miracle (miracle) wrote in luke_noah, @ 2008-12-12 07:39:00 |
|
|||
Current mood: |
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Original poster: bluejeanbaby01
Title: The Twelve Days of Christmas
Author: bluejeanbaby01
Rating: G - PG-13ish
Warnings: m/m interaction including illusion to m/m sex, language, schmoop
Spoilers: Not really.
Disclaimer: I don't own Luke or Noah or any of the other ATWT characters. The only thing that is mine is the idea behind this and the words herein.
W/C: - 3100
A/N: This is unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine. And for the purpose of this story, the current storyline does not exist; Luke and Noah are together and they have sex (I mean, they're teenage boys - they're going to find places and time to do it), and they both still live at the farm. Also, I had hoped to post this one day at a time starting tomorrow and leading up to Christmas day, but the week of Christmas I will be where internet has yet to go (shocking, I know) so I'm posting it all at once. But the story starts on the 14th of the month and leads all the way up to Christmas day. Feedback is welcome, even the critical kind.
Summary: It's Christmas time.
One
Luke circled the tree lot and eyed the tall Nobles and the bushy Douglas Firs, his breath leaving him in steady white puffs. He paced back and forth between a nice, seven foot Noble that Emma’s garland would hang perfectly on, and an eight foot tall Douglas that he knew his sisters would love to string popcorn on.
Noah walked up beside him, steaming cups of Styrofoam in his hands, handed Luke one and asked, “Make a decision yet?”
“Thank you, and no. Grandmother would love this Noble,” he pointed to the one on the right, “but my sisters would love this Douglas,” pointed to the one on the left. “Which one do you like?” Luke took a sip from the steaming cup, discovered warm, caramel-y apple cider, and drank deeper.
“Which one costs less?”
“I think they’re about the same. Why? Is that how you pick a Christmas tree? The one that’s cheaper is the one that goes home?” Luke subconsciously moved closer to Noah, trying to soak up some extra body heat. The wind that blew through the tree lot was icy cold and Noah was like Luke’s own personal, portable heater.
“Usually.” Noah noticed the shift in Luke’s position and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him all the way into his own warmth. How Luke could always be so much colder than he was, he never understood.
“Well then, why don’t we just get that Charlie Brown looking one over in the corner? Grandmother’s garland will go around it a dozen times and the girls can save their fingertips from needle pricks and just eat the popcorn instead of stringing it up this year.”
Noah huffed out a sigh in fake annoyance. “Fine. I like that one,” he pointed to the Noble, “I think it will look better in the parlor and the ornaments will hang better on the branches.”
Luke smiled, pressed a quick kiss to Noah’s cheek and caught the attention of the attendant that was just a few trees further down. “Excuse me,” the attendant looked over at them, “we’ll take this one.”
Two
Noah hated shopping, always had and probably always would. But he had to admit to himself that there was something to be said about walking around Old Towne with Luke, burdened down with bags and boxes, that he didn’t mind. He wasn’t sure if it was the enjoyment Luke seemed to be getting out of finding just the right things for his family and friends or if it was just being with Luke and being asked if he thought Lily would like this perfume or if Faith would wear this sweater. Whatever it was, he didn’t hate shopping so much this trip. Even if he was the one carrying all the boxes and bags.
Three
Cuddled under the blanket, fingers laced together in Noah’s lap, they watched as Bing Crosby crooned ‘White Christmas’ to Marjorie Reynolds in one of Noah’s favorite holiday classics, Holiday Inn.
Noah sneaked a glance over at Luke, as he so often did when they sat together to watch one of the older films in his collection, to see if Luke’s eyes were still open. He was pleased to see that not only were they open, but Luke looked to actually be enjoying the film in which the quintessential Christmas song originated from.
When the screen faded to black, Noah turned to Luke, as was custom, in a silent, “so, what did you think?” question.
Luke stretched and uncoiled his legs from under the blanket. “It was good, better than some of the other stuff you’ve asked me to sit through.”
