A/N: So this is the last chapter of this fic. I want to thank you all for reading this! Your reviews have been awesome. I considered making it longer, but the last thing I want is to drag things out too much! So enjoy! I will have some new stories up soon, so you're encouraged to read those as well. Thanks again!

----

Lucas and Peyton stepped into his room after what seemed like the longest day on record. Peyton yawned as quietly as she could and turned to see Lucas making a show of locking the door and turning off his phone.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh.

"All the things I should have done this morning." He smirked and walked towards her, leaning in for a kiss just as she started to yawn again.

"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.

"You want to sleep, don't you?" he asked. She could hear him smile as he spoke, which made her feel less guilty.

"Do you hate me?" she asked timidly, scrunching her nose. Looking like that, there was no way he could ever hate her.

"Of course not," he said, kissing her forehead.

She smiled up at him and pulled away, turning her back to him as she pulled her shirt off over her head. He stood, dumbfounded, as his mouth went dry staring at her bare skin. Her hands moved to the zipper of her jeans and she turned around to see him staring.

"What?" she asked, pushing her jeans off her hips so they pooled in a crumpled pile on the floor, leaving her in just her bra and underwear.

"Uh...what's...um..." he stuttered, making her laugh.

"I'm just getting ready for bed," she explained simply. "You wanna toss me a tee shirt?"

He and Peyton had once had a discussion about whether seeing a woman in a bikini was the same as seeing a woman in her underwear. He, being a man, had said that of course it wasn't. She didn't understand. He stood by that now. He felt he'd never seen that much of her. It made him want to see the rest.

"Luke," she said softly, blushing as she tried to pry his attention away from her body.

He didn't say a word, just grabbed a shirt from his drawer, tossing it towards her. He watched as she pulled the cotton over her head, fiddled with the clasp of her bra, and tugged it out through the sleeve.

"Stop staring," she reprimanded as she climbed beneath the sheets, hiding her long legs from his view.

"Sorry," he chuckled. Now it was his turn to blush. "Maybe you should stop undressing in front of me."

"If that's what you want," she said, raising her brow as she lay back on the pillow.

"Not really," he replied honestly.

He walked to his side of the bed and she watched him as he took off his shirt. He heard her laugh, and he tried not to be offended.

"What now?" he asked, feigning annoyance.

"I never understood why guys take their shirts off like that," she explained. She'd always laughed at how they all seemed to do it the same way - grabbing the back of the collar and pulling it up over their heads.

He just shook his head, for lack of a better response. He couldn't explain it; it was just what he'd always done. He shed his jeans and pulled back the sheets on his side of the bed to lay down next to her. Her arm was over his stomach almost immediately, and he put his arm around her and pulled her into his side. Nothing had ever felt more natural. It felt like they'd done this for years.

Neither of them said a word for a long while, but they each knew the other was still laying awake. She heard him let out a short sigh, as though he'd been trying to hold it in, but just couldn't.

"Luke," she said simply. She knew that was all he'd need to let her in on whatever was bugging him. He knew that was her way of asking him what he was thinking about.

"Are we crazy, Peyton?" he asked softly, trailing his hand up and down her arm.

"Probably," she said with a chuckle, then her tone changed. "You aren't changing your mind, are you?"

"What? No!" he insisted, pulling her closer to him and kissing her forehead. "I was just thinking about everything we've been through, you know?"

"Oh God," she groaned. "That's a long list."

"Two love triangles," he offered.

"Bar slut a.k.a Nikki a.k.a Jake's ex."

"Ouch," he said softly, knowing that had definitely been an obstacle. "Jake, himself."

"Right," she admitted quietly. "Brooke...again."

"Elli's death."

"Keith's death," she said, rubbing her hand on his chest comfortingly.

"You getting shot."

"Psycho Derek."

"Real Derek," he added sarcastically, making her laugh.

"Your heart attack."

"Psycho Derek...again."

"Lily's birth and your mom's hospital stay."

"Dan," he said softly.

"Joshua and Kate."

"That's a lot of stuff," he said with a chuckle. "And that's not even all of it."

"Maybe the crazy part is that it took all those things to get us here," she pointed out, remembering Brooke's words from that day on the beach. "Like we needed all those things to happen to push us together."

"Maybe," he said. She could tell his mind was drifting.

