Summary: AU. Luke and Noah are married and living in an apartment. Things go wrong when the boys are targeted.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of ATWT characters, purely for fun.
Luke studied himself in the floor-length mirror of his new living room. He turned his head to the left, then to the right, examining the line of his jaw and the laugh lines around his mouth. He felt a chill in his naked upper body as some kind of wind blew through the apartment. He shuddered and placed his left hand over his heart, massaging the muscle in his pectoral.
Had marriage changed his outer body? Did the gold band on his finger transform him into a completely different person? He knew it was a symbol of change, of love and commitment, but he hadn't anticipated that the act of getting married would affect his physical appearance as well. He felt leaner . . . healthier. In love.
Luke felt a hand snake around his waist and a pair of lips kissing the back of his neck. He placed his hand over his husband's and smiled at him in the mirror. Noah rested his chin on Luke's shoulder and looked at him in the mirror. "Hello, my husband," he said.
"Hello," Luke responded, rocking back and forth gently. He could feel Noah's heart beating as his naked chest pressed against his back.
"Grooming yourself?" Noah asked, smiling.
"Mmm," Luke nodded, furrowing his eyebrows. "I'm positively glowing."
Noah laughed and kissed his husband's neck. "I'm glad to be of service," he said.
Luke broke his gaze from the mirror and looked at the room around them. "You know, if we keep stopping to have sex, it'll take us all week to unpack these boxes."
Noah straightened and looked around the living room. The couch was still covered, as was the television and the bookcase. Boxes were strewn all over the place, marked kitchen and bathroom and Noah's movie collection. Most were unopened, dinged slightly from the ride in the moving van. The only respectable thing about their new place was the hardwood floors and the deep blue walls, classic in form and structure. Luke had gone crazy over the colonial revival structure of the apartment building with its stone, arched windows and charming white pillars in front. The only thing they both could have done without was the century's-old plumbing and electrical outlets, but the place had history, no doubt. This was a place where things happened for people.
"Hey, we're newlyweds," Noah said, turning Luke around. "It's expected we'll get a little sidetracked now and then."
Luke grinned widely and wrapped his arms around Noah's neck. "With that attitude, we'll never unpack."
Noah raised his eyebrows. "I like the way you think," he said. He leaned in and kissed his husband, deeply and affectionately. When they parted, Luke touched his forehead to Noah's.
"I can't believe we're here," he said. "After all this time, we're finally married."
"I know," Noah said, putting his hands on Luke's hips. "It feels pretty amazing."
Luke raised a coy eyebrow. "You know what else would feel amazing?" he said.
Noah smiled and leaned in for another kiss. "I think I have an idea—"
Luke whispered in Noah's ear, "Unpacking!" He slapped Noah's shoulder and went to the couch where his shirt had been thrown aside earlier.
Noah tossed his head back and groaned. "You're a killjoy," he said.
Luke tossed Noah his shirt and the boys covered themselves up. Luke tore open a box marked dishes and examined the bubble-wrapped interior to make sure any of their newly-bought kitchenware hadn't broken on the ride to Chicago from Oakdale.
"I have something for you," Noah said as he reached a hand inside of a box by the window.
Luke stood and turned. "For me?" he asked.
Noah turned from the window and unwrapped an object from a white handkerchief. Luke moved closer and Noah held up a gold chain with a charm. He set the handkerchief aside and held it out to Luke. "I know it's kind of tacky," he said. "And I know it's way too early for an anniversary present . . ."
Luke touched his fingers to the charm, a twisty, figure-eight design like some ancient Celtic crest. "It's beautiful," he said.
Noah unclasped the chain and put it around Luke's neck. It was as light as a thread of silk on Luke's skin, the gold charm shining at him on his chest. "It's for love," Noah said. "The man I bought it from said it would protect you."
"What, from the big, bad city folk?" Luke said, smiling.
"Hey, you never know," Noah said. He looked at Luke seriously. "I just . . . wanted you to know how happy I am that we're together."
Luke wrapped his arms around Noah's neck again and smiled. "I know," he said. He looked down at the charm as it seemed to glow unnaturally. "I love it. And I love you."
"I love you, too," Noah said.
They kissed and Luke could feel the gold chain getting warmer around his neck. He rubbed his nose against Noah's and thanked him for the necklace.
As they continued unpacking, Luke watched as the charm swayed back and forth on his chest, a silent reminder that he was loved and wanted. Noah sat on the floor, alphabetizing his movie collection.
"Have you met any of the new neighbors?" Luke asked, stacking one box on top of another.
"Besides our Russian landlord who doesn't speak any English?" Noah asked. "Actually, I met our neighbor in the next apartment."
"Really?" Luke asked, turning slightly. "What's his name?"