Noah smiled and leaned over to steal a quick kiss before disentangling himself from the blanket to remove the DVD from the player. “Thanks for watching it with me. I always watch it this time of year.”
“You’re welcome, but you did promise that we could watch whatever movie I wanted to when this one was over.” Luke pushed himself off the couch and walked over to the DVD shelf and plucked one off, opened it and headed back over to the DVD player. He inserted the disc then sat back down on the couch, curling back into Noah.
“So, what will we be watching?”
“You’ll see.”
“Is it even something Christmas-y?”
“You’ll see.”
Just then the DVD menu popped up and Noah’s mouth creased into a smile and he hugged Luke closer to him as Miracle on 34th Street started.
Four
Luke couldn’t have been happier than he was at this moment in time. At this exact moment in time, he stood in the doorway to the parlor, watching his family decorate the Christmas tree that he and Noah had picked out.
The girls stood on tip-toe to hang the glass bulbs on the dark green boughs, his dad was adjusting the string of lights so that there were no dark patches, and his mom was trying to keep Ethan away from the candy canes that hung on the branches. But what made him happiest was the sight of his grandmother handing Noah the star, the star that had decorated the top of every tree he could ever remember having, and asking him if would kindly place it at the top.
Once the star was in place, Noah stepped back and noticed Luke standing in the doorway. He smiled that Noah smile and motioned for Luke to come join him and the others in the holiday tradition. Pushing himself off the jamb, Luke crossed the room and joined Noah in admiring the lights and the way they twinkled off the ornaments.
“I see Grandmother gave you the star to put up.” Luke smiled, knowing the significance of this little thing.
“Yeah well, I’m sure it’s just because I’m the only one tall enough to reach it.”
“Well, Tall One, it’s crooked. And that’s not why she asked you. She asked you because you’re family.”
Five
Sweaty limbs tangled together on the short back seat of Noah’s truck. They could barely see the snow falling through the steamed up windows but both were so relaxed and just entirely spent that they barely noticed.
Luke turned his face downward and pressed a kiss to Noah’s slick chest, smiled. Noah tightened his hold on Luke’s waist and sighed deeply.
“Love you, Noah.”
“Mmmmhhm,” Noah sighed, “same here.”
Six
Luke stood in the kitchen of his mother’s house, enjoying the peace and quiet. The holidays are always so busy and loud that moments like this were few and far between. He glanced out over the snow covered driveway then glanced at the clock. Noah’s shift would be ending soon and then he’d be on his way over.
Lily had promised Luke the house for the afternoon. She was taking Holden and the kids to the mall to see Santa and the latest kids’ movie, so Luke had asked Noah to come over and spend some quality alone time before the rest of the Snyder Family Christmas Extravaganza got underway and essentially obliterated any chance of that.
Luke was settled at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of tea and checking his email when he heard Noah’s truck coming up the drive.
Luke shut the laptop and reached the door to open it just as Noah was raising his hand to knock.
“Hey,” Noah smiled, lowering his hand.
“Hey,” Luke smiled back and reached for the lapels on Noah’s coat.
“Wait,” Noah said as he reached behind him and pulled something out of his back pocket.
“What?” Luke glanced up as Noah raised his hand, revealing a few green leaves held together by a red bow. “Mistletoe.” Luke smiled and pulled Noah’s lips to his.
After breaking apart, Luke pulled Noah all the way inside and down the hallway to his old room. He wanted to make sure every minute they had together would count and he wasn’t sure how many minutes they would have.
Seven
Luke’s sharp intake of breath matched the sudden arching in his back. He turned his head to see the sly smile spread across Noah’s flushed face.
“Oh, you’re a dead man!” Luke laughed as the snow continued to slide down his back.
Noah just laughed, a rather high pitched laugh Luke noted, more like a squeal really, as Luke tore across the snow covered ground, flinging handfuls of snow, not even proper balls, at Noah’s retreating form.
