A/N: I don't own One Tree Hill. Time Wounds All Heals
Peyton sat alone in her office; the night had seemed to go on forever-just one big emotional rollercoaster. Seeing Luke throughout the night hadn't made it any easier on her troubled heart either.
She felt the weight of her past pressing down on her, her mind kept flickering back to the night where she told Lucas, 'Someday' instead of leaping into his arms and shouting, 'Yes I'll marry you'. How could one moment change the course of her life so dramatically? How was it possible that he had so completely moved on from her and them in just two years? Her mind cast back to a few nights before where she had unleashed her anger at Lucas for leaving her all alone in a hotel room after what felt like a really big obstacle had been constructed and deliberately placed in the way. A stumbling block that quickly turned into the everything block, Luke left, Peyton left and she had never been the same since.
Every day since that day Peyton had tried to fill her time with anything and everything, art music-hell she even lived with someone for 2 years. He was great, he made her laugh and he had the sexiest grin. He would come home from a trip scouting for locations and he would surprise her with concert tickets, weekend breaks where they would just drive-destination unknown. They were young, carefree and this was exactly the type of relationship needed to help mend her broken heart. Julian had been wonderful, but as time inevitably wore on-he just couldn't seem to occupy her heart in the same all encompassing way that Luke had. Peyton had ignored it, Julian couldn't help but dwell on it, she carried Luke's book with her everywhere-he sometimes caught her reading it when she thought he wasn't around. Julian put up with this for six months before he finally couldn't take it anymore. He did exactly what Luke had done, he left Peyton-but he knew somehow she would be okay, he was not the great love of her life and he needed someone to love him that way. He wanted someone to love him that way; he didn't want to be someone else's second best. So he left her and it killed him to do it, but it was for the best.
Peyton looked up from where she had been lost in thought and caught sight of an angry looking Lucas striding towards her.
"Let me ask you something, do you have an alarm that goes off inside your head every time I'm happy with someone else? What do you want from me? I fly to L.A I ask you to marry me, you said no, so I moved on. Why haven't you?" Luke breathed out, his cheeks flushed in anger. Peyton startled by his outburst stood up quickly. It was now or never, fight or flight. She chose the first option.
"Cos I shoulda said yes. Luke I was young and I was scared, and I did not realise that by saying I wasn't ready it would mean that we would never be together again. Had I known that I would have said yes.'
"Peyton."
"No, Luke I miss you every day and I have told everyone here that I didn't come back for you. But I did, of course I did. I still love you Lucas".
"Peyton, I".
She doesn't wait for him to protest, she just gently palms his cheeks and pulls him into a kiss. He pulls back and stares into her searching green eyes and pulls her right back into a kiss.
Lucas tells her he needs to go see Lindsey; Peyton's eyes cloud over. This was not the reaction she was hoping for. She could tell that Luke felt torn, or else why would he have kissed her back. His kiss gave her hope but also filled her mind with doubts, it felt like Brooke junior year all over again. Would Luke choose Lindsey over Peyton?
Peyton watched Luke's retreating figure and felt a heaviness descend over her, she had laid everything on the line, told him how she felt and it looked like he was going to walk away from her yet again.
She went over to her desk and started to shuffle some papers, she noticed the clock behind her desk had stopped ticking. Normally it's not something she would have noticed, but it struck her as being somewhat odd that it had stopped working five minutes ago. The ticking of the clock was loud and she had listened to it on many occasions-it had a soothing effect on her. Given the recent turn of events she had listened out for the clock and when no sound had been forthcoming she had turned to stare at it.
She reached up and unhooked it from the wall; she turned it over in her hands and lifted the batteries out. She put them in a flashlight she had stowed away in her drawer; she clicked the flashlight on and a bright glow filled the room.
'That's weird'. Peyton found it very strange that the flashlight worked perfectly and yet the clock had ceased working all together. She sat down in her chair clutching both the clock and flashlight and started to wonder what was going on. She put the batteries back in the clock and watched as the face of the clock started to morph and swirl, it had started ticking again as well. Peyton watched in confusion as the hands on the clock started to spin madly in an anti-clockwise manner. What the hell was going on? Peyton closed her eyes, hoping she was just imagining things. She held them tightly shut for a few seconds and counted to ten in her head.
