A Beautiful Mess, 22/22
Fic: A Beautiful Mess, 22/22
Summary: Luke is a pediatrician! He is officially Dr. Luke Snyder.
Spoilers: References to Luke's past from canon and that's about it.
Disclaimer: Wish they were mine but they're not.
Note: This was inspired by this entry in lure_prompts by the brill _alicesprings. Feedback, concrit, etc. welcome! ♥
And it's done! I just want to thank everyone who stuck with this story from beginning to end or at least started it or at least read it at all! I'm super grateful. I never intended for this to be a multi-chaptered fic and it just kind of got away from me in a really great way. It was really fun to imagine this world for them. It's actually my very first completed multi-chapter. I know, crazy. Probably why it took me forever so that explains that, lol. So I'm totally proud of it and I'm glad that I can do it for this fandom that I love so v. v. much. Thanks again to _alicesprings whose brain is so awesome that she came up with this prompt. And thanks to everyone for reading! Enjoy. ♥
Luke and Reid have spent two weeks in paradise. It’s everything Luke promised him it would be. They’ve been taking in the activities of the island -- jogging on the beach, snorkeling (or watching Luke snorkel while Reid stood off to the side, too claustrophobic to actually participate), zip lining, and paragliding. But there’s no one around for miles near their private villa, there’s a constant flow of food, and the sex has been unbelievable. Luke’s free to shout to the heavens in the middle of an earth shattering orgasm and no one will ever hear him.
Luke’s about to have another one of those orgasms now.
Reid has his arms pinned to the bed, long fingers holding Luke’s wrists tightly as he thrusts his cock in and out of Luke, deep and hard the way that he likes it.
“Reid!” Luke calls out, his voice starting to sound raw. It isn’t the first time it’s happened since they’ve been here. Luke’s been even more vocal than Reid thought possible. Hearing a turned on Luke Snyder only helps turn Reid on and has him seriously reconsidering their living arrangements at home. Living in an apartment gives him a tentative Luke. Living in a house, maybe out of the city a little will give him this uninhibited sex god on a regular basis.
Reid’s fingers press hard into Luke’s skin, his forehead drenched with sweat because of his exertions and because of the tropical humidity. Luke’s hard cock rubs against their slick bodies, the friction sending Luke straight over the edge, and coming hard between them.
Luke’s hole tightens around Reid’s cock, driving up the friction Reid feels. With a few more thrusts, he buries himself inside Luke, coming so hard his entire body tenses until he forces himself to relax.
Collapsing on top of Luke, Luke’s arms circle around his body to hold him close. They both stay silent as they catch their breaths.
Luke leans to press a kiss to Reid’s shoulder and Reid eases himself out of Luke before resting beside him. Luke’s hand captures Reid’s, lacing their fingers together before he brings them up to his lips to kiss. “That was incredible,” Luke speaks against the back of Reid’s hand.
“Yes, I was,” Reid smiles widely and Luke laughs.
Luke eases himself on his side and then he moves to rest his head on top of Reid’s shoulder, not wanting complete body contact because of how warm it is and how warm they both are.
“You were right,” Luke begins. “I needed this and I think you did too. I think being on vacation agrees with you. You actually liked sleeping in. You love the local food.” It’s the first time in Reid’s life that he hasn’t been busy. He’s always busy. When he first got here, he felt kind of restless but he’s pretty sure that Luke’s making sure he’s completely fucked out to be too restless. “You barely insulted anyone. I think I’ve seen you smile more than I’ve seen you scowl.”
“Don’t get used to that. As soon as we’re back in podunk you’ll get your crying nurses and I’ll come home and you’ll turn my frown upside down.” He can’t wait to get back to the hospital and crack open a skull, already thinking about the grey masses lodged inside of what would be an empty cavity if not for the brain. Two weeks of rest is more than enough for him.
“Oh, so that’s my responsibility?”
“Eh, you kind of do it anyway without having to do much of anything. Don’t want to add to your growing list of responsibilities.” Reid glances over at Luke whose smile is way, way too big.
“You know how romantic you are even when you don’t realize you are? Especially when you don’t realize you are.”
“Romance and me don’t really go in the same sentence.”
