Brand New Day (10/15)

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Title: Brand New Day
Chapter: Ten
Author: noelleleithe
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Luke/Noah
Word count: ~1,620
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything here except my own words and a handful of original characters. Opening lyrics by Sting. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's notes: This is AU, Noah POV. Some story and dialogue is taken from his early days in Oakdale, but a lot diverges from canon (particularly in compressing the timeline). HUGE THANKS to wasabi_girl1 for tackling the monster beta! *mwah*

Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five || Chapter Six || Chapter Seven || Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine

~~~~
It could happen to you just like it happened to me,
There's simply no immunity, there's no guarantee.
I say love's such a force if you find yourself in it
You need some time for reflection
~~~~

Noah was still in a daze as he pulled into WOAK the next morning. He'd only slept for a couple more hours after the phone call, instead packing a bag with his best clothes and his only dark suit and tie, even shining his black dress shoes. He'd tried to get information on military honors for funerals, but he couldn't find much online other than more phone numbers to call. He'd made a meticulous list of everything he could think of that might need to be done, and he'd laid on his back on his mattress, staring into the darkness, until his eyes finally fell shut an hour before sunrise.

Inside, Noah looked around instinctively for Maddie and Luke but didn't see them yet. He was about 15 minutes early, though, so instead he headed for Kim's office. Her assistant looked up and smiled as he approached. "Hi, um, Beth, is Kim in yet?"

"Yep, and I think she's free for about another 10 minutes," Beth said, smiling. "Let me check."

Noah tried not to fidget as he waited, but he knew his nervous habits tended to get worse when he was tired. He was relieved when Beth set down her phone almost immediately. "Go right in!" she said brightly, and Noah nodded his thanks.

Kim smiled at him as he pushed through the door. "Hello, Noah," she said, waving toward the chairs in front of her desk. "How are you this morning?"

"Um, well, not all that well, actually," he said honestly as he sat down. "Um, I got a call late last night, or early this morning, really." He stopped and dropped his gaze to his lap. "My aunt was killed in a car wreck last night."

"Oh, no!" Kim exclaimed. "Dear, that's terrible. I'm so very sorry. What can I do to help?"

He looked back up at her. "Oh, no, it's okay," he said. "But I will need to go to Memphis for a few days to take care of things. I'm not really sure how long it'll take." He took a deep breath. "I know I made a commitment to the station for the whole summer--"

Kim was shaking her head and waving her hands. "No no, don't worry about a thing," she said. "Everything is in really good shape. You and the others have gotten a great deal of work taken care of in a very short period of time. You take as much time as you need. Just give me a call every couple of days to keep me informed, okay?"

Noah nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "I need to leave this morning, and I'm sure I won't be able to get back until Monday, at least. I'll be sure to call you if it's going to be longer than that."

Kim pushed herself up from her chair, and Noah stood automatically, too, surprised when she walked around the desk to give him a hug. "Really, don't worry, it's fine," she said, pulling back to smile at him. "You take care of what you need to take care of, and we'll be waiting when you get back."

He smiled. "Thank you for being so understanding, ma'am," he said, and she patted him on the shoulder.

"Nonsense," she said. "Around here, we're all family."

~~~~

Noah could hear Maddie's laugh coming from the intern office when he walked back down the hallway, which told him that Luke must be there, too. He paused just outside the door and did his best to paste on a smile before he stepped inside.

"Hey," he said, and they both turned from their seats at the table to look up at him.

"Hey!" Maddie said. She reached out to shake the chair between them. "C'mon, Luke was just telling me about an idea he had for the project."

Noah shook his head. "I can't," he said. "I have a, well, kind of a personal emergency I have to take care of. I'm going to have to be gone for a few days."

He should've known that wasn't going to cut it, especially with Luke. Luke was on his feet and by his side before he finished speaking, his hand warm on Noah's forearm.

"Noah," he said gently. "What is it? Everything was fine last ..."

He stopped and just looked at Noah steadily. There was no way Noah could lie to him.

"It's my aunt, in Memphis," he said, staring down at his shoes. "She was ... she died."

"Oh my God!" Now Maddie was standing in front of him, reaching up to hug him. "Oh, Noah, I'm so sorry."

Noah returned the hug, but his focus was on the hand Luke was rubbing up and down his back. "God, Noah," Luke said, the words so familiar but the tone of voice so totally different. "That's horrible."

"What happened?" Maddie asked as she pulled back, but then she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said through her fingers. "That's none of my business."

Noah shook his head, leaning a little into the warmth of Luke's palm, now resting against his lower back. "It's okay," he said. "It was a car accident. The hospital called in the middle of the night. I have to go down to take care of things."

"I'm going with you." Luke looked as surprised as Noah felt that he'd said it, but then his face shifted and he lifted his chin slightly as if defying anyone to tell him no.

Noah tried anyway. "Luke, you don't have to--"

"No, I don't," he interrupted. "But I want to. I don't want you to have to go alone."

They looked at each other for a few long moments, the rest of the world seeming to fall away. Before he'd even realized what he was doing, Noah found himself nodding, and Luke smiled.

"Okay then," he said. "Let me go tell the boss."

