Well, this is the chapter I have been wanting to write since I started this story.

For inspiration I listened to Close Your Eyes (Angel and Buffy's Love Theme) by Christophe Beck on repeat. I suggest you all listen to it if you can. It's in the scene in the Season Finale of Season 2 when Angelus becomes Angel again and Buffy has to kill him anyway. I just showed my geek, didn't I? Here's a link to it on Youtube. Just take the spaces out of the URL.

http:// www. youtube. com/watch?v=Q5C92qy7mX8

Make sure you grab some kleenex.

AND ENJOY!!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

In the Garden

"Hi Luke," Noah said and he saw Luke shoulders tense slightly. Noah could feel the nervousness in his stomach knotting tighter and tighter. His hands were shaking and sweating profusely. He shoved his hands into his pockets, to hide them. He was glad that it was still a little brisk outside. The cold air was keeping him from overheating. This was the same feeling he had the second time he kissed Luke. Just them in the office at WOAK, right before his dad walked in. The way that Luke looked at him sent his temperature through the roof. Now it was just them in a garden in Chicago. Luke turned to face Noah and that smile. That smile would be the death of him; he just knew it.

"Hi Noah,"

"Can I sit with you?" Noah asked as he gestured toward the bench facing Luke's.

"Oh, huh? Yeah. Of course," he was stammering. Luke hated that, but of course Noah loved it. Noah had always been nervous around Luke. That was how Noah saw him. Luke was the confident guy who was always himself. It was Noah that was scared and took far too long to accept himself. So Luke's confidence always made Noah nervous. Even after they started dating, Noah was always a bit nervous around him. Luke never tried to intimidate him. Noah was always nervous that Luke would wake up one day and find someone with less baggage and wasn't afraid to be himself or express how he felt.

Lily was standing in Luke's room; looking down at the gardens. She could see her son sitting on the bench and Noah was standing next to him. She hoped that they would finally talk about everything that they had not said. Holden came up behind his ex-wife and rested his hands on her shoulders. Lily leaned back slightly into his body.

"Come on. Leave them alone for a little while. They've earned this," Holden whispered and Lily turned to face him.

"You're right," she said and they both walked away from the window.

Noah sat down and leaned back slightly. His knees were a mere six inches from Luke's. This was the closest they had been in quite some time; without a hospital bed being involved. Luke was wringing his hands, but he was careful to keep them hidden under his robe. They looked at each other, but they were too nervous to know where to go. But of course it was Luke who spoke first.

"Well, it looks like I missed most of spring,"

"Yeah, it's warmer every day. I'm surprised by how cool it is today," Noah said trying to keep the small talk going. "How are you feeling? Are you warm enough?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My dad kept my mom distracted so I could sneak out here. You know how I…"

"Hate being cooped up," they both finished Luke's sentence. This elicited a laugh from Luke and a smile from Noah.

"How are you feeling?" Luke asked. He had been really worried about Noah since he would out about the surgery. Well both of them actually, but the last one had him real tense. For obvious reasons.

"Good. The doctor discharged me a couple days ago. I've been staying at your apartment. That's ok, isn't? I mean if it's not,"

"No. That's fine. You can stay as long as you want," Luke said and he could see Noah relax just a bit. A silence spread between them again. But Luke had to ask Noah something.

Something that Noah had to answer.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"I mean, why? Why did you?" Luke asked and Noah could see tears welling up in his eyes. Noah took a deep breath and let it out. It was time. He pulled a leaf off a nearby plant and started to fiddle with it; running it through his fingers.

"Did I, did I ever tell you that I fell in love with you the moment I saw you? I mean, you came into the office at WOAK and you were so pissed at me and you hadn't even met me yet," Noah laughed at the thought and kept going. "But when you came in and looked at me. You were wearing that a, that black shirt with the grey stripes. My breath caught in my throat and I was so glad that you didn't shake my hand, because it was so sweaty," Luke smiled at that confession. "Instead you just shoved those scripts at me. You were so short with me and I couldn't help but think, 'Great. Some first impression'. I was glad that Maddie took me out of the office so I didn't embarrass myself even more. I never told you that did I?" Noah said and all Luke could do was shake his head. The man that was never without something to say was speechless.

Noah took his silence as a 'please continue'.

"I am so glad that I moved to Oakdale. I mean I know I've made you think, so many times, that I wished I hadn't, but the truth is, I was and still am, glad that I did. Do you have any idea what my life would be like now if I hadn't?" Noah had to stop when his mind thought about how things would be different. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and kept going. "I probably would have enlisted. I would be in the Army, right now. I probably would have married some girl, any girl that I think my dad would have approved of. I would be miserable. Living a lie that I was too afraid to fight against. You gave me so much strength and you still do. I never would have been able to stand up to my father if it hadn't been for you. And I know that I told you that so many times, but its true Luke. My dad would still be running my life if I hadn't met you. You in all of your annoying, persistent glory. Being blind, all you can do is think and I have been thinking about us a lot. Especially since you left. It's odd how you depend on someone for strength, and then suddenly all the strength is gone, and you're alone. I borrowed that from a movie, but it's true," Luke laughed and leaned forward slightly. Noah smiled and he pressed his luck by taking Luke's hands in his. Luke's jaw clenched as he tried to keep himself calm. He wanted to say so many things, but he wanted to let Noah finish first.