"What's wrong?" she asked, afraid of what he might confess. She pulled away from him slightly so she could look into his eyes.

"Nothing," he insisted.

"Lucas, if we're going to do this? You have to realize that you can't lie to me," she teased.

"I just don't want to say too much," he explained timidly. "And hey, aren't you tired?"

She laughed off his attempt to change the subject. "Luke..."

"I just...I think I've always known, you know? You and me. The more I think about it, the more I realize that..." His voice trailed, afraid to say the words.

"That what?" she asked, her voice gentle and encouraging.

"That I love you, Peyton. That I've always loved you." He said it as though he was admitting it to both of them at the same time. As though he had never meant anything more. As though no truth had ever been more true than that one. He was terrified to have said it, but he just couldn't not.

She sat for a moment, waiting for her heart rate to return to normal. She hadn't expected that, but she felt such a contentment to know that's how he felt. She couldn't explain it, even to herself, but it was like that's who she'd been waiting to hear those words from for her whole life.

"Do you know who the first boy I loved was?" she asked, taking his hand in hers.

"Ouch," he said softly. "I say I love you and you start talking about my brother."

"What?!" she said loudly. "No, you idiot. You were the first boy I loved."

"I...I was?" he asked. He was surprised. She'd never told him that before.

"Yeah, you were. And I was so scared of that. Terrified. Of course, it didn't help that you were in a coma and dating my best friend when I realized it," she said with a chuckle.

"Whoa, wait. You loved me then?" he asked. Obviously, he'd been completely unaware that she'd ever felt that way about him.

"I thought you knew that."

"No. I didn't. If I'd known that I would've..." his voice trailed. He realized that if he'd only know this 10 years ago, they'd be together now. They'd probably be married and have children. She was right. He was an idiot.

"Would have what?" she asked, running her thumb over his knuckles as she stared at their intertwined hands.

"I would have fought harder. I never would have let you leave me on my porch that night. I would have...I would have done everything differently, Peyton."

She thought for a minute about all the things he'd just said. She would have done it all differently too. Maybe she should have. But somehow, none of that mattered.

"Lucas, if we're going to do this, which we are, clearly, we need to let all that go and just focus on the way things are. I don't want to go back and wonder about all the turning points we didn't have," she said, settling back into his side and running her hand over his chest.

"OK, who's the writer here. Me, or you?" he asked with a chuckle. "You're right, though."

"I know I am," she said smugly.

They were quiet for a while. He was thinking of his sudden declaration and how it was too much, too soon. He shouldn't have said it, but he and Peyton had never been able to hide their feelings from one another. He didn't want to. He wanted her to know. He would have loved if she'd said it back.

Peyton lay there, listening to his breathing, and thinking of those three words he'd said. She felt like, in any other relationship, she would have felt like it was too soon. She should have been scared away, but she wasn't. She still snuggled into his side and draped her leg over his. Then she realized that she wanted him to love her. She remembered how she'd felt as a teenager in love for the first time, and it dawned on her that this was the only time since then that she'd truly felt this way.

"Lucas," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I love you, too." She said it with a quiet conviction to prove how true it was. He just chuckled contentedly and pulled her into his side. "And suddenly I'm really not tired."

"Is that right?" he asked, rolling her onto her back and himself on top of her, causing her to giggle at his sudden burst of energy. "Did Peyton Sawyer just giggle?"

"Shut up and kiss me, Lucas," she growled. He did as he was told.

----

Lucas woke the next morning and reached for a body that wasn't there. He frantically sat up and looked around the room, only to find a note on the pillow where he was hoping her beautiful face would be resting.

Stop freaking out. I'm fine. Went to the office to set things up. Coffee in the kitchen.

-xoxo Peyton

He laughed to himself at how well she knew him. He pulled on a pair of boxers and padded sleepily to the kitchen where, sure enough, there was still hot coffee left in the pot for him. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't there when he woke up, but he was glad she was finally taking steps toward turning her dream into a reality. He stood in the kitchen, drinking coffee and feeling guilty for not being there to help her with things. But, knowing Peyton, she'd want the time to familiarize herself with her new space. He could picture her there with music playing as she explored and mentally mapped out where she was going to put her furniture.