"Tobias Howl," Noah said. "He's a doctor."
Luke opened another box and raised his eyebrows. "Cool name," he said.
"He was a jumpy fellow. Kind of strange."
"Well, you know what they say," Luke shrugged. "It's had to make friends with your neighbors in the city." Luke opened the flaps on the box he had cut open and jumped back as a spider crawled in between the object wrapped in newspaper. "Jesus!" Luke cried.
"What?" Noah asked, standing. He rushed to Luke's side. "What is it?"
"It's a spider!" Luke yelped, skidding backwards, away from the box.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of spiders!" Noah laughed.
"Can you just kill it, please?" Luke pleaded.
"You lived on a farm!" Noah said, laughing as he reached his hand inside the box to retrieve the spider. Luke looked on as if the tiny white creature would bite his husband's hand off. "How can you be afraid of little Charlotte here?" Noah asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Luke said, shuddering. "Is it gone?"
Noah held the spider in his fist and went to the kitchen, laughing and shaking his head. He dumped the spider in the sink and ran the tap until the creature fell into the drain. "Sorry, little guy," he said. "Nothing personal." Noah went back to the living room and saw Luke standing behind the couch, his arms over his chest, eyes darting around the room as if another spider would pop out from nowhere.
"Is it dead?" he asked Noah.
"It put up a fight," Noah said, "almost took my hand off. But don't worry, I'm here to protect you."
"Very funny," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "I just . . ." he shuddered again and wrapped his arms tighter around his chest. "Ugh, I hate those things."
Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Luke looked at Noah and went to answer it. "Looks like the welcome wagon has arrived," he said, turning the knob.
When Luke opened the door, his first impression of the couple on the other side was that they belonged in a detergent commercial. The woman with strawberry blonde hair and a crisp yellow blouse held what looked like a pie in her nail-polished hands. She wore a ruby red smile and a bow in her bobbed hair. The gentleman next to her was dressed in a suit with no tie, a dimpled smile and black, slicked-back hair.
Luke blinked and felt, for a moment, that they were merely cardboard cutouts of the Cleavers. "Hello," he said, smiling slightly.
"Hi, neighbor!" the woman responded. A button had been pushed and this Stepford robot was now in play. She thrust the pie out to Luke. "We're the Ericson's from next door. I'm Patricia, this is my husband, Tom."
Luke looked at the sugar-encrusted blueberry pie and took it from her hands. "Nice to meet you," he said. The couple stood, smiling, waiting for him to invite them inside. "Would you like to come in?" Luke offered, standing aside.
"We'd love to," Tom said, leading the way.
"We're so happy to meet you," Patricia said, shaking Luke's free hand as he held the pie in the other.
Noah entered the entryway hall from the living room. "You must be Noah," Tom said. He went to Luke's husband and extended his hand. "I'm Tom."
Noah glanced at Luke and took Tom's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "How did you know my name?"
"We asked Mr. Radzinski who the new tenants were before coming over," Patricia said.
Noah winced as Tom shook his hand. "That's a strong grip you have," he said.
Tom released him and laughed. "Sorry," he said. "I sometimes forget to switch off from business mode."
So I was right, Luke thought, grinning to himself, they are robots.
"Tom's an engineer," Patricia said. "And I run a bakery from our apartment." She turned to Luke and whispered with a wink, "I made that pie especially for you two."
Luke's flabbergasted smile was stuck on his face, unsure of what to make of these two. "Thanks," he said, for lack of a better word.
"Have you two been married long?" Tom asked suddenly.
The question surprised both Luke and Noah, and the Ericson's could see their bewilderment. Noah shot Luke a look. "Uh—"
"Oh, you don't have to worry with us," Tom said, putting his hands up. "We support gay rights." He smiled widely. "Love is love."
"And sex is sex," Patricia said, nudging Luke.
Luke felt his face burn in embarrassment and couldn't stop grinning for the life of him. "We're newlyweds," Luke said. He held up the pie. "I'm gonna put this in the kitchen." He made his way down the hall to the kitchen and shared a look with Noah that meant these neighbors were real characters.
"You picked a good apartment," Patricia went on. "I kept telling Tom here that we should have gotten the flat at the end of the hall, but he just had to have west-facing windows."
"How long have you lived here?" Noah asked.
Tom blinked at Noah, his smile unwavering. "A while," he said.
Luke returned from the kitchen. Patricia turned to her husband. "We should be going," she said. "We don't want to keep you two lovebirds from enjoying your first day in your new apartment."
"She's right," Tom said. "When Patricia and I first got married, we didn't leave the bedroom for about a week."
Patricia giggled and slapped her husband on the shoulder. "Tom!" She turned to Luke and Noah. "Ignore him, he's an idiot."