"I felt so lost after you left. All my thoughts were about you. Before you left I was cruel to you; over and over again. When I realized that I couldn't see, the first thing I thought of was Luke's going to leave me," Luke recoiled slightly and was about to contradict him, but Noah kept talking. "That was what I thought anyway. I thought, if I push him away and he leaves, then it would hurt less in the long run. I always thought that I was less than you deserved anyway and now that I couldn't see, I thought that you would realize it too. I was hurting and I wanted to hurt you too. I am so sorry that I did those things. I'm sorry that I ignored you. I'm sorry, that I didn't realize that you were sick. I'm sorry that I treated you like you were worth less to me. You never were,"

Noah took in another deep breath; hoping to quell the tears that he had been fighting since he sat down.

"I came to see you. The day that you were in the coffee shop. I saw you come out of your building," shock spread across Luke's face. That was the day that Luke had decided to go to Oakdale to see him, but Noah beat him to it. "Lucinda gave me your address and I flew in to see you. I saw you and I just froze. I realized it was the first time since I had seen you since the accident and you looked so good," Luke blushed slightly and Noah thought he looked so adorable when he did that. "But I freaked out. I followed you to the coffee shop and sat across the way and watched you. I was trying to work up the courage to talk to you then I saw Scott come over to you and I thought, 'I blew it. He's moved on'," Luke took a sharp breath, started to shake his head no, and wanted to contradict Noah. Noah could read Luke so well and beat him to it. "I know that Scott's just a friend, but that was what I was thinking. So I just left. I wanted to just get away. I didn't want to hear the words; to hear you tell me that you had started to see someone else. Then when Lily called me and told me that you were sick and the only place I wanted to be was with you,"

Noah had to keep reminding himself to breathe.

"The reason that I had the surgery and gave you one of my kidneys is because you saved me Luke," Luke's face showed how confused he was by that statement. Noah continued.

"The day I met you. The first time I kissed you. The second time we kissed. Every single day since then, you have saved me. Thinking about how my life would have been different, I can't help but think that no matter how hard I would have tried to be happy, I just, I just, I just wouldn't have been, if I hadn't met you. You helped me realize who I truly am and accept it. Part of me even wonders if I would've been able to live at all," Luke could not help but squeeze Noah's hands tighter. Noah felt Luke's warm hands get tighter and he pulled from Luke's strength. "I love you Luke. I have since the day I met you and I do right now. I know that I may have screwed everything up, but I needed you to know that,"

"I love you too. Noah, I don't know what to say except I love you too,"

Noah leaned forward and pulled Luke to him. Their lips met and neither one wanted to let go. Luke and Noah poured everything that they had been holding back for the last six months into that kiss. Luke thought that he would go the rest of his life without being able to kiss Noah again. Noah held Luke's face in his hands while Luke wrapped his arms around Noah's neck. Noah could feel tears from Luke's eyes sliding over his fingers as they trailed down Luke's cheeks. All he could do was deepen the kiss and show Luke just how much he wanted him. Noah kneeled in front of Luke and settled between the blonde's knees. Luke broke the kiss first when he needed to breathe, but he did not pull away. He pulled Noah's body to his and buried his face in Noah's neck. He whispered I love you over and over. Noah felt himself relax into Luke. He wrapped one arm around Luke's waist, his hand resting on Luke's ribs, and his other hand got lost in the hair at the nape of Luke's neck. Normally Noah would have been embarrassed to show affection so publicly, but he no longer cared. He had Luke and that was all that mattered right now.

Luke pulled back slightly and rested his forehead against Noah's. He took Noah's face in his hands and lightly rubbed his thumbs against Noah's cheeks. Noah felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

"I have thought of nothing but you since I left," Luke whispered; his lips were just a hairs breath away from Noah's.

"I know, I ah, read your letters," Noah winced as the words came out.

"No you didn't,"

"I'm sorry, but it was an accident, at first, and then I just had to read them,"

"Shh. It's ok. Really. They were things that I should have said to you. A long time ago," Luke knew that he should be mad about Noah reading his letters, but right now…it just didn't matter.

"Yeah. We do have a lot to talk about, but do you think we could skip that for now and go back to the kissing part?" Noah asked; playfully arching his eyebrows.

Luke laughed and leaned back in, clasping onto Noah's lower lip and pulling him flush against him again.

Lily looked back down at her son and what she saw brought a smile to her face. Holden joined her briefly and couldn't help but smile.

"It's about time," Lily remarked as she turned to face Holden. She looked at her ex-husband smiling down at their son and then surprised them both. She took Holden face in her hands and kissed him. Holden pulled Lily to him and kissed her back.

Holden pulled back when he needed to breathe and looked at an equally breathless Lily.

"Yeah, it's about time," he said simply.

Boy did Noah have a lot to say!

Had to throw in a little Lily and Holden bit at the end.

This chapter was really mushy, but after everything I put you guys through. You earned a mushy chapter!

If you're wondering what movie Noah was quoting, it was a line said by Jessica Tandy in The Birds. Strange I know, but I heard it last weekend and searched everywhere to find the exact wording.

Thanks so much!

The praise may start now...hit review and let me know! ;p