Remember When (Chapters 4-6)
Title: Remember When
Author: sunalsosets
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 3,240
Pairings: Luke/Noah, Luke/Reid, Noah/OMC
Summary: Noah is back in Oakdale.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ATWT. Done purely for entertainment purposes
Previous Chapters: Chapters 1-3
Chapter 4
The second Adam stepped through the door of his apartment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, his heart began to race rapidly and his survival instincts quickly kicked into high gear…someone was in his apartment.
Grabbing for the baseball bat he kept near the coat closet, more for protection than sport, he hit all the switches he could reach, bathing the apartment in as much light as possible before yelling, “WHO’S THERE?”
He heard nothing for a second and was debating whether to go back out and call the police or walk in further when he heard footsteps coming around from the direction of his bedroom. Before he could fully react, an amused voice said, “don’t shoot…or I guess I should say don’t swing…it’s just your boyfriend.”
The bat fell with a loud thud. All fear and panic gone, Adam stood stunned, intense joy and happiness slowly taking over his body.
“Noah?” he whispered.
Noah smiled softly at Adam’s gaping mouth stare before saying, “you got another boyfriend since you left California?”
Adam laughed at the ridiculous comment before flinging himself into the arms of his boyfriend, alternating between squeezing the life out of him, telling him how happy he was to see him, how much he missed him and trying to kiss the breath out of him.
When there was a second to come up for air, Noah, laughing a little at Adam’s enthusiasm, mumbled, “I missed you too” into Adam’s ear, his breath warm against Adam’s skin, causing him to tingle all over.
They were quickly back on each other’s lips, devouring each other’s mouths before Adam finally pulled away to ask the question he was most curious about.
“I’m so happy you’re here but why, I know you had a lot of work to do on your final project and…”
Noah silenced Adam by placing a finger gently on his lips before saying softly, “I’m here because I got your message and realized that my boyfriend needed me.”
Emotion quickly welled up in Adam’s eyes. Noah had come all this way just because he’d had a stupid first year resident melt down. The emotions and feelings he had for Noah threatening to take over and overwhelm him as it often did, Adam marveled again over how lucky he was to have found someone so amazing…especially considering how they’d started.
California - 1 year and a half ago
They met in a bar on the University’s campus. Adam had never been much of drinker but semester was almost over and the few friends he had, had urged him to let loose for once. They’d stressed that he’d aced all his classes again, was top of their class once again and so it was okay to relax for one night, go crazy and do something stupid and wild.
He’d agreed to the drinks, determined to just have a few, go home, get a good night’s rest and start preparing for the next semester the next day. Picking up the extremely gorgeous guy at the bar and going home with him was definitely not in the plans.
But Adam had been hooked the second he walked up to the counter to order a round of drinks and accidentally spilled one on the guy sitting on a stool, wearing a gray t-shirt, quietly sipping his beer. He was muttering his apologies when he’d chanced a glance up and proceeded to have one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.
Noah says it was adorable but Adam still thinks he made an ass of himself, when staring up into Noah’s perfectly sculpted face with his deep, soulful and honest eyes, he’d blurted out, “wow, you’re really hot”.
Noah had seemed stunned for a second by the comment before finally letting out a soft chuckle and a quiet, “thank you”. Adam’s friends were quickly forgotten at that point and two hours later, he was naked and rolling around in Noah’s bed.
The morning after could have been awkward but Noah refused to make it so. He’d invited Adam to stay for breakfast and they’d ended up talking for hours until Noah had to leave for work and Adam for the lab, due to some research he was working on. Noah had been honest and admitted that he was fresh out of a really long relationship and didn’t know if he was ready for another one, considering he still had feelings for his ex.
Adam, as attracted to Noah as he was, was honest that he didn’t think he could handle a relationship with how stressful his academic life was. And so they’d agreed to be friends, neither verbalizing it but acknowledging the undertone of “with benefits”. And there had been plenty of benefits in the weeks that followed.
