FIC: A CASE OF THE MONDAYS (EPILOGUE)

[carolinablu85]

Hey, remember this one? :)
Title: A Case of the Mondays
Chapter: Epilogue (basically an excuse for me to write some fluff!)
Author: carolinablu85
Characters: Luke, Noah, Natalie, Ethan, Faith, Lily, Emma, Holden, Molly, Ali  
Rating: PG-13ish
Summary: Noah has made it clear he wants Luke back. But will it be too late for Luke to do the same?
Disclaimer: I disclaim. I own a pair of sneakers, a cellphone, and some other stuff. The show? Nope, not that.

Author's Note: Okay. So. When I wrote this fic in April/May, I had Noah confess in the last chapter that he attempted suicide as a teen- a product of feeling lonely and helpless and bullied and depressed. Since then, it’s happening way too often to gay teens in real life. If you want to help the real Noahs and Lukes of the world, check out the “It Gets Better Project” on youtube and the Trevor Project. Or, better yet, check out indigo_5’s amazing donation drive!

Chapter One  |  Chapter Two  |  Chapter Three |  Chapter Four


…Monday…

Luke woke up to the sound of a cell phone ringing somewhere nearby. He frowned with his eyes still closed, knowing it wasn’t his ringtone. But it took a few more seconds for his memory to come back and explain just why he was hearing the theme song to True Romance.

He was already smiling before he opened his eyes, and he watched Noah roll over clumsily and grab his phone. “’Lo?” he murmured into it. Luke slid in close behind him, throwing an arm over his hip, nuzzling into the back of his neck.

Noah smiled and leaned back into Luke, still concentrating on the phone. “Hey,” his voice still a bit rough from sleep. “No, I’m okay. You kinda woke us up.” He sighed a little as Luke let his hand explore a little. “Yeah, Luke’s here.” He paused again, then blushed fiercely. “That’s none of your business.”

Luke propped himself up on one elbow, puzzled and indignant, staring down as Noah laughed. “Whatever, shut up. I’m hanging up now,” Noah rolled his eyes, still blushing the tiniest bit. “I promise, I’m feeling fi-” Whoever was on the other end cut him off. “Then I’m feeling better, okay? Go bother someone else now, Hughes.” He hung up, tossing his phone in the direction of his nightstand. Then he looked up at Luke, smiling. “Morning.”

Luke used his free hand to cradle Noah’s face. “Morning.” He leaned down, kissed him softly. “Casey calling to check up on you?”

Noah tried to follow him a little when he pulled back from the kiss. It took him a second to process Luke’s question. “Not Casey. Chris.” He lay back down on the bed, letting out his breath slowly. “Wanted to make sure I was following doctor’s orders, I guess.”

Luke let that sit in his brain a bit as he settled down again on the bed, hooking a leg over Noah’s hip and perching his chin on Noah’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you guys were friends.”

Noah shrugged his other shoulder. “Just in, um, the last couple months. Hung out a few times, gone to the gym to work out at the same time, stuff like that.”

“Oh, you’re going to the gym now?” Luke teased, purposefully keeping the conversation light. They’d done enough heavy-talk in the last twenty-four hours or so; they both needed a break.

“It helped pass the time,” Noah said, his voice light too. “And Casey would drag me out to Yo’s to drink or play darts, and Ali and Hunter make me go to dinner with them sometimes at Dr. Stewart’s house, and...” he hesitated for a moment before continuing. “And your dad and Molly make sure I eat lunch at Al’s with them once a week. It’s all... I don’t know, it helped get me through sometimes.”

Luke swallowed hard past the hesitancy and pain he could hear on the edge of Noah’s voice. He forced a smile. “Well Noah Mayer, are you admitting that being around other people in social situations is a good thing?” he teased.

“I’ve evolved,” Noah mumbled, blushing once again, though his eyes met Luke’s with a little bit of uncertainty.

Luke leaned up and kissed him reassuringly. “I’ve missed some things, haven’t I?” At Noah’s nod, he shifted in even closer. “You’re back in school?” Another nod. “And working on another film?” He nodded again. “How’s all that going?”

