A/N: This was done for a challenge over at the Writer's Ranch (Unexplored Love), but I wanted to share it over here too. This would be set around the time of 'Color Blind', without the Jimmy subplot.

"Lou, you alright?" Cody asked as he gave Lou a strange look from across the bunk house table. Lou startled to attention.

"What? Course I'm alright, why you ask?"

Cody looked over at Jimmy sitting on one side of him and Ike on the other; they wore expressions similar to his own.

"Well, not that I mind taking your money, but you just raised and called on a pair of fours."

"Yeah Lou, usually you're wiping the floor with us by this stage of the game." Jimmy said as he frowned and pulled his winnings to him.

Ike gave Lou a knowing and sympathetic look and Lou's eyes immediately fell to the table.

"I guess Lady Luck just isn't with me today... I think I'm going to step out for some air." Lou said as she stood up and threw her cards on the table. She glanced at the concern on her friend's faces and sighed.

"I'll be alright. I was the one that wanted this to begin with. I just need some time to think... on my own. Why don't you all go back to what you was talking on earlier... I believe you was arguing which girl over at the saloon had prettier... eyes?" Lou said with a smile, she knew she'd distracted them when she heard Cody start in as she made her way to the door.

"Jimmy I still don't know why you're so stuck on Delia, Clementine's curves were just made to be held..."

Lou rolled her eyes as the bunk house door shut behind her, and leaned against it for a moment as she breathed in the crisp air of early evening. As much as she loved her fellow riders, they could wear on her nerves. The smells and the talk alone could about drive her out of her mind some days. It had been more challenging than usual lately, now that she and Kid were through. She felt like she had been handling herself pretty well, staying friendly with Kid but keeping her distance too, to show she really meant it this time. It threw her for a loop though that Kid had already started to move on. Even now he was out somewhere with Samantha, doing who knows what. She told herself it wasn't any of her business what he did, never mind with whom, but her insides felt all twisted up anyways.

She looked around the Sweetwater Station yard for familiar faces, but all was quiet. Buck was out on a run, Teaspoon at the Marshall's office and Rachel was also in town, bringing a meal to a woman who had recently had a baby. That only left Noah. He had been in the bunk house with them earlier but had declined a seat to play poker, opting instead to prop himself up in his bunk with a book. It was only when Jimmy and Cody's talk about their most recent trip to the saloon got real detailed did he snap his book closed and say he was going to read outside. Lou gave the boys a glare mean enough to put curl in their hair. They shut their mouths and went back to their cards, but it was already too late. Noah had left.

Lou wondered where Noah was now. Saying she wanted to be alone wasn't exactly true. Maybe she wanted to talk, but talking about her feelings in the midst of a poker game didn't feel right. Now that she thought about it, Noah had seemed a little upset himself. Maybe he needed a listening ear too. She frowned as she wondered where he could have gone; then it hit her as she started to walk purposefully away from the station. She knew exactly where he was.

Noah let his head rest against the tree he was leaning on. He pulled one knee up and propped his elbow on it and left his book face down on his other knee. The stand of trees on the hill was stone's throw from the station and just far enough away to feel like he was stepping away from his life and troubles. Most of the time he was alright, listening to Jimmy and Cody's bull sessions. He could stand going to the town's dances too. It made Teaspoon happy to have all his boys go to the town's functions and Noah usually had Buck to keep him company as the other obvious outsider, standing against the wall, drinking punch. Buck hadn't been around earlier though, and for whatever reason, Jimmy and Cody talking about how easy it was for them to find female companionship irritated him more than it usually did. He felt it would be better just to leave the room rather than explain why he was annoyed. It wasn't their fault there wasn't another colored woman for miles and that the good women of Sweetwater would rather be caught dead than be seen talking to him. He let out a sigh and was about to return to his book when he heard someone approaching. He was about to reach for his gun when he heard a familiar voice call out his name.

