FIC - It's still just love (15/15)
Title: It's still just love… (15/15)
Author: wheelie47
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Luke and Noah.
Word count: 3,825
Disclaimer: Don’t own characters, am not associated in any way with ATWT, Van and Jake. No offence intended.
Warning: Angst! Sexual content.
Summary: Noah Mayer is struggling to make ends meet; trying to keep his garden centre open and desperate to hold onto his research grant from the Institute of Agronomic Research. And he never seems to have time… no time for a life and definitely no time for a boyfriend.
Luciano Grimaldi hates everything about his life and he is so far in the closet where his parents are concerned, that he even has a girlfriend, Maddie, to prove it…
AN: This is an AU story based on a French film called “Juste une question d’amour”.
Many thanks to hollyoaks1021 for the wonderful artwork. Thanks Sally.
Thank you to everyone who has read and followed this story. Thank you for your wonderful comments, they are really appreciated.
As they drove in silence toward the bus station, Luke was assaulted by memories. Old random memories of growing up; the first time his father had pushed him on a swing, the first time he’d ridden a bike, family picnics, birthdays parties, first days of school and other childhood images all merged into a blur as the familiar sights of Oakdale speed past the window.
Then came the more current… more painful… memories; finding Marc dead with a bottle still in his hand, his family’s reaction, leading his own double life and the torment of keeping it secret from his family and finally the memory of the way his father had looked at him with disgust in his dorm room… his father’s hand striking his face playing out in slow frame-by-frame motion.
The memory was so vivid it was almost as if his father had struck him again and the blonde flinched automatically. He squeezed his eyes shut tight against the image and rested his head on the cool glass of the passenger window, hoping to ease the pain somehow.
But the movement just reminded Luke that he was in Noah’s truck and his thoughts turned to the handsome brunette. He could clearly picture in his mind’s eye, the way Noah had looked at him the first time they made love. Luke could almost still feel how gentle, how compassionate, the man had been… treating him like no other man had before.
And suddenly the blonde couldn’t stop the tears. He found himself crying, his shoulders shaking with the force of the emotion; lamenting for the life he could’ve… should have… had here with Noah and an accepting family, instead of this heartbreaking reality.
Noah kept risking glances over at Luke as he drove, watching the other man. The sound of crying tore at his heartstrings until he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Wordlessly, he pulled over to the sidewalk, shifted the truck into park and reached out to pull Luke to him.
The brunette held the younger man tight against his chest, the fingers of one hand combing through Luke’s soft hair.
“I’m sorry,” Noah murmured into the blonde tresses. He wasn’t entirely certain what he was apologizing for. Whether it be for the way he felt he’d pressurized Luke into wanting to coming out to his parents, for what his mom had done in the name of trying to keep the two of them together or for the way things hadn’t worked out for the both of them… he didn’t know. And right now Noah didn’t care; he only knew he wanted to apologize. “I’m so sorry, Luke.”
As he sat there, cradling Luke to his chest, feeling the warmth of the other man's body penetrating through the material of his cotton shirt and feeling Luke's silky smooth hair brushing against his cheek, a realization hit him. It suddenly dawned on him why all of this hurt so much and he found himself saying words to Luke that he never thought he would say to another man again. “I love you,” he whispered, barely audible.
Noah felt Luke's trembling cease as the other man held his breath.
If this was going to be the last time Noah held the blonde in his arms, he was going to make damn sure he told Luke how he felt.
Taking a deep breath, he said those words again, louder this time. “I love you, Luke.”
For several long moments it was almost as if Noah hadn’t spoken those words aloud.
But then he felt Luke move, slowly at first as he untangled himself from the embrace.
When the younger man finally sat up again and was facing Noah, the brunette’s fingers itched to wipe away the tears and he gave Luke a small hopeful smile as he waited for a response; the silence almost killing him. He’d put himself out there… finally told Luke how he felt and he hoped against hope that the blonde felt the same. Because, suddenly, Noah felt he couldn’t let Luke leave now… letting him go would be like losing a piece of himself.
Luke studied Noah’s face, his hazel eyes searching the crystal blue for the truth in those words. Then a small hesitant smile started to spread across his face as he found what he was looking for deep in those expressive eyes.
It was as if Noah’s words flipped a switch deep inside the blonde. Hearing those words; words that he'd almost given up hope on hearing from another man, made him realize that he felt exactly the same. He remembered the intense burning he'd felt in his chest the last time he and Noah slept together… each time he’d thrust deep into the other man he had felt more connected to Noah. At the time he wasn't certain what he was feeling… now he knew; he loved Noah.
Luke leaned forward and tentatively pressed his lips to Noah’s, not caring that his tears mingled with their kiss.