Noah smiled. “Pretty good, I guess. It was strange at first, being back. Like, I wasn’t sure how to act around everyone. And they didn’t know how to act around me. They were either weirded out by the whole Mason thing, or by the blind thing, or... um,” he winced. “Some of them knew about Reid and all of that.”

Luke winced too, unconsciously pulling Noah a little closer to him, tightening his hold. “Were they... were you okay?”

Noah traced a finger up and down Luke’s back. “Luke, I grew up as a skinny, shy movie nerd, always the new kid in the class. And that was before I became The Gay Orphan. I’m used to people’s comments, it’s okay.”

Luke closed his eyes for a second, turning his head to press a kiss to whatever part of Noah was closest to him. That didn’t really answer his question (or maybe it did), so instead he went back to his earlier question. “You’re making another movie?”

He felt Noah nod against him. “About being blind.”

Luke’s hand stilled from where it had been drawing random shapes on Noah’s chest. “Y-you are?”

“Yeah,” Noah’s answer was quiet. “A documentary. About what it’s like for different people. How they deal. If they deal. I went back and filmed a lot of stuff at the rehab center, and even some of the footage I shot when I was blind is usable, so...” he fidgeted under Luke, and Luke knew he was embarrassed. “I’m on track to graduate at the end of the summer now. Or December if I want to wait.”

Luke smiled big then, dropping a few playful, smacking kisses onto Noah’s mouth. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered in between each one. “So damn proud.”

He loved the matching grin on Noah’s face. “God I missed you so much,” he said back, just as softly, his arms tightening around Luke.

Luke was still too busy kissing every bit of his face to answer at first. Then, “I missed you too,” he mouthed into the skin of Noah’s neck. “I missed lots of things...” He kissed his ear, his cheek, his closed eyelids, his forehead. “Too much.” He finally pulled back to catch his breath. “That’s not gonna happen again, okay?”

“I know. I won’t let it,” Noah replied, steady and confident. He slid both hands up to Luke’s face, cradling it close to his. Luke smiled softly, held still while Noah’s eyes scanned over his face slowly, intently. Re-memorizing every inch and curve and eyelash.

“I’m here,” Luke promised, shaking at the wonder, the relief, the love he could see in Noah’s eyes. For a brief second he wondered what he had really done to deserve all that, but then he remembered their rules. They both deserved it because they loved each other, that’s all that needed to be said. He smiled, letting Noah pull him in and kiss him again, slow and deep. Promising again, I’m here.

************

There was a giant, screamingly-loud moment of silence when he and Noah stepped into the kitchen that evening. He felt Noah grip his hand even tighter out of nerves, but Luke just smiled. There was nothing to be nervous about, and Noah should know that. He waved his free hand at the large group assembled there. “Um, hey?”

That was all it took. “Noah!” the kids seemed to shriek it in one voice, the girls jumping up from the table and Ethan wriggling even quicker out the jacket Lily was trying to pull off of him.

Luke released Noah’s hand and moved it to his back instead, knowing to brace him for the onslaught. Sure enough, Natalie and Ethan crashed headfirst into Noah with enough force to knock him back into Luke. Faith’s approach was a bit gentler but just as happy, and she hugged both of them. Luke smiled, hugging her back.

“Are you here for dinner?” Natalie asked, grinning up at Noah.

He tugged playfully on one of her braids. “If it’s okay with you guys and your grandma.” He looked up at the adults in the room, smile turning uncertain.

Which, again, was really silly. And Emma confirmed that, coming forward and pulling Noah into a warm hug of her own. Luke pulled the kids away, exchanging a smile with Holden from where he stood next to Molly. We’re okay, he told his dad silently.

Emma had a hard time letting Noah go. “Oh honey,” she sighed, her fingers tracing the bruise on the side of his face. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m fine, it’s not as bad as it looks,” he assured her.

She nodded, hugging him again. “I’m not just talking about this past week,” she whispered, just loud enough for Luke to hear. “It’s good to have you back, Noah.”

Noah’s eyes were shining blue as he nodded back, the smile on his face just as bright. “For me too.”

Ethan broke up the moment then, of course, grabbing Noah’s hand and leading him over to the table, babbling a mile a minute. Lily came up next to Luke, putting her arm around him. “Come by the house sometime soon too, okay?” she whispered as she re-shouldered her purse.