He worked for a couple hours, returning emails and going over some of the pages he'd previously written. All of his thoughts kept going back to her and what they'd done the night before. They'd each said a proper 'I love you'. Every time he thought about it, a shiver ran down his spine. The more he thought about her, the more he was convinced he'd never loved anyone like he loved Peyton. She was amazing. She was everything he wanted. He could see a future with her. He could picture being married to her and having children with her.

After a while, his eyes got heavy. He hadn't slept much the night before, so he decided on a nap. He lay down on the middle his bed in his tee shirt and jeans, and drifted off to sleep fairly quickly.

Peyton drove home from her office, though it was still strange to call it that, feeling like she'd accomplished more than she'd even set out to do. She'd cleared out a lot of the extra clutter that had lined the space and given the floor a thorough cleaning. She'd chosen paint colours and ordered her desk from a local furniture store. She was happy to have done so much. Now, as she walked up the steps to Lucas' room, she felt happy to be able to share that all with him.

She pushed the door open and saw him laying on his bed, one arm on his stomach, one behind his head. He was sleeping. She checked the clock and saw that it was only 3:00. She walked over to the bed and moved so she was straddling him, and leaned down to kiss him. He moaned when he realized what was happening, and his hands moved to her hips.

"Hi," she said softly as she pulled away.

"Hi," he said with a satisfied smile. "What are you doing?"

"Waking up my boyfriend in a very fun way," she muttered, placing kisses on his neck while her hands pushed the cotton of his tee shirt up, exposing his skin.

"Not that I'm complaining, but..." his breath caught in his throat when she stopped kissing him to pull her own shirt over her head. All rational thought escaped his head and all that existed in the world was this beautiful woman on top of him.

"What?" she asked, pressing kisses to his neck while her hands roamed over his torso.

"Never mind," he growled. She laughed as he flipped them over so he was on top of her.

----

They lay beneath the sheets, skin on skin as she curled into his side. They had both drifted in and out of sleep, and neither had said a word since they'd collapsed together about an hour earlier.

"Lucas," she said softly, hesitant to wake him.

"Hmm?" He was awake, but groggy, as he absently trailed his fingertips over her back.

"My condo sold. My realtor called me today," she explained.

"Already? Didn't you just list it the other day?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. And I got more than asking because of the location." She tipped her head up to look at him.

"That's great, Peyton," he smiled, then kissed her forehead.

"So I have to go back and pack everything. I have a month to find a place here and get everything moved."

The thought of her living anywhere but with him put an ache in his heart. He wanted her with him. In his house and in his bed. He wanted to wake up next to her every morning and have her come home to him every night. He couldn't stand the idea of her living somewhere else.

"Stay here," he pleaded. He knew that his tone of voice would show his desperation.

"What?" she asked, pulling away from him and clutching the sheet to her torso.

"I don't want you to go. I don't want you to live somewhere else and split our time between two houses. I want you to be here. With me." He propped himself up on his elbow as he rambled. She would have thought he was crazy if she couldn't hear the honesty in his voice.

"You want me to move in here?" she asked skeptically.

"I know it's way too soon to even be thinking it, but I am. And you've been staying here anyway and I don't want you to leave." He said the last part quietly, almost as thought he was embarrassed to have pleaded with her so desperately.

She didn't say anything. She just turned away from him for a moment and stared around the room. She wanted to share this room with him. She could see herself making him coffee in the morning before practice and collapsing onto the sofa with him at night, feigning interest in a basketball game just to be next to him. She knew that she shouldn't even consider it, but she'd wasted so much time without him, that all she wanted to do was be with him.

"I'm trying not to get scared about the silence, but what are you thinking?" he asked nervously.

"I am thinking that I can't picture myself living anywhere else," she said, with a sense of bewilderment. He pulled her back towards him and kissed her again.

"I don't know what I would have done if you'd said no," he said with a chuckle.

"Did you really think I would?" she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't think about it. I just...I need you," he admitted softly.

"I need you, too, Luke. I've always needed you." She leaned up and kissed him again. "You'll never get rid of me now."

She knew wouldn't ever leave him. She felt a comfort and a security with him that she'd never felt before. She felt at ease and at peace with herself and her life. She could see a future with him beyond just moving in together. The only regret she had was not realizing all this sooner.

She'd just given him the perfect promise. One that he didn't know he'd been waiting his whole life to hear.

"You know? I think I'm OK with that," he said, pulling her closer to his side.

----

-Fin-