blurbs can be found under the ❥ kel’s brainrot ! tag
noah sebastian x fem reader
cleanse me with pleasure ❤️🔥
i’m the fucking king (fighter au) 💔❤️🩹❤️🔥 | moodboard | teaser
🎀 i’m a handful but that’s what hands are for ❤️🔥
dull the ache ❤️🩹 (gn!reader)
🎀 [want to give you all that i can] give ❤️🔥
butterfly clips blurb 💕
valentine’s day w bartender!noah blurb 💕
🎀 “please, p-p-pretty please?” ❤️🔥
🎀 kinktober 2025 - we have tentacles at home ! ❤️🔥
noah sebastian x fem reader x courtney laplante
🎀 features ❤️🔥 - NEW !
🎀 poly au
noah sebastian x fem reader x nick folio
room 308 ❤️🔥 | coincidence... i think not ❤️🔥 | you should start a cult ❤️🔥 & more coming soon...
nicholas ruffilo x fem reader x noah sebastian
new year’s eve (love me like this ‘til it’s midnight) ❤️🔥
jesse cash x fem reader
will you spend the night? and maybe your life with me 💔❤️🔥 - coming soon...
a little fluffy comforting noah through a thunderstorm thing.
It’s 1am when the heat from the past few sweltering days finally breaks with a flash of lightning that illuminates the sky, and your bedroom. For a second, everything is lit bright and blinding before you’re plunged into darkness once more.
You count the seconds. One… two… thre—
A thunderous roar echoes in the distance, crawling closer, louder than the muffled rumbles that had previously stirred you awake.
A thunderstorm had been looming on the horizon, weather warnings already in place for the day ahead. They never phased you. If anything, you relished them, watching from the window with a thrill curling at the base of your skull with every crack of lightning splitting the sky, followed moments later by the roar of thunder. Sometimes it came loud and deafening, powerful enough to penetrate even closed windows. Other times, it softened into distant rumbles that faded with the passing of a brief storm.
Tonight, it’s the former.
The sound of thunder penetrates louder with your windows left open, and as you turn toward the window from where you lie in bed, listening to the rain striking against the pavement as the heavens finally open, Noah jolts awake beside you at the sudden gunshot-crack of thunder. Unlike you, he isn’t calm when it comes to thunderstorms, and being ripped so suddenly from sleep by one is enough to leave him visibly panicked and disoriented beside you.
Even in the dim illumination cast by the streetlights outside, you can make out the furrow of his brows when you turn to face him. Instinctively, he reaches for you like a safety blanket, your name spilling past his lips in nothing more than a rough croak as he desperately seeks reassurance.
Raising your hands, you cradle his face. “Shh, it’s okay, baby. I’m here. It’s just a little thunder.” Your voice softens as your thumb strokes against his cheek, and he melts into your touch like a cat seeking warmth and affection.
A moment later, your hand slips around to cradle the back of his head, gently guiding him down against your chest while you shift against your already squashed pillows to hold him comfortably.
“I thought this wasn’t until—”
Crack.
Another flash of lightning, followed by a booming roar, cuts him off, and you feel him tremble against you.
“Fuck,” he hisses beneath his breath, burying his face into your chest while your fingers comb soothingly through his hair.
“I guess it came early,” you murmur with a quiet laugh, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head.
His fingers curl tightly into the fabric of your shirt, his arms winding around you as though the tighter he holds on, the safer he’ll be.
“It can’t hurt you, baby.”
All you get in response is a grunted acknowledgement that sounds closer to a disbelieving whine, because no matter how many times you’ve reassured him through past storms, it never quite settles the anxiety brewing while he waits for it to pass.
“Why don’t you put on that anime you’ve been watching?” you suggest, taking a different approach, hopeful that a distraction might help and keep him from spiralling into the catastrophising thoughts no doubt brewing in his mind.
“Okay…” Noah murmurs, his voice sounding so small compared to his overbearing size. Even as he shifts to reach for the TV remote he refuses to let go of you, one arm still tightly wrapped around your waist.
Another flash of lightning spills into the room, and Noah immediately tenses beside you. Your touch travels soothingly down his chest as he settles back against you after retrieving the remote.
“Here.” You gently take it from his hand, allowing him to return to his clingy form of self soothing.
The room is soon bathed in the glow of the TV light as you switch it on.
“Which one was it again?”
Opening Netflix, you scroll through the options before moving down to the ‘Continue Watching’ section just as Noah mumbles, “Naruto.”
You could roll your eyes at the amount of times he’s watched it already.
A small grin tugs at the corner of your mouth as you hit play. The screen turns black before the familiar Netflix logo appears on the screen and the signature ta-dum sound suddenly blares through the room, causing Noah to flinch violently against you.
“Oh, baby, did that scare you?” Even though you try to hide it, amusement bleeds into your voice, earning a quiet chuckle from him in return.
“It caught me off guard. It was loud, okay?” he harrumphs, shaking his head before nestling his cheek against your chest again as he settles comfortably into place.
His attention eventually drifts toward the TV, growing quieter as the episode begins, while yours flickers between Noah and the bedroom window.
Outside, the night sky lights up intermittently, cracks of lightning branching across the darkness in jagged lines and fleeting shapes before vanishing just as quickly. At last, the cooling temperature begins to drift through the open window, no longer rendering your fan useless from doing nothing but blowing hot air around the room.
warnings: nsfw, a little sex scene but i wouldn't say it's too graphic it's just soft and sweet <3 also this hasn't been proof read just yet! i just wanted to post this to say happy friday <3
there's one last chapter after this and then the story is over :') i can't think about it too much or i'll get emotional lmao i don't think i've ever been so attached to one of my own stories before?? also this is pretty short and sweet but i'm hoping it was worth the wait anyway!!
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
“Are you okay? Do you want me to come in with you?” Folio asked, both his hands still resting on the steering wheel while you stared ahead of yourself.
There was a window lit on the second floor- Noah’s bedroom. He was home.
Your stomach turned as you wondered if he was alone, or if he had company tonight. If there was someone else laying on your side of the bed, running their fingers through his hair, wearing his shirt. What if it was too late, what if he had moved on already-
“Y/n?” Folio brought you back to reality, and this time you turned to face him.
“It’s fine,” you said as you shook your head, “I need to do this. Whether he wants to listen to me or not.”
“He’s gonna listen.” Folio said after a moment, his voice quieter this time.
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s Noah,” he said simply, like that should’ve been obvious, “And he loves you. Even now, after everything.”
You swallowed hard, reaching for the door handle… but your hand just rested there, as fear hit you all over again. But with a deep breath, you pushed through it, and opened the door. It was cold outside, and the air smelled like rain and cigarette smoke from Noah’s neighbour, who was currently standing outside on the porch.
“You want me to wait here?” Folio asked through the open window.
You hesitated for a moment, thinking it over. Part of you desperately wanted it, that safety net, someone to back your corner if an argument starts. But another part knew this needed to just be the two of you.
So you shook your head.
“No,” you said softly, “I think I need to do this on my own. But thank you for everything tonight… if you hadn’t been in the bar-”
“Hey,” he interrupted you, a smile tugging on his lips, “Just go get your man.”
Your stomach did a flip at those words, and as you turned around you felt like time had suddenly slowed down. The walk from the driveway to his door felt far longer than it ever used to be, and the moment you reached it, memories came flashing back.
All the nights you’d come back to Noah’s after the club, drunk and giggly, trying to unlock the door in between kisses. Other nights when the two of you had gone to pick up snacks because you were craving something sweet, and you had to sneak in like a pair of teenagers because his roommates were asleep. And now your hands were so shaky you weren’t sure if you could even knock on the door.
But you did it anyway.
Knock knock knock…
Panic suddenly flooded you, terrified that it wouldn’t be Noah answering the door, but maybe another girl.
But before you could worry too much, the door swung open, and there he was. Neither of you spoke for a moment, he just stared at you like his brain had completely stopped working, like you weren’t really there.
And he looked tired, his hair was messily tied in a bun, the sleeves of his hoodie were pushed up his forearms. And as you peered past him, you noticed the stack of boxes against the wall.
He must’ve been packing.
“Y/n?” He said carefully, drawing your attention back to him. When you looked back up at him, he was wearing a confused expression, almost like he was in disbelief.
For a moment, you completely forgot the words you had rehearsed in the car. So you just stared up at him, at his eyes, the crease between his brows, at his mouth you’d missed so much it hurt. You tried to say something, but the moment you parted your lips you were afraid you’d start crying before you could even get a word out.
“Are you okay?” He asked, genuinely concerned.
You just took in another deep breath as you nodded your head, gathering yourself… trying to figure out how to-
SLAP
Your hand moved without you even thinking, hitting him across the face.
“That-” You pointed a finger at his with watery eyes and trembling lips, “That’s for fucking Maya.”
Noah just stared at you, his head turned slightly to the side from the force of your hand, and he looked absolutely baffled, his hand coming up to hold his cheek.
Then the tears finally spilled. They ran hot down your cheeks as you reached up, carefully grabbing his face in both hands… and then you kissed him hard, days of grief and missing him and relief and loving him all crashing together at once, and your lips said everything that you couldn’t.
His hands found your waist as you slowly pulled back, and he was even more confused now, looking at you with a little frown.
“That… was also for fucking Maya.” You said quietly, your eyes still closed.
“What the fuck is happening right now?” He asked with an almost nervous huff of laughter.
You opened your eyes again, and the second you looked at him properly, all the panic came flooding back. Because he looked so lost, so thrown off. He looked was trying to piece together a puzzle but half the pieces were missing.
Your hands were still cupping his face, your thumbs resting against his cheeks, and you realised you were crying so hard your whole body had started shaking, and Noah noticed it too.
“Hey,” he said softly, his confusion immediately giving way to concern again as his grip tightened gently on your waist. “What’s wrong?”
You let out a little sound that could’ve been a laugh, it could’ve been a sob.
“Everything, and nothing…” You whispered.
His face fell.
“Can you just…” you swallowed hard, trying to gather yourself enough to speak properly, “Can you please let me explain before you say anything?”
Noah nodded immediately.
“Okay.”
And god, that hurt too, because he didn’t even hesitate. You took a shaky breath as you tried to figure out what to say first.
“Maya lied to me.” The second her name left your mouth, his expression changed. He wasn’t angry, he just looked exhausted, like he was just tired of hearing her name.
“What did she say?” He asked carefully.
You laughed weakly again, wiping your face with the sleeve of your jacket.
“What didn’t she say?” You scoffed.
Noah stayed quiet, waiting for you to explain.
“That night… when we were at Jess’s, she was telling me all these things.” You began to explain, your eyes drifting away from his because somehow it felt too vulnerable to look at him while admitting all of this. “She told me that you didn’t love me… that you never did. She told me you only wanted to sleep with me because nobody else had.”
“Baby-” Noah frowned.
“And then I came over here and I asked you if it was true,” you rushed on, your breathing starting to quicken. “And you said yes...”
His eyes widened instantly.
“Oh my god.”
You nodded, though your eyes were welling up again.
“I thought you were confessing to it.”
“No,” he said immediately, shaking his head hard enough that your hands moved with it, “No, no- I thought you meant about me and Maya hooking up before we got together.”
Your eyes squeezed shut.
“I know that now.”
“Jesus christ…” Noah breathed, dragging a hand down his face before looking back at you again in disbelief. “That’s what this whole thing has been about?”
You gave a weak nod, but he looked completely crushed.
“Y/n,” he said quietly, almost in disbelief himself, “I would never do that to you, I'd never-”
“I know,” you whispered. “I know now.”
The silence that followed felt so heavy, like it was weighing down on your chest. Noah stared at you for a moment, his expression softening more and more the longer he looked at you standing there crying in his doorway.
“Why didn’t you ask me properly?” He asked gently, “We could’ve avoided all of this…”
You dropped your head down, knowing there wasn’t a good answer to this.
“I don’t know,” you said weakly. “I think… I think I was just angry, and even more so when I asked you if it was true, and it seemed like you knew exactly what I was talking about.”
Noah gently shook his head as his thumb brushed against your side through your jacket.
“You really thought I didn’t love you?” He asked quietly. “After everything?”
You laughed through your tears again, feeling embarrassed now.
“She was messing with my head, she made me feel stupid for believing you did, and now I feel stupid for-”
“No, don’t do that, baby.” He said, and you lifted your eyes back up to his, “You’re not stupid, especially not for feeling loved.”
Noah watched in real time as your weak smile faded and another sob nearly escaped you.
“Oh no.” He whispered softly, and before you could even react properly, his hand slid up your arms and then he was pulling you against him, into a hug.
You buried your face in his chest, and the second his arms wrapped around you properly, you completely gave in, and you stopped holding back.
“I’m sorry,” you cried into his hoodie. “I’m so sorry, Noah…”
“Shh,” he whispered immediately, holding the back of your head carefully. “It’s okay.”
“No it’s not,” you sobbed. “I fired you! I blocked your number! I said some things I didn’t mean, I’ve been so horrible to you-”
“No,” he said again softly, “You did it all because you thought I hurt you.”
“But I didn’t even give you a chance to explain! It’s on me for being so fucking-”
“Stubborn?” He asked, letting out the smallest laugh into your hair, “Y’know that’s one of the things I love about you though, right? You’re stubborn, I’m an asshole… you put me in my place. We’re perfect for each other.”
You let out a little weak laugh, and Noah let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.
God, he’d missed you.
His hand rubbed slowly up and down your back while you cried against him, telling you to let it all out, it was so comforting that your knees nearly gave out from relief. But after a minute, you pulled back slightly, just enough to look at him again.
“I love you.” You said, so sure of it as you looked into his eyes, “I don’t know how the fuck you did it, I was so certain that I’d never let myself fall for you all those months ago… but now I don’t know how to live without you.”
The moment those last few words left your mouth, you noticed the shift in him. He was scarily quiet, and he was looking at you as if he wasn’t sure whether he should say what he was thinking.
“What?” You asked, your brows drawing together.
His eyes drifted away from yours, scaring you a little.
“Noah?”
He exhaled slowly through his nose, like he was trying to figure out how to say it without ruining this moment.
Then, his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, before finally saying,
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”
You were guessing you already knew what it was, the move- Folio had told you. But hearing the tension in his voice now made your stomach turn anyway.
Noah stepped back slightly then, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he glanced over his shoulder toward the boxes stacked against the wall.
“I got offered a place in LA,” he said quietly. “It’s better for the band out there, more opportunities, closer to everything...”
You stayed still and silent, letting him explain- but Noah mistook that silence immediately.
“I wanted to tell you before everything happened,” he rushed to explain. “I was even gonna ask you to come with me, but then…”
“Everything happened.”
He laughed weakly under his breath, giving you a nod.
“And I was worried it was too soon,” he continued quietly. “I was waiting for the right time to ask you, but I was worried I’d be putting too much pressure on you. We’ve only known each other… for half a year, then suddenly I’m asking you to move across the country with me? And then after we broke up…” his voice faltered the slightest. “I figured there wasn’t really a point bringing it up anymore. I figured you’d be glad to get rid of me.”
The thought of that nearly broke your heart again, thinking about him packing everything up alone, thinking he was leaving without you, thinking this was over forever.
“Noah,” you began softly, “Do you even know why I’m here right now?”
He searched your eyes, a little confused.
“To tell me this was all a misunderstanding?”
You nodded your head before pulling back from him.
“That's part of it… I think we should go inside before I explain it all.”
Noah had been too caught up to realise you were still both standing at the front door, so he immediately nodded before letting you in.
The two of you went up to his room, and it was so strange to see it this way. Everything had been taken off the walls, there was an empty space where his guitars once rested against the wall, and there was minimal furniture now, just the drawers and his bed. It made it all seem real.
It suddenly hit you again that he was really going, and that if Folio hadn't said anything, and if you would’ve stayed home, you would’ve lost him for good.
“I was at the bar tonight,” you started to explain as you sat down on his bed, “Jess wanted to get me out of the house. Our plan was to… celebrate Steve. But then I saw someone I recognised… Folio.”
Noah nodded his head.
“Yeah, he told me he was going out tonight with some of the guys. He asked if I wanted to come but I've been busy here… as you can see.”
You nodded too, looking up to meet his eyes.
“He came over to us and started talking to me. He brought up us, and he was saying that you wanted to tell me about you and Maya, about you two hooking up before we became serious, and it confused me because that wasn’t the story she told me-”
“I did want to tell you about that,” Noah explained, “But she told me not to, she said it’d just mess things up between you and her, and you and me, and I was afraid. I didn’t want you to think it meant anything, because it didn’t. I was just…”
He paused for a moment, almost like he was embarrassed about what he was about to admit.
“Just what?”
He let out a slow breath through his nose, his eyes dropping to the floor.
“I was stupid,” he admitted, “And lonely, I guess. I was working all day, doing band stuff at night… I know it's no excuse. But I never wanted her like that… not like how I want you.”
Your eyes widened a little, and Noah gave a weak little laugh.
“I remember back when I first met you, I thought Jesus Christ she’s terrifying!”
You couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“No you didn’t.”
“I fucking did,” he said, looking almost offended, “You walked around that shop like you owned the place, bossing everyone around, never afraid to argue with me, tell me how much you hate me…” you watched as his face softened slightly before he continued, speaking quietly, “And I kept thinking there’s no way she would ever like me.”
Your smile faded slightly as you thought back to that first week, you could still picture it all so vividly. Noah walking through the door for the first time, that fucking smirk on his face, the way he’d lean against cars and smile at you, the shameless flirting and teasing, the morning he brought you breakfast- all the moments you brushed off, all the moments you thought were meaningless…
“You actually liked me all that time?” You asked quietly, earning a look from that said don’t be ridiculous.
“Baby.” He said, and the word alone made your head spin. He finally sat down beside you on the bed, close enough to bump your knee with his, “You wanna know something really embarrassing?”
You narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him.
“That depends...”
He chuckled, shaking his head.
“I’ve been in love with you this entire time, since the moment I walked through that squeaky door and saw you sitting at your desk, you had no idea who I was or what I was doing there… and I was nervous, so I might’ve come across a little cocky-”
“A little?” You scoffed.
“Fine,” he laughed, “But that’s when I realised it got your attention, so I loved teasing you and annoying the shit out of you-”
“You still do.” You said with a little chuckle, and Noah shrugged.
“Can you blame me? Whenever you’d get all pissed off your cheeks would go pink and you’d try so hard to pretend I didn’t have an effect on you… I thought you looked so fucking cute.”
“Stop!” You groaned, covering your face with your hands so he couldn’t see he was having that very effect on you right now.”
“No,” he said, gently pulling your hands away, “No, I’m saying it now, I’m telling you the truth.”
So you looked at him again with warm cheeks and a racing heart.
“I’d spend all day finding excuses to come bother you,” he continued with a little grin, “Stealing your pens, asking you stupid questions I already knew the answer to… hiding your stapler…”
“That was you?”
“...Yeah…”
“You dick!” You laughed, smacking his arm, “I thought I was going crazy!”
“Yeah, sorry, that was me.” He chuckled, but you watched as his smile slowly faded and he became more serious again. “But… I never thought you’d actually like me back though.”
Your brows drew together.
“What?”
He looked away, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before finally saying,
“C’mon. A guy like me?”
“What do you mean?” You asked, and you watched as he just shrugged.
“I’m far from perfect, baby, you know that.” He said quietly, “I know I joke around, I act like I don’t care about shit but… that’s because I never really had anything to care about.” He turned to face you again, his hand finding yours, intertwining your fingers, “But then I met you.”
You swallowed, feeling your heart ache even more.
“You had your life together. You cared about people, you worked hard, took your job far too seriously,” he couldn’t help but chuckle again. “You made me want to be a better person. So I started working on myself, because of you.”
You froze, like you couldn’t believe what he had just said.
“What?”
He nodded his head.
“I wanted to deserve you,” he confessed, “I started trying harder because of you. I stopped fucking around so much, stopped smoking and drinking all the time- I started taking things seriously because…” he shook his head with a little laugh, “I wanted to feel like I was worthy of you.”
A tear slipped down your cheek before you could stop it, but he caught it, wiping it away.
“I’ve never had a proper relationship before, just like you,” he continued, “No one ever thought I could do anything serious, so they never gave me the chance to prove it. In the end, I started to believe it myself, so I made sure it stayed that way. I didn’t want to get hurt, so I never let myself get in the position where I would… that was until you came along.”
You looked up at him, still not saying anything, letting him continue.
“And when I realised there was even the slightest possibility that you liked me back, I knew none of that mattered anymore. At first I thought our stupid enemies with benefits thing was enough, but then I started to miss you when you weren’t around, and I didn’t want to fill that void with random girls anymore. I wanted you, I wanted more, so that day you told me you don’t want me sleeping with other girls… I was hoping that meant you wanted the same thing as me, but you were just too afraid to admit it.”
You nodded your head.
“You wanna hear something stupid?” You asked, looking up at him with teary eyes.
“Nothing you ever say is stupid.”
“Trust me, this is.” You said, a little laugh escaping, “I spent every day trying to convince myself I didn’t like you. Ever since you walked into my office with that red beanie on your head and your tattoos out, with that stupid sexy smirk that I wanted to wipe off your face, I knew I was in trouble. I told myself and everyone around me that I hated you, but you were right all along- I hated that I didn’t hate you. Then we spent more and more time together, and I started to get to know you properly, and I started to see through that front you put on. I knew you weren’t this fuckboy asshole you pretended to be, and the more you proved it... the harder I fell for you.”
Noah looked genuinely taken back by that, and it made you feel a little shy. You looked down at your hands, giving his a little squeeze before you continued.
“I never liked relying on people, I even hate letting myself be vulnerable around my best friends. But you made it so easy, you never made me feel like a burden or like I was too much. Which I think Maya knew, and that’s why she came up with that lie. She knew that would hurt me more than a stupid fling, and I guess it did.”
Noah frowned, a sorry look in his eyes.
“But just so I know... what exactly happened between the two of you?” You asked, “I know it’s none of my business because it was before we got together, but she never said a word about it to me.”
Noah took a deep breath.
“I started because she kept hanging around after my shows, she’d be there alone so I’d ask where you were- and she’d always have some excuse. She’d always look pissed when I mentioned your name though, like she already knew how I felt about you. But in the beginning she was messing with my head too, telling me how much you hated me and talked shit about me, so of course I believed her because she was your best friend…”
You nodded your head slowly.
“So when was the first time that you two… y’know.”
Noah bit down on his lip as he tried to think back.
“It was after a show one night, there was an afterparty, we were both drunk and she was just there.” He confessed. “Never once did it mean anything though. Like I said, I was just lonely, I never thought you’d give me a chance… and it only happened two more times after that. She kept trying to make it happen again and again but I kept turning her down because it wasn't what I wanted.”
You nodded your head again, silently telling him you understood.
“I won’t pretend I’m not hurt by it,” you said quietly, “But I get it. We weren’t together. And I trust that as soon as I asked you to stop seeing other girls, you did.”