"Noah? I thought I'd find you out here." Lou said as she approached him. He looked so serious she felt unsure about disturbing him, but he turned his head and smiled.

"No more poker?"

"My head wasn't in the game, I needed to stop before the rest of em took all my money... mind if I join you?" She asked as she motioned to the spot next to him.

"Sure, pull up a tree." He said as he scooted over a little bit.

She smiled wider and sat down next to him and leaned back. She let her arm rest against his side. Even though the days were warm, the evenings still had a chill to them. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Noah looked at Lou from the corner of his eye. She wasn't wearing her glasses and her hair hung loose about her face, it was amazing to him that anyone was ever fooled that she was a boy. Her expression wasn't guarded like it usually was either.

"Kid?" He asked.

She looked at him surprised and then shook her head.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Mm hmm" He smiled as he nudged her on the shoulder.

"I wasn't ready for all he wanted... I feel like I've made the right choice, so why does the thought of him and Samantha getting all cozy have me all out of sorts? I should be happy he's moving on!" She said, throwing up her hands.

"It sounds like this to me... In secret we met, in silence we grieve, that thy heart could forget, thy spirit deceive. If I should meet thee, after long years, how should I greet thee? With silence and tears."

She turned to face him and blinked a few times, her mouth opened and then shut again. Finally she just nodded, her confusion clear.

"Well... yes, that's exactly how it feels, how did you... Did you just make that up? It's beautiful." She said as she stared at him intently. Noah suddenly felt self-conscious.

"Can't take credit for those words. It's Lord Bryon. He's an English poet. I'm reading a collection of his works in this here book." He said as he picked up the book in his lap. Lou looked down and twirled a blade of grass between her fingers.

"Oh... of course. You must think I'm stupid for not figuring that." She said quietly.

"No, I'm flattered... and I've never thought you stupid Lou, not from the first day I met you... just the opposite, actually." He said earnestly as he tried to catch her eye.

"Really, you think I'm smart?" She asked as she glanced over at him. His dark brown eyes met hers and she let out an involuntary shiver. He quickly put his arm around her and started rubbing his hand up and down her arm to ward off the chill. She felt herself blushing and then looked down again.

"Whoever made you feel like you weren't, that person's the fool." He said.

"It was my father mostly, and a few others along the way... you've got all this book learning, and I don't."

"Well, that's because learning was important to my daddy and he made me read the books. There's a whole world out there in books, where a man can dream he can be anything. Dream for freedom and equality. Then there are books like this one here that talk of friendship and love, but they all feed the soul."

"Don't recollect the last time I tried to feed my... soul." She said with a shy smile, she was beginning to think joining Noah under the tree was the best thing she could have done.

"Well, maybe it's time you start, your soul is too beautiful to neglect." Noah said, but internally he winced. It felt like he was crossing some sort of line. He waited for her to take exception to his words, but instead she just smiled and scooted into him a little closer.

"I don't know why we've never talked liked this afore. You're real easy to talk to and you make me feel all peaceful. More than I have in a long time."

She sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder. She let her eyes half close. The sun slowly dipped behind the hills, leaving a sky painted in pink and orange. A few stars twinkled to life as she heard the evening birds sing.

"This evening is like a poem, from nature." She said, surprised that she voiced such a fanciful thought.

"It is at that." Noah agreed.

He looked down at the woman resting in the crook of his arm and wondered how this was happening. His experience being close to a woman, a pretty white woman at that, was limited. He knew all the riders had thought themselves half in love with Lou and some time or another and he was no exception. He had just forced the thought right out of his head every time it occurred to him. It was an impossibility, as simple as that. Now however, in the magic of this evening he heard a voice whispering in the back of his mind that it might just be possible, a dream not just from books, but for reality too. He swallowed hard and forced his body to relax.

"Noah?" She asked almost sleepily.

"Yes?"

"Could you read me one of the poems in that book?"

Noah paused, his heart started to race.

"Well... there is one I'm thinking of, but I'm not sure you'll like it."

