Indiana (complete)

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Title: Indiana
Author: noelleleithe
Pairing: Luke/Noah
Rating: NC-17, mostly 'cause of the sex
Word count: ~7,690
Summary: Luke and Noah get sidetracked.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything here except my own words. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's notes: Takes place the first weekend in October (the actual weekend of the Louisville International Festival of Film, thanks Google!), with some future spoilers and speculation incorporated. This started out as another random Wikipedia prompt: "Underwood is an unincorporated community in Monroe Township, Clark County, Indiana, United States." Obviously this one ended up getting just a bit longer than the previous ones. :-)

Thanks to freakykat and escapes for beta!

~~~~

Silence sat on the seat between them like an unwanted extra passenger. The buzzing in Noah's ears was so loud he had an urge to brush it away with his hand, like a bothersome fly that wouldn't leave him alone. Luke was never this quiet for this long while he was awake. Heck, he was rarely quiet for this long while he was asleep. He was a talker in more ways than one.

Noah drummed his forefinger on the steering wheel absently. He didn't quite know what to say to break through the wall. He really hadn't known Mason would be at the film festival in Louisville, and he wanted to believe Mason when he said he only came when he found out an old classmate would be one of the award recipients. Luke, of course, saw it another way: Mason showed up because he knew Noah would be there.

It wasn't jealousy, at least not in the usual way. Luke didn't show any signs that he suspected Noah of harboring feelings for his advisor beyond friendship and gratitude--which was good, because Noah didn't. But Mason had made his own feelings perfectly clear over the past few weeks, and Luke wasn't happy about it. Neither was Noah, for that matter, but he did genuinely like Mason and didn't want to lose his friendship and support over an unrequited crush.

Mason had done nothing blatantly wrong, in Noah's estimation. He couldn't fault Mason for being honest, and the three of them could figure out how to manage the awkwardness that resulted.

Or so he thought, until Mason had turned up in Louisville.

~~~~

Luke shifted in his seat. He hated feeling like this. He knew he was being irrational and insecure; Noah had given him absolutely no reason not to trust him. Noah had even cut back on the time he spent alone with Mason after Mason's admission, holding their last few meetings in very public areas and limiting conversation to Noah's film project. The three of them had sat down together once to talk about the situation, one of the most uncomfortable conversations Luke had ever experienced, and everyone knew where everyone else stood.

They were adults. They would handle things like adults.

He sighed. Not that adults handled things all that well either. Look at his parents.

Luke wanted to shove that away, tuck it deep down where he couldn't see it. Except he couldn't, because it was all knotted up together, a tangled web of lies and truth, impossible to unravel.

Instead, he tried to concentrate on Noah. Noah loved Luke to distraction. He couldn't even see anyone else, much less develop any kind of interest in another man. Luke knew that. Noah told him over and over and showed him in a million different ways every day.

So why couldn't he get past this?

Luke knew Noah couldn't control how Mason felt. He needed Mason's help to finish his project; it was much too late to switch advisors at this point and still graduate on time. He also liked Mason, and begrudgingly, Luke could admit to himself that he did, too. Mason was a nice guy. His friendship had been good for Noah. He just ... got his foot caught in the door.

Luke swallowed a smile. He couldn't believe he'd just quoted one of Noah's corny old Hollywood musicals in his head. He might even consider telling Noah about it someday, even though he'd never live it down.

~~~~

Noah couldn't be sure, considering the space between them, but Luke seemed to be relaxing by inches. Usually Noah was the one who needed to spend time in his head to figure things out, while Luke preferred thinking out loud. Maybe Noah was rubbing off on him.

Noah was just about to open his mouth and try to fill the emptiness in the cab, when a loud pop interrupted his thoughts, and the truck swerved violently. Noah grabbed the steering wheel in both hands and fought for control, heart hammering in his chest as he managed to right their course and pull carefully off into the emergency lane.

Both of them were breathing hard by the time they came to a stop. "What was that?" Luke gasped out.

Noah closed his eyes for a second and tried to calm himself down. "Blew a tire, I think," he said. "Gimme a second and I'll check it out."

Luke shrugged and popped his seatbelt with an only slightly shaky hand. "I'll look," he said. "You're on the highway side."

Luke was out and back in just a few seconds. "Yeah, looks like the back tire on this side is shot. Should I try to call Triple-A? Don't know how long they'll take ... heck, I don't even know where we are."

"Underwood or something like that," Noah said, releasing his own seatbelt. "I saw a sign a couple miles back. I have a jack and spare, so we should be able to take care of it."

He checked for traffic and opened his door, walking around the back end of the truck to survey the damage. The tire was completely pancaked, a piece of rubber hanging off the side, clearly not repairable. He sighed. He knew he'd be due for new tires soon, but they'd looked fine the last time he had them rotated. He didn't want to think about the expense.

"Guess we'd better get to work."

