FIC: WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Title: What Happened Next?
Chapter: 1/1
Author: carolinablu85. or you can call me Ella! (or you can call me Al, if you like the song...)
Characters: Luke/Noah, Lily
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Tag to the June 29, 2009 episode
Summary: What happened after Noah called the cops on his father?
Disclaimer: I disclaim. I own a pair of sneakers, a cellphone, and some other stuff. The show? Nope, not that.
Author's Note: I swear, I wrote this right after the June 29 episode, and way before the "bonfire" episode that came after! Enjoy!
Luke had just stepped out of the kitchen with a mug of tea when Lily burst in, immediately zeroing in on her son. “Luke! I got your message and came home as quickly as I could, are you okay?!” she pulled him into a panicked hug, nearly causing Luke to tip over and spill the tea.
“Mom, Mom! It’s okay, I’m okay. I barely even saw Colonel Mayer. The police have him now.” He stood there, calm, letting Lily look him over to satisfy her own nerves. “They’re going to charge him with Margo’s attempted murder and… and with attempted kidnapping,” he glanced up at the ceiling, towards his room. “Along with all the other charges he dodged last year.”
“God, how’s Noah’s doing?” Lily wiped away a tear, frowning in concern.
"Uh,” Luke sighed, trying his hardest not to sound scared out of his mind. “Not good. Pretty freaked.” Shaking his head, “Honestly, I don’t think he’s said a word since the cops took his dad away.”
“Oh, the poor kid,” she murmured. Then, louder, “Is there anything I can do?”
Luke smiled ruefully. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do,” he admitted. “I brought him here, figured it’d be better-”
“No, that’s good. He should be with us right now, with family.”
“We’re the only family he’s got now, Mom,” Luke’s voice cracked a little, finding that idea so hard to comprehend.
Lily hugged him again, then pushed him towards the stairs. “Go ahead, you should be with him right now. I’ll call your dad, and- oh! And Emma, see if she can’t cook up some of Noah’s favorite food and bring it over for dinner. Do you think he’ll eat…?”
He worked hard to make sure his smile didn’t look sad and worried. “I don’t know. But if anyone could convince him to, it would be you and Grandma.”
Lily looked at him fondly. “I’ll be down here if either of you need anything.”
“Thanks Mom,” he kissed her cheek, then turned and went carefully up the steps to his room. He knocked lightly on the door before opening it. “It’s me, I brought you some…” and then he stopped in the doorway. When he left, Noah had been sitting on the edge of Luke’s bed, staring at nothing. Now he lay curled up on one side of it, arms wrapped around himself, fast asleep.
Luke regarded him sadly, lovingly, putting the mug down on his desk and going to the bed. He eased himself down, sitting propped up against the headboard next to where Noah lay. He studied him, noting not for the first time how soft and boyish his features were when he slept, when Noah let the tension drop from his face. Luke didn’t like how often that tension seemed to be present when Noah was awake.
Not able to resist, he ran a hand gently along Noah’s cheek and up to his hair, playing with the slight curls. He liked that Noah had let his hair grow out a little longer, messier. It was like letting go of another military standard that had always been forced upon him. Plus, on a purely selfish note, Luke really liked playing with his hair.
Noah sighed in his sleep, frowning momentarily before leaning into Luke’s touch, unconsciously seeking out the affection. Luke could feel his eyes start welling up, but he refused to let any tears fall. If Noah wasn’t going to cry, then neither was he. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but he was interrupted from his thoughts when Noah suddenly twitched under his hand. Luke glanced down and frowned at the pained expression on his face, the rapid movement of his eyes under closed lids. “Noah?” he said softly.
Noah shook his head, still asleep, his breaths coming quicker and heavier.
