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"I see," he said, mildly intrigued by the whole process. He leaned against the counter and watched the pot for signs of boiling, obviously having never heard the saying that related to such an activity.

He couldn't really blame her for asking questions about Lucas, since they were the same person, in essence, and shared the vast majority of their experience. This particular question, however, brought a scowl to his face. The memory, though one of despair to Lucas, brought Luke nothing but indignation.

"He went to a bar, met a woman, let himself get wrapped all around her manipulative little fingers..." He paused, releasing his building anger in a sigh. "I assume you want the long version?" He needed to be sure of this before he launched into a rant.

"Hm. Okay." He faced forward and folded his arms across his chest. "He had a bit of a drinking problem after Liselle--" Ah, there was that trigger again. He beat back the nearly overwhelming wave of remorse and continued, "His tolerance against alcohol has always made it difficult for him to actually get drunk, but he managed it that evening. This woman, Jessica," his tone became almost sneering as he mentioned her name, "took notice of him. They talked a while, danced a bit, and at the end of the evening, Lucas volunteered to escort her home, the kind fool that he is. She convinced him to stay, and convinced him to stay with her." He shifted slightly, crossing his legs at the ankles.

"In the morning, Jessica roped him in with all sorts of sappy little phrases, and in his desperation to move past Li--" Ah, crap, not again. "Well, he decided to give her a chance. Now, pop quiz." He turned a glance to Claire. "What kind of girlfriend do you think Jessica was?"

"Full credit," he said with a slight sigh. "Yes. She decided Lucas's wallet was the perfect way to try out all the fancy cuisine and get all the expensive clothes and accessories she wanted. Not to mention that she convinced him to stay the night in her apartment more evenings than not. But Lucas didn't notice. He stayed with her no matter how his friends tried to convince him to leave. Jessica told him she loved him, and that was all he needed to believe it. Things grew a bit hectic at the base, though, and he was unable to see her or even respond to her messages for around a month. Naturally, Jessica came to the conclusion that her well had run dry." Or that was the conclusion that Elisa had offered, and it seemed to fit. "The next time he contacted her, she requested to see him in person, and so they arranged to meet. Pop quiz number two: What do you think Jessica told Lucas?"

He gave a light snort. "Points for effort, at least. She told him she was pregnant. Left the poor fool reeling. It wasn't that he didn't want a family, but he certainly didn't want to involve Jessica with Team Galactic, and he couldn't leave Galactic for her either. They talked over the phone a few times and came to the agreement that Lucas would send her pieces of his paycheck. After that, she refused to meet with him anymore, stopped answering his calls, didn't return his messages... But he made good on his promise nonetheless." The honest idiot that he was. Luke sighed. "He ran into her a few months later. Found out it had all been a lie. And that was the end of Lucas's relationship with trust."

"He loved her," he said with a shrug. "Besides, he felt guilty for leaving her alone. He was sure she was mad at him, and so he didn't take it as anything suspicious when she was suddenly gone." He smirked slightly. "Lucas almost did himself. Came terribly close, but just couldn't manage it." Luke would have been just as pleased to have the opportunity, but it wasn't his duty to assault women that showed no inclination to physically harm his other half. That right belonged to Lucas alone. He nodded at her conclusion, "Yes, that's right. Friendly, yes. Trusting, no. I'm... not sure he'll be able to recover from that." All because of Liselle, damn it.

"Yes. Yes she did." He narrowed his eyes in mild disgust. She was an altogether unsavory woman, and he likely wouldn't have settled with a set of knuckles to the face if he ever had the chance that to have words with her.

He looked to Claire with an expression between exasperation and hope. "I'm not sure if he does want to. And I'm not sure how to change it if he doesn't." This was one of Luke's greatest concerns, and the fact that he would no longer be able to oversee Lucas's progress in the matter sent a small shudder down his spine.