AN: I can't tell you how sorry I am for taking almost six months to update this story. I really, really am. I hope that after six months there are still some of you that'd like to read this though! It's the final chapter and it's been such an amazing story to write, I hope you'll like this final installment!

Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/favourited this story. It means a lot to me. Thank you for reading!

VI.

"You know, I should be so pissed at you." Peyton muses, a smile on her face though as she speaks the words. She's fumbling through her purse, trying to find her favourite pair of earrings, but looks up and raises her eyebrows at her friend when he only laughs at her.

He raises his own eyebrows right back, "Oh, come on, you love me for giving him your number." Nathan remarks and laughs again.

Lucas comes up behind her, "Yeah, she does." He says, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

She turns to him, "Oh, is that right?"

"Uhu." He smirks and pulls her closer, lips hovering over hers.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know." Nathan interrupts them, playfully shielding his eyes until the two blondes break apart.

It's always nice to have Haley and Nathan in the city, but with Lucas and Peyton dating again, it's somehow even nicer. There's no reason to split time anymore. They've been in the city for a few days now, their time spent with both Lucas and Peyton, with Brooke and Ethan. It feels like a sense of calm is washing over their group of friends, like everyone is finally starting to settle down.

Tonight, though, there are no double or triple dates, as Brooke likes to call them. The women are going out, just the three of them, while Nathan and Lucas are staying at Lucas' apartment.

"You should invite Ethan." Peyton says, stepping out of Lucas' embrace and starts putting on her shoes. "I feel like he'll be an official part of the family soon enough, you guys should get to know him better."

Lucas looks to his brother who simply shrugs and says, "Yeah, we'll call him."

"Great! I have to go now, Brooke and Haley are waiting. I'll see you when we get back." She smiles and leans in for a kiss.

"You should call, we'll come get you."

"Luke, we know how to make our way home."

Nathan speaks up too, "Call us."

Of course they know that the women can make their way home on their own perfectly, but well, it would make them less worried if they'd call. It's a bit silly, but they're protective of their girls, they can't help it.

Peyton simply rolls her eyes at their protectiveness, kisses Lucas a last time and says goodbye to Nathan before leaving the apartment.

.

Peyton buzzes up her visitor, but she's already back at her place in the couch by the time Lucas walks into her apartment.

She smiles feebly at him, "Sorry I'm sick." She mumbles into a pillow. It's immediately followed by a cough and Lucas is by her side in a second.

They were supposed to go out for Valentine's, but Peyton had woken up with the worst cold ever and had to call him to cancel. Of course, that hadn't stopped Lucas from spending the evening with her.

"Don't be silly. Is there anything I can do?"

She shrugs a shoulder, "Not really. You shouldn't stay though, I don't want you to get sick too." She says though she knows he won't listen. And it's not like she really wants him to leave, quite the opposite really. She'd rather curl up in his arms and sick out that way.

Lucas laughs softly, "Don't be silly." He repeats, the thought that he would leave her right now too ridiculous. "I'll make you some more tea."

A couple of minutes later he's back by her side, settling in the couch and pulling her into his chest. It's silent for a while until Lucas lightly nudges Peyton,

"Hey, you still awake?"

Her eyes open slowly, eyelids feeling heavy because of her stupid cold, "Yeah." Her voice sounds raspy, worn out by all the coughing and she's slightly shivering even though she's enveloped in Lucas' warm arms.

"I got you something." He says and reaches out one arm for a packet lying on the coffee table. Peyton hadn't even noticed he had put it there when he'd come in.

"Luke," She says softly upon noticing the packet he's holding. "You didn't have to."

He just smiles at her, helps her sit up a little and hands over the gift. She moves her hands over the wrapping paper, tries to find out what it is. A wide smile spreads over her face when she tears the paper,

"This is amazing." She says, holding the Keith Scott Body Shop hoodie in her hands to get a proper look at it and then pulling it on over her head.

He's still smiling at her, "Yeah? I know it's sort of simple and silly –"

"I love it. I've always regretted not stealing one of yours back in high school." Peyton cuts him off, making him laugh. "Thank you." Her lips find his in a soft kiss and she settles back into his arms, the soft fabric of the hoodie warm against her skin.

