NaNo Fic: Find Your Way Through Me (ATWT, Luke/Noah, AU) - Chapter Two

[freakykat]

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Title: Find Your Way Through Me
Author: freakykat
Rating: R to NC-17
Chapter: Chapter Two
Pairing: Luke/Noah
Summary: Where there is darkness, find your way through me.
Disclaimer: Sadly I don’t own any of the boys I like to play with. All rights for the characters go to P&G, ATWT, JP, CG, etc.
Beta: The phenomenal and wonderful noelleleithe who took this monster on! I love you!
W/C: 3159
Warnings: MAJOR ANGST, some character death (NOT THE BOYS!), violence (It does have a happy ending, I swear!)
Author’s Note: Not quite as Epic as last time, this is a little over 50,000 words. My eternal gratitude to noelleleithe and reilael who listened to me bitch and moan and rhapsodize about this for MONTHS. Even if you're not in this fandom, feel free to read it. Enjoy! And feedback is yearned, loved and appreciated.
Story Notes: Found in Chapter One

All chapters found here.




Find your way through me



Chapter Two



The ride to the center was quiet and Noah turned the radio on to fill in the silence. He fiddled with it until he found a station that wouldn’t give either one of them a headache or make them comatose. He could see Luke from the corner of his eye, caught him looking at Noah a few times before turning to stare out of the window. Noah rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tension there, flexed his hands on the steering wheel.

He felt Luke too much when he was this close.

That was the way it had always been.

“Why would anyone kill a thirteen year old?” Luke whispered the question, not really expecting any kind of answer at all.

Noah clenched the steering wheel, keeping eyes steady on the road, focused through the rain. It was the question he would find an answer to. That was his job.

“I don’t know.”

“But you’ll find out.”

Noah glanced at him quickly, meeting warm eyes across the small space, that jolt passing between them. He brought his attention back to the road, shrugging to hide the shiver that ran over his spine. “It’s my job.”

He sensed Luke wanted to say more but when nothing came forth, he relaxed some. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. Tommy needed someone to find the truth. Noah wasn’t sure he could do that.

“You’ll figure it out, Noah.”

And there it was. Even after everything that happened, Luke still believed in him.

Noah made a derisive sound and took a deep breath. “At least one of us thinks so.”

“At least.”

He didn’t respond, pressing down into the gas, speeding past lights and buildings, past the world that was now waking up, unaware of anything but itself.


*


Luke unfastened his seat belt as Noah pulled into the parking lot of the center. He kept his glance on his hands, the sidewalk, the stairs, the door. Anywhere that wasn’t Noah’s crystal blue eyes. The ones that still caused his heart to skip a beat or two along the way. He remembered a time when he could read everything in them.

Stopping to open the door, he pulled out his keys, fully aware of Noah behind him. He knew that scent, that heat well. It was like breathing. Managing to get inside, he sped up past the front reception, nodding to Randall, the security guard. “Good morning, Randall.”

Randall smiled in his direction, putting down the book he was holding “Good morning, Mr. Snyder.”

Luke had become endeared to Randall almost immediately. At six foot six, he was an impressive size, all muscles and strength. He’d been in the army, retired five years and had wanted to work again. He’d confessed later to Luke that it was his wife that had made him. He’d been driving her crazy. Dark skin and dark eyes, firm set of mouth and built like a train. It had been everything he’d need for the night staff.

But it had been the way Randall handled the strung out fifteen-year-old that had walked into the clinic during his interview that had left Luke stunned. He couldn’t recall all the details but there had been curses and vomit and tears. Randall had gently held the client and then proceeded to help clean up the mess while Luke had taken care of helping the scared teenager.

Randall was hired on the spot.

He watched a smile spread across Randall’s face at seeing Noah. “Noah.” Luke paused when Noah stopped to hug him, mumbling something in Randall’s ear that made him laugh.

Luke tried not to think about that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He followed the sound of voices until he reached the main portion of the center: the recreation room. Ali sat at the table with Jade, rolling dice across it. “Six.”

He looked past them to the boy sitting huddled in his chair, half afraid someone was going to pop out and hit him.

“Ricky.”