They sought each other out when they needed to be with someone. It was convenient and it was comfortable and best of all they genuinely liked each other. However, it wasn’t all just sex. There were many times where they simply hung out and simply enjoyed each other’s company. Then one day, while Adam was laying on Noah’s chest, watching one of Noah’s favorite classic movies, he slowly took stock of the bedroom, noting all the parts of himself that were now in there.
He’d quietly sat up, looked Noah squarely in the eyes before saying softly, “Noah, I don’t think this is just about sex anymore.” Noah had stared up at him, a gentle smile playing across his lips, before saying softly, “I don’t think it ever was”.
And so it began…
Now staring up at Noah, in the apartment that would be his home for the length of his residency, Adam said, “I’m so happy you’re here…but Noah you didn’t have to come all this way just because I had a stupid freak-out”.
Smiling, wrapping his arms tightly around Adam’s waist, drawing him into his body, Noah said, “I know I didn’t have to come but you needed me and that’s all that mattered because whenever you need me, I’ll be there.”
Adam smiled brightly, all of the weariness and irritation he’d felt, suddenly seeping out of his body.
“I am so in love with you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” Noah said before capturing Adam’s mouth for tender kiss.
Chapter 5
Noah sat quietly on Adam’s king size bed, running his hand nervously over the circular pattern of the duvet, contemplating how he was going to tell Adam about Luke. He listened to the sounds of the shower running, smiling a little at Adam’s attempts to get him to join him. Noah had turned down the offer, saying he’d only had a shower an hour ago but promising to make it up to Adam later, in bed.
He wondered if he’d get that chance depending on how mad Adam turned out to be after he told him the truth about his past. It wasn’t like Noah had lied to Adam about Luke…he hadn’t. When they’d first met, he’d talked about recently coming out of a relationship, admitted how much he’d loved Luke and still had feelings for him at the time. He’d even talked about his blindness, and Luke falling in love with the surgeon who’d helped get his sight back.
It just hadn’t seemed necessary to Noah to go into more detail than that because it wasn’t like Adam would ever meet Luke or Reid…or so he’d thought. He should have known better because of course the universe had always enjoyed playing cruel, cruel jokes on him. The first sign should have been Adam’s interest in neurosurgery; but still, Noah thought nothing of it.
Until, Adam got his residency assignment. He still remembered the excitement practically radiating off Adam’s body when he’d gotten his letter. He’d been accepted to Oakdale Memorial Hospital. Noah, who hadn’t even known that was Adam’s first choice, had been dumb-founded, forcing Adam to stare up at him quizzically and ask what was wrong.
It was the perfect opening. He could have been honest and upfront about everything in that very moment but he didn’t. Instead, he’d covered up by saying the place didn’t sound familiar and so was surprised Adam was so excited. Adam had laughed and referred to Oakdale as a complete “Nowhereseville, USA” but went on to add that as crappy as the town was, it was where Dr. Reid Oliver, one of the most brilliant neurosurgeons in the country was teaching and for him, that was all that mattered.
And so, even after moving half-way across the country, cutting off all ties and reminders of his past with Luke, Noah of course fell in love with a guy who would become a resident student of Reid’s. He couldn’t even be angry…instead he’d just laughed at his useless, hopeless luck and kissed Adam goodbye at the airport, promising to make their relationship work somehow, all the while wondering how he’d avoid Oakdale with his boyfriend working there for the next four years.
It hadn’t taken four years for it to come to a head. He was here now and there was no getting around it. He had to tell Adam that the guy he admired, his boss, was also the current boyfriend of Noah’s ex-boyfriend. Maybe Adam would appreciate the whole Shakespearian comedic aspect of it.
”Yeah I doubt it,” Noah thought.
He quietly observed Adam as he walked out of the shower in only his boxer briefs, appreciating the very well defined lines of his arms, shoulder and back. That was the manly part of him but there was also the very boyish elements of him, a consequence of growing up so fast and rarely connecting with people his own age due to his being genius. There was a natural innocence about Adam that Noah loved, especially as it was balanced by his brilliance and calm maturity.
