[atwt] 1036 words of Luke and Noah at the races - mild schmoop alert
As the World Turns / Luke-Noah / Green Flag / 1036 words
A/N: With the Daytona 500 tomorrow (YAY!), I started wondering what would happen if Luke tried to take Noah to a race. Um. Hi. This is me on not enough sleep. ;-)
Luke flipped the lid of the cooler shut and set it by the back door after checking again that the tickets were inside, along with sandwiches, grapes, sun block and ice in a baggie. When he couldn't stand it any more, he quietly made his way to Noah's room and nudged his door open.
Inside, Noah was stretched out on his back. The quilt was half kicked onto the floor and the sheet was pulled up to his shoulders. He looked so peaceful, Luke hated to wake him up. Almost. He sprinted across the room, bounced onto the bed and straddled Noah. When Noah's eyes popped open in shock, Luke laughed and leaned down to kiss him quickly.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Luke said brightly.
"Luke? What are you doing in here at," he paused to squint at the clock across the room and groaned. "Why are you waking me up so early?"
"We have a date," Luke answered. He kept his answer deliberately vague. If Noah really knew what he was up to, he wasn't sure Noah would still go along with it.
"A date. This early in the morning?" He gently pushed Luke off him and began rummaging for clothes.
"Well, no. Not until later," he hedged. When Noah stopped dressing, he rushed to continue. "But it's a long ride and you have to get there early."
That seemed to satisfy Noah, Luke realized.
"So, what do I wear then? On this date?"
"Something comfortable. And bring your sunglasses."
It only took a few more minutes for them to finish getting ready, grab the cooler and some wagon that had been hanging around the farm and get going. As Noah put the truck in gear, he tried again to get Luke to tell him where they were going, but Luke was stubborn and he just bit the inside of his cheek as he shook is head. Noah tried to argue that he needed to know since he was driving, but Luke kept shaking his head. Eventually, Noah had grumbled something about Luke's bossy streak as Luke guided him to the highway.
The closer they got to the track, the more traffic they encountered, the more excited Luke got. By the time they pulled off the highway, he was practically bouncing in his seat.
A few more miles down the road and the traffic came to a slow crawl. Noah pressed on the clutch and down shifted his truck. When he was done, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shifter.
"Luke, where are we going?" he asked again.
"The race," he finally answered.
"Race. As in noise and cars driving in circles?"
"Well, they don't just drive in circles," Luke began.
"Uh huh," Noah muttered.
"You'll see," Luke promised.
They were lucky. By getting there early enough, thy got a decent parking space and began the walk to the track. They decided to leave the wagon and Noah carried the cooler.
The first thing they did was go to their seats. They were pretty good - not too high up, on a straight stretch where they should see most of the excitement. Luke sat in his seat, anticipation thrumming through him. Noah sat next to him and kicked the cooler under the seat.
"Have you ever been to a race before, Noah?" Luke asked quietly as he leaned forward and watched the people shuffling about in the infield.
Noah laughed. "Are you kidding? With my father? No."
Luke smiled and looked to where Noah sat nervously next to him. He looked completely uncomfortable. "It's amazing. There's nothing in the world like forty-three cars flying by the grandstands at full speed. The raw power that's in those cars."
They sat for a little longer, watching as the crews wheeled equipment out to their pit boxes. It was early yet, though, so they left the cooler and walked around. Noah moved stiffly through the crowd and Luke knew he felt out of place. It was hard to move in some places, so the best he could do was a reassuring hand on Noah's back to guide him.
As they walked around, they visited souvenir trailers and bought a couple of tee shirts.
"But I don't know who this guy is," Noah had practically whined as he stared at the large '88' on the back of his shirt.
Luke sighed patiently. "Noah. Trust me, he's good. Damn good. Hey, have you ever had a dough boy?" he asked, swiftly changing the subject.
It was almost time to return to their seats at that point, so they got some dough boys loaded with fine, powdered sugar, a couple of sodas and made their way back to their seats.
By now, the teams had started pushing the cars onto pit road and some of the drivers had started to wander out. Luke divided his attention between the activity below them and Noah. As the drivers got into their cars, Luke began explaining the basics to Noah, but he also knew that as the race went on, there would be more explanations to come.
As one of the last drivers slid in through his window, Noah suddenly chuckled.
"What?" Luke asked, confused.
Noah pointed at the driver sitting on the lower edge of the window. "Something else you didn't mention," he explained.
Luke thought back to the crash course in auto racing he'd just given Noah as he tried to figure out what he was talking about. He finally gave up. "What?" he asked again.
"Those uniforms they wear? Are pretty damn hot," Noah finally explained.
Luke laughed. "Fire suits, but yeah, they are."
Within moments, the drivers had flipped the ignition switch and started the cars. Forty three engines roared to life and slowly rolled down pit road and out onto the track, a shiny pace car leading the way. Luke shifted his gaze from the cars to Noah, who was more visibly relaxed than Luke had seen him in a long time.
As though he knew Luke was watching him, Noah turned his head and smiled brightly, twisting something inside Luke.