~~~~

Luke watched as Noah finished tightening down the last lug nut. He'd been surprised to find Noah had a full-size spare, until Noah explained that he'd been stuck with a "doughnut" tire once for a 3-hour drive and swore not to let that happen again. They'd worked surprisingly well together, getting spare out of its compartment under the back bumper, removing and replacing the shredded tire, getting everything put back together, all with minimal conversation or fumbling.

If only they could handle everything that smoothly.

Luke wiped dirt and grease off his hands with the rag Noah had pulled from the toolbox along with the tire iron. He wasn't sure he was really doing anything more than moving the grime around, but seeing as Noah was just as marked up as he was, he didn't think it mattered that much. They'd find a gas station or rest stop down the road and get cleaned up a little.

His eyes drifted over Noah's body, firm and lean under his snug t-shirt and jeans, plaid shirt discarded in the truck bed once they'd gotten to work. Or maybe ...

"Hey, Noah?"

"Yeah?" Noah grunted a little with the effort of securing the tire.

"It's getting kind of late, and I'm getting hungry. Maybe we should give it up for the day and just find a motel or something."

Noah stood, finished with the tire, and tossed the tire iron into the open toolbox. "It's not that far back home," he said, taking the rag Luke handed him and making a similar futile effort at cleaning off his hands.

"Yeah," Luke said. "But it'll be really late when we get there, and it's been a long couple of days. Maybe we should just take a night off and relax. Oakdale will still be there tomorrow."

Noah gazed at him, inscrutable. Luke fought the urge to look away, to hide again. It's not Noah who's hurting me, he thought. I'm hurting myself.

Noah finally nodded. "Okay," he said. "We'll stop at the next exit that looks like it has anything decent."

~~~~

Scottsburg turned out to be the next town with anything decent, if a Holiday Inn Express and a truck stop with a restaurant qualified. But truck stop food was almost universally good, and anything that didn't offer hourly rates and advertise color TV was just fine with Noah.

They checked into the hotel first, eager to get the tire grime cleaned off. Out here in the middle of middle America, Noah primed himself for a reaction from the clerk when Luke walked up to the desk with him and asked for a room with a king bed, but she just took his ID and credit card and passed over two keys. Noah hated that he almost felt disappointed. He couldn't believe he'd kind of been hoping for a flash of homophobia, just because he wanted to see Luke react.

Riled-up Luke he could handle. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the quiet man at his side.

He stayed quiet as they dropped their bags in the room, took turns washing up in the bathroom, gathered up wallets and keys to head to dinner. Noah waited as long as he could stand. They were seated in the diner, menus and tiny glasses of water placed before them by a smiling, down-home-style waitress, when Noah sighed and looked at Luke.

"Am I going to get the silent treatment all the way back to Oakdale?"

~~~~

Luke blinked and looked up from the menu. "What?"

Noah shrugged. "I was just wondering if we were going to talk about this or just let it sit there," he said. "I'd start, but I'm not really sure where."

Luke refocused on the menu. "Me either," he murmured. "I'm not even sure it would make much sense if I did."

Noah opened his mouth as if to reply, then snapped it shut. He drummed his fingers on the table. Luke's eyes drifted to watch the nervous action. He thought about Noah's fingers doing other things and felt a flush rise on his cheeks. He shook his head slightly to dispel the image. No, he thought. Fucking it out was fine for day-to-day frustrations, but it wasn't the answer to things like this. They had to talk.

The waitress reappeared, and they ordered. She smiled again as she took their menus and walked away.

Luke paused, then jumped. "Look, Noah, I really don't know what to say," he said, fiddling with the silverware. "I know I'm not being rational. I know I'm being insecure and immature, and I know it's wrong and I need to stop. But I don't think I know how."

~~~~~

Noah absorbed Luke's admission, nodding slightly. He understood more than Luke realized. He knew everything about Luke, all the things he'd been through in his life, all the times he'd been betrayed, lied to, hurt. Hell, he was responsible for doing all three himself. Luke's innate nature was to love and trust deeply, but both had been violated far too many times by far too many people. It was amazing that he was as well adjusted as he was.

Noah reached out under the table and laid his hand on Luke's knee. "Hey," he said, waiting until Luke met his gaze. "It's okay. As long as you're talking to me, we can work the rest of it out."

Luke almost smiled. "It's just ... I know this thing with Mason is one-sided. And it's not even just that I trust you. I don't even have to think about that. Trusting you is like breathing. It's just there, all the time. So please, please, don't ever think this is about me doubting you. It's not."

Noah rubbed his thumb against the inside of Luke's knee. "Okay," he said. "So what is it about?"

Luke sighed. His gaze fell to the table, and then he looked up at Noah through his lashes. "It's about me doubting myself."

