up once again. As gentle as she could be, she came closer to Luciano and snatched the bags out of his hand.

Seeing herself doing so, his eyes rolled up.

"Now what are you trying to do again this time?"

"What does it look like? Does it look like I'm about to poison you?"

Lydia smirked and gave Luciano a poker face that brought chills to his back. He knows she's joking but some part of him is really afraid of that smile. Lydia has a seriously bad sense of humor and the only one who can get that sense of humor is his brother, Raylan.

Luciano glups. He should have known, they're exactly the same from the very first start. Like father, like son. Every Jack has his Jill. Even if they have been five years apart. They're surely not out of sight out of mind.

Lydia, on the other hand, giggles mischievously when she sees Luciano's reaction. To her, sometimes it's entertaining to pick up on him.

"I was joking. I'm helping you now, am I?"

"You have a very very bad sense of humor. And you know that, don't you?"

Luciano rolls his eyes as Lydia shrugs.

Now that he knows, Lydia and Raylan are exactly the same. Not only do they have the same attitude, the same way of thinking, they also have the same reaction toward him. And that happens when they're five years apart.

He has already felt dead inside dealings with Raylan. Now he has to deal with the mini version, the female version of him. Does God really want to take all the patience out of him?

Luciano sighs. His relationship with Lydia isn't bad. His relationship with Raylan has never been bad either. But… Luciano just can't accept the fact that he'll become the victim of their everyday trolling from now on.

"Luca! Come and look at this!"

While Luciano is still deep in his thoughts, Lydia has already brought the bag to the kitchen and she calls out as she sees something he did not know.

But still, he steps into the kitchen to find Lydia standing there with a note on her hand.

"Here, take a look at this! It's from Ray, isn't it?"

Lydia said as she handed the note to Luciano. She is kind of used to Raylan's handwriting and based on what the note said, Lydia is quite sure the answer is yes but she still asks again just to make sure there's no mistake. Because if this is true… she can't say how her heart just aches.

"Urgent at the lab. Maybe can't make it home tonight"

The note said.

After reading it, Luciano just rolls it then throws it into the trash can. 

"Looks like tonight's dinner will be just you and me!"

Lydia widened her eyes a little bit and then her eyelines down. Somewhat in her feel a little disappointed. She did really expect tonight's dinner. A reunion after months, how can she say she's not longing for it?

Yet, she can't tell how disappointed she is to Luciano. He did not know she was expecting Raylan. He did not know they secretly met months ago. And he did not know the reasons why she never sees Raylan as a brother. 

Knowing Lydia for 18 years, Luciano can tell immediately that's her disappointing look even though she's not showing it too often. He guesses that not meeting a childhood friend for 5 years makes her feel so. So in order to comfort her, he makes a silly face.

"What on Earth are you doing?"

Trying to hold her laugh, she asked. 

"C'mon! It's not like the end of the world when he can't have dinner with us tonight. We still have plenty of time!"

"Right! Right!"

Lydia's lips curved up knowing Luciano is right. Raylan may not make it tonight but it's not like the end of the world. She's going to stay here until she's finished her studies. And that won't just take an hour or two but years. She'll have another chance.

"Well, I'll still make him something so that if he returns he still can microwave it!"

Lydia said as she picking up the ingredients, ready to make dinner at anytime. 

"No! No! I can't let you cook after such a long trip! I'll cook tonight!"

"Nope! This is my way of saying I'm thankful for everything!"

Lydia smiles as Luciano sighs again. 

"Dinner will be ready soon enough! Meanwhile you can relax in the living room!"

Lydia pushes Luciano out.

"But…"

"No but!"