A/N: I know I should be updating Starting Over, Broken and Are You Happy Now but this just came to me.
Summary: On the night of their twenty fifth wedding anniversary Lucas reflects on falling in love with his wife. AU – Lucas and Brooke got together in Junior year and he never cheated, they remained together through high school, through college and got married upon return to Tree Hill age 21.
Song is Bon Jovi – From The First Time I Saw You
He straightened the collar on his shirt and took a brief glance in the mirror, he grinned at his reflection. Only Brooke would be able to give the final approval to his appearance, particularly as it was difficult to assess his overall look in the tiny bathroom mirror. He softly pushed the door to the bedroom open, leaning casually against the doorframe. He watched as she lined her lips before filling them in with a soft pink gloss. His eyes felt almost misty as he watched her, despite the years he still saw a sixteen year old girl when he looked at her at times. He smiled softly as he watched her hold outfit after outfit up against her body, her little nose wrinkling at her reflection as she imagined wearing each one.
At the mirror you fix your hair and put your makeup on
You're insecure about what clothes to wear
I can't see nothing wrong
The fact it was their own anniversary party they were attending, signifying twenty five years of their marriage and thirty years of being in love and they were running late seemed so insignificant to him as he watched her, still amazed by how beautiful she was and that she loved him as he loved her even after all the years. The truth was he didn't really care about their friends and family waiting for them, he would quite happily stay here watching her forever.
To me you look so beautiful when you can't make up your mind
It's half past eight, it's getting late
It's OK, take your time
He jammed his hands into his pockets as he watched her pull one dress up her magnificent body. He was mildly amused that after countless parties and evenings out he was still happy to watch her perform this routine. He knew her well enough to know that she'd observe around ten dresses held to her body, try on another five and then settle for the first one she tried on. To him it didn't matter that she was just like other women, he'd heard the stories from his friends and colleagues about their wives who went shopping and went to every store before going back to the first, it didn't matter because while they complained he was happy to just watch her. He couldn't think of a thing he didn't love about her, even that she would ask his opinion and then disregard it anyway, using the reasoning that after all she was a designer she knew best what would suit people, it's why she made his eveningwear herself. The fact was that to him she was breathtaking, whether dressed in her finest clothes and with her make up on or as she curled up beside him late into an evening when the children were young and asleep and she was exhausted wearing not a scrap of makeup and his grey hoodie and sweat pants. Since the children had grown up the sweat pants had gone in favour of something just a touch more stylish, she was less exhausted but the Keith Scott hoodie remained. She'd claimed it just weeks into their relationship and thirty years later it still belonged to her. It was still a mystery to him how on earth they ended up here: the school princess and the school outcast. He chuckled to himself at his first real memory of her speaking to him, naked on the backseat of his car, he never imagined they'd be here back then. Admittedly at that point he was still crushing on her best friend. A fact that now he found difficult to believe.
Standing here my hands in my pockets
Like I have a thousand times
Thinking back it took one breath
One word to change my life
He always told people that he had seen Brooke Davis a hundred times, but he never really saw her. She'd dragged Peyton off to a party at Duke and called him to rescue them after Peyton was drugged. Looking after Peyton that night was the first time he really saw Brooke Davis. The real Brooke, not the image she projected out to high schoolers just because she was too vulnerable to show anyone her real self. That night he saw the real Brooke and it changed his life. It changed everything, sitting talking with her was the best night of his like that far. As Peyton began to stir she'd gone to get her a drink of water and made coffee for the two of them while she was at it. As she came back up and found him crouched next to Peyton on the bed she whispered hello and handed him a coffee. As he turned and looked up to her then he was unable to explain the feeling within him but somehow he knew even then that he was looking at his future. From that point on he'd known Brooke was the one and the schoolboy crush on her best friend seemed a million years ago and so immature and lacking of substance.
The first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello
He felt his heart slow as she turned to him, silently asking for his approval on the finished article. She was beyond stunning, to him she was like a fine wine only ever improving with age. Each and every day she became more beautiful in his eyes. He stepped closer to her and wrapped an arm round her waist pulling her to him. His free hand went to her head, pushing her closer to him as he took her lips in a savage kiss. She giggled against him and mumbled that he was ruining her hair and makeup. But she didn't make any real attempt to move away.