Luke frowned. “You’re not staying?”

She glanced around the kitchen, trying not to let her eyes pause on Holden and Molly. “I was just here to drop off the kids, sweetie.”

“No,” a voice interrupted. Both Luke and Lily turned with surprise to see Molly approach, Holden busy talking to Noah. Molly glanced at them with a smile, then turned back to Lily and Luke. “Lily, you should stay for dinner. It’s a special occasion, after all. He would...” she took a breath, smiled more genuinely. “We all want you to stay.”

Lily stared at her for a moment before giving a nod, a tight smile of her own, and walked with Luke over to the table. Luke was relieved to see her relax though, once she was sitting next to the kids and everyone. They all were relaxed, and dinner was a loud and happy affair, lots of laughing and smiling. And eating. Emma took one look at Noah’s slightly-skinnier frame and tsked her way through cooking two more dishes.

After the tables were cleared, Emma loaded up as many leftovers as possible into Tupperware containers. “Noah, dear, you’re taking these with you.” She didn’t even pretend to make it a request.

Noah tried anyway. “Oh, you don’t have to-”

“Noah Mayer,” she cut him off, shaking a spatula at him. “Do you want to take them now or have us drop them off later?”

Luke laughed, throwing his arm around Noah. “We’ll take them now, Grandma.”

Emma looked at him a little sharper, and Luke could hear some conversation behind him stop. “We?” she repeated.

Luke nodded confidently. “I’m going to stay at his place for a few days. With Ali in and out a lot for work, he needs someone around until he’s fully recovered. I think that’s my job,” he turned and kissed Noah’s cheek, seeing the slightly surprised look on Noah’s face. “Um, that is, if it’s okay with Noah, I guess.” He heard Holden chuckle quietly behind him.

To his (slight) shock and (giant) relief, Noah just smiled back at him. “I’m glad for the help,” he replied. Luke would’ve kissed him again, but the kids were still around, making noises, wanting to take Noah out to the barn and show him the new horses. So instead he hugged Noah to him for a second before releasing him into the hands of his siblings.

Lily followed them out of the house, heading home for real this time. After a quick hug and kiss to everyone, she walked with Luke to her car at the end of the driveway. “So you two are...” she trailed off.

He nodded. “We’re working on it. Talking a lot right now.”

She smiled, almost relieved. “That’s good. That needs to happen. Because with you two... You treated each other better, with more love, than practically anyone I’ve ever seen. But you hurt each other a lot too.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said softly. “Most of the time without meaning to.” He looked up at her. “The rehab center? He thought we were shipping him off because he was too much for us to deal with. He didn’t want to go, he thought we wanted him gone.”

“Oh, Noah...” She rubbed at her eyes briefly, frowning. "I didn't even think of that. He really thought we were sending him away? That we didn't care?"

Luke shrugged. "You know Noah, Mom. He always thinks he's a burden." Quieter, "We just didn't help matters very much." He thought back on what else Noah had confessed last night, but couldn't share that with her. That was Noah's story to tell.

"It's not going to be easy, Luke," she warned kindly. "After everything that's happened lately, you two have a lot of work to do to get back what you had."

"I know that," he said. "But we will. We both want to. I mean, he... Noah was stuck with that jackass for a week. Mason kept telling him how much I had moved on, didn't love him... but Noah didn't give up on me. And I'm not giving up either."

Lily laughed sadly then. "Sweetie, I know this is going to sound rich coming from me, but... are you sure you're ready? To jump into another serious relationship without taking a breath?"

It was funny coming from her of all people, but he understood. "I never let go of Noah, Mom. It doesn't feel like jumping into 'another' relationship. It's Noah. It's different, it’s getting back what I had." He sighed a little, trying to sort out his thoughts. "Being with Reid was like seeing the world for what it was. He's such a realist, you know? Straightforward. With him, I could look at things and... and see them, categorize them, accept them. Good or bad, I could see things for what they were."

"And with Noah?" she asked with a fond smile.

He smiled too. "With Noah, I see things for what they could be. Reid's an 'is.' Noah's a, a 'can.' He makes me feel like everything can always be better. There’s possibility, I guess, or hope. I don't know. God, I sound lame," he finished with a laugh.

