Fic: The Birthday
Title: The Birthday
Author: random_nic
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Luke and Noah are property of As The World Turns, Telenext Media, and CBS Television. Or of a leprechaun with a sick sense of humor.
Word Count: 1750
Summary: Written for jb1183's prompt it's all a misunderstanding for the what_did_you_do community.
"This was great, Luke. I kinda wondered why we had to drive all the way to Glenlawn to eat, but the food here was awesome. Plus, it was nice to have one meal out with no danger of being interrupted by anyone we know - who'd probably invite themselves to join us," Noah offered good-naturedly.
"True," Luke agreed. "It was nice. But it's not why we had to drive all the way to Glenlawn. I have one more surprise for your birthday," Luke admitted. "You know that band you like so much? The one whose songs I don't understand?"
"Carnage of Thought? Yeah. Why?"
"Their lead singer's performing at the Pavillion in half an hour. And we have tickets!"
Noah's mouth dropped open. "Jimmie Austen? No. Way." At Luke's wave of a Ticketmaster envelope, Noah quickly hopped up from his seat. "We need to go! It takes awhile to find concert parking. Oh my God - thanks Luke!" He punctuated both his haste and his gratitude by pulling Luke up from his chair, and pecking him quickly on the lips before leading them out the door.
As Noah suspected, the drive into the venue's parking lot was a slow affair. Luckily Luke had chosen a nearby restaurant, so they pulled into a space with twelve minutes to spare. As they hurried into the building, Noah noticed some younger fans accompanied by their parents. He was surprised they'd let their teens attend the show, but suspected it was a compromise solution to the kids' begging to go. The two teens didn't look especially thrilled to have their parents' company on this night.
Inside, the corridor was nearly clear, most everyone having taken their seats for the show. Even though they'd just eaten, Luke decided he needed some nachos in case he got hungry later. Having agreed to meet him at their seats, Noah began to make his way there. And stopped dead when he spotted the selection of memorabilia at the souvenir stand.
*******
With one minute to spare, Luke arrived at their choice seats, only a few rows from the stage. His arms were filled with not just nachos, but pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, and extra-large sodas. He expected some sort of amused comment from Noah, but none came. Noah only smirked at Luke as the building's lights were lowered for the start of the show.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Glenlawn, Illinois! You've watched him grow up before your very eyes; you grew up with his poster on your bedroom wall! And now, live and in person, from America's First Family of Wholesome Pop Music -- it's JIMMY..... OSSSSSSMOND!"
First Family of Wholesome Pop Music? What the fuck? Luke turned to Noah, who was doubled over in laughter. Bewildered, he looked around the arena, realizing for the first time that almost all of the audience were his parents' age -- or Emma's. What the hell had he done?
A roar went up from the crowd, prompting Luke to turn back to the stage in time to see Mr. Osmond emerge, beginning the opening bars of a Garth Brooks song Holden liked. Looking again to Noah, he was immediately aggravated with the fact his boyfriend's laughing fit hadn't subsided; it had only intensified. By now, his face was completely red, his cheeks stained with tears, and by all appearances, he was struggling to access oxygen.
"Oh, fine," Luke huffed. "Laugh it up. If you can't breathe I'm not calling for help." Folding his arms dramatically only seemed to worsen all of Noah's symptoms. "Let's just go," he muttered.
"Are you kidding?" Noah finally sputtered out. "This is my birthday present! We're not going anywhere."
Luke desperately wanted to stay mad, but Noah knew his every weakness. Since everyone was standing, anyway, Noah slipped in easily behind Luke, wrapping his arms around Luke's torso and resting his chin on Luke's shoulder. "Let's stay. We'll have a good time." Luke relented; later he'd think how it should have been annoying that once again, Noah was right.
But it wasn't. Because Noah's giddy enjoyment of the colassal fuck-up infected Luke, and he ended up having just as much fun with the absurdity of it all. So they weren't at an edgy alt rock concert. They were together, they were dancing badly along to tunes they'd never heard of, and they were even singing along with the audience to the occasional cover song they recognized ("Sweet Caroline" being their loudest effort.) For a total screw-up, they had an amazingly great time.
*******
"Jimmy Osmond sounds a lot like Jimmie Austin," Noah reasoned, trying to eradicate the last of Luke's feelings of foolishness after the show. Even though they'd enjoyed the experience and shared a good many laughs, Noah knew how silly Luke felt at the mistake. "Plus, I think I had more fun than I even would have. I wouldn't have danced like that; I woulda been way too embarrassed in front of people our age."
"We're going the wrong way," Luke suddenly noticed. "We passed the door for where we parked."
"We've got one more stop," Noah replied. "It's my turn to surprise you."
