A/N: I'm uploading a bunch of old stories I wrote years ago. Hope you enjoy this - feedback is loved!


"When a girl gets married, no matter what the circumstances, it's a special occasion. We can make it special for Ameera."

When Faith quoted Emma's exact words to Luke, he stared at his little sister as though she'd just slapped him in the face.

Ever since Noah first told Luke what he was going to do, a sense of dread started to fill Luke, getting worse with each passing day. No, he can't do this, he won't really do this, he loves me and she's… no one to him. The idea was insane – that Noah would get married to a woman he barely knew, breaking the law in the process, so she could stay in the country. Surely, Luke thought, someone would realize the absurdity of all this and put a stop to it before it was too late. But then, he knew deep down that that wasn't the case. Noah was too damn heroic, too damn kind-hearted for his own good - for their relationship's own good. Luke's only hope had been, initially, that Ameera would say no, that she would refuse to have such a sacrifice made for her. No such luck. She said yes, and now the man he loved was marrying someone else.

Sure, Noah asked Luke if he was okay with it, but what could Luke really say? He couldn't tell Noah not to do it, he couldn't even tell him, simply, how he felt about the idea, because then Noah wouldn't do it out of consideration for him. The most he could do was ask if Noah loved him. Noah said he did. A considerable comfort, but a small one.

If that wasn't bad enough in itself – that he had to put on a stoic face while Noah and Ameera made wedding plans – the evening of their wedding was the point when he was about to be driven out of his mind. He'd expected everyone to look down and depressed, or at least rather serious. After all, this was a sham marriage, and Noah having to sneak around from now on, to give the impression that Ameera was really his wife and Luke nothing more than a friend, was hardly a cause for celebration.

But that wasn't the case at all. No, instead they all seemed to think it was a real wedding. They commented on Faith's bridesmaid dress and Natalie being the flower girl. They were delighted that Ameera made such a lovely bride. Holden ceremoniously asked if everyone was "ready for a wedding". And according to Faith, their grandmother thought they needed to make Ameera's wedding a special occasion for her.

Luke wanted to scream.

He wanted to throw the dishes off the table and rip the flowers apart. He wanted to overturn every single chair on the lawn. He wanted to shout at everyone, to shake them, to make them stop acting like this was real, because it wasn't. Noah was his and this was wrong and the two of them didn't deserve this, especially not after everything they'd been through, and he didn't give a flying fuck if Ameera got deported to hell and back. The fact that Ameera had shown up in Oakdale to mess up all of their lives in the first place because of the man who had made Luke spend several months in a wheelchair did not help.

But that wasn't him. No, he was mature and selfless and wouldn't get in the way of saving a life. He wouldn't make this all about him. He wouldn't shut himself up in his room and start bawling. Instead, he'd stand by Noah's side as he married someone else, because he was the fucking best man. Not Noah's groom, his best man.

The dinner that followed the ceremony wasn't any better. Having to contemplate that this horrible prospect had become a reality, that Noah and Ameera were married, left Luke with very little appetite. As the living room emptied until he was left alone with Noah, Luke wasn't sure if he felt better or worse. Seeing everyone so at ease with what had happened drove him crazy, Ameera's happy smile practically setting his bones on fire. Staying alone with Noah allowed for the illusion that everything was normal; that they'd just dressed up to go out for a fancy dinner. At the same time, though, it made Luke suddenly feel that Noah was distant. It was odd, since, in terms of their relationship, they were closer than ever these days, but he felt as though Noah being married now created an invisible wall between them.

He examined the marriage certificate, resisting the urge to rip it to shreds.

"This might be silly, but… I still hope that, one day, we'll have one of those with our names on it," Luke admitted, trying hard not to think about how far away that dream seemed.

"You and me both," said Noah sincerely. He had to be sincere. Luke believed he was.

"You promise?" he asked, as though to make sure, aware that his voice gave away the smallest measure of doubt.

"I do," Noah grinned, that unbelievable smile that made Luke's heart melt every single time.

They hugged, Luke leaning against Noah's shoulder in desperate search of comfort. It'll work out, it has to. One day it'll all be over, and we'll be happy. Might take a while but we'll get there.

After pulling away, Luke sighed, "Well, I think we'd better call it a night. Sleep well." Smiling faintly at Noah, he turned to leave, but Noah taking hold of his arm caused him to stop. "What?"

The look on Noah's face was inscrutable. He held Luke's gaze for a long beat, as though trying to reach a decision.

"Noah, what it is?" Luke repeated.

Eventually, Noah said quietly, "Come on," and pulled Luke after him. Confused, Luke followed him out of the parlor, up the stairs and into his own room. It was only when Noah shut the door behind them and locked it that Luke realized what his boyfriend had in mind.

"Noah…" he said slowly, rather stunned. "You can't honestly be thinking about – you want to - ?"

"Why not?" asked Noah, sounding fairly calm.

"Now? Our first time on your wedding night?" Luke barely got the words out, unable to comprehend the fact that they were actually discussing this.

"This marriage doesn't mean anything to me, Luke," Noah said firmly. "It does to Ameera. It's her way of getting a visa. For me, it's nothing. And you're everything."