After a few moments, Peyton looks up at Lucas again, "I totally forgot, I've got something for you as well. It's on the top shelf."

"Are you telling me to go get my own gift?" He asks playfully, but is already getting up from his spot.

She lets out a laugh, "Well, I'm sick and you are here to help me so..."

"Right." Lucas says, throws a smile over his shoulder. "So what is it?"

"The rolled-up piece of paper."

He raises an eyebrow, "You're giving me a rolled-up piece of paper?"

There's a silly smile of his face and he looks at her as if he's just made the most hilarious joke in the universe. She rolls her eyes at him and motions for him to look at the piece of paper.

When he rolls it open, his eyes widen a little, his smile growing bigger. It's a sketch of him and Emily, the little girl snuggled into her dad's side. He remembers the night, a week or two ago. Peyton had spent the evening at his apartment with him and Emily, and when Emily had asked to watch some TV before going to bed, he had settled with her into the couch. Peyton had dug up her sketchpad, but she hadn't shown him what she was working on.

"I wondered what you were drawing that night, you wouldn't show it to me." He says and sits down again next to her, his eyes still going over the drawing.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"It's beautiful." He says softly, still a little amazed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Besides, you and Emily look adorable together, it's hardly torture to spend an evening drawing the two of you." Peyton answers with a smile.

It shouldn't really surprise her, knowing from Haley and Nathan how amazing Lucas is with Jamie and Aiden, but every time she sees him with Emily she's sort of blown away by how great of a dad he is.

They've only been dating again for a few weeks, but the sight of him with his daughter makes her wonder about kids of the two of them more often than she'd like to admit. They're not ready for that at all, but honestly, she almost can't wait.

.

"I feel weird staying here without you." Peyton mumbles into his neck. She's got one arm wrapped around him, their feet tangled together. "Maybe I should go home when you leave."

Lucas shakes his head, "You shouldn't. Emily wouldn't appreciate it." He says, knowing she'll cave when he mentions Emily. He's still not really used to the way his daughter has taken to Peyton, but he can only be happy about it.

She playfully glares at him, "You're so mean, bringing Emily in it like that." She says and lifts her head up to look at him. "You know I can't say no to her. I don't even know why I like you right now."

He laughs loudly, recognizing himself way too much in that. The little girl has them both wrapped around her finger. "Why do you make staying here sound so bad?" He asks then, his brow furrowing a little bit. He honestly doesn't see the problem; he'll just be gone for a bit, picking up Emily at Lindsey's place. Before she'll even know it, he'll be back.

"I don't know. It's just weird. This is your place, Luke, not mine. It doesn't feel right staying here without you." She says, smoothing out his brow with her fingers. She knows he doesn't really get it, doesn't feel that way at all about her place. She's never seen anyone so comfortable at her apartment as he is there. But their apartments are so different from one another, and she can't help but feel like she isn't at home in his when he's not there with her.

He seems to ponder something for a moment before smiling at her, "Maybe we should start thinking about a place we can call ours then."

Peyton raises her eyebrows, "Or maybe we should take things slow." She smiles though; not yet used again to the feeling that he really wants a future with her.

"Says the woman who told me she wanted to marry me a day after we got back together." Lucas says teasingly, winces playfully when she hits him in the chest.

"I hate you." She mutters, but they both know that's so far from the truth and he simply pulls her even closer, pressing his lips to hers.

Eventually, Lucas leaves and Peyton stays, waiting for him to return with his little girl. She settles into his couch with a Nick Hornby novel she found on his book shelves and she has to admit it doesn't feel half as weird as she imagined it to be.

.

Peyton likes quiet evenings. In the craziness that is New York City, she's come to adore quiet nights spent in her apartment with a glass of red wine. Now that she can share those nights with Lucas she likes them even more.

He's lying in her couch, reading one of her favourite novels, while Peyton's cooking dinner. It's nothing fancy, just some spaghetti, but she found the old recipe in a drawer when she was clearing out her dad's house and ever since, she basks in the nostalgia of quiet dinners with her parents every time she makes it.

She peeks at his face to gauge his reaction as he reads the book, but it isn't conveying much. She doesn't want to be the obsessed person that keeps asking what he thinks of it, but Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is one of those books she could read again and again and she wants to know if he loves it just as much as she does.

