A/N: Thanks for the reviews...hope you like this update as well. :) Pretty much all LP - present day and past.

"So how come it's the three of us going?" Peyton asked quietly as they stood with their bags in the line at the airport.

"Brooke has work.. and well Haley- I'm sure she had something to do.." Lucas trailed off, with a glance at Nathan, who rolled his eyes.

Peyton nodded. "Are you sure this is okay, Peyton? I mean.. I can stay here, you can go with just Nathan."

"I'm sure," she said in confirmation. "Why are you so eager to get out of it?" she asked back.

"Just.. we've been- you and I are-"

"We're trying to be friends."

Lucas sighed. "Yeah." The conversation paused as the three handed over their luggage and checked in. Starting their walk to the terminal, they continued. "It's just I know this is- and is going to be- hard for you... and I don't want to make it any harder by being here."

Peyton opened her mouth to respond as they were called to board their plane to Tree Hill.

"Listen," Nathan interrupted. "If you're going to keep rehashing your past, present, and future relationship, could you do it when I can't hear you?"

Lucas and Peyton kept their mouths shut until they boarded the plane.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

He held back a sigh as he looked at the building in front of the three of them. All three just stood there for a moment, the reality of the moment sinking in. It was warm here, they had all shed their jackets, hung over their arms, with their bags in their hands. A small breeze blew her hair around her face and she shivered a bit. He knew it wasn't from the cold- since it wasn't cold at all.

She could feel his eyes on her. The concerned look he was giving her... she shivered slightly under his gaze. She always did. Probably always would.

Her eyes turned to meet his and he could see the pain in them. The raw, intense pain shimmered there in her eyes. Giving her a small smile, he placed a hand up on her shoulder, firmly, but gently.

He was always there when something bad happened. Somehow, it make her feel better to know that. She didn't know why, or how, but in some way or another, it did. Her eyes filled with tears and he placed his hand on her shoulder lightly, sympathizing with her over her lost mother. But he couldn't sympathize with her over the other things she had lost. The other things she could never have. He couldn't help her feel better about losing him. He didn't know it either.

A tear slipped down her cheek slowly and Lucas swallowed roughly, both lost in the moment.

But then the door opened and the moment was over. Peyton wiped the tear from her face as she turned at the noise, seeing her father in the doorway of their home. The same house that she had grown up in. The same house that held all of her childhood memories- the good and the bad.

Finding comfort in her father's arms, as he whispered words of encouragement, was enough to bring her into full sobs. Her father ushered her into the house, leaving Lucas and Nathan to follow helplessly.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Later that night, Lucas couldn't sleep. And guessing from the wrestling on the floor beside his couch, Nathan wasn't having much luck either. Both of them had been stationed in the living room, while Peyton took her own old room, and her father stayed in his. Rubbing the tired out of his eyes, Lucas quietly got off the couch and made his way to the bathroom up the stairs.

After using the facilities, he intended on heading back down to the couch- but found himself stopping in front of Peyton's door. It was left open a crack, so he pushed it open a bit- just to check on her. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

She was sitting on the bed, her back to him as he stood in the doorway. Walking around the bed, he found that she had headphones in her ears. When she noticed him there, she took them out slowly. "Hey," she said softly, shifting on her bed slightly.

"You okay?" Lucas asked her. He looked around the room, finding the chair at her computer, and sat himself down in it.

His eyes sought her back out. In the darkness of the room, the only light of the room was the moonlight coming in through the blinds of her window. It reflected on her face... made her eyes look bright... brought out the fading blonde of her curly hair.

She sighed quietly into the silence and started to fidget with her headphones. Getting up from his chair, he kneeled down in front of her on the floor, so their heads were about level. He put a hand on her active ones, silencing their haphazard movements. Their eyes locked and Lucas felt his heart jump in his chest. "Do you remember the last time we were here, Lucas?"

He looked around her room... which hadn't changed a bit. The memories flooded back in.. filling his head...

start flashback

Lucas kept his eyes closed, bathing in the moment... in her touch. Her curls were tickling his bare arm, but he didn't move. With every breath her head rose and fell. But he didn't have to see it to know, he could feel her there on his bare chest. The arm wrapped around him securely, holding on to him in her sleep. He could feel it all. He didn't have to see her.

The night before had been amazing. Laying under the stars after consummating their relationship for the first time. Coming back here... having their second, third times... yeah it was a good night. But the morning after was ten times better. Having her here in his arms... with him after all this time. Nothing to hold them back... nothing to stand in their way. They were finally together- what he had wanted all along.

He squeezed her to him slightly closer, fingering her hair in his hand. He still didn't know why he was afraid to tell her that he was in love with her. Maybe it was because he had never felt this way before, with any other person in his life. Peyton was someone that could make him feel safe, wonderful, but scared and vulnerable at the same time. With three words, he could loose her, scare her off. And his heart would be shattered all over the floor. But he had to tell her. He knew it in his heart. And he would do it today.

Peyton's phone started to ring and Lucas started, his eyes coming open and squinting into the blinding sunlight. She moaned and buried her head further into his chest. Lucas looked over to the table to read who it was off of her caller ID. "You should get it," Lucas said gently. She lifted her head up off of him, looking at him groggily. He chuckled at the look on her face, but leaned down to kiss her forehead. Reaching across him, she grabbed her phone, but wrapped the blanket around her body as she went, leaving Lucas with nothing on. "Hey!" he yelled after her, as she disappeared from the room.

XOXOXOXOXO

"You're getting dressed?" Peyton asked as she came back into the room. Lucas had pants on and was halfway through pulling his shirt over his head when he froze at her words.