He jumped a foot at the sound of Luke’s voice, leaping from the chair and only just relaxing when he recognized Luke.

“I’m sorry. I just - Noah didn’t tell me it was you.”

“I didn’t know.”

Luke glanced back at Noah, meeting worried eyes before turning his attention back to the kid standing in the middle of the room, ready to bolt at any moment.

Jade and Ali had moved to another corner, watching quietly.

“I didn’t do anything, Mr. Snyder!” Ricky shifted on the balls of his feet and Luke recognized the flight mode stance. It was common around those parts. He put his body between Ricky and the door, watched Noah step closer to him. Protective. He leaned into the gesture, heart picking up pace.

“No one thinks that, Ricky.”

“I told him not to do it but he said he had to.”

Noah moved into Ricky’s line of sight, taking small steps to reach him, waiting for Luke to follow. He held out a hand, motioning to the reclining chairs by the television. “Ricky, why don’t we sit down for a minute?”

Luke nodded when Ricky glanced at him and sighed in relief when the teenager shuffled to one of the chairs, huffing down into it. The room had been built for talking and answers. Comfortable chairs, bright, vivid colors on the walls. Everything built for calmness. It worked well for them.

Having Noah there couldn’t hurt either.

He was caring personified.

Ricky swayed back and forth slowly, hands clasped together on his lap, eyes flickering all over the room. Luke knew that look pretty well. He motioned to Ali and she crossed the room to him.

“Hey.”

“Hey, can you do me a favor? Get a room ready, okay?”

She didn’t ask any questions, just nodded and headed out of the door. When she was gone, he glanced at Jade and she waved him off.

It wasn’t important right now. She was right about that.

When he turned back around, Noah was sitting next to Ricky, handing the kid some orange juice and a muffin.

“It’s probably a good idea to eat, you know?”

Ricky nodded, taking a huge bite of the muffin and gulping down half the orange juice, chewing loudly. He swallowed and gave Luke a grateful look. “I didn’t know where to go.”

Luke stepped closer, falling into the chair across from them both, smiling warmly. “That’s understandable. I can’t imagine what I would have done.” He didn’t meet Noah’s eyes but could feel them on him.

Noah spoke quietly, gentle but firm. “Ricky? You said you told Tommy not to do something? What was it?”

Ricky picked at the remains of the wrecked muffin, rolling the bits into little balls between his fingers. “He told me he was supposed to meet a new trick in the alley. That the guy had wanted him to do - well, Tommy had been mad. He was going to tell the guy that he wasn’t doing what he wanted.”

Noah frowned, eyes shifted to Luke’s before returning to Ricky. “So, he went to tell the guy that he wouldn’t -”

Ricky sighed deeply. “That wasn’t what he wanted him to do.”

Luke leaned forward, confused more every minute. He wanted to ask what Ricky meant but it wasn’t his place. He wasn’t the official there.

“What did he want him to do?”

Ricky glanced over at Luke, taking a deep breath. He was afraid. He didn’t know Noah well.

Luke spoke softly. “You can trust him.”

He didn’t look at Noah. Just waited to see what happened next. There was a pregnant pause and then Ricky’s voice startled him. “He wanted to pay Tommy to burn down the center.”

It took Luke a few moments to process that statement. He wasn’t sure he’d heard right until he’d looked at the hard set of Noah’s jaw, the way he was so tense, Luke was sure you bounce a quarter off him right about now.

Someone wanted to burn down his center.

“Did Tommy say why the client wanted to do that?”

Ricky took another sip of his juice, shaking his head and meeting Noah’s eyes. “He was scared. He told me that. He loved this place. It’s home most of the time.”

Luke leaned forward, placing a gentle hand on Ricky’s leg. “Why didn’t he come to me? Tell me about it?”

Noah knew the answer to that question. Ricky looked down at his shoes. He didn’t want to say it out loud and Noah thought it might be better if he didn’t. He glanced over at Luke, caught the scared look on his face and made a decision.