“See something you like?”
“Always,” Noah laughed.
Adam moved towards him, his eyes cloudy with desire. Noah knew where this was going and while he couldn’t deny the fire building in his belly and more importantly in his crotch, he knew he couldn’t put off what he had to say. So reaching for Adam’s shirt, drawing a confused arched brow from him, as he handed it to him, Noah said softly, “umm, we need to talk.”
Tentatively reaching for the shirt, Adam said, “okay,” before putting it on and settling on the bed, waiting for whatever Noah had to say. Reaching for Adam’s hand, Noah held it tightly in his before taking a long, deep breath. Staring up into Adam’s deep, striking and trusting eyes, he began to talk.
Chapter 6
The room was silent and the longer the silence lasted, the more the tension built. Noah had expected yelling, angry words, maybe even a few angrily thrown furniture pieces, but he hadn’t expected silence.
He’d rushed through everything as quickly as possible, barely taking a breath and then waited for Adam’s reaction. He was still waiting. At first Adam just stared at him in confusion, almost like he was trying to make sense of what he’d just heard. Then finally, he’d slowly pulled his hand away, and without a word or even a glance in Noah’s direction, headed back into the bathroom and shut the door.
That was almost twenty minutes ago. At first Noah wasn’t sure what to do…whether to wait and simply allow Adam to work out whatever he needed to work out or follow him in and demand they talk things over. He eventually decided on waiting but now he was getting increasingly anxious and nervous. Finally, deciding “the hell with it”, he stood up, determination written all over his face, ready to go bang on the door and demand Adam let him in.
He didn’t have to bother. The second he stood up, Adam slowly walked out of the bathroom. They met each other in the middle of the bedroom floor, Adam’s head down, the sound of his taking calming, deep breaths, loud and clear against the stark silence of the room. Eventually, he slowly raised his head, staring Noah dead in the eyes.
“You listened to me talk about my residency placement,” he began, voice sounding strained with hurt and confusion, “listened to me go on and on about the brilliant Dr. Reid Oliver I would be studying under, how I wasn’t sure I would love this town because it was so small. And then when I got here, I called and told you about the people I met, the places I had been and you said nothing…”
“I…” Noah began, but was quickly silenced with Adam’s next words, this time louder and angrier.
“YOU LISTENED TO ME TALK ABOUT HOW I THOUGHT DR. OLIVER’S BOYFRIEND HATED ME, AND YOU SAID NOTHING…”
At this point, there was no stopping Adam’s tirade, so Noah didn’t even try. He concluded that his best course of action was to let Adam get everything he felt out and then try to reason with him. He just hoped it worked.
“NO, “OH HEY, YEAH I’M PRETTY SURE THAT GUY THAT HATES YOU IS MY EX-BOYFRIEND WHO I WAS MADLY IN LOVE WITH FOR THREE FUCKING YEARS”!!!!!
And so it continued for what to Noah, felt like another hour, until Adam finally seemed too spent to yell or even be angry anymore. Noah was grateful for the reprieve but just as he was about to put his “soothe, appease and beg for forgiveness” plan into action, Adam, who had moved to angrily arranging his laundry (he’d always been a compulsive cleaner when angry…Noah never really understood why) abruptly stopped and turned to him with an expression of disbelief.
“You’re patient 87510,” he suddenly said softly.
“What?”
“Dr. Oliver’s case files in the national medical journals,” Adam continued. “One of his more recent accomplishments was the surgery of a 22 year old male who’d lost his sight in a freak accident and was given a less than 30% chance of regaining full vision. For privacy and legal reasons, patients’ names are never disclosed…instead, you’re just a number. That was you.”
“Probably,” Noah said softly.