Luke scrunched his nose in confusion as a stranger called out, "Noah -- hope you enjoyed the show."
"We did," Noah answered the man, who wore a tour jacket and whose size gave away his profession: security. "Is this still okay, Matt?"
"Absolutely," Matt answered as he led them through a door ironically marked No Entry. "He loved the story when I told him. I knew he would."
"He?" Luke felt completely lost for not the first time that evening.
"You'll see," Noah said, offering no further insight into their destination. He just followed Matt through a series of hallways, pulling Luke along by the hand. After passing a countless number of doors, Matt stopped in front of an unmarked one, and knocked. The door opened almost immediately, and Luke was gobsmacked to see the occupant.
Jimmy Osmond.
"You made it!" The singer seemed inexplicably pleased at he and Noah's presence. "Now, who's who?"
"I'm Noah," Luke's boyfriend said as he offered his hand. "This is Luke."
"Come in, gentleman. We have to hear this story!"
In the dressing room, several people were congregated, including Jimmy's wife and one of his sons. As requested, Noah repeated the story he'd told after Matt spotted him in tears of laughter at the souvenir stand, and had satisfied his own curiosity by asking Noah what had happened. Listening to Noah relay the story, Luke couldn't help but notice that while he highlighted the humorous aspects of it, he never made Luke sound stupid, and repeatedly lauded him for how special he'd made Noah's birthday. The heart that Luke was sure couldn't possibly expand yet again to love Noah even more still managed to do so.
"That's fantastic," Jimmy exclaimed as Noah's story concluded. "I've never been taken for an indie rock star before. Maybe my kids will think I'm cool now!"
"No, we won't," Jimmy's son joked with affection. "We think you're awesome, but never cool. You can't be; you're our dad."
"Point taken," Jimmy answered, turning to Luke and Noah. "Just wait until you've got a few of your own. You'll be amazed how instantly you become uncool. Enjoy your heyday now, boys!"
The remainder of the visit passed enjoyably, with Jimmy and his family and even Matt posing for pictures with Luke and Noah. They wouldn't leave empty-handed, either. Jimmy autographed personalized pictures to both Emma (at Noah's suggestion) and Lucinda - also at Noah's suggestion. He didn't suspect her a likely fan, but thought of both women as his grandmothers, and didn't want to overlook including Lucinda.
After saying their goodbyes and thanking Jimmy for his hospitality, Noah and Luke made their way back to the car hand-in-hand. "This really was a fantastic birthday, Luke. Did you have fun?"
"I did," Luke marvelled, surprised. "Somehow even when things go wrong, if I'm with you they end up okay anyway."
Noah beamed at the compliment.
"But, don't tell anyone about this. I mean, outside our family. Casey would have a field day... Noah?" Luke stopped, recognizing the too late expression on his boyfriend's face. "What?"
Noah inhaled deeply, as if stalling for time. "I may have checked us in here on Facebook."
"Noah!"
"And... posted our picture with Jimmy."
"Just now? I should have taken your phone. God, I'll never hear the end of this. Well nevermind. Let me see it."
Noah offered the phone as requested, his Facebook page still open. Luke read the status accompanying the photo, which had turned out nicely. When I mess up, it's just a screw-up. When Luke screws up, we accidentally meet an American icon. #whymyboyfriendrocks
Luke stopped walking, causing Noah to overshoot him by a few steps before turning around to face him in confusion. "What?"
Luke sauntered up to Noah, pulling his boyfriend's shirt forward to bring him closer. "This," he began by holding up Noah's phone. "And this," he said, indicating the venue they'd just exited. "Is why my boyfriend rocks. Only you would've been such a good sport, and made this night so much fun even though I fucked it up."
Noah wove his arms around Luke, surrounding him with his warmth. "You did not. You made time for us to be together. You took us somewhere no one could interrupt us. You didn't dwell on the mistake, but just went with it and made sure I had an incredible night. Most of all, you did what you always do. You made me feel more loved than I'll ever think I deserve. Does any part of that sound like 'fucking up'?"
Wrapped in Noah's arms, caught in the heat of his eyes and the depth of his love, Luke could only shake his head. "No. But I only love you as much as you deserve. Which is completely."
They kissed in the cool night air in the near-empty parking lot, only breaking apart when the passing tour bus beeped in approval. They looked up just in time to see the Jimmy, his family, and Matt waving from the windows. Waving back, Luke supposed this would be a much better story to share with their own kids someday than a boring tale of some grunge rock concert, anyway.
*******
I owed valenti1965 a schmoopy fic from her winning a little guess-the-date-Jake-Silbermann-actually-makes-the-announcement-he-keeps-pre-announcing game we played at Nuke's Love Shack. I hope I did your boy justice, Louise. Also, here. Have some Jimmy.