Luke put his hand flat on the side of Noah’s face, leaning over him. “It’s just a dream, Noah. Wake up.” Noah mumbled something unintelligible, trembling more violently. Luke grabbed Noah’s shoulder, rolling his boyfriend onto his back. “Noah. Noah, hey,” Luke called louder, rubbing his shoulder. “Wake up, come on.” With a gasp and an almost inaudible cry, Noah surged upwards, eyes wide. Luke caught him, steadied him. “Noah? It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Noah looked around frantically for a second before he focused on Luke. “Luke,” he sighed the name in relief, grasping Luke’s face in his hands, looking him over. Luke let him, remaining calm, just like when Lily had looked at him earlier, and he silently thanked God that Noah was talking again, even if it was because of a dream. “Luke,” he said again. “You’re okay?”
“Of course I am,” Luke assured him. “I have you here, safe. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Noah’s hands dropped from Luke’s face to slide down his shoulders and arms, taking Luke’s hands in his own. “I… I thought…”
Luke squeezed his hands. “It was just a dream, Noah. I’m right here with you.” Noah choked on his breath, but nodded. Luke pulled him into his arms, holding Noah’s head against his chest. “Everything’s okay, I promise,” he whispered into Noah’s hair. He felt Noah shake his head in denial, but continued anyway. “I didn’t do anything, remember? You did, you got your father into police custody, kept him from hurting anyone else.” Except yourself, he added silently. He rubbed Noah’s back. “What did you dream about?”
Noah was silent for awhile, leaning against Luke. Luke was about to give up hope, assuming Noah was back into his bout of silence, when he finally spoke. “He was going to make me go with him.” Luke pushed away the fear that grabbed at him, thinking of how close things had come to that actually happening. If the Colonel really had tried to force Noah to disappear with him…
“I tried to get away, but I couldn’t. I tried,” he insisted, almost more to himself than to Luke. Luke gently began to settle back down in the bed, still holding Noah close to him. Noah didn’t seem to notice, beyond readjusting his arms to wrap around Luke’s stomach, keeping his head on Luke’s chest.
“He said no one would come for me. No one would miss me.” He spoke so simply, tonelessly, that Luke was almost certain he had to be asleep again. But no, Noah’s eyes were open, in that blank stare he’d had for the past few hours that Luke hated. When he spoke again, his voice sounded so young, younger than Luke had ever really pictured him to be. “No one needs me, and he was the only person who could care about me.”
“Noah,” Luke’s voice faltered, not sure how to respond to something so horribly untrue.
“But you came,” Noah continued, voice somewhat wondering and awed, shutting Luke up. “You tried to… to save me.”
“Of course I did,” Luke ran his hand over those dark curls again. “I love you, I’d do anything to protect you.”
Noah took another shuddering breath, the only acknowledgment that he was listening to Luke. “But he… he got to you. Was going to kill you. Again.” He shook his head, burrowing in closer to Luke, who tightened his own grip. “He was going to make me watch.”
Luke couldn’t stand it anymore. “Hey.” He held Noah’s chin and tilted his head up so they could look into each other’s eyes. “It was a dream,” he said firmly. “Nothing like that came close to happening. Damian and I found you, and you called the cops. You did the right thing, and both you and the Colonel are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. He’s going to prison and you’re home with me.”
“This is never going to end,” Noah sounded agonized, this time giving no indication that he had heard Luke’s words.
“What?” Luke kept his hand on Noah’s chin, confused.
“I’m never… I’m never going to be free of him, Luke. I mean, what way could this possibly end? My father in jail, or dead.” His blue eyes were panicked. “He’s already done both, and he’s still come back. And he’s always in my head. Do I just wait until the next time he decides to-”
“No,” Luke remained calm, feeling like he had to keep Noah from bolting. “Being free of him isn’t a physical thing, okay? You have to do it yourself, inside yourself. And you will.” Noah shook his head again, miserable. Luke insisted, “You will. And I’ll help you, I promise.” He didn’t know Noah’s eyes could get any bluer, but somehow they did.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Me too,” Luke replied. “I’m sorry that all this happened, and I’m sorry that for some reason you feel the need to apologize.” Noah was looking up at him, so full of confusion and hurt that Luke could barely take it. It upset him that Noah could think the best of everyone but himself. “Nothing your dad did, nothing that happened, was your fault.”