She's just turned her attention back to the sauce on the stove when Lucas calls out,

"Hey, there's this line in here." He says, but doesn't immediately elaborate.

Peyton looks at him, "Yeah?"

"I want an infinitely long blank book and forever." He reads from the page and then smiles at her. "I love that."

She smiles back, turns off the stove and walks to him, "I figured you would, Mr. Writer." She says teasingly, leaning against the back of the couch with her arms.

Lucas studies her for a moment, watches the happy smile on her face and it suddenly hits him how incredibly lucky he is to see that smile again after all those years. He lifts himself up from his spot and presses a kiss to Peyton's lips. "You know, that's pretty much how I feel."

"About what?"

"About you." He smiles. "I could go on and on about you. I wrote about you before, I feel like I could do it forever." He tells her honestly and she smiles again. He can tell she's about to say something back, but he can't let her speak just yet. He needs to say something first, "I love you, Peyton."

Her eyes widen a little, but there's a sparkle in them and it doesn't take him long to realize her widened eyes don't mean fear. She's happily surprised.

"I love you too." She almost whispers and leans forward to kiss him.

He pulls her on top of him, laughs when she squeals, and he can't remember a time he was this happy.

.

"Okay, where are we going?" Lucas asks, playfully annoyed. They've been walking on Fifth Avenue for a while now, heading to God knows where. Peyton's refusing to tell him anything except that she's sure he'll love it.

She smiles at him, "God, you're so impatient. We'll be there soon."

Ten minutes later though, they're still not there and after trying to make their way through the business for almost twenty minutes now Lucas has started to wonder why they didn't just take the subway. When he asks her, she frowns at him,

"Because New York is lovely in the evening." She tells him and he can only smile; he loves how much she loves New York.

A few minutes later she stops abruptly and it takes him a few seconds to realize that they've reached their destination. It takes him another few seconds to actually realize where they are.

"The Empire State?"

Peyton grins, "You've been living here for like, almost a year. It's time we change the fact that you haven't been here yet."

When he had told her a week ago that he hadn't yet been at the Empire State Building she had just gaped at him in disbelief, unable to grasp that he had never visited what was possibly one of her favourite places in the world. She'd also told herself to change that soon.

A while later, when they're waiting for an elevator, Lucas turns to Peyton,

"So, why do you love it so much?" He asks with a smile. He can tell she's already excited and they haven't even made it to the top yet.

She smiles back, "Because it's amazing."

"Aren't there like millions of tourists though?"

"Yeah, but everyone's so excited about it, it's difficult to get annoyed." Peyton tells him. She's been here countless times over the years and though it's true that it's crowded most of the time, it somehow also calms her. "And the view is breathtaking. I don't know, it's sorta calming." She says. He doesn't really understand though; fails to see how a building full of tourists can be calming. "I always do my best thinking up there. You'll see when we get to the top."

When they finally do make it to the top and they manage to find a good spot to look out over the city, Lucas is quiet for five whole minutes before he turns to her with possibly the widest smile she's ever seen,

"This is incredible!" He exclaims, turning back to the view of the city, and she can't help but laugh. She knew he'd love it. "God, I understand now why you love it so much."

She lifts herself up on her toes and presses a kiss to his cheek, finding his excitement too adorable. He looks at her and pulls her closer to him, his lips finding hers in a short kiss.

"Thank you for showing me this."

She settles into his arms and lets her eyes drift over New York. "You're welcome. I figured you should see the place where I spent countless hours thinking about what to do when you first arrived here."

"Really?"

She looks at him, "Yeah. Told you I did my best thinking up here. It's where I finally decided to break up with Julian, where I decided that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to let you back into my life."

"Looks like I owe quite a lot to this place." He chuckles and she matches it easily.

She studies his face for a moment; traces his eyebrows, the lines around his eyes, the way his lips curve into a smile almost every time he looks at her. She thinks about how happy he's made her in the past five months and has to conclude that she owes quite a bit to this place as well.

.

The air is hot and sticky, summer almost at its brightest in mid-July. Lucas and Peyton are heading down Eight Avenue, their intertwined hands between them, walking back home after dinner and a Broadway show for Peyton's birthday.

"This way." Lucas smiles, pulling Peyton into 40th Street.

She looks confused, but follows anyway, "That's not the way to your apartment."