Eight
Brunch at the hotel with Lucinda was a Christmas tradition that Luke always looked forward to as a kid. Being able to wear nice clothes and eat off of fancy plates, using real cloth napkins, and drinking his sparkling cider out of a champagne glass, just as the adults sipped the real thing from theirs. But now, as an adult, he was loathe to go.
Now, it meant ties and button downs, jackets and tight shoes. Now it meant having to sit through insufferable conversation with people from the family he rarely saw, and was reminded within minutes exactly why that was.
But this year he hoped it would be different, better. This year, Noah was going.
Luke walked into the kitchen. Noah was at the sink, setting an empty glass down, “Ready to go?”
Noah turned and grinned. “Yeah.”
Luke walked up to his boyfriend, planted a kiss on his lips and smiled. “You look great.”
“So do you.” Luke blushed slightly. How compliments from Noah could still do that to him was a mystery he’d yet to figure out.
“Come on, we better get going. You don’t want to keep Lucinda waiting, do you?” Noah asked.
“Do we have to go? Can’t we just stay here, feign last minute food poisoning and go back to bed?”
Noah moaned against Luke’s neck, placed a quick kiss against the pulse point. “Mmmm, as tempting as that sounds, we can’t.”
Luke gave a small pout that sexed up his mouth almost making Noah change his mind. “You’re no fun.”
“I’m lots of fun, and you know it. You also know that if we both feign food poisoning and stay here, Lily will be here in 45-minutes to make sure we’re ok. And as much as I like your mother, I really don’t like it when she walks in on us.”
Luke let a small giggle slip at the memory of a month ago when he and Noah thought they had the farm to themselves and Lily walked in on them, in the kitchen, Noah bent over the island, Luke behind him.
“Fair enough.” Luke sighed, and moved to the door, lacing his fingers with Noah’s and pulling him along. “Fine, but we leave early and we have to go to our secret place on the way back to the farm and then once there, you have to do that thing you do with your tongue.”
“Deal.”
Nine
Emma is in the kitchen taking the last of the cookies out of the oven. Luke is on the floor teaching Ethan how to play checkers. Faith and Natalie are at Lily’s for the night and Holden is out in the barn working on something that will no doubt end up being from Santa.
Noah sits on the couch, open book forgotten on his lap, looking around at what he can see of the house. It’s warm and smells like cinnamon and gingerbread, the lights on the tree sending a plethora of soft colors around the room. The stockings are literally hung on the mantle, including one for him. And from the kitchen, he can hear the quiet sounds of a radio tuned to holiday favorites playing.
As Frank Sinatra’s ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ drifts in through the doorway, he is struck by an odd urge, but he fallows it. Placing the book on the cushion next to him, he stands and walks over to Luke. He extends a hand down to Luke who is looking up at him, small smile at the corners of his mouth. “Dance with me?” The smile breaks across Luke’s entire face, and placing his hand in Noah’s, Luke allows himself to be pulled to his feet.
And as Frankie started to sing about the olden days, they started to sway, arms around each other, faces buried in shoulders and crooks of necks.
Ten
Noah and Luke sat on the porch, wrapped in Emma’s warmest blanket, not talking, not kissing, just snuggled together for comfort and warmth, cups of steaming hot cocoa in their hands. From through the window they could hear the sounds of the Snyders moving about here and there, allowing themselves to be overcome with last minute holiday stress.
Luke let out a long exhale and closed his eyes, resting his head on Noah’s shoulder. Noah’s arm tightened around Luke before he rested his cheek on top of the sandy-brown hair.
“Luke?”
“Hm?”
“I love you, you know.”
Luke smiled. “I know. I love you, too.”
Eleven
They sat in the truck, engine running so the heater could stay on and keep them warm. Outside the snow was falling and the wind had picked up from the brisk breeze it was early in the day to a near howl. Noah was nervous, really nervous.
Luke sat in the passenger seat, a small red-wrapped box in his lap, the envelope Noah had just handed him in his hands.