~~~~
~~~~

Luke felt a weight lift off his shoulders once the words left his lips. His big secret, sitting on the table between them. Mr. Self-Confidence, Mr. Out-and-Proud, was really just a giant bundle of uncertainty and insecurity. Sure, part of it was that this really was his first relationship, and there was a lot to figure out about sharing your life with another person that way. But it wasn't just Noah who bore the brunt of his self-doubt.

Noah's thumb never stopped moving on Luke's leg. "Okay," Noah said again. "What do you doubt?"

Luke blew out a breath, looking out the window beside them. "Everything," he admitted. "I doubt my business skills. I doubt my writing ability. I doubt the decisions I make about the foundation." He drew his eyes back to meet Noah's. "But most of all I doubt that I'm handling things right with you. As much as I love you, as much as I trust you, part of me is still terrified that I'm going to screw up again, and that'll be it. I'll lose you for good this time."

"Hey," Noah broke in immediately, his other hand coming up to cover Luke's where they were tangled together on the tabletop. "That's not gonna happen." His voice was firm and sure, as confident as Luke's uncertainty. "You know it's not. Don't even think that."

"I know, I know," Luke said, flipping his hands around to entwine their fingers. "I really do. I don't know what it is, Noah. I feel like I'm betraying both of us every time I even think it. But I don't know what to do to make it stop."

~~~~

Bad timing among restaurant servers must be universal. Their waitress returned with their plates before Noah could even attempt a response, and he shot her a smile as she arranged their food and slapped down a stack of extra napkins. Her return smile was brief and perfunctory, a sharp contrast to her earlier friendliness, and Noah blinked before he realized he and Luke were still holding hands across the table.

Oh, he thought. Well, there's the reaction he expected earlier.

Luke pulled his hand away then, digging into his country fried steak like he hadn't eaten in a week instead of the scant five hours since their late lunch. Granted, he hadn't eaten much then. Noah hadn't thought much about it at the time, partly because he'd spent most of the meal gushing over the final film of the morning, the grand prize winner. The one Mason had showed up to see. But Luke had picked at his chicken and said little while Noah chattered, said less during the last round of shorts they'd watched that afternoon. The silence had ballooned as they'd loaded and gassed up the truck and headed north, and it wasn't until they were on the road that Noah realized what was going on.

Sometimes he could be pretty clueless, he admitted to himself.

Luke was already a third of the way through his meal by the time Noah spooned into his turkey pot pie, blowing on the first bite so he wouldn't scald his mouth. The first taste reminded him of Thanksgiving at Snyder farm, that first year so full of new discovery and happiness, the second just as crammed with nerves and awkwardness. With Holden back safely and trying to reconcile with Lily, he was hoping for a big happy celebration this year, so he and Luke really had to work out this Mason thing.

All they needed to do was find the right place to start.

~~~~

Dinner finished and plates shoved aside, Noah and Luke watched each other across the table. "So," Luke said, folding a nervous crease into his napkin. "Any ideas?"

Noah frowned. "About what?"

Luke blew out a breath and rested his chin on one hand, elbow propped on the table. "About how I can stop doubting myself and letting it rub off on you."

"Ah." Noah matched Luke's posture. "The sixty-four-thousand-dollar question."

Luke gave a small smile. "Actually, with inflation it's probably up to eighty thousand these days," he said. "But seriously, Noah." He reached out his free hand to rub the side of Noah's arm. "I know we have to talk about this stuff. I know I need to tell you when I'm feeling insecure or jealous or whatever. I just, I don't know--"

He stopped short. He didn't know where to go with that. I don't know where to start? I don't know how to say it? I don't know which approach to take that won't start a fight?

Noah leaned forward, bringing his other hand up to entangle with Luke's again, uncaring what others might be thinking. "It's okay, Luke," he said. "We don't have to know it all. We just have to be willing to learn."


Luke was able to loosen up a little more on the drive back to the hotel. They didn't mention Mason, but Luke told Noah what he liked about the half-dozen films they'd watched together, nitpicked some of the scriptwriters' choices, and agreed with Noah about a few scenes that could've been shot better. Noah talked about some new ideas he had for his own project, which he'd finally started to shoot just a week earlier.

They walked back through the hotel lobby hand-in-hand, the silence more comfortable this time. Luke nodded and smiled at the clerk behind the desk as they passed, flinching a little when she simply stared coldly back at him. What ...

Oh. Yeah. He gripped Noah's hand tighter, willing away the urge to confront. Their problem, he thought, not mine. We'll be gone in the morning anyway.

Time to start learning to pick your battles, he told himself, smiling up at his boyfriend.