Her feet are killing her, though she has to admit that's partly her own fault. She should've known better than wearing new heels tonight, but she'd figured that they would just go out for dinner and a show, didn't think they would go anywhere else.

He grins at her, "I know." His enthusiasm makes him look boyish, she can almost see him as a teenager again, as the boy she fell so desperately in love with all those years ago.

"Where are we going then?" She asks with a laugh, but he just shakes his head; lets her know that he's not going to tell her. "Is it far? These heels are honestly killing me and I really don't feel like walking barefoot through Manhattan." She tries not to whine, but aching feet make her cranky, she can't help it.

Lucas stops in the middle of the sidewalk, tilts his head a little as he looks at her, a smile blooming on his face. She goes a little bit weak in the knees; can't understand for the life of her how that still happens after knowing him for over a decade.

"Hop on then."

"What?"

"I'll carry you." He says and motions behind him to tell her she should get on his back.

"Are you serious?"

He lets out a chuckle, "Yes. You're light as a feather. And even if you weren't, you know I'd do anything for you."

Peyton smiles at him, "You're such a charmer." She says and jumps on his back, her arms tight around him. She presses a kiss to the side of his neck, whispers that she loves him and he can't get the smile on his face to disappear.

Lucas carries her all the way to their destination, listening to her ramblings about New York at night. He joins in on her observations, making comments about the buildings and the people they pass. She laughs softly into his ear when he says something funny, she listens with her lips on his neck when he's being more serious.

It's easy with Peyton, in a way it never really was with Lindsey. He realizes that even after ten years she still knows him in ways other people don't. Sometimes, it feels as if she knows what he's going to say before he even opens his mouth; it feels as if she knows perfectly how he's going to react; knows exactly how to react herself to the things he does or says.

He wishes he was carrying the ring he bought two weeks ago with him right now; wishes he could just ask her to marry him right then and there on the sidewalk. He doesn't, though. He figures he can wait a little while longer, at least until he actually has the ring he bought for her with him.

He stops when they reach Sky Room and Peyton looks confused at him once she's back on her two feet.

"What are we doing at a rooftop bar?"

Taking her hand in his, he leads them inside, "Come on."

They take the elevator up to the top floor, the doors opening to reveal Peyton's friends and coworkers wishing her a happy birthday. She stares at all the people for a moment, has trouble believing that this is an actual party thrown in her honour.

"Surprise." Lucas whispers in her ear. "Happy birthday, babe."

She turns around to face him, "Did you… Are you behind this?"

He grins at her, that oh-so infectious grin that has her grinning back immediately most of the time, and nods. He's beaming up at her, his boyish enthusiasm showing again, reminding her of the boy he was over a decade ago.

She's again, or still, desperately in love with him.

.

It's a sunny September afternoon when Peyton stands on the Met steps, waiting for Lucas to show up. She doesn't really understand why he insisted on meeting up here, but well, she's not complaining. She loves the steps.

She came right from a meeting with a potential new band and she's a little too early, so she sits down on one of highest steps and watches the jumble of people, New Yorkers and tourists, constantly entering and exiting the museum.

After ten minutes or so, she hears a voice call out for her. When she looks in the right direction, she's met with a little blonde girl bouncing up the steps.

"Emily, hi!" Peyton smiles widely and picks up the girl when she reaches her. "I didn't know you were coming with. Aren't you with your mom this week?" She asks, though she's more than happy to see her.

"Daddy needed me." Emily simply answers, but before Peyton can ask more, Lucas appears at her side.

"Hi," He smiles, leaning in to kiss her briefly.

Peyton smiles back. "Hi. I'm glad to see you. And this little one." She says, bouncing Emily in her arms once more before putting her back down and taking her hand instead. "Why are we meeting here though? Do you want to go to the Met?"

Lucas shakes his head, "No. We should do that some time, though." He muses. "There's actually something I need to show you."

She raises her eyebrows, having no clue what he could want to show her in this part of the city. "What?"

"An apartment?" He offers, watches as Peyton's eyebrows rise even more.

She's so surprised for a moment; has no idea what to say. They have been talking about moving in together, about trying to find an apartment for the both of them, but the task has proven to be rather difficult. Finding an apartment in New York City is hardly easy, but if you ask Lucas, the fact that Peyton is insisting on finding something that is within both their price ranges is not making it any less complicated either.