Noah nodded his head, reaching behind him for his phone before handing it over to you.
“I did. You can even check if you don’t believe me-”
You shook your head.
“I do believe you.” You said, a little smile tugging at your lips as you handed his phone straight back, “You’ve never done anything to make me doubt you before, and you’ve just owned up to all of this. I trust you, Noah.”
The moment he took his phone back, his face softened. He put his phone back down beside him on the bed as his throat bobbed, and for a moment he couldn’t look at you. His vision had blurred with tears, and he pressed his lips together while he thought of how to word what he wanted to say.
Finally he took in a breath through his nose before turning to face you. He then reached over, both his hands finding your face, gently cupping your cheeks.
“I love you so much.” He said quietly.
And you could tell he meant it,
“So fucking much.” He added, his voice a little shaky.
Your face crumpled slightly as you tried to hold back your own tears, but it was impossible.
“I can’t help it.” You said, laughing even as your bottom lip wobbled.
He leaned forwards, pressing his forehead against yours, the both of you smiling stupidly through the tears. You stayed like this for a moment until he slowly pulled back, and then his smile started to fade again.
Because he remembered. His eyes drifted from your face to the boxes, the empty walls, and you felt your heart sink. You knew exactly where his mind went- he was moving away. He was leaving this life, and you, behind.
You watched him swallow and then he looked back at you again, and tried to smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“I hate this.” He finally said, quietly.
“What?” You asked, your brows furrowed.
He laughed softly, though it sounded sad.
“You’re here telling me you love me and you trust me…” he shook his head, “And I’m leaving at the end of the month.”
He looked away then, and for a moment it was silent between you two.
“I’ve never wanted to stay somewhere before, not for anyone… but then this happened, you happened.” He said with another weak laugh, “I finally get everything I’ve ever wanted… and I’ve gotta leave it all behind-”
“Noah.”
He looked at you again, and you reached up, taking his hands away from your face and holding them tightly between yours.
“This is where I was going with all of this,” you whispered, giving his hands a little squeeze. He looked confused, so you continued. “I knew about this before I came here. Folio told me about the move, and he told me you were going to ask me to come with you before everything blew up between us…” You felt nervous now, nervous that he’d turn you down, but you kept going anyway. “I know it sounds reckless, and I know it probably seems like I haven’t thought about it properly-”
“Babe-”
“No, let me finish.” You said, looking right into his eyes. “If you still want me, if you still want us… then take me with you.”
For a moment, Noah didn’t move. He didn’t blink, he didn’t breathe, he just stared at you. You suddenly felt your stomach drop. Oh god, you’ve only just fixed things, maybe this was too much, maybe you-
“What?” Noah asked, still staring at you like he’d just imagined it.
You swallowed hard, holding his hands even tighter.
“What would I have left here without you, Noah? Steve’s… gone. Linda’s moving- the shop was going to be handed to me, but they’ve got two sons, one of them could have it… but I've also been thinking about selling it-”
“You can’t,” Noah shook his head, “That place has been owned by your family for years.”
You took another breath, trying to keep yourself composed.
“I spoke to Glenn, just after Steve passed. I don’t know if you remember him, he was good friends with my uncle, he’d bring his car in sometimes even though there was nothing wrong with it, just to talk to him. He told me he’d take over if I ever needed it, if one day an opportunity came up. He said the only thing Steve’s ever wanted is to see me happy, to live my life with no regrets… he never wanted me to work there forever.”
Noah nodded his head, his eyes softening.
“Since everything happened, and since losing him, this town just doesn’t feel like home anymore.” You said softly. “It feels like my past… and ever since meeting you, every time I picture my future, you’re always there.” Your eyes lifted back to his. “It’s always you.”
You watched as every overwhelming emotion crossed his face- love and joy and affection- you could see it all in his eyes.
“Baby…” He whispered, and you laughed shakily through fresh tears.
“I know it’s terrifying,” you admitted. “And yeah, maybe everyone’s gonna think I’m insane for following my boyfriend to LA after all of this-”
“Boyfriend…?”
Your watery eyes met his again.
“Well…” you smiled shyly. “Unless you don’t wanna be?”
The silence between you only lasted a couple seconds, and it wasn’t from hesitation, it was pure awe.
“Are you kidding?” He asked, suddenly lost for words, “Baby, of course… why would I say no…?”
You didn’t get to say anything before he pulled you into another kiss, kissing you so suddenly that it stole your breath, that your heart fluttered as you felt every word he couldn’t say.
And when he pulled back, he gave you a proper smile, one you hadn’t seen in what felt like forever.
“You’re serious about this? You really wanna come with me?”
You nodded your head.
“I do.”
“You’d really leave all this behind and move to a city you’ve never even seen before.”
“Yeah.” You said simply.
“You’d live in some shitty apartment with me? You’d really move in… with me?”
You nodded again.
“I’ve learnt to put up with you over these months, it can’t be that bad.” You chuckled, making him laugh.
“Shit… okay…” He grinned, then he pressed his forehead against yours like he couldn’t even stand the few inches of distance between you. “We’re really doing this.”
You pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
“Looks like we are.” You said, smiling against his mouth.
Noah let out a shaky breath and kissed you again, but slower this time. His lips moved so gently against yours, like he was taking the time to memorise you all over again after all this time apart. His hand slid up to cradle the back of your head, his fingers gently threading through your hair as the kiss deepened.
When he pulled back enough to look at you, his eyes weren’t dark or hungry, they were soft and full of such love and wonder. He gave you a look that silently asked for your permission, and as soon as you nodded, he reached for the hem of your top, gently lifting it over your head- then you did the same with his, letting your palms rest against his warm chest, feeling his heart beating fast beneath your fingers.
There was no rush at all, he kissed every inch of your face- your forehead, your temple, the tip of your nose, the corner of your mouth, then he found your lips again. His hands gently explored your bare skin like it was the first time all over again. The tips of his fingers traced your spine, your ribs, the curve of your waist… and it wasn’t long before the two of you lost the rest of your clothes, then he laid you down on his bed.
He settled between your legs, touching you with one hand while the other held himself up above you, looking at you with so much love it made your chest hurt. You let out a soft sound as his finger circled your clit, your hands reaching up to cup his face again, pulling him down into another kiss.
“I can’t believe you’re really mine again.” He whispered when he pulled back for air, his nose brushing against yours.
“I’m yours.” You breathed against his lips, “I’ve always been yours.”
With that, Noah kissed you again, deeper this time, and carefully lined himself up with you. He made sure to be extra careful as it had been a while since you were last in bed together. He slowlyand gently pushed inside you until he was buried to the hilt. Then he stilled, and the both of you let out a soft shaky sound.
You wrapped your arms and legs around him, holding him as close as possible. You both stayed like this for a long moment, just holding each other, completely connected, your foreheads pressed together, breathing in the same air.
When he finally started to move, he gave you slow, deep thrusts that let you feel every inch of him. Every movement was gentle, full of love and tenderness. He buried his face in your neck, pressing soft, open mouthed kisses against your skin as he moved inside you.
“I love you,” he whispered between kisses, “So much…”
Tears began to fill your eyes again as you clung to him, your fingers gently running through his hair.
“I love you too,” you breathed, your voice trembling with emotion, “I missed you so much…”
He kept the pace slow the entire time, rocking into you with long, deep strokes. He had one hand between your bodies, stroking your clit, while your nails dragged down his back, leaving faint red lines across his skin. He shivered at the feeling.
Your lips found his again, catching his bottom lip between your teeth for a moment before soothing it by kissing him even deeper. You don’t think he has ever been so soft and gentle with you, the thought of it not only made your heart squeeze, but your walls clenched around him too.
“I’m close,” he pulled back to whisper, his face glowing with a sheen of sweat, “Are you?”
You nodded, your lips brushing his.
“Yeah I’m with you… just like this.”
He kept the same slow, loving pace, kissing you deeply as the pleasure started to build. Your fingers tugged at his hair. A soft, trembling moan left your lips as you came, your body tightening around him in gentle pulses. Noah followed right after, burying his face in your neck again with a quiet, broken sound as he spilled inside you.
Neither of you moved too quickly after, you just held each other. Noah stayed buried deep inside you, arms wrapped around your body as he pressed soft kisses to your neck, your shoulder, your jaw.
He finally lifted his head to look at you, his eyes soft and full of love. Without a word, he kissed your lips again, slow and sweet.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, brushing damp hair from your forehead. “I’m right here.”
You smiled, tired and glowing, and pulled him back down so his head rested on your bare chest. Your fingers continued running through his hair as your heartbeats slowly settled together.
Noah pressed another kiss right over your heart, then nuzzled closer, wrapping himself around you like he never wanted to let go.
“Stay with me tonight,” he mumbled sleepily against your skin. “Stay with me every night.”
You kissed the top of his head, holding him tighter.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
…
For the first time in what felt like weeks, you woke up without that horrible heavy feeling in your chest suffocating you, without panic, without grief consuming you the second your eyes opened. Instead, you felt warmth. A whole 6ft 3 of warmth, to be precise.
You sleepily blinked your eyes open, confused at how something heavy was wrapped around your waist, and something warm was pressed against your back. But then when you felt his slow breaths at the back of your neck, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself.
The two of you were tangled up, one of his legs were somehow thrown over yours, and his arm was locked around your middle like if he loosened his grip the slightest, he’d lose you again. You just stayed there for a moment, listening to him softly snoring, feeling his chest rise and fall against your back.
God, you’d missed this. Missed him.
Slowly, you turned around just enough to look at him. His hair was a mess, falling into his face, his lips were slightly parted as he slept… and for a moment your chest had that funny feeling, because he looked so peaceful, like maybe he’d slept properly for the first time in weeks too.
You slowly lifted your hand and brushed his hair back from his forehead, pressing a kiss to it. And as you pulled back, he reacted, scrunching his face slightly before he made a sleepy sound.
“Mmph.”
You couldn’t help but smile. Then he opened one eye, then the other, and for a moment he stared at you sleepily, a confused look spreading across his face as he processed everything. Then suddenly his face softened, and he gave you a sleepy smile.
“...Hi.” His voice was rough with sleep, making your tummy do a fuzzy flip.
“Hi.” You said as you smiled back.
He stared at you for another second, then looked around the room, then back at you. Then he smiled big and wide, but buried it in the pillow.
“What?” You asked with a soft, quiet laugh.
Somehow, he moved even closer, pulling you closer into him, his arms wrapped tight around you as he pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder.
“My girlfriend stayed over.”
You snorted.
“There he is.”
“Mm, morning baby.”
He pressed another kiss to your shoulder, then your neck, then your jaw, then lazily against your lips. You kissed him back, because how could you not, then he smiled against your lips before giving you another kiss. Then another, and another. Small, slow, needy, sleepy kisses… until you smiled into one of them.
“What?” He asked, pulling back.
“...Nothing.” You said, though he wasn’t convinced.
“You better get used to this, baby. When we’re in our own apartment, this is how I’m gonna wake you up every morning.”
“I woke you up.” You laughed as he kissed you again.
“Shut up.” He grinned as he kissed you again.
Then again, and again. Until eventually, you had to pull back because you were starting to giggle.
“Noah-”
“Nope.” He said as he kissed you again.
“Noah-” You giggled, but again, he shut you up with another nope and another kiss.
He kept doing this until you shoved gently at his chest.
“Stop!” You said, still laughing, and his face dropped playfully.
“Stop kissing you? You want me, your boyfriend, to stop kissing you, my girlfriend?”
“Yes!” You giggled.
“But why?” He asked, putting on a sad face that made him look like a little puppy.
“Because you’re being annoying!” You grinned despite yourself, and he innocently rested his chin on your shoulder.
“Babe?”
“Hm?”
“Say it again.”
“...Say what again? That you annoy me?” You laughed.
“No… that thing you said yesterday. What you called me.”
You stared at him.
“No.”
“Baby-”
“No.”
“Baaabe.”
“Noah.”
“Please?”
You rolled your eyes.
“Oh my god,” you groaned as you finally sat up. “Boyfriend? You want me to call you my boyfriend?”
He grinned wide, and it melted your heart, because you had been terrified you’d never see that smile again. Then his arms wrapped around you again as he kissed your cheek.
“Mmhm. That hit the spot.”
You let out a sigh as you rested your head on his chest, and tilted your head up to look at him.
“Y’know, I was thinking…”
He met your eyes suddenly, his smile softening.
“About what?”
“I should probably go home soon and start figuring everything out… packing and calling people.”
“Yeah?”
You nodded your head.
“I just don’t even know where to start.”
Noah looked at you quietly for a moment, before nuzzling his face into your hair, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
“I’ll help you, baby. You won’t have to do it alone,” his hand gently stroked up and down your arm, “I’ll be with you every step, okay?”
You nodded your head. He always knew just how to make you feel safe and reassured, even when you hated asking for help.
“Thank you.” You said quietly.
“No problem.” He said with a smile. “...I’ve gotta pee.”
You stared at him, your expression blank. Trust him to ruin the moment.
“Noah!” You groaned.
“What?” He laughed, already sitting up, “I’m being honest, babe.”
“Mm.” You grumbled, but he gave you one last kiss before stumbling sleepily out of bed in nothing but his boxers, and disappeared out of the bedroom.
And you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face after he left.
…
A little while later you found yourselves in the bathroom together, brushing your teeth- mostly because Noah refused to let you out of his sight. His exact words had been “I’ve only had my girlfriend back for like… twelve hours.”
So now you were standing beside him at the sink while he brushed his teeth, watching him in the mirror. He caught you staring almost immediately, and he lifted an eyebrow, his mouth still full of toothpaste as he made a noise.
“…Mph?”
You rolled your eyes.
“Nothing.”
He narrowed his eyes and pointed at you with his toothbrush.
“Mmphmm.”
“Noah, I have no idea what you’re saying.”
He spat into the sink.
“I said,” he grinned, “You got a staring problem?”
“Pfft, as if.”
He nodded like he didn’t believe you for a second.
“You think I’m hot first thing in the morning, huh? You missed all of this?” He gestured to himself.
“You’re so annoying.” You scoffed.
And of course, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight when you were in the shower either, insisting you do it together. It felt nice, the two washed each other's hair, and then Noah started singing badly to purposely annoy you. And of course, it worked.
“What’s up with you this morning?” You asked as you hesitantly reached for his 5-in-1 shower gel, since you made him give all your stuff back a while ago now.
He shrugged.
“I’m just happy,” he said simply, “I’ve missed you.”
And the smile he gave you made it impossible to stay annoyed at him, so you smiled back, before pulling him down into a kiss.
“I’ve missed you too.”
About an hour later you were both dressed and downstairs. Noah had made coffee, and was gathering his spare boxes from the house so you could start packing.
You stared at them, the pile of flat boxes piling up on the couch.
“You got so many.” You said as he threw another onto the pile.
“I bought all of these back when I was planning to ask you to come with me, so I made sure I got enough.” He explained, and for some reason that hurt a little.
He was going to have all these spare boxes-
Suddenly his arm slipped around your shoulders and he pressed a kiss to your temple, as if he could sense the change in your mood.
“Hey, no more sad face.” He told you, making you grin.
…
By the time you got back to your place, Noah was taking this a lot more seriously than you expected him to, which really surprised you. You expected him to come in, throw your shit into boxes, forget the important things and somehow lose his phone halfway through.
Instead he sat cross legged on your living room floor with a notebook in his lap. You sat beside him, hugging your knees as he clicked the end of a pen.
“Okay.” He said, nodding seriously as he began to write on the page, “Things y/n is not allowed to stress about.”
“…What?”
He ignored you.
“House.” Scribble scribble. “You rent this place, right?”
You nodded.
“Do you pay rent monthly.”
“Yeah… how much notice am I gonna have to give?”
“Uhh probably a month minimum? Maybe give your landlord a call-”
“Landlady,” you said proudly, “Her names Maxine, and she likes me so I’m hoping she’ll be okay with it.”
“Okay, that's good.” His hand found your knee, “What about work? The shop?”
The thought of that hurt more than you wanted it to, and Noah clearly noticed. He looked over at you, his voice softening as he spoke.
“You said you were thinking about handing it to Glenn?”
You nodded.
“He said he’d take it.”
“Then we call Glenn.”
Your eyes dropped to the notebook.
“…There’s probably loads of paperwork I'd have to do.”
“That’s okay.”
“And legal stuff.”
“We can handle that.”
“And then there’s all Steve’s things and-”
“Baby.” He interrupted.
You looked at him. Noah had put the notebook down now, and he had shuffled closer towards you. He reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.
“You know what your job is right now? The only thing I'll let you worry about?”
You stared at him quietly.
“What?”
He smiled softly.
“Start packing.”
“What?” Your brows furrowed. “But-”
“I’ll handle everything else.”
“Noah-”
“I’m serious.”
His hand slid into yours, and his thumb brushed over your knuckles as he spoke softly.
“You’ve just lost one of the most important people in your life, you’ve gone through hell and back this month… let me take care of things for a bit, okay?” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against your forehead. “I’ve got this, I promise.”
You frowned, your eyes starting to sting again.
“Noah…”
He smiled softly.
“Just pack your things, baby. Start with clothes you don’t wear that often, or things in the cupboards you don’t use everyday.” He nudged one of the boxes toward you. “And maybe stop crying on everything or all your stuff’s gonna get wet.”
You let out a weak laugh at that and leaned forwards, giving Noah a kiss before standing up.
“Fine.”
“Love you!” Noah called out as you left the room.
“Love you too.”
…
You stood in your bedroom, the bedroom you have lived in since you got this place three years ago. You still remember the day you moved in, Steve had friends with big vans who helped take all your stuff from his place to here, and you could still remember the look on his face when he left you by yourself on your very first night here. He told you he was proud of you, yet also terrified. Not because you were living alone, he knew for a fact you could handle yourself, you had always been so independent- it just scared him because of how quick you had grown up.
One minute you were 8 years old and moving in with him and Linda, the next you were 15, working in the shop on the weekends, learning all about the ins and outs of cars. Then you were 18, moving out of what had become your home. Now, you’re almost 22 and about to restart your life without him. You had always imagined this happening- leaving this town- but you never imagined you'd be doing it without his help.
You tried not to get too emotional. You tried not to think about how proud Steve would be, and how relentlessly he’d be teasing you for stupidly breaking up with Noah over a lie, to then deciding to move across the country with him the very same night you got back together.
You thought about what you’d say to him right now if he was still here. You’d ask him if he thought what you were doing was stupid, and then you heard his voice in your head,
“You gotta take the risk to find out. That’s what life’s all about, kid.”
Though a tear slid down your cheek, you smiled. He was always right.
So you started with your drawers, finding random things you forgot you even had. Concert tickets from shows you went to with her. Old birthday cards, because you could never throw them away, random polaroid pictures and photos from the photobooth at the bar Jess worked at.
You found yourself sitting on the floor with the box beside you, throwing everything in… until you stumbled across something. An old coffee mug you never used with WORLD’S OKAYEST MECHANIC printed across the front.
You smiled softly, then frowned, then smiled sadly. Noah then appeared out of nowhere, stood by your bedroom door, his arms folded over his chest.
“…What’s that face?”
You held the mug up.
“Steve got me this after I accidentally put diesel in someone’s petrol car.”
Noah stared at you, looking very unimpressed.
“You what?”
“I was seventeen!”
He looked horrified.
“Babe.”
“It was one time, Noah!”
He started laughing, shaking his head.
“Remind me to never let you take my car to the gas station.”
You rolled your eyes but you were still smiling.
“Have you packed much?” He asked, sitting on the edge of your bed.
“Not really,” you sighed, “I keep getting distracted.”
“You want some help?” He asked softly, and you nodded your head.
You gave him the task of packing your closet. You grabbed a few things out to set aside so you’d actually have some clothes to wear before the end of the month. While he did that, you tried your best to carry on with the drawers- and just as you got back into it, your phone started buzzing on your bed.
Noah picked it up, taking a look at the name on the screen.
“Who is it?” You asked.
“Jess,” he said, handing it over to you, “You want me to give you some space?”
"It's fine." You shook your head, and answered the call.
“Hey.”
“FINALLY!” You immediately pulled the phone away from your ear.
“What the hell-”
“I’ve been calling you all morning but you haven’t been answering. How did it go?!”
“…What?”
“With Noah!” Jess practically yelled. “Did the two of you make up, or...”
You looked over at Noah, who was trying very hard to make it look like he wasn’t listening, folding a tshirt with a smirk on his face.
“Yeah… yeah, we did.”
She was quiet for a moment, until she finally said,
“And?”
You looked up at Noah again, his hair falling into his face while he organised your clothes in the box, and you couldn’t help but smile at his concentration face. Then he looked up for a moment, and when he noticed you looking, he smiled back at you. A small, soft, fond little smile. As if he couldn’t believe you were both here, packing up your room.
“We talked- a lot actually- and then I stayed at his place last night.”
“Oh my god!!” She squealed, “So the two of you are back together?”
You smiled even wider, unable to stop it.
“Yeah, we are. Properly this time.”
She gasped.
“He asked you to be his girlfriend.”
“Well,” you said, “I kinda asked him to be my boyfriend.”
Jess squealed again, unable to contain her excitement.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you!” She said, and you could hear the pure joy in her voice, “And uh… I thought I should let you know I paid Maya a visit last night.”
You swallowed.
“Yeah?... what happened?”
“Well…” she said, “Nothing bad.”
“Jess.”
“I might’ve yelled a little.”
“…Just a little?”
“And maybe Sam had to get between us because I was about to do something stupid…”
Your eyes widened.
“Oh my god.”
“Relax! I didn’t kill her!” She laughed again, before adding under her breath, “Sam didn't give me the chance.”
You couldn’t help but laugh.
“So what exactly did you do?”
Jess sighed dramatically.
“I just told her exactly what I thought.”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, y’know… I just asked her what you did for her to hurt you like that. She had no answer, so I asked her if it’s because she’s jealous, and I seemed to hit a nerve there.”
You scoffed, but she carried on.
“We argued for like twenty minutes until she fucking slapped me. And I wasn’t gonna let that bitch think she can do that… there was a pretty much empty bottle of wine on her coffee table, so I grabbed that, then-”
You gasped, your hand covering your mouth.
“You didn’t!”
“I couldn’t,” she scoffed, “That was when Sam stepped in, he told me she wasn’t worth it. Then he dragged me back to the car.”
For a moment, you processed everything she had said, knowing she did that for you.
For as long as you’ve known her, Jess has always had your back- whether you were in the right or wrong. She had been there for you when nobody else has- during everything with Noah, losing Steve, nights where you had convinced yourself you were alone, that everyone eventually leaves and all you could rely on was yourself…
It suddenly hit you, that you had never actually been alone.
“Hey, you still there?” She asked over the phone.
“Oh,” you suddenly laughed, quickly wiping under your eyes, “Yeah… sorry.”
“...Are you crying?”
“No.” You said, though your sniffle gave you away.
“It sounds like it-”
“I’m not crying.” You insisted, and across the room Noah looked up immediately, his brows pulling together.