Luke scoffs when he hears that and leans in for a kiss. “That’s what you think.” Luke turns until he’s on his stomach and rests his fingers against Reid’s bare chest, tracing small, imaginary patterns on his skin as they talk. “In the past few months I’ve learned when it’s like to be in a real relationship. I may have been in a relationship for years --”
“Don’t say the “N” word,” Reid groans. He’s really hoping they can go for an entire two weeks without hearing the name Noah.
“But,” Luke emphasizes, laughing at Reid’s strong reaction. “But, they don’t even compare. They’re not even close. Do you know how long I’ve waited for someone to want me? Do you know I just wanted to be wanted? Love isn’t conditional for me. If someone says they love you, they love you, and they accept you for who you are. They don’t try to change you or try to make you live up to their high expectations or ideals.”
They don’t really have these kind of talks often. Sure, they talk about past relationships, or in Reid’s case, past flirtations or flings that resemble dates or boyfriends but don’t last more than a week or less. One of the reasons they don’t talk about these things is because Reid has nothing to contribute, this is his first real relationship, and Luke’s forays into relationships have resulted in disappointment and unhappiness.
“And who are the hypothetical ‘they’?” Reid does loving his ego stroked as well as other parts of his body but these compliments from Luke leave him completely euphoric. He admits to himself, briefly, that he can equate them with the high he gets from an orgasm with Luke. He thinks admitting this out loud will give him a series of multiple orgasms but he’ll hold off on it for now and save the thought for a rainy day.
“You. Just you,” Luke brings his hand up, his fingers touching the curve of Reid’s neck before caressing his cheek. “I thought I lost the only person who would ever want me but I just didn’t know something better was out there for me.”
Reid thinks Luke’s never deserved everything that’s been thrown his way. He’s been through a lot, more than most, and Reid definitely thinks he deserves better. He deserves everything he wants and being with Luke Snyder, he’s learned he usually gets those things in the end, “You know, you’re kinda torturing me with all of this lovey dovey stuff.”
“I don’t see or hear you objecting so if this is you feeling tortured, I think I can handle it.”
“You handle me very well,” Reid smirks and places his hand on Luke’s arm, slowly rubbing his fingertips over his cool skin. The wind’s picking up a little and cooling their naked bodies. Luke moves even closer to him now and Reid leans in for a kiss.
“Part of the job. I know how to handle ornery and easily irritated patients,” Luke chuckles against his lips.
“You’re going to pay for that, Dr. Snyder.”
“I sure hope so, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid flips Luke on his back and they start round … Reid’s lost count by now.
---
Luke walks to the next stand and picks out a few postcards before Reid looks over his shoulder. “What are you buying postcards for? We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I just wanna send out something out to everyone before we leave. I don’t want them to think I haven’t been thinking about them.”
“You haven’t been thinking about them,” Reid reminds him. Luke can only glare before he counts the postcards he has in his hands. “Besides, don’t you think they’ll be happy just getting all that cheap stuff you bought them?” Reid motions to the bag in Luke’s hand, already filled to the top with things for the younger siblings and his parents.
“No,” Luke responds immediately. “And don’t think I didn’t see you buying some cheap stuff for Katie and stuffing it in your pocket.”
“Never denied it,” Reid walks away to browse through the shelves, finding nothing of interest. He doesn’t need any physical object to remind him of their time here. The memories are fully intact in his mind.
Glancing at Luke, watching him rush to the counter to check out everything he’s picked up in the store, Reid sometimes wonders how he’s ended up with a guy who smiles the way Luke does, who’s genuinely happy at the thought of buying things for other other, who even thinks about other people. Reid’s so not that guy. Then, Reid bumps into a counter, the keychain he bought for Katie pokes his leg, and he chuckles to himself. Maybe he and Luke are both rubbing off on each other a little. Months ago, Reid wouldn’t even have thought about buying anything at all for anything else. Months ago, Reid wouldn’t have had any friends to buy things for.
Luke catches his gaze and smiles at him. Reid swears he can feel his heart thud against his chest the second it happens. Reid smiles back at him a little and decides to join him over by the counter, standing behind him, and pressing his weight against Luke’s back.
“We’re outta here in a minute and then dinner.”
“Dinner?” Reid perks up at the thought. Not only is this island the perfect place for loud, loud sex but they have had some incredible meals here. How they’re going to go back to Oakdale, the little town gourmet food forgot, he doesn’t know.