Author: random_nic
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Luke and Noah are property of As The World Turns, Telenext Media, and CBS Television. Or of a leprechaun with a sick sense of humor.
Word Count: 1750
Summary: Written for jb1183's prompt it's all a misunderstanding for the what_did_you_do community.
"This was great, Luke. I kinda wondered why we had to drive all the way to Glenlawn to eat, but the food here was awesome. Plus, it was nice to have one meal out with no danger of being interrupted by anyone we know - who'd probably invite themselves to join us," Noah offered good-naturedly.
"True," Luke agreed. "It was nice. But it's not why we had to drive all the way to Glenlawn. I have one more surprise for your birthday," Luke admitted. "You know that band you like so much? The one whose songs I don't understand?"
"Carnage of Thought? Yeah. Why?"
"Their lead singer's performing at the Pavillion in half an hour. And we have tickets!"
Noah's mouth dropped open. "Jimmie Austen? No. Way." At Luke's wave of a Ticketmaster envelope, Noah quickly hopped up from his seat. "We need to go! It takes awhile to find concert parking. Oh my God - thanks Luke!" He punctuated both his haste and his gratitude by pulling Luke up from his chair, and pecking him quickly on the lips before leading them out the door.
As Noah suspected, the drive into the venue's parking lot was a slow affair. Luckily Luke had chosen a nearby restaurant, so they pulled into a space with twelve minutes to spare. As they hurried into the building, Noah noticed some younger fans accompanied by their parents. He was surprised they'd let their teens attend the show, but suspected it was a compromise solution to the kids' begging to go. The two teens didn't look especially thrilled to have their parents' company on this night.
Inside, the corridor was nearly clear, most everyone having taken their seats for the show. Even though they'd just eaten, Luke decided he needed some nachos in case he got hungry later. Having agreed to meet him at their seats, Noah began to make his way there. And stopped dead when he spotted the selection of memorabilia at the souvenir stand.
*******
With one minute to spare, Luke arrived at their choice seats, only a few rows from the stage. His arms were filled with not just nachos, but pizza, hot dogs, popcorn, and extra-large sodas. He expected some sort of amused comment from Noah, but none came. Noah only smirked at Luke as the building's lights were lowered for the start of the show.
"Ladies and gentlemen of Glenlawn, Illinois! You've watched him grow up before your very eyes; you grew up with his poster on your bedroom wall! And now, live and in person, from America's First Family of Wholesome Pop Music -- it's JIMMY..... OSSSSSSMOND!"
First Family of Wholesome Pop Music? What the fuck? Luke turned to Noah, who was doubled over in laughter. Bewildered, he looked around the arena, realizing for the first time that almost all of the audience were his parents' age -- or Emma's. What the hell had he done?
A roar went up from the crowd, prompting Luke to turn back to the stage in time to see Mr. Osmond emerge, beginning the opening bars of a Garth Brooks song Holden liked. Looking again to Noah, he was immediately aggravated with the fact his boyfriend's laughing fit hadn't subsided; it had only intensified. By now, his face was completely red, his cheeks stained with tears, and by all appearances, he was struggling to access oxygen.
"Oh, fine," Luke huffed. "Laugh it up. If you can't breathe I'm not calling for help." Folding his arms dramatically only seemed to worsen all of Noah's symptoms. "Let's just go," he muttered.
"Are you kidding?" Noah finally sputtered out. "This is my birthday present! We're not going anywhere."
Luke desperately wanted to stay mad, but Noah knew his every weakness. Since everyone was standing, anyway, Noah slipped in easily behind Luke, wrapping his arms around Luke's torso and resting his chin on Luke's shoulder. "Let's stay. We'll have a good time." Luke relented; later he'd think how it should have been annoying that once again, Noah was right.
But it wasn't. Because Noah's giddy enjoyment of the colassal fuck-up infected Luke, and he ended up having just as much fun with the absurdity of it all. So they weren't at an edgy alt rock concert. They were together, they were dancing badly along to tunes they'd never heard of, and they were even singing along with the audience to the occasional cover song they recognized ("Sweet Caroline" being their loudest effort.) For a total screw-up, they had an amazingly great time.
*******
"Jimmy Osmond sounds a lot like Jimmie Austin," Noah reasoned, trying to eradicate the last of Luke's feelings of foolishness after the show. Even though they'd enjoyed the experience and shared a good many laughs, Noah knew how silly Luke felt at the mistake. "Plus, I think I had more fun than I even would have. I wouldn't have danced like that; I woulda been way too embarrassed in front of people our age."
"We're going the wrong way," Luke suddenly noticed. "We passed the door for where we parked."
"We've got one more stop," Noah replied. "It's my turn to surprise you."