You gave him a little smile and shook your head as if to say I’m okay, though he looked unconvinced.
“I’ll be right back.” You told Noah as you stood up.
“Everything okay?” He asked softly, and you nodded your head.
“Yeah…” you smiled, “I’ll be two seconds.”
He watched you carefully for a moment, like he was trying to read you, but he gave you a little smile nonetheless.
“Okay, baby.”
Baby. It’s funny how after all this time, your stomach still felt all warm and fuzzy every time he said it.
You walked out into the hallway, pulling your bedroom door closed behind you before wandering down the stairs, and when you reached the living room you let out a long sigh.
On the other end of the phone, Jess was explaining something to Sam, and you were grateful for the timing. You sat down on the couch, looking at the wall opposite you for a moment… at the framed picture standing up in your bookshelf. It was a picture of you and Steve, one Linda took when you all went on vacation almost ten years ago. It hurt to look at now, but despite the ache, your heart warmed at Steve’s grin.
It made you think- if six months ago someone had told you that after losing Steve, after losing one of your best friends, after losing absolutely everything that felt comforting and familiar, you’d be trying to work out how to tell your one remaining best friend that you were about to move across the country with Noah the mechanic… you would’ve laughed in their face.
“Sorry about that,” Jess said with a little laugh, “Sam didn’t know how to work the new dishwasher.”
You let out a small breath of a laugh, then swallowed.
“Jess… there’s something I need to tell you.”
“...What is it?”
You chewed on your lip for a moment… figuring out how to break it to her.
“Did you hear Folio last night? He said Noah’s moving to LA?”
“Oh yeah,” she said, “It’s a good job you found out before-”
“I’m going with him.” You said suddenly…
And Jess was silent.
So silent that you actually pulled the phone away to check if either of you had accidentally hung up.
“Jess?”
“...You’re what?”
“I was just thinking-”
“The two of you only got back together last night!”
“I know, but… let me explain.”
“Please do.” She said with a lighthearted laugh.
You stared at the picture on the shelf again.
“I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. Only time will tell, but… Steve’s gone,” saying it still hurt, it still felt wrong, “Linda’s moving, I’d rather chew off my own arm than have to think about Maya again… and I know I’ve still got you and Sam, I know I do, but this place doesn’t feel the same anymore. My house doesn’t feel like home, this town just feels like a reminder of it all… and I feel like I’ve got to move on. I feel like it’s my time to leave this place, and hopefully I never look back.” You took a breath, then a little smile tugged at your lips, “And I know no matter what happens, or where I go, or how much we might argue over the stupidest thing… Noah feels more like home than anything I've ever known.”
On the other end of the line, you heard Jess sniffle.
“Are you crying?” You asked with a little laugh.
“Can you blame me?” She asked, not even trying to hide it now. “After that?”
“Sorry,” you chuckled, “You always knew I wanted to get out of here. And after everything that’s happened, I’ve just realised that life’s too short. If I don’t go now… will I ever?”
Jess went quiet for a moment before sniffling and asking,
“You’re really gonna leave me?”
“Jess,” you frowned, “It’s not-”
“No no no,” she said quickly, sniffing again, “I’m happy. I’m so fucking happy for you. God, I adore Noah and I love you two together, and if anyone deserves to leave this shitty little town it’s you… but I’m really gonna miss you.”
Oh, that did it. A tear rolled down your cheek, you couldn’t hold them back anymore. Because now you weren’t thinking about Steve or Maya or how much you hated this town…
You were thinking about summer roadtrips, driving around with the windows down, singing terribly with Jess. Movie nights, coffee runs, shopping trips, sleepovers where the two of you would sit in her room and talk shit and giggle until three in the morning. You used to talk about your futures, how you’d make sure your kids were best friends whether they liked each other or not, how you should be neighbours and raise them together. You thought about how she made a promise when she first started dating Sam that she’d never let him take your place, that you’d always come first… and she never went back on that promise.
But here you were telling her you’re about to move across the country with a guy you haven’t even known for a year. It made you feel awful.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologise!”
“No,” you sobbed, “I know I’m being selfish and-”
“Y/n.” She stopped you, “You are my best friend, and you deserve the whole world, and I’m so happy that you’ve got this opportunity. Noah’s proved himself to be worthy of you time and time again, so I’ve got no doubts that he’ll treat you exactly how you should be treated. You’re doing this for you. And sure, I’m going to miss you more than anything… but I’ll still come to visit- fuck, you’ll never get rid of me!” She laughed, “So let yourself be selfish. Let yourself be happy.”
Those words really stuck with you, and for a moment you couldn’t say anything because suddenly it felt like everything was catching up to you again. But this time it didn’t feel hollow or crushing or panicked, if anything you felt like you were slowly making peace with it.
“Jess-”
“Oh no.” She said suddenly, “Now we’re both crying!”
“I’m not crying.” You said, shaking your head.
“You’re doing the voice.”
“What voice?”
“The little wobbly voice you do before you cry.”
You let out a breathy laugh that betrayed you in an instant, because the second it left your mouth, it broke apart, and came out sounding a little choked.
You weren’t even entirely sure why you were crying though.
Maybe because you felt like you were finally giving yourself permission to stop feeling so guilty, to stop holding onto everything so tightly. It felt like you were being given permission to move forwards.
For a while you’d felt like if you even smiled too much after Steve died, it meant you were leaving him behind. Like if you moved away, you were abandoning him, and if you chose Noah, you were choosing him over everything else.
But maybe you weren’t. Maybe you didn’t have to leave anything behind- the past, Steve, all your happy memories… maybe you just had to carry it with you in your heart, and let yourself move on with the rest of your life without feeling guilty.
Another tear rolled down your cheek, and another and another, until you couldn’t hold it back anymore and you let out a quiet sob.
“Oh honey…” Jess whispered.
Before you could say anything, you heard the sound of soft footsteps coming down the stairs, and you looked up. Noah was there, carrying the cardboard box that was now full of your clothes… but the moment he met your eyes, concern washed over his face.
“Baby?” He carefully set the box down on the floor, “What’s wrong?”
God, the poor guy looked terrified. Like he’d just walked in and assumed the worst, like maybe you had changed your mind, or someone else had called with bad news again. But you shook your head, laughing through your tears.
“Nothing.” You said, though your voice came out a little weak.
Noah’s eyes widened a little, and he stepped across the room until he crouched down in front of you, his hands finding your face, wiping away your tears with his thumbs.
“What’s the matter?”
You shook your head again, tears slipping free now.
“Baby, talk to me.”
You let out another little broken laugh and reached for him immediately, your arms wrapping around his neck to pull him close, and your phone dropped down onto the couch beside you. Noah moved you, sitting down on the couch and pulling you closer until you were in his lap, both arms wrapped around him, your face buried into his shoulder, into his neck… and he just held you tighter.
Then he glanced down at your phone, and put it on speaker.
“Jess?” He said, his voice sounding concerned again. “Have I missed something?”
“No, everythings fine... they’re happy tears!” She called out.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
i can't believe this is almost over :') i have no idea what to do with myself once this comes to an end...
are you a cuddle bug? whether you’re searching for romance or a platonic connection, there’s someone out there for everyone. browse people in your area and find your perfect cuddle buddy.
I love it when people take fic writing seriously. I love when it's not 'Here's this dumb thing I wrote' and instead it's 'Here's this thing I put blood, sweat and tears into. Here's this thing I slaved away at, trying new writing techniques and editing over and over. Here's this dialogue that kept me awake at night. Here's this beautiful turn of phrase I thought up. Here's this thing that I wrote with vulnerability and heart, and I am proud to share it with you.'
(i love you and i think about the beautiful words you’ve written every day — so many of you have become such dear friends. i hope life is treating you well and you know you’re an inspiration 💝 you deserve the world.)
it’s a long shot I’m sure but if anyone is vip for multiple dates or willing to part ways with their poster when tour is over, let me know. I wasn’t able to get vip for baltimore but I wanted to make a cutesy shadow box w the confetti from my date and everything
masterlist ☆ chapter warnings: NSFW half of this chapter is just smut 🫣 also i've only been to paris twice for a few days, so i've tried my hardest to remember what it's like geographically so this can be somewhat accurate lmao (also i physically cannot reread my own smut, and it was written over a few days, so if it's a little all over the place and the positions don't make sense... i tried my best)
holy shit it's finally done! after what feels like an eternity, thank you for being so patient with me!! i knew it was going to be a long one, but i wasn't expecting it to be 19k words... i still have more i want to write so i guess they'll still be in paris in chapter four 🤭 and i also want to say i'm so proud yet terrified of how many people have read this so far! the last i checked the first chapter had just over 500 likes which is so ??? since when were this many people reading my shit lmao but thank you for all the love so far <33 it's what keeps me motivated to write, and there's nothing i love more than giggling with everybody over hot guys and silly stories <33
・┈・୨୧・┈・
“Hey… hey, wake up. We’re about to land.”
You grumbled sleepily in response, before nuzzle closer into the warm pillow your head was resting against.
Noah let out a quiet little laugh, because for most of the flight, you’d been cuddled up to him, your head resting against his shoulder, your hair tickling him occasionally. You didn’t mean to fall asleep like this, he knew that, but he also hadn’t moved you at all.
“C’mon,” he whispered, his hand coming up to brush your hair back from your face. “We’re landing, sweetheart.”
That word alone was enough to pull you from sleep, you finally blinked your eyes open and for a second you thought you were still dreaming… but then you remembered this wasn’t a dream. You were really here, on a plane, on your way to Paris, with your head resting on his shoulder-
Oh.
Your body suddenly went still, heat flooded your face so quick you almost felt dizzy, then you pushed yourself up enough to look at him, your eyes wide and mortified.
“I-” Your voice came out hoarse, thick with sleep, so you swallowed, shaking your head as you tried again, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you, you should’ve moved me or-”
Noah just looked at you, completely unbothered… almost a little amused. Then that was when you realised his arm was wrapped around you, as his hand gently stroked up and down your arm.
“It’s fine,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging into almost a little smirk, “You crashed about an hour ago.”
“On you?”
“Mhm.” He nodded. “But it doesn’t matter now… look out the window.”
You turned your head and couldn’t help but gasp.
“Noah… we’re here.”
You could see the entire city, the way it was all lit up golden beneath you.
“Yeah…” He said quietly beside you, but he wasn’t looking out the window. He was looking at you, noticing the way your entire face lit up. The way your eyes widened and your lips parted in pure disbelief…
When you turned to look back at him, he was smirking.
“What?” You asked, almost a little self conscious now. Like you were afraid you were maybe too excited.
Nothing.” He said simply, his smirk slowly turning into a small smile. “I just don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited before.”
You let out a soft laugh, looking back out the window again like maybe it’d hide the way your cheeks flushed.
“Can you blame me? It’s Paris. I’ve wanted to come here for… forever.”
“Then we’ll make sure it’s a trip to remember.”
…
Even after getting off the plane, going through security and collecting your bags, you were still trying to process it all. Just this morning you were going into work as usual… and now you were in Paris with Noah?
It didn’t feel real. You wondered if you had an accident at work, slipped on a spillage and hit your head, and this was all just a hallucination.
“Hey.” Noah’s voice pulled you back, and you shook your head, realising you’d stopped walking just past the baggage claim.
He was already a few steps in front of you with both his and your suitcases. He hadn’t even asked, you barely even spotted yours before he had taken it and started to walk away.
“C’mon, the drivers waiting for us."
You followed him out of the airport, watching him drag both the bags when all you had to carry was your phone and a half empty bottle of water. Then you saw him talk to a guy, before handing the bags over, and they were loaded into the posh black car behind him.
Noah opened the back door, resting one hand on the top, the other one gesturing for you to get in.
His hand brushed gently against your back as you climbed in, then he followed, shutting the door behind him. And then when the driver got back in and the car pulled away, you couldn’t tear your gaze away from the window.
After a few minutes, you felt Noah’s hand slowly rest just above your knee, silently grabbing your attention. You turned your head, and when you met his eyes he gave you a soft smile.
“You look tired.” He said quietly.
You nodded your head.
“I am… kinda.”
He let out a soft chuckle, brushing his thumb back and forth over your thigh.
“Me too.” He whispered, “It’s only 10 more minutes to the hotel. Then we can take a shower and crash.”
You nodded your head, a sleepy smile spread across your face.
“I like that idea.”
Noah’s smile lingered for a second, softer than it was before, then he gave a small nod.
“Good.” He said quietly.
His hand didn’t move for the entire journey, it stayed there resting against your thigh, his thumb still brushing gently… until finally, the car slowed to a stop.
And there it was. Your breath caught when you realised where you were staying, turning to Noah with wide eyes, but before you could say anything, he was unbuckling your seatbelt, before getting out of the car himself.
He walked around to open your door while the driver retrieved the bags.
“Noah…” You whispered, holding on to him as you stepped out. You looked unsure, like you were waiting for this all to be some kind of prank.
But he shrugged. Like this was normal for him.
“What? It’s just the Four Seasons.” He said before shutting the door, “C’mon.”
He held out his hand, and you took it before following him into the entrance. You looked around for your bags, before realising they’ve already been taken care of. Just like everything else.
You could really get used to this life.
The check-in was super simple, and the lady behind the desk seemed to recognise Noah which somehow didn’t surprise you, and it wasn’t long before Noah was guiding you down to the elevator with the room key in his hand. You both stepped inside, and for the first time since leaving, it was just the two of you again.
You met his eyes in the reflection, giving him a soft smile.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Mm,” you hummed, “I’m staying at the Four Seasons in Paris, I can’t complain about much, can I?”
He chuckled, then the lift dinged, and the doors slid open. Noah pushed off the wall, stepping out first before glancing back at you.
“C’mon, our room shouldn't be far.”
You stepped out too, following behind him, your footsteps softened by the thick carpet as you walked. Noah stopped outside a door, tapping the keycard on the reader before pushing it open.
“After you.” He said, and who were you to refuse?
You held your breath as you stepped inside… and your jaw immediately fell to the floor.
“Oh my god.”
This felt more like an apartment than a hotel room. And you had done your research on hotels in Paris, when you had planned a couple years ago to come here with your friends, and you knew how they tend to be rather small...
But this was unbelievable.
You slowly wandered around, taking it all in. Everything was soft and neutral toned, there were floor to ceiling windows, a big dining table and a couch, the most stunning balcony, a pristine bathroom…
And two double beds...?
You felt your heart sink a little, but then Noah was at your side, his hand gently coming to rest on your waist. And as if he could read your mind…
“I didn’t know how comfortable you’d be,” he said quietly, following your gaze to the beds before looking back at you, “Sharing a bed and all… so I figured I’d play it safe.”
You turned to meet his eyes again, a little smile on your lips.
“Thanks.” You whispered.
He pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek before stepping back.
“I’ll let you get settled,” he said, “Take a bath or a shower, freshen up, make yourself at home.”
You nodded, still a little caught up in everything.
“Yeah… okay.”
“I’m quickly gonna head out for a bit,” he said as he reached for his phone, “There’s a store nearby, I thought I’d grab us a few things… drinks and snacks. Is that okay? You’ll be alright by yourself for a bit?”
You nodded your head, your heart aching with how soft he could be. How caring he was.
“Yeah, I’ll probably just shower and pass out anyway.”
He chuckled, reaching for the key card he had just put down on the table.
“Good plan.” He stepped towards the door, then paused to glance back at you, “If you need anything, just text me.”
“I will.”
He gave you one last lingering look before slipping out the door, and it shut with a soft click behind him. Then it was just you.
You stood there completely still for a moment, still trying to process it all. Like you were waiting to wake yourself up from whatever dream you felt like were currently in.
After a moment you let out a quiet sigh, then spotted your suitcase.
Take a shower. Relax. Adjust to whatever this is.
…
You took your time in the shower, letting the hot water run over you, washing away the smell of airplane and the exhaustion… and for the first time today, you felt your mind finally resting. All day you’d been feeling every emotion all at once. You were nervous, then you were excited, then you were anxious. It had all happened so suddenly, and every now and then you thought about how you haven't even known Noah too long, and now you were trusting him to take you to another country?
You don’t feel like you’ve really had the time to process anything, until now.
As you washed your hair, you tried to let the smell of your shampoo ground you… but it wasn’t working how you wanted. Because every now and then, your thoughts drifted back to Noah. Back to the way his hand rested so easily on your thigh, how it felt so normal, how he had taken care of everything and never made it feel like a big deal- never expecting anything back. He just wanted to fly you to Paris because he could. He organised it all, booked what must’ve been one of the fanciest rooms in the whole hotel, and never once made a big deal out of it- if this was your ex on the other hand, he’d be bragging and showing off, pointing out every little detail planned, how he gave up the window seat on the plane for you, telling you that you should be grateful that you didn’t have to lift a finger. But Noah wasn’t like your ex. You were already certain of that.
You squeezed your eyes shut, shaking your head.
“Stop it!” You whispered to yourself, before reaching for the conditioner.
By the time you stepped out, wrapped in one of the super soft hotel towels, your skin warm and your hair damp, you felt different. Still tired, but less stressed, less overworked. For once in your life, you felt like you could just relax.
Noah still wasn’t back yet, and when you checked your phone you saw a text from him that had been sent just a couple of minutes ago, letting you know he was just outside the main doors, that he’d been stopped by someone asking to take a picture. You couldn’t help but chuckle.
You don’t ask about his work, it’s none of your business really, but you know enough. He works in music, he’s in a band, and clearly they’re doing well enough that he can afford spur of the moment trips like these. If that was the case, he was bound to get recognised.
You then changed into something comfortable for bed, a tank top and a pair of loose sleep shorts. It was late, and as much as you wanted to explore the city right now, you knew it was best to get some sleep first and save it for tomorrow.
Your gaze drifted back toward the bedroom area, towards the two beds… wondering which one to claim as yours. Then you walked over and set your things down on the one closest to the window.
You pulled back the covers slightly, smoothing your hand over the sheets, then sat down on the edge, letting out a small sigh as you sank into the soft mattress.
It was ridiculously comfortable. You were already wondering how you could possibly take it home with you...
You swung your legs up, lying back properly, staring up at the ceiling while you waited for Noah…
Then you turned your head, your eyes drifting over to the other bed, and with a little cheeky smile you couldn’t hide, you bit the inside of your cheek. Because if you were being honest, you didn’t really want to stay in this bed… not when you already knew how right it felt to be close to him, how natural it had been to fall asleep on him earlier like it was nothing.
Your stomach fluttered at the thought, and a (not so) little part of you hoped that by the end of the night, you wouldn’t be in this bed anymore.
…
You must’ve drifted for a few moments, because the next thing you knew, you heard the door click shut. Your eyes opened, and caught Noah stepping inside, a couple bags in his hands.
“Hey,” he smiled when he saw you lying there, “Comfy?”
You nodded, pushing yourself up.
“Sorry I got a little held up,” he said as he placed the bags down at the bottom of your bed, before nodding at them, “Here, grab whatever you want.”
With a smile, you sat up properly and pulled one of the bags closer, taking a peek inside. Your brows lifted at the amount he’d gotten- drinks, snacks, a mix of things you liked and things you hadn’t even mentioned.
“Did you buy the whole store?” You chuckled, and you watched him shrug like it wasn’t a big deal.
“I didn’t know what you’d feel like, thought I’d play it safe and get some different things.”
“Thank you.” You said quietly, pulling out a drink and setting it beside you.
“‘Course,” he said, reaching for his suitcase, “I’m gonna have a quick shower.”
You glanced up at him.
“Go ahead, I’ll try not to pass out before you’re back.”
He chuckled before disappearing into the bathroom. Once the door clicked shut, you took a look in the other bag. There were some more snacks, bottles of water, and a few things that felt oddly specific to you. Your lips curved into a smile again as you pulled one of the things out.
He pays attention, more than you thought.
You set it back in the bag, and let out a soft exhale. You could just about hear the sound of the shower running, since the room was so big. For a moment, you just sat there, letting everything sink in. The softness of the bed beneath you, the quiet brrr of the air conditioning, the distant and muffled sound of the busy city outside.
You reached for your drink and took a sip before setting it on the bedside table, then you glanced at the other bed again. It was still untouched, still waiting. Noah’s bag was there, open on top of it, his rings beside it on the duvet- you hadn’t even noticed him take them off.
A couple moments later, the water shut off, and your stomach flipped. You sat up a little more without realising it, then reached for your phone to make it look like you were doing something- to make it look like you hadn’t been waiting for him.
A second passed… then the handle turned.
The moment the door opened, you froze. Because you were not expecting the sight in front of you.
Noah stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped low around his hips, revealing tattoos you’ve never seen before, his hair dark and damp and messy, drops of water still trailing down his neck and across his chest.
Oh yeah, this was definitely a room with a view.
He walked in casually, like he wasn’t making your brain short circuit. Like he didn’t notice you staring. Like he wasn’t doing it on purpose.
You tried to look away as he stepped towards his bed, reaching for his bag… but your eyes betrayed you.
They lingered for just a second too long, on his big, bare, broad shoulders, the way his arms flexed, the way little droplets or water clung to strands of his hair that fell over his eyes, the way his chain necklace was still on, and dangling as he leaned down…
He definitely noticed you staring. You saw it in the way he paused, before a stupidly sexy knowing smirk pulled at his lips as he slowly glanced over his shoulder at you.
When your eyes met, heat rushed straight to your face, and you looked away almost immediately.
“Oh, don’t stop on my account.” He said, a hint of amusent in his voice.
“…Dunno what you’re talking about.” You said, trying to play it cool.
But your act faltered when he turned to fully face you. Wearing nothing but that towel-
“You’re staring.” He said, but his voice had softened- which somehow made it even worse. So you scoffed, trying to recover.
“You’re not exactly making it easy not to...”
That only made his smirk, along with his voice, deepen.
“Oh is that right?” He said, taking a slow step towards you.
Your breath caught, and you tried oh so hard to look away…
“Is it the towel?” He asked casually, like this was a very normal conversation, like he wasn’t slowly closing the distance between you, making your brain melt.
You didn’t answer him. You couldn’t even form a thought.
“If it’s bothering you so much…” he began, hooking his fingers into the edge of the towel like he was about to- “I could take it off.”
Your eyes widened. Your lips parted.
“Noah-”
“What?” He said, pretending to sound innocent, but his eyes gave him away. “You want me to take it off, huh?”
Your entire body went hot from head to toe. And if this was only the first night, god knows what you’ll be up to on the last day.
“You’re-” You started, then stopped and shook your head, completely flustered now.
A quiet, satisfied laugh slipped from him… because this was exactly what he wanted- to see you like this, to see you react.
“Relax,” he smirked, watching you closely for another second- like he was memorising the way you looked right now. The pink in your cheeks, the way your breath was a little uneven, your eyes glued to him even though you were clearly trying not to look.
Then just as quickly as he’d leaned into it, he stepped back. The tension dissolving so quick it made your head spin.
“Wouldn’t do that to you.” He added, almost casually, like he hadn’t just completely fucked your ability to even think.