“I… I love you too,” Luke said simply as he pulled back, the words sounding strange and unfamiliar coming from his lips.
Absentmindedly swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, Luke blew out a shaky breath before leaning back in and kissing Noah again, gently at first; no more than a brush of lips, that deepened in intensity as a hope built inside the blonde. A hope that it wasn’t too late for the two of them… that they still could have a future.
Pulling back once more, he looked into Noah’s baby blues. “Take me to Ashwood.” His voice held an edge of determination that had Noah reaching for the steering wheel without question…
…
Noah wasn’t exactly sure why Luke wanted to come here. He’d wanted nothing more than to turn the truck around and take Luke back to the nursery to talk about their future… about where they went from here.
But the blonde had insisted.
Noah knew one thing for sure, as he climbed out of the truck and spotted Luke's father, Matteo and two other men he didn't recognize standing in the driveway; he wasn't going to let Damian lay another finger on Luke… not as long as the brunette had breath in his body.
Damian turned to the men beside him. “Gentlemen, why don’t you follow Matteo inside and have some refreshments? I’ll be with you in a moment and we can get down to talking business.”
Matteo nodded without looking at his brother; his eyes fixed on his nephew and the man that he felt had corrupted Luciano… his stare a combination of distrust and disgust before he turned and led the men inside.
Noah strode around the side of his truck to stand right next to Luke.
“You OK?” he murmured barely audibly as he saw Damian walking toward them.
Noah wanted to take Luke’s hand in his and offer him support but he didn’t want to aggravate the situation, so he settled for taking a step closer to the blonde, their shoulders brushing with the slightest of touches.
Before either of the other men could react, another car pulled up the drive and came to a stop by Noah’s truck.
The passenger door was flung open and Isaac scrambled down before Lily could get out from behind the steering wheel.
“Lucci… Lucci!” the young boy excitedly yelled at the top of his lungs as he bounced toward his older brother.
“Hey there, little guy.” Luke knelt down beside his little brother, smiling at the way Isaac shortened his name; he’d never been able to pronounce Luke's full name properly… not that he objected to that.
“What you got there?” he asked, nodding to the piece of paper Isaac clutched in his hand.
The little boy beamed at him, oblivious to the tension that flowed from his parents as they drew closer. “It’s us… our family.” He pointed proudly to the picture he’d drawn at playgroup and, sure enough, Luke could recognize the four of them; all smiles… complete with his own bright yellow mop of hair. It broke the blonde's heart to think this happy picture was not their family's reality; he wasn’t sure if it had ever been.
Luke heard his mom gasp when she reached Isaac and rested her hands on the boy’s shoulders.
He looked up from the drawing to see her watching him intently, her eyes narrowing when she spotted the bruise on his cheek.
“Did you do that?” She turned to ask her husband.
When Damian had come back from the dorms he’d informed her that Luciano was never to come back to the house or have contact with them again. Her mind had been in turmoil ever since; she couldn't seem to stop crying and the whole situation was giving her sleepless nights. It had been bad enough with Marc but this was so much closer to home. It was hard to accept that Luciano was gay but the thought of never seeing her firstborn son again was heart breaking; even worse than the thought of him touching another man like that. It shattered her illusion of their happy family home.
But, above all that, the thought of her husband hurting their own offspring sickened her.
“Take Isaac inside, Lily,” Damian directed, his voice quiet but nonetheless demanding.
“No. Not until you answer my question,” Lily replied, showing a rare determination to question her husband.
Luke watched the exchange between his parents with interest; he couldn't remember the last time his mom had disagreed with his dad. He wasn't certain how this would end and he felt it wasn’t something that he wanted his little brother to witness. “Why don't you go inside and play for a little while, Isaac?”
“Will you come and play with me later?” He looked hopefully between his older brother and Noah; remembering Lucci's friend from his party.
“Maybe later.” Luke smiled gently at Isaac, getting to his feet as he watched his brother turn and race eagerly toward the house.
When her young son was out of ear shot, Lily turned back to face Damian. “Did you?” Her tone was more determined this time.
“I…” Damian began confidently but then his voice faltered as he studied Luciano's face more intently. He'd never meant to hit him so hard… never meant to hit him at all. But after that Mayer woman had come to their house… into their home… with her earth shattering news, he'd seen red. A rage that had only increased with intensity as he’d shoved Luciano things into his bag and driven to the dorms. A rage that found an outlet when his son had opened the door and looked at him all innocently, questioning why he was there. Luciano had lied to him, made a fool of him and shattered the dreams he’d had for his son.
Seeing the hesitation in his father’s eyes, and feeling emboldened by the comforting warmth of Noah standing right beside him; the brunette’s earlier declaration of love echoing in his ears, Luke took a deep breath. “You never gave me the opportunity to speak when you came to the dorms… to tell you my side of the story.”