Luke scrunched his nose in confusion as a stranger called out, "Noah -- hope you enjoyed the show."
"We did," Noah answered the man, who wore a tour jacket and whose size gave away his profession: security. "Is this still okay, Matt?"
"Absolutely," Matt answered as he led them through a door ironically marked No Entry. "He loved the story when I told him. I knew he would."
"He?" Luke felt completely lost for not the first time that evening.
"You'll see," Noah said, offering no further insight into their destination. He just followed Matt through a series of hallways, pulling Luke along by the hand. After passing a countless number of doors, Matt stopped in front of an unmarked one, and knocked. The door opened almost immediately, and Luke was gobsmacked to see the occupant.
Jimmy Osmond.
"You made it!" The singer seemed inexplicably pleased at he and Noah's presence. "Now, who's who?"
"I'm Noah," Luke's boyfriend said as he offered his hand. "This is Luke."
"Come in, gentleman. We have to hear this story!"
In the dressing room, several people were congregated, including Jimmy's wife and one of his sons. As requested, Noah repeated the story he'd told after Matt spotted him in tears of laughter at the souvenir stand, and had satisfied his own curiosity by asking Noah what had happened. Listening to Noah relay the story, Luke couldn't help but notice that while he highlighted the humorous aspects of it, he never made Luke sound stupid, and repeatedly lauded him for how special he'd made Noah's birthday. The heart that Luke was sure couldn't possibly expand yet again to love Noah even more still managed to do so.
"That's fantastic," Jimmy exclaimed as Noah's story concluded. "I've never been taken for an indie rock star before. Maybe my kids will think I'm cool now!"
"No, we won't," Jimmy's son joked with affection. "We think you're awesome, but never cool. You can't be; you're our dad."
"Point taken," Jimmy answered, turning to Luke and Noah. "Just wait until you've got a few of your own. You'll be amazed how instantly you become uncool. Enjoy your heyday now, boys!"
The remainder of the visit passed enjoyably, with Jimmy and his family and even Matt posing for pictures with Luke and Noah. They wouldn't leave empty-handed, either. Jimmy autographed personalized pictures to both Emma (at Noah's suggestion) and Lucinda - also at Noah's suggestion. He didn't suspect her a likely fan, but thought of both women as his grandmothers, and didn't want to overlook including Lucinda.
After saying their goodbyes and thanking Jimmy for his hospitality, Noah and Luke made their way back to the car hand-in-hand. "This really was a fantastic birthday, Luke. Did you have fun?"
"I did," Luke marvelled, surprised. "Somehow even when things go wrong, if I'm with you they end up okay anyway."
Noah beamed at the compliment.
"But, don't tell anyone about this. I mean, outside our family. Casey would have a field day... Noah?" Luke stopped, recognizing the too late expression on his boyfriend's face. "What?"
Noah inhaled deeply, as if stalling for time. "I may have checked us in here on Facebook."
"Noah!"
"And... posted our picture with Jimmy."
"Just now? I should have taken your phone. God, I'll never hear the end of this. Well nevermind. Let me see it."
Noah offered the phone as requested, his Facebook page still open. Luke read the status accompanying the photo, which had turned out nicely. When I mess up, it's just a screw-up. When Luke screws up, we accidentally meet an American icon. #whymyboyfriendrocks
Luke stopped walking, causing Noah to overshoot him by a few steps before turning around to face him in confusion. "What?"
Luke sauntered up to Noah, pulling his boyfriend's shirt forward to bring him closer. "This," he began by holding up Noah's phone. "And this," he said, indicating the venue they'd just exited. "Is why my boyfriend rocks. Only you would've been such a good sport, and made this night so much fun even though I fucked it up."
Noah wove his arms around Luke, surrounding him with his warmth. "You did not. You made time for us to be together. You took us somewhere no one could interrupt us. You didn't dwell on the mistake, but just went with it and made sure I had an incredible night. Most of all, you did what you always do. You made me feel more loved than I'll ever think I deserve. Does any part of that sound like 'fucking up'?"
Wrapped in Noah's arms, caught in the heat of his eyes and the depth of his love, Luke could only shake his head. "No. But I only love you as much as you deserve. Which is completely."
They kissed in the cool night air in the near-empty parking lot, only breaking apart when the passing tour bus beeped in approval. They looked up just in time to see the Jimmy, his family, and Matt waving from the windows. Waving back, Luke supposed this would be a much better story to share with their own kids someday than a boring tale of some grunge rock concert, anyway.
*******
I owed valenti1965 a schmoopy fic from her winning a little guess-the-date-Jake-Silbermann-actually-makes-the-announcement-he-keeps-pre-announcing game we played at Nuke's Love Shack. I hope I did your boy justice, Louise. Also, here. Have some Jimmy.