Then, before you could even process it, he turned to grab a pair of black shorts from his back.
“Be right back.”
And just like that, he disappeared back into the bathroom again, leaving you sitting there, your heart racing, your face still burning, still staring at the spot he’d just been standing in.
He absolutely knew what he was doing to you. And clearly, he enjoyed it.
A moment later, the bathroom door opened again, and Noah stepped back out. This time in just a pair of black cotton shorts. They sat low enough on his hips for you to just make out the top of his v line through his tattoos, but when you caught yourself looking for a little longer than necessary, you looked higher up- his hair was still damp, though he’d clearly used a towel to dry it while he was in there, and his skin was still a little glowy from the shower. He just looked so casual and comfortable, and sexy.
You distracted yourself with your phone while he sorted through his clothes before placing his bag on the floor at the bottom of his bed, then he walked over and grabbed the bag of snacks from your bed, grabbed a drink out for himself then set it down on the table across the room.
Then he turned back around, heading towards his bed, and sat down. He leaned back with a little sigh as he got comfortable, like this was exactly how the night was supposed to go.
But stupidly, you waited… for a second, then another, watching him out of the corner of your eye while your mind ran ahead of you.
Was he going to say something? Ask you to come over? Come to you? Do something? Anything?
But instead, he reached for the drink he took from the bag, took a sip, then glanced over at you.
“We’ve got a long day tomorrow,” he said, his voice low and rather gentle. “I think we should get some sleep.”
Oh.
Your heart dropped a little.
“Yeah,” you said, trying to match his tone, even if yours came out quieter, and a little disappointed. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Mm.”
He shifted again, settling properly into his bed, one arm tucked behind his head as he looked over at you for a second longer.
“Good night.”
“Night.” You replied, laying back slowly and pulling the covers up over you.
And then the light switch clicked as he switched it off, leaving you staring up at the ceiling in the dark.
Your gaze drifted to him one last time, to the other bed. God, he was so close, yet still so far.
With a soft sigh, you turned onto your side, facing away from him this time, biting lightly at the inside of your cheek. Because a part of you wondered if he was doing this on purpose too. If he was waiting for you to make the first move...
But eventually, exhaustion took over and your body gave in. The quiet, the warmth of the comfy bed, the long day, it all caught up to you at once… and despite everything running through your mind, your eyes finally closed.
…
When you woke up, it took you a second to remember where you were. The room was brighter now, the soft sunlight spilling in through the windows, the sound of the already busy city was muffled but still loud enough to remind you exactly where you were.
For a moment, you just laid there, slowly adjusting- but then you heard a quiet rustle.
You turned onto your other side, and there he was. Noah was sitting on the edge of his bed, his back slightly turned to you, tying the laces of his running shoes. He was already dressed, wearing a tight black top that clung to him deliciously, and a simple pair of black shorts. His hair was still a little messy, like he hadn’t bothered doing much to it this morning.
But still, he looked effortlessly put together.
Your heart did a small, stupid flip while you watched him a little longer. And somehow, he must’ve felt you looking, because he glanced over his shoulder, and when he saw you were awake, a small smile tugged at his lips.
“Hey,” he said softly, quietly, like he didn’t want to startle you, “Morning, sleeping beauty.”
You huffed softly, pushing yourself up onto your elbows, still a little groggy.
“Morning… what’s the time?”
He finished tying his laces, straightening up as he looked at you properly.
“Half past seven. I’m about to go for a run,” he added, nodding toward the door. “Go back to sleep, I’ll wake you up when I’m back.”
You blinked at him, trying to process that he was already this awake and this functional.
“You're going out this early?”
“I guess it’s jet lag,” he chuckled, “Figured I’d make the most of it.”
You nodded slowly.
“Yeah… that makes sense.”
He grabbed his phone, checking something quickly before heading towards the door. Then he paused, glancing back at you again.
“You good?” He asked.
You nodded with a small sleepy smile.
“Yeah I’m fine. Go.”
“Alright.”
And just like that, he slipped out the door, pulling it shut behind him with a soft click.
Then you were in silence again, but it felt better this time. You flopped back onto the pillows, staring up at the ceiling, fully intending to take his advice and go back to sleep… so you closed your eyes, and you tried and tried, but your brain clearly had other plans.
Because now you were wide awake, and buzzing with excitement.
So you pushed the covers back, and in seconds you were out of bed, wandering over to your suitcase and unzipping it, your mind already racing with thoughts.
What should you wear today? You wanted it to be something cute, but also effortless, something that looks like you didn’t try too hard even though you absolutely had.
“Okay,” you whispered, pulling things out one by one and laying them across the bed. “Options…”
You stood there for a second, hands on your hips, staring at it all.
You were being drawn to the little black dress- it was casual but still cute… and it would go perfectly with a pair of tights you were certain you packed, but couldn’t find.
So you dug through your bag again, before pulling them out with a grin. You were just hoping it’d look as cute as you were picturing, as you laid it down on the bed. And even if it was a little cold, you brought a jacket that would go nicely with it.
Perfect!
You couldn’t wipe the little smile from your face as you walked back into the bathroom, or while you took a shower, or after fixing your hair and doing your makeup, or after getting dressed.
And it only grew as you turned to the mirror, checking yourself.
It looked even better than you imagined!
And now you were ready, all you had to do was wait for him to get back… and for whatever today was going to bring.
…
It didn’t take long before Noah returned, hot and sweaty- slightly flushed from his run, his breathing still a little heavy, his hair messier now and damp, a light sheen of sweat on his skin that made him glow. God, how was he even real?
The second he saw you, he froze.
His brows lifted slightly, his eyes looking you up and down like he was trying to process what he was seeing. You assumed he was stunned by how pretty you looked… but his mouth told another story.
“You’re out of bed? It’s like… 9am.”
You couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“I know. I tried but I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“Why?”
You shrugged, a little sheepish.
“I’m too excited.”
That answer hit him somewhere a little deeper than expected, and his face softened.
“Excited, huh?” He couldn’t help but smile.
You nodded, biting back a grin.
“I mean, obviously. We’re in Paris!”
He huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head slightly like he couldn’t argue with that.
Then he stepped closer, but not in that teasing way he did last night. Then when he reached the edge of your bed where you were sitting, he reached out, brushing your hair out of your face, before leaning in just enough to press a soft kiss to the top of your head.
It caught you completely off guard, and your stomach felt warm and fuzzy. But then he slowly pulled back, but this time when he looked at you, he fully took you in. The outfit, the effort you put into getting ready, everything..
“You look…” He started, then paused, like he was choosing his words carefully. “Nice.” He eventually finished, a small smile tugging at his lips.
You raised a brow.
“Nice?”
“You want me to say more?” He smirked.
“Maybe.” You smirked back, looking up at him as he towered over you.
He stepped back just a little, giving you a once-over again, but slower this time.
“You look cute,” he corrected. “Happy?”
You tried not to smile, but of course you failed.
“Very.”
He shook his head, amused, before running a hand through his hair again.
“So,” he said, grabbing a bottle of water from the minibar. “What do you wanna do today?”
Your eyes lit up immediately.
“Okay,” you said, standing up from the bed, already buzzing again. “I was thinking… we could grab breakfast at a cafe, somewhere nice, then just… walk? Explore a bit? Maybe see the Eiffel Tower?”
He nodded with no hesitation.
“Okay, that sounds good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, of course.”
It was as simple as that. You were beginning to learn that with Noah, you got whatever you wanted. After all, that’s what this whole arrangement was about.
“Give me like… ten minutes?” He said. “I’ll shower and get changed, then we’ll go.”
You nodded your head, grinning unapologetically now.
…
The cafe Noah brought you to was only small, tucked away down a quiet street with little round tables spread out along the pavement. The morning sun was hitting just right, warm and golden, making everything feel softer and lighter, making you completely forget about just how overworked you were back at home.
After stepping inside, you barely had any time to take it in before Noah’s hand brushed lightly against your lower back as you followed him up to the counter.
“What do you want?” You asked, glancing up at the menu.
But he didn’t even look at it.
“I want you to go out and grab a table,” he said, already reaching for his wallet. “I’ve got this.”
You hesitated.
“Noah, I can-”
“I know you can.” He cut in gently, but his voice was just firm enough that it didn’t leave any room for argument. His hand pressed at your back again, steering you away this time. “Go sit. Before it gets busy.”
Your stomach fluttered a little at his tone, and you gave in easier than you should have.
“Okay.” You said, before turning and making your way outside.
You found a small table in the sun, sitting down and setting your bag down before glancing back inside through the window. You could see him at the counter, talking easily with the man at the counter, pointng out the pastries he wanted.
You bit your lip, trying not to smile too much as you watched him pull out his wallet.
Then, a few minutes later, Noah stepped out with a tray in his hands- not just two pastries and coffees, but a selection.
Your eyes widened slightly as he set it down in front of you- croissants, pains au chocolat, something with berries, something with cream… and then of course, your favourite coffee. Exactly how you liked it.
You looked up at him, a little stunned.
“Noah…”
He just shrugged, pulling the chair out and sitting across from you like this was nothing.
“Thought I’d get a few different things for you to try,” he said simply, pushing the tray slightly closer to you. “You’re in Paris after all.”
Your heart did that soft little ache again.
“But you didn’t have to get all this.” You said with a soft chuckle.
“I know,” he replied, the corner of his mouth tugging up slightly. “But I wanted to.”
There it was again. You glanced down at everything, then back up at him.
“Thank you.” You said softly.
He reached for his drink and leaned back slightly in his chair, watching you- not intensely or in a way that made you nervous, but attentive. Like he just liked seeing you with a smile on your face.
“C’mon, try the croissant,” he added with a little smirk as he reached for his one, “They make the best ones here.”
You laughed lightly as you reached for it.
“Yes, sir.”
Oh… that got a reaction.
There was a small pause, like he wondered if he heard you right, then a subtle shift in his expression. Still soft and a little amused, but something a little darker was in there too.
“Careful,” he said a little quieter this time. “You start saying things like that… I might start expecting it.”
Your cheeks immediately warmed, but you smiled anyway, breaking off a piece of the croissant.
“Maybe I don’t mind.”
His eyes held yours for a moment longer than necessary. Then he leaned forward slightly, reaching past you to move your cup where it sat too close to the edge of the table, his fingers brushing yours for a brief moment.
“Mm,” he hummed. “I figured.”
You ended up trying a bit of everything. At first, you told yourself you’d just have a bite or two, make sure you at least taste everything, but be sensible about it, you didn't want to bloat yourself on breakfast before walking around the city… but that plan disappeared almost immediately.
The croissant was warm and flaky, the chocolate pastry soft and rich, the fruit one was light and sweet in a way that made you close your eyes for a second just to enjoy it.
“Okay…” you said, shaking your head. “I’m done.”
“There’s still half of that left.” He pointed out, nodding toward the tray. “It’s too good to leave.”
You gave him a look.
“Then you have it.”
He didn’t argue or hesitate. He reached over and pulled the tray a little closer to himself and finished off what you’d left behind like it was nothing. Like it didn’t feel weirdly intimate to share like that.
Your lips curved into a little smile as you watched him wipe his hands after.
“So,” you said after a moment, picking up your coffee again. “Are you gonna show me around?”
He glanced up at you, reaching for his cup before a little smirk tugged at his mouth.
“Thought you’d never ask.”
So the both of you walked side by side with no real plan, no real end destination, just letting Noah lead while you took everything in- buildings that were so pretty they looked like they belonged in a painting, cute little shops tucked in between restaurants, the sound of traffic mixing with soft conversation and the occasional laugh drifting past.
Every now and then, he’d point something out. Places he’d been before, stories about his friends, another cafe he liked, a view that was better at sunset.
It just felt so right, being here with him. At first you were a little nervous that you wouldn't fit into his world… but you did. And now you were worried you wouldn’t want to go back to your normal life.
By the time you reached the area near the Trocadero, it had gotten busier. There were people everywhere now, tourists, locals, men in suits in a hurry to rush across the road, cars weaving through the streets, the sound of it all picking up around you.
You slowed slightly as you approached a crossing, glancing both ways, a little overwhelmed by the sudden rush of movement. But then you felt Noah’s hand brushing against yours softly as he stepped into the small space in front of you. He didn’t turn around or look at you, he just held his hand out behind him, his fingers open in an almost expectant way- like a silent come here.
God, it was such a small thing, but it was enough to make you weak at the knees.
You didn’t even hesitate, you slid your hand into his like it belonged there. His fingers closed around yours, giving it a little squeeze as he guided you forward through the busy crossing without a word.
On the other side of the road, he didn’t let go straight away. He didn’t even acknowledge it, he just kept walking with your hand in his, and it felt so natural and normal…
You kept walking, a little slower now, and the moment you turned the corner you gasped. Because there it was, you could see it properly now, not through buildings or half hidden between streets…
The Eiffel Tower.
It was much taller than you expected, and it looked so real, in a way that the pictures you’ve seen have never quite captured. You accidentally let your hand slip from Noah’s as you slow your steps, making him turn his head.
“Oh my god,” you gasped, eyes wide as you tilted your head back to take it all in. “It’s massive!”
There was a pause beside you, and a very specific kind of one at that. Slowly, you turned your head to look at him, and he was staring at the tower too, with his lips pressed together like he was holding something back. Probably some dirty joke, or a smirk- or both. Yeah, definitely both.
You let out a heavy sigh and turned to face him, your eyes lifting to watch his face closely.
“Go on then. Say it.”
“Say what?” He smirked properly now, his eyes playful as they met yours. “You sounded genuinely shocked by the size… it just made me think about other things that may be bigger than you expect.”
You audibly gasped, swatting his arm with your hand.
“Why are suddenly so… dirty minded?” You asked, glaring up at him, “You weren’t like this a few days ago.”
“Oh, you think this is new?” He asked, rather amused.
“It feels like it.” You said, raising an eyebrow.
He huffed a laugh, shaking his head.
“Maybe…” he started, his voice dropping slightly, “I’m just getting comfortable with you.”
You swallowed, the edge of your attitude softening without you even meaning to.
“And when I get comfortable,” he added, “I stop filtering myself.”
“You don’t think that can get a little risky?” You teased.
“Mm,” he nodded, “But only if you can’t handle it.”
You let out a soft chuckle, trying to hold his gaze, trying not to react the way you were reacting.
“Who says I can’t?”
He just shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets.
“Guess I’ll find out.”
And then, like nothing had just happened, the two of you kept walking side by side. The teasing had faded away, replaced with something softer as he offered you his hand again when you came up to the next road. Then, before you knew it, you were overlooking the river. Here, the crowd had thinned out a little, and you were distracted by the water, watching the sunlight and how it hit the surface.
Then, without saying anything, you both stopped and stood there, taking it in. You leaned slightly against the railing, your fingers still laced with his, your gaze drifting over the river before flicking back to him.
“So,” you said softly, tilting your head. “When was the first time you actually came here?”
He glanced at the river, then up toward the tower again, like he was thinking hard.
“2017, I think,” he said after a moment. “I must’ve been… 21? 22?”
Your brows lifted slightly.
“Wow. That long ago?”
“Mhm.”
There was a small pause, then his face softened a little, his hand giving yours a quick squeeze again.
“It was nothing like this though,” he added, nodding slightly toward everything around you. “We had nothing back then.”
You turned your body a little more toward him, listening properly now.
“No money for hotels,” he continued, a quiet huff of a laugh escaping him. “We were sleeping in the van or staying in hostels if we had the money, playing shows off like… no sleep, running on energy drinks and whatever we could get our hands on.”
“Oh wow, that must’ve been rough.”
“It was,” he admitted. “But…” he shrugged slightly, eyes still on the water, “Back then, I thought it couldn’t get much better than that.”
Your brows drew together.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he said simply. “We were chasing it. That was the best part. Back when we had nothing to lose.”
That sat with you for a second, imagining that version of him back then, compared to the man you knew now.
“And now?” You asked quietly.
“Now... I’ve got everything I ever wanted,” he said. But then he paused for a second, “Almost.”
You frowned slightly.
“Almost? What more could you want?” You tilted your head, a small smile tugging at your lips. “A private jet?”
That got a little laugh out of him, short but genuine.
“Yeah,” he shook his head. “Something like that.”
But he didn’t elaborate, and didn’t answer properly, instead he pushed himself off the railing, glancing down the street behind you.
“We’ll save that conversation for another day,” he added lightly, like he was closing the topic on purpose. You narrowed your eyes slightly, but before you could push, he tilted his head, inhaling slightly. “…You smell that?”
You blinked.
“What?”
“Crepes,” he said simply, already turning slightly, his hand tightening around yours again. “And yeah, now I’m hungry.”
You laughed softly, letting him pull you away from the railing.
“Already?” You teased.
He glanced back at you, a small smirk returning.
“Hey, walking around Paris burns calories. I’m being responsible.”
“Of course you are.”
“Mm.”
…
The whole afternoon was lovely. You shared a crepe, stopped for lunch in a nice little cafe, then kept wandering until your feet were tired. That’s when Noah ordered an uber to take you both back to the hotel so you could have a nap before getting ready for dinner- which Noah was being oddly secretive about.
He wouldn’t tell you where he was taking you, he just asked if you got motion sickness, then told you that you should dress fancy. So you told him you’d think about it while you had a rest.
So when you got into the room, you changed into some comfy clothes and laid down on your bed… but the moment you hit the mattress, you couldn’t get comfortable. You tossed and turned, tugged the covers higher, pushed them back down again, flipped the pillows over again and again. But something still felt wrong. The pillows felt too soft, or maybe too flat… you couldn’t even tell anymore.
At this point there’d be no point having a pre-dinner nap, so with a huff you rolled back onto your back to stare up at the ceiling. And it must’ve caught Noah’s attention, because he turned his head, watching you from his own bed, where he was sitting with his phone in his hand.
“…You good?” He asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
You let out a groan, turning onto your side to face him properly.
“I would be, if I could get comfortable.”
He raised a brow slightly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” you huffed, reaching up to pat the pillow. “It just feels… off.”
“The pillow?” He asked.
You nodded, a little frown still on your face.
“Yeah.”
He paused for a moment before speaking again.
“You want a different one?”
You nodded again, softer this time, a little more tired now.
“Please.”
You expected him to reach behind him and toss you one from his bed- but instead, he stood up. He crossed the space between your beds, and before you could even process what was happening, he climbed in beside you.
“Noah-”
“Shh,” he hushed quietly, already adjusting himself, one arm sliding behind your head as he shuffled closer.
And then he moved you. He was gentle and careful as he guided you closer, until your head settled against his chest instead of the pillow. Your words, along with every thought in your head, completely disappeared.
His arm rested around you, not tight or restrictive, just holding you gently, and his hand settled against your arm.
“Better?” He asked quietly.
You adjusted yourself a little, until you were comfortable. You could hear his heart beating gently beneath your ear, you could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest, along with the warmth that always radiated from him…
“Yeah…” you said softly, your eyes already starting to fall shut, “Much better.”
You felt the vibration through his chest as he let out a soft breath that might’ve been a laugh.
“Good,” he smiled, “I’ll wake you in a couple hours, yeah?”
You nodded against his chest, feeling yourself only relax further and further, until it was impossible to stay awake.
…
Noah’s hand brushed along your arm first, then your shoulder, his voice quiet and warm as it pulled you out of sleep slowly, until your eyes finally opened and you realised where you were- on him, still tucked into his side like you hadn’t moved at all.
“There she is.” He whispered softly.
You blinked up at him, still half asleep, your cheek pressed to his chest.
“…Don’t wanna move.” You grumbled.
That got a little laugh out of him, his hand brushing over your arm again.
“I know,” he said, softer this time, “But we’ve got just over an hour before we need to leave.”
You groaned quietly, moving just enough to tilt your head back and look at him properly, your hair a mess, your eyes still heavy.
“Fine.” You sighed.
Reluctantly, you pushed yourself up, the loss of warmth very much noticeable, your hand dragging slightly against his chest, then his stomach as you moved away.
He watched you for a second, then sat up too, stretching slightly before glancing at the time again.
“I’ll try to be quick,” you said, grabbing your things. “Don’t leave without me.”
“I’ll try not to.” He smirked.
You walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you. You quickly freshened up and then touched up your makeup. You were surprised it hadn’t messed up too much while you were asleep- your setting spray must’ve been better than you thought.
Once that was done, you took a look at your dress. One of the ones you bought in the store with him before leaving yesterday. You smiled as you slipped it off the hanger, unzipped the back, and pulled it on slowly. You struggled with the zip for a moment, but then you got it, tugging it up before adjusting the straps. You turned in the big bathroom mirror, checking every angle with a grin on your face before you moved onto fixing your hair.
Then once you were done, you grabbed everything- your clothes and your makeup bag- and stepped back out.
And the moment you looked up, your breath caught.
Because Noah was standing near the end of his bed, his head tilted down as he fastened his belt, his hair falling into his eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, the top buttons undone just enough for his chain to catch the light.
For a moment, your brain stalled. Even more so because he hadn’t noticed you yet, too focused on doing his belt up. So you just stood there, taking him in.
The trousers fit perfectly. You had to bite your lip when you caught yourself looking at his ass for a little longer than necessary. And the way his sleeves were pushed up a little, letting his tattoos peek through, was probably one of the most attractive things you’ve ever seen with your own eyes.
But then he looked up, catching you staring, and a slow smirk spread across his face immediately.
“…Something you wanna say?” He asked, voice low, a little deeper than he usually spoke.
You blinked, heat rushing to your cheeks as you tried and failed to play it off.
“No.” You said, a little too quickly.
“Mhm.” He hummed, still not looking away.
Didn’t stop what he was doing either, he adjusted his belt slightly, his gaze still on you the entire time like he knew exactly what he was doing to you… and yourstomach did a silly flip.
“Okay, fine,” you folded your arms over your chest. “You look good… really good.”
That stupid smirk on his face softened just a little, and he went quiet. Because he was finally taking a good look at you.
And whatever he was about to say caught in his throat for a second, because he stuttered, before trying again.
“You look…” he started, then exhaled slightly, like he’d decided not to overthink it. “You look beautiful.”
There was nothing you could do to stop the smile spreading across your face.
“Thanks.” You said a little shyly, before reaching for your heels and deciding to change the conversation, “When are we leaving?”
“Uh…” he quickly checked his phone, “Whenever you’re ready. The cars waiting outside.”
You nodded your head, slipped on your shoes, grabbed your bag, and then you were on your way.
…
The car ride wasn’t too long, or it wouldn’t have been long if it wasn’t for the Paris traffic, but on the journey you were still desperately trying to piece together where exactly he was taking you.
Everyhting looked familiar at least, you knew this was where you were earlier- and then before you knew it, the river came into view, and the car started to slow. The glow of lights reflecting off the water looked so pretty this time of day, and it caught your attention- so much that you didn’t realise this was where you were stopping.
Your brows pulled together in confusion.