The blonde squared his shoulders and looked his father in the eye. “I’m not ashamed of who I am.” If this would be the last time he saw his dad then, for the first time in his life, he was going to stand up for who he was.
Damian looked at his son and saw a spark of determination… of pride in the young man’s eyes; a look that he’d never seen there before.
Luke turned his head to look at Noah, giving him a small but heartfelt smile, before turning back to face his father.
“You know Noah.” Luke remembered back to that fateful dinner, recalling his father’s look of surprised, if slightly grudging, appreciation that the man had stood up to him and Matteo. He even thought that, if things were different, his father would actually quite like Noah.
“He’s a good man and I… I love him,” he spoke softly. A small smile formed across his lips at the thought of saying those words out loud to another person… his own father no less.
Luke felt Noah’s fingertips gently brush the back of his hand, and he looked back up at the brunette before sliding his palm against Noah's and interlinking their fingers tightly. “I love Noah.” The words came out louder this time, pride and love sounding clear in his voice.
He looked hopefully between his parents, willing them to understand. “It doesn’t matter if you’re straight or gay… it’s still just love. I hope you can come to accept that.”
Luke tentatively reached out and curled his fingers around his father’s shoulder, relieved that the older man didn’t flinch away from the touch.
The blonde had said his piece and, if his parents rejected him now, at least he and Noah could leave here with their heads held high.
Damian looked at the hand that rested on his shoulder then down at Luciano’s and Noah’s combined hands. This kind of love was completely alien to him. It went against everything he was brought up to believe; the traditional values that were instilled in him from an early age… that a man should marry a woman and have children.
Luke felt Noah stiffen beside him, tensing his muscles ready to step in if Damian reacted badly. But the blonde squeezed the other man's hand reassuringly; somehow he didn't think his father would hit him again… not now. “It’s alright,” he murmured.
The older man lifted his face to look between three sets of eyes staring back at him with tentative hopefulness. As his gaze settled on Luciano, memories came flooding back of when he'd held his eldest son mere moments after he'd been born; he’d been so proud that day.
It was hard to believe that this boy, this young man, standing in front of him was that same baby… that he was still his son.
“I… I…” Damian felt lost; out of time and out of place. He didn’t know how to deal with this anymore… he wasn’t sure if he could. “I need time.”
Luke simply nodded. What else could he do? He hadn't expected his father to welcome him back with open arms. In truth, he’d expected him and Noah to be told to leave. So this was something; it was a start they could build on. It was the best he could hope for right now…
…
A week later
“How many people did Charlene think were coming to this picnic?” Luke groaned as he lay back against the picnic blanket, exposing an expanse of bare skin above his jeans as his T-shirt rode up.
Noah grinned over at him and shifted his weight up onto his elbow as the two of them lay side-by-side on a picnic blanket in a secluded copse of trees on the edge of Oakdale woods. He suspected that his mom was trying to make up for what she'd done, spoiling Luke a little at every opportunity she had. Not that Noah objected to the special treatment because it generally ended up being pretty good for him too.
But he certainly wasn't going to tell the blonde that; it might go to his head. “She knew Max was coming,” he chuckled lightly instead.
“Hey! I heard that.” Max's voice could be heard in mock indignation just before a scatter cushion came flying through the air, hitting Noah on the back of the head.
“Ouch!” Noah grabbed the cushion, and twisting, threw it back in the direction of Max’s and Maddie's own picnic blanket. “No dessert for you if you keep that up,” he warned, wagging a finger at his friend.
“Who cares?! I've got my own dessert right here,” he retorted with a wide ‘cat got the cream’ grin before leaning down and capturing Maddie’s lips with his own.
Luke shifted up onto both elbows to peer over Noah’s shoulder at the two of them. “Oh god! Straight people making out! Go get a room you two,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes tight shut against the sight.
“Sounds like a plan,” Maddie agreed breathlessly, pushing against Max’s chest and getting to her feet.
She grinned over at her friend as she dusted herself off. Maddie was so happy for Luke; happy that Luke had decided to stay in Oakdale, that he and Noah were together, and that he was trying to work things through with his parents.. He, more than anyone else she knew, deserved some happiness at last.
Max shot up after the petite brunette, grabbed her hand and led her toward his car… not needing to be asked twice.
“Hey! Don’t worry; we’ll pack up the picnic things for you,” Noah shouted after them.
Max flipped him a one fingered salute, grinning widely. “Thanks, you're a real pal!” he shot back before scrambling into the car after Maddie.
Noah turned back to face Luke, the chuckle dying on his lips as he saw the blonde stretched out with his hands behind his head, gazing up at him.