He leaned in closer, placing a caring, lingering kiss to Noah’s forehead. Noah turned his face upward even more to meet Luke’s lips with his own. It became more frantic, desperate, as if Noah had to prove to himself that he was actually awake and not trapped in a nightmare.
Luke obliged, deepening the kiss, feeling Noah’s hands tighten around his sides even as Luke eased the plaid button-up off his boyfriend’s shoulders, Noah almost mindlessly helping to take it off and toss it to the floor. Luke ran his own hands up and down, reassuring himself that Noah was in fact alive and whole, with him, safe. Home.
“I love you,” Noah said in a rush when they both paused to catch their breath.
Luke smiled in spite of the situation, leaning his forehead down to meet his boyfriend’s. “I love you too. So much.” Noah smiled just a little in return, but it was enough to fill Luke with hope. Noah kissed him again, soft and sweet. Luke continued to smile through the kiss, pulling Noah down to lie fully on the bed. Noah dropped his head onto Luke’s shoulder, kissing it lightly as Luke wrapped an arm around his back, his other hand coming up to Noah’s chest, resting steadily against his heart.
“God, I don’t want to think about how close I came to losing you today,” Luke whispered, smile dropping from his face. He watched his own fingers trace the patterns across the front of Noah’s t-shirt. His sleeve had ridden up, and Luke could see the raised, slightly darker-shaded skin marking where Noah had been shot a few months ago.
He leaned over across Noah’s body and gently kissed that scar- causing Noah’s breath to hitch slightly- before settling back again, suddenly overcome. “When you disappeared-” again, he added silently, “-it scared the hell out of me. I nearly lost you last time, I couldn’t do that again.”
Noah swallowed hard, glancing down at his scar from the gunshot wound, the only mark left of that kidnapping experience. His arm still bugged him from time to time. Was today really another kidnapping? Or was he just so easy to emotionally blackmail? “I wouldn’t have gone with him,” he said just as quietly. “He tried, he wanted me to, but I told him I wouldn’t leave you.” Luke felt his smile return, though only a little, and it was immediately dropped when Noah ventured out tentatively with, “He was… he was trying to manipulate me again, wasn’t he?”
Luke couldn’t keep the sadness out of his voice. “Yeah, baby, I think he was.” He’s said it before and he’ll say it again- he hated Colonel Winston Mayer, more than he’d ever hated anyone else on this earth. How he could take advantage of Noah like that- his sense of loyalty and duty, his desperation to right his father’s wrongs, his fear of abandonment, his constant need to do the ‘right thing’- Luke just couldn’t understand.
And of course it happens just as he and Damian are finally getting along, which just pushed Noah’s own parental issues that much closer to the surface. His attention was brought back to the present when Noah shook his head, bringing his hands up to cover his face. “Hey, hey, Noah…” he pulled the hands away.
Noah’s eyes were shut tight, he was obviously fighting for control. “I let him. I keep letting him do this. I can’t-”
“No, no way,” Luke grasped Noah’s face as tightly as he dared, conviction lending strength to it. “The Noah from two years ago, maybe. He might have fought with me today, might have let his dad get away or even gone with him. He might have let the Colonel win. But not now, not the person you’ve become.”
Noah was staring at him incredulously, a part of him looking like he needed Luke to convince him. Luke was only too happy to try. “You’ve grown so much in the last year, okay? You’re a much stronger person, and he underestimated you today. And you proved to him he can’t control you anymore. You are such a better man than you give yourself credit for. Don’t you see any of that?”
“No,” Noah admitted quietly, breaking Luke’s heart a little. But then Noah’s lips tilted up in the tiniest of smiles. “But I trust you a lot more than I trust me, so…”
“So what I say goes,” he leaned in for another kiss, and Noah obliged. He pulled Luke closer, losing himself and the memories of today in the embrace. Luke did the same, letting go of the fear and anger and worry this day had brought on. It never really registered until his mom had hugged him that Luke had been about five feet from the man who had once tried to kill him. And Luke wasn’t really bothered by it; his concern then and now was for Noah.