"Was I not supposed to?" he asked slowly, a slight smirk coming over his face.

"I was hoping you..wouldn't.." she responded, shifting the blanket up further around her as she spoke.

"And why's that?" Lucas asked back as she neared him. She put her arms up around his neck and the blanket fell to the floor. With a chuckle, he leaned down his face to hers, claiming her full lips with his own. He moved the hair from her face, trailing a line of kisses down from her temple to her jaw line. Next was her neck as he backed her up to the bed, throwing his shirt off to the side. He leaned her down gently, his mouth traveling lower to her stomach...then lower...

XOXOXOXO

Peyton sighed contentedly as Lucas took her hand and wove their fingers together on top of the sheet that was covering them. "I think I'm liking this new stage of our relationship, Luke."

Lucas laughed slightly as he kissed her cheek softly. She squeezed his hand in response. "So what did your dad call for?"

Peyton groaned loudly. "Awww, Luke..don't talk about my father when we're in bed...!" She popped herself out of the bed and searched for some clothes.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, now sitting up in the bed.

"You ruined the mood," she quipped back at him, making an ugly face at him as she pulled on her clothes.

Lucas rolled her eyes at her and followed her off the bed to get some of his own clothes. Peyton had provided him with a drawer to keep basic stuff in for the time being, seeing as though he practically lived in her house.

She was finished dressing and stood watching him for a moment while his back was turned. It took a whole lot of self control not to pull those clothes back off and drag him back to the bed... biting her lip, she shook off the urge- or at least tried to.

He was pulling on pants when Peyton 'accidently' kicked out her foot, just a little hard, into his leg. Being still stuck in his pants, he fell over onto the floor with a big thud. He looked up at her in disbelief, his face half-way between annoyance and shock. "What?" Peyton asked innocently. He sputtered for a second at her response, but before Peyton could stop him, he taken her own legs and pulled her down on top of him.

"Lucas!" she shrieked, smacking him hard on the arm. She was know sitting in his lap on the floor.

"Ow..," he exclaimed, rubbing his arm. She smacked him again.

"What are you hitting me for?" he asked, with a laugh. "It's your fault we're down here to begin with..".

"You think you're soo funny, huh?" Peyton asked him.

"Uh-ha," he replied right before he sunk his lips to hers.

Peyton pulled back from him. "So are we ever going to leave this room," she asked with a smirk. "Cause I'm okay if we don't."

Lucas shifted her slightly so she fit better on his lap. "Actually..I made plans for us tonight."

"Really? Where to," she asked as she clasped her hands behind his neck.

"That is a surprise..." he told her as he tucked one of her curls behind her ear.

"Am I going to have to actually get dressed and leave the house?"

"Formally, yes."

"Formally..", she asked in surprise. "What exactly are we doing?"

Lucas shrugged innocently. "You'll see."

pause flashback

Downstairs, Nathan switched positions on the floor for the hundreth time that night. Sleep would just not come for him tonight. Lucas still hadn't come down from the bathroom, so he decided that Lucas either fell in the toilet...or he was checking on Peyton. Bets were on the latter.

His hand found itself on the folded and creased piece of paper in his pocket. He took it out of his hiding place and unfolded it carefully, almost noiselessy. The words on the paper held all the information he needed for the following days, after the funeral tomorrow, of course. He fingered a single word on the paper before putting it back in his pocket- Emma.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Yeah...I remember," Lucas answered, his voice barely audible.

Peyton bit her lip and seemed to be struggling with something, trying to say it, but not saying anything at all. "I- how...I don't understand..."

"What?"

"How can you not hate me...? After what I did...to you..to us.." she asked him, her voice cracking.

Lucas drew his hand back from hers, as quick as if someone had shocked him.

"You should get some sleep..it's going to be a long day tomorrow...", he told her as he rose up from the floor.

"Why won't you answer me?"

"I...can't. I can't answer that, Peyton." He stopped in the doorway. "Go to sleep," he said again, turned and abruptly left leaving a confused Peyton in his wake.

Lucas found himself back on the couch, his heart beating wildly. He had let her get to him- again. This has got to stop. It had to...didn't it? He thought back again to that day..

continue flashback

Peyton was to arrive any second now. Lucas was running late getting ready, due to the fact that it had taken longer than he guessed to set up the scene for their date tonight. Out on the beach, in their designated spot..he had set up a table for their dinner. Lanterns and flower petals surrounded it, and he had even hired a waiter for the two of them. It was to be the perfect night...the night where he would see if she loved him back. If she spent every second of every day thinking about him...if she felt lost when he wasn't within feet of her..if she had never felt more amazing in her life than these past couple of weeks...he would know tonight.

He heard the doorbell ring. Unlike her, he still used his. It was funny how they were both living alone now... at least until his mother came back in a week or so. Moving to open the door, he struggled with his tie..one hand on it, while the other opened the door.

"You are just in time to help me with my tie-" he started but stopped when he caught the look on her face. It was one of pure devastation... she was wringing her hands...her hair was a mess...

"Peyt, what's-"

"A mistake, Lucas? You told Brooke that you and me were a mistake?"

Lucas closed his mouth to respond..but shut it with lack of something to say for himself.

"You did," Peyton said softly, as though she really hadn't believed it before and he had just confirmed it for her. "I guess I made a mistake then, too."

Okay..so that's a kinda confusing update...it was originally in more pieces than that to make more than one update..but I hope it's alright. Ask questions if you're wondering about something, of course. Please review:)