Fuck, but the guy was gorgeous! He could lose himself in the moment just watching the other man; the dappled sunlight through the trees playing across the blonde tresses and highlighting his beautiful hazel eyes.
“You OK?” Noah asked, reaching out to rest his hand above the waistband of Luke’s jeans, his palm warm against the exposed strip of skin.
“Mmmm,” the blonde murmured, relaxing even more under Noah’s touch. “Yeah, I feel kinda light; like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders.” It was true. Sure, they had a long way to go… he knew that. Things weren’t perfect. It was going to be a long time before his parents, especially his father, came round and truly accepted who he was. But at least they were heading in the right direction.
Noah settled back down next to Luke. “Yeah, I know. Now we have nothing left to argue about!” he teased gently.
“Asshole!” Luke retorted, prodding the older man’s shoulder playfully. “I could always think of something.”
Noah shook his head and smirked back. “Let’s not! Why don’t we think of something we can agree on?”
“What? Like getting a room?” The blonde flicked his eyes down to Noah’s very kissable lips then back up to his baby blues.
“Maybe… later.” The brunette bit his lip suggestively.
“I was thinking more along the lines of you studying something that you actually want to; like Creative Writing.”
Luke sat up quickly, staring down at the other man. “But how? What about money?”
“We’ll work something out.” Noah smiled reassuringly as he eased up next to Luke, draping an arm around the blonde. “You should be able to follow your dreams.”
Luke was stunned into silence.
“So what do you think?” Noah asked.
The younger man just stared in amazement; thinking himself lucky that this wonderful man was in his life.
He leaned over to brush a quick kiss to Noah’s lips, reveling in the fact he felt confident enough to do that outside, even if they were in the middle of nowhere.
Getting to his feet, Luke held out his hand. “I think we should go get a room.”
The brunette wasted no time in grasping the other man’s hand and standing before they made record time in packing all of the picnic things into the truck…
…
Just over an hour later, they were a sweaty, rhythmic mass of arms and legs stretched flat out on Noah’s bed.
“Oh fuck, Noah! Harder… deeper,” Luke groaned into the side of the brunette’s neck, his legs wrapped high around the man’s slim waist as Noah plunged repeatedly into him.
The brunette rolled his hips and shifted his angle, timing his thrusts to perfection to match Luke’s upward arching off the bed; each movement making his cock drag repeatedly across blonde’s prostate.
Noah was close and he knew from experience that Luke was nearly there too. Reaching between their sweat slicked chests he grasped the blonde’s hard and leaking cock; working his fingers over the wide girth. “Come for me. Come for me, Luke,” Noah murmured, his breath ragged, as his lips automatically sought out the other man’s in an urgent open-mouthed, passionate kiss.
Those words of whispered command seemed to be just what Luke needed to hear as the younger man let go and shot his release over his stomach, splattering into the trail of hair below his belly button.
Moments later, Noah followed his lover over the edge, collapsing down onto Luke’s heaving chest as he emptied his release deep inside the blonde, filling the condom.
“I love you,” Noah whispered breathlessly.
“I love you too,” Luke murmured back, wrapping his long arms around Noah's sweaty back, holding him close and letting his legs fall from their aching position to settle either side of the brunette's.
Noah looked up as he felt a low chuckle rumbling through Luke's chest. “What's so funny? You know it's not nice to laugh!” he huffed, his handsome features creasing into a frown.
“Huh?” Luke asked in confusion, staring down at Noah before it dawned on him that the man had misunderstood. “No! Not that! That was outstanding!” He smirked suggestively, running his hand down Noah's flushed back and squeezing the brunette’s ass cheek reassuringly. “It’s those words; they sound pretty amazing, don't they?”
“Oh!” Noah's frown melted into a goofy grin. “Yeah, they kinda do.”
And he said them again, just because he could. “I. Love. You.” Noah punctuated each word with a kiss; the first to his lover’s throat… sucking lightly on his Adam’s apple, the second to Luke’s stubbled jaw… the sensation against his sensitive lips making his spent cock give a half-hearted twitch, and the third, last but definitely not least, to Luke's supple bow shaped lips.
As much as Noah wanted to deepen the kiss and stay buried ball deep in the man beneath him, he knew that this position would soon become uncomfortable for Luke. Ignoring the whine of protest, he gently eased out and disposed of the condom before cleaning them up as best he could with a handful of tissues from his bedside table.
He gently prodded Luke's shoulder to get him to move onto his side, before sliding in behind him and pulling the covers up over both their bodies.
Snuggling together; muscled chest against smooth back, with Noah’s hand seeking out Luke’s to rest entwined on the blonde’s chest, they drifted toward a sated and content sleep.
Before the pull of sleep finally overtook them, both men gave silent thanks that Luke had walked into Noah's garden centre; each man thinking that the other had turned out to be his salvation.
