miracle (miracle) wrote in luke_noah, @ 2008-08-23 14:24:00 |
|
|||
Original poster: sweetliked
Title: Take 2
Author: sweetlikeD
Characters | Pairing: Luke, Noah, Maddie
Rating | Word Count: PG | 2966
Spoilers | Warnings: A different spin on their first kiss, so not much of a spoiler.
Summary: A few seconds can change everything. What if?
~*~
Luke walked back with the tie, handing it to Noah.
"Thanks" Noah held it up against his shirt, "Does this match?" He started pulling his collar up.
Luke looked at it, unsure. "Will your dad even notice? Most guys don't."
"My dad will definitely notice," Noah put the tie around his neck, "He'll even notice that my shoes aren't shined." He started frantically trying to tie it.
Luke looked on, amused, "Maybe I should have gotten you a clip on. Hey, don't strangle yourself."
Noah looked at him, "Right now I wouldn't mind if I did." He finished the knot and began tightening it around his neck.
Luke stepped forward, "I can do it." Luke placed his hands on the tie to tighten it, then held his hands up when Noah looked at him. Noah looked at the tie then took a step forward, letting Luke fix it for him.
"Let me know if its too tight." Luke concentrated on the tie, while Noah kept his head up, watching Luke's face. His voice was soft, "Okay."
Luke pulled Noah's collar back over the tie, then looked up at Noah, struck under his intense gaze. "What's wrong"
Noah's eyes flickered between Luke's eyes and lips, "Nothing."
He was coming closer, and Luke knew what was coming. Or at least, he had hoped. A tiny voice was screaming "What about Maddie?" in the back of his mind, but Luke had been imagining this moment since he first realized how he felt about Noah, and he knew he didn't have the willpower to stop this. He wanted, no he needed, to know what kissing Noah felt like. Luke's eyes fluttered closed as he felt Noah's face inches in front of his own.
A sudden ringing and a gush of cold air in Luke's face caused him to inhale quickly and open his eyes. Suddenly Noah was on the other side of the room. 'Boy he moves fast.' Luke thought.
Noah's cell had rung. Luke didn't even need to hear Noah answer to know it was his dad. He could see Noah's shoulders hunch up as he faced the wall, a telltale sign who the caller was.
Luke blinked a few times, watching Noah, and trying to determine if maybe he had imagined what had just happened. Thinking back on what was merely seconds earlier, it felt like a dream, but surely it hadn't been. Noah was confusing him even more than ever. 'First the moment at the farm, now this?' He wanted so badly to make something of it, but he couldn't be sure he wasn't just seeing what he wanted to see. 'I can't deny that i want him to be gay. But just because you want something, doesn't make it true. But we were so close.'
Noah's reaction would tell him all he needed to know. 'If he freaks, then i hadn't been dreaming, and we did almost just kiss. If he is casual and nonchalant, then I must be imagining things again.'
Noah turned around after hanging up. 'There. In his eyes.' Noah was terrified. But there was something else. Luke couldn't quite get a grasp of it though, as Noah looked him up and down, gulped, then pushed past him to leave. Luke grabbed his arm as he passed, not forcefully, but enough to stop him, and Noah turned his head to look at him, his eyes fueled with fire. And not the good kind. It softened for a second, then his face became blank. He couldn't look Luke in the eye. "I have to go. I'm late."
And with that he was gone.
~*~
Luke sat down, playing everything back over in his head again. His stomach rumbled and he realized he could still smell the Chinese he had brought with him for Noah and Maddie.
By the time he was finished eating, there was still enough for 3 people & he still hadn't found any clarity regarding Noah. He had thought about it a hundred ways and no answer satisfied him. If only Noah would just talk to him and tell him what was going on, then he could at least try to get over this straight guy crush.
Luke packed up the rest of the food and walked it to the small employee kitchen. Placing it in the fridge, he decided the best thing to do for the moment would be to wait until Noah and Maddie got back from lunch and then he would have to get Noah alone and talk with him.
Until then, he had to stop thinking 'Obsessing, more like it' about the near kiss and get on with his work.
Noah and Maddie returned from lunch an hour later, the Colonel behind them. Noah had immediately decided to show his father around, leaving Luke with a gushing Maddie. Luke tried being supportive, but it was hard to hear how happy she was with Noah.
Lunch had gone well, and it seemed the Colonel had taken a real shine to her.
Luke felt horrible, but he was suddenly wishing he hadn’t agreed to cover for her. "That's great, Maddie."
His distracted tone broke through her good mood. "What's wrong? You seem upset."
Luke shrugged, and smiled though he didn’t feel it. "It's nothing. Where uh, where is Noah?"
Maddie lit up again. "Oh, he's showing his father around. The Colonel has really started showing an interest in what Noah's doing, he's really happy."
Luke took this in. "Is he?"
"Yeah." She looked at Luke, "Luke, what's going on?"
Luke opened his mouth, then Noah and the Colonel walked up.
"Maddie."
Maddie smiled wide and turned around. "Colonel, hello." Noah walked up beside her and they put one arm around each other.
The Colonel smiled wide at her, then passed a look to Luke. "Hi."
Maddie held a hand up in a motion to Luke. "Oh, um, Luke this is Noah's father."
Luke smiled politely at the Colonel. "Very nice to meet you."
The Colonel kept his face tight with a slight smile, "And you are?"
Maddie let out a soft awkward laugh, looking between the Colonel and Luke. "Uh, he's Noah and my friend, Luke. He's interning with us."
The Colonel nodded. "I see."
Luke suddenly felt like he was being judged. He put the feeling aside, smiling at the Colonel. "How are you enjoying Oakdale so far?"
"I'm enjoying it fine." The Colonel's clipped answer left Luke wondering what to say or whether he should leave. He also wondered what was keeping Noah so quiet.
The silence was interrupted when another intern walked up to them. "Maddie? Have you seen the back up tape for the series you’ve been doing? We can't find the master copy."
She pulled herself from Noah's side, and her face fell. "Oh no. Really?" He nodded, and she grimaced. "Okay, well I'll go take a look for it. Thanks."
The intern left and she turned back. She offered the Colonel a small smile. "I'm sorry colonel, I'll have to leave you and Noah to it, this is quite important. Thank you very much for lunch."
"No need to thank me or apologize Madeline, clearly your work here is as important to you as you are to my son."
Luke watched on, silent.
Noah finally spoke up, "Uh, actually, why don't I look for that tape,"he smiled at Maddie."And you take the afternoon off?"
She moved in to place her hands on his arms as his hands rested on her waist, "Noah, that's sweet, but no, I couldn't ask you to do that. You should spend some time with your father." The Colonel watched their moment, smiling. "Oh that's not a problem Maddie, Noah and I have plenty of time to talk. Let the boy be a gentleman."
Noah looked at his father, taking in his words and the look in his eyes. He then looked back down at Maddie, smiling at her casually to persuade her. "Right. After all, I was the last one to see the original, so it's probably my fault it's missing. I'll call you when I'm finished, and we can meet in Oldtown."
Maddie thought about it, biting her lip. She smiled, "Um, okay?" She laughed, "Thank you." He kissed her lightly.
The Colonel waited till they were finished, then spoke up. "Say Maddie, how would you feel about joining an old man for a coffee?"
Maddie turned out of Noah's embrace and smiled at the Colonel. "Colonel you're not old. But yes, that sounds nice."
"You're very kind. Lead the way." He motioned for her to walk out before him. She turned to kiss Noah one last time, and the Colonel looked on encouragingly.
"I'll talk to you later. Good luck." She turned to Luke. "Bye Luke."
He forced a smile. "Bye Maddie. Good to meet you Colonel."
The Colonel simply nodded as Maddie walked away, throwing one last look at both Luke and Noah before following her out.
Noah walked away with the intern before Luke got a chance to say anything or even make eye contact with him. Luke sighed heavily, watching his back as he walked off.
Walking back into the office and opening his laptop, Luke decided to write more of Invisible Girl. He was just finishing up his 7th re-write when he heard Noah's soft "Oh." Luke turned to see him standing just inside the door. Noah had a look of a deer in headlights. "I didn't know you were in here. I'll leave." Noah started turning.
"Noah, wait. I want to talk to you." Noah stopped halfway, facing neither in nor out. He was holding a stack of scripts, and he looked down at them as he stood there. "Luke I already told you, there's nothing to talk about."
Luke stood up. "That's where i think you're wrong."
Noah took a breath and turned back towards Luke. “Luke, whatever you thought happened, didn’t, okay? So just forget about it.”
Luke wasn’t about to let him go this easily. “Okay Noah, I can forget about it. But will you?”
Noah clearly wasn’t happy with what Luke was implying. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think it means?”
Noah spoke gruffly. “I don’t have time for this if you’re just going to put words in my mouth. I told you before, I’m not...”
Luke raised his eyebrows, “What?”
Noah swallowed, “I’m not like you.”
Luke pressed him. “Like me? You mean gay right?”
Noah was getting frustrated that Luke couldn’t understand where he was coming from. “I don’t have the same luxuries as you. Just because i want something, doesn’t mean i can have it.”
Luke softened. “Why? Because of your dad?”
Noah didn’t like where the conversation was heading and shook his head. “You don’t understand, your parents-” Luke cut in.
“My parents weren’t as accepting as you think.”
“Yeah, but now...”
Luke conceded, “Look Noah, I get it. It’s scary, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself. Or to Maddie.”
Noah’s back straightened. “You leave Maddie out of this.”
Luke didn’t back down. “She’s already in this, Noah. You made sure of that.”
Noah let the comment sink in, then looked at Luke accusingly, “You’re not going to tell her are you?”
Luke scoffed, “Tell her what, Noah? I barely know what’s going on myself.”
“Good.” Noah stormed over to the table, placed the scripts down and moved to leave. Luke moved quicker though, and blocked Noah’s exit.
“Noah, we’re not finished.”
“Luke, get out of my way.”
“No. Not until you talk to me.”
“How many times do i have to tell you, there’s nothing to talk about.”
Luke looked at him sarcastically. “Oh clearly. You’re just upset for no reason at all.”
