Disclaimer – I don't own anything you recognize, and I'm not making money, so don't sue, please.
*Notes – Once again, many thanks to all of you that have taken the time to review! I really appreciate it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Damian?" Luke asked again, his voice colder than he had ever heard it before.
"Luke," Damian whispered, his voice carrying across the room, "I didn't know you were home."
"So what?" Luke asked, feeling the numb that surrounded him preventing him from reacting. There was no anger in his tone, no shock and no outrage – just a stony quality that didn't hint at what he was feeling. "You just decided, 'Oh, what the hell, why don't I just barge into Luke's life?' What the hell are you doing in Oakdale, Damian?"
"I heard about…" Damian began, but he was quickly cut off by Luke.
"You heard about what? What, Damian – you heard about what?" When Damian mumbled something about Ethan's death, Luke felt the beginnings of emotions boiling within him, licking at his insides and begging to escape. "Ethan? You're here because of Ethan?" Luke asked, his voice slowly reflecting his growing rage. "You find out that my life has been turned upside down, and you decide what? To come to Oakdale and console your poor little ex-Grimaldi?"
"No, Luke! It wasn't like that!" Damian's accent grew thicker, a sure sign he was becoming more agitated. "I was called, and they said you were in an accident and there was a fatality! I had to come make sure you were okay!"
"Who called you?" Luke asked, the sliver of confusion overwhelming his anger.
"The police station; Luke, please listen to me – I want to make peace."
"What?" Luke laughed harshly, a sarcastic tone entering his words as he responded to Damian's plea. "You want to make peace, so you decide to fly here from Malta? Did you think that I'd just give you a big hug and we'd be best of friends? Damian, no one wants you here." Luke rejoiced in the flinch that his words brought from Damian. "Not my dad, not my mom, and as sure as hell not me. So get lost like the vermin you are, and don't come back."
Luke felt the calm he had been maintaining since his incident with his car keys fading, and too many emotions to contemplate filling him instead. Anger, hatred, loathing, and more fear than he would care to admit to were filling his mind. Needing to shake it off and get back to his desperately needed calm, Luke dug his fingernails into his palm until the skin broke, reveling in the sharp sting of pain his actions brought him. He could focus, he could think – he could be in control of something; even if it was just his emotions.
Keeping his hand fisted and increasing the pressure, Luke barreled past Damian and head for the door, needing to escape. "Luke, listen!" Damian yelled.
Barely a foot away from the door, Luke wheeled around to face his 'father'. "Don't you dare order me around, Damian." Luke stated, the passion in his voice causing Damian to take a step backwards in shock. "No now, not ever."
Before Damian could reply, Luke wrenched open the door, slammed it shut and headed for his car, before remembering that he had left his keys upstairs. Swearing to himself, Luke ran to the back entrance to the house and snuck upstairs, grabbing his keys. Hearing noise coming from downstairs, Luke stood stock still, listening. He heard the front door creak open before closing. Realizing that Damian had left, Luke took a shaky breath before exiting the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Noah saw Luke enter Java, his face white and movements jerky, he knew something had happened. Oh god, is it to do with the investigation?
Noah faked a smile and excused himself from the elderly customer he was serving before reaching out and grabbing Jeff's shoulder as he walked by. Noah quickly jerked his head at Luke as he whispered "I have to go see what happened; could you cover for me?" At Jeff's quick nod, Noah gave him a brief smile before heading over to Luke.
"Luke, what's wrong?" Noah asked as soon as he was close enough to the blonde for him to hear.
"Why does something have to be wrong?" Luke asked weakly, the pointlessness of the question astounding Noah. "Couldn't I have just come by to say hi?"
"Not when you're that pale." Noah replied, ghosting his hands over Luke's arms, his concern overwhelming him. "Talk to me Luke, please. What happened?"
"Could we… could we get out of here first?" Luke asked, feeling selfish for asking Noah to drop work, but needing him too much to truly care. "I don't want to talk here." Noah nodded before grabbing Luke's hand and pulling him out of Java, heading towards Luke's car.
"Where do you want to go?" Noah asked. Luke started up the car and began driving as an answer. Noah desperately wanted to ask what was wrong for what seemed like the hundredth time, but refrained himself. He knew his boyfriend, and he knew that Luke would tell him what was going on when the time was right.
Noah was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize where they were going until they were pulling up into the driveway. "Luke… what are we doing here?" Noah murmured, looking around at the cottage. He hadn't been here since his faux-marriage to Ameera, and just looking at the cottage stirred up memories that were better left in the past.
"I needed somewhere to talk to you, and this is the only place I know he won't come… he might be at home, and I can't – I can't take you there if he's there.' Luke mumbled incoherently as he exited the car. Once he saw Noah follow suit, Luke fetched the spare key from under the doormat before unlocking the door and disabling the alarm system.
Noah cautiously followed Luke into the cottage, becoming increasingly worried as he wondered what could be so important that Luke would take him to this place; the house that had been their former hell.