The End.
Back to fic master post
Author: wheelie47
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Luke and Noah.
Word count: 3,825
Disclaimer: Don’t own characters, am not associated in any way with ATWT, Van and Jake. No offence intended.
Warning: Angst! Sexual content.
Summary: Noah Mayer is struggling to make ends meet; trying to keep his garden centre open and desperate to hold onto his research grant from the Institute of Agronomic Research. And he never seems to have time… no time for a life and definitely no time for a boyfriend.
Luciano Grimaldi hates everything about his life and he is so far in the closet where his parents are concerned, that he even has a girlfriend, Maddie, to prove it…
AN: This is an AU story based on a French film called “Juste une question d’amour”.
Many thanks to hollyoaks1021 for the wonderful artwork. Thanks Sally.
Thank you to everyone who has read and followed this story. Thank you for your wonderful comments, they are really appreciated.
As they drove in silence toward the bus station, Luke was assaulted by memories. Old random memories of growing up; the first time his father had pushed him on a swing, the first time he’d ridden a bike, family picnics, birthdays parties, first days of school and other childhood images all merged into a blur as the familiar sights of Oakdale speed past the window.
Then came the more current… more painful… memories; finding Marc dead with a bottle still in his hand, his family’s reaction, leading his own double life and the torment of keeping it secret from his family and finally the memory of the way his father had looked at him with disgust in his dorm room… his father’s hand striking his face playing out in slow frame-by-frame motion.
The memory was so vivid it was almost as if his father had struck him again and the blonde flinched automatically. He squeezed his eyes shut tight against the image and rested his head on the cool glass of the passenger window, hoping to ease the pain somehow.
But the movement just reminded Luke that he was in Noah’s truck and his thoughts turned to the handsome brunette. He could clearly picture in his mind’s eye, the way Noah had looked at him the first time they made love. Luke could almost still feel how gentle, how compassionate, the man had been… treating him like no other man had before.
And suddenly the blonde couldn’t stop the tears. He found himself crying, his shoulders shaking with the force of the emotion; lamenting for the life he could’ve… should have… had here with Noah and an accepting family, instead of this heartbreaking reality.
Noah kept risking glances over at Luke as he drove, watching the other man. The sound of crying tore at his heartstrings until he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Wordlessly, he pulled over to the sidewalk, shifted the truck into park and reached out to pull Luke to him.
The brunette held the younger man tight against his chest, the fingers of one hand combing through Luke’s soft hair.
“I’m sorry,” Noah murmured into the blonde tresses. He wasn’t entirely certain what he was apologizing for. Whether it be for the way he felt he’d pressurized Luke into wanting to coming out to his parents, for what his mom had done in the name of trying to keep the two of them together or for the way things hadn’t worked out for the both of them… he didn’t know. And right now Noah didn’t care; he only knew he wanted to apologize. “I’m so sorry, Luke.”
As he sat there, cradling Luke to his chest, feeling the warmth of the other man's body penetrating through the material of his cotton shirt and feeling Luke's silky smooth hair brushing against his cheek, a realization hit him. It suddenly dawned on him why all of this hurt so much and he found himself saying words to Luke that he never thought he would say to another man again. “I love you,” he whispered, barely audible.
Noah felt Luke's trembling cease as the other man held his breath.
If this was going to be the last time Noah held the blonde in his arms, he was going to make damn sure he told Luke how he felt.
Taking a deep breath, he said those words again, louder this time. “I love you, Luke.”
For several long moments it was almost as if Noah hadn’t spoken those words aloud.
But then he felt Luke move, slowly at first as he untangled himself from the embrace.
When the younger man finally sat up again and was facing Noah, the brunette’s fingers itched to wipe away the tears and he gave Luke a small hopeful smile as he waited for a response; the silence almost killing him. He’d put himself out there… finally told Luke how he felt and he hoped against hope that the blonde felt the same. Because, suddenly, Noah felt he couldn’t let Luke leave now… letting him go would be like losing a piece of himself.
Luke studied Noah’s face, his hazel eyes searching the crystal blue for the truth in those words. Then a small hesitant smile started to spread across his face as he found what he was looking for deep in those expressive eyes.
It was as if Noah’s words flipped a switch deep inside the blonde. Hearing those words; words that he'd almost given up hope on hearing from another man, made him realize that he felt exactly the same. He remembered the intense burning he'd felt in his chest the last time he and Noah slept together… each time he’d thrust deep into the other man he had felt more connected to Noah. At the time he wasn't certain what he was feeling… now he knew; he loved Noah.
Luke leaned forward and tentatively pressed his lips to Noah’s, not caring that his tears mingled with their kiss.
“I… I love you too,” Luke said simply as he pulled back, the words sounding strange and unfamiliar coming from his lips.