“…Wait,” you said, turning to him, “We’re not-”
“Yep.” Noah said simply. “Look, you see that one there,” he pointed out a boat, “That’s where we’re going.”
You stared at him.
“Noah,” you laughed under your breath, a mix of disbelief and nerves creeping in, “How are we supposed to have dinner on a boat? Won’t it all go overboard?”
He couldn’t help but laugh.
“No, because we’ll be inside. And it’s not exactly a tiny boat, you’ll realise that when we get closer,” he said, nodding towards it again. “It does a tour along the Seine. It’s nice. You’ll like it, I promise.”
You glanced back at it again, properly this time.
And… okay. It wasn’t what you imagined, but it looked really nice. It was elegant, softly lit, and there were people lined up not too far from it wearing nice dresses and suits…
Still, you were a little unsure.
“You’re sure I’m not gonna end up clinging to a table for dear life?” You raised an eyebrow as he opened the door for you.
That earned you a quiet, amused huff.
“You’ll be fine.” He said, holding his hand out to you.
You hesitated for a second, giving him a look… but then you took his hand anyway, and stepped out.
It was a little walk from where the car dropped you off to where you lined up for the boat, and you held his hand the whole way there.
Then the moment you stepped on, you braced yourself slightly… before realising you worried for absolutely nothing. This was beautiful.
The lighting was rather dim inside, and there were already people sat around chattering quietly, it almost reminded you of your first date with Noah.
A host greeted you almost immediately, and Noah gave his name like he was someone special- which apparently he was, because there was a table especially reserved for him, unlike everyone else. You followed as you were led through the space, glancing around, taking everything in- the tables, the view, the people-
And then you noticed something. Everyone here, you were certain, were couples.
Before you had too much time to think about it, you stopped at your table. And it was perfect.
It was positioned just right- close enough to the windows to see everything clearly, the river reflecting the lights beside you, but not right up against it- which would’ve made you feel a little sick if you had to sit right next to the water.
Noah pulled out the chair for you, and you sat down slowly, your fingers brushing the table as you took it in, your chest tightening just a little as it all sank in.
“Noah…” You whispered.
He glanced at you as he sat opposite, adjusting his sleeves slightly.
“Yeah?”
Your eyes darted around the room again, slower this time.
“You realise everyone here is a couple… right?”
The words came out quieter than you meant them to.
And when you looked back over at him, he was looking around, taking it all in the way you had, and then he looked back at you, one brow lifting slightly like he didn’t quite see the issue.
“What?” he asked, almost amused. “Is that a problem?”
“I mean… no, I just feel a little out of place, don’t you?”
His lips curved into a tiny smirk, a playful look slowly spreading across his face.
“We could always pretend, if that makes you feel better.”
You blinked at him, caught slightly off guard, but you couldn’t help the smile that followed.
“Pretend?” You repeated, leaning forward a little now, resting your elbow on the table as you looked at him properly. “And how exactly would we do that?”
He shrugged, completely unbothered, like this was the easiest, most normal solution in the world.
“We just make it up,” he said simply. “How long have we been together?”
You paused for a moment, then tilted your head, already slipping into the act without even realising.
“Two years.” You decided, a little more confidently than you expected.
He nodded his head like that made perfect sense, like he was already committing to it.
“Okay, two years,” he leaned back slightly in his chair. “And we’re here tonight for… what?”
You smiled, the idea building now, making your tummy feel warm and a little tingly.
“Our anniversary.” You said, and that got a soft chuckle out of him.
“Right,” he nodded. “Anniversary dinner in Paris. Am I boyfriend of the year or what?”
You bit back a grin, leaning in just a little more, your voice dropping as you grinned, like you were letting him in on a secret.
“But you were actually planning to propose to me tonight.”
His brows lifted slightly.
“Oh yeah?”
You nodded, completely committed to the story now.
“Mhm, you had it all planned out perfectly” you said, watching his reaction carefully, “Only to realise you left the ring back at home because you’re an idiot.”
For a brief moment he was silent, raising an eyebrow at you before he let out a little disbelieving laugh, shaking his head.
“Hey,” he said, pointing gently at you across the table, “That’s not on me. We left suddenly, remember? This whole trip was last minute. An anniversary surprise.”
“Oh, so now it’s my fault?” You shot back, trying to keep a straight face.
“You were the one rushing me to leave, you didn’t even give me time to make sure I packed everything.” He countered surprisingly easily, like he was enjoying this just as much as you were.
You shook your head, laughing softly, your fingers brushing against his as they rested on the table between you.
“Unbelievable,” you tutted. “Two years together and you can’t even keep track of the most important part of the trip.”
“Mm,” he hummed, his hand turning slightly so his fingers could properly catch yours. “This is another part of our relationship- we have stupid arguments, but I always find a way to make it up to you.”
You narrowed your eyes at him, though your smile gave you away.
“Oh yeah? And how do you do that then?”
He leaned in just a little, his tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip.
“You’ll find out later. I’ll make it impossible to stay mad at me.”
The words went straight to your head, making you feel dizzy. You tried to play it off, rolling your eyes, but your fingers tightened around his without you meaning to.
“You’re very confident, y’know.” You smirked.
“You love my confidence, baby, don’t lie. That’s why we’ve lasted two years so far.” He couldn’t help but grin, noticing just what this was doing to you.
You shook your head, laughing softly, but you didn’t pull your hand away, or break the act.
It wasn’t long until the boat started to move, and dinner began. You weren’t sure what to get, not really understanding what anything on the menu meant- even in English- so you and Noah both ordered something different, and he told you if you didn’t like what you got then the two of you would just swap.
But when the plates arrived, you didn’t want to swap. The presentation was so pretty, you almost didn’t want to touch it, then you glanced up at him with a small smile.
“What did you get again?” You asked, leaning forward slightly.
He turned his plate just enough for you to see.
“Try it.” He said, like it wasn’t even a question.
You leaned ever so slightly across the table, your hand steadying lightly near his as you took a small bite off his fork, your brows lifting almost immediately.
“Oh, that’s good.” You nodded, clearly impressed, then you offered some of yours to him. “Your turn.”
He raised a brow, but leaned in anyway, taking a bite, his face changing slightly as he chewed.
“…Okay,” he admitted after a second, “Yours is better.”
You smiled, pleased with yourself, and for a while it just stayed like that- comfortable, quiet conversation, listening to his stories, him asking for another bottle of wine for the table.
It felt so natural, even more natural than any of your past relationships. But you couldn’t let yourself think about that for too long. You didn't want this to become complicated.
You were halfway through telling Noah a story when a gentle voice interrupted from beside you.
“Sorry to interrupt…”
You both turned slightly, it was an older lady sitting at the table next to yours, her expression warm and kind, her eyes settling on you first.
“I just wanted to say,” she continued softly, “Your dress is absolutely beautiful.”
You blinked, a little caught off guard by the compliment.
“Oh- thank you.” You said quickly, your hand instinctively adjusting one of the straps on your shoulder as a little genuine smile spread across your face.
She smiled wider, clearly pleased.
“And you two,” she added, glancing between you and Noah, “Make such a lovely couple.”
Your heart fluttered, and before you could say anything, Noah was already in the act, like he didn’t even need to think.
“Thank you.” He said happily, his tone warm, his hand moving almost absentmindedly back toward yours over the table.
The woman tilted her head curiously.
“How long have you been together?”
“Two years.” You said with no hesitation, and Noah nodded as if he was confirming it.
“It’s our anniversary tonight.” He added, his thumb brushing against your hand.
The woman’s smile softened even more.
“How exciting!” She beamed, “Are you having a nice time?”
You let out a small breath of a laugh.
“Yeah… yeah, I am.”
“And have you been to Paris before?” She asked, “This is my first time, isn’t it lovely!”
“It’s my first time too,” you said with a smile, before turning to Noah, “He’s been here…”
“A handful of times.” Noah finished.
She looked delighted.
“Oh, how lovely! And you came specifically for your anniversary?” She asked, looking at Noah now.
He nodded, a soft smile on his lips.
“The city of love… it seemed like the right place.”
Your stomach flipped again, and the woman nodded approvingly, clearly charmed.
“Well, you both look very happy.”
For a second you just looked at each other, yet neither of you spoke. Because you were. You both were.
“We are.” You said softly with an almost shy smile.
She gave you one last warm smile before turning back to her own table. Then you looked down at your hand, still resting with his, your fingers curled against his skin.
“I think we were pretty convincing.” You said, smiling as you looked up at him.
Noah’s thumb brushed slowly across your hand again.
“Oh definitely.” He said, his voice soft, but still a little playful.
After that, it all settled again. You finished what you could on your plate, and then desert was served. And after that, you turned to look out the window, completely forgetting this was also a tour of the river.
Outside, the city looked beautiful. It was all lit by soft golden lights… and so was the Eiffel Tower.
Wow. It looked even better at night.
And then slowly, tiny lights began to flicker across it. Just a few at first… then the whole thing began to sparkle in the dark sky, and you couldn’t help but gasp.
“Oh my god…” You whispered to yourself.
You didn’t notice it at first, but Noah wasn’t looking at the tower at all. His eyes were fully on you, watching the way your eyes lit up, the way your expression completely softened in awe.
“It does that every hour at night.” He said quietly, like he didn’t want to break the moment for you.
You glanced back over at him.
“Every hour?” You asked, your voice just as quiet.
“Mhm.”
You turned back to the window, resting your elbow lightly against the table, your chin brushing your knuckles as you kept watching.
“It’s so pretty.” You almost whispered.
Then there was a small pause, Noah was silent for a moment before simply just saying,
“Yeah, it is.” But you knew he wasn’t talking about the tower.
You swallowed, then slowly turned your head back towards him, and your eyes met again. And for a moment, neither of you spoke.
And in that moment, you knew this was more than what he was making it out to be. So you reached for your glass, taking a sip of your wine, and your foot accidently brushed his under the table.
At first it was a mistake, just a soft tap of the tip of your toes against his leg… but when you noticed he didn’t move away, you dragged it up ever so slightly, a little teasing smile on your face as you lifted your gaze to meet his.
And of course, he was already looking at you. A playful smirk on his lips as his finger traced the base of his own glass.
“You’re playing a dangerous game.” He said, his voice low enough that only you could hear.
You tilted your head innocently, though the glint in your eyes gave you away instantly.
“Am I?” You asked softly, taking another slow sip of your wine.
“You tell me.”
But he didn’t move, he didn’t pull away or stop you.
“We’re just pretending, remember?” You said, though you didn’t sound very convincing.
“Mhm sure,” he hummed, not breaking eye contact, “That’s what this is?”
Your foot traced up his leg a little again, but slower this time. And you didn’t answer him, because if you were being honest, you didn’t really know anymore. And judging by the way he was looking at you in this moment, neither did he.
“You’re not stopping me.” You pointed out quietly as you held his gaze, and you noticed something changed in the way he was looking at you. Like his eyes darkened ever so slightly.
“No.” He said quietly, making your heart skip a beat.
It was like the air between you became heavier, like you couldn’t possibly play it off and joke about it anymore.
Fuck, you felt light headed, and it definitely wasn’t because of the wine.
You thought you better say something again, anything really, but when your lips parted nothing came out.
Because what could you possibly say?
So instead, you set your glass down carefully with a soft sigh.
“Noah…” You started, your voice dropping a little quieter again.
He didn’t look away or interrupt, he just watched you, waiting for what you were going to say… and that was enough to fluster you. So you hesitated, letting out the smallest breath of a laugh, shaking your head.
“This isn’t…” you trailed off, chewing on your lip for a second before forcing yourself to say it, to say what you were both thinking, “This isn’t very pretend of us. Is it?”
“I know.” He said simply.
You felt your heart start to beat just a little faster, your tummy doing backflips as he slowly slid his hand across the table, until it was in between you both, then he turned it over, his palm open like an invitation.
You looked at it for a moment before sliding your hand into his, and your heart fluttered as his fingers closed around yours.
But then the boat came to a stop, and the lights brightened a little. The staff bustled about, preparing for the guests to disembark, and you felt like you were slowly being pulled back into reality.
But you didn’t want to leave. You wanted to stay right here, on this night, with him forever.
“…We have to go, don’t we?” You asked, glancing up at Noah.
He gave you a slow nod.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “C’mon.”
He didn’t let go of your hand as he stood, and you followed. You reached for your little clutch bag, and the both of you carefully stepped off the boat.
And then the cold hit you immediately.
It hit your bare arms, sharp and sudden after the warmth inside, and you let out a small, involuntary shiver, your arms wrapping around yourself.
“Holy shit it’s cold.” You laughed under your breath, rubbing your arms.
Before you even knew it, Noah was shrugging off his jacket- since he did seem to be the more sensible one out of the two of you. He stepped closer without a word, draping it over your shoulders before pulling it closed at the front.
And it swallowed you completely.
The sleeves fell past your hands, the fabric already warm from his body, and it smelled like him… but you couldn’t help the small laugh that slipped out as you looked down at yourself.
“I look like I’m playing dress up.” You giggled.
That made his lips curve into a smile, his eyes dragging over you, making your stomach flutter.
“No, you look cute.” He said, like it was obvious.
“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes, but your smile gave you away as you pulled the jacket tighter around yourself, leaning just a little closer to him as you started to walk.
Oh fuck. You forgot about the steps.
It wasn’t too bad earlier, but after a couple glasses of wine, and feeling giddy off Noah’s company, you reached for his arm, your hand tightening around his bicep as he helped you balance.
“Careful.” He said quietly as you wobbled, stopping on the step above you to wait for you, before his hand came to rest carefully at your waist, steadying you as you walked.
“I’m fine.” You insisted, though you didn’t let go of him. You didn’t want to either.
By the time you finally reached the top, you were practically tucked into his side, his jacket wrapped around you, your hand still hooked around his arm.
The city felt quieter now, even with the sound of traffic and distant chatter. Everything just felt different here, and even though it was still just the first day, you already knew you didn’t want to leave.
Noah patted down his pockets, looking for his phone, before remembering it was in his jacket pocket. He quickly asked you to spin for him so he could grab it, so he could sort the car to come pick you up.
You stayed close while you waited, leaning into him as another breeze hit, and this time his arm wrapped tighter around your shoulders, pulling you into him properly.
“Still cold?” He asked, glancing down at you.
“A little.” You nodded, your voice softer now, your cheek brushing slightly against his arm as you looked out at the street.
But thankfully it wasn’t long before the car pulled up, and he guided you toward it, his hand still resting at your back as he opened the door for you. You climbed in first, still wrapped in his jacket, still warm from him, and as he followed in after you, the door shutting behind him, the quiet settled in again.
You rested your head on his shoulder as the car began to move, but after a while you looked up at him, noticing how he was glancing out the window.
“…Thank you.” You said softly, suddenly.
He glanced down at you, his expression gentler now, the teasing completely gone for a second.
“For what?”
You hesitated for a moment, wondering if you sounded stupid. He told you time and time again not to thank him.
But then you just smiled.
“For tonight. It’s been really nice.”
His gaze held yours for a moment, before nodding his head just once.
“It has.”
…
By the time the car finally pulled up to the hotel, you didn’t want to move. You were comfy here, and you enjoyed watching the city lights pass outside the window.
But it was getting late now. Noah probably wanted you both to have an early night again. So you lifted your head slightly as the driver came to a stop, blinking as you adjusted to the bright lights, and Noah’s hand slid from your thigh- where it had been resting for the last five minutes- as he reached for the door.
“C’mon, princess.” He teased, holding his hand out for you as you stepped out of the car, the cold air suddenly hitting you again
You pulled the jacket tighter around yourself as Noah thanked the driver, then turned back to you.
“Let’s get you warm, yeah?”
You nodded, your hand finding his as he guided you inside, and the warmth wrapped around you the moment you both stepped through the doors. But for some reason, you were still shivering.
He noticed while you were standing waiting for the elevator, and his hand came up to your arm, pulling you in closer as he rubbed up and down gently, like he was trying to warm you up properly.
“Jesus, you’re freezing.” He chuckled as you both stepped in to the elevator, not pulling away for a second.
You laughed softly, your hand coming up to catch his wrist as he rubbed warmth back into your skin.
“I’m okay.” You insisted, though you leaned into it anyway.
And as the doors closed, you realised just how close you two were.
Your eyes lifted, and his dropped to meet yours. And you knew you both felt it, how little space there was between you. How his hand hadn’t moved away, if anything, he was only pulling you in closer.
Then, for a second, his gaze dropped to your lips.
Your breathing slowed, along with the world around you… and carefully, he leaned in.
He gave you time to pull back, to stop him. But you didn’t. Instead, you closed the space.
Your lips met his in a soft kiss that lasted barely a second, but oh it felt like so much more. It was warm and gentle, and it felt so real.
You turned to face him properly now, and your hands found his shoulders to pull him down to your height, your fingers resting there as you leaned in first this time, kissing him again.
But this one lasted a little longer, and even as the elevator came to a stop on your floor, neither of you pulled away. Instead, the kiss deepened, and somehow- without breaking it- Noah guided you forward, his hands on your waist as he gently tugged you out into the hallway.
You stumbled a little, giggling softly against his mouth, but it still didn’t stop either of you.
Your arms wrapped around his neck loosely as he walked you backwards down the hall, like he knew exactly where he was going even though neither of you were paying attention to anything except each other.
But then he came to a stop outside the room, your back brushing the door as he reached into his pocket for the key card. There was a soft click, then the door pushed open behind you. And still, neither of you broke the kiss.
He guided you inside, one hand at your waist, the other reaching behind him to shut the door, the quiet thud echoing in the room as you both finally paused for a second, pulling back just enough to catch your breath
Your foreheads nearly brushed, your breath mingling, your fingers still gripping onto him like you didn’t want to let go.
But then he pulled back fully- or just enough so he could slip his jacket off of your shoulders. The fabric slid down your arms before falling to the floor, suddenly leaving you feeling more exposed.
He looked at you for a moment, like he was taking you in… then he leaned in again, but this time his lips found your neck. It sent a shiver down your spine, and a wave of heat between your thighs. Your head tipped back as your hands slid up to his shoulders, one of them stayed there, feeling the muscle beneath his shirt, the other found his hair, and gave a gentle tug.
“Noah…” You breathed, barely louder than a whisper.
For a second his lips lingered there, pressing one last gentle kiss before he pulled back just
And this time there was no question in it. This wasn’t him teasing, or pretending. His fingers laced with yours gently, then he took a step back, guiding you with him towards his bed. He moved slowly, like he was giving you the chance to stop, to say no, to pull away. But you didn’t.
You followed, and as he sat down on the edge of the bed, you stood between his legs, and then his hands slid to your waist as he looked up at you.
God, one moment you were like this, and the next he was pulling you towards him. He moved too as he pulled you down, so he was sitting against the headboard, then you let out a small breath of surprise as your balance shifted, your hands finding his shoulders again as he guided you down, settling you into his lap like you belonged here.
Your knees rested on either side of him, the soft mattress dipping slightly beneath you, and for a second you just looked at him… his hair a little messy from where you had ran your fingers through it just now, the way his lips had traces of your lipstick, and his eyes were darker now, focused entirely on you.
A shy smile tugged on your lips as his hands tightened his hold on your waist just enough to steady you… then he kissed you again.
But this time, it wasn’t so soft. It was hungrier, needier. Your fingers slid up into his hair, your body pressed into his, and he responded instantly, one big hand moving from your waist up along your back, pulling you even closer against him.
His thumb brushed your side as the kiss deepened, and you could feel his chest rising and falling beneath your hands, how his breathing was becoming heavier, and mixed with the anticipation of whatever this was going to be, it just made your heart race.
Noah then pulled back, just enough to rest his forehead against yours again. His hands came back to your waist, like he wasn’t sure where to keep them. And for a long moment, he simply just looked at you like this, taking in every detail- the flush on your cheeks, the way the soft lamp light caught on your skin, the nervous yet eager way you were watching him.
“You’re beautiful.” He whispered, almost like he couldn’t help himself, like he couldn’t quite believe it.
His fingers traced up your sides, soft and gently, until they reached the zipper at the back of your dress. He paused there, his fingertips lingering on the metal tab...
“Can I?” He asked softly, eyes searching yours. “I want to see you.”
You nodded, barely able to speak.
“Yes.”
Noah’s breath hitched. He kept his gaze on your face as he slowly dragged the zipper down, the soft sound of it filling the quiet room. The silk loosened around your upper body, the straps slipping from your shoulders on their own. He helped them the rest of the way, gently sliding the fabric down your arms.
Then the front of the dress fell away, pooling at your waist.
Your bare breasts were suddenly exposed to him, rising and falling with your quick breaths. Your nipples had already tightened in the cool air of the room- or was it from his touch?
You noticed that Noah went very still. For a few long seconds, he just stared. His lips parted, eyes wide with both awe and hunger. His hands hovered near your waist like he was afraid to touch you too soon.
“God…” He breathed, almost in disbelief. “Look at you.”
He swallowed hard, his gaze tracing every curve, the soft swell of your tits, the way they sat on your chest, the gentle rise and fall with each breath.
“They’re perfect,” he whispered. His voice was quieter now, almost stunned. “So soft… so pretty.”
He slid one hand slowly up your body, hesitating just inches away from your left breast.
“Can I touch you?” He asked, voice husky but gentle. “Please?”
You nodded quickly, your own breath shaky, and you tried not to sound too eager.
“Yes…”
The moment his big, warm palm cupped your breast, you both let out a little sound. His hand was large enough that it nearly covered you completely, his thumb brushing tenderly over your nipple. He groaned quietly, eyes fluttering half shut as he felt the weight and softness of you in his hand.
“Fuck… they feel even better than they look.” He whispered, without even realising the words had left his mouth. He squeezed gently, watching the way your soft flesh spilled slightly between his fingers, the way his palm was so large that it nearly swallowed you whole.
He leaned in and pressed a slow, open mouthed kiss to the top of your breast, then another lower, until his lips brushed your nipple. He looked up at you, his eyes dark but still so careful.
“Is this okay?” He whispered against your skin.
You nodded again, fingers threading into his hair.
“Yes… please.”
Noah let out a relieved, hungry sound and took your nipple into his mouth, slow and gentle at first, tongue swirling around the sensitive peak before he sucked softly. He brought his other hand up, cupping the right breast as well, kneading and caressing, learning the weight and the shape of you with his hands.
Then he pulled back just enough to speak, his lips brushing your wet nipple.
“I could spend hours on these,” he said. “They’re so fucking perfect. So soft… so sensitive…”
He then switched sides, giving your other breast the same worshipful attention with his mouth while his hand continued to explore the first.
At this point, you were trembling in his lap, soft moans slipping from your lips as he learned exactly how you liked to be touched- what pressure made you arch, what made you whimper, what made your fingers tighten in his hair.
And it was clear Noah was in no rush. You could already tell he was going to take his time tonight, to learn every single inch of you.
So you wanted to return the favour, to learn him, to touch him, and you reached for his belt, your hands slipping between your bodies, desperate to feel more of him.
But Noah caught your wrists gently but firmly before you could undo it.