"Damian's back." Luke spat out, as if the words were dying to escape. "He broke into the house, and he's back. Noah, he's here, in Oakdale, and…"
Noah stood motionless, trying to digest what Luke was telling him. Out of everything he had been dreading Luke would tell him, Damian returning was not what he had been expecting. A shard of relief shot through him, shaming him. Here was his amazing boyfriend, falling apart at the seams because of his bio-dad, and Noah was feeling thankful that nothing worse had happened?
"Damian?" Noah asked, confirming a fact he already knew. "What is he doing here?"
"He heard about 'what happened'." Luke said sarcastically, "and he wanted to come make it all better."
"Wait, what? Who told him?" Noah asked, sitting on the bed and patting the area beside him, indicating Luke to come join him.
Luke sat down next to Noah before telling him about the events that had taken place after Noah had left for Java. When Luke finished, he placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands, hunching forward.
Noah had no idea how to handle the situation. Luke was acting so differently than Noah was used to; in control and yet not, angry while being calm. It was maddeningly confusing, and Noah didn't know what to say.
"Do you think... maybe he's sincere?" Noah asked slowly, gauging Luke's reaction. Luke instantly sprang off the bed and began pacing as he answered Noah's question.
"Noah, last time he was here, he tried to send me to a deprogramming facility." Luke began. "He nearly cost me everyone that I love; because of him, I thought my mother had abandoned me. I put her in a coma because of him, Noah." Ignoring Noah's shocked look, Luke continued. "He told me he was dying, and I almost went with him to Malta while my mother could have died on me. He tried to kidnap me – twice. He's a – I don't even have the words."
Noah sat on the bed, knowing that he looked completely shocked, but unable to help it. Lily had been in a coma? What?
Luke continued to pace, and Noah could tell that he was working himself into a frenzy for the umpteenth time in recent days. Knowing that Luke needed to calm down, Noah shoved aside his personal questions and tried to comfort Luke, only to find that his words fell on deaf ears.
Reaching out, Noah grabbed Luke's hand and tried to pull Luke towards him. When Luke hissed between his teeth in what sounded like pain, Noah immediately released Luke's hand. "What happened to your hand, Luke?" Noah asked curiously, knowing that he hadn't grabbed Luke's hand hard enough to hurt him.
"N-Nothing," Luke stuttered out, turning around and walking towards a window in the cottage. Wondering why Luke was lying, Noah followed him before gently grabbing his wrist. Before Luke could react, Noah briefly scanned the back of his hand before flipping it over to the front. An involuntary gasp escaped him as he saw angry red cuts littered across Luke's palm.
"Luke, what happened?" Noah asked, wondering what could cause those kind of marks.
Luke pulled his hand away and curled his hands into fists before crossing his arms. "I fell," Luke began, "on some rocks."
Noah didn't know what hurt more; the fact that Luke was lying to him, or the fact that Luke thought that he would fall for such an obvious lie.
"Luke… why are you lying to me?" Noah asked, hating that he had to ask.
"I – I'm not!" Luke said, his lie painfully obvious. "I was running, and I fell and I landed on the gravel outside and cut my palm up. That's it, Noah." A steely note entered his tone, and Noah wondered what truth could be so horrible that Luke would lie to this extent.
"Okay, okay Luke… I believe you." Noah said, knowing that if he continued to argue with Luke, they would be at an impasse, and Luke would continue to push him away. With everything that had happened; with Damian being back, Noah knew he couldn't afford that.
"Good," Luke said uneasily before turning to face Noah. "Shit!" he yelled, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. "I have to tell my parents about Damian – they shouldn't have to find out like I did. Mom doesn't need that stress…" Luke trailed off as he speed dialed his parents.
Noah watched as Luke informed his parents of Damian's return, seeing the muscles tighten in his lovers face. Luke, you shouldn't have to go through this.
Luke hung up the phone and noticed that Noah was staring at him. "What?" he asked, feeling uncharacteristically shy.
"Nothing," Noah answered softly, "Just thinking about how much I love you."
Something softened in Luke's eyes, and he stepped forward and gave Noah a short hug. "I love you too, Noah." Luke said, "I'm sorry if I haven't been saying it enough lately. I know I've been a pretty crappy boyfriend lately, and…"
"Luke." Noah cut him off, repeating himself for what felt like the millionth time. "I love you, and I know that you love me. I'm not expecting you to be perfect, or have roses and candlelight dinners for me right now. I just want you to let me be with you, and for you to not shut me out of your life." The subtle jab at Luke's earlier lies didn't go unnoticed, but neither man decided to press the matter.
Luke looked around the cottage before abruptly changing the topic. "Noah…" he said, his pretend smile slowly shifting to something deeper as he stared up into Noah's crystal blue eyes. "You know… we're all alone, and there's a bed that's just waiting for us…."
Lust filled Noah's eyes, but his voice stayed steady as he asked "Luke? Are you sure you want to? There's a lot that's going on right now and…"
"Noah, that's why I need to be with you." Luke began, his voice sounding more certain than Noah had heard it in weeks. "When I'm with you – when I'm touching you, it's the only time I feel like there's something right in my world. It's the only time I feel… I don't know, like there's something I can depend on to not change."