Absentmindedly swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, Luke blew out a shaky breath before leaning back in and kissing Noah again, gently at first; no more than a brush of lips, that deepened in intensity as a hope built inside the blonde. A hope that it wasn’t too late for the two of them… that they still could have a future.
Pulling back once more, he looked into Noah’s baby blues. “Take me to Ashwood.” His voice held an edge of determination that had Noah reaching for the steering wheel without question…
…
Noah wasn’t exactly sure why Luke wanted to come here. He’d wanted nothing more than to turn the truck around and take Luke back to the nursery to talk about their future… about where they went from here.
But the blonde had insisted.
Noah knew one thing for sure, as he climbed out of the truck and spotted Luke's father, Matteo and two other men he didn't recognize standing in the driveway; he wasn't going to let Damian lay another finger on Luke… not as long as the brunette had breath in his body.
Damian turned to the men beside him. “Gentlemen, why don’t you follow Matteo inside and have some refreshments? I’ll be with you in a moment and we can get down to talking business.”
Matteo nodded without looking at his brother; his eyes fixed on his nephew and the man that he felt had corrupted Luciano… his stare a combination of distrust and disgust before he turned and led the men inside.
Noah strode around the side of his truck to stand right next to Luke.
“You OK?” he murmured barely audibly as he saw Damian walking toward them.
Noah wanted to take Luke’s hand in his and offer him support but he didn’t want to aggravate the situation, so he settled for taking a step closer to the blonde, their shoulders brushing with the slightest of touches.
Before either of the other men could react, another car pulled up the drive and came to a stop by Noah’s truck.
The passenger door was flung open and Isaac scrambled down before Lily could get out from behind the steering wheel.
“Lucci… Lucci!” the young boy excitedly yelled at the top of his lungs as he bounced toward his older brother.
“Hey there, little guy.” Luke knelt down beside his little brother, smiling at the way Isaac shortened his name; he’d never been able to pronounce Luke's full name properly… not that he objected to that.
“What you got there?” he asked, nodding to the piece of paper Isaac clutched in his hand.
The little boy beamed at him, oblivious to the tension that flowed from his parents as they drew closer. “It’s us… our family.” He pointed proudly to the picture he’d drawn at playgroup and, sure enough, Luke could recognize the four of them; all smiles… complete with his own bright yellow mop of hair. It broke the blonde's heart to think this happy picture was not their family's reality; he wasn’t sure if it had ever been.
Luke heard his mom gasp when she reached Isaac and rested her hands on the boy’s shoulders.
He looked up from the drawing to see her watching him intently, her eyes narrowing when she spotted the bruise on his cheek.
“Did you do that?” She turned to ask her husband.
When Damian had come back from the dorms he’d informed her that Luciano was never to come back to the house or have contact with them again. Her mind had been in turmoil ever since; she couldn't seem to stop crying and the whole situation was giving her sleepless nights. It had been bad enough with Marc but this was so much closer to home. It was hard to accept that Luciano was gay but the thought of never seeing her firstborn son again was heart breaking; even worse than the thought of him touching another man like that. It shattered her illusion of their happy family home.
But, above all that, the thought of her husband hurting their own offspring sickened her.
“Take Isaac inside, Lily,” Damian directed, his voice quiet but nonetheless demanding.
“No. Not until you answer my question,” Lily replied, showing a rare determination to question her husband.
Luke watched the exchange between his parents with interest; he couldn't remember the last time his mom had disagreed with his dad. He wasn't certain how this would end and he felt it wasn’t something that he wanted his little brother to witness. “Why don't you go inside and play for a little while, Isaac?”
“Will you come and play with me later?” He looked hopefully between his older brother and Noah; remembering Lucci's friend from his party.
“Maybe later.” Luke smiled gently at Isaac, getting to his feet as he watched his brother turn and race eagerly toward the house.
When her young son was out of ear shot, Lily turned back to face Damian. “Did you?” Her tone was more determined this time.
“I…” Damian began confidently but then his voice faltered as he studied Luciano's face more intently. He'd never meant to hit him so hard… never meant to hit him at all. But after that Mayer woman had come to their house… into their home… with her earth shattering news, he'd seen red. A rage that had only increased with intensity as he’d shoved Luciano things into his bag and driven to the dorms. A rage that found an outlet when his son had opened the door and looked at him all innocently, questioning why he was there. Luciano had lied to him, made a fool of him and shattered the dreams he’d had for his son.
Seeing the hesitation in his father’s eyes, and feeling emboldened by the comforting warmth of Noah standing right beside him; the brunette’s earlier declaration of love echoing in his ears, Luke took a deep breath. “You never gave me the opportunity to speak when you came to the dorms… to tell you my side of the story.”