“It’s okay, Ricky. I think you’ve given us a place to start. We’re going to need to take your statement. Bring you down to the station -”

Ricky jumped to his feet, shaking his head and hands at Noah. Wide, scared eyes begging even before the words came out his mouth. “No. No police department. They’ll send me back, Luke. I can’t go back there.”

Luke grabbed hold of the young boy’s shoulders, smoothing his hands over them and making quiet shushing noises. Noah took a step closer, not touching Ricky because he knew this well. “Ricky, I promise that nothing will happen to you, okay? If you can’t go right now then we’ll give you time. Just - promise me that you won’t run away.”

Ricky looked wary and Noah brought his hand out to seal the promise. “We need your help to make sure that Tommy gets what he wanted.”

After a few moments of silence that stretched until it almost hurt, Ricky shook Noah’s hand back. “Okay. I promise.”

Ali came back in to take Ricky to his room and make sure he was settled. She glanced between the two of them before headed out of the room with her charge. Noah and Luke stared at one another from across the small distance that felt like a canyon of space. Noah started to say that Luke didn’t have to get more involved than he was when it was halted before he’d even opened his mouth.

“Don’t even think about saying it, Noah.”

“What?”

“That I should stay out of it. That it’s a police matter now. That this isn’t my responsibility.”

Noah shrugged. “Didn’t have to say anything. You said it for me.”

Luke threw his hands up, turning away to calm himself and he bent his head, counting to ten Noah was sure. “It’s my center. It was one of my kids.”

“It’s my town. It was one of my kids.”

Luke glanced at Noah, frowning. “So, it’s okay for you to risk your life but I can’t even help.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Stop it.”

Noah clenched his fists, raising one eyebrow. “What? Stop what?”

“Treating me like I’m still the unstable guy that needs you to be the strong one. That needs you to save him.” Luke moved so fast that Noah didn’t have time to react before he was inches away from him, heat radiating in waves, waking nerves Noah had repeatedly kept dead.

“I know you think you can stop things from hurting me by being this collected asshole that pretends it doesn’t affect him. But I know and you know that’s bullshit. I saw the look on your face when Ricky almost let it slip that Tommy had died trying to figure out the reasons behind his killer’s intentions. You couldn’t hide the panic when he said they wanted to burn this place down.”

Noah stared steadily at Luke, face motionless.

“You love me. Still. Always.”

His voice was rough when he responded with a quiet, “I never said any different.”

Luke blinked, bringing one hand up to touch Noah’s face. “What am I going to do with you?”

Noah leaned in slightly but only for a second and then he took two steps away, keeping his eyes on Luke. “You’re going to stay out of this. Please.”

He was almost grateful when Luke smiled and shook his head. “No fucking chance.” He left Noah staring at his retreating back and cursing a blue streak in silence.

*

The walls were covered in dirt and crud and something else Noah didn’t look at too closely. He flexed one finger on the side of the trigger, holding tightly to the gun. There were faint footsteps behind him and he placed one finger on his lips. The sound ceased immediately. Luke’s voice in his head didn’t though.

“It’s a cellar. Steep stairs going down. One of the boards creaks. The twelfth one down. Remember that.”

Noah counted to twelve then stepped down two stairs, motioning behind him to do the same. His shoes squished against the floor. He knew he didn’t want to see what exactly he was walking on. He moved silently past the shelves of dusty boxes, useless old exercise equipment and broken appliances.

The air was oppressive so far down into the ground. Musty and old, with a whiff of rot permeating the space. Noah suppressed a cough, holding his sleeve against his face and breathing, gagging only slightly.

He listened for any sounds. The only ones he made out were his own and Justin’s. His partner was only two feet behind, his own weapon drawn.

Back-up was only a few minutes away.

He could make out some light from under the door in front of him. He cocked his head to the right, making a similar motion with his hand. He took a few steps closer, waiting until he was sure Justin was in place behind him. He tried the knob, twisted it easily in his hand and pushed it open slightly. The light was glaring after all the darkness and it took a few seconds before they adjusted and focused on the small hunched figure in the corner. Scared eyes met his and Noah stepped further in.

“Lib.”