~~~~

Noah wasn't sure which direction to take things once they got to their room. His body knew what it wanted. Even after two delicious nights in their room in Louisville, no home or school or family concerns to weigh them down, he craved more. He always did. Luke gave him everything, but the more he got, the more he wanted.

That was part of what made the silent treatment from earlier so painful. Luke was always open with his thoughts and feelings--sometimes too open--so being cut off like that hurt on several different levels. It was better now that they were talking again, but Noah still felt there was something Luke was holding back. He just wasn't sure how to best shake it loose.

Play it by ear, he thought. He was getting pretty good at reading Luke's signals. Luke didn't often use sex as an avoidance technique, and Noah didn't always call him on it when he did, but Noah would be on high alert tonight. This wasn't something they could fuck away.

He pulled Luke closer, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and planting a kiss on his temple. Luke slid his arm around Noah's waist and looked up at him. "What was that for?" Luke asked.

Noah shrugged. "Just felt like it," he said. "Didn't know I had to have a reason to hug and kiss my boyfriend."

Luke grinned. "You don't," he said, stopping in front of their door and removing his arm to work the lock and handle. "Just seemed kind of sudden is all. That desk clerk didn't bother you, did she?"

Noah frowned at him as the entered the room. "No, what about her?" he said. "She seemed nice enough when we checked in."

Luke locked the door and shed his jacket, tossing it onto the chair beside the bed. "She didn't look too happy when we walked through the lobby just then," he said, flopping down to sit on the edge of the bed, one leg curled under him. "Guess it took her seeing us holding hands to figure things out."

"Oh." Noah paused halfway through removing his own coat, then shifted back into motion. His jacket fell beside Luke's. "Yeah, I noticed the waitress's attitude shift after she saw us holding hands, too." He shrugged, pushing up his shirt sleeves. "It's rural Indiana, Luke. Not every part of the country is all that progressive."

"Yeah." Luke looked down, picking at a seam on the bedspread. "I mean, Oakdale's not bad, but look at what we've had to deal with there." He sighed and looked back up at Noah. "It's part of why I really want to get past this, Noah," he said. "Mason's a good guy. I like him, and I like having gay friends, people who can understand. Especially someone older like that, who's been through it before. I just ..."

He trailed off. The mattress sank next to him as Noah sat down. "I know," Noah said. "And I don't know if any of us are handling it all that well. It's not just you, Luke. It's just ... it's hard. "

Noah watched as Luke's hand drifted over to fall on his thigh. His long fingers squeezed lightly, nails scratching. "Well, some things are better hard," Luke teased, and Noah couldn't help grinning.

"Your one-track mind at work again, Snyder," he sent back, bringing up his hand to lace their fingers together. "Don't you ever get enough?"

"Never," Luke said, dipping forward to plant a quick kiss on Noah's mouth. "And neither do you, Mayer, so don't think you'll wriggle out of that one."

"Mmmm." Noah followed Luke's lips back across the space between them, capturing them in a longer kiss. "Not exactly the kind of wriggling I'm usually thinking about when I'm with you."

He grinned at the look of mock-shock that appeared on Luke's face. "Why, Noah Mayer, I'm surprised at you." Luke was trying so hard to keep a straight face and failing miserably. "Such a dirty mind you have." He grinned, wickedly, and leaned forward again. "How in the world did I ever get so lucky?"

Noah was just thinking the same thing.

~~~~
~~~~

Luke studied Noah's eyes. He could read so many things in the shifting shades of blue: humor, love, desire, concern, contemplation. Luke wanted to satisfy them all, and his matching thoughts at the same time.

They still needed to talk. He thought about the last few times they'd had disagreements: when Luke had decided to go to work for Damian, when Luke pushed Noah away after Holden's accident, when Noah had gone to LA instead of to Holden's funeral. Every time, they connected with touches as much as words. Luke cupping Noah's face while he apologized and explained his decision. Noah holding Luke while he mourned his father. Luke stroking Noah's cheek with his thumb as he asked to go home.

"Can I ..." he started. "Can we just, I don't know, lie together? And talk?" He wasn't used to sounding so uncertain with Noah, not since they'd reconciled almost 10 months earlier. "I don't know, it's just. I think maybe it'll be easier to talk that way."

Noah nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Luke smiled. "So, I guess we can get ready for bed, and then we can talk?"

Noah returned the smile. "Sounds like a plan."

They washed and brushed and undressed down to boxers before settling under the covers together. Luke sighed, relaxing into Noah's arms. The buzz of desire was still there--truth be told, it never went away completely--but for now, he could ignore it and just enjoy the feel of Noah next to him. They had a home to go back to, no pressing need to take advantage of a rare night alone.

