Bounded To You (Star-Crossed)

Chapter 6 - Pain of Love

CHAPTER 4: Pain of Love

Lucius sniffled, wiping his eyes before looking back up at the statue. He'd been sitting there for almost an hour, leaning against the wall near the door, with Noah sitting right next to him.

"Love-..." Noah started but was cut off.

"How long, Noah... how long has it truly been?" Lucius asked, his eyes not moving from his father's face.

"I don't know." Noah lied, sighing.

"You do." Lucius said, reaching over and taking his hand, "I know you do."

Noah closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before he muttered, "A thousand and twenty nine years, five months, two weeks." Noah answered truthfully. He'd been counting, of course he'd been counting, awaiting Lucius's return to him, and even then, he didn't stop counting.

"Dear god..." Lucius chocked, "It wasn't meant to be so long... We weren't meant to be here this long..."

"Technically, you have only been here 17 years." Noah said, giving Lucius half a smile when he looked at him with a frown.

"How long has it been?" Lucius asked again.

"I just told you." Noah said, unsure why Lucius asked again.

Lucius shook his head, new tears falling from his eyes as he asked, "Since we've last been together. How long?"

Noah sighed, his head leaning against the wall behind him as he stared at the ceiling, "163 years, and 7 months." Noah told him honestly, "Levi always got to you, and perhaps twice, you died at birth, living only for a few moments."

Noah frowned when he heard a sob, turning to Lucius who said in a broken voice, "Noah..."

"Hey, why the tears? You are here now." Noah said, reaching out to caress his cheek, watching a few more tears escape his mismatched eyes.

Lucius's lips parted, a question at the tip of his lips, thinking over before he finally gave in and asked, "And you still love me?"

Noah's eyes softened as he said, "How could I not?"

"How could you?" Lucius countered, "So many years, so much time had passed. You still had hope?"

"You returning to me was never a question. Edmur always told me to let fate take its course, and that I will have you back when we were finally meant to be." Noah told him, words he never really believed himself.

Lucius looked away, the love in Noah's eyes too much for him to bear with all the guilt he felt. Pulling his knees to his chest, he hid his face against them, letting his tears fall once more. Noah sighed, his hand touching the back of Lucius's head, stroking his hair.

"I don't understand how you could still love me. I don't deserve you." Lucius mumbled between sobs.

Noah let a small smile caress his lips as he looked up at the man that was once his king. "You might not remember yet, but we already had this conversation a long time ago, and I always end up with the last word."

Lucius sniffled, bringing his hand to his eyes to wipe his tears before his eyes looked at the ground, his finger touching the cold stone before he muttered, "You've enchanted this room as well, haven't you?"

"Perhaps Lazarus is the only one that still comes down here to this room. I had to make sure it never got dusty and whatnot." Noah replied.

"Thank you." Lucius mumbled, "For everything... for loving me..."

Noah chuckled as he said, "I had no choice." Lucius looked at him with a bit of confusion as Noah added, "You stole my heart."

"Noah..." Lucius mumbled, his eyes filling with tears again, making Noah frown when he noticed.