When she opened them again, she found herself in a familiar setting. It was the LA hotel room from three years ago. The clock had shrunk and could fit into her pocket, she hastily stowed it away. She breathed in deeply, closed her eyes again and counted to ten. When she opened them again she found she was still sitting in the same armchair in the hotel room-yet she was dressed differently in just jeans, and a tee shirt over a long sleeved top. Peyton had somehow managed to go back in time, she was now more confused than ever. What was she doing here, had she passed out in her office and was she dreaming this?
Peyton lightly slapped herself on the face, the pain from her cheek caused her to gasp. Ok definitely not passed out then. Her gasp had caused Luke to wake up, when he saw Peyton sitting in the armchair across the room, he smiled as he got up and walked over to her. Peyton's features were crossed in confusion, she held a jewellery box clasped tightly in her right hand. A feeling of déjà vu washed over her.
The words 'Oh Fuck', echoed in her mind. It dawned on her that she was reliving the moment where everything had changed for her. This moment had caused Luke and her immeasurable pain; it had left her feeling broken and empty. Could she really have the opportunity to take it all back and choose a different path, one where she got what she always wanted? Or by choosing to say yes would they be happy three years into the future-at the point in time she had just transported from? These were important questions, because Peyton knew by taking a different path, her life would be different. Luke would be different, hell she may even mess with her friend's lives by taking this route. Would Brooke live in Tree Hill-or would she still be in New York running her fashion empire? Would she even have her fashion empire? She had decided to take her company to the next level on the night after Lucas received Peyton's rejection.
A million and one thoughts raced through Peyton's mind as Luke walked towards her. Her heart and mind were in turmoil, she didn't know what choice to make, because every which way you looked at it-one little choice would have a ripple effect. Peyton knew what would happen if she said someday-before Luke had the chance to say anything she stood up.
'Luke, I have to tell you something'. Luke stops walking and stares lovingly into Peyton's eyes.
'What's on your mind Blondie?'
'I love you; I always have-but something very strange is going on here. I have already experienced this day before. I know what happens next. You're going to propose, I'm going to tell you "someday"-by tomorrow morning we will be broken up and you will find out you are going to get published'. Peyton held her breath and stared intently into Luke's eyes looking for signs of shock or disbelief. Instead Luke was looking at her with questioning eyes as though waiting for her to say something.
'Peyton are you ok? You haven't said a word in the last few minutes; you just looked lost in your thoughts'. Luke had been standing in front of her waiting for her to speak; instead of saying all of that out loud she had imagined saying it out loud instead. Peyton pondered the significance of that, if she told Luke she was from the future and had somehow been able to travel back in time-he would think she was crazy or that the pressure of working in LA had reached a crisis point. Peyton gently reached out and grasped Luke's hands in her own, they both looked down and saw how snugly her small hands fit into his slightly bigger ones.
She slowly led him over to the bed and sat down beside him, Peyton knew what she needed to say and do. For whatever reason she couldn't quite fathom right now, the universe had offered her another chance to change her future-she would be a fool not to capitalise on this, with this in mind she began to speak.
'Luke, I love you and I know that being so far away is really difficult for us. But I have an idea of how we can change all that'. Peyton needed a moment to collect her thoughts. During this time Luke had gently squeezed her hand in reassurance-letting her know that he was listening and ready for anything she had to say.
Peyton took a deep breath and dove straight in,
'How about I finish up my job here in a month and come fly out to Tree Hill after that? Peyton already knew her future with Sire Records was not going to give her the career she wanted, but she needed time to get used to the fact that she had the unique ability to time travel. She needed to know if it was permanent-would she be pulled out of her current reality without any real warning or would she retain control over it?
Lucas' expression wavered between overjoyed and bewildered, he felt like he had won
the lottery. Finally they would be together, not just when one of them could get a break and fly out and see the other one for a week or two. His mind began to fill with all the possibilities that would and could become realities if Peyton was finally home again.
