Owen and Noah One-shots

Chapter 6

    One night after a challenge, as the old military plane flew through the sky during a storm, Noah was sleeping in the economy class section with the rest of his team when he heard something. Waking up, he listened carefully and heard it again. It was whimpering. In the darkness, he could see a big figure moving as if scared, the whimpering coming from it. Upon looking carefully, he saw that the figure was none other than Owen. Noah's heart felt like it sank to hear him like that; something about him feeling scared bothered him. Maybe he never heard him like that until now.

    Deciding to help him, Noah stood up and carefully tiptoed over to the big guy, making sure to not make any noise. Arriving there, he knelt down in front of him, reached out, and carefully touched his shoulder. "Owen? You okay, big guy?" he asked in a whisper, shaking his shoulder carefully.

    Owen suddenly woke up with a startled scream. Quickly, Noah clapped a hand onto Owen's mouth so that he didn't wake up anyone else. Once Owen saw who it was, he calmed down. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."

    Noah rolled his eyes, amused. "Yeah, yeah. And I got an English degree before the show started," he said sarcastically, making Owen chuckle a little.

    "What's up with you, though?" he asked, changing the subject. "I don't think I've seen you this scared before."

    Owen caught his breath. "Nothing," he said quickly. "I'll be fine. Sorry for waking you."

    Noah didn't fall for it. He raised his eyebrow with a look that was asking if he was sure. "You're not a very good liar, dude," he said. "I can tell whenever your lying. Plus, you're not looking very sure yourself."

    Owen knew that Noah was right. There was nothing he could do to even try to get past this smart friend of his. "Alright, you win," he said. "You see, I...I have a fear of flying."

    "You mean you have acrophobia?" Noah asked.

    Owen nodded. "Something like that," he said. "I never really enjoy flying in general. But on stormy times like this, my fears get worse; they pretty much escalate."

    Flashing lightning and the sound of thunder seemed to confirm this, scaring Owen so much that the poor guy was left curled up in a ball on the bench, shivering in fear. Noah rubbed his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, but so far, it did little to help him. "What if the plane gets struck by lightning right now and we all fall?" he was asking himself. "What if a giant hole gets formed by the winds? What if the storm's to much for the plane to handle?"

    Noah had listened the whole time, not saying anything at first. He was too overcome with shock to even do anything. When had he seen Owen in this state of fear? Then, he remembered when he and the other eliminated campers in Players de los Losers were watching the phobia episode all the way back in season 1. That was when they all witnessed his acrophobia; the guy was really scared out of his mind back then. At least Izzy was there for him at the time; he'd probably never handle it by himself.

    Running out of options on how to calm him down, Noah did the one thing that he could think of. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Owen's neck in a hug that he rarely gave out, using one hand to stroke his blond hair. "Shhhhh. It's okay, big guy," he whispered soothingly. "It's okay. Nothing bad is happening right now. I'm here."

    It took a while, but eventually, Noah felt Owen beginning to calm down. Glad that it was working, he came closer so that he could press his forehead against Owen's. He continued to stroke Owen's hair, never ceasing for even a second. When he finally calmed down completely, Owen opened his eyes (they were closed at the time) to see his vision filled with deep brown eyes meeting blue ones. Noah smiled a bit when he took notice. "We'll be fine," he said, confirming it as he closed his own eyes, moving his head a little against Owen's head as if he were nuzzling him.

    Feeling better, Owen sat up. Since he was still hugging him, Noah could feel his feet leaving the ground as he was lifted up with him. He felt himself being moved as big, gentle bear arms wrapped around him and adjusted him, shifting his position until he was cradled against him. "Thanks, little buddy," said Owen. "But can you continue that stroking on my head? It feels really comforting."

    Noah smiled. "I'm not stopping for even a second, big guy," he said, happy when Owen nuzzled his head against Noah's in return.

    In his head, Noah realized that Owen pretty much reminded him of his own dog back home. His dog was a Golden Retriver with blue eyes and a golden-yellow fur colored scheme, and he was a lot like Owen: innocent, playful, loyal and friendly. Owen was all of these, except he wasn't a dog. But Noah didn't mind; Owen was pretty much the only person among the other campers who really thought that Noah's sarcastic remarks and dry jokes were funny, especially the whole "Do not talk about dodgeball" line (that right there always gets me into a complete chuckle fit every time I hear it). "Aren't you ever afraid of storms?" asked Owen sometime later.

    "Not really," Noah answered. "I generally enjoy storms. Gives me an excuse to hole up in my room and read books all day. My parents were always getting on me to get on out and get some exercise. Which I didn't mind much, but it's just that I liked reading a lot more."

    The more they talked, the more Owen forgot about the storm outside. So the next time thunder and lightning struck, he didn't freak out at all. Having Noah there with him made him feel a whole lot better. He felt Noah's hand continue to stroke his head, the motion soothing and comforting. "Thanks for being here with me, little buddy," he said with a yawn.

    Noah yawned as well. "Anything for you, big guy," he said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

    He tried to get back to his seat, only to feel that somehow, Owen wasn't letting go of him. "Can you stay with me for tonight?" he asked. "I couldn't help but notice that you're tired enough yourself."

    Noah shrugged inwardly. Why not? he thought to himself.

    "Sure," he said, resting himself against Owen, his head pillowed on his shoulder as his eyes began drooping closed.

    Owen smiled as he leaned back against the corner of the wall, Noah still cradled in his arms. He leaned his head forward and nuzzled his little buddy, Noah sitting up a little to return the gesture. "Goodnight, big guy," he whispered before falling asleep.

    Owen smiled and gently squeezed Noah closer to him, making sure to keep him warm and comfortable. "Goodnight to you to, little buddy," he whispered in reply as he fell asleep as well.