He wondered briefly if that meant that Luke really had put the past and Colonel Mayer behind him. That idea cheered him up and gave him the courage to turn to Noah and say, “You’re going to be okay. I know it. And we’re going to be okay, I promise. Better than okay.”
Noah’s head had dropped down to press into Luke’s shirt, and Luke could feel him take a long and deep breath, letting it out slowly. His chest felt warm where the air hit him. “Are you okay? Seeing him again, after everything-”
How did Noah always seem to know what he was thinking about? Luke couldn’t help but smile, give a short little laugh. “I told you, I’m more than fine. I’ve got you here, don’t I?” He felt Noah kiss his collar bone through the t-shirt, and his smile widened. Both of his hands cradled Noah’s face, and he pulled those lips up to meet his own again. Noah always gave the best kisses.
But right now Noah was so overwhelmed by everything, so hurt and shocked and confused, that Luke didn’t have the heart to push the kissing any further. He let Noah settle back down next to him, half on top of him. “Think you can go back to sleep now?”
Noah gave an involuntary sigh when Luke’s arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer. “Don’t want to,” he mumbled, eyes already closing and breaths already slowing.
Luke was able to keep himself from laughing. “Yes you do,” he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. This is why he felt sorry for Colonel Mayer; he’d never know this side of Noah. He’d never get to see this sweet, genuine, loving person continue to grow up and become a better man than his father ever could be. And he’d never get to experience what loving Noah and having Noah love in return was really all about.
But that was okay, because Luke planned on keeping all of that for himself from now on. “I love you,” he said even softer, glad that Noah was back asleep and beginning to heal from this crappy day.
The reply was so quiet Luke almost thought he had imagined it. “Same here, love you…” And then both boys were asleep, hoping tomorrow would be a better day and knowing that even if it wasn't, they would see it together.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE END!
Chapter: 1/1
Author: carolinablu85. or you can call me Ella! (or you can call me Al, if you like the song...)
Characters: Luke/Noah, Lily
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Tag to the June 29, 2009 episode
Summary: What happened after Noah called the cops on his father?
Disclaimer: I disclaim. I own a pair of sneakers, a cellphone, and some other stuff. The show? Nope, not that.
Author's Note: I swear, I wrote this right after the June 29 episode, and way before the "bonfire" episode that came after! Enjoy!
Luke had just stepped out of the kitchen with a mug of tea when Lily burst in, immediately zeroing in on her son. “Luke! I got your message and came home as quickly as I could, are you okay?!” she pulled him into a panicked hug, nearly causing Luke to tip over and spill the tea.
“Mom, Mom! It’s okay, I’m okay. I barely even saw Colonel Mayer. The police have him now.” He stood there, calm, letting Lily look him over to satisfy her own nerves. “They’re going to charge him with Margo’s attempted murder and… and with attempted kidnapping,” he glanced up at the ceiling, towards his room. “Along with all the other charges he dodged last year.”
“God, how’s Noah’s doing?” Lily wiped away a tear, frowning in concern.
"Uh,” Luke sighed, trying his hardest not to sound scared out of his mind. “Not good. Pretty freaked.” Shaking his head, “Honestly, I don’t think he’s said a word since the cops took his dad away.”
“Oh, the poor kid,” she murmured. Then, louder, “Is there anything I can do?”
Luke smiled ruefully. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do,” he admitted. “I brought him here, figured it’d be better-”
“No, that’s good. He should be with us right now, with family.”
“We’re the only family he’s got now, Mom,” Luke’s voice cracked a little, finding that idea so hard to comprehend.
Lily hugged him again, then pushed him towards the stairs. “Go ahead, you should be with him right now. I’ll call your dad, and- oh! And Emma, see if she can’t cook up some of Noah’s favorite food and bring it over for dinner. Do you think he’ll eat…?”