He leaned in and softly stroked her cheek as he brushed his lips lightly against hers, she returned the kiss and deepened it, want, need, love and lust all pouring from Peyton as she kissed the boy she loved and who's lips hadn't touched hers in this way in almost 4 years. She felt a few tears gather in the corners of her eyes as the moment and what it meant suddenly started to hit her. She had actually done it; despite the happiness of the decision she couldn't help but feel a wave of despair wash through her. What if this version of her and Luke didn't make it because they weren't mature enough to deal with the pressures that came from the love they held for one another. Perhaps it was the three years apart that had given Peyton time to really understand herself and her strengths. Sure she was still that person only difference being she was 3 years younger, Luke however was the same guy. He hadn't had to cope with losing her-only Peyton carried that pain and it had damn near broken her. Luke had no real concept nor would he if Peyton chose this path for herself.
Peyton decided that she would sleep on it, she could think about the consequences in the morning. Peyton slowly started to unbutton Luke's shirt, it slipped slowly off his body and he remained seated wearing just his dress pants and white undershirt. Not to be seen as the only one wanting this to happen, Luke pulled Peyton flush against his body and lightly pressed kisses to his spot just below her jaw line. She giggled from low in her throat and pulled her head back ever so slightly. She looked into Luke's eyes searching for that look he always gave her, his eyes would turn a shade darker and the expression on his face would subtly change. He always looked like he couldn't believe he was really staring at her, that she was right in front of him and that she was all his. As he gazed into her eyes he saw something there he hadn't seen before, it was a slightly haunted look, as though he were seeing an older Peyton. Luke put it down to there not having seen each other in awhile and that she must have been tired from a long day at work.
He dismissed any nagging doubts from his mind and kissed her lips delicately and slowly, gently easing his tongue into her mouth, she responded with increased ardour and it was all he could to stop himself from letting go. He massaged her lower back tracing patterns against her skin; he could feel her tense up and suck in a deep breath as though anticipating his next move.
He roughly pushed her down on the bed and took his time slowly kissing his way up her torso. Their clothes were quickly discarded as their need for each other kept increasing with every sensuous kiss Luke placed all over her body. Peyton's hands were everywhere, gripping his back tightly as she pulled him on top of her; her legs were spread just a little bit as though she was teasing him. He stopped all his movements and just took the time to hover gently over her and look deep into her eyes. He could see the same love, and lust radiating back at him that he knew he was intimating. She mewled low in her throat and caressed the side of his face with her hand. She ever so slightly tilted her hips upwards inviting him to meet her halfway. Every little gesture or kiss from Peyton made her just that little bit sexier, and damn was she making it difficult for Luke to hold himself together. He felt as light as air and heavy all at the same time, she was as ever intoxicating, his every nerve ending was at critical point and for some reason it felt like the first time they had ever made love. It was gentle, passionate, sexy and then it was just a blurry haze of utter fulfilment as he made love to the woman he knew he would spend the rest of his days with.
He gently lowered himself on top of her and paused just at her entrance, her eyes were bright green with the just the merest hint of gold flecks near the iris, Luke knew this look of hers well-she was aching for him in the same way he always was for her. He kissed her hard on the mouth and slowly entered her, she gasped as she felt him fill the inside of her. He slowly thrust into her and she bucked her hips to increase the pace, he could feel her walls tightening around him as she rode with him. He gasped in delight when she took his right nipple in her mouth and then flipped them over, she wanted to control this, Luke could only smile and reach up to palm her breasts as she bucked against his hips in sheer delight.
Peyton called out his name and her pace increased, Luke matched her thrust for thrust and could feel himself getting close. He reached his thumb between them and gently stroked her; she gasped in surprise and then lent down to softly kiss him on the mouth. He took the opportunity to flip her underneath him. He wanted to slow this down a bit and really make her enjoy herself, she sighed in contentment and called his name out over and over. Luke felt himself closer than ever now and he increased his pace, she gripped him tighter and dug her heels into his back. He called out her name and felt himself release just as her walls started to contract around his length, they both came at the same time and he looked deep into her eyes and silently worshipped her. No words were spoken as they continued to gaze into one another's eyes, Luke kissed her once more softly on the mouth and felt her sigh and smile against his lips. He gently pulled out of her and then pulled her naked body close to his, she wrapped her body around his and they both drifted off into a contented slumber of passion more than well spent.
The morning after their night of ardent lovemaking….