“Yes, I have reservations for us and everything. We’ll just drop these off at our place first,” Luke waves the bag at him and begins the walk back to their rental car. Reid’s arm slides around Luke’s waist, his hand resting against Luke’s hip as they take a walk across the parking lot.
If they were on any other island and they can’t do this in public. Reid’s never been closeted in his life but he knows there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about your environment. He remembers Luke googling “gay vacation spots in the Caribbean” that resulted in a Top Five List of Gay Friendly Areas. One had mentioned private villas and Luke went straight to the phone to make a reservation for them.
It’s a private villa on the beach and it’s everything they show in those flowery commercials on TV -- the white curtains wafting in the breeze, the direct view of the ocean, the white tiled floors, and large four poster bed in the middle of the room.
Reid doesn’t hate it. The minute Luke saw it, he dragged Reid into the room, and decided they needed to test the bed. That probably contributed to him hating it less.
At night, they open the double doors that open out to the beach -- a private stretch of land reserved for villa renters only. The wind is warm and lingers on their skin when they’re naked.
Reid pushes Luke up against the car when they reach it and Luke laughs.
“How much time do we have before dinner?”
Luke brings his free hand to cup the side of Reid’s neck as he thinks about it, “Uh, probably not long enough to do everything we did yesterday.”
Yesterday mostly consisted of staying in their villa, having plenty of sex, and only taking bathroom and food breaks. The breaks never really lasted very long.
“It’s our last night and I want to take you out.” There’s an undertone to Luke’s voice that suspiciously sounds like a whine.
“You wanna wine me and dine me, huh?”
“It is your favorite past time aside from the life-saving brain operations you do and chess and the other things you’re good at,” Luke blushes a little, ducking his head, and it’s both hot and adorable that an almost 30-year-old can’t brag about the incredible sex he’s having. Reid can’t help but smile and find it, God help him, endearing.
“Seriously, how much time?”
Luke looks down at his watch, “Maybe 30 minutes if we go now and change really, really fast.”
“Let’s go,” Reid grabs the keys from his pocket and immediately releases Luke.
They make it back to the villa, have more unbelievably good sex, and make it to the restaurant in record time.
---
Luke’s gone all out for their last night and is really pulling out all the stops. Their private table is outside on a patio. They have a private waiter to attend to their dining needs. They have the chef’s prepared several course meal. They’re somewhere toward the end of the meal when Luke’s hand moves on top of Reid’s and Reid turns his hand to link their fingers together.
“You’re definitely getting laid tonight, Dr. Synder,” Reid smirks and Luke laughs. He loves he can make Luke laugh.
“I was hoping for that. I’m sick and tired of you holding out on me.”
Luke seems a lot better than when they first arrived here. His mind had been completely occupied by Oakdale, by Matthew, by his patients, and that’s not to say Reid’s wasn’t. He’s constantly thinking about his patients and about the type of doctors they’re seeing when he isn’t there. No one had been scheduled for surgery so he knows there’s no one else around to butcher them and that makes him feel secure. He’ll be there for them when he returns.
“What’s on your mind?” Luke asks, snapping him away from his thoughts. “Already back at work?”
Reid smirks and looks down at their hands. He nods, unable to deny it. “You’re better?” he asks, looking back at him.
Luke hesitates briefly but also nods. “I’m better. I’m ready to get back to work and do what I do. Matthew had been … he’s been a … I’ve learned a lot from him and because of him. It’s been tough and I know it hasn’t been easy for you either. Those first few nights you were restless.”
“Losing a patient is the worst part of all of this especially someone with so much --” Every patient deserves life but especially the ones that have never experienced life. Matthew had his whole life ahead of him and he should’ve been able to live it.
“It’s okay,” Luke says to comfort him, his thumb rubbing over his skin slowly. “I know.”
“He was a great kid and watching the two of you together was something else,” Reid chuckles, the memory of Luke and Matthew laughing together comes to mind. Luke relates to these kids. He’s a kid at heart himself because he’s a caring guy, someone who still maintains a sense of innocence.
“It was,” Luke laughs with him. “I had a lot of fun with him. I’m also really, really glad you were there. I had the help of a brilliant neurosurgeon and you were able to give Matt a little more time. We had him for … for as long as we could. He had a little more time and it matters. It does.” He can hear an almost pleading tone in Luke’s voice, wanting to convince him, to believe what he says, and Reid does believe him.