Lily shook her head, pride and joy warring a little bit in her smile. “No, you sound like a writer,” she half-teased.

He probably had a Noah-level blush on his face now. “Whatever. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with Reid being that way. Or with me being with someone like that. It was great for awhile. But Noah, he just, he makes me want to...”

“To be a better man?” She was definitely teasing now.

He rolled his eyes at her. “To try.”

“Try what?”

“Anything,” he answered. “Everything.”

************

Holden leaned against the barn door, silently observing as his two youngest pulled Noah from one stall to the next, introducing him by name to the newest horses. He hid his smile when Noah was forced to say hello to each one (“so they get used to your voice,” Natalie patiently explained).

“Okay kiddos, I think Grandma’s got fresh cookies for everyone,” he finally called out. It was like flipping a switch, and Nat and Ethan were running out of the barn like cartoon characters on speed. They would have dragged Noah along with them, but the ringing of his cell phone stopped him. Holden eyed him curiously, letting the kids go ahead inside while he slowed down next to Noah.

“Hello?” Noah answered. Two seconds into the response, his face went stony and dark. “Um, no, I won’t.” He paused to listen. “Yes, I understand. Thank you, but I won’t accept the charges. Goodbye.” He snapped his phone shut with more force than was probably necessary, shoving it back in his pocket.

Holden watched him out of the corner of his eye. “Who was that?” he asked softly.

Noah let out a semi-sigh. “My dad. Well, not really him, just the woman from Statesville who handles outgoing calls.”

Holden felt his blood start to boil just a little at the mention of the Colonel. “He’s been calling you?” He sat down on the wooden bench on the porch, more than grateful when Noah did the same.

“He’s been trying to. Since, um, since the surgery worked and all,” Noah stared down at his shoes.

Holden shook his head. “What does he want?”

Noah laughed incredulously. “I don’t know, I haven’t accepted any of the charges from the prison to speak with him. I don’t want to hear what he has to say.”

“Really?” Holden looked over at him surprised and a little relieved.

"I tried to contact him a bunch of times after my accident. After I went blind, and before the surgery when I thought I might not... Just in case, you know?” Noah looked up at him briefly, but his head was back down before Holden could get a read on whatever he was thinking. “But he didn’t take any of my calls. He didn’t want to have anything to do with me when I was so, so defective. So I’m done with him.”

Holden studied him in silence for a minute. “And you’re okay with that? I think it’s probably a smart decision, but I want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reason,” he forced himself to say it bluntly, unsure of how Noah would take it.

He was pleasantly surprised when Noah looked up at him, a half-smile on his face. “I’m okay with it. He’s... he’s poison. Always has been. He has to learn he doesn’t have control of my life anymore.”

He smiled now, squeezing Noah’s shoulder. “Good. I’m proud of you, Noah.” He smiled wider at the way Noah stuttered at the praise. “And you know that this family will be here for you no matter what, whether you’re single or with Luke or married to Brad Pitt, you know that, right?”

Noah’s eyes widened. “Brad Pitt?” he repeated, smiling despite the situation.

Holden shrugged, hiding his embarrassment. “First name I could think of.”

“He’s not even gay,” Noah informed him.

“He’s not even my point,” Holden shot back with a smirk. “You do get my point, don’t you?” he asked, getting serious again.

Noah’s expression softened too. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Um, thank you.”

The moment was interrupted by the reappearance of Ethan and Natalie, hands and mouths stuffed with cookies. “Grandma said we have to share,” Ethan announced, holding out a slightly crumbly cookie to Noah.

Holden felt some leftover tension in him ease when Noah grinned wide, taking the cookie from Ethan. “Thanks, big guy,” he said, scooting over to make room for him on the bench. But Ethan ignored it, climbing up into Noah’s lap just as Natalie did the same in Holden’s.

Holden just barely kept himself from laughing at the surprised look on Noah’s face. Instead he looked down at his daughter. “So what’s the plan for tonight, kiddo?” It was Natalie’s turn to pick the activity before bed, as she had loudly reminded them at breakfast this morning. And at lunch. And dinner.