"If you like it, I know I'll like it." She said confidently as she smiled up at him, her eyes bright and cheeks slightly flushed. Noah closed his eyes for a second and shook his head as if to clear it, then he gave her a half smile.

"Alright, let me find it."

Still keeping one arm around her, he opened the book and flipped through the pages.

"Here it is." He cleared his throat as he started to read,

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellow'd to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o'er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!"

Noah finished reading and let the book fall to his lap. The silence fell heavy between them. Lou finally turned to him, wide eyed.

"I think those are the most beautiful words I have ever heard... what made you think to read that one?" She asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

Noah just smiled at her, she could see the thoughts swirling in his mind behind his eyes. She waited for what seemed like forever before he finally decided to answer her.

"This night and how it is... and you."

"Me?" Lou squeaked, "that poem made you think of me?" Without thinking about it she leaned forward in his arms and put her hand on his chest. She could feel his heart pounding under her fingers.

"Yeah it does... shouldn't it?" He asked almost sadly. He braced himself for what she might say in response.

"I... well, I don't know what to say..." She said trailing off. Noah dropped his eyes and stiffened in her arms.

"Right," he said as he made move to turn away.

"Wait," she said almost desperately, she shifted forward and crouched on her knees.

She put both of her hands on the sides of his face and stilled him with her touch.

"I don't have the words... for how that made me feel. I'll just show you." She said quietly, she bit her lip as she looked at him. She almost felt burned by the fire in his eyes.

"Lou, don't you think..." He said hoarsely, even as he reached up to move a strand of hair away from her face.

She shook her head and smiled as she brought her lips to his. She was hesitant at first, then as he started to kiss her back, let the sensations wash over her and kissed him with all the passion inside her. Noah felt like he had lost his mind. He groaned and grabbed her by her waist, pulling her into his lap. The kiss intensified as her hands ran down his shoulders and to his chest and he held her even tighter to him. It was when he heard her moan against his mouth that he came to his senses. He broke away, breathless. He grabbed her hands and held them in front of her.

"Lou, what are we doing, we can't do this." He said harshly.

"Why not... are you angry at me? or maybe... maybe you just don't want me like that." She said as she shied away. Noah muttered a curse under his breath.

"No, that's not it at all... can't you feel how much I want you? It's everything else. You're white and I'm black... and then there's Kid, remember?"

Lou gently pulled her hands away and put them to her hips. She stayed on Noah's lap, but moved away slightly.

"Well first, what about Kid? I'm more sure than ever that I did the right thing, yes this is soon and my feelings are sort of muddled right now, but it ain't like I'm asking to marry you tomorrow, you know." She said in in a huff.

"You're right about that, cause you and me marrying? It's illegal," he said, voice choked with emotion. "Do you know what it would be like if I even did, this," he took one of her hands and laced his fingers with hers, "in public? I could be hung from the nearest tree, and you'd be branded a whore on a good day." He held her hand tighter and felt tears sting his eyes.

"I think people would find it more odd you're holding a boy's hand first." Lou muttered as she looked down at their two hands, she caressed the back of his hand with her thumb.

"I'm serious, Lou." He said, feeling some of the fight leave him as Lou gazed at him with her innocent eyes.

"So am I. I don't really fit "in public" either. I ain't never going to be one of those frilly ladies, and I don't want to be. That whole bunk house is full of misfits and you're a better man than most any that I've met. Don't that count for something?" She asked nearly pleading with him, she saw him open his mouth to protest so she continued, "what about in them books you read. You said there's a whole world out there in those books, talking about freedom and men being equal, right? Ain't there ever been a pair like us in all your reading?"

He let out a little chuckle at that.

"Spose so, it'd be called 'forbidden love' in books."

"That's not fair." Lou said, frustrated tears in her own eyes.

She felt like she had glimpsed something precious only to see it snatched from her in her very next breath. She looked around her and sighed. The darkness of night blanketed nearly all she could see, only the last wisps of twilight clung to the horizon. She smiled suddenly.