“Yeah, I know,” Reid smiles at him because he thinks that Luke needs to see it and Luke returns the smile.
Dessert arrives for them then and it’s a masterpiece. It’s a large plate of different desserts to try and share. Reid dives in for the piece of chocolate right in front of him and pops it in his mouth.
“Reid!” Luke swats his hand away from the tray.
“What?” Reid asks with his mouth full.
“You have to savor these. It’s not popcorn. Don’t stuff them down until they all blend together.”
“They’re going to blend in my stomach anyway. Why bother?”
“Because,” Luke’s blushing a little and Reid eyes him, raising his eyebrows with curiosity.
“Because?”
“I thought we could share.” Luke lifts the small plate of tiramisu, cutting into the piece, and resting it on his fork. He leans forward a little and holds it close to Reid’s lips.
Food play. Reid can get into this. They’ve already experienced it earlier in the trip with Luke feeding him tropical fruit from a basket. Reid said he was Alexander the Great and Luke was his slave boy. They had a lot of fun that night.
Reid leans forward and covers the fork with his mouth, pulling off of it and savoring the taste of the dessert on his tongue. Luke’s right. Damn him. It does taste good to savor it. Nothing on the plate is in danger of melting and each item is practically finger food.
“I love watching your mouth.”
“So different from when we met and you couldn’t stand me or my mouth.”
“That isn’t true!” Luke objects immediately. “I thought you were hot even if I thought you were a jerk.” He cuts a piece for himself and takes a bite. Yeah, Reid’s not the feeding type unless he’s feeding Luke his cock.
“I thought you were sexy as hell even if you annoyed me.”
“You did?” Luke crinkles his nose, a curious expression settling in afterward.
“Well, after the Halloween thing, you had to hit me up for every single major holiday.”
“You never complained,” Luke points his fork at him and Reid dives in to try a different pastry and aims for the fruit tart.
“What? I complained every chance I got.”
“Yeah and then you went ahead and did whatever I wanted anyway,” Luke’s proud and his smile shows it.
“You’re very persuasive, Dr. Snyder.”
He remembers their first kiss and the way Luke took what he wanted from him. He remembers Luke trying to run away from him because of the secrets he kept. He remembers Luke’s low self-esteem and thinking there wasn’t a man in the world who wanted to be with him. He’s glad he’s the guy who can show him how wrong he is. When Luke smiles at him, it tells him it’s getting a little easier to believe there’s a man who wants him.
“Thank you, Reid,” Luke’s serious now as if he can read Reid’s thoughts. It’s impossible. Reid can’t possibly be that transparent. He’s worked very hard to not be transparent. But, maybe Luke can read him now. They’ve been together for a few months. Is it possible to feel this connected to someone in just a few months?
“I know we’ve already been through a lot,” Luke continues. “We’ve been through a lot and in … sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s only been six, almost seven months now,” he smirks, briefly moving his fingers through his hair. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
Reid can’t imagine a life without Luke in it. He’s fallen for him fast and hard and even though it scares the hell out of him sometimes, he knows he’s a better man for being with Luke Snyder.
Probably for the first time in his life, Reid moves a whole tray of desserts aside so he isn’t distracted by them and so he can take Luke’s hands in his. Reid’s hands are everything to him and he places them into the palms of someone he knows will protect them and protect him if he ever needs it.
He’s seen the way Luke loves and he feels grateful to be part of the inner circle.
“I don’t want to lose you,” Reid tells him.
“Reid, you won’t,” Luke replies, ducking his head to be able to catch Reid’s eye but Reid’s still looking away from him until he’s ready. “You’ll never lose me.”
“I need you to keep fighting,” Reid lifts his head now, gazing at Luke so seriously Luke straightens up and pays attention. “I need you to take care of your kidney. I need you to not overwork yourself. I need you to stay you and not let anyone change you, not even me. I just need you, Luke.” There’s no better time to say these things. They’re in a place where all they’ve done is concentrate on each other and when they get back into the real world, he needs to make sure these things stay in Luke’s mind.
“You have me, Reid. I need you too and I promise I’ll do these things. I want to be there for you, for me, and for us. I want us to have a life together. I’ve even,” Luke pauses, squeezing Reid’s friends and chuckling, “I’ve even started looking at houses.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. The apartment’s too small for us and we need office space.” They’re both pretty messy in their own ways and their living room more or less always has various papers scattered around the floor. “We need room to grow and just a better space for us. What do you think?”
