The sound of ocean waves crashing on the sand formed a natural melodic atmosphere and the sand felt warm under his feet as he dug his toes in as an anchorage.

"Our beach…"

Noah nodded, "OUR beach."

"Noah…" Luke shook his head and gestured at their surroundings, his skin forming goose bumps, "This is just… it's… in my wildest dreams I could never…" and then he flopped his arms to his sides, giving up when he couldn't think of any words to aptly describe it, "It's perfect!"

"I know we haven't had a rehearsal," Noah said softly, "but, I figured we'd know what to do once we came to it…"

"I think so too…" Luke bit his bottom lip and couldn't keep his eyes from sweeping up and down the fine-looking man in front of him. The embroidery on Noah's white Guayabera was blue, matching his eyes and highlighting his tanned skin. The shirt seemed to accent all the right areas, hinting at the promise of what lay beneath, "You look incredible!"

"So do you. They were Nat's idea. The shirts I mean…"

Noah was studying him with an expression of complete infatuation.

Luke shook his head yet again, "I keep thinking I should pinch myself because I'm sure I'm dreaming!"

Noah laughed and then pursed his lips, in the way he usually did whenever he was happy, "No… you're not dreaming. This is really happening…"

Luke sighed loudly as nerves and emotion threatened to overwhelm him. He felt suddenly glued into place, and they were content to simply smile and stare at each other in wonderment.

"Excuse me?" the minister interrupted, after it seemed they had lost themselves for a few moments, "Are we ready to begin?"

"Oh, yes!" Noah said, forcing himself to look briefly away from Luke and acknowledge the minister. A few of the wedding guests giggled.

But Noah looked far from ready. That want Luke was reading in his eyes seemed to be consuming him, and just as the minister opened his mouth to start the nuptials Noah stuttered, "Wait! Sorry! Before you… I just need too..." and he stepped forward in a flash, to pull Luke into a vice-like hug.

They giggled until they were crying with delight. Noah pulled back to look Luke over and then kissed him lightly a few times all over his face, thumbing the tears from his cheeks in the process. It had been a full week since they'd held each other and his touch vibrated through Luke's body.

"You're free!"

"We're getting married!" Luke countered and they laughed again.

By this point the guests had joined in, infected by their gaiety.

Noah hugged him so tight and for so long and Luke wanted nothing more than to stay in that warm embrace forever; so it was with some difficultly that he finally uttered, "Um Noah…" He gestured with a nod to the left, "What do you say we let this nice man marry us off?"

Noah blinked and then quickly stood back, arms at his sides, "Oh, yes! Sorry!" he said directly to the minister and then addressing their guests, "Sorry everyone! Yes, please go on…"

Luke felt like he would never be able to stop smiling. Noah was adorable beyond belief and it was obvious their guest thought so too as they laughed allowed at him.

"Not at all!" the jolly man replied, "It's what weddings are all about…!"

They locked ardent eyes.

"Let us begin."

Luke released a slow breath and, except for the sound of waves and the occasional seagull, a warm silence fell.

"Dearly beloved, we come together today to join Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer in marriage, reminding them that it is an estate desired and cherished by all generations."

"It's happening!" Luke thought to himself, "Oh my god! This is actually happening!" He thought about how miserable he'd been that morning, facing yet another predictable day in the stuffy centre, only to now find himself on a beach, savouring the salty air, surrounded by the people he loved and about to marry the man of his dreams.

He smiled as Nicholas decided to stand between them and lean back into Noah's legs, peering up at Luke admiringly. Noah bent briefly so that his hands rested on Nicholas's chest and the boy gripped up at Noah's arms. He stayed there for a time and then ran off to stand with Ethan by Holden's side.

"…with a love that will not waver and an abiding faith in one another, they will now make their vows, as we, their witnesses, friends and family, promise to support them, as they begin the weaving of their lives in an endless togetherness."

As the minister continued, Luke smiled out into the crowd of cheerful faces; he couldn't believe how many people had made the effort to attend on such short notice. Both Grandmothers were seated right up front, John accompanying Lucinda as expected and Emma balancing little Eliza on her knee. Emma dabbed a tissue to her eyes periodically and even Lucinda appeared to have shed a tear or two.

Behind them Luke spotted Casey and Alison, who both waved when he looked their way. Noah must have introduced them to Jonathan, because he stood smiling to their right, trying to keep his attention on the wedding rather than on Maddie, looking stunning in her blue dress. And to their left Luke was ecstatic to see that his cousin Jade had also made it to the wedding.

His eyes recognised other familiar Oakdale faces too. Jack and Carly had made it with Parker, JJ and Sage. Dusty and Janet stood close by with their baby son and to their right stood Lucy and his Aunt Sierra, who he hadn't seen for some time.