Noah skimmed his fingers up Luke's spine and entangled them in the dirty blonde strands at the base of his neck. "So," he said, drawing the single syllable out. "Any ideas about where we should start?"

Luke shifted, pushing his leg between Noah's. "Not really," he said. "I guess I should say I'm sorry, though."

Noah tilted his head in surprise. "For what?"

"For the silent treatment earlier. It was my issue, not yours, and it wasn't fair of me to take it out on you."

"Hey," Noah interrupted, nudging his shoulder against Luke's. "That my job, remember?

"I know, I know." Luke's hand came up to twirl a piece of Noah's hair, and Noah leaned into the gentle touch. "But it shouldn't be. I mean, it shouldn't have to be. I need to tell you when something's bothering me. Not just bottle it up and stew like that."

Noah nodded slowly, rubbing his temple against Luke's palm. "Yeah," he murmured. "It doesn't ... it's just not you, Luke. You're always so open and honest about everything. Me, well, that's how I've always dealt with things, locking it up inside. Not healthy, and you know I'm trying to change that." He locked his gaze with Luke's as he finished, and Luke nodded back.

"I know." He smiled, remembering the tightly wound boy he'd first met and his transformation into the beautifully loving man sharing the bed. "And just in case I haven't said so recently, thank you for that. Thank you for making that effort. Because I know it hasn't been easy."

Noah curled closer to Luke. "It's getting easier," he said. "You make it easier."

~~~~

Noah was fascinated by the pink that crept across Luke's cheeks. "You aren't blushing, are you?" he teased.

"Shut up," Luke said, shoving his shoulder lightly. "Have I told you lately what a jerk you are?"

Noah grinned. "Yeah, I think I've heard that a time or two." He nuzzled his chin into Luke's shoulder. "Okay, so, not bottling things up, got it. Anything in particular you want to unbottle?"

"Well," Luke started. "And I know this is probably going to come out wrong, but hear me out. Having Maddie come back last week, it didn't help." Noah opened his mouth to reply, but Luke shushed him with a finger. "No, let me finish. You know I love Maddie, and I'm so glad the two of you are friends, and I loved hanging out with both of you last weekend. I want to do that more. So I don't want you to feel guilty or anything. Okay?"

Noah furrowed his brow but nodded, and Luke continued. "But you have to remember, Noah, that I've been on the wrong side of a, well, a love triangle with you before. With Maddie. And I can't help remembering that you said all the right things to her back then, that you did everything a man does when he wants a woman to believe he loves her. I know it's not the same. I know you never really loved Maddie, even though he wanted to. And I know you do really love me and you don't want to love anyone else."

Noah did interrupt then. "I do love you, Luke," he said firmly, wrapping his hand around Luke's and bringing Luke's fingers up to kiss them gently. "I love you more than anything in this world or any other. Nothing is going to change that." He didn't know if the words were enough, but he'd keep saying them and hope.

Luke nodded. "I know that, I do, really," he said. "It's something else I don't have to think about, like trusting you. But," he paused and grinned. "In case you haven't noticed, sometimes I tend to be a little impulsive." Noah couldn't help laughing out loud at that. "Yeah, yeah, I know. And sometimes my brain just kind of runs off with itself. And seeing Maddie again, on top of this Mason thing, it just ..."

"Blew your mind?" Noah grinned and tightened his arms around Luke's waist, flipping onto his back with Luke lying fully on top of him. He loved the feel of Luke's weight on top of him, grounding him, and many times they'd fall asleep like this. Although usually with nothing at all between them.

Luke chuckled and dipped down for a quick kiss. "The only thing that blows my mind these days ... is you," he murmured against Noah's lips.

Noah couldn't help himself, his hips bucking up automatically. Luke groaned into his mouth, lips opening and tongue coming out, and there was no way Noah could resist that, either. His hands fell onto Luke's ample ass, kneading the firm muscles as they kissed hungrily. Luke shifted and Noah's legs parted, aligning their groins perfectly.

Heat and want suffused Noah. God. How did he live before he knew what this felt like? How could he have ever denied himself this? How could it ever be possible for him to want this with anyone else?

It wasn't. And suddenly, he needed to show Luke that.

~~~~

Luke was surprised but not unhappy at all when Noah rolled them over and pinned him to the mattress, kissing him with intent. They'd talked a lot, after all, so this wasn't them just trying to fuck it out.

Right?

Suddenly Luke wasn’t so sure. Noah's tongue was carving a path like molten lava down his neck, and the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt that, but he had to know.

"Noah. God." Luke groaned out. "Hang on." He grabbed for Noah's shoulders, trying to pry Noah loose, but he wasn't budging.

"Talk later," Noah rasped against Luke's shoulder. "S'ok, just. Want you."