“Not yet,” he whispered, his voice low and strained. “I’m not rushing this.”
He brought your hands up and pressed them against the headboard above you, like a silent way of telling you to keep them there. Then he leaned in and kissed you again, deep and slow and hungry… before his mouth moved lower again.
He kissed down your neck, your collarbone, and finally back to your breasts. This time he took his time, sucking one nipple into his mouth with a low groan, tongue swirling around the hardened nipple while his hand continued to paw at the other. The warm, wet heat of his mouth made your back arch, pushing your chest further into his face.
After a moment, Noah pulled back just enough to look at you, lips shiny, his eyes dark with restraint.
“Lay back for me, baby.” He whispered.
You slowly leaned backwards, sliding off his lap until your back met the cool sheets. Noah followed, crawling over you, his tall, broad frame caging you in. He hooked his fingers into the silk pooled at your waist and tugged it down your hips, letting the dress finally slip off completely and tossed it to the floor.
Now you were completely bare beneath him- or almost.
His gaze dragged slowly down your body… your soft breasts, your tummy, your thighs, and the little damp patch on your underwear. He let out a shaky breath, like the sight had stolen the air from his lungs.
“God… you’re so fucking beautiful.” He whispered.
He kissed down your chest again, spending some more time on your tits- which you could already tell may be his favourite part of you- sucking, licking, gently biting until your nipples were stiff and sensitive. Then he moved lower, lips brushing over your belly, kissing every inch like he just wanted to worship you.
When he reached the waistband of your underwear, he paused. He pressed slow, open mouthed kisses along the edge of the lace, teasing you, making you squirm beneath him. His breath was hot against your skin as he moved lower, kissing right over your clothed clit.
You gasped, your hips already wriggling, but Noah’s hands were already there to hold you down. Then he looked up at you again, his eyes still dark and hungry, but still gentle.
“You’re okay with this?” He asked softly, voice rough with need. His hand came up to cup you gently over the lace, palm warm and broad against your soaked pussy. “Tell me, baby. I need to hear you say it.”
You nodded quickly, your breath shaky as you forced the words out.
“Yes… please.”
He let out a low, relieved sound and kissed your clit again through the fabric, then hooked his fingers into the waistband of your panties and slowly dragged them down your thighs, tossing them aside.
Now you were completely naked beneath him.
Noah took a moment just to look at you- his eyes tracing every part of you, every inch of skin he’d been dying to see. His hands slid up your thighs, spreading them wider, thumbs brushing the sensitive skin near your pussy but not quite touching where you needed him most.
He leaned down and pressed a slow, open mouthed kiss right over your clit, then looked up at you again.
“I’ve wanted this for so long,” he whispered against you. “Let me take care of you, baby. Let me make you feel good.”
You nodded your head, already slightly trembling.
“Noah…”
Immediately, he stopped, and lifted his head to look at you.
“Yeah?”
“Could you maybe go slow?… Nobody’s ever done this for me before.” You admitted, almost embarrassed.
You watched as Noah’s expression changed into something warm and almost pitying. He pressed a kiss to your inner thigh, and then the other, before settling back down between your legs.
“Oh sweet girl,” he pouted, “You never had anyone eat this pretty pussy before? That’s such a shame.”
He moved slowly, using his thumbs to gently part your lips, leaving you completely exposed.
“Poor baby, look at you…” he cooed, leaning in to press the softest kiss right on your clit. “Your pussy’s been waiting so long for someone who knows what to do with you, hasn’t it?”
You whimpered, your hips already lifting, trying to meet his mouth again.
But Noah just smiled, then dragged his tongue in one slow, broad stripe from your entrance all the way up to your clit. The wet heat of his mouth made you dizzy in an instant.
Pleased with the noises you were making, he licked again, but slower this time, like he was trying to memorise you with his mouth. Then when he reached your clit again, he circled it with the tip of his tongue, then sucked it softly into his mouth.
You let out a broken moan, your fingers gripping the sheets, which then made Noah hum in approval, and the vibration of it travelled straight through you.
“There we go,” he whispered against your clit. “That’s what this pretty pussy needed, isn’t it? Someone who actually knows how to take care of it.”
You were so wet that he could easily slide two long fingers into you, gently curling them while his tongue continued its perfect lazy circles on your clit.
He was so good at this it was almost worrying, and he was so patient, so attentive, like he wanted to take his time to learn just what you liked.
“You feel that?” He asked, curling his fingers again. “Right there? That’s where you like it, hm? Poor thing… no one’s ever found that spot before, have they?”
You were already trembling, soft whimpers and gasps falling from your lips as he worked you open with his fingers and mouth. He was so patient and focused as he licked, sucked and stroked- like there was nowhere else in the world he'd rather be.
Then after a moment, he pulled back just enough to look at you, lips shiny with your slick.
“You’re getting close, huh?” He smirked, his thumb replacing his tongue on your clit for a moment, “I can’t believe nobody’s ever taken their time with you like this… your pretty clit is so sensitive, isn’t it?”
He sucked your clit into his mouth again, gentler this time, while his finger kept stroking that perfect spot inside you. And you were right there, right on the edge. Your hips rolled against his face, one hand tangling into his soft hair as moans spilled from your lips.
And just like that, he pulled away.
You whimpered in frustration, trying to chase his mouth while his fingers stilled inside you.
“Noah please…”
“Shhh,” he soothed, pressing the softest most gentle kiss to your clit. “Not yet, sweet girl. You’re doing so well… but I’m not ready for you to cum just yet. I want to enjoy you a little longer.”
He kept you there, right on the edge. Every time you got close, he pulled back just enough to let the pleasure fade, only to build it up again, and by the second time he edged you, your thighs were shaking, tears pricking at your eyes.
“Noah,” you whimpered, your voice breaking. “I can’t keep- I need to-”
He looked up at you, lips glistening, eyes soft with mock pity.
“Oh, you’ve never been edged before either, have you, princess?”
He leaned in again, mouth hovering just above your clit.
“Beg for it, sweetheart. Tell me how badly you need to cum on my tongue.”
“Please, Noah,” you whimpered almost instantly, “Please… I can’t take it anymore.”
He pulled back a little to kiss up the inside of your thigh, softly and almost tenderly, and at the same time he carefully pulled his fingers out of you, despite the way your walls were clenching, begging them to stay.
“Mm, you see, that’s not my name, baby,” he said, his voice dark and low and teasing, “You called me something else earlier… remember?”
Your mind was foggy, but the memory came back- the way you had jokingly said it during breakfast…
You swallowed hard, your cheeks burning with both embarrassment and arousal.
“Please… please, sir.” You whispered, voice shaky and shy.
Noah’s eyes darkened instantly. A slow, pleased smile spread across his face.
“There she is,” he cooed, pressing a soft, open mouthed kiss right over your swollen clit. “My sweet, polite baby… begging so nicely for me. I always knew you'd be such a good girl for me.”
He slid his two fingers back inside you, curling them perfectly against that sensitive spot while his tongue returned to your clit- but slower and more focused this time, like he was rewarding you.
You let out a broken moan, your back arching off the bed as he hooked your thighs over his broad shoulders.
“Please, sir… please,” you begged again, your fingers tightening in his hair. “I’ve been so good… please let me cum. I need it. I need it so bad-”
Noah groaned against your pussy, the vibration making your toes curl.
“That’s it,” he growled, his voice rough with lust. He sucked your clit into his mouth again, tongue flicking faster, fingers thrusting deeper and curling with every stroke. This time he didn’t pull back. He kept that perfect, delicious pace, pushing you right to the edge and then tipping you over it. “Cum for me, sweet girl,” he growled softly against your clit. “Show me how good you can be...”
A loud, broken cry tore from you, and you knew you were sure to get noise complaints from other guests in the hotel. But right now, you didn’t care. Your thighs clamped around his head, feeling yourself pulse around his fingers while he licked and stroked you through it… and he didn’t stop until you were trying to shove his head away, breathless and whimpering.
When he did pull pack, his lips and chin glistening with you, he kissed back up your body- your thighs, tummy, chest, until your lips met again. He then gathered you into his arms, cradling your naked, flushed, panting body against his fully clothed one.
He praised you between soft kisses to your forehead, cheeks and lips. Then he brushed your hair away from your face, looking at you properly, taking in the pink of your cheeks, the way you looked so dazed, the way your lips parted ever so slightly.
After a few moments, he carefully moved you higher on the bed, moving you so you were lying back against the plush pillows. He took his time arranging them behind your head and shoulders, fluffing them until you were perfectly comfortable.
“Better?” He asked softly, brushing your hair back from your flushed face.
You nodded, still a little dazed and blissed out, a shy smile tugging at your lips.
“You wanna stop, or-”
You shook your head immediately, feeling yourself come back to your body.
“No… you think I wanna stop after that?”
Noah chuckled as he shrugged.
“I didn’t want to be an asshole and just assume.”
Noah sat back on his knees between your spread thighs and reached for his belt. The quiet clink of the metal buckle made you bite your lip, and you just watched, completely mesmerised as he pulled the leather through the loops and set it aside. Only then did you notice the way the front of his trousers had tented obscenely- the thick outline of his hard cock straining against the fabric.
He noticed you staring and gave you a devilish, teasing smirk.
He pushed his trousers and boxers down his thighs in one smooth motion, letting his cock spring free. You swallowed hard at the sight of it- thick and heavy and long, not too big that you couldn’t take it, but the most perfect, delicious size..
Before he could move again, you bit your lip harder, your eyes dragging slowly up his body as you suddenly got a wave of post-orgasm confidence.
“And lose the shirt too…” you said softly, “C’mon… lemme see it all.”
Noah let out a low chuckle, clearly amused by your cheekiness. He unbuttoned a couple more buttons of his shirt before grabbing it by the collar, and tugging it off over his head in one smooth motion… revealing himself fully to you for the first time.
Your breath caught. He was gorgeous. Big, broad shoulders, a strong, toned chest covered in tattoos, and as he moved and flexed, you could see his abs. The sharp v lines at his hips made your mouth water. God, you’ve never wanted someone so badly. Especially right now, with the way he looked so fucking hot, so powerful, and completely focused on you.
Noah tossed the shirt aside and crawled back over you, bracing himself on his forearms so his body hovered just above yours. The heat of his skin radiated against you, and you could feel the heavy weight of his cock resting against your soaked pussy.
He looked down at you, eyes dark with lust but still so gentle.
“You like what you see, baby?” He teased as he leaned down, his hair falling into his eyes as his lips brushed yours, “Happy now?”
You nodded, hands sliding up his toned chest, feeling the warmth of his skin and the firmness of muscle underneath. Noah kissed you slowly, letting you explore his body with your hands while the thick head of his cock nudged against your entrance, just enough to tease without pushing in yet.
After a moment, he pulled back just enough to look into your eyes properly again, his voice low and rough.
“You still want this?” He asked, brushing his thumb over your bottom lip. “We can stop whenever you need. I just want you to feel good.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
“I want you,” you whispered. “Please.”
Noah groaned softly and reached down between you, lining himself up. He rubbed the thick head of his cock slowly up and down your slick folds, coating himself in your wetness, teasing your swollen clit with every pass.
“Nice and slow, sweet girl,” he whispered against your lips. “Let me spoil my princess.”
He pressed forward, and the blunt head of his cock pushed against your entrance, stretching you open. You gasped sharply at the sheer size of him. You clearly underestimated him just now. He was thicker than anything you’d ever taken- which wasn't much of a surprise- and the pressure made your head spin. Noah immediately stilled when he felt the resistance, with only the head inside you. He dropped his forehead to yours, breathing heavy, clearly using every ounce of restraint he had.
“Fuck… you’re so tight,” he breathed, his voice strained. “You okay, baby? Talk to me.”
You nodded quickly, your nails (which he paid for) digging into his broad shoulders.
“It’s… big.” You whispered, a little overwhelmed.
“Oh, I know, sweet girl,” he cooed softly, kissing you tenderly. “Poor baby’s never had a cock this big before, huh? Just breathe for me… relax.”
He stayed perfectly still, only rocking the tiniest bit, letting you adjust to the stretch while he kissed you slow and deep. One of his hands slid down to your hip, holding you gently as he pushed in another inch.
You moaned into his mouth, the feeling of being stretched so full making you dizzy.
“That’s it,” he praised quietly. “Taking me so well already. Look at you… that’s my good girl.”
He worked himself in slowly, inch by thick inch, whispering soft, filthy praise against your lips the entire time.
“Fuck, you’re squeezing me so perfectly… so warm and wet. This pussy was made for me, wasn’t it? Been waiting so long for me to stretch her open.”
When he finally bottomed out, buried to the hilt inside you, he let out a deep, guttural groan and stayed there, letting you feel and squeeze arounf every inch of him. The fullness was overwhelming… but at the same time, you never wanted him to pull out.
Noah lifted his head to look at you, his eyes glossy and dazed with lust, his hair falling into his eyes, his chain necklace dangling from his neck.
“You feel that, baby?” he rasped. “Feel how deep I am? That’s all yours now... every inch.”
He slowly rolled his hips once, pressing right against that spot deep inside you, making you moan out loud again, your nails digging into his back.
Noah smiled against your neck, kissing the sensitive skin there.
“That’s it, don’t be shy baby, lemme hear how good I’m making you feel.”
All you could do was let out a broken noise, and then he started moving, giving you long, slow, deep strokes that dragged against every sensitive part of you. His body hovered over yours, muscles flexing with every thrust as he fucked you.
God, he was so good at this- not that you’d ever doubted him. But every thrust, every roll of his hips made your toes curl, and all you could do was lie there and take it all.
And fuck, it felt like you were in heaven.
But then something in his eyes changed… they became darker and hungrier.
He pulled your wrists up and pinned them above your head again with one large hand, holding them there firmly. His other hand gripped your thigh, spreading you wider as he rolled his hips, hitting deeper this time, making you gasp sharply.
“Fuck… that’s better,” he growled, his voice dropping lower. “I want you right where I can use you properly.”
He started fucking you harder, still deep, but with more control and more power behind every thrust. The sound of skin meeting skin filled the room as he drove into you. His grip on your wrists tightened, keeping you pinned beneath him while his other hand slid under your ass, tilting your hips up so he could sink even deeper. You watched in real time as his brain shut off, and he started thinking with his dick.
“God, listen to how wet you are,” he rasped, eyes locked on where your bodies met. “Taking my cock so well, sweet girl. This tight little pussy was made to be fucked by me.”
He leaned down and bit your neck, then soothed it with his tongue, all while pounding into you with slow, deep strokes. Every thrust made your soft tits bounce and pulled desperate moans from your throat.
Suddenly, without warning, Noah pulled out, making you whimper at the sudden emptiness. Before you could protest, he flipped you over onto your stomach like you weighed nothing.
He grabbed your hips and yanked them up, forcing you onto your knees with your chest still pressed to the mattress. The manhandling was effortless, his strength now on full display.
“Arch your back for me, princess.” He ordered, then one big hand pressed between your shoulder blades, pushing you down further as the other gripped your hip.
He lined himself up and thrust back in. Hard.
You moaned loudly into the pillow as he filled you again in one smooth stroke. This angle was even deeper and felt even better. Noah groaned in satisfaction, both hands now gripping your hips hard enough to leave marks.
“That’s it,” he growled, one hand sliding up your back to grab a fistful of your hair, before gently tugging, pulling your head back, “Take it just like that. Fuck, you look so good like this… ass up, face down for me, letting me use this pretty pussy.”
Oh he was relentless now, his hips snapping against your ass with every thrust, the wet slap of skin echoing in the luxurious suite. Every time he bottomed out he ground against you, making sure you felt every last fucking inch.
He leaned over your back, lips brushing your ear as he fucked you harder.
“Is this what you wanted, sweetheart?” He cooed mockingly, his voice dripping with lust and dominance. “All that waiting… and now you’re getting fucked exactly how you needed, huh? Or do you need more?”
His hand slid around to rub your clit in tight circles while he kept pounding into you, never losing rhythm.
“You can take it, can’t you? Take every fucking inch for me.”
You were shaking, moaning helplessly, completely overwhelmed by how deep he was, how strong he was, how completely he was owning your body the way you’d dreamed of ever since the beginning of this… arrangement.
But still, you nodded your head- as much as his grip on your hair would allow you to- and Noah pressed a kiss to your shoulder, then bit down gently as he growled,
“Good fucking girl.”
Noah fucked you like that for a few more deep, dizzying strokes, his cock driving so deep it made your eyes water. Then, without warning, he pulled out again. You whimpered at the sudden emptiness, but he was already moving you. He sat back against the headboard and yanked you up into his lap again, manhandling you like a doll. Your legs were resting on the mattress either side of his thighs, and with one hand on your hip, his other hand guided his thick cock back to your dripping entrance.
“Sit on it,” he ordered, voice rough against your ear. “All the way, princess. I want to see every inch disappear inside you.”
You tried. You sank down onto his cock with a shaky moan, but your legs were too shaky, your body still blissed out and sluggish from how hard he’d just fucked you and how good you feel. You only managed to take half of him before your thighs gave out. When you stopped, Noah clicked his tongue, almost mocking.
“Can’t even ride me properly?” He chuckled darkly, gripping your hips hard. “Too fucked out already?”
Before you could answer, he tightened his grip and slammed you down onto his cock hard, burying himself to the hilt. You cried out, head falling forward, resting against his shoulder.
“That’s it,” he growled, teeth grazing the space between your neck and your shoulder. “Take it all, baby.”
He didn’t let you set the pace. He didn’t even let you think about it. His hands dug into your soft hips as he fucked up into you, hard and deep, making your tits bounce and your moans turn into broken sobs of pleasure. Every thrust hit that perfect spot inside you, making your eyes roll back.
Fuck, you were so overwhelmed you could barely move, you could just take everything he gave you. But then Noah’s hand slid up your body and wrapped firmly around your throat- not squeezing hard, but possessive, holding you in place as he fucked you from below.
“Look at me.” He demanded.
When you didn’t respond fast enough, he used his other hand to grab your jaw, smushing your cheeks together as he pulled you off of his shoulder and turned your face toward him. Your teary, blissed out eyes met his dark ones as he continued pounding up into you.
“That’s better,” he growled, staring straight into your eyes while he fucked you senseless. “I want to see your pretty face while I ruin this tight little pussy.”
His grip on your jaw loosened slightly, but he kept your face close to his, forcing you to look at him as he thrust up harder, faster, the wet slap of your ass meeting his thighs echoing through the suite.
“You’re mine tonight,” he rasped, eyes burning into yours. “Every fucking inch of you. Say it.”
You could barely speak, but you whimpered through the overwhelming pleasure,
“I’m… I’m yours…”
Noah groaned in satisfaction and fucked you even harder, bouncing you on his cock like you were weightless. His hand stayed possessively around your throat while the other gripped your hip, controlling every movement as he used your body exactly how he wanted.
“Mhm… this is what I pay for, isn’t it, princess?” His voice was rough, filthy, and teasing all at once. “I spoil you rotten… buy you anything you want, take you to Paris, give you the world… and in return, I get to bury my cock this deep inside you.”
He let out a dark, breathless chuckle, grinding up into you again.
“Look at you… my pretty little sugar baby, all fucked out and dripping on my cock. This is exactly what I’ve been paying for.”
You couldn’t help but whimper- and then, as if he decided you finally deserved it, his fingers slid between your bodies and found your swollen clit and started rubbing lazy circles.
“Again,” he growled against your ear, his voice rough and clearly strained. “I want to feel you cum on my cock this time, sweet girl.”
You were already shaking, overstimulated and blissed out, but his fingers never stopped circling your clit while he kept thrusting up into you, and all of a sudden, the pleasure was building faster. And before you knew it, your head fell forward against his shoulder again, as your second orgasm crashed into you without warning.
You cried out, body seizing up as your pussy clenched hard around his thick cock, pulsing and fluttering as waves of pleasure rolled through you. Noah groaned deeply, his grip on your waist tightening almost painfully as he fought to stay in control.
“That’s it… good fucking girl,” he rasped, his voice breaking with restraint. “Cum on my cock just like that. Fuck, you’re squeezing me so tight.”
But he didn’t pull out. Instead, he let you stay seated on his cock, buried to the hilt as you trembled and shook through the aftershocks. You were moving weakly at your own pace on him now, small, lazy rocks of your hips as you came down, your pussy still clenching around him.
Noah’s breathing was ragged. His forehead pressed against your shoulder, jaw clenched so hard you could feel the tension in his body. Every little movement you made on his cock had him groaning, his hips twitching like he was barely holding himself back from fucking up into you again.
“Baby…” His voice was strained, almost desperate. “Fuck… you feel too good. I’m so close.”
He kept one arm locked around you, holding you down on his cock as he tried to steady his breathing. His other hand came up to cup your jaw, turning you to face him again. And when you looked at him, his eyes were darker than you’ve ever seen, his pupils blown wide with lust and restraint.
“I don’t want to cum inside you,” he confessed, voice rough. “Not tonight. Not on our first time.” He swallowed hard, his thumb brushing your bottom lip as his cock twitched inside you. “I need your mouth,” he said, the words almost a plea. “Please, baby. Let me use that pretty mouth. I want to watch you swallow every drop.”
His hips gave one small, helpless thrust up into you, like even saying it out loud was pushing him closer to the edge.
“I’ve been so good for you… holding back this whole time, giving you what you want- what you need. Let me fuck your throat a little like a good girl. Can you do that for me?”
You nodded, clenching around him once more- and Noah hissed through his teeth, his grip on you tightening. He suddenly lifted you off his cock with ease, moving you again until you were kneeling between his spread thighs. His cock stood heavy and throbbing right in front of your face, glistening with your wetness, flushed dark and leaking.
He wrapped one hand around the base and used the other to gently cup your jaw, his thumb brushing your bottom lip…
“Open up for me, princess. Let me use that pretty mouth I pay so well for.” Noah’s eyes were dark with lust as he guided the thick head of his cock to your lips, tapping it against them once, twice. “That’s it… wider.”
You parted your lips obediently and he slowly pushed the head inside, groaning deeply at the wet heat of your mouth.
“Fuck… just like that.”
He didn’t shove in all at once. He let you adjust, feeding you his cock inch by inch, watching with heavy lidded eyes as your lips stretched around his thickness. But the moment you started sucking, hollowing your cheeks and swirling your tongue around him like you’d been waiting for this ever since that first date- Noah’s breath hitched sharply.
“Shit-” His hand tightened in your hair. “You’re… fuck, baby. You’re really good at that.” He sounded almost surprised, like he hadn’t expected you to take him so eagerly, so skillfully. You looked up at him with teary eyes, cheeks hollowed, sucking him deeper while your tongue worked the underside of his cock.
Noah’s head fell back against the headboard for a second, a low, filthy groan rumbling from his chest.
“Oh my god… that’s it. Just like that, sweet girl.” He looked back down at you, eyes blown wide with lust. “You’ve been hiding this pretty mouth from me? All this time I’ve been spoiling you and you suck cock like a fucking dream?”
