Music / Marshmallows / Macaroni

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Title: Music / Marshmallows / Macaroni
Author: noelleleithe
Rating: PG
Pairing: Luke/Noah
Word count: ~250 / ~340 / ~250
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything here except my own words. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's notes: A collection of vignettes featuring Noah and the Snyder kids. I plotbunnied myself over at J-S.com. Heh. Squishy hugs to freakykat for beta.

~~~~

Music

"Noah?"

He turned his head toward the door at Lily's voice. "Hi," he said, pushing himself up a little straighter in bed, where he'd been listening to his film again. Not that he'd ever tell anyone that.

"We got a package from Faith today." Lily's footsteps came closer. "She sent this for you."

She reached for his hand and pressed a slim CD case into it. "The note says 'don't ask questions, just listen.'" He could hear the amusement in her voice.

"Thank ... thank you," he said. Her hand squeezed his gently for a second before sliding away.

"Enjoy," she said. "Dinner's in an hour if you feel like coming down."

He nodded and waited until he was sure she was gone to remove the DVD and replace it with the CD. He was still getting the hang of the voice commands, but they seemed to work pretty well in this case.

Soon his earbuds were filling with something instrumental, but he couldn't quite place it. It was smooth and soothing. As soon as the piece ended, though, Faith's voice intervened. "Yo-Yo Ma, playing the prelude to Bach's Cello Suite No. 1."

The next piece began, and soon Noah had relaxed into the pillows, a soft smile on his face as he listened to the music Faith had chosen to share with him. Bach. Sting. Mozart. U2. The Beatles. Never let it be said her tastes weren't eclectic.

It wasn't until Cyndi Lauper started singing "True Colors" that he had to turn it off.

~~~~

Marshmallows

Noah probably wouldn't have picked "A Wrinkle in Time" to read each night before bed, but considering the circumstances, it wasn't like he had a lot of say in the matter.

"Love. That was what she had that IT did not have." Natalie's high, sweet voice read the words carefully and clearly. She sat next to Noah on the family room sofa, where she'd settled in right after dinner almost every evening since he'd come back to stay with Lily. Noah knew she had a glass of milk sitting on the coffee table, and he held his own mug of hot cocoa, with extra marshmallows, and sipped it slowly as she read.

He felt as much as heard when Luke walked up behind them and stood, listening quietly as Natalie continued reading. He'd stay there until she finished the chapter, then send her off to bed and sit at the opposite end of the sofa.

But she was on the last chapter now, and Noah heard soft rustling as Luke moved from behind them to quietly lower himself into the nearby armchair. He joined Noah in listening as Natalie finished reading.

"But they never learned what it was Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which had to do, for there was a gust of wind, and they were gone."

Natalie's voice fell silent, and she tilted her head to rest against Noah's upper arm. Noah swallowed, the sweetness of the creamy cocoa in his mouth suddenly overwhelming. He closed his eyes against a rush of emotion he just couldn't deal with.

"Okay, kiddo." Luke's voice broke into the moment. "Time for bed."

Natalie sighed as only a put-upon preteen could, but she planted a quick kiss on Noah's cheek and whispered goodnight before climbing down and heading off. Noah heard Luke's clothes shifting as he moved again, and the cushion next to him sank under his weight.

"And the moral of the story," Luke whispered in his ear, "is that love can conquer all."

His lips were soft and sweet as marshmallows when they kissed.

~~~~

Macaroni

Noah knew that sound. Clattering and a smattering of footsteps, and suddenly he wasn't alone in the family room any more.

"Noah!"

Ethan's near-daily exclamation always preceded by seconds his small body landing next to Noah on the sofa. Noah couldn't help laughing every time, no matter what his mood had been a few minutes earlier.

"Hey, buddy," he said. "Did you have fun at school?"

Preschool, really, but Ethan loved it just the same. "We made macaroni!" he exclaimed, and suddenly a thick piece of paper was thrust into Noah's hand. He took it automatically, a bittersweet pang in his heart at the thought that he wouldn't be able to see Ethan's creation, but then he felt something bumpy on it. He brought up his other hand and ran his fingers across it.

Macaroni. Oh. Ethan made him macaroni art. That he could feel.

He traced the edges of the curved pasta stuck to the construction paper. A sort-of square with maybe a triangle on top? Oh, a house! Something roundish up in the corner--the sun? And then random pieces stuck across the bottom, which must have been an attempt at grass.

He felt himself grinning again. "It's awesome!" he said, turning his head down in Ethan's direction. "I love it."

The boy next to him wriggled and giggled with glee, and a little hand patted his cheek. "Love Noah," he crooned, and this time the pang in Noah's heart was much more sweet than bitter.