Thank God for months of shorthand, Luke thought. He understood from just those few words: they weren't finished, but they were in a good place. And right now, this was what Noah needed.

Luke sank back against the pillows, allowing Noah to do what he wanted. Luke knew that Noah hadn't quite shed his awe at how much Luke loved him, at how much he'd gained since he'd come to Oakdale. Noah had a family now, a family that loved and accepted him, and no matter how much Luke insisted that they loved Noah for himself and not just because Luke loved him, he credited it all to Luke. And sometimes, he let it all overwhelm him so much that he was driven to thank him.

Luke had given up protesting that it wasn't necessary. Besides, it wasn't as if they didn't both have an amazing time.

Like now, for example. Noah was working his way down Luke's chest, nibbling and licking, tugging lightly on bits of hair with his teeth. Luke's fingers were tangled in Noah's hair, one of their favorite places to be, and he breathed deeply as Noah worked his magic. Luke knew how this went: it was about Noah loving him, pampering him, driving him completely out of his mind, and Noah wouldn't allow him to reciprocate until after he was finished. So Luke relaxed and let it happen.

~~~~

Noah indulged himself in his favorite treat: Luke. He licked every inch of exposed skin, turned Luke from back to front and back again, nibbled at the insides of his elbows and the backs of his knees, breathed warm air across his wrists, sucked his toes and fingers, tongued his way down his spine. He lost all sense of time and space, the world shrinking to nothing beyond Luke and the glorious sounds he was making.

They were covered in a fine sheen of sweat by the time Noah stripped away Luke's boxers. He blew across Luke's hard-as-nails cock, relishing the guttural, almost animalistic noise that came out of Luke's mouth. He looked up at his lover, drinking in the sight of him flushed and gasping, eyes dark as coal, twisting restlessly against the pillows. As Noah watched, Luke released one hand from its death grip on the twisted sheets and brought it up to his chest, pinching and twisting one nipple.

Noah let out his own growl in response and sucked his way onto Luke's cock. Luke shouted and jerked, and Noah spread one hand out across Luke's stomach, anchoring him. His other hand moved to cup Luke's balls, just holding them in warmth, as his tongue and lips moved in practiced harmony.

He hummed to himself in enjoyment. After he and Luke finally became lovers, it took him a while to get comfortable with how much he loved giving head. Even now he sometimes heard his father's voice in the back of his mind, but those moments were growing fewer and farther between. Nothing he and Luke did together in love was wrong, and every day together moved Noah further from his father's lies and into his own truth.

At the moment, his truth was that he needed to make Luke come, hard, and soon. He brought one hand up to his mouth and slipped the middle finger in beside Luke's cock, coating it with saliva. Luke's moans ratcheted up in intensity, knowing what was coming next, and Noah didn't disappoint. His slick finger drew three tight circles around Luke's hole before dipping inside, sliding all the way home, and tilting up.

Luke shouted again and convulsed, shooting in bursts into Noah's mouth. Noah sucked and swallowed and hummed again, relishing the taste and feel of holding Luke's pleasure at his control. He mouthed gently across Luke's skin, cleaning off the last remnants of come, serenaded by the sound of Luke's rasping breath as he shivered through the aftershocks.

Noah was thoroughly aroused, completely relaxed, and incredibly happy, all at the same time. He didn't know how his heart hadn't exploded from the combination.