Oh yeah, bringing him today had definitely been a good idea.
A/N: With the Daytona 500 tomorrow (YAY!), I started wondering what would happen if Luke tried to take Noah to a race. Um. Hi. This is me on not enough sleep. ;-)
Luke flipped the lid of the cooler shut and set it by the back door after checking again that the tickets were inside, along with sandwiches, grapes, sun block and ice in a baggie. When he couldn't stand it any more, he quietly made his way to Noah's room and nudged his door open.
Inside, Noah was stretched out on his back. The quilt was half kicked onto the floor and the sheet was pulled up to his shoulders. He looked so peaceful, Luke hated to wake him up. Almost. He sprinted across the room, bounced onto the bed and straddled Noah. When Noah's eyes popped open in shock, Luke laughed and leaned down to kiss him quickly.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Luke said brightly.
"Luke? What are you doing in here at," he paused to squint at the clock across the room and groaned. "Why are you waking me up so early?"
"We have a date," Luke answered. He kept his answer deliberately vague. If Noah really knew what he was up to, he wasn't sure Noah would still go along with it.
"A date. This early in the morning?" He gently pushed Luke off him and began rummaging for clothes.
"Well, no. Not until later," he hedged. When Noah stopped dressing, he rushed to continue. "But it's a long ride and you have to get there early."
That seemed to satisfy Noah, Luke realized.
"So, what do I wear then? On this date?"
"Something comfortable. And bring your sunglasses."
It only took a few more minutes for them to finish getting ready, grab the cooler and some wagon that had been hanging around the farm and get going. As Noah put the truck in gear, he tried again to get Luke to tell him where they were going, but Luke was stubborn and he just bit the inside of his cheek as he shook is head. Noah tried to argue that he needed to know since he was driving, but Luke kept shaking his head. Eventually, Noah had grumbled something about Luke's bossy streak as Luke guided him to the highway.
The closer they got to the track, the more traffic they encountered, the more excited Luke got. By the time they pulled off the highway, he was practically bouncing in his seat.
A few more miles down the road and the traffic came to a slow crawl. Noah pressed on the clutch and down shifted his truck. When he was done, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shifter.
"Luke, where are we going?" he asked again.
"The race," he finally answered.
"Race. As in noise and cars driving in circles?"
"Well, they don't just drive in circles," Luke began.
"Uh huh," Noah muttered.
"You'll see," Luke promised.
They were lucky. By getting there early enough, thy got a decent parking space and began the walk to the track. They decided to leave the wagon and Noah carried the cooler.
The first thing they did was go to their seats. They were pretty good - not too high up, on a straight stretch where they should see most of the excitement. Luke sat in his seat, anticipation thrumming through him. Noah sat next to him and kicked the cooler under the seat.
"Have you ever been to a race before, Noah?" Luke asked quietly as he leaned forward and watched the people shuffling about in the infield.
Noah laughed. "Are you kidding? With my father? No."
Luke smiled and looked to where Noah sat nervously next to him. He looked completely uncomfortable. "It's amazing. There's nothing in the world like forty-three cars flying by the grandstands at full speed. The raw power that's in those cars."
They sat for a little longer, watching as the crews wheeled equipment out to their pit boxes. It was early yet, though, so they left the cooler and walked around. Noah moved stiffly through the crowd and Luke knew he felt out of place. It was hard to move in some places, so the best he could do was a reassuring hand on Noah's back to guide him.
As they walked around, they visited souvenir trailers and bought a couple of tee shirts.
"But I don't know who this guy is," Noah had practically whined as he stared at the large '88' on the back of his shirt.
Luke sighed patiently. "Noah. Trust me, he's good. Damn good. Hey, have you ever had a dough boy?" he asked, swiftly changing the subject.
It was almost time to return to their seats at that point, so they got some dough boys loaded with fine, powdered sugar, a couple of sodas and made their way back to their seats.
By now, the teams had started pushing the cars onto pit road and some of the drivers had started to wander out. Luke divided his attention between the activity below them and Noah. As the drivers got into their cars, Luke began explaining the basics to Noah, but he also knew that as the race went on, there would be more explanations to come.
As one of the last drivers slid in through his window, Noah suddenly chuckled.
"What?" Luke asked, confused.
Noah pointed at the driver sitting on the lower edge of the window. "Something else you didn't mention," he explained.
Luke thought back to the crash course in auto racing he'd just given Noah as he tried to figure out what he was talking about. He finally gave up. "What?" he asked again.
"Those uniforms they wear? Are pretty damn hot," Noah finally explained.
Luke laughed. "Fire suits, but yeah, they are."
Within moments, the drivers had flipped the ignition switch and started the cars. Forty three engines roared to life and slowly rolled down pit road and out onto the track, a shiny pace car leading the way. Luke shifted his gaze from the cars to Noah, who was more visibly relaxed than Luke had seen him in a long time.
As though he knew Luke was watching him, Noah turned his head and smiled brightly, twisting something inside Luke.
Oh yeah, bringing him today had definitely been a good idea.