She cocked her head to the side, still munching on her (probably second or third) cookie. “A movie!” she answered decisively before turning to the young man next to them. “Noah, what movie should we watch? Are you and Luke gonna stay and watch it with us? Have you seen any new movies this summer? Did you like them? Did you-”

“Hey, slow down Bug!” Luke dropped down into the empty space on the bench between Noah and Holden. He put his arm around Noah, hugging him and Ethan close. “How about we do a big giant Movie Marathon this weekend, okay? Noah and I have to get ready to leave now.”

“Why?” Natalie and Ethan whined almost in unison, matching Snyder-pouts on their faces.

“Yeah, why?” Noah asked before he could stop himself. And then blushed when both Luke and Holden raised their eyebrows at him.

“Because,” Luke gave Noah a pointed look. “Noah hasn’t been feeling well the past couple days and probably needs some more rest.”

Noah had the good sense to look abashed by this, and Holden couldn’t keep the laugh inside now, especially when Ethan turned around in his lap and frowned at him worriedly. “You’re sick?” He reached up to put his hand on Noah’s forehead, obviously mimicking the gesture he’d seen grownups do before.

Noah pulled Ethan’s hand away, growling and pretending to eat it until Ethan was giggling again. “I’m okay, buddy. Not sick. Just, uh,” he looked to Luke for help, but Luke just shrugged. Noah shrugged back. “Just got a little banged up, that’s all.”

Holden held back another chuckle when Ethan turned to him for confirmation, face solemn. “Daddy?”

Holden nodded seriously. “We’ll set up a Movie Night this weekend, kiddo. I think it’s almost Luke and Noah’s bed time.” He felt a great sense of pride when both of their faces turned nearly fire-engine red. Hey, he was a dad. If he couldn’t embarrass the hell out of his kids, what was he good for?

************

They were holding hands when they walked back into the apartment. Noah almost rolled his eyes at the way Ali’s face lit up at the sight of them, but a part of him was feeling the same way. Ecstatic, relieved, unbelievably grateful. So he just smiled back at her, let her hug him tightly.

“Good timing,” she commented, picking up her purse and keys. “I was just about to leave for my shift...” She looked at both of them purposefully. “I have a kinda crazy schedule for the next few days. In and out at weird hours. I was planning on crashing at Hunter’s for awhile, just so I know I’m not disrupting your... um, recuperating.”

He did roll his eyes this time when she actually winked at him. “Ali, you don’t have to kick yourself out of your own-”

“Noah Mayer, you stop right there,” she glared, somehow still smiling at the same time. “You need rest and a stress-free environment for awhile. You don’t need me interrupting.” She stepped forward, putting her hands on either side of his face. “You need to let him take care of you for a bit, okay?” She smiled, kissed his cheek, and with a wave to Luke, headed for the door.

Luke waited until she was gone, then tugged on Noah’s hand. “Come on.” He led Noah into his bedroom and lightly shoved him towards the bed. “Sit.”

Noah complied, but gave an exaggerated pout. “You’re being bossy.”

Luke half-smiled, dropping the bag of clothes he had quickly packed onto the floor. “I thought you liked it when I’m bossy.” He pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, then walked over to Noah’s dresser and did the same.

Noah watched him, still frowning. “That’s only because you usually get me to-”

“Hey now,” Luke cut him off with a grin. “Don’t get ahead of yourself there, Romeo.” He tossed the clothes onto the bed next to Noah before kneeling down in front of him and reaching to untie his shoes.

“Luke!” Noah leaned forward and grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?”

He looked up at Noah, confused. “Um, you usually like to have your shoes off when you sleep, don’t you?”

Noah’s expression was slightly pained. “But you don’t have to... I don’t want to make- you don’t have to do that for me,” he stammered and tried to explain.

Luke sat back on his heels a little, letting one of his hands slide up a little to rub at Noah’s calf. “Maybe I don’t have to. But I want to. And you’re supposed to be taking it easy, and having banged up ribs means it probably hurts to lean over like that.”

Noah fidgeted under his gaze for a moment, but then- to Luke’s admitted surprise- nodded and sat back again. “It hurts a little.”

He smiled some more. “Then let me help, okay? It’s just taking off your shoes, Noah. Not bowing down to you, Oh Mighty One.” While he spoke, he quickly undid the laces and pulled Noah’s shoes off. “You did the same for me when I was in a wheelchair, didn’t you? That didn’t make you subservient or whatever.” That being done, he stood, pausing to kiss Noah quickly on the lips. “So deal with it, Mayer.”