Luke's heart started to beat faster. Damn, whenever Noah started talking like that, when he let go of his fears and was so honest and straightforward about his feelings, Luke turned into marshmallow.

"I know how much I hurt you by doing this," Noah confessed, his eyes downcast. "I never wanted to, but I did."

"You didn't hurt me," Luke tried to assure him, knowing full well how transparent this little white lie was.

"I know I did, Luke, because I know how I would feel if the situation was reversed," said Noah in a rather choked voice. After a deep breath, he regained his composure and added, "Anyway, I don't know how long it'll be before we get another chance to do this. Once Ameera's visa is extended, the ICE is gonna start watching us, to make sure it's a real marriage."

Luke heaved a sigh and raised his hand to his forehead. As much as he would rather deny it, Noah was right. After tonight, they were heading into the unknown. Who knew how long it would be before they could openly be a couple again.

"Please," Noah stepped closer to Luke, closing the gap between them. "Let me show you how much I love you."

And for Luke, that was it. To hell with everything.

He launched himself at Noah, wrapping his arms around his neck, capturing his lips in a deep kiss that laid bare every emotion in his heart. Noah eagerly kissed him back, pulling Luke closer as he held him at the waist.

And once they'd started, there was no slowing down, much less stopping. The clothes were tossed on the floor one by one, clumsily pulled off by two first-timers who just wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible, until their naked bodies were pressed against each other on Luke's bed.

Luke swallowed hard, his breathing ragged just from the idea that he was finally doing this, as he ran his hands along Noah's gorgeous form sprawled underneath him. He bent down for another longing kiss before traveling down his boyfriend's body, finally able to touch and taste and feel every inch of skin, to memorize it and make it his own.

Then it was Noah's turn. He flipped them around, taking his own time to study the sight of Luke naked, the desire in his eyes practically giving Luke a fever. He kissed his way down Luke's neck, eliciting moans aplenty as Luke threw his head back and closed his eyes. He circled his tongue around Luke's nipples, placed one soft kiss after another on the path from his chest down to his abdomen. Considering their bodies had been, until now, foreign territory to each other, it was amazing how Noah could find all the sensitive spots that sent shivers up Luke's spine – the good kind. When Noah nibbled at Luke's thighs, teasingly close but not quite there, Luke thought he might lose it.

"Oh God, Noah…" he moaned, surprised he could even be that articulate at the moment.

Noah suddenly slid back up to kiss him again, taking Luke in his arms, and as their bodies rubbed against one another, after all this arousal, it was a matter of moments before both climaxed. Luke was seeing stars; there was no Ameera, no fake marriage, no hiding and lying, no pain and heartbreak, just him and Noah laying there, their bodies finally joined together the way their hearts had been for so long. "I love you so much," Noah breathed in Luke's ear, before laying his head on the pillow next to Luke's, still holding him tight and close.

After what was probably a few minutes, but could just as easily have been an hour, or two, or five, because the concept of time had become rather blurry to Luke, Noah left the bed to get a towel and clean them both up. Afterwards, he lay flat on his back next to Luke, gently running his hand against the length of Luke's arm. They smiled at each other.

"I know it was crazy to do this now," Noah eventually spoke, propping himself up on his elbow. "But I felt like… I needed to do this. I had to show you how I feel. I just hope the message got through."

"Well," Luke pretended to ponder, "Considering this started out as the worst night of my life, and ended up being the best, I think the message was loud and clear."

They laughed. A few moments later, the expression on Noah's face seemed to turn rather earnest. "You know… the night's not over yet," he said. Seemingly hesitant to continue, he eventually said, "I want to make love to you."

Luke got a small smile in the corner of his mouth. "So do I," he admitted. "But not tonight. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy we did this, but to go all the way… I don't want to do it now. It should be after everything's worked out, not when I know you're gonna have to sneak out tomorrow morning because we broke my grandmother's rules, and that your wife is sleeping a few rooms away from us. I know that might take a while, but I want to wait. At least for now."

Noah nodded, a bit disappointed, but fully understanding.

They pulled on their boxers and crawled back into the bed, Luke nestling his head in Noah's chest. "You know, Mayer, just for the record… I love you too." He chuckled and gave Noah a quick peck on the lips. "Good night."

"Good night, Snyder," grinned Noah, before reaching to turn off the light.

Left to his thoughts, post-bliss, Luke wasn't sure how he was feeling. For one, though, he'd been completely honest with Noah about being happy with what they did. Sure, he'd imagined their first time to be when they finally got their own place and had some peace and quiet, or when they were on some exotic vacation away from everyone, but he didn't regret that it happened tonight instead. Noah's wedding may have made it crazy, but it was also the exact reason they both needed it so much. Besides, when those happy times came, they would also go all the way like he promised Noah, and that was definitely something to look forward to.

He pressed a kiss to Noah's chest before closing his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about how their own wedding night would arrive someday, and it would most certainly not be a marriage in name only but a real one. He didn't know how or when or where, but he believed it would happen; and when it did, it would be worth all the pain it took to get there.

- End