“Well, are you going to open it?” Noah asked.
“After you open yours.” Luke handed Noah the shiny present that had been sitting on his legs.
“Please, Luke, just open it. I promise to open yours after you’ve opened mine.” The nerves he’d been battling all day were just under the surface now. He watched as Luke slipped a finger under the sealed edge and ripped it open. He pulled out the folded piece of paper and just stared at it. Noah stopped breathing as he waited for Luke to respond.
“Oh, Noah, this is -”
“It’s too much, isn’t it?” Noah reached for the envelope and tried to take it out of Luke’s hands. He knew that it was too much, possibly too soon.
“No. No, Noah, it’s great. Perfect actually.” He leaned forward and kissed Noah, long, slow, and deep. Everything was in that kiss - Merry Christmas, I Love You, Thank You, and How Did I Ever Get so Lucky to Have You in My Life?, all rolled into one. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Noah smiled and looked over Luke’s face one more time just to make sure it really was ok; Luke’s smile assured him that he’d gotten him the perfect present. Then Luke’s eyes flew open and he reached for the shiny parcel that sat in Noah’s lap.
“What are you doing?”
“Um, I think I grabbed the wrong present. I think yours is still back at the farm. I’m sorry.”
Noah could tell that Luke was slightly panicked. “What’s wrong, Luke?”
“I told you; that isn’t your present. I accidentally grabbed the wrong one.”
“No you didn’t. You taunted me two days ago that this one was mine. So what’s the real problem? Is it your gift? Because I can change it. It’ll just take a couple of phone calls and I can get you something else if you want.”
“No, Noah, what you got me was perfect and I want it. Believe me, I want it more than any gift I’ve ever been given. It’s just that,” Luke looked out the window, down at his lap, then back at Noah, “it’s just that what I got for you isn’t as nice as what you got me.”
“It’s ok. I’m sure I’ll love it. Now, can I please have my present back?” He reached his hand out.
Luke handed it back to Noah, resignation in his shoulders. Noah smiled and ripped open the wrapping. Inside he found a plain white box. He popped the lid open and found a soft, black leather wallet, his initials embossed in silver in the lower right corner. He brushed his fingers over the leather and found it to be softer than it looked. He inhaled the new leather scent and looked up at Luke, who looked antsy, and smile. “It’s exactly what I needed. How did you know?”
Luke relaxed a little but still looked unsettled. “I noticed a couple of weeks ago when we were out to dinner that your wallet was held together with little more than duct tape so I just figured that you could use a new one.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Luke’s warm mouth.
“It’s no weekend away in Chicago, but -”
“Luke, it’s perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you, so much, for my present. We’re really going to have a weekend, just us, in Chicago?”
“We leave a week from Friday.”
Twelve
It was Christmas morning and Luke stood in the kitchen fixing cups of coffee. He glanced at the clock on the wall, 6:07. He let out a huge yawn as he turned to put the cream away. Just then, Noah emerged, bleary-eyed and clothes still rumpled from sleep.
Luke reached for the second cup of coffee and handed it to Noah as he neared him. “Good morning.”
Noah took the proffered cup, drank, “Morning. Thank you for the coffee.”
“You’re welcome. Sleep all right?” Luke let his eyes wander over Noah, raking in the sight of his mussed hair, wrinkled clothes, and only slightly puffy eyes.
“Yeah,” Noah yawned, “until Ethan came banging on my door declaring that Santa had come and that Christmas was here.” He took another drink from his mug before placing it on the counter. He reached out and pulled Luke close to him. He buried his face in Luke’s shoulder and just held him.
Luke breathed Noah in deep, smelling the lingering affects of the soap from his shower last night, the fabric softner that his grandmother used drifting off the shirt Noah wore, the scent of fresh brewed coffee, and the smell of sleep. He pulled back and placed a quick kiss to Noah’s warm lips. “Merry Christmas, Noah.”
“Merry Christmas, Luke.”