After a minute she finds her voice again, "In this area? Did you win the lottery?"

Lucas sighs just a little, though he's still smiling as well, "We can afford it." He reassures her, but she's quick to shake her head.

"Maybe you can, but I can't." Peyton reminds him. They've had this discussion multiple times, and though he absolutely gets where Peyton's coming from, it still frustrates him a little. He just wants them to find a nice place together; he doesn't care one single bit about who contributes what.

"Just let me show you the apartment first, okay?" He tries. "It's pretty awesome and it's only a few blocks away from Brooke, you'll love it."

Peyton groans a little, "Yeah, probably. Which is why this is not a good idea. I'm gonna fall in love and I can't afford it."

Lucas turns to Emily, "Ems, tell silly Peyton here to just listen to your dad and come with us."

Peyton rolls her eyes at him; of course he'd use Emily to convince her. The girl tugs at Peyton's hand and the older blonde crouches down in front of her.

"What's up, pumpkin?"

Emily giggles a little, "You should listen to daddy and come with us."

"I should, huh?" Peyton asks, looking up at Lucas to see him nodding at her. "Fine then, let's go."

He smirks at her and she smacks his chest, tells him to get that smirk of his face and lead the way.

Five minutes later, they're standing on the sidewalk in front of a beautiful building, shaking hands with the real estate agent. She takes them upstairs and leads them through the three-bedroom apartment, shows them the spacious living room and kitchen. The hardwood floors are beautiful, the view amazing.

"This is like, three times the size of my apartment." Peyton whispers to Lucas as they make their way through the place. She's exaggerating, but only a little.

Lucas smiles at her, "Beautiful, huh?"

She nods, "Very. Probably also very expensive."

He takes her hand, makes her stop in the middle of the living room. "It's not cheap, no." He says. "But we can do this, Peyton. Look at this, don't you want to live here?"

"Of course I want to live here, Luke. I just don't know if it's that simple."

He nods and drops a kiss to her hair, knows that he should give her some time to think about it. She wanders off to the one of the large windows and sits down next to Emily on the floor.

The little girl looks up at her, "It's pretty here."

"I know." Peyton muses. She doesn't need convincing about the apartment itself, she knows it's amazing.

"Are we going to live here?" Emily asks curiously.

"I don't know, Em. Maybe."

Emily inches closer to the window then, her eyes squinted as she scans the street. "Daddy says it's close to aunt Brooke, can we see her place?"

Peyton has to smile at the mention of aunt Brooke, loves how much the girl has taken to her, Brooke and Ethan. "No, I don't think we can. It's still pretty close though."

"So we could just walk there if we want to see her?"

The older blonde narrows her eyes, "Did your dad tell you to say these things? Are you trying to convince me?" She asks with a laugh. She wouldn't put it past Lucas to do such thing.

The little girl giggles, "No." She says and climbs into Peyton's lap, her head resting against Peyton's shoulder. "I like it here."

She smiles at the girl in her arms, "I do too, Em."

Lucas joins them a while later, "Are you ready to go? I got all the information, we can make a decision later." He says and helps his girls up.

.

A week later, Peyton stands in Lucas' doorway with two carton boxes in her hands.

"What's this?" He asks amused when he opens the door.

She steps inside, "It's to help you start packing. Let's get the apartment."

A grin spreads over his face, his arms immediately finding their place around her waist, "Really? We're doing this?"

It's been a little over a year since her break-up with Julian and sometimes, it still feels a little too soon. A little too soon to move in with someone new, to think about marrying someone new. But she loves Lucas and she loves Emily and she wants a life with them. She doesn't want to wait any longer. She wants to grow old with Lucas, more than anything.

So she nods, tell him she loves him and kisses him.

She used to think that love was complicated, that true love never comes easy, and it was like that for them for a long time. But now, it's almost effortless and that's good.

It's pure and simple, and that's how she figures love should be. His smile is wide against her lips and she smiles back against his; barely containing their happiness.

It's been a thought they've both had a lot over the past nine months, but it's true; they can't remember a time they've been this happy.

.

the end

(AN: if you haven't read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close yet, I suggest you do. It's amazing!)