The blonde squared his shoulders and looked his father in the eye. “I’m not ashamed of who I am.” If this would be the last time he saw his dad then, for the first time in his life, he was going to stand up for who he was.
Damian looked at his son and saw a spark of determination… of pride in the young man’s eyes; a look that he’d never seen there before.
Luke turned his head to look at Noah, giving him a small but heartfelt smile, before turning back to face his father.
“You know Noah.” Luke remembered back to that fateful dinner, recalling his father’s look of surprised, if slightly grudging, appreciation that the man had stood up to him and Matteo. He even thought that, if things were different, his father would actually quite like Noah.
“He’s a good man and I… I love him,” he spoke softly. A small smile formed across his lips at the thought of saying those words out loud to another person… his own father no less.
Luke felt Noah’s fingertips gently brush the back of his hand, and he looked back up at the brunette before sliding his palm against Noah's and interlinking their fingers tightly. “I love Noah.” The words came out louder this time, pride and love sounding clear in his voice.
He looked hopefully between his parents, willing them to understand. “It doesn’t matter if you’re straight or gay… it’s still just love. I hope you can come to accept that.”
Luke tentatively reached out and curled his fingers around his father’s shoulder, relieved that the older man didn’t flinch away from the touch.
The blonde had said his piece and, if his parents rejected him now, at least he and Noah could leave here with their heads held high.
Damian looked at the hand that rested on his shoulder then down at Luciano’s and Noah’s combined hands. This kind of love was completely alien to him. It went against everything he was brought up to believe; the traditional values that were instilled in him from an early age… that a man should marry a woman and have children.
Luke felt Noah stiffen beside him, tensing his muscles ready to step in if Damian reacted badly. But the blonde squeezed the other man's hand reassuringly; somehow he didn't think his father would hit him again… not now. “It’s alright,” he murmured.
The older man lifted his face to look between three sets of eyes staring back at him with tentative hopefulness. As his gaze settled on Luciano, memories came flooding back of when he'd held his eldest son mere moments after he'd been born; he’d been so proud that day.
It was hard to believe that this boy, this young man, standing in front of him was that same baby… that he was still his son.
“I… I…” Damian felt lost; out of time and out of place. He didn’t know how to deal with this anymore… he wasn’t sure if he could. “I need time.”
Luke simply nodded. What else could he do? He hadn't expected his father to welcome him back with open arms. In truth, he’d expected him and Noah to be told to leave. So this was something; it was a start they could build on. It was the best he could hope for right now…
…
A week later
“How many people did Charlene think were coming to this picnic?” Luke groaned as he lay back against the picnic blanket, exposing an expanse of bare skin above his jeans as his T-shirt rode up.
Noah grinned over at him and shifted his weight up onto his elbow as the two of them lay side-by-side on a picnic blanket in a secluded copse of trees on the edge of Oakdale woods. He suspected that his mom was trying to make up for what she'd done, spoiling Luke a little at every opportunity she had. Not that Noah objected to the special treatment because it generally ended up being pretty good for him too.
But he certainly wasn't going to tell the blonde that; it might go to his head. “She knew Max was coming,” he chuckled lightly instead.
“Hey! I heard that.” Max's voice could be heard in mock indignation just before a scatter cushion came flying through the air, hitting Noah on the back of the head.
“Ouch!” Noah grabbed the cushion, and twisting, threw it back in the direction of Max’s and Maddie's own picnic blanket. “No dessert for you if you keep that up,” he warned, wagging a finger at his friend.
“Who cares?! I've got my own dessert right here,” he retorted with a wide ‘cat got the cream’ grin before leaning down and capturing Maddie’s lips with his own.
Luke shifted up onto both elbows to peer over Noah’s shoulder at the two of them. “Oh god! Straight people making out! Go get a room you two,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes tight shut against the sight.
“Sounds like a plan,” Maddie agreed breathlessly, pushing against Max’s chest and getting to her feet.
She grinned over at her friend as she dusted herself off. Maddie was so happy for Luke; happy that Luke had decided to stay in Oakdale, that he and Noah were together, and that he was trying to work things through with his parents.. He, more than anyone else she knew, deserved some happiness at last.
Max shot up after the petite brunette, grabbed her hand and led her toward his car… not needing to be asked twice.
“Hey! Don’t worry; we’ll pack up the picnic things for you,” Noah shouted after them.
Max flipped him a one fingered salute, grinning widely. “Thanks, you're a real pal!” he shot back before scrambling into the car after Maddie.
Noah turned back to face Luke, the chuckle dying on his lips as he saw the blonde stretched out with his hands behind his head, gazing up at him.
Fuck, but the guy was gorgeous! He could lose himself in the moment just watching the other man; the dappled sunlight through the trees playing across the blonde tresses and highlighting his beautiful hazel eyes.