~~~~
~~~~

Luke felt like his heart had exploded along with his cock. It shouldn't be possible for one person to love another as much as he loved Noah, but every time he thought he'd reached the limit, it expanded. He reached for Noah, hands landed on his strong shoulders, tugging until Noah moved high enough for Luke to wrap his arms around him.

Noah tucked his head into the curve of Luke's neck, showering tiny kisses along the skin there and murmuring nonsensical, soothing sounds. Luke often meant to ask Noah what he was saying in times like these, but since they always came right after he did, he couldn't seem to hang onto the brain power long enough.

Noah shifted, and suddenly Luke was keenly aware of his boyfriend's cock. It rested against Luke's thigh, hard and perfect, like the rest of Noah's body. Luke wanted nothing more at that moment than to feel it pounding into him.

Bracing himself with one leg, he shoved hard, flipping them both over on the mattress. Noah fell over with a soft "oof!" sound, and Luke pushed himself up with his hands on Noah's chest, straddling his waist.

"Hi there," he said, grinning as his hands wandered across the expanse of skin below him.

"Hi yourself," Noah responded with a matching smile, his hands coming up to grip Luke's hips.

"That was amazing," Luke said, conversationally, as if they were sitting across from each other at their favorite table in Java, chatting about the weather. "I mean, really, really amazing. But you know what I'd really like right now?"

"What?" Noah nearly succeeded at matching Luke's casual tone, but then, he was at a disadvantage, since Luke didn't have long fingers stroking over his nipples.

Luke leaned forward, planting a single, lingering, tongue-filled kiss on Noah's lips. Backing off just an inch, he said, "I'd really like to slide right down on your beautiful cock and ride you until both we see stars."

"Guh." Noah's eyes literally crossed, and Luke grinned again. He loved that he had that kind of effect on Noah, and especially that Noah liked it when he talked dirty. He bent down for another searing kiss, then rolled off the bed and reached for his duffel bag. Thank goodness he'd restocked on condoms and lube before they left Oakdale, because they'd already used up half his supplies just on this trip. They actually rarely used condoms these days, but they did make for easier cleanup, so they'd brought some along on the trip.

Back on the bed, Luke handed Noah the lube and ripped into the condom wrapper, rolling the thin latex down over Noah's cock. He straddled Noah again, higher up on his chest this time, giving Noah room to work as he prepped Luke. Noah moved from one finger to two to three in just a few minutes, knowing from experience exactly what Luke needed, especially when he was already relaxed from one mind-blowing orgasm.

Luke grabbed for Noah's other hand, the one that wasn't currently finger-fucking him, and poured on more lube before reaching back to wrap it around Noah's cock. Noah groaned as he stroked himself, slicking himself up for Luke. After just another minute, Luke lifted himself off Noah's fingers, shifted backward, and lined himself up on Noah's cock instead. Noah used one hand to position his cock and the other on Luke's hip to steady him, and Luke started that slow, delicious slide down.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck." God, Noah felt so good, hard and thick and just the perfect length inside him. It was as if someone had taken a plaster cast of Luke's ass and molded Noah's cock specifically to fit it, and that thought made Luke think maybe Noah really HAD blown his mind, it was so ridiculously funny.

He laughed out loud. Noah looked up at him with an expression that was half pure raw lust and half has my boyfriend finally lost it for real? and that just made Luke laugh harder. He bent forward, one hand pulling at the back of Noah's neck, and Noah pushed himself up with one arm to bring them together in a messy, crashing kiss, Luke still grinning against Noah's lips.

He pulled away and shifted again, curving his legs behind Noah's back and helping Noah drag himself into a sitting position, Luke still impaled in his lap. The change in position drove Noah even deeper, and Luke moaned and threw his head back, wrapping his arms around Noah's shoulders. Noah braced one hand on the mattress behind him and brought the other around to cup Luke's ass, pressing them closer together. Luke's cock was sandwiched between their stomachs, just enough slip-slide-friction to get him where he wanted to be.

"Oh my God," Luke groaned, gasping as Noah sucked at his Adam's apple. "Oh fuck, Noah. Yeah, yeah, so good, fuuuuuck ..."

Noah jerked against him, shoving his hips up harder and faster, his movements growing more erratic. "Godyes, Luke, ohfuck, unghhhhh." Luke soaked in the sounds, each noise Noah made driving him closer to the edge. Noah thrust up one final time, groaning out Luke's name in a shredded voice, and that was all Luke could take. He fell right alongside him.

~~~~

Noah tried, he really did, to hold onto whatever it was he wanted to ask Luke about. Something about laughing? But after shooting what felt like gallons of come during what was easily one of his top 10 orgasms, it didn't seem to matter so much any more. Maybe he'd remember it later, after his brain cells finished gathering themselves up from where they'd been scattered all over the bed.

He managed to gather enough focus to pull, reluctantly, out of Luke and take care of the used condom. Neither of them seemed inclined to do any more cleaning up, though. Luke lay half on his side and half on his stomach, seemingly boneless, skin still flushed from the effects of two massive orgasms. Noah sprawled on his back, tingling from scalp to soles, wondering how on earth it was possible that sex with Luke just kept getting better.

Many more sessions like that one, and their brains just might stop being able to recover.

Noah reached out one still-shaky hand to run the backs of his fingers along Luke's thigh. The muscles twitched under his touch, and he half-smiled at the reaction. Luke sighed and stretched, and Noah watched the display of skin and sinew hungrily. God, he was never, ever going to get enough of Luke, and that thought was as comforting as it was arousing.

His eyes flicked up to Luke's face, and a grin greeted him. "Hey," Luke said huskily.

"Hey," Noah replied, rolling onto his side to face Luke. "How do you feel?"

Luke let out a short laugh. "How do I feel?" he parroted back, eyes dancing. "I feel fan-fucking-tastic, thank you very much."

Noah grinned. "Thought so," he said, running the flat of his palm along the same patch of skin he'd touched minutes before. "All that gasping and moaning kind of gave you away."

"Yeah." Luke reached out a hand to grip the back of Noah's head and pull him in closer. "Some things are just pretty damn obvious."