He looked a little stunned by Luke’s lecture, so Luke busied himself changing into the clothes he had gotten out for himself. After a few seconds, Noah did the same, still quiet. Luke left him alone for the most part, but couldn’t stop himself from leaning in to help pull his t-shirt down when Noah winced at stretching his arms. Their faces were suddenly close then, and Noah offered a little smile. “Thanks.”

They kissed again, softly. “You’re welcome,” his voice was just as soft. When Noah started to scoot back further onto the bed, Luke rushed to join him. “Up or down?” he asked, extra pillows in hand.

Noah’s smile was more genuine now, remembering their old arguments. “Up,” he answered, voice daring Luke to disagree. It was their old bit- when finally getting ready to actually go to bed, Noah always liked to stay up and watch late night TV while Luke just wanted to pass out and sleep.

Luckily, he didn’t want to sleep just yet. “Fine,” he sighed over-dramatically, just so he could see Noah’s smile grow wider. As Noah tried to sit back against the headboard, Luke used the pillows to prop him up, easing his upper body back into them. “Good?”

Noah quirked up one side of his mouth, sliding an arm around Luke’s waist and pulling him close. Luke went willingly, curling into Noah’s side a little. “It’s good now,” Noah answered.

“Such a sweet talker,” Luke teased, tapping him playfully on the chest. They sat in silence for a few minutes, flipping through the channels before settling on Comedy Central. “I like this, you know. You don’t have to be embarrassed.” At Noah’s confused look, he elaborated. “Taking care of you. I actually do enjoy it, despite whatever you think.”

Noah looked down, and for a minute Luke was sure he was going to joke or cute his way out of the conversation. But then, “I wasn’t allowed to, when I was little.”

“To let someone in?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

Noah nodded. “If I did, if I needed- if I asked for help, it meant I failed. He hated having to do things for me.”

Luke brought his hand up to Noah’s jaw, turning his face towards him. “I’m not him,” he said firmly.

“I know that!” Noah grabbed the hand, holding it in both of his. “God, Luke, of course I know that you’re not him. But... but I’m still me. It’s just hard sometimes, I’m sorry. But I will try. To, to get better. I promise.”

“I’m gonna to try a whole lot more too, okay? To really listen to you, to not push you somewhere you don’t want to go,” Luke linked his fingers with Noah’s. “I don’t want you to think you have to be some ‘better’ person to be with me. That’s not what either of us need, you know?” He shrugged. “I just need you, Noah. And you need me.”

“Yeah,” Noah said softly, just looking at him. “I do.”

Luke leaned up and kissed him. “We’re going to make this work this time,” he spoke with determination. “We’ve seen it now, how miserable we’d be without each other. So we’re going to remember that feeling from now on. Keep it from happening again. Deal?”

Noah was smiling now, and it eased the metric ton of tension in Luke’s chest. “Deal,” he replied, kissing Luke again as though to make it official. Luke decided it was necessary to give him another kiss back, longer, deeper this time. When they finally broke to catch their breath, Noah was smiling. “So now what do we do?”

“Now? We get some sleep.” He kissed him quickly before Noah had time to kiss him back.

“No, I mean, ‘we,’ ‘us,’ ‘this,’” Noah waved a hand in the air between them. “Are we... are you my boyfriend again?” he said almost wryly, unable to look Luke in the eye, as though he was embarrassed by how silly it sounded.

Of course, it didn’t sound silly to Luke. “Yes,” he said simply. “I am and you are and we are.” When did his hand end up in Noah’s hair? He didn’t really know, but it didn’t matter. He ran his fingers through it slowly. God, he had missed getting to do that.

“Good,” Noah tilted his head just a little into Luke’s hand. He had always loved it when Luke played with his hair too, even though Luke was sure he’d never admit it. “Because you’re it for me, Luke. You always have been.”

He smiled, he couldn’t help it. “Same here.”

It took Noah a second, but then he blushed and rolled his eyes. “Dork. Romantic, sappy, dork.”