He also noted many of Noah's colleagues from work, including Melanie and her husband Jake. He spotted Jasmine and her new man, who Luke had yet to meet and Betty and Gareth.

And of course his immediate family stood right up front, Lily and Holden, now officially together since Holden had moved back into the house. His sisters, Faith and Natalie were both bridesmaids for the wedding. Natalie stood with young Josh and held Mia in her arms. The little girl smiled shyly at him when he waved to her. And then Luke's heart jumped for joy when he realised that even Abigail had made it!

He didn't have time to note everybody, but he knew there would be plenty of time for that during the reception party, so he returned his attention to Noah and the minister.

"Luke and Noah have chosen to pledge their own promises to each other. Noah? Would you like to begin?"

Noah nodded, took a deep and unsteady breath, and instead of addressing Luke, looked out over their friends and family and spoke directly to them, "I insisted that when we did this Luke should stand on my right. And we had a little scrap about it… you know? Because then he started to tease me about wanting to be the girl in this relationship!"

Luke snorted and there was an eruption of laughter and a few wolf whistles from their guests. Noah's cheeks turned beetroot red but he persevered, "But there's a reason why I wanted things this way..."

The crowd was quick to quiet again, anxious not to miss one word of what Noah was saying. Luke cocked his head, trying to anticipate him. Noah had yet to look back in his direction.

"It's because I'm right handed and…" he lifted his palm up to show them, "this is my strongest hand so" he reached out to interlace Luke's waiting fingers in his own, his eyes firmly fixed on their joining, "when I take his in mine, I know I'm gripping on with as much force as possible, so that I never have to let him go and I can pass my strength onto him…"

Their gripped hands were radiating an energy and power that swept through Luke in waves of comfort and joy. He felt a few tears tickle a path down his cheeks and he wiped them away with his free hand. He held his breath as the blue eyes finally rose to meet his in a soft gaze.

"…and hopefully this way I can show him, however symbolically, that I will always be here for him, no matter what. Right here! Holding his hand! Right where I want to be…"

"Awe!" exclaimed a few people and Luke looked around shyly, long enough to notice how almost everyone was either in tears or on the verge of them.

Noah gazed directly at him with a stare so piercing Luke froze in place. "Luke, we both know I'm not great with words… Whenever I speak I get no where near to expressing what's going on in my heart, but I'm going to try my best right now okay?"

"Okay…" Luke whispered in a shuddery breath, completely spellbound by him.

"From the first moment I saw you, when you slapped that pile of paperwork in my arms, I was fascinated by you." Luke laughed a little as he remembered and there were a few giggles from the crowd too, notably from Maddie, "My true heart was closed. I had locked that part of myself down so tight… but… somehow you had the key. You didn't even have to try and you walked right though that closed door and wound up inside here." His left hand came up flat against his chest.

They shared a moment as Noah allowed the words to settle.

"And now this love between us," he took a breath as he sobbed slightly, "this love that you give me so freely, so willingly… has become my home, my safe place and I can't even remember what life was like before you. I promise to be the man who deserves your love…" his voice fell to a whisper "…and I'll never take it for granted…"

Again Noah paused as he fought to compose himself before continuing, "You're my hero, Luke… my best friend and I… today… I give myself to you completely… "

Luke was shuddering as Noah took hold of his other hand, "Luke, I promise that I will love, honour and cherish you for as long as I live, if you'll have me..."

By this point Luke was a blubbering mess, and was starting to wish he'd been asked to go first. He wondered how he was going to get one word out, let alone top the amazing vows Noah had just made to him.

Not great with words?

"Thank you Noah." said the minister, "Now Luke? Would you like to begin?"

Luke nodded, trying to stem the tears and find his voice. He held up a hand to ask for a minute and heard as a number of people took advantage of the pause to blow their noses. Which prompted him, "Um…" he began, "Does anyone have a spare tissue?"

Noah was also welling up but it didn't stop him from sniggering at Luke. It was Lily that stepped forward to help and they had to wait as he composed himself.

"Thanks Mom!"

A hard lump had formed in his throat and he had to linger a while longer. Then, when he felt ready, he turned to address their guests, just as Noah had done a few moments before.

"How do I top that?"

He drank in the love he saw in the faces surrounding them as they laughed at how he, Luke Snyder, appeared to be the one lost for words.

Finally he spoke again…

"When people start to date for the first time they might think they're in love." He shook his head, "but most of them aren't. Most people don't end up with the first person they date or the second or the third even. First dates are like trial runs for the main event, you know?"

A few people nodded their agreement.