“You OK?” Noah asked, reaching out to rest his hand above the waistband of Luke’s jeans, his palm warm against the exposed strip of skin.
“Mmmm,” the blonde murmured, relaxing even more under Noah’s touch. “Yeah, I feel kinda light; like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders.” It was true. Sure, they had a long way to go… he knew that. Things weren’t perfect. It was going to be a long time before his parents, especially his father, came round and truly accepted who he was. But at least they were heading in the right direction.
Noah settled back down next to Luke. “Yeah, I know. Now we have nothing left to argue about!” he teased gently.
“Asshole!” Luke retorted, prodding the older man’s shoulder playfully. “I could always think of something.”
Noah shook his head and smirked back. “Let’s not! Why don’t we think of something we can agree on?”
“What? Like getting a room?” The blonde flicked his eyes down to Noah’s very kissable lips then back up to his baby blues.
“Maybe… later.” The brunette bit his lip suggestively.
“I was thinking more along the lines of you studying something that you actually want to; like Creative Writing.”
Luke sat up quickly, staring down at the other man. “But how? What about money?”
“We’ll work something out.” Noah smiled reassuringly as he eased up next to Luke, draping an arm around the blonde. “You should be able to follow your dreams.”
Luke was stunned into silence.
“So what do you think?” Noah asked.
The younger man just stared in amazement; thinking himself lucky that this wonderful man was in his life.
He leaned over to brush a quick kiss to Noah’s lips, reveling in the fact he felt confident enough to do that outside, even if they were in the middle of nowhere.
Getting to his feet, Luke held out his hand. “I think we should go get a room.”
The brunette wasted no time in grasping the other man’s hand and standing before they made record time in packing all of the picnic things into the truck…
…
Just over an hour later, they were a sweaty, rhythmic mass of arms and legs stretched flat out on Noah’s bed.
“Oh fuck, Noah! Harder… deeper,” Luke groaned into the side of the brunette’s neck, his legs wrapped high around the man’s slim waist as Noah plunged repeatedly into him.
The brunette rolled his hips and shifted his angle, timing his thrusts to perfection to match Luke’s upward arching off the bed; each movement making his cock drag repeatedly across blonde’s prostate.
Noah was close and he knew from experience that Luke was nearly there too. Reaching between their sweat slicked chests he grasped the blonde’s hard and leaking cock; working his fingers over the wide girth. “Come for me. Come for me, Luke,” Noah murmured, his breath ragged, as his lips automatically sought out the other man’s in an urgent open-mouthed, passionate kiss.
Those words of whispered command seemed to be just what Luke needed to hear as the younger man let go and shot his release over his stomach, splattering into the trail of hair below his belly button.
Moments later, Noah followed his lover over the edge, collapsing down onto Luke’s heaving chest as he emptied his release deep inside the blonde, filling the condom.
“I love you,” Noah whispered breathlessly.
“I love you too,” Luke murmured back, wrapping his long arms around Noah's sweaty back, holding him close and letting his legs fall from their aching position to settle either side of the brunette's.
Noah looked up as he felt a low chuckle rumbling through Luke's chest. “What's so funny? You know it's not nice to laugh!” he huffed, his handsome features creasing into a frown.
“Huh?” Luke asked in confusion, staring down at Noah before it dawned on him that the man had misunderstood. “No! Not that! That was outstanding!” He smirked suggestively, running his hand down Noah's flushed back and squeezing the brunette’s ass cheek reassuringly. “It’s those words; they sound pretty amazing, don't they?”
“Oh!” Noah's frown melted into a goofy grin. “Yeah, they kinda do.”
And he said them again, just because he could. “I. Love. You.” Noah punctuated each word with a kiss; the first to his lover’s throat… sucking lightly on his Adam’s apple, the second to Luke’s stubbled jaw… the sensation against his sensitive lips making his spent cock give a half-hearted twitch, and the third, last but definitely not least, to Luke's supple bow shaped lips.
As much as Noah wanted to deepen the kiss and stay buried ball deep in the man beneath him, he knew that this position would soon become uncomfortable for Luke. Ignoring the whine of protest, he gently eased out and disposed of the condom before cleaning them up as best he could with a handful of tissues from his bedside table.
He gently prodded Luke's shoulder to get him to move onto his side, before sliding in behind him and pulling the covers up over both their bodies.
Snuggling together; muscled chest against smooth back, with Noah’s hand seeking out Luke’s to rest entwined on the blonde’s chest, they drifted toward a sated and content sleep.
Before the pull of sleep finally overtook them, both men gave silent thanks that Luke had walked into Noah's garden centre; each man thinking that the other had turned out to be his salvation.
The End.
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