He opened the car door and held a hand on to her, she slipped her tiny hand into his as he helped her from the car. As they stepped inside there seemed a ripple to spread amongst the crowd, at just gone nine the couple they were all here to toast were finally here. As people came to speak to them and congratulate them he took the silent route and let Brooke dazzle everyone as usual. She engaged people without spending time with anyone, they were obstacles in her way as she went to her destination. Her smile showed her dimples and he was enchanted to observe her. She turned back to him and he felt her hand in his once more as she pulled him behind her to the dance floor. She wrapped her body in his arms and laid he head against his shoulder. They swayed together, if he was honest he was unsure whether their movement matched the music but for the two of them they were lost in the other and he could not find himself caring that they'd been late to their own party or that they had barely acknowledged the people there so caught up in one another. He was vaguely aware of their friends and family watching them, all knowing oh so well that this was exactly how they were. A roll of each eye before Brooke and Lucas were lost to the world when they were together. Her raspy voice whispered softly that she loved him and he echoed the sentiment to her.
When we walk into a crowded room it's like we're all alone You come to me and take my hand
Everybody tries to kidnap your attention
You just smile and steal the show
We start dancin' slow
You put your lips up to my ear and whisper way down low
Coming home to Tree Hill was the most nerve wracking day of his life, they'd spent three years apart at colleges at opposite ends of the country. They'd agreed to end things at the start of college. It was a mutual decision where they decided that attempting a long distance relationship was a little foolish. That it would be wise to start college without one another and if they met someone else then it wouldn't be cheating and a difficult scenario. If they didn't then they could reunite knowing that they'd both had the chance to experience life and what was out there and their love for one another was what both truly wanted. They'd remained in contact and both had dated others. He didn't ask whether she'd slept with any of the boys she'd dated because he hadn't wanted to know. He knew none of them had been serious and that was enough for him. He'd dated but he'd never slept with any of the girls, none had been Brooke and for him he knew deep down she'd been the one before they'd made their agreement about college. Apart from Jamie's birthdays and Christmases they had not seen one another since beginning college. They'd not visited one another despite being in contact. She had always had internships over summer and so never returned to Tree Hill for the same length of time he did. He knew she had come home to set up her own business now she had graduated and had arrived just two days before he did. He was travelling home with a ring in his pocket. He knew it had been a few months since she'd dated anyone and despite the fact they were not together he had felt sure in his asking for her hand in marriage. He'd not felt so sure of her answer. He'd planned a romantic evening in order to propose. But when he walked into Nathan and Haley's home knowing she was there to ask her to dinner the first time he saw her took his breath away. And he found himself proposing then and there. It was the first time he'd seen her in almost a year and waiting for that evening seemed impossible. She'd looked at him completely surprised and he thought she would probably have dismissed it as a slip of the tongue or some such if it weren't for the fact he then took the ring box from his jacket pocket. She'd accepted. As they'd lain in bed together that night she'd asked why he had not waited for the evening he'd planned to propose. The only answer he could provide was that seeing her in that moment had signalled to him that he was finally home, and he always wanted her to be home. She'd kissed him and told him she would be.
From the first time I saw you it felt like coming home
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello
She slipped into bed beside him and shivered at the cold on the bed, instinctively she huddled close to him for his warmth, as her body heated up she relaxed against him. Lazily drawing circles on his chest with her fingernail. Her head rested on his shoulder and he turned to lay a kiss on her hair. It was at moments like this, when it was just the two of them in their own world that he was content to remember, remember all the firsts he'd shared with this woman next to him. First sexual experience, first girlfriend, first love – or only depending on your point of view. She was his everything, and he had been lost to her since the first time he'd really seen Brooke Davis. All it took was a cup of coffee and her breathy raspy voice whispering 'hello.'
And when you're laying down beside me The first time I saw you it felt like coming home
I feel your heartbeat to remind me...
If I never told you I just want you to know
You had me from hello
From hello