"Well, thanks for the pie," Luke sad, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Oh, it's our pleasure," Patricia said, opening the front door.
"And if you ever need anything else," Tom said, following his wife, "don't hesitate to knock. Room 306, right next door."
"Thanks," Noah said. "It was really nice meeting you both."
"Oh, you too, sweetie," Patricia reached out from the doorway and gave Noah a hug.
Noah laughed, surprised. When Patricia let him go, Tom held his hand out again. "Noah," he said. "I hope we'll be in touch." He grasped Noah's hands and gave it another business-like grip.
Patricia extended her arms to give Luke a hug as well, then stopped and took a step back. "Whoa," she said, looking at his necklace. "Is that gold?" she asked.
Luke held the charm between his fingers and looked at it. "Yeah," he said. "Noah gave it to me."
Patricia nodded. "Oh," she said, smiling weakly. "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm allergic to gold."
Tom put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "Come on, sweetie," he said. "You can't expect to bend over backwards for you, especially if you're giving them unsolicited hugs."
"I'm sorry, I—"
"Don't be sorry, Luke," Patricia said. She touched his arm. "I'll see you guys around, okay?"
When the couple left, Luke looked at Noah in the hallway. "What was that?" he asked.
Noah shrugged. "Looks like our new neighbors are friendlier than we gave them credit for."
Luke laughed and put his hands to his face. "At least we got some free pie."
"And they made it especially for us two," Noah said, mimicking Patricia's perky voice.
Luke laughed all the way to the living room where he and his husband continued unpacking.
0000000
A window with light. Curtains swaying against a black-and-white sky. Luke could see the necklace Noah had given him spinning behind the open window, bright and shining amidst the white light.
De profundis—
A scream, loud and shrill, maybe a woman. The window shut loudly with a boom! and Luke could see his apartment door at the end of the hall, room 305, the knob twisting and pulling from the inside. Someone wanted to get out.
De profundis—
A barking dog, gnashing it's teeth, mouth foaming as Luke involuntarily made his way to the door, his feet hovering above the floor.
Redivivus—
Then it burned, everything—his mouth his eyes, his entire body felt on fire. There was a child laughing and the sound of the dog barking, howling. Luke looked in the doorway of one of the other rooms as his body floated towards his flat. There was a man on a table in room 302, a knife licking his stomach until blood bubbled from his pale skin. Luke wiped his sweating brow and pulled back blood, thick and almost black in his trembling hand.
Redivivus!
The man in room 302 on the table screamed and the door slammed shut. Across the hall, on Luke's right, room 303 opened its door and Luke saw a little girl playing with a tea set in a pink dress. She looked at him, her pinky raised in the air as she sipped from her plastic tea cup.
"You'll never get anywhere with that attitude," the child said. When she lowered her cup, spiders spilled from the edges and landed on her dress.
De profundis, redivivus—
Luke looked ahead and came face-to-face with his apartment door, room 305. Luke extended a hand, but before he could touch the wood, the door opened slowly and saw Noah sitting on a white-linen bed in the middle of the empty living room. White light poured in from the windows and curtains wafted around him.
Luke opened his mouth to call out to his husband, but he could only sound out his name. His voice was silenced by the emptiness of the room. A man appeared behind one of the curtains. He held a Bible and stood in Luke's direction, his eyes missing from the sockets.
"De profundis, redivivus." The man made the sign of the cross.
Suddenly, Noah fell over sideways on the bed, his head resting on the pillow as if someone had shot him from the side.
The man with the Bible moved quickly over to Luke, as fast as a skittering spider until his face was all Luke could see, that face without eyes.
"I'm sorry," the man's mouth said, "there's nothing we can do."
0000000
Luke awoke with a start, gasping for breath as the last remnants of his dream dissipated from his eyesight. He sat up in bed and looked around the darkness of his room, the half-opened boxes making unsettling shadows along the wall. He felt alone and afraid, that the eyeless man would come to him again and not even Noah could protect him—
Luke looked at the body next to him in bed. Noah slept peacefully, curled on his side towards the window, one hand under his pillow. Luke stared intensely at him for a moment in the dark, to make sure the man was still breathing. When his chest rose and fell like normal, Luke let out a shaky breath and wiped his sweating forehead.
A dream. It was all a dream. The spiders, the blood, the man with no eyes . . . Luke couldn't remember what else was in his dream, but he was thankful it was all over. He lay back down on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling and afraid to go back to sleep. He turned over on his side and wrapped his arm around Noah's waist, pulling himself closer to the wall of Noah's back. Luke counted forty breaths from Noah and still couldn't fall back to sleep, worried the eyeless man in his dream would come to take Noah again.
To be continued