"But when Noah and I first met, fate had other plans for us… We weren't destined to share a mere childhood fling… oh no! We were in love pretty much from the start… and… and we were so young! Yet we found ourselves with this unbelievably powerful love between us. We didn't know what to do with it half the time! It was all consuming … overwhelming! And I think… I think… sometimes we just weren't experienced enough or sure enough within ourselves to deal with that level of emotion…"

Noah looked down at the sand, listening intently as Luke spoke to the crowd.

"There's a song I heard once and I'm paraphrasing the band's lyrics here because I think these words might help to explain what I'm trying to say." He paused as he tried to gather his thoughts. He wanted it to come out right… "Back when we first met… the potential of Noah and me was like a book, elegantly bound, but in a language we couldn't yet understand to read."

He gazed back up at Noah and retook his shaky hands, waiting until Noah recovered enough to look back up at him.

"But we know how to read that book now… don't we bubby?"

Noah nodded into his gaze and released a wet laugh, "Yes."

"So here we are…"

Noah visibly swallowed back the nerves and it reminded Luke so much of those first tentative times together that he felt sure his heart would explode with the affection he held for him.

"Things haven't always been easy between us… There've been times when we've almost called the whole thing off… almost given up… But this feeling when the two of us are together… this feeling has always been there, even during the times when we were apart. It's the one thing that has never changed, has never faltered and it's never been broken… no matter how bad things got… not even for a minute."

"And it's why we're still here…" Noah agreed.

Luke smiled softly at him.

"Yes... So, I could stand here and promise to love you and honour you and cherish you… but I don't need too… because being with you is an honour and a pleasure and a privilege that I am just the luckiest person on earth to have." He found himself laughing out loud, "And sometimes I still can't believe it!"

Noah sighed softly, "Me neither…"

"I do love you and I do honour you and I do cherish you and that will never change. That's forever. That's the easiest promise I could ever make…"

It was Noah's turn to cry. Always better at hiding his feelings in front of people than Luke, it was only a few tears that fell, but Luke could see the depth of his feeling behind the eyes, made bluer as he stood with the ocean behind him.

"Thank you Luke." The minister continued, "Now, Noah? Do you take Luke to be your husband? Do you promise to love him from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, and to protect him always? If so, please say I do."

Noah face was washed with amazement at the words he was finally able to say, his hands squeezing tighter into Luke's, "I do."

"Luke, do you take Noah to be your husband? Do you promise to love him from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, and to protect him always? If so, please say I do."

Luke couldn't stop himself from laughing allowed again, "Definitely! Definitely… I do!"

"May I have the rings please?" Aaron stepped forward, placed one hand on Luke's shoulder and reached over with the other to pass the rings to the minster.

Taking a closer look, Luke's eyes widened, "You found them?"

"You didn't exactly hide them very well!" Noah teased.

"Yes I did! The problem is you're so nosey and I can't hide anything from you!"

"You got that right!"

Luke caught his father grinning at the two of them and he smiled back. Silly banter had always played such a huge roll in their relationship and it felt right they should share a few playful words during their vows.

The minister held up his arms, a platinum band in each hand, "These rings are a symbol of the promise made between these two people before me, a promise that binds them together in an eternal commitment."

He handed one ring to Noah and Luke let out a breathy laugh as Noah began to slip it on his finger, "Luke, I give you this ring, as a token and a pledge of our constant faith and abiding love."

"You really DID read my notebook, didn't you?"

"Every word."

The ring felt cool and beautiful on his hand.

The minster leaned over to hand him the final ring and it was his turn to slip a ring on Noah's hand, "Noah, I give you this ring, as a token and a pledge of our constant faith and abiding love."

They couldn't stop grinning at each other as they realised the moment of truth had finally arrived.

"You have declared your consent and your vows before God, state, family and friends. People gathered here, Luke and Noah have given themselves to each other and I can formally announce them as husbands for life. Please show your appreciation by the clapping of hands."

His family would later say that the cheering and eruption of applause was deafening, even outside as they were, but right then, Luke couldn't hear it. In that moment they were totally alone together, wrapped in an overwhelming warmth and love for each other, and revelling in the joy that they were actually… finally… married.

Noah cupped Luke's neck, fixing him with a steady blue gaze and Luke reached up to cup Noah's in the same way. They leaned forward, chests heaving in emotion, to share their first kiss as a married couple. The shudder that went through Luke went through Noah, as though they shared one flesh. It was a sweet, slow and gentle kiss that lasted for as long as they both wanted it too. For in that moment, nothing and nobody mattered but them.

When they finally came up for air, still holding each other gently by the neck, Luke declared, "I'm so incredibly happy..."

It took a while before they noticed the shower of rose petals raining down on them, thrown from the hands of their family and friends gathered round.

Noah's smile reached his ears and he brushed back a few of Luke's bangs that had blown there in the sea breeze, staring at him as though memorizing his face, "Same here."

I hope you enjoyed Another Step...