#badomensnoah

Noah watching over his kingdom.

or

I.. I just want to lick this like an icepop in the fucking heat of a desert.

Noah Sebastian x Original female character (Lilly)TW: Mental health struggles | Self-destructive behavior | explicit smut | Angst | fluff

Taglist: @itsfarbettertolearn @hedonist-k1l @chey-h

XX

The days passed and I spent my evenings with Noah via video call. We ate together, meaning I ate my dinner and he was eating his breakfast on the other side of the globe. It took some persuasion, but my argument that breakfast was the most important meal of the day finally won him over. 

On Thursday, I successfully gave the presentation about the trade fair, which gave me the impetus to introduce some innovations in the company's graphics department. Henry had clarified with Noah and me why the project had first gone to me, then to Jane, and then back to me. We simply explained to him that there had been a misunderstanding on the part of Noah's management, simple as that.

Now I was standing in front of Henry's office. More precisely, in front of his door, my arm at chest height, ready to knock. Henry looked up and waved me in, whereupon I opened the door. 

"You do know that's a glass door, don't you?" Henry asked without irony, dropping his pen on the table and offering me a seat.

"Uh, yes, of course. Sorry," I muttered, quickly gathering myself and my documents. 

"All right, how can I help you?"

I straightened my shoulders. "Henry, you know my current project is very important to me. And I'm making good progress! The discussions with the customer are going well."

Henry nodded and gestured for me to continue.

"I'd like to make a few business trips to visit the client."

Henry raised his eyebrows. "A few?"

"Well, the client has indicated that the merchandising will be done from the US, and I'd like to take a look at the local service providers for that."

"But you can do that on one business trip."

I nodded and smiled. Nervously, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Yes, that's correct. However, the customer also wants to have the vinyls, posters and banners printed locally. That would be a completely different industry...", I left the sentence open.

"I see," Henry pondered, leaning back briefly and tapping his chin with his finger. Ever the businessman, he immediately leaned forward again, "Then I'll just have our merchandisers pull out..." 

"He specifically asked for me!" I blurted out in panic.

Henry pursed his lips and tilted his head. "He did?"

I nodded hesitantly. I hadn't lied... I had just mixed business with pleasure. And that might not have been entirely right.

"I can have that confirmed for you!" I said, waving my mobile phone.

"Okay... please," said Henry, leaning back. He seemed to be enjoying my miserable performance. I had worked at this company long enough, and he knew exactly how bad I was at negotiating.

I quickly opened the chat window between Noah and me and clicked on the video call button.

"Heeey Love!" Noah exclaimed, waving at the camera. He was sitting at his desk, wearing his headset, and seemed to be either working on music or gaming.

"Er, hi Mr Davis," I said stiffly, glancing briefly at Henry. Noah stiffened and took off his headset completely. "I just wanted to make sure I understood you correctly at our last meeting."

Noah nodded solemnly. "Yes. Yes, you did. You understood me completely correctly," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. He had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.

"Wait a minute!" said Henry, leaning forward again. "What exactly was it about?"

"Oh, um. This is my boss. You probably remember him from a previous meeting," I waved the mobile phone over. Henry nodded briefly.

"Mr Davis, we talked about you wanting to have all the items, except the digital ones of course, manufactured and printed locally," I said seriously and almost insistently.

Noah smiled but nodded, "Yes, that's right. That's what I wanted. Above all, to maintain and strengthen international contacts and, yes... And, of course, to support local companies!" he added.

I grinned and shook my head in a "see?!" manner.

Henry looked at me and then back at Noah. "I understand. Yes, that shouldn't be a problem. Would you like someone specific to investigate the local conditions and make the selection for you, or rather with you?"

Noah nodded vehemently, "I would very much like to have Lilly here on site. For the conditions, I mean." I grinned; Noah was by no means better at negotiations than I was.

"All right. Thank you, and sorry for disturbing you!" Henry said quickly, waving me away. I stood up quickly and said goodbye awkwardly, curtsying. Henry just stared after me in confusion. Poor man.

As soon as I closed the glass door and was out of sight, I jumped up and down, giggling. 

"Lilly?!" I heard from my mobile phone. 

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I hissed and stood in a niche in the hallway, where I held the phone in front of my face and grinned foolishly.

"What was that?" Noah laughed quietly and rubbed his face with both hands.

"I'm coming to the US!" I said excitedly, and Noah's eyes widened. 

"No way!" He jumped up, punched the air and sat back down. I laughed and looked around furtively so that no one would notice my obvious euphoria. 

"Oh God, I'm so happy! Do you know when, yet?"

I shook my head, "No, not yet. I have to finish everything first, until we're at the point where we can decide who we're going to print with."

Noah nodded knowingly, his friends still unabashed. Since his mobile phone seemed to be in a mobile phone stand the whole time, he moved very close to the camera so that only part of the tip of his nose and half of his beautiful lips were visible. "I'm not going to clear the guest room for you if you know...," he whispered too loudly into the microphone. I giggled, "I'll probably have to get a hotel room then."