“You’ve read my mind,” Reid admits. “When can we move in?”
“Haven’t bought the house yet. We’ll both look when we go back home.” Now the mood has lightened between them, Luke says, “So, did we just exchange vows?” Reid scoffs and shakes his head. “We couldn’t have picked a better place for it -- on the beach with the waves crashed, underneath the moonlight, and a whole tray of desserts waiting to be devoured.”
“One step at a time, Dr. Snyder.”
Luke bites his lip at those words and raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? You’ve thought about it? You’ve thought about getting married?”
Reid quickly backtracks and realizes what he’s just said. His words are a slip. It’s something he jokes about. It’s something he’s never really thought about before all of this with Luke. But he doesn’t really believe in all the vows and promises people are forced to keep if they’re no longer in a relationship that works. There’s no point to it if they don’t like being together anymore and they shouldn’t be forced to stay together.
When he looks at Luke, he doesn’t think he’ll ever feel way about him. It’s hard to believe he ever could. He doesn’t know what the future holds but he knows he believes in the words he’s just said to him. He doesn’t want to lose him and he needs him.
“It’s crossed my mind,” he admits. “It’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I never really thought anyone would ever want to marry me. Besides, I haven’t really seen the good marriage does anyone. People cheat while they’re married. My parents have been married and divorced and married while divorced and any which way you can think of,” Luke begins to play with Reid’s fingers, moving his through them, and holding on to them. “What about you? Is this what you want?”
“The idea of you bound to me for life is appealing,” he smirks. “Don’t have to make any decisions about it now but … maybe.”
“Maybe,” Luke nods. “I admit I really like the sound of it. The invitations will be fun -- Doctor Reid Oliver and Doctor Luke Snyder request your presence …”
Luke’s smiling now as he imagines it and that answers everything for Reid. “You’ve got that dreamy look in your eyes.”
“I don’t mind thinking about it but weddings aren’t you, Reid.”
“No, they’re not,” he confirms for him. Luke nods but then Reid goes on, “But if they’re you then I can’t say that I’m as adamant about disliking them as I once was.”
Luke smiles widely and then leans across the table to kiss Reid, “Like you said, Dr. Oliver. We’ll do this one step at a time. If the step comes then at least I know that you might be open to the idea. That means a lot,” his knuckles gently graze Reid’s cheek and then he leans in for another kiss.
“Can we take these to go?” Reid asks, speaking against Luke’s lips before leaning in for another kiss.
“Definitely,” Luke nods and signals for the waiter. He asks him for the check and goes right back to kissing Reid. “This is one reason why I asked for the private patio,” Luke smiles and gently kisses Reid’s lower lip.
“Was kinda hoping to do more than make it to first base,” Reid reaches for the first button on Luke’s shirt and pops it open, his hand slipping inside to brush his fingers against his collarbone.
Luke laughs but pulls away to sit back down in his chair. “You can wait a few more minutes.”
“Mm-hmm, the question is, can you?” Reid slips his shoe off and brings his sock covered foot up between Luke’s legs to press directly against his cock. Luke gasps just as the waiter brings back the check. The timing brings a smile to Reid’s face that he hides behind his hands and slowly lowers his foot, putting his shoe back on.
“I’m gonna get you for that one day when you least expect it,” Luke shoots him a glare and then signs his name on the bill.
“Yeah, yeah, enough with the empty threats. They only make me hornier.”
“Well, in that case, I should’ve started when we first got here.”
Once Luke’s finished and their bag of desserts is boxed and packed up, they both stand, and Luke stops to look out toward the sand and the view of the ocean. He reaches for Reid’s hand and pulls him toward the beach.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he’s protesting even as he walks with Luke. One minute they’re going back to their place and the next he’s being dragged toward the beach.
“We’re doing something that we haven’t done once since we’ve been here.” Luke releases his hand once they’ve reached the edge where the restaurant stops being the restaurant and the concrete meets the sand. He takes off his shoes and his socks and keeps them in one hand with their leftover dessert, waiting for Reid to do the same. “Come on, Reid.”
“If you want sand all over the place when we get back then that’s all on you,” Reid complains but he takes off his socks and his shoes, doing the same as Luke.