Luke snuggled in close, pressed himself against Noah’s non-injured side, tangling their legs and their hands together carefully. “Yeah, and you love it.” He felt Noah kiss his forehead and knew it was true. After a few more minutes of whatever show it was (he could never tell them apart, though he knew Noah loved them), he looked up again. “So, I have an idea.”

Noah stared down at him. “Uh-oh?” he guessed.

Luke made a face at him teasingly. “Not ‘uh-oh.’ At least, I don’t think so.”

“Okay,” Noah turned a little so they were facing each other. “Shoot.”

“I want you to come work with me. At the hospital,” he braced himself for the reaction.

Noah went very still. “At the hospital,” he repeated slowly.

Luke interlocked their fingers, twisting them around. Anchoring them both. “We work well together, we always have. And for the hospital wing? The board is making all these decisions from an administrative standpoint. It would help to have a former patient’s perspective, is all.”

“Luke...” Noah exhaled his name quietly, his expression pained.

Oh. Damn it, Luke should’ve known better. Anything related to hospitals was probably painful for Noah. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about it. I don’t want-”

Noah shut him up rather effectively. When Luke opened his eyes (when exactly had he closed them?), Noah was smiling at him. “First, I love you. Second, you’re doing something really really good, that’s going to help a lot of people. You have no idea how proud I am of you, and how much I want to support you. Okay?”

Luke was not blushing. He wasn’t. He wasn’t fighting the urge to melt or sigh or do anything else a twelve-year-old girl would do when her crush says hi to her in homeroom. Instead, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Okay, roger that. What’s the ‘but’ I can feel you’re about to say?”

“However,” Noah said mock-sternly, “I don’t know how, um, smoothly it would go having me there with,” he hesitated, “with Reid. I don’t want to cause any drama, you know?” He rested their heads together. “And I don’t want it to seem like I have to be there because I don’t trust you to be around him, work with him. Because I do trust you.”

Luke twisted around a little so he could kiss Noah without breaking contact. “That didn’t even cross my mind,” he assured him. “Reid’s gonna be busy arguing with Chris all the time anyway. That wouldn’t matter.”

“You know, I’ve been telling Chris he’s a little bit gay,” Noah commented with a half-shrug. “Maybe the two of them-”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Luke smacked him on the shoulder, fighting off a shudder and a grin at the same time. “Anyway, the board thing is just an idea. I know you’re going to be busy with school and your film and Java.”

“Not Java,” Noah corrected.

“You quit?!” Luke sat up quickly, turning to face Noah head-on. “When? Why?” Then a thought struck him. “Wait, they didn’t fire you, did they? God, it’s not your fault you were blind and then you were kidnapped and, hey- they were pretty lenient about hours when you were working there, they can’t just all of a sudden-”

Sometimes he wondered if he rambled just so Noah would shut him up by kissing him. It was actually a good strategy, he filed that away for later thought. “I quit,” Noah murmured, his lips still barely touching Luke’s. “Got a new job.”

“Really?” Luke brightened, tugging on the bottom Noah’s t-shirt impatiently. “Where?”

Noah smiled shyly. “Well, thanks to Molly and Mrs. Hughes, and probably your mom, I’m-”

“WOAK?” he interrupted, grinning widely. “That’s awesome!”

Noah nodded, reaching and pulling Luke back against him. “Nothing major, of course. But it’s a start. Kim said I can come in as soon as Chris gives me the okay to be back on my feet.”

Luke made himself comfortable, leaning slightly against Noah’s chest, smiling wider when Noah wrapped his arms around him. “New job, voluntarily going out with people, wearing glasses, admitting you’re in pain... Wow, babe. You’ve come a long way, haven’t you?”

Noah rested his chin on Luke’s shoulder. “I was just trying to find you.”

He blinked back some tears, nestling in more. “You did.” Thank God. He flashed back to Saturday for a moment, when he and Jack had been searching for Noah in that damn house. “And I’m glad I found you.”

Noah’s voice was soft. “Me too.” He pressed a kiss to Luke’s shoulder and then to the side of his neck. “Me too.” Luke tilted his head, and this time when they kissed, it wasn’t in relief, or in reassurance, or in reconciliation. It was the start of something new.

THE END FOR REAL THIS TIME!