He worked hard to make sure his smile didn’t look sad and worried. “I don’t know. But if anyone could convince him to, it would be you and Grandma.”
Lily looked at him fondly. “I’ll be down here if either of you need anything.”
“Thanks Mom,” he kissed her cheek, then turned and went carefully up the steps to his room. He knocked lightly on the door before opening it. “It’s me, I brought you some…” and then he stopped in the doorway. When he left, Noah had been sitting on the edge of Luke’s bed, staring at nothing. Now he lay curled up on one side of it, arms wrapped around himself, fast asleep.
Luke regarded him sadly, lovingly, putting the mug down on his desk and going to the bed. He eased himself down, sitting propped up against the headboard next to where Noah lay. He studied him, noting not for the first time how soft and boyish his features were when he slept, when Noah let the tension drop from his face. Luke didn’t like how often that tension seemed to be present when Noah was awake.
Not able to resist, he ran a hand gently along Noah’s cheek and up to his hair, playing with the slight curls. He liked that Noah had let his hair grow out a little longer, messier. It was like letting go of another military standard that had always been forced upon him. Plus, on a purely selfish note, Luke really liked playing with his hair.
Noah sighed in his sleep, frowning momentarily before leaning into Luke’s touch, unconsciously seeking out the affection. Luke could feel his eyes start welling up, but he refused to let any tears fall. If Noah wasn’t going to cry, then neither was he. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but he was interrupted from his thoughts when Noah suddenly twitched under his hand. Luke glanced down and frowned at the pained expression on his face, the rapid movement of his eyes under closed lids. “Noah?” he said softly.
Noah shook his head, still asleep, his breaths coming quicker and heavier.
Luke put his hand flat on the side of Noah’s face, leaning over him. “It’s just a dream, Noah. Wake up.” Noah mumbled something unintelligible, trembling more violently. Luke grabbed Noah’s shoulder, rolling his boyfriend onto his back. “Noah. Noah, hey,” Luke called louder, rubbing his shoulder. “Wake up, come on.” With a gasp and an almost inaudible cry, Noah surged upwards, eyes wide. Luke caught him, steadied him. “Noah? It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Noah looked around frantically for a second before he focused on Luke. “Luke,” he sighed the name in relief, grasping Luke’s face in his hands, looking him over. Luke let him, remaining calm, just like when Lily had looked at him earlier, and he silently thanked God that Noah was talking again, even if it was because of a dream. “Luke,” he said again. “You’re okay?”
“Of course I am,” Luke assured him. “I have you here, safe. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Noah’s hands dropped from Luke’s face to slide down his shoulders and arms, taking Luke’s hands in his own. “I… I thought…”
Luke squeezed his hands. “It was just a dream, Noah. I’m right here with you.” Noah choked on his breath, but nodded. Luke pulled him into his arms, holding Noah’s head against his chest. “Everything’s okay, I promise,” he whispered into Noah’s hair. He felt Noah shake his head in denial, but continued anyway. “I didn’t do anything, remember? You did, you got your father into police custody, kept him from hurting anyone else.” Except yourself, he added silently. He rubbed Noah’s back. “What did you dream about?”
Noah was silent for awhile, leaning against Luke. Luke was about to give up hope, assuming Noah was back into his bout of silence, when he finally spoke. “He was going to make me go with him.” Luke pushed away the fear that grabbed at him, thinking of how close things had come to that actually happening. If the Colonel really had tried to force Noah to disappear with him…
“I tried to get away, but I couldn’t. I tried,” he insisted, almost more to himself than to Luke. Luke gently began to settle back down in the bed, still holding Noah close to him. Noah didn’t seem to notice, beyond readjusting his arms to wrap around Luke’s stomach, keeping his head on Luke’s chest.
“He said no one would come for me. No one would miss me.” He spoke so simply, tonelessly, that Luke was almost certain he had to be asleep again. But no, Noah’s eyes were open, in that blank stare he’d had for the past few hours that Luke hated. When he spoke again, his voice sounded so young, younger than Luke had ever really pictured him to be. “No one needs me, and he was the only person who could care about me.”