Noah opened his mouth against Luke's as they kissed, stroking his tongue along the edges of Luke's teeth and the insides of his cheeks. He brought his hand up to rest along the side of Luke's neck, fingers nestled into Luke's hair, holding him gently. Luke sighed again, this time into Noah's mouth, and Noah let out a low moan in response.

Noah could never decide which he liked better, these soft, lingering, almost wistful kisses, so much like the ones they'd shared for months before sex entered the picture, or the hot, hard, deep ones that they'd been indulging in so much of the time since. He thought maybe it was unfair to compare the two, like trying to choose between rocky road or double mocha chocolate chip ice cream. Each had their own set of assets to recommend them.

Luke pulled back from Noah's lips but started fluttering little kisses all over Noah's face, so Noah had no complaints. He let out another low moan, whispering Luke's name, his hands kneading the muscles of Luke's back. Luke's tongue dipped into his ear, curled around the lobe, traced the swirls and edges. Noah was half soothed and half aroused, his body unsure whether to slip into sweet slumber or roll Luke over and go for round two.

Or, a small part of his brain pointed out, maybe they should get back to that conversation they didn't finish.

Noah closed his eyes and sighed. Yeah, that was probably best. They really needed to get done with all that before they got back to Oakdale.

~~~~

Luke didn't realize he and Noah were sharing the same thoughts until he backed away and looked into Noah's face. Serious eyes looked back at him, and Luke smiled softly. "Guess we should clean up a little and finish our talk?" he said, and Noah smiled back.

"Yeah," Noah said. "I'd ask if you want to share a shower, but ..."

Luke laughed. "That's not likely to result in much talking," he agreed. "Here, I'll go first. You just relax. Back in a few." He planted one last kiss on Noah's mouth and climbed off the bed. Crossing to the bathroom, he ran warm water into the sink and washed the remnants of his come off his chest and thighs. He used the toilet and gave his mouth another rinse with mouthwash, then stepped back into the room.

Noah's eyes were closed, his mouth slack, and his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Luke grinned. He'd been gone less than 5 minutes, and already Noah was out like a light. He liked that. He liked knowing that sex with him was enough to knock his boyfriend out like that. But they did have a conversation to finish, so somewhat reluctantly, Luke went back into the bathroom to re-wet the washcloth he'd just used and grabbed a towel.

Gently, trying not to disturb Noah, Luke slid onto the bed and reached out the washcloth, setting it gently on Noah's stomach. Noah shifted but didn't seem to wake up, so Luke wiped carefully, removing the evidence of his climax. He followed up with the towel, drying Noah's skin, watching in fascination as muscles twitched under his touch.

"Mmmm." Noah's voice drew Luke's attention, and he looked up to meet half-awake blue eyes. "Feels good. Thanks. Sorry I fell asleep on you."

Luke grinned. "No apology necessary," he said. "Not like I thought I was boring you or anything."

Noah chuckled and sat up, reaching to straighten out the sheets. Luke tossed the towel and washcloth toward the bathroom and helped Noah smooth out the wrinkles. They curled back up in the bed together, nestled into the pillows, Luke's head resting on Noah's shoulder.

"So," Noah started once they were settled. "Where were we? Mason?"

"I don't want to talk about Mason," Luke said firmly, spreading his hand out on Noah's chest and looking up at him. "I don't want to talk about Maddie, or my parents, or whatever. I want to talk about you and me. Nothing else matters to me right now."

Noah lifted his eyebrows. "Okay," he said, nodding. "So, same question: where were we?"

Luke thought. "Um, I don't really remember," he said, laughing. "I guess I'll just go with what I'm thinking now. Maybe that'll be enough." He brought his hand up to cup Noah's cheek. "I want to make you a promise, Noah. To talk to you, even when it's hard. To make time for you, even when things are crazy. To not push you away, no matter what." He shrugged. "I know I'll screw up. I won't always do it all right. But I can promise to try."

Noah leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. "I promise," he exhaled. "I promise the same things. And yeah," he said, dropping down for a kiss. "Yeah, I think that's exactly enough."

~~~~

The drive back to Oakdale the next morning was relaxed and easy. Luke did most of the talking--back to normal--and Noah enjoyed listening to him, dropping in his own comments, teasing and flirting. They stopped for an early lunch somewhere north of Indianapolis, holding hands across the table and not caring who looked.

They decided to have Maddie over for dinner the following weekend, or the next weekend she was free, and even figured out something they could actually cook for her with their limited cookware (and without burning down the kitchen). They talked about Noah's progress on his film project. They pointedly did not discuss Mason, or Damian, or Luke's parents, or what might happen during the upcoming holidays.

An hour later, they left Indiana behind, and an ample load of baggage along with it. With a little luck, some hard work, and a lot of love, they'd never have to worry about picking it back up again.