Unable to say no to that, Noah walked forward and grabbed Luke's hand, the hand he didn't 'fall on', before leading him towards the bedroom.
Crawling on the bed, Noah wrapped his arms around Luke and locked his gaze on his lips. A soft laughed rang throughout the room, causing Noah to snap his gaze up to Luke's eyes in curiosity. "What?"
"Remember last time we were here?" Luke asked. "With Ameera and everything; we've come so far, Noah."
"I know Luke, and we are never going back to that time, never." Noah smiled softly before leaning down to kiss Luke on the lips.
When he was literally a millimeter away from those perfect, soft lips, Luke's cell phone began ringing, causing the boys to both shut their eyes and wince.
"Can you ignore that?" Noah asked, knowing the answer but feeling like he had to ask anyways. Recognizing the look in Luke's eyes as a no, Noah muttered "Cockblocked again" before releasing him.
Luke's laugh bounced across the room as he ran for his phone. Noah felt heat rush into his cheeks as he realized that Luke had heard what he said, and he fell back against the bed with a dramatic sigh.
Long moments passed, and Noah realized that he hadn't heard Luke talking on his phone in quite a few minutes. He stumbled off of the bed and out of the bedroom, finding Luke sitting on the couch with his head between his hands.
"Luke?" Noah asked tentatively, taking measured steps towards his boyfriend. "What's wrong? Is it to do with Damian?" God, what else could go wrong?
Luke looked up at Noah, and the pain in his eyes sent shock lacing throughout Noah's body. "No, it was Constable Harrington; he was calling about the investigation." Luke said, the calm tone in his words belying his tense appearance.
Casting a glance over Luke, Noah noticed that his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Knowing how painful that must have been, Noah filed the information in his head before squatting in front of Luke and placed his hands overtop of Luke's. "What was he calling about?" Noah asked.
"Kevin's been released on bail." Luke said haltingly. "His parents paid his bail, and he's out." Luke dropped his gaze from their interlocked hands to Noah's face. "Noah, the police said he was doing drugs, too. He was drunk, and high, and he offered to drive me and my brother home. And now he's free because his parents could spring the money. Noah, how is that fair?"
"It's not, Luke." Noah said, rubbing his thumb against Luke's hand. "None of it is, and don't worry; Kevin's going to pay for what he's done, I promise."
"How can you promise that?" Luke asked.
"Because," Noah said, "No one is going to let Kevin get away with what he's done. Not your lawyers, not your family, and not you."
"Noah, do you think… do you think that Kevin made my car break down?" Luke asked, an unsure note clear in his voice.
"Honestly, Luke? No." Noah stated, noticing that Luke's shoulders relaxed the slightest bit at his confession. Thinking back to the election fiasco and Reg's death, Noah continued. "I think that Kevin fucked up, majorly. But I don't believe that he set out to hurt you or Ethan. That doesn't mean I don't think he needs to pay. I just don't think that he instigated this whole thing."
Luke didn't reply, but chose to instead grip Noah's hand tighter. Moments later, Luke broke the silence by saying "The police are fingerprinting my car. They think they might be able to find out who messed around with it."
"Really?" Noah asked, surprised. "Well that's good… isn't it?"
"I don't know, Noah." Luke confessed. "I mean on one hand, I want to know who did it. God, do I want to know. But on the other hand, what if the police are right?"
Noah knew that his confusion at Luke's reference to the police must have shown on his face, because Luke quickly backtracked. "Oh, you don't know about that, do you?" Luke asked.
"Know about what?" Noah asked, sharper than he meant to be. Squeezing Luke's hand in a silent apology, Noah listened as Luke told him about the possibility that someone he knew had damaged his car.
"Well, do you believe the police?" Noah asked, unsure of what else to say.
"I don't know, Noah, I don't know!" Luke whispered. "On one hand, I don't know who would do that. Who would want to hurt me that badly. On the other hand, Noah, what if it was someone I trusted? What if… what if one of my friends betrayed me? Noah, how could I live with that?"
"Luke, it wouldn't be your fault." Noah stated, rushing straight to the heart of Luke's concerns. "How could it be?"
"Noah, if I trusted someone, and if my brother died because of that trust…" Luke's sentence lingered on, saying what he couldn't. "How could that not be my fault?"
"First of all, you don't even know if it was a friend. Secondly, even if it was someone you knew, it wouldn't be your fault, Luke." Noah pressed his point, hoping he was getting through to Luke. "Would you tell me that everything my father's done is my fault?"
"No! Of course not!" Luke said before Noah even finished his sentence.
"Then how could anything a 'friend' did be your fault?" Noah said quickly, driving his point home. "None of this is your fault, okay Luke?"
"Okay." Luke said softly. "I'm sorry. I know we're always going over the same things, all the time."
"And we can continue to go over them until you truly get it, Luke." Noah said, bringing their entwined hands up to his mouth for a soft kiss. "After all, we have nothing but time."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me know what you thought?