Luke enters into their room in the middle of the morning and finds that Noah is still sleeping in a fetal position. His body is covered by a sheet, hugging Luke’s pillow like a teddy bear. He seems so little and vulnerable, his love normally for everyone seems so strong, also in the difficult situation. But Luke knows that he is only good in hiding, and that this situation hurt him very deeply.


Luke really, after the night like that he didn’t want to leave his love, but he must, because he had an important meeting with one of the biggest American Foundations that had started to be interested in gay rights, but now he is here again, and the message that he left for him on the bedside table is still there. Luckily Noah didn’t wake up and wasn’t unaware that Luke was gone. He goes very close to him and knelt down in front of his face. He knows that Noah was close to waking up, cause he could understand the way he groans, so he went to his lips for a peck. Noah opened his eyes, still almost asleep, places his hand on Luke’s collar, bringing back his lips to his mouth kissing more deeply. When they broke the kiss, Noah let go of Luke’s pillow and moved himself a little to give Luke a place near him. Luke sits himself against the headboard of the bed, as Noah places his head into his chest, while Luke caresses his hair. The day before, was the day when Noah opened, in front of the camera, a box with the personal effects of his dad....

...After they went to the Hughes’ home to let Riley put the gun of his dad together, they returned with the package to Lily’s mansion. They spent the evening sitting in their bed, one in front of another. They opened the box again, and then Noah first removed the American flag, then the box with the photos, but takes out another small package and opens it showing to Luke all the medals that his dad took for courage in battle. Noah takes in his hand one of them and says:


- “This one is for saving all his fellow soldiers, because he noticed the arrival of a car full of explosives that went towards them, and then killing the driver... he saved them all”

Luke goes to caress the hand free, without saying anything. He can see that Noah was torn from his feelings, pro and con for his dad. He opens the box with the photos, and checks it, passing them to Luke. In each photo there was Noah almost always smiling at different ages, but then Noah opens a sheet and after staring at it gives it to Luke. While the tears start to run down from his cheek, Luke removes the box that was between them, letting Noah hide his face into his neck. In the sheet, in handwriting was written:

“Today I will probably lose my son. At the police station I tried to make him understand that this guy confuses him... but right now I’m not sure of that yet. While I wait to go to prison, I was sitting in the police car, and I saw Noah with him. He pushed the wheelchair near his truck. This guy placed his hands near the collar of my son, while Noah pulled him into his arms. I can see an emotion in the eyes of this guy, then while Noah placed him in the passenger seat and strapped on the safety belt, I could see the same look in my son’s eyes. I have never see an emotion like that when he was with Maddie, perhaps... everything I know, everything that they taught me was wrong? No way. This can’t be right, how can it be right? Two men together is against nature... the truth is that no matter who is right, I lost my son. If he is right he will never forgive me, if I’m right I will never accept him, so there is no solution”

Luke in one second understood the reason of Noah’s sadness. In the Colonel’s doubt, Noah can see a hope, a hope that somehow somewhere he can accept him, and now the dead of his dad now hurts more since he knows that Noah was ready to forgive him. Noah, while Luke cuddles him goes on crying since he fell asleep in the arms of his love.


... Noah, still with his head into Luke’s chest starts to talk:

- “There is something about my dad that I never told you before, it’s ...almost nothing but... every evening I pretended to be asleep, waiting for his kiss on my cheek. He kissed me only when he thought that I was asleep... it’ just...” and his voice broke, as Luke said:
- “It’s just that he loved you, but he didn’t know how to show to you, and...”
- “... his actions against you and my mother are scars for me... something that I must live with, and his words written in the sheet. Instead of soothing, it makes the things worse. I never thought that he can have some doubt, that he could change his idea for the love that he had for me. But this could be, but now I haven’t got a chance to know the truth, and this...”

Luke stops his words with a kiss and Luke says:

- “Noah just think that probably the love that he have for you at some point win against his rules”
- “How can you be sure of that?”
- “Because our love is true and your dad loved you”


Noah clung himself to these words, knowing that the better cure for his scars was the love that they shared. He knows that with him he can be himself. He can cry, scream, and make a mistake, but that Luke will be always there, with his eyes full of love helping him. With all the weight that of his passed life.... that their love can overtake everything.