Luke then takes his hand again, lacing their fingers together, and they begin to walk on the sand. Luke walks them out until their feet are touching the wet sand and Reid pulls a face, making Luke laugh. “Is it really that bad?”
“It’s all wet and goopy and rough and all I can imagine is finding sand in inappropriate places,” he shudders. Does Luke find this romantic? The sand is squishing between his toes and he wants to walk straight into the ocean to wash it off.
“We’re not having sex in it. We’re just taking a nice walk back to our place instead of taking a car.” They’re not too far from their rental place and it’s not a bad idea. They’ll be able to digest their food and nothing in their take out bag of desserts is going to melt. They might even work up a different type of appetite once they get there. Reid can get behind that.
“Back to Oakdale tomorrow,” Luke’s almost upset when he says it. “Part of me thinks that this has been one long dream.”
“Want me to pinch you to try to wake you up?” Reid quickly releases his hand and tries to, Luke squirms away from him but he’s laughing. When they settle down, Luke fits against Reid’s side as Reid throws an arm around his shoulders.
They both remain silent as they talk their walk down the beach looking ridiculously domestic, ridiculously couply. Reid likes to pretend it bothers him but it doesn’t bother him at all. Who wouldn’t want to be seen with a guy like Luke? Well, any moron Luke had been with but that’s beside the point. Their loss is Reid’s gain. That’s probably his mantra.
When they reach their villa, Luke drops Reid’s hand, his socks and shoes, and the wrapped dessert on the sand. “What -- what are you doing?” Reid asks, more shocked the desserts are now going to taste like sand.
Luke says nothing but begins to strip, taking off his shirt, his slacks and underwear until he’s completely naked. Throwing his clothes at Reid, he smiles at him, and then runs out into the water.
“Don’t come crying to me if the hypothermia begins to set in!” Reid calls after him.
“It’s warm!” Luke calls back, dipping his head into the water, and quickly coming back out again. “Get out here!”
“Are you crazy?”
Luke’s splashing around in the ocean and all Reid can think about is a tide sweeping him away and Reid giving his account of the last time he saw Luke floating out into …
Okay.
Reid quickly removes his clothes and runs out to join him.
“Hi!” Luke swims up to Reid, wrapping his arms around his neck.
“You’re nuts, you know that?” Reid’s hands are on Luke’s waist, pulling him close. “I just didn’t want you to get sucked into the ocean somewhere. I have to keep an eye on you. The children of Oakdale are depending on me,” he uses his most sickeningly sweet voice, sarcasm dripping from his voice and Luke slaps his arm.
“I do like it when you keep an eye on me though,” he glances down at Reid’s lips before looking into his eyes. Without hesitating, he leans in for a hard, rough kiss. Luke’s lips taste like the sea and his tongue is warm against his. Before he realizes what’s happening, he’s swallowing ocean water. He sputters and glares at Luke who’s looking at him with a completely innocent look on his face.
And that’s how Reid finds himself chasing Dr. Luke Snyder in the ocean (he won’t use the word frolicking even though he thinks it), having a water fight, and reverting to the age of 5. Reid’s laughing hard and when Luke finally waves the hypothetical white flag, Reid pulls him into his arms again.
Luke’s back is pressed to Reid’s chest as they wade in the water, catching their breath. They both look out in the distance, the world seemingly endless as dark sky meets dark ocean. It’s so peaceful and quiet. It feels like they’re the only two people on the planet.
Reid bends his head down to drop a kiss to the crook of Luke’s neck. Luke slowly turns around in his arms, their naked bodies pressing together underneath the water. His hand comes up to cup Reid’s cheek and he leans in to kiss him.
It feels like a long time before he pulls away, the kiss leaving Reid a little weak in the knees. It’s a disadvantage they’re in the ocean because it feels like he can drift away.
“I love you, Dr. Oliver,” Luke smiles, speaking quietly.
“I love you too, Dr. Snyder,” Reid finds himself very easily smiling back at him.
The water moves around them, the two of them stationary with the sand keeping them affixed and stable on the ground.
Reid pulls Luke in for another kiss, cupping his face between his hands.
Luke’s turned Reid’s life upside down, shook it around, and caused a critical mass of emotions and feelings that Reid didn’t think he had or buried so deeply he didn’t know if he wanted those things anymore. But it’s worth it for all of this.
Reid can see the beauty in this life despite the mess and all because of Dr. Luke Snyder.
The End