He started rocking his hips slowly, fucking shallowly into your mouth while his hand stayed tangled in your hair, guiding you but not forcing you too deep.
“Look at you,” he rasped, voice dripping with filthy appreciation. “On your knees, lips wrapped around the cock that's paying for everything you own… and you’re taking me so well.”
You moaned around him, the vibration making his thighs tense. Noah cursed under his breath and pushed a little deeper, hitting the back of your throat.
“Easy, baby… breathe through your nose. That’s it- fuck, you’re taking me so nicely.”
He was losing control fast. His hips started moving a little faster, a little rougher, but he was still careful, watching your face, making sure you were okay through it all.
“You’re gonna make me cum so hard,” he groaned, thumb stroking your cheek as he fucked your mouth. “Been holding back all night just so I watch you swallow it all… or are you gonna let me paint this pretty face?”
You nodded eagerly, not minding either option, your eyes watering but never breaking eye contact. The wet, obscene sounds of you sucking him filled the room, sloppy and eager.
Noah’s breathing was ragged, his grip in your hair tightening as he fucked your mouth with shallower, more desperate thrusts. His cock throbbed heavily on your tongue, veins pulsing.
“Fuck… I’m so close,” he growled, voice strained as he made the decision- “But I don’t want to cum down your throat tonight.”
He pulled out of your mouth with a wet pop, leaving you gasping with strings of spit connecting your lips to his cock. He then got up onto his knees, towering over you as you knelt low between his thighs, looking up at him with teary, lust drunk eyes.
“Stay right there… perfect, look up at me, baby.”
One hand fisted your hair to keep your face tilted up while the other stroked his slick cock fast and tight right in front of you. His abs flexed with every movement as he jerked himself off.
“Such a pretty fucking face,” he groaned, staring down at you like you were his masterpiece. “All that money I spend on you, princess… dressing you up, spoiling you rotten… and now I get to paint this beautiful face and those perfect tits.”
His strokes grew faster and even more erratic as his jaw clenched.
“Open your mouth. Tongue out, baby. Just like that… good girl.”
You obeyed instantly, tongue hanging out, eyes locked on his as he stroked himself over your face. The wet sounds of his hand moving over his cock filled the room, and then with a deep, guttural groan, Noah came hard.
Thick ropes of warm cum painted across your face, landing on your tongue, your cheek, your lips. He kept stroking through it, aiming lower, painting your tits and chest with the rest of his load. You looked utterly filthy and beautiful, covered in him, blinking up at him with teary eyes.
Noah let out a long, satisfied groan as the last spurts landed on your tongue, which you obediantly swallowed. He stared down at you, breathing hard, clearly mesmerized by the sight.
“God… look at you,” he murmured, voice hoarse with awe. “My perfect girl. Covered in my cum.”
He reached down and used his thumb to smear some of his release across your bottom lip, then pushed it into your mouth, letting you taste more.
“You’ve never looked prettier, sweetheart.” He whispered.
He then leaned down and kissed you messily, tasting himself on your tongue, before pulling back with a dark, satisfied smirk.
“Mm, don’t move, princess. Let me admire my work for a minute.”
Noah stared down at you with dark, hungry eyes, taking in the sight of your flushed face and tits covered in his cum. You looked utterly ruined- lips swollen, eyes glassy, his release streaked across you.
He hesitated for a second, then gave you a wicked little smirk.
“Can I take a picture?” He asked, his voice low and rough. “Just for me, I promise. Something to look at when I’m stuck in a hotel room on the road, missing this pretty face.”
You bit your lip, still hazy and floating, but a shy smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. Then you gave him a shy little nod.
“…Okay. But only if I get to take one of you next time.”
Noah’s eyebrows lifted, clearly surprised and very pleased. A slow, cocky smile spread across his face.
“Next time, huh?” he teased, voice dripping with amusement. “Already planning round two… or three? Greedy girl.”
He leaned down and kissed you again, before pulling back with a satisfied smirk.
“You got a deal, princess.”
He reached over to the nightstand for his phone, snapped a couple of pictures of you, making sure the angle caught your cum-covered face and tits beautifully. He groaned softly as he looked at the screen.
“God, you’re going to ruin me with these.”
He set the phone down, then pulled his boxers back up his thighs, tucking his spent cock away. He disappeared into the bathroom for a moment, and you heard the sound of the large marble tub filling with water. For a stupid moment you wondered if this was it. If this was like every time you and your ex would fuck and he’d leave you to clean yourself up while he took a shower then fell asleep... but of course that wouldn’t be the case. Because Noah returned with a soft, warm cloth, and sat down on the edge of the bed beside you, gentle again now.
“Come here, sweet girl.” He said softly.
You shuffled closer, and he tilted your chin up with two fingers and began carefully wiping your face with the warm cloth- across your cheeks and lips and chin- every touch was careful and soft, and then he moved lower. He gently cleaned your chest, cupping one of your breasts as he wiped his cum from your soft skin.
“You were so good for me tonight,” he said quietly, almost to himself. “Took everything I gave you so beautifully. Thank you.”
“For what?” You asked with a soft chuckle as he wiped your chest.
“For trusting me with your body.” He said truthfully- and you had to hide the way those words made you feel.
When he was satisfied you were mostly clean, he set the cloth aside and helped you up onto your feet, guiding you into the bathroom, where the huge tub was now half full and steaming.
He helped you carefully into the warm water first, then slipped in behind you, pulling your back against his chest. His long legs stretched out on either side of yours as he wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you close under the water.
The steam rose around you both. Noah pressed soft lazy kisses along your bare shoulder, one hand idly stroking your tummy beneath the surface.
“You okay, baby?” He asked softly, voice much gentler now. “I didn’t go too hard on you? I wasn’t too rough?”
“No,” You shook your head, leaning back into him with a content sigh. “It was perfect.”
You felt Noah smile against your skin and tightened his arms around you.
“Good,” he whispered. “Because this is just our first day here, baby. We’ve still got all weekend.”
・┈・୨୧・┈・
(i know my inbox is flooded but if anyone has any ideas or thoughts for literally anything to do with this fic please send them in!! i've tried to incorporate a few i've gotten into this but i'd love some more ideas! it could be anything from kinks or positions to pet names or future trips?? everyone has such wonderful ideas and i'd love some more because i'm a little stuck with this story!!)
warnings: none, except i’ve genuinely forgotten how much time has passed in this story and i have no idea how old they would be anymore :/ let’s say they’re ageless (and somehow davis has no idea you exist! we don’t question it🫣)
originally i was going to post this when i hit 800 followers but i never finished it in time, so instead i’m posting it now, as a couple days ago i reached 1000 after almost three years here which i findso crazy!!! 🥹🥹 so heres something simple, short and sweet to say thank you!! :>
also quickly because i forgot to mention!! this is a continuation from the “sad ending”
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
It’d been five years since you moved. Since you started your brand new life, leaving the past behind you and never looking back.
You’ve never been happier, but there were still the rare nights where you would think too much, where you’d wonder what could’ve happened if you did things differently. If you didn’t take the job offer and move away, maybe you and Noah could’ve found a way back to each other and work through things, maybe you’d bump into him at the gas station or a coffee shop and you’d fall back into each other's arms…
But you knew that would never happen now. And still even now, you were still learning to live with that fact.
You were reheating last night's leftovers when a text popped up on your phone. It was from Kat, an old colleague and good friend of yours from a few years back, the only person you stayed in contact with when you moved. She was going to be one of the bridesmaids at your wedding which never came to be, and she was the closest thing you had to a best friend during that chapter of your life. You gave her your new number when you moved away, and you would both send occasional texts, checking in with each other.
But this wasn’t a message asking how you were doing, how your week was, or if you were excited for the weekend. It was an invitation…
Kat: Hey! I thought I should let you know in advance that I’m having a party for my birthday! It’s going to be a big one, and I’d love for you to come. I’ll pay for the flights and everything, and if you’re able to take the time off work I’d love for you could stay a while. But there’s no pressure... I just miss my best friend <3
You caught yourself smiling at the message before the microwave started to beep at you. You quickly grabbed your plate out before returning to your phone, reading the text over again.
You: Of course! Send me the dates and I’ll see what I can do, it’ll be great to see each other again. We’ve got so much to catch up on :)
…
You were so glad your boss was laid back and liked you, because you managed to get the time off, and before you knew it you were landing back in the place you once called home. It felt a little weird being back, and you’d be lying if you said you haven't been thinking about Noah, wondering if he had moved, if he was still in the same city… if he was still alone.
But you didn’t let the thought linger.
You stepped off the plane with your headphones in, you never thought you’d ever come back here. You remembered how terrified you felt on the flight out of this place all those years ago, how you stared out the window the entire time, promising yourself you wouldn’t look back.
But now you were here again, but it was for a good reason.
The taxi ride into the city felt quite strange, not much was different- a few shops had changed, some trees in the park had been cut down, but your favourite coffee shop was still where it had always been, so you knew everything was fine.
Kat was waiting outside her building when the car pulled up, bouncing on her heels as she waved at you through the window.
You barely got out of the car before she wrapped her arms around you, squeezing you tight enough to make you laugh. You dragged your suitcase out of the car, then followed her up to her apartment.
The moment you stepped through the door, it smelled like candles and something sweet baking in the oven. It was a lot different to the last place you remembered her living in, her old place was tiny, it had one little bedroom and one rather faulty bathroom- you remember having a call from her while you were working one day, telling you how the tap on her sink had come off and she didn’t know what to do, to which you replied “neither do I, but a plumber might!”
The first night there healed your soul in a way you never knew you needed. You were both sitting cross legged on her couch with takeout containers spread between you, you had put a movie on but neither of you were paying attention to it, you were too busy catching up. You told her all about your new life, your job, the little friend group you made, the way you went to sip and paint nights every Thursday and the way one of the bartenders at your local bar always hit on you whenever you went in, though you had absolutely no interest in him.
Then she told you about her life, her promotion, how moving to this place was so difficult because the elevator was broken so she had to hire some guys to bring all her furniture in. Then the topic changed to dating.
“I hate all the men in this city.” She said confidently, “I swear they all share the same god awful personality.”
You laughed, taking a sip of the hot chocolate she had made.
“Glad to see nothing's changed since I left then.”
She shook her head.
“What about you though? Other than the bartender, do you have anyone special over there?”
“Nope,” you shook your head softly, “It’s just me.”
She studied you for a second, her brows raising.
“Really? Not even a casual fling?”
You hesitated for a second, then shrugged.
“I’m not really looking for anything like that. I’m happy by myself.”
That was the most simple answer you could give, the easiest way to explain it. You could say you were too busy rebuilding yourself, you could say you liked your peace too much. But you couldn’t tell the truth.
That no one else was him.
How could you? She didn't even know about Noah...
…
The party was the night after that, and Kat’s apartment was now full of people. There were some faces you recognised, some you didn’t, old friends you used to work with who pulled you into hugs and asked you a million questions.
“You look amazing!” “Wow, it’s really been five years?” “Are you back for good?”
You shook your head at the last one, insisting that you were just visiting. Because even you had to remind yourself of that.
But throughout the night, the questions seemed to get a little more intense and personal, and Kat could sense you were getting a bit uncomfortable. Then, before you knew it, she was at your side, handing you another drink.
“Hey, she’s off limits for heavy life questions tonight!” She announced. “This is my birthday party, not therapy.”
You mouthed a little thank you and then before you knew it, the conversation had already shifted.
As the night went on, you found yourself relaxing more than you expected to. You danced with Kat in the living room until you were both breathless and giggling, you sat on the balcony wrapped in a blanket while listening to old coworkers gossip about names that sounded very familair.
By the time everyone finally left, Kat’s apartment looked like a disaster zone. Empty cups littered every surface, someone had somehow lost a shoe near the couch, and Kat groaned as she assessed the damage.
“We are absolutely not cleaning this tonight… it can wait ‘til tomorrow.”
You laughed tiredly, kicking your heels off near the table.
“Oh, definitely.”
The two of you changed into your pyjamas and collapsed onto the couch with water bottles and whatever snacks were leftover from the table, too exhausted to put the tv on, but not quite ready to go to bed yet.
You were in the middle of having a conversation with her when you suddenly realised she wasn't even listening. She was grinning at her phone.
“Hello? Earth to Kat?” You waved your arm, “What’s- or should I say who- got you smiling like that?”
She snapped her head up at you, a mischievous smile spread across her face.
“Okay…” she began, “Don’t hate me.”
You narrowed your eyes, immediately realising this could be going.
“That’s never a good start.”
“This guy I’m talking to just said happy birthday to me… and he wanted to know if I was free tomorrow night- at first I said no, I told him I had a friend staying over and I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Okay?”
“And…” she continued, her grin only growing wider, “He told me there was no worry, because he has a friend he could bring… if you wanna come with me?”
You stared at her blankly.
“No.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Kat-“
“You’ve been single for years!”
“And?”
“And maybe it would be nice for you to talk to someone!”
You shook your head, laughing softly in disbelief.
“I don’t even know how to do that anymore.”
“Yes you do,” she argued. “You’re hot and funny and emotionally mature. You’ll survive one date.”
You sank deeper into the couch cushions.
“But I don’t want a relationship right now.”
“I know,” she said gently. “And I’m not trying to force you into anything serious. It’s just dinner. A double date… do it for me?”
For a moment, you thought about it. You weren’t the same person you used to be. You weren’t desperately clinging to someone who consumed your entire life anymore. You were happy by yourself now. For the first time in your life you felt stable and whole…
Surely one harmless dinner with a stranger wasn’t going to unravel all of that.
“…What’s his name?” You asked cautiously.
“The guy I’m seeing? Davis.”
“And the friend?”
She shrugged.
“No clue. Davis just said he’s nice- and cute apparently. He said he barely leaves the house, so he’s dragging him along no matter what he says.”
You huffed a laugh.
“Well that’s reassuring.”
“Please?” She asked, nudging your knee. “If it sucks, we’ll say one of us got our period and leave early, then go get drunk somewhere else.”
You pretended to think about it longer than you needed to, before finally sighing.
“Fine. But if this friend's weird, I’m not talking to him.”
Kat let out a loud squel, making you wince.
“You’re gonna thank me one day, y'know.”
You very much doubted that.
By the time you finally crawled into bed that night, you were so tired you could barely keep your eyes open. You plugged your phone in to charge, curled up beneath the blankets, and stared sleepily at the unfamiliar ceiling above you.
A blind double date… surely it wouldn’t be too bad?
…
You slept for most of the next day, and woke up just a few hours before you were supposed to be at the restaurant. You didn’t really care too much, you put very little effort into getting ready- but Kat on the other hand…
She was nervously pacing around, trying on different outfits before throwing each one down on the bed, declaring she had nothing to wear, despite the growing pile of clothes suggesting otherwise. Then once she found something she didn’t hate, she moved into the bathroom to do her makeup. You sat on the closed toilet lid, trying to calm her nerves, though it wasn’t working.
You never quite realised how much she liked this guy.
“You’re being rather calm about this,” Kat said, glancing your way before sticking one of her lashes on, “Especially since this is probably your first date since Mike.”
His name alone made you recoil. You tried your hardest to forget about him, the poor man whose heart you broke.
“It’s just dinner,” you said with a shrug, “I’ve just gotta talk to this guy for an hour then we’ll go our own ways. It’s not like this is gonna become a thing.”
Kat smirked as she leaned towards the mirror, sticking her other lash on.
“Yeah, that’s what people say before they accidentally meet the love of their life.”
You scoffed.
“I think I’m past all that now. Nothing's ever worked out for me before, has it?”
You pretended not to see the way that made her frown slightly.
By the time the two of you finally left her apartment, the sky outside was a pretty pinky-orange, and the uber was already waiting outside the front. You both climbed in the back, and as she fixed an earring, she turned to you.
“Okay, we need to set some ground rules.”
“Oh god…”
“If either of us feel uncomfortable, we go to the bathroom and call the other.”
“Agreed,” you nodded, “And if either of them says anything misogynistic, racist, homophobic- if we think anything's even the slightest a red flag- we put them in their place and leave.”
“Oh obviously,” she nodded too, “And if Davis’ friend just happens to be insanely attractive-”
“Kat!”
She just laughed, reaching into her bag for her phone.
“I’m just saying! Keep an open mind.”
You rolled your eyes, smiling despite yourself, then turned your attention towards the passing streets outside the window. And for some reason, you had butterflies in your stomach. You couldn’t let yourself believe it was because you were excited and nervous- because that was stupid. You told yourself it was because it had been so long since you’d been on a date.
The only reason you were doing this was so you could say you’d been on both a blind date and a double date- and also so that Kat wasn’t meeting this guy for the first time by herself. You weren’t looking for something, but if you actually liked the guy then you weren’t opposed to maybe going on a second date before you head back home...
When you got to the restaurant, you were quite glad the two of you got there before Davis and his friend. You stepped inside, and once Kat gave her name, you were being led to your table. The two of you sat next to each other, and you looked at the drinks menu while Kat checked her phone for the 50th time since leaving her place.
“Okay, they’re on their way!” She whispered excitedly, “I’m so nervous.”
“You?” You laughed, “At least you know who you’re meeting tonight.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen him in person before! What if he doesn’t look like his pictures?”
“What does he look like?” You asked curiously, and she went straight to instagram.
Your heart dropped the moment she turned her phone to you. Sure, he was handsome, but in the picture on her screen, he was wearing a certain band’s merch…
You tried to tell yourself it was just a coincidence, Bad Omens were pretty popular… but now a part of you was cautious.
Before you could say anything, a waiter came by to take drink orders, giving you just enough of a distraction to tell yourself to pull it together. To not overthink.
Everything would be fine- and even if it wasn't, you’d be flying home soon anyway.
…
You were halfway through telling Kat a story about something that happened to you last month, when she suddenly stopped listening. Her eyes drifted over your shoulder, towards the entrance, and her entire face changed.
“Oh my god…” She whispered.
You frowned a little.
“What?”
She grabbed your wrist hard enough to make you laugh instead of listen.
“Davis’s friend is hot!”
“Kat-”
“No seriously, look!”
“I can’t!” You laughed, “Wouldn’t they be a little creeped out if they saw us both staring-”
“Shh!” She interrupted you, quickly turning back around, “They’re coming.”
“Hi,” a voice suddenly appeared, and before you knew it, Kat was standing and being pulled into a hug, “Wow... you look amazing.”
“So do you.” She grinned as she sat back down.
“And you must be the best friend I’ve heard all about… I’m Davis.”
He held his hand out, and you took it, shaking it as you smiled politely.
“Nice to meet you.” You said.
Then, as Davis went to sit down, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Hey, you coming?” He called out, before turning back to you two, “Sorry, he’s a little nervous. He hasn’t been on a date in years.”
“Neither has she!” Kat laughed, talking about you as if you weren’t sitting right next to her.
But then somebody stepped into view, and the entire world around you stopped moving.
Because you recognised that build, the broad shoulders, the tattoos... and when your eyes finally lifted to look at his face-
Holy shit.
For a moment, your brain genuinely refused to process what you were seeing. Because it couldn’t be him. Not here, like this.
You swallowed hard, the entire world around you still a blur as he looked up from his phone and froze. Then you watched in real time as the realisation hit him.
The way his eyes widened slightly, how his entire body froze, how he suddenly stopped breathing for a moment. It was like he had seen a ghost.
You felt exactly the same.
This was Noah. Noah who has seen every part of you, the good, bad and ugly. Noah who loved you so much that in the end it became poisonous. Noah whose voice you’d still hear sometimes when you couldn’t sleep.
The man you once thought you’d be with forever. The only man you ever loved, though you weren’t sure whether you could call it love, when it felt more like dependency.
Kat and Davis were talking to the both of you, though neither of you heard a word they were saying.
But then you watched as Noah straightened up, you thought maybe he’d excuse himself, turn around and walk away… but he didn’t. He took a deep breath in, putting on a neutral expression like a mask. And you tried to do the same, because what else could you do?
You couldn’t exactly say Hey Kat! Funny story! This is the man I spent most of my life loving even though I never said a word about it to you and it ruined me so much that I had to move away and restart my life!
Noah took another step closer until he stopped by the chair opposite you. Up close, he still looked the same as ever- and he had certainly aged well. He was still heartbreakingly beautiful, so much that it made your heart ache to just look at him.
Davis smiled between the two of you, blissfully unaware of the bomb he’d just detonated.
“This is my friend Noah,” Davis said casually, “Noah, this is y/n.”
Your heart was racing now, especially as Noah was looking directly at you. Not at Davis, not at Kat. You.
And with the smallest shift in his expression, the two of you made a silent decision simultaneously, like even after all the years apart, you could still read each other's minds.
Pretend.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Noah said, holding his hand out towards you.
Your fingers trembled as you placed your hand in his, like you had done so many times before. And the moment your skin touched, it was like every memory came rushing back at once.
The screaming matches late at night that ended with the two of you tangled up in bed together. Crying in each others arms while you tried to work out what the hell was wrong with the both of you, why you ended up like this. Late night drives, wrapped up in his jacket, laying in the back of his old truck, staring up at the stars. The lies. The cheating. The unanswered calls. The exhaustion.
Noah's fingers gave your hand the smallest squeeze before letting go.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” You replied softly.
He sat down beside Davis, opposite you, and you couldn’t let yourself look at him. Instead, you picked up a menu and stared down at it without reading a word.
It seemed a bit awkward for a while, until the waiter came back with Davis and Noah’s drinks, and took your orders. After that, the menus were collected, and you no longer had a distraction.
Kat must’ve thought you were just nervous, that there was a cute guy in front of you and you had no idea how to talk to him since it had been so long. So she perked up, sitting up a little straighter.
“So,” she beamed, “Ice breaker time! Tell us about yourselves!”
“Hey, this is your date.” You said, shooting her a glare, but all she did was shrug.
“Yeah, but I’ve been talking to Davis for weeks now. You two have only just met!”
Oh, Kat… if only you knew.
You lifted your head and met his eyes for a moment, then he looked away.
“I’m Noah,” he said, as if that hasn’t been the very name you’d been cursing for over half of your life, “Uh... I work in music.”
You nearly smiled, same vague answer as always.
“Like… in a band?” Kat asked.
“I guess you could say that.” He replied.
You could’ve scoffed. You remembered sharing a tiny bunk with all 6 foot 3 of him on the tour bus, trying to sleep while he was humming away, writing down lyrics at three in the morning. You remembered their first show, how you were the one who even got it booked for them. You remembered the call when their record label wanted to know if they were interested in signing with them.
And now you had to sit here pretending you were just learning this about him.
“And what about you?” Davis asked when Noah didn’t say any more.
“I work in marketing… I actually moved overseas for work a few years ago.”
Noah’s head lifted when you mentioned the word overseas, and looked back over at you.
“Do you like it there?” He asked suddenly.
The question sounded normal enough to everyone else, but you heard the real meaning underneath it.
Are you happy now? Did leaving save you?
“Yeah,” you said softly, “I really do.”
Noah’s expression softened in relief, and it almost hurt to see.