"Noah, if someone was coming up this hill, what would they see?" She asked almost cheerfully. Noah looked up at her, puzzled, he could just see her eyes sparkling in the remaining light.

"Two people sitting under a tree I guess, don't know what you're getting at."

"You don't? In this light, I can't see that you're black and I'm white, you know what I see? Two hungry souls... that's it." She said as she dropped his hand and let her arms travel up his chest and around his neck.

"Two hungry... souls?" He said laughing in spite of himself.

"Mm hmm." She smiled as she cozied up to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

He let his chin fall to the top of her head and inhaled her scent that was both womanly and outdoors at the same time. He felt himself giving in to the warmth she offered as he wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a quick squeeze as she murmured her contentment.

"I suppose since it's just you and me... alone, we can be two souls." He said as he kissed her forehead.

"Two hungry souls" Lou corrected as she tipped her head up to him. She felt his breath hot against her skin.

"Yes, ma'am," he said as his lips brushed hers, "told you, you was smart... two hungry souls."

He let go all that was holding him back then. His mouth covered hers now for the second time almost reverently. He felt like had a treasure in his arms and he wanted to feel her, taste her, and not worry about the world outside the one they occupied together. Lou felt a rush of heat flow through her as she felt that even sitting in his lap was not close enough, her hands roamed over his shoulders and down his back as she kissed his mouth, his neck. He let out a growl as he turned his body and pulled Lou down with him to the ground. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose and drifted his hand up and down her side. She giggled as his touch tickled and tantalized at the same time. Lou tilted her face up waiting for his lips to meet hers again, but instead, even in the darkness she could see Noah staring at her intently.

"What? What is it?" She asked, suddenly feeling shy.

He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek.

"I've thought about being with you like this, you know, maybe even dreamed it once or twice. I'm just trying to convince myself this is real." He said as he leaned closer and placed another kiss on her open lips. She smiled broadly as she trailed her fingers up his flat stomach.

"I could pinch you if you'd like, make sure you're awake." She said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm awake..." He trailed off as their lips met again.

One passionate kiss lead into another until Lou wasn't sure anything else existed but the two of them. She felt completely lost in him and she wasn't sure she wanted to be found. Noah was very close to pushing them to a place that seemed too far, even taking into account the special magic the night held for them. He heard a voice in the distance that didn't register until it grew closer and more insistent.

"Lou? Noah? You two out here? Teaspoon and Rachel are back from town and wondering where you are..." Jimmy called from the bottom of the hill.

"Holy cats!" Lou whispered as she broke away from Noah. Noah shoved himself away from her and grabbed her hand to help her up.

"Damn that Hickok, I may just have to kill him, Colts or no Colts." Noah grunted as he brushed himself off quickly and then helped Lou to her feet. Lou let out a snort.

"Don't make me laugh, he might hear us. Here, make sure I don't have leaves in my hair." She said as she turned around, wiped the dirt off and readjusted her clothes. Noah ran a hand over her hair.

"I don't see any."

"Good... com'on I'm going to walk a few steps ahead then you go... we was reading, then talking, alright?" Lou said quickly as she moved to go meet Jimmy.

"Right... I'll never forget this, Lou."

There was something in his tone that made Lou stop in her tracks. She turned and was quickly back at his side, arms around his waist.

"Gotta say this quick. I know this is 'forbidden' as you said, and it will be hard, but can't we just see? bout tomorrow, and the day after that?" Her words came out in a rush as she whispered them in his ear.

Noah paused, there was every reason in the world for there to never be a tomorrow for them. He heard Jimmy's voice calling again, closer this time. He gazed down on Lou's beautiful moonlit face and kissed her quickly, but firmly.

"Tomorrow."

I loved writing this particular little one shot, and the chemistry between these two surprised me. I may have to revisit this pairing at some point, you'll have to let me know what you think and if you'd like see more 'tomorrow' for them. Thanks for reading!