She was shaking her head adamantly and then all he heard was explosions, heat radiating down his spine to his legs. Flashes of lights flared in the dark and he heard Justin yell out, more loudness and bursts of colors and then it was all darkness…


*

Margo leaned across the table, hands folding on top, glaring at Noah. “What the hell were you thinking keeping this witness from us for two days, Mayer?”

Noah resisted the urge to snap back. Margo was only doing her job. He hadn’t followed procedure. He knew that. “He’s thirteen, Margo. He was scared. I needed time to convince him to come down here.”

She sighed, her eyes falling on Luke as she glanced out of the window. “Is it a good idea for him to be here?”

Noah glared at her. “It’s not up to either of us if it is.”

“I’ll take that to mean he didn’t appreciate it when you suggested he not come?”

“I told him to fuck off actually.”

Margo stood up and Noah followed suit, turning to watch Luke walk into the room. “Ricky finished his statement. Is he free to go now?”

Noah looked at Margo, sighed. “I think the Chief has a few questions. It shouldn’t take long.”

Luke nodded, heading back to Ricky, talking quietly. He returned with Ricky in tow. Noah smiled gently, patting the chair in front of him and Ricky took a seat. He looked up in alarm with Noah moved away, grabbing for his hand. “Aren’t you staying?”

“No. I can’t. Margo isn’t as scary as she seems. Just tell her what you told us, okay?” He walked to Luke, grabbing his arm and guiding him out of the room. He felt the explosion of sensation down to his toes and they both pulled away quickly. It had been so long that Noah hadn’t remembered that part.

Luke mumbled an apology and Noah waved it off.

“Is he going to be okay?”

Noah nodded. “She won’t push him.”

Luke nodded, glancing around the station. “This place doesn’t change much.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Noah’s phone rang and he picked it up, turning his back on Luke for a moment. His body still thrummed from touching him. He needed some control. He glanced back to see one of the new recruits, Harrison, standing there looking nervous. He held what looked like a shirt in one gloved hand, papers and a worn backpack in the other. Noah made a motion to his overflowing desk.

He heard Luke offer to find a place for it and Noah answered the question he was being asked. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Is that always the official stance, Noah?”

“Kevin, I’m not in the mood.”

“I just need to know if my source is correct and Luke Snyder is working with the OPD again.”

“Holy shit. Sir! I think something’s wrong.”

Noah turned at the panic in Harrison’s voice. He dropped the phone, letting it hit the floor, and took three large steps to Luke. His fingers fumbled with Luke’s, trying to pry the shirt out of his hand. “Luke. Let go.”

Luke eyes were wide, unfocused, blankness in their depth and Noah’s stomach did that revolt it always had whenever it was like this. “He was scared of everything. He wanted to go home.” Tears started to fall from Luke’s eyes and even though Noah knew they weren’t really Luke’s – it still cut him to the core.

He tried pulling the shirt again. “Luke, please. Let it go. Don’t – don’t do this.” Noah’s hands trembled and he fumbled with his end of the material. “Luke!”

Luke’s breathing was erratic, eyes rolling backwards and he slumped to the floor, releasing the shirt as he did. Noah threw it behind him onto the desk, falling to his knees next to Luke’s prone body. His hands rested on Luke’s head, smoothing hair off his forehead.

“Call an ambulance.”

“Yes, sir.” Harrison moved around them, reaching for Noah’s phone that lay on the floor.

Noah kept his eyes to Luke, leaning in closer. A semi-circle was forming around them and his first instinct was to hide Luke. To protect him from prying eyes and whispers. He thanked Margo silently when she rushed out of her office, forcing everyone back to their desks.

“The ambulance is on its way.” Harrison said, bending down to check Luke’s pulse.

Noah practically growled at him and he pulled his hand back, slight surprise and – Noah swore – realization on his face.

“Go out front and wait for it.”

Harrison nodded, exchanging a glance with Margo before heading out the doors.

Noah pulled Luke up, resting his head on Noah’s lap and bent forward, mouth at Luke’s ear.

“Come on, baby. Please. Don’t do this to me.”

Margo’s hand squeezed his shoulder and Noah’s closed his eyes, pleading still.

“Please, Luke.”


-Chapter Three-




Because when Dani tells you to post something, you post something. *G*