“Noah,” Luke’s voice faltered, not sure how to respond to something so horribly untrue.
“But you came,” Noah continued, voice somewhat wondering and awed, shutting Luke up. “You tried to… to save me.”
“Of course I did,” Luke ran his hand over those dark curls again. “I love you, I’d do anything to protect you.”
Noah took another shuddering breath, the only acknowledgment that he was listening to Luke. “But he… he got to you. Was going to kill you. Again.” He shook his head, burrowing in closer to Luke, who tightened his own grip. “He was going to make me watch.”
Luke couldn’t stand it anymore. “Hey.” He held Noah’s chin and tilted his head up so they could look into each other’s eyes. “It was a dream,” he said firmly. “Nothing like that came close to happening. Damian and I found you, and you called the cops. You did the right thing, and both you and the Colonel are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. He’s going to prison and you’re home with me.”
“This is never going to end,” Noah sounded agonized, this time giving no indication that he had heard Luke’s words.
“What?” Luke kept his hand on Noah’s chin, confused.
“I’m never… I’m never going to be free of him, Luke. I mean, what way could this possibly end? My father in jail, or dead.” His blue eyes were panicked. “He’s already done both, and he’s still come back. And he’s always in my head. Do I just wait until the next time he decides to-”
“No,” Luke remained calm, feeling like he had to keep Noah from bolting. “Being free of him isn’t a physical thing, okay? You have to do it yourself, inside yourself. And you will.” Noah shook his head again, miserable. Luke insisted, “You will. And I’ll help you, I promise.” He didn’t know Noah’s eyes could get any bluer, but somehow they did.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Me too,” Luke replied. “I’m sorry that all this happened, and I’m sorry that for some reason you feel the need to apologize.” Noah was looking up at him, so full of confusion and hurt that Luke could barely take it. It upset him that Noah could think the best of everyone but himself. “Nothing your dad did, nothing that happened, was your fault.”
He leaned in closer, placing a caring, lingering kiss to Noah’s forehead. Noah turned his face upward even more to meet Luke’s lips with his own. It became more frantic, desperate, as if Noah had to prove to himself that he was actually awake and not trapped in a nightmare.
Luke obliged, deepening the kiss, feeling Noah’s hands tighten around his sides even as Luke eased the plaid button-up off his boyfriend’s shoulders, Noah almost mindlessly helping to take it off and toss it to the floor. Luke ran his own hands up and down, reassuring himself that Noah was in fact alive and whole, with him, safe. Home.
“I love you,” Noah said in a rush when they both paused to catch their breath.
Luke smiled in spite of the situation, leaning his forehead down to meet his boyfriend’s. “I love you too. So much.” Noah smiled just a little in return, but it was enough to fill Luke with hope. Noah kissed him again, soft and sweet. Luke continued to smile through the kiss, pulling Noah down to lie fully on the bed. Noah dropped his head onto Luke’s shoulder, kissing it lightly as Luke wrapped an arm around his back, his other hand coming up to Noah’s chest, resting steadily against his heart.
“God, I don’t want to think about how close I came to losing you today,” Luke whispered, smile dropping from his face. He watched his own fingers trace the patterns across the front of Noah’s t-shirt. His sleeve had ridden up, and Luke could see the raised, slightly darker-shaded skin marking where Noah had been shot a few months ago.
He leaned over across Noah’s body and gently kissed that scar- causing Noah’s breath to hitch slightly- before settling back again, suddenly overcome. “When you disappeared-” again, he added silently, “-it scared the hell out of me. I nearly lost you last time, I couldn’t do that again.”