“Why,” Adam whispered, before falling with an almost defeated thud onto the edge of his bed. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
Heaving a loud sigh, incredibly grateful that Adam’s anger had seemed to subside and he was willing to listen, Noah joined him at the foot of the bed, tentatively reaching for his hand. When Adam didn’t give any indication of pulling away, Noah intertwined their fingers tightly together.
“I was such a mess when I left here,” Noah stated. “I told you about all this when we met. I was angry, hurt, and bitter and honestly I just wanted to forget; forget this place and the people in it, especially Luke and Reid.”
He hesitated a little, curious of any reaction from Adam. He said nothing, but kept his fingers in Noah’s, his face suggesting that he was still listening…so Noah continued.
“I just wanted to leave it all behind me and start fresh. When I first told you about my past, about my accident and my break-up with Luke, it didn’t seem necessary at all to me to tell you their names or anything more than I had, because I was positive that that part of my life and my life with you would never connect. It’s just my crappy luck that you’d end up being interested in neurosurgery.”
He’d spoken the last line with a smile in his voice, clearly joking, but while Adam looked calmer and was willing to listen, he wasn’t yet in a joking mood, barely cracking a smile.
Noah sobered up quickly, adding, “I knew I should have told you the moment you received your residency placement letter. I was going to, I swear but then I just couldn’t. Part of it was my own cowardice and part of it, and I know you might not believe this right now but I swear it’s true, was that I didn’t want things to be awkward for you. I didn’t want you going into this with an idea of who Reid was or his whole history with me. He was going to be your teacher, your boss and I knew how excited you were. I didn’t want to ruin this for you.”
A long, silent pause settled as Adam quietly absorbed everything Noah had said. Eventually, he stared up at Noah with nothing but love in his eyes, all the anger gone.
“I believe you,” he said softly.
“I’m glad.”
“Still kind of a stupid plan,” Adam snarked. “I mean did you even think about how this would work, with me being here for four years? Were you never going to come visit me?”
“Uh, I guess I figured I’d cross that bridge when I got there,” Noah shrugged.
“Well consider yourself at the bridge,” Adam smiled, his first genuine one in the last hour. “How long are you staying?”
“A week…so we have plenty of time to spend together.”
“Good,” Adam said softly before leaning in for a soft kiss. Noah returned it quickly, relieved that things seemed to be okay. He was all set to deepen the kiss, his hand snaking up Adam’s throat to tangle with the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, when Adam quickly pulled away.
Before Noah could ask what was wrong, Adam distracted him with the last question he was expecting. “When are you going to see Luke?”
Looking and sounding a little dazed, Noah could only mutter a confused, “what?”
“Luke, your ex-boyfriend, when are you to going to see him?”
“What makes you think I’m going to go see Luke?”
Adam playfully rolled his eyes as Noah’s confusion only grew at how suddenly nonchalant he seemed about everything, “Noah, you show up in town for the first time in two years, after cutting all ties with your ex-boyfriend who you had a bad break-up with…you can’t not go see him.”
And as Noah struggled to accept this strange turn of events, Adam added softly, “You need closure. You’re never going to really move on until you do.”
“I have moved on,” Noah interrupted quickly, adding desperately, “I love you.”
Placing a hand tenderly on Noah’s jaw, Adam smiled softly, “I know you do but it doesn’t mean you’re completely over everything that happened between you and Luke. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.” And with that he added a firm, “So are you going to go see him?”
Still looking like he’d been hit across the head with a two-by-four, Noah simply stammered a soft “umm, I guess.”
Adam, sounding oddly cheerful, added, “Great. Well now that that’s settled, I’m starving, so let’s get something to eat;” and with that, proceeded to slip off the bed and head towards the kitchen. He only got to the bedroom door before giving a short, bitter laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m just enjoying the irony of Luke’s hating me all this time because he thought I had a thing for his boyfriend when he could have used all that energy to hate me because I’m dating his ex-boyfriend.”
And with that comment he slipped out of the room leaving Noah behind to wonder what the hell just happened and how he was going to face Luke, something he hadn’t exactly prepared for.