"Bitch, please?!" Noah exclaimed indignantly as he fell back into his chair, which only made me laugh more.

"Let's sort out the details tonight, I'd suggest. I've still got stuff to do here."

Noah nodded and smiled, "Then hurry up! The sooner you finish, the sooner you'll be here!" he teased. I gasped, but Noah just waved and grinned, so I waved goodbye before hanging up and walking back to my desk.

"So? What did he say?" Jane asked excitedly as soon as I returned to my seat.

I sank into my chair, laid the documents in front of me and took a moment to breathe before replying, "He agreed. I can travel."

A smile spread across her face, so sincere that it almost overshadowed my own joy. "That's great! Los Angeles, then? I envy you."

I nodded, almost reverently. The name of the city echoed inside me like a promise. Los Angeles – a place I had only known from movies, photographs and fleeting stories. Soon I would see it with my own eyes, experience it in my own way.

The following days were spent in a whirlwind of preparation. Emails, calculations, visa – everything had to be completed before my departure. And yet, beneath it all, there was a constant buzz, an anticipation that I could hardly contain. Every click in my inbox, every conversation with Henry reminded me: soon I would not only be pushing a project forward, but also seeing Noah again.

The thought was dangerous, I knew that. I tried to tame it rationally, to focus on the business side of the trip. But every time my gaze slid to the chat window, every time a new message from him lit up, I knew it was more than that.  

Noah (4:09 pm):

Do you like Olive Garden?

Me (4:13 pm):

Unfortunately, we don't have that here. 

Noah (4:14 pm):

Ah, okay. So it's a restaurant chain. 

Not particularly good, but it's kind of become a ritual for us in the band.

Me (4:16 pm):

I'm up for anything! Whether it's eating, sightseeing or anything else...

Noah (4:18 pm):

Very good. That will be great!

I am so pleased to see you!

xx

Two weeks passed.

The evening before departure, Jane came to see me again. She brought wine, laughed at the chaos of my half-open suitcases and just shook her head. "You're packing as if you're staying for six months."

"It's difficult to be prepared for every situation," I replied, trying to bring some order to the piles of clothes and documents.

"Can you ever really be prepared?" she asked quietly. The sentence hung in the air, and I had to admit that it struck a chord with me.

On the morning of my departure, the sky above Frankfurt was covered in a delicate grey. The departure hall was filled with the bustling excitement that always spreads when people are heading to places they don't yet know. I joined the flow, one person among many, yet fully aware that my journey meant more than just professional duty.

The plane ticket in my hand felt heavy. Los Angeles. Eleven hours of flying, eleven hours in which the distance between Noah and me would slowly, inexorably shrink.

I sat down at the gate and briefly opened my mobile phone. A message from him: 

Noah (05:25 am)

Counting the hours. 

You'll be here soon. 

I put the device away so as not to use up the words immediately. Instead, I let my gaze wander across the glass front to the planes taking off. Soon I too would be drawing one of those lines in the sky.

The flight was long. The hours stretched out between in-flight meals, films I didn't finish watching, and short periods of sleep that felt more like drowsiness. Outside lay an endless ocean, a grey-blue expanse marking the distance between my two lives.

I thought of Henry, of the responsibility I was taking on with this trip. I thought of the printers, of the conversations that lay ahead. But most of all, I thought of Noah. Soon I would be able to breathe in his real scent again, feel his firm embrace, feel his soft lips. No more digital connection, no more delay. I wondered if he had had the same thoughts when he sat on the plane to London just under a month ago. Even though we hardly knew each other at the time.

When the plane touched down in Los Angeles, the jolt of the landing gear snapped me out of my thoughts. A shiver ran down my spine – not just exhaustion, but the recurring and growing nervousness of seeing Noah and his real life in a moment.

The paths through the airport seemed endless, but I moved as if in a trance. I had been warned that entering the United States was sometimes difficult, but with Noah's help, I got through passport control without any problems. Now I waited for my huge suitcase. Thanks to Jane, I had been able to pack everything neatly, as she made it clear to me that I didn't need a winter jacket, ski pants or else for the LA’s summer. 

And who would be my best friend if not the woman who had bought me a nice bikini and brought it with her.

"Noah will have a pool, won't he?" she said when I awkwardly asked her what I should do with it. I didn't know, but I would probably find out soon enough whether Noah had a pool.

With the suitcase by my side, my black backback on my back and a neck pillow tucked under my arm, I finally left the gate of this huge airport. 

And then he was there. 

Noah was standing at the end of the hall, surrounded by arrivals holding up signs or waiting patiently. Standing tall above most of the others, no sign in his hand, just a look that found me immediately.

I paused for a split second because the reality was so overwhelming. Then I started walking, rolling the suitcase behind me until it caught up with me.

His embrace was firm and secure, so different from anything I had imagined before. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to savour the moment, breathing in his scent, feeling his chest tremble against my cheek.

"You're really here," he said quietly, barely audible above all the noise.