Noah’s voice raised, “I’m not upset!” He lowered his voice. “I’m not upset. Now will you please just move.”
Looking Noah directly in the eye, Luke stayed firm. “No.”
“God!” Noah turned around and began pacing. “What is it with you? You just don’t give up. You know, just because you want me to be... gay, doesn’t mean i am.”
Luke looked at him with a mix of disbelief and cynicism. “You’re putting this on me? What? You think i turned you with my gay voodoo magic?”
Noah’s shoulders slumped, and he spoke softer, “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Well what did you mean, Noah? Because I’m getting mixed signals here.”
Noah struggled with what to say. “I meant....” He clenched his fists. “Damn it! I’m with Maddie, why can’t you just let this go?”
“Because, Maddie is my friend, and I care about her. And I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“Oh and i do? I care about Maddie a lot. She’s my girlfriend and we’re together.”
Luke shook his head in disbelief. “Fine. Go enjoy your ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ relationship.”
“Hey, that’s not fair and you know it.”
Luke wanted to scream. He wasn’t sure who he felt worse for; Maddie or Noah. “Noah, can you even hear yourself? You tell me you’re not gay or interested, but you can’t deny that we almost kissed earlier.”
That caught him off guard. “I... that wasn’t...” Noah stumbled over his words. “Nothing happened.” He spoke firmly.
“No, but it could have.”
Noah gave Luke a forceful look. “But it didn’t. And it won’t.”
Luke shrugged. “So what? You’re just going to pretend that these feelings don’t exist?”
“It’s worked so far.”
Luke took a second to preoccupy himself with that thought, and a spark of hope flamed within him. Was Noah referring to another time he’d had these feelings? Or about Luke himself?
“And what about Maddie?”
“What about her?”
“You really think you’ll be happy lying to her like this?”
“I’m not lying to her! I told you, I care about her. We make love.” Noah seemed sure the conversation was over, and calmed down. “Look, Luke I’m sorry if mislead you. I certainly didn’t want to hurt you.”
A thought struck Luke and he smirked at Noah. “You know what i’ve noticed? Not once have you actually denied having feelings for me.”
There is was, that deer in headlights look again. “Wh-what?”
Luke took a step towards Noah, who had cornered himself in the back of the room. “Yeah. You keep saying that you’re with Maddie and you care a lot about her, and that you’re not gay, but you’ve never said that you don’t like me.”
Noah seemed to be frozen to the spot. Watching Luke as he slowly took steps towards him. “Of course I like you, we’re friends.”
“Is that all we are?” Luke was surprised at his own confidence, especially since he was trembling inside. He took the last step towards Noah, a sliver of air left between their bodies. Noah was silent, but it seemed to Luke that he was speaking with his eyes. Luke could see a thunderstorm of emotion erupting within him. Fear, confusion, attraction, want, all crashing together. Luke was momentarily hypnotized by the pure magnetism of Noah’s intensity.
Luke’s own emotions were running wild, and the longer the moment lasted, the more his entire world narrowed, until it was just the two of them. He hoped that he was breathing still, because right now his only focus was Noah. the heat he felt in the air between them, his scent mingling with Luke’s, the widening of Noah’s pupils. Each detail blasting through Luke’s consciousness at high frequency.
When Luke saw Noah’s eyes flicker down to his lips, he felt a surge of lust. it blasted through him, fast and thick, clouding his vision for a moment. he licked his lips unconsciously and saw Noah’s lips part as he let out a soft breath of air. It was the most erotic sound Luke could remember hearing, and he knew he’d be hearing it in his dreams for some nights to come. When Noah raised his eyes back to Luke’s they were half lidded and filled with desire. Luke couldn’t stop himself. He angled his head, lifted his chin, and melted into Noah’s space, closing his eyes just as their lips touched. The first connection was fleeting, Luke taken aback by his own actions. He pulled back, preparing himself for the punch or shove that was surely coming. Instead, his lips had barely left Noah’s, when Noah brought his hand to Luke’s neck, pulling him back in.
If Luke’s world felt narrowed before, it felt infinitely smaller now. All he could comprehend was Noah’s lips crushed against his, their mouths interlocking like puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly. Noah’s lips were soft but determined, and Luke began feeling weightless when Noah alternated between capturing his top and bottom lips. Luke suddenly realized he was clenching his fists, gripping Noah’s shirt between them. He felt them breathe together, inhaling each breath the other took.
Luke’s every cell tingled with ecstasy. He never wanted the moment to end. Every day dream and every late night fantasy hadn’t even come close to how utterly mind blowing this felt.
Unfortunately, the moment wasn’t made to last, as Luke and Noah’s passionate reverie was cut short by a choked gasp from the doorway. They broke apart roughly, both turning to see who had made the sound.
“Oh my god.” Maddie covered her mouth with a hand and ran out the door.
“Maddie!” Noah quickly returned to ‘normal’ and charged after her, leaving Luke stunned and silent in the office. Luke brought his breathing back, calming his racing heart. It was the best and worst he’d ever felt. He had no idea what was going to happen next, but he knew that there was no going back.
Everything had changed.
~*~