Through the Screen

Chapter 110: Epilogue Part 2

abel 's eyes wander around the busy pavement, watching as a woman passes him with a conjoined

stroller with two babies, both wearing blue onesies and one of them having a bow on their head. he

smiles at them, and then at the mother, and the woman who can't be any older than twenty five returns

his smile, finally walking past him. he sighs happily, clutching the straps of the backpack and pulling his

sleeves over his fists—it's a habit he hasn't gotten rid of.

london's march air is forgiving, chilly enough for a sweater and warm enough to ditch a jacket, and the

sun shines unabashed atop his head, painting a few strands of his curly hair in golden light. there are

barely five minutes left to see noah, the wait almost seems longer than the three years he has spent

fixing both himself and their relationship. he can feel the steady beat of his heart going haywire, he can

feel the oxygen supply becoming bare, he can feel the shakiness of his hands and the heat in his

cheeks—he's been anticipating this for so long.

his phone buzzes lightly in his pocket and he pulls out the device, trying to control the blush that marks

his cheeks almost instantly.

noahrobster : where are you?

the app had found it's way back onto their phones only two weeks ago, when adrian had spent a

considerable amount of time convincing both of them to have the signature 'robster' next to their names

for no apparent reason other than the entertainment of watching his fathers cringe.

abelrobster : almost there

he bit his lip before adding onto his text.

abelrobster : i'm nervous to see you

noahrobster : don't be, it's only me

abelrobster : yeah but it's been a while

noahrobster : it's fine i won't bite

noahrobster : unless it's consensual ;)

abel didn't think it was possible to add any more colour to his cheeks but noah has proved him wrong

yet again. now he's standing in the middle of a pavement with his cheeks stained red and an

embarrassed grin on his face.

abelrobster : shut up you spork

three minutes later he is pushing the doors open to starbucks, conventionally the most inappropriate

place to see your husband again after years but noah had insisted on getting coffee first and abel was

really in no position to contradict anything the man said. he walked further into the busy shop, trying to

spot noah's dark fringe somewhere along the mass of people but having no such luck. fortunately

enough, after a solid minute of confusion, there were cold fingers grabbing his hand and noah's

unmistakable voice snapping him out of his search.

"hey why are you standing like that?" and being surprised to look at noah would probably be an

understatement. the years look unbelievably good on him, the old pictures he had of noah do no justice

to what he looks like right now, standing in front of him, real, breathing, talking, and so close.

"hey, i-i couldn't find you," abel sputters and noah gives him a warm smile, and abel swears for a

minute he almost can't believe this is happening. he stares unashamedly at noah as he leads them to

the counter to order, noticing the way his hair is pushed back into a quiff, his glasses resting effortlessly

on the bridge of his pointed nose, and the sleeves of his shirt tighter around his biceps. his broad

shoulders and defined arms give away instantly that he's been working out, and abel can't promise that

all his thoughts are appropriate.

"your hair," abel comments as soon as they get in line, and he watches as noah's cheeks flush, his

fingers going up and pushing the hair further up in a movement of insecurity. "it looks really good," he

compliments and noah thanks him with a small smile.

"you don't look too bad yourself," noah says, letting his gaze shift to the way the soft material of the

sweater falls off abel 's shoulders and exposes his collarbones and it's only a second later he notices

the small black gages covering his earlobes. "you got your ears pierced?" noah's voice is

unintentionally loud, and abel blushes, looking away and nodding in embarrassment.

"yeah, a friend told me they'd suit me, what do you think?" abel looks at him nervously and noah raises

his hand in a bold move, placing it on his cheek and taking ahold of the plasticky material gently,

watching as abel draws in a shaky breath. it pleases him in a strange way that the littlest of his touches

still make abel lose his breath like they used to.

"it looks good," he licks his lips, letting his hand fall back down. "really good,"

they don't speak after that, quickly ordering their drinks and making their way to a table of two, both of

them sitting across from each other with unmet eyes and flushed cheeks.

"so, how have you been?" abel starts, and noah finally looks at him, trying not to get too carried away

with the relief he gets by hearing abel 's voice after so long.

"i've been okay, good," noah answers vaguely and offers him a small smile. "what about you?"

"i've been well too," abel replies, hoping for this conversation to stay as light hearted as possible.

"that's good," noah doesn't know what else to say. he does actually, but whatever he wants to say

doesn't match the placidity of their reunion so he takes the awkward silence over the serious

conversations.

"how's adrian?" abel attempts to keep the conversation going and noah smiles lopsidedly.

"you've been talking to him just as much as i do," noah says and abel scrunches his nose. "is this your

attempt of making a conversation?"

"yeah i mean you won't make an effort so clearly someone has to do it," abel snorts, and noah laughs,

momentarily forgetting about what they actually need to talk about.

and then the talking picks up, they both talk about how they are actually doing, their jobs, their friends

and how things are with noah's parents. abel talks about his new workplace and how he's spoken to

chris a few times since the incident as to not end their friendship on a sour note and he is surprised

when noah doesn't look bothered by the fact. their conversation pauses for about half a minute when

noah gets up to get their drinks but they fall right back into why noah hates his boss, and how proud he

is of adrian.

"have you been seeing someone while we-we were on a break?" abel mumbles, slumping back into his

chair and finishing the last of his drink. he fiddles his fingers together, keeping his eyes fixed on the

glinting material of his wedding ring as he awaits noah's response.

"i did go on a few dates," noah admits, his cheeks flushing out of guilt when abel purses his lips and

refuses to meet his eyes. "only because my therapist said i should, not because i was over you," he

adds, hoping to make abel feel better but he just nods his head and shoots noah an unconvincing

smile.

noah would tell him that he still loves him, that every day, night, hour, minute and second of the past

three years have been spent loving him and him only but he isn't sure if that would be appropriate for

now. he can't just start confessing his love after meeting abel after so long, they need to build this up.

"abel?" he calls and the younger male wraps his fingers tighter around his empty cup before looking at

noah, his eyebrows raised in question and a certain sadness in his features.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

"you should know that nobody has, or will ever replace you," noah informs him, keeping his voice down

and watching the way abel 's eyes fall back to the table and the pink colour rises from the base of his

neck and lands comfortably on the high points of his dimpled cheeks.

"so you're not seeing someone as of now?" abel mumbles in a small voice. he hasn't even brought

himself to look at another person in a romantic way, the past three years he has spent in utter solitude

and hoping that one day he can gather enough courage, can forgive himself enough to call noah and

ask him if he's ready.

"no, i'm not," noah raises his hand and points to his ring. "i'm still committed to someone, you know?"

abel bites his lip at noah's response, a certain warmth pooling in his chest when he realises that noah

still wears the ring. he smiles, resting his elbows on his table and putting his face in his hands, making

his cheeks squish up slightly against his fists.

"aw man, does that mean i don't have a chance?" he jokes and noah just looks at him fondly before

crossing his arms across his chest. abel almost thinks he does it purposely to show off the muscle he

has built, his shirt tightening even more around his forearms.

"not a single one," noah denies and abel almost forgets he had even said something. he's busy staring

at noah again, the soft curve of his jaw, the freckled skin of his neck, the plumpness of his lips—god he

has really missed him.

"i've missed you," abel says absentmindedly, and noah flushes yet again, his expression softening.

"i've missed you too, really," noah reassures him and they both sit silently for a while, simply

appreciating the sight of one another.

this was gonna be a long day.