Noah swallowed hard, glancing down at his scar from the gunshot wound, the only mark left of that kidnapping experience. His arm still bugged him from time to time. Was today really another kidnapping? Or was he just so easy to emotionally blackmail? “I wouldn’t have gone with him,” he said just as quietly. “He tried, he wanted me to, but I told him I wouldn’t leave you.” Luke felt his smile return, though only a little, and it was immediately dropped when Noah ventured out tentatively with, “He was… he was trying to manipulate me again, wasn’t he?”
Luke couldn’t keep the sadness out of his voice. “Yeah, baby, I think he was.” He’s said it before and he’ll say it again- he hated Colonel Winston Mayer, more than he’d ever hated anyone else on this earth. How he could take advantage of Noah like that- his sense of loyalty and duty, his desperation to right his father’s wrongs, his fear of abandonment, his constant need to do the ‘right thing’- Luke just couldn’t understand.
And of course it happens just as he and Damian are finally getting along, which just pushed Noah’s own parental issues that much closer to the surface. His attention was brought back to the present when Noah shook his head, bringing his hands up to cover his face. “Hey, hey, Noah…” he pulled the hands away.
Noah’s eyes were shut tight, he was obviously fighting for control. “I let him. I keep letting him do this. I can’t-”
“No, no way,” Luke grasped Noah’s face as tightly as he dared, conviction lending strength to it. “The Noah from two years ago, maybe. He might have fought with me today, might have let his dad get away or even gone with him. He might have let the Colonel win. But not now, not the person you’ve become.”
Noah was staring at him incredulously, a part of him looking like he needed Luke to convince him. Luke was only too happy to try. “You’ve grown so much in the last year, okay? You’re a much stronger person, and he underestimated you today. And you proved to him he can’t control you anymore. You are such a better man than you give yourself credit for. Don’t you see any of that?”
“No,” Noah admitted quietly, breaking Luke’s heart a little. But then Noah’s lips tilted up in the tiniest of smiles. “But I trust you a lot more than I trust me, so…”
“So what I say goes,” he leaned in for another kiss, and Noah obliged. He pulled Luke closer, losing himself and the memories of today in the embrace. Luke did the same, letting go of the fear and anger and worry this day had brought on. It never really registered until his mom had hugged him that Luke had been about five feet from the man who had once tried to kill him. And Luke wasn’t really bothered by it; his concern then and now was for Noah.
He wondered briefly if that meant that Luke really had put the past and Colonel Mayer behind him. That idea cheered him up and gave him the courage to turn to Noah and say, “You’re going to be okay. I know it. And we’re going to be okay, I promise. Better than okay.”
Noah’s head had dropped down to press into Luke’s shirt, and Luke could feel him take a long and deep breath, letting it out slowly. His chest felt warm where the air hit him. “Are you okay? Seeing him again, after everything-”
How did Noah always seem to know what he was thinking about? Luke couldn’t help but smile, give a short little laugh. “I told you, I’m more than fine. I’ve got you here, don’t I?” He felt Noah kiss his collar bone through the t-shirt, and his smile widened. Both of his hands cradled Noah’s face, and he pulled those lips up to meet his own again. Noah always gave the best kisses.
But right now Noah was so overwhelmed by everything, so hurt and shocked and confused, that Luke didn’t have the heart to push the kissing any further. He let Noah settle back down next to him, half on top of him. “Think you can go back to sleep now?”
Noah gave an involuntary sigh when Luke’s arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer. “Don’t want to,” he mumbled, eyes already closing and breaths already slowing.
Luke was able to keep himself from laughing. “Yes you do,” he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. This is why he felt sorry for Colonel Mayer; he’d never know this side of Noah. He’d never get to see this sweet, genuine, loving person continue to grow up and become a better man than his father ever could be. And he’d never get to experience what loving Noah and having Noah love in return was really all about.
But that was okay, because Luke planned on keeping all of that for himself from now on. “I love you,” he said even softer, glad that Noah was back asleep and beginning to heal from this crappy day.
The reply was so quiet Luke almost thought he had imagined it. “Same here, love you…” And then both boys were asleep, hoping tomorrow would be a better day and knowing that even if it wasn't, they would see it together.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THE END!