~~~~

Maddie waited until Luke was out of the room and the door closed before she pounced. "Okay, clearly I missed something here," she said. "Last I heard there was a little kissing, and now you're, like, practically joined at the hip." She grabbed his forearm and shook it. "Spill, spill. I love juicy gossip."

Noah couldn't help laughing as he plopped down into a chair. "Really, there's not much to tell," he said. "Luke invited me to dinner at the farm last night."

"Oh-HO!" Maddie said, grinning as she sat down next to him, turned to face him. "Taking you home to meet the parents already?"

Noah snickered despite himself. "More like meet the menagerie," he said. "There were so many people I couldn't begin to tell you who was there. But yeah, I met his parents and his grandmother, and the food was amazing. And then we ..." He trailed off, knowing Maddie wasn't going to let it go but blushing already.

"C'mon, spit it out," she said, leaning forward with elbows on knees and her chin resting on her hands. "I want all the dirty details."

"Dirty!" Noah exclaimed, feigning insult. "What kind of guy do you think I am? Sheesh." He grinned, and she laughed.

"The kind that's about to go out of town with his boyfriend for the weekend," she said, and that sobered Noah up fast.

"Um, well," he said, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "I don't know about that."

Maddie frowned. "Which part? The weekend?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "The boyfriend."

Maddie rolled her eyes. "Men," she said dramatically. "You two are completely ga-ga over each other. Doesn't matter what you call it."

Noah grinned again. He couldn't really argue with that logic.

Luke walked back in and smiled at them. "Well, obviously I'm late for the joke," he said.

Maddie laughed. "Nah, just being silly," she said, giving Noah a significant look. "So are you all set?"

Luke shrugged. "Okay with Kim," he said. "I'm going to take my laptop so we can try to brainstorm on the drive, and we'll call you from the road if we come up with anything." He paused and thought. "Well, that's assuming my parents okay the trip."

"Oh," Noah said. "Luke, if it's going to be a problem with your parents--"

"No, no, it'll be fine," he said with a tight smile. "Um, where do you want to meet? I mean, you want to drive? I can if you want."

Noah shook his head. "No, I'll drive, I was going to either way," he said. "Why don't you go home and talk to your parents? I have to make some calls before I leave anyway. Um, hang on." He reached for a paper and pen and scribbled down his address. "Just call me when you're done and come on over and we'll leave from my place."

He stood up and held out the paper, watching as Luke reached to take it, pretty obviously being careful to be sure their fingers brushed in the process. Luke gave that slow smile again, and suddenly Noah wasn't so sure this trip was such a good idea. Not that he could back out now, but four days alone with Luke? He didn't know if he'd survive it.

"Okay, well, you drive carefully," Maddie's voice cut into his thoughts. "And call me, unless you want me to start stalking your voicemail."

Noah turned and gave her a grin. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "Anyone ever tell you that you would've made a good drill sergeant?"

Luke laughed at that. "Oh yeah, Maddie's a force to be reckoned with," he said, but Noah knew the same could be said for Luke.

Comments

[luvflix.livejournal.com]

LOVE the fact they're going away on a trip together - but have a feeling they'll regret it if they move too fast - this is so ridiculous that I can't remember what happened - I know I've read it before, but each chapter comes as a new surprise!