“She loves it over there,” Kat said with a big grin, “I swear it’s made her cooler.”
You laughed.
“That’s not true.”
“It absolutely is!” She insisted, “You do all these artsy classes with your new friends and get free drinks at the bar when you flirt with your mysterious bartender admirer.”
Davis laughed.
“Mysterious bartender admirer?”
“She’s exaggerating.” You shook your head.
“I’m not!” Kat argued. “Apparently this guy is obsessed with her-”
You glanced toward Noah without meaning to, and you noticed the way his jaw had tightened. How suddenly his expression had changed. Nobody else had caught it, but you did, because even now after all these years apart, you still knew exactly what he looked like when jealousy hit him.
“Wow, sounds like someone’s popular.” Davis grinned.
“Mm, she doesn’t like him though,” Kat informed him proudly. “She says he’s not her type.”
Noah looked down at his glass for a second before speaking.
“Yeah? So what is your type?”
Your heart thumping so heavily in your chest that it almost made you feel faint.
“I don’t know… tall, funny… not an asshole-”
“Check, check… and I’m not so sure about the last one.” Davis nodded at Noah with a smirk.
You tried to not make your laugh sound so awkward, but Kat clearly noticed the switch up, so she was changing the topic again.
“Okay, Noah. What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?”
You physically felt his panic for a split second, because both of you knew the answer to that. And you were both thinking the exact same thing, you could tell by the way his lips pressed together, as if to stop himself from laughing- and you were doing the same, biting the inside of your cheek.
But surprisingly, he composed himself, and looked over at Kat as he spoke.
“Well,” he chuckled, “It wasn't a first date or anythig, but I left my girlfirend at the gas station once.”
More than once, you wanted to correct him.
“What?” Davis laughed, “You never told me about this.”
Noah shook his head.
“We had a date planned, we were gonna go to the aquarium. I stopped off at the gas station to get some snacks for the road, because it was a pretty long drive… and my girlfriend at the time, she was using the bathroom and I might’ve forgotten that I already picked her up. So after paying, I got back in the car and went to her place to pick her up. I waited there for about five minutes-”
“Where was her phone?” You asked suddenly, trying not to smirk, “Did she not text you?”
Noah’s eyes darted towards you.
“Well, I called her.” He said slowly, “And I only realised what had happened when I heard her phone ringing on the passenger seat.”
“No way!” Kat laughed, “What happened after that?”
Noah let out a long sigh.
“I went back to pick her up, she was pissed. We’d argue a lot anyway, it was just… a part of us I suppose. It wasn’t a healthy relationship in the slightest, but we always knew the fights would blow over, that we never really meant anything we said. Nothing could break us... or so we thought. Anyways, we rescheduled the date and went the next weekend.”
“Dude,” Davis chuckled, “You make it sound like you’re still in love with her.”
You swallowed hard, and you watched as Noah thought it over in his head. But then he shrugged.
“She was my first love. You never really forget that, do you?”
Softly, you shook your head.
“I know.”
Before you could say anything else, the waiter appeared beside the table carrying plates balanced carefully across his arms.
“Perfect timing!” Kat grinned.
You let out a breath you hadn’t realised you were holding as everyone moved about to make room for the food, and after that, the conversation dissolved.
Well, between you and Noah at least. Because now Kat and Davis were talking to each other, instead of focusing on the two of you. She asked him about work, he asked her about how her move went.
But you and Noah stayed quiet. It almost made you laugh, because there was once a time where you two were always the loudest people in every room together. Constantly talking, touching, teasing, interrupting each other mid sentence, arguing over the stupidest things.
Now the two of you barely spoke.
A few times, you caught him looking at you when he thought you weren’t paying attention. Once when you laughed at something Kat said, once when you tucked your hair behind your ear absentmindedly, once when you reached for the water jug at the exact same moment he did, both of your hands pausing instinctively to avoid brushing.
You wondered if he was feeling the same awful awareness you were, the constant ache of remembering, feeling like every tiny interaction felt much bigger than it actually was. Because every time you looked at Noah, another version of him flashed through your mind.
Eighteen years old and grinning at you from the driver’s seat of his first car. Twenty three and furious, pacing your house during another pointless fight. Twenty seven and sobbing silently into your shoulder because he thought loving you was ruining both of you.
And now here he was. Much older, much more mature, and dare you say it, still as pretty as ever.
“So,” Davis said eventually, pushing his empty plate away once he had finished his last bite, “You guys want another drink?”
“Yes!” Kat perked up immediately. “You guys want the same thing?” She asked, already standing.
You nodded, and so did Noah.
“Cool.” Davis said as he stood up, reaching for his empty glass.
“Behave while we’re gone.” Kat grinned before following him to the bar.
You laughed weakly, watching as the two of them disappeared.
And then it was silent. You stared down at your hands for a second, suddenly hyperaware of how close Noah was across the small table, and how long the two of you had really been apart for.
Noah exhaled softly through his nose, staring down at his hands.
"Hi." He said simply, breaking the silence, but still not looking up.
"Hi." You said back quietly.
“This feels weird.”
“I know.” You laughed, though it came out shakier than you intended.
His eyes lifted to yours then, and you couldn’t begin to describe the feeling it gave you. There wasn’t that intensity in the way he looked at you anymore, instead his eyes were gentle. Something soft in them that almost looked like sadness.
“You look happy.” He said after a moment, and the sincerity in his voice almost hurt.
“I am.” You said carefully.
His expression softened instantly at that, and you watched his shoulders relax like a weight had suddenly been lifted from him. He looked relieved- and that was the moment you realised that Noah had probably spent all these years wondering whether leaving him destroyed you, or whether you came out of it stronger.
“You do too.” You said quietly.
He looked surprised by that.
“I don’t know about that.”
“No,” you said softly. “You do.”
For a second, he didn’t say anything back. He just looked at you, like he was still trying to process everything.
“I really never thought this would happen.” He confessed.
“You mean tonight?”
He nodded his head.
“I used to think about running into you all the time- hypocritical of me I know, after telling you to leave,” he admitted with a small, almost embarrassed smile. “But I always imagined it like some stupid movie scene. Randomly seeing you one day in a grocery store or the gas station or a coffee shop somewhere.”
Your heart physically ached, because you’d imagined it too. More times than you could count.
“And then after a while,” he continued quietly, “I figured if it hadn’t happened yet… maybe it just wasn’t supposed to.”
Suddenly, you could hear his voice in your head, from all those years ago.
But if one day our paths happen to cross again, then maybe. If that’s the way life takes us and we find each other, then we’ll see. But if not, then we’ll know.
“I guess the universe finally got bored.”
Noah laughed softly, and you felt your heart melt.
For a moment you just watched him, taking in how different he looked once more, yet he was still that same boy you fell in love with all those years ago. You wondered what he thought when he looked at you, which version of you he saw.
Noah glanced down at the table, choosing his words carefully before speaking again.
“There were a lot of times after you left where I wasn’t sure if I did the right thing.”
Your breath suddenly caught.
“Noah…”
“I mean it,” he said quietly. “That night- telling you to go, telling you to leave, to find yourself…” He gave a small shrug, eyes fixed on his glass. “I knew it was what you needed, it was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.”
Your heart ached, because you hadn’t properly thought of that night in a while, you never let yourself. Though you could still remember it so clearly, the screaming, the crying, the begging. Noah telling you,
“If I love you as much as I think I do, then I’ll get through this too. Even if it destroys me all over again, I’ll go through it just to know you’ve finally found peace”
At the time it felt so cruel, but now you see it for what it was, and it felt unbearable selfless.
“I hated you for it at first.” You confessed quietly, earning a weak smile from him.
“Yeah, I knew you would.”
“For a while, I thought it was because you hated me for leaving you-”
“No,” he said, immediately cutting you off, “I could never hate you. I was trying to save you… and honestly, probably myself too.”
You looked down at your hands, because he was right. You’d loved each other so intensely for so long that eventually there was nothing left outside of it. No individuality, no balance, just Noah and you and the constant cycle of hurting each other and patching it back together before you even had the time to process it all.
Neither one of you were to blame- well, maybe one more than the other- but only now after all these years you realised you were both hurting each other by not helping each other. He was struggling to adjust to fame and the new life it brought, but you didn’t always see it that way. You were struggling with feeling like you were losing the one thing you had, the person you loved, but he saw it as you being too overbearing.
“You know,” he said after a moment, his voice softer now, “I used to check your socials sometimes.”
“What?” You let out a quiet laugh, and his expression turned almost sheepish.
“Yeah… I think I just needed to know you were okay.” He said, his smile turning smaller and softer, “I saw pictures of you smiling and I hoped to god it was real… you looked happy, so I tried to tell myself we did the right thing.”
You swallowed hard. It was the right thing, you both knew that from the moment he told you not to stay. But just because something is the right thing to do, doesn’t mean it’s easy, it doesn’t mean it’s not painful.
“I checked up on you sometimes too.” You said, which clearly surprised him.
“Yeah?”
“Mm,” you nodded, “Every now and then I’d search your name, see what the band was up to, watch some interviews…”
“Why?”
You hesitated for a moment, unsure of how much of the truth you wanted to tell him. That you never stopped loving him and wanting the best for him, that no matter how much time passed, forgetting him was impossible.
“I think I needed to know you survived too.” You said with a small smile.
You watched as his face softened, and the two of you just sat there looking at each other for a long moment, almost unable to believe how much pain the two of you had caused each other over your lives… and instead of sitting across from him feeling angry about everything he had once done to you, it just felt sad, and rather tender.
“When are you going back?” He asked after a moment.
“...Next week.” You said quietly, almost like you didn’t want to go home.
He gave you a slow nod of his head, like he was trying not to show his disappointment.
“That soon?”
“I’ve got work.” You explained.
“Right…” He nodded again, tapping his fingers against the table- an old nervous habit he’d had for years.
You studied his face for a moment while you sat in a slightly nervous silence. You could tell he was thinking something over in his head, and before either of you could lose your nerve, he spoke.
“Do you think that maybe... I can see you again before you go?” He asked carefully, like he was afraid you'd say no.
You were taken back a little by that, and your brows raised in surprise. But as you opened your mouth to answer him-
“We’re back!” Kat announced with a big grin, passing you your drink, “Sorry, the bar was kinda busy. Did you guys talk much? Did we miss anything interesting?”
“No.” You and Noah both answered at the same time, making it seem slightly suspicious.
The synchronicity of it made Davis laugh, and when you looked back over at Noah, he was already looking at you, bringing his drink up to his lips, giving you a look that told you he was still waiting for your answer.
…
It wasn’t much longer until dinner was over, and the four of you were all walking out, Kat and Davis were ahead of you and Noah as you walked to the parking lot, but then she suddenly turned around to speak.
“This was fun,” she announced happily before turning back to Davis, “I guess we make good matchmakers.”
You nearly laughed, if only she knew.
Davis then turned around and smiled towards Noah.
“I think we should do this again.”
Noah glanced over at you for a second before answering.
“Yeah. Maybe… if you ever find yourself back here.”
You silently nodded your head, and carried on walking side by side with Noah for the first time in years. And somehow, it felt oddly normal, but you tried not to think about that.
You looked down at the pavement for a second, trying to calm the nervous butterflies fluttering in your stomach before finally speaking.
“So…”
Noah glanced toward you softly.
“So?”
You laughed quietly, then before you could overthink it, you pulled your phone from your bag and held it out toward him.
“...Can I get your number?”
Noah suddenly slowed his pace, watching surprise spread across his face before something else replaced it- something almost boyishly happy. God, it almost made your chest hurt.
“Yeah… yeah of course.” He said quietly.
You smiled softly, suddenly nervous yourself as he took your phone carefully from your hand.
“But,” you added gently before he could start typing, “I need you to know something first.”
His eyes lifted to yours immediately, and you swallowed hard before continuing.
“I’m happy now, Noah.” The words came out softer than you intended. “I’m happy in myself, by myself. I’m not doing this because I think… I don’t know. That this has to turn into something.”
He softly nodded his head, and let you continue.
“I just want us to catch up properly.” You said quietly, “I don't know if you remember, but before anything ever happened between us, you were my best friend. And I’ve really missed you.”
For a second, Noah just looked at you. He didn’t know what to say, how to tell you he was proud of you, that he was more than happy to just talk as friends. The two of you had spent almost your whole lives afraid of losing each other, and here you were setting boundaries, telling him how you really felt.
He gave you a small, soft smile.
“Yeah, I’d like that… I’ve missed you too.”
Your heart gently skipped a beat, then he looked down at your phone again, typing his number in before handing it back to you.
The second your fingers brushed his, Kat’s voice called from ahead of you.
“Oh my god!”
You looked up suddenly, to see Kat was staring at the two of you with absolute delight while Davis laughed beside her.
“I knew it!” She squealed. “You two totally hit it off!”
You felt heat rush to your cheeks, and beside you, Noah ducked his head slightly, smiling to himself.
If only they knew that this wasn’t the beginning of something.
This was just the continuation of a story that had been unfolding your entire lives.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
i got the inspiration for this MONTHS ago when me and my friends went out for dinner before they went back to uni after christmas, there were two couples having a double date and for some reason my mind instantly come up with this? maybe one day i'll write another part to this where they catch up before she goes home :)
summary: There’s very little that could ever stop Noah from having what he wants when it comes to being between your thighs, and worshiping you with his mouth. Not even your period can stop him.
cw: 18 + 𝖒𝖉𝖓𝖎. himbo!noah, afab!reader (no pronoun use), mention of periods, painkillers, free bleeding and menstrual blood, oral, fingering.
wc: 2.1k
At this point, you could set your monthly cycle by the clock. You’ve made the joke countless times about how much of a well oiled machine you are; you never miss a period, and the dates always line up almost perfectly, but along with it comes that deep, aching need that feels like it can never truly be satisfied. There are enough remarks surrounding period and ovulation horniness that it’s practically turned into a meme, except there’s truth to the idea because you experience the former each and every month.
Along with the desire to grind yourself against the nearest surface like a cat in heat comes the overwhelming twisting and shooting pain of cramps that leave you doubled over if you’re not quick enough with the painkillers, timing them just right to squash the nausea before it can fully settle in. Even so, no amount of medication can prevent the way your body flushes with heat, a heat you fear is merely a preview of what’s to come later in life when the hot flashes finally kick in, nor the added exhaustion that often leaves you too tired and achy to fight with your underwear and pads that, if not pulled up quickly enough, shift out of place.
If it were socially acceptable, you’d probably free bleed. If it were even more normalized, and men weren’t so put off by the idea of period blood, you’d probably find someone to hook up with just to appease the burning desire inside you and counter the cramps you’re forced to suffer through.
That is, at least, until Noah.
A man above other men, because when you warned him your period was due, he didn’t skitter away, fearful and grossed out. Instead, he offered to help in any way you needed, and that eventually led to a whole new monthly tradition with him.
In the early days of your period, you’d have been disgusted by the idea of free bleeding, of ever being without a pad, preferring to be doubled up if necessary because you were unfortunately cursed with a heavy flow, changing repeatedly throughout the day to combat any feeling of being unclean. It wasn’t until over a decade of cycles later that you changed your mind, and all because of this golden retriever sweetheart of a man.
Not only did he spend the first days of your period feeding you a combination of grilled salmon and vegetables, cooked and prepared by him, alongside bowls of fruit with the added treat of dark and milk chocolate, but he also surprised you with an unexpected gift.
“What is it?” you asked, unfolding the blanket you’d just unwrapped, your brow furrowed. He had multiple blankets, as did you, but the gleeful look on his face told you this was more than just a simple blanket.
“It’s a free bleed blanket. We lay this down, and no more worrying about staining towels or leaking through onto the bedding when we…”
The implication was obvious, though your face softened at the gesture, and leaning over, you cupped his jaw, silencing any further explanation with a soft, sweet kiss—your response and thank you to his loving, thoughtful gesture.
Admittedly, you harboured a small amount of embarrassment over the towels and bedsheets you’d managed to ruin, all because his seemingly endless appetite never appeared to be satiated, especially during your monthly cycle. There was a teasing quip about him being a vampire somewhere in there, but one flash of those puppy dog eyes and that sweet smile had you weak at the knees all over again, uncaring that he would happily spend half your period between your thighs, pampering you just as eagerly as he provided you with pleasure.
If you’re like a well oiled machine, then Noah is akin to a bloodhound, able to detect your period and its early signs right before the spotting even starts.
It’s no surprise to you that, in the days leading up to it, he falls effortlessly into your routine, fulfilling each and every need he knows you’ll have without you ever needing to ask, and when the blanket is laid out across the bed, you know exactly what’s coming.
It sets alight that heat inside you, coiling deep in your stomach before spreading down to your core, making your clit ache with the desperate need for his touch, longing for the heat of his mouth and the eager glide of his tongue before he presses himself against you like a man desperately searching for something—a bear seeking out honey.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes to start with.”
If it weren’t for the way he looks at you as he approaches, you’d have long pushed him away and dismissed the idea, but there’s not only hunger in those big brown eyes, there’s adoration too, the kind that makes you feel like the most beautiful person in the world.
“Are you going to undress me?” you tease, attempting to sound sultry as you reach out, placing your hands on his shoulders for stability.
“If that’s what I have to do, then I’ll gladly be of service.”
One flash of that sweet smile and your knees weaken as his hands brush from your hips to your sides, slowly gliding the fabric of your shirt upward.
He captures your mouth in one kiss, soft and sweet, then another, before his head dips to the base of your neck, the faintest brush of his lips sending a flutter across your skin and straight through your stomach.
“Stop teasing,” you whine despite yourself, your hands sliding along his shoulders until your fingers curl into his hair, tugging lightly.
With your shirt pulled off, you’re barely given a second to think of another remark before Noah silences you with another kiss. This one’s longer, deeper, more sensual, and your body instinctively draws closer as his fingers slip beneath the waistband of your shorts, tugging them down along with your period underwear until everything is left discarded in a pile on the floor.
Mentally, he’s already reminding himself to collect them and throw them in the wash once he’s done taking care of you, but for now…
Lifting you from the floor in one swift, effortless movement, he carries you over to the bed, settling you down onto the blanket before easily parting your thighs with his broad shoulders as he sinks into position between them. Behind you, the pillows are already stacked comfortably, offering support while still allowing you to gaze down between your thighs at your devoted lover.
As you raise your knees, his arms hook behind them, keeping you firmly in place while one large, tattooed hand settles against your stomach. The warmth alone soothes the dull ache of lingering cramps yet to be fully combated by the painkillers you’d taken earlier.
Reaching down to card your fingers through his hair, you catch his gaze lifting to meet yours, the sweetest and most obvious heart eyes staring back at you before he presses a faint kiss to the inside of your thigh, leaving a slow trail upward as he moves higher. There’s a ritual embedded in your routine, one where Noah insists on taking his time, kissing and touching you gently, testing your sensitivity with each small act while pouring his adoration into even the tiniest gestures.
A kiss. A lick. A nip at your inner thigh that turns into a territorial suck—your bloodhound leaving a claiming mark against your skin, and then repeating it all over again until he’s nosing along your slit. The strong scent of arousal mingled with iron fills his nostrils, yet nothing deters him when his tongue darts out in the faintest teasing lick before he spits softly against you, wanting nothing more than to make you even wetter despite the way you already glisten.
“Noah!” you gasp.
His eyes remain locked on yours, the faint tug of a smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth before disappearing entirely as you watch him lean forward, the slow drag of his tongue between your folds making you choke on your breath.
“T-there…” Arching your hips, you try to guide yourself closer to his mouth as his tongue strokes upward toward your clit, even the faintest flick is enough pressure in your overly sensitive state.
Your fingers tighten in his hair as you tug lightly, the movements of his tongue pulling more sounds from you while he pushes deeper, swirling around your clit before dipping lower to tease at your entrance, dragging out every single motion as the taste of you floods his mouth—metallic, musky, and sweet in a way that’s dangerously addictive.
Closing his eyes, Noah sinks into the enjoyment of the moment, flattening his tongue against your clit as he drags it back up, spreading friction across the entire sensitive area while your hips buck instinctively, chasing the sensation. Flexing his tongue, he adds more pressure, helping guide you toward your release, and the addition of a finger only intensifies it. His lashes flutter in response to the moan you let out, your muscles tightening around his finger as it sinks slowly and deeply into you while he continues to lap at your clit.
It’s as pleasurable for him as it is for you, something noticeable not only in the audible moans he lets out against you with every sweeping stroke, pressing himself closer like a starved man finally allowed to feast, but also in the not so subtle roll of his hips. Beneath him, his thick erection throbs against the blanket he’s pressed himself onto, leaking despite every attempt to resist grinding against it.
You’re left imagining the prominent vein pulsing along the shaft, the way he twitches in response to your touch, your walls squeezing around his finger as it thrusts deeper inside you in long, deliberate strokes. It curls just enough to press against that sensitive spot tucked behind your clit while his mouth latches onto you, overwhelming you with a dizzying mix of internal and external stimulation.
In your sensitive state, it’s overwhelming, but you’re pinned in place, the thumb of his hand pressed against your stomach in soothing circular motions. The faint hums between his muffled moans create low vibrations that ripple through your already sensitive clit, spreading like wildfire through the rest of you. He’s coaxing you toward the edge, guiding you steadily toward the peak of your climax, ready to send you over while remaining there beneath you, prepared to catch you just so he can do it all over again.
You already know that’s exactly what he has planned, because you know him. Nothing stops Noah from wanting to take care of you again and again if he can. There’s nothing more satisfying to him than your pleasure and being the source of it, the reason you come apart with your fingers tangled in his hair as you cry out his name. The fact that it helps ease this time of the month is merely an added bonus to something he already loves doing.
Adding a second finger, you clench around him again while he continues teasing your clit, alternating between the flat of his tongue and the tip, applying direct pressure before easing off into slow, teasing patterns that circle your clit only to build the intensity again. He repeats the process over and over, all with the intention of edging you closer. Inside you, his fingers spread, slick sounds filling the room as he thrusts them slowly and deeply, feeling the wetness around them spreading while his tongue dips lower for a moment to capture it before returning to your clit once more.
He doesn’t care how long it takes, more than willing to spend hours between your thighs, making you fall apart again and again with his mouth and fingers. He can already feel it happening now in the way your breathing quickens and the sounds leaving you grow shakier by the second. Around his fingers, your walls tighten while his tongue flicks against your clit again, chasing that perfect amount of pressure and stimulation as your hips jerk instinctively toward his eager mouth.
Tugging at his hair, your nails graze his scalp, a shiver running down his spine in response. Beneath you, his cock twitches at the pulsing squeeze around his fingers when your orgasm finally crashes through you, completely lost in the sensation of you unraveling beneath him and imagining the feeling of it around him. His mouth remains devoted to you through every second of it, his tongue eager to catch and lap up everything he can, savouring every last drop and taste of you. He continues to chase it even as he withdraws his fingers, burying his tongue inside you once more, content to help you fall apart until both your appetites are satiated.
