Through the Screen novel Chapter 110

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,"