A/N: First of all, thank you everyone so much for the great reviews. As a present to everyone, I took this chapter in a different direction than I had intended. This was a fun chapter to write, and I really hope you guys enjoy it. Song lyrics at the beginning are from Paris by La Rocca (which was basically my inspiration for this chapter), and chapter title is by U2. Next update should come Tuesday.

Also, this chapter does have mild sexual content, so be warned.

Oh, and I kind of borrowed some phrases from OTH.

Read away!

I'm not made of glass tonight,

And who's been living here?

'Cause there's two of everything,

Said I'm not breaking down tonight

You found me,

It's all you had to do.

He stood in silence, wondering what words would come and break it.

"Took you long enough."

He let out a sigh of relief, and moved quickly to embrace her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, his around her waist. They began to kiss passionately, and Peyton started to laugh. Lucas pulled away from her, confused. She just shook her head, and whispered softly into his ear, "I love you."

He grinned and repeated the words back to her. His legs began to push her legs, his upper body pushing against her upper body. They backed into her bedroom and closed the door. He slammed her against the wall, placing nibbling kisses all along her neck. Lucas pulled her tank top over her head, and planted a trail of wet, gentle kisses down her stomach. Once he reached his destination, he quickly removed her shorts. She reached for his hand, and held their connected hands above her head. She could feel his arousal against her stomach, and could also feel herself beginning to grow wet. They began to kiss again, his tongue pushing into her mouth.

They were rid of the rest of their clothes within minutes, but the next part Lucas wanted to take his time with.

Peyton could feel the coldness of the wall against her back, but that was the last thing on her mind right now.

He slowly pleasured her with his fingers, making sure she enjoyed every minute of this. She returned the favor, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he placed his hands on her hips, she wrapped a leg around his waist, and he roughly entered her.

It had been over three years since the last time they made love, yet it felt like a fading summer, blind faith, a moment of clarity.

--

"Peyton! You awake yet?" Brooke raspily asked, opening her house mate's bedroom door, "Oh my GOD!"

"Brooke! Uh... Lucas was just, uh, uh..."

"Having dirty sex with you all night? Yeah, I can tell," the brunette said with a laugh, backing out of the room.

Having heard Brooke open the door, Lucas was already awake. He and Peyton were back together. This thought made him smile more than he had in years. Well, three years.

"Hey Blondie," he said, attacking her with sloppy kisses.

"Ahh! Morning breath, dude. Go brush your teeth."

"I don't have a toothbrush here, Peyt."

"Use mine. It's the black one."

"Never would've guessed that," he mumbled under his breath.

She laughed, throwing a pillow at him on his way to the bathroom.

After he had left, she began to laugh for no apparent reason.

Do you wanna just.. be happy?

I thought you'd never ask.

--

After Lucas had briefly gone to his house to change out of his grungy boxers and tee shirt, he sat down to write. The words flowed from his mind, almost as if they had always been there. They were melodic, healing. Peyton was his saving grace, his entire soul. And now his world was whole again. Thinking about Peyton, he had an idea. Tree Hill was limiting in activities. It wasn't exactly a bustling big city. They had lain in bed all morning, alternating between talking and making love. Not that he didn't enjoy that, but he thought it would be nice to give Peyton a change of pace. Deciding this, he left to return to Brooke's house.

"Hey baby, you here?"

"I'm assuming you're not referring to me," Brooke said with a smile, "Peyton's at the cemetery."

After seeing Lucas' confused look, she added, "I think she wanted to talk to her mom."

Lucas nodded, understanding. He had been wanting to tell Keith about his reunion with Peyton all morning.

As he walked over to his new girlfriend at the Tree Hill graveyard, he could hear her talking with her deceased mother, and even heard his name mentioned. She jumped slightly when he rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I thought maybe you were a ghost," Peyton confessed with a short laugh.

"Ha. Well, you never know. Hi Mrs. Sawyer," Lucas said, looking up towards the sky.

"I'm going to go visit with Keith, okay, Peyton?"

"Okay."

After they got done talking to their loved ones, they sat down on a concrete bench, and Lucas draped his arm around her shoulder.

"I was thinking," Lucas began, "and I think we need a break from Tree Hill for a while. We could go somewhere, anywhere. See a city. Be 22 years old for a change."

"Where did you have in mind?"

"What do you think about Paris?"

--

Once they had landed in the "city of lights", the first thing both blondes wanted to do was shower. It had been one long plane trip, and they both felt like they smelled rather foul. Lucas came up with the bright idea to shower together to conserve water. Peyton didn't care about the water, but she had no objections.

Lucas had miraculously gotten them a room at the Hotel Waldorf Madeleine. He claimed he just had a way with people, but Peyton figured he probably just had a way with tipping someone extra cash.

The couple dined at Pierre Gagnaire, then strolled along the streets, simply absorbing the sights. They stood in silence before the Eiffel Tower. Peyton couldn't seem to even comprehend how this was all happening. Just days ago, she was fighting outside of Clothes Over Bro's with Lucas. Now, she was in the heart of France with him. He proclaimed his love for her as often as he could, but neither one of them had been brave enough to mention the past yet. Thinking about that night in LA brought a small tear to Peyton's eye. The tears began to fall steadily. Lucas had been stroking her hand, whispering in her ear. She accidentally let a strangled sob slip past her lips. Hearing this, Lucas immediately embraced her with his strong arms.

"Peyton, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"It's stupid, really. I'm fine," in contrast with what she had just said, she was still crying.

"C'mon, just tell me. What is it?"

There was a few minutes of silence before she finally responded to his question.

"Why did you have to leave me in Los Angeles, Lucas? Why didn't you wait for me? Why me, why now?"

She was continuing to sob, and seeing this was slowly breaking Lucas' defective heart.

"Remember right after the championship, when I collapsed? I told you came back to life to tell you I loved you. That's not the only reason. You are my life. Even if we hadn't been together, I still would've come back for you. I couldn't even imagine being in a place where you didn't exist, or leaving you on Earth to fend for yourself. What? Why are you smiling like that?"

Peyton had a serene look on her face, and was staring intently at Lucas. After everything he had just said, she had never been more sure of what she was about to say. And then, with strong conviction, she spoke to her love.

"Marry me."

You know what makes me smile? Reviews (: