FIC: The Third Roommate (5/?)
Title: The Third Roommate
Rating: PG-13
Genres: AU, Romance, Angst
Word Count: ~ 1,800
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Characters are property of ATWT, CBS, P&G etc. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry for taking so long to get this chapter posted. Somehow it wasn't easy for me to get back into writing the story after I took a break. Hope some people are still interested in reading the story. Thanks to my beta ditzybea!
[One week later]
Luke sat cross-legged on the couch in the living area, engrossed in reading the last book of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series. Jason had got him hooked on the trilogy when he lent him the first book of the series a few weeks ago and Luke read whenever he found the time since.
He had already been reading for a while when he heard somebody enter the room and Luke didn't even need to turn around to know it was Reid. Not only because Jason would have greeted him the moment he saw him, but also because he could somehow sense that it was the auburn haired man. He sent chills up his spine.
He heard Reid close the fridge with a thud and open a beer bottle a moment later, while Luke was still trying to focus on the book. Yet the blond found himself watching the older man out of the corner of his eye, as he made his way over to the living room area and sat down on the other couch opposite him.
Only when Reid turned on the TV a minute later did Luke finally put the book down with a sigh and looked at the older man. "Can't you see that I'm trying to read?"
"So? I want to watch the Cubs game." Reid replied with a shrug of his shoulder, his eyes focused on the TV screen the entire time. "You can go to your room if you want to read."
"But I was here first." Luke tried to reason, but realizing the moment he said it how stupid it sounded.
Reid snorted. "How old are you? Five?"
Luke snapped his book shut and let out a frustrated sigh. "You know, I really don't get why you have to be so mean to me all the time, but let me tell you something. No matter how mean you are now or will be in the future, I'm not going to move out." He abruptly stood up from the couch to go to his bedroom, leaving his perplexed roommate behind.
Reid rubbed his tired eyes for a moment before drinking half of his beer at one gulp. He put the beer bottle back on the coffee table and grabbed the nearest pillow, holding it close to his chest. This was new to him, that somebody talked back and didn't just put up with everything he did or said. For a moment Reid allowed himself to wonder if he and Luke could become friends because even he had to admit that the blond wasn't like any of the other idiots that had been their roommates before.
But a moment later he reminded himself that he had a reason why he didn't let anybody let get close to him anymore.
His parents never had time for him when he was a kid so that he basically grew up with a nanny. When he was six years old, Reid had once overheard how his parents had called him "an accident", but it wasn't until years later that he understood what it meant. In high school he soon figured out that his so called friends were only his friends because he helped them doing their homework. In college when he had his first boyfriend who broke up with him after a month, Reid was more than shocked when he found out that the guy had only been with him because of a bet.
Sure, all of that had happened a long time ago, but it had molded his entire life and he hadn't let anybody get close to him until he met Jason a few years ago, who eventually became his best friend. His only friend.
His mind drifted back to Luke and to the question if it was worth it to open up to him. One hour later when he fell asleep on the couch, he still hadn't come to a conclusion.
***
Luke took one of the framed pictures from his desk in his bedroom and immediately had to smile when he looked at it. Jason shot the photo of him and his friends last weekend when Casey, Alison and Alicia had been in Chicago to visit him. The three of them had a beaming smile on their faces, while little Alicia was peacefully sleeping in her godfather's arms. She had grown so much since the last time he saw her. It had been so good to see his friends again and hang out over the weekend. Luke had been sad when they left on late Sunday afternoon to drive back home.
One thing had surprised him though. When all of them, including both of his roommates, had dinner together Saturday night and watched a moved afterwards, Reid hadn't insulted his friends once. It made him wonder if Reid had finally realized that he wouldn't get rid of him, but he didn't want to give his hopes up just yet.
"Luke? Are you ready?" The blond heard his roommate's voice through the door after a soft knock. "We want to leave in five minutes!"
"I will be right there!" Luke called back. Sighing, he put the picture frame back onto the desk.
It was Jason's last night in Chicago before he would leave tomorrow to go to L.A. for six weeks. At Jason's request the three of them would go to his favorite restaurant to have dinner together, before he wanted to call it an early night because he had to catch an early flight the next morning.
He remembered how happy Jason had been when he opened the letter last week, revealing that he had won the surgical fellowship that he applied for a year before. His roommate had to read the letter five more times until he finally believed that he really won. Luke knew that it was something he never in a million years thought would happen.
Luke secretly wished that Jason wouldn't leave because he wasn't sure if he would survive six weeks alone with Reid, but he knew how selfish it was to think like that. And it wasn't like he couldn't handle Reid; it was just that he would miss talking to his friend.
He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and took one deep breath before he turned on his heels to leave the room.
***
Twenty minutes later the three men entered the restaurant together. The place was pretty packed and they were glad that Jason had decided to book a table a few days in advance. A waiter escorted them to a table in the corner, where Luke and Jason sat down next to each other while Reid sat opposite of them. They placed their drinking order, beer for Jason and Reid and a coke for Luke before the server went to take the order at another table.
Luke looked around for a moment, quickly approving of Jason's choice of restaurant before he went back to studying the menu. "Anything you can recommend?" The blond asked a moment later, lifting his head to look at Jason.
"The roasted chicken is really good." The older man replied.
"Sounds good." Luke said with a nod of his head, closing the menu.
A few minutes later the waiter came back on noiseless shoes. "Can I take your order?"
Both Luke and Jason the roasted chicken, while Reid went with the Steak, medium rare. Luke had to laugh to himself. As if he didn't see enough blood at work; his steak had to bleed too.
"This is a really nice place." Luke commented when they were alone again. "If the food is just as good I will definitely visit this place again."
Jason chuckled. "Don't worry. The food is one of the reasons that this is my favorite restaurant."
"That and the fact that the bar-keeper is always trying to flirt with you." Reid mumbled.
"Reid!" Jason hissed.
"What? You know that it's true." Reid said with a shrug of his shoulder. "His eyes have been glued to you since we came here."
Both Luke and Jason turned their heads to look at the guy behind the bar named Daniel, who winked at Jason showing him a beaming smile. Reid smirked at his tablemates; he knew that they would just have to look.
Jason gave him a friendly smile before he quickly looked away, feeling himself blush. "Oh my god."
Luke snickered. "He's cute."
"He is cute I'll give you that, but he looks like he just got out of puberty." Jason replied, making Luke laugh even more.
Reid caught himself staring at Luke's cute dimples when he laughed, but he forced himself to look away after a moment. What the heck was wrong with him? He watched his roommates joke around with each other, realizing how close the two men had become in the past few weeks and for the first time he wondered if there was something going on between them. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to focus on his roommate's conversation.
"You're really nervous huh?" Luke asked, deciding to change the subject. It hadn't gone unnoticed by him that Jason had been jiggling his foot in the past few minutes.
"Yeah I guess I am." Jason let out a nervous laugh. "I can't believe I'm really going to L.A. tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited at the same time."
"I'm so happy for you."Luke said. "I'm sure it will be a great experience."
Jason nodded. "I just hope the two of you won't kill each other while I'm away." He wanted to tease his roommates when he said it but both of them were only giving him a faint smile.
"Can't promise anything." Reid teased in a dry tone and looked up at Luke through his eyelashes. They locked eyes for a moment before Luke tried to break the tension that was building between them; hoping that Jason didn't notice.
"Well, may I propose a toast?" Luke said as he raised his glass. The other two men raised theirs to the same height and waited for Luke to continue. "To Jason, an amazing guy and doctor who has earned this opportunity and I for one am so proud of you." All three glasses clinked together and Jason was blushing.
"Thanks Luke. I just hope I don't screw up." Jason confessed and all three men shared a laugh. He had noticed that Reid was very quiet tonight, even more than usual. He wanted to ask his friend if he was alright but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. Somehow it made him wonder if it was Reid's way of showing that he would miss him.
Rating: PG-13
Genres: AU, Romance, Angst
Word Count: ~ 1,800
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Characters are property of ATWT, CBS, P&G etc. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry for taking so long to get this chapter posted. Somehow it wasn't easy for me to get back into writing the story after I took a break. Hope some people are still interested in reading the story. Thanks to my beta ditzybea!
[One week later]
Luke sat cross-legged on the couch in the living area, engrossed in reading the last book of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series. Jason had got him hooked on the trilogy when he lent him the first book of the series a few weeks ago and Luke read whenever he found the time since.
He had already been reading for a while when he heard somebody enter the room and Luke didn't even need to turn around to know it was Reid. Not only because Jason would have greeted him the moment he saw him, but also because he could somehow sense that it was the auburn haired man. He sent chills up his spine.
He heard Reid close the fridge with a thud and open a beer bottle a moment later, while Luke was still trying to focus on the book. Yet the blond found himself watching the older man out of the corner of his eye, as he made his way over to the living room area and sat down on the other couch opposite him.
Only when Reid turned on the TV a minute later did Luke finally put the book down with a sigh and looked at the older man. "Can't you see that I'm trying to read?"
"So? I want to watch the Cubs game." Reid replied with a shrug of his shoulder, his eyes focused on the TV screen the entire time. "You can go to your room if you want to read."
"But I was here first." Luke tried to reason, but realizing the moment he said it how stupid it sounded.
Reid snorted. "How old are you? Five?"
Luke snapped his book shut and let out a frustrated sigh. "You know, I really don't get why you have to be so mean to me all the time, but let me tell you something. No matter how mean you are now or will be in the future, I'm not going to move out." He abruptly stood up from the couch to go to his bedroom, leaving his perplexed roommate behind.
Reid rubbed his tired eyes for a moment before drinking half of his beer at one gulp. He put the beer bottle back on the coffee table and grabbed the nearest pillow, holding it close to his chest. This was new to him, that somebody talked back and didn't just put up with everything he did or said. For a moment Reid allowed himself to wonder if he and Luke could become friends because even he had to admit that the blond wasn't like any of the other idiots that had been their roommates before.
But a moment later he reminded himself that he had a reason why he didn't let anybody let get close to him anymore.
His parents never had time for him when he was a kid so that he basically grew up with a nanny. When he was six years old, Reid had once overheard how his parents had called him "an accident", but it wasn't until years later that he understood what it meant. In high school he soon figured out that his so called friends were only his friends because he helped them doing their homework. In college when he had his first boyfriend who broke up with him after a month, Reid was more than shocked when he found out that the guy had only been with him because of a bet.
Sure, all of that had happened a long time ago, but it had molded his entire life and he hadn't let anybody get close to him until he met Jason a few years ago, who eventually became his best friend. His only friend.
His mind drifted back to Luke and to the question if it was worth it to open up to him. One hour later when he fell asleep on the couch, he still hadn't come to a conclusion.
***
Luke took one of the framed pictures from his desk in his bedroom and immediately had to smile when he looked at it. Jason shot the photo of him and his friends last weekend when Casey, Alison and Alicia had been in Chicago to visit him. The three of them had a beaming smile on their faces, while little Alicia was peacefully sleeping in her godfather's arms. She had grown so much since the last time he saw her. It had been so good to see his friends again and hang out over the weekend. Luke had been sad when they left on late Sunday afternoon to drive back home.
One thing had surprised him though. When all of them, including both of his roommates, had dinner together Saturday night and watched a moved afterwards, Reid hadn't insulted his friends once. It made him wonder if Reid had finally realized that he wouldn't get rid of him, but he didn't want to give his hopes up just yet.
"Luke? Are you ready?" The blond heard his roommate's voice through the door after a soft knock. "We want to leave in five minutes!"
"I will be right there!" Luke called back. Sighing, he put the picture frame back onto the desk.
It was Jason's last night in Chicago before he would leave tomorrow to go to L.A. for six weeks. At Jason's request the three of them would go to his favorite restaurant to have dinner together, before he wanted to call it an early night because he had to catch an early flight the next morning.
He remembered how happy Jason had been when he opened the letter last week, revealing that he had won the surgical fellowship that he applied for a year before. His roommate had to read the letter five more times until he finally believed that he really won. Luke knew that it was something he never in a million years thought would happen.
Luke secretly wished that Jason wouldn't leave because he wasn't sure if he would survive six weeks alone with Reid, but he knew how selfish it was to think like that. And it wasn't like he couldn't handle Reid; it was just that he would miss talking to his friend.
He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and took one deep breath before he turned on his heels to leave the room.
***
Twenty minutes later the three men entered the restaurant together. The place was pretty packed and they were glad that Jason had decided to book a table a few days in advance. A waiter escorted them to a table in the corner, where Luke and Jason sat down next to each other while Reid sat opposite of them. They placed their drinking order, beer for Jason and Reid and a coke for Luke before the server went to take the order at another table.
Luke looked around for a moment, quickly approving of Jason's choice of restaurant before he went back to studying the menu. "Anything you can recommend?" The blond asked a moment later, lifting his head to look at Jason.
"The roasted chicken is really good." The older man replied.
"Sounds good." Luke said with a nod of his head, closing the menu.
A few minutes later the waiter came back on noiseless shoes. "Can I take your order?"
Both Luke and Jason the roasted chicken, while Reid went with the Steak, medium rare. Luke had to laugh to himself. As if he didn't see enough blood at work; his steak had to bleed too.
"This is a really nice place." Luke commented when they were alone again. "If the food is just as good I will definitely visit this place again."
Jason chuckled. "Don't worry. The food is one of the reasons that this is my favorite restaurant."
"That and the fact that the bar-keeper is always trying to flirt with you." Reid mumbled.
"Reid!" Jason hissed.
"What? You know that it's true." Reid said with a shrug of his shoulder. "His eyes have been glued to you since we came here."
Both Luke and Jason turned their heads to look at the guy behind the bar named Daniel, who winked at Jason showing him a beaming smile. Reid smirked at his tablemates; he knew that they would just have to look.
Jason gave him a friendly smile before he quickly looked away, feeling himself blush. "Oh my god."
Luke snickered. "He's cute."
"He is cute I'll give you that, but he looks like he just got out of puberty." Jason replied, making Luke laugh even more.
Reid caught himself staring at Luke's cute dimples when he laughed, but he forced himself to look away after a moment. What the heck was wrong with him? He watched his roommates joke around with each other, realizing how close the two men had become in the past few weeks and for the first time he wondered if there was something going on between them. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to focus on his roommate's conversation.
"You're really nervous huh?" Luke asked, deciding to change the subject. It hadn't gone unnoticed by him that Jason had been jiggling his foot in the past few minutes.
"Yeah I guess I am." Jason let out a nervous laugh. "I can't believe I'm really going to L.A. tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited at the same time."
"I'm so happy for you."Luke said. "I'm sure it will be a great experience."
Jason nodded. "I just hope the two of you won't kill each other while I'm away." He wanted to tease his roommates when he said it but both of them were only giving him a faint smile.
"Can't promise anything." Reid teased in a dry tone and looked up at Luke through his eyelashes. They locked eyes for a moment before Luke tried to break the tension that was building between them; hoping that Jason didn't notice.
"Well, may I propose a toast?" Luke said as he raised his glass. The other two men raised theirs to the same height and waited for Luke to continue. "To Jason, an amazing guy and doctor who has earned this opportunity and I for one am so proud of you." All three glasses clinked together and Jason was blushing.
"Thanks Luke. I just hope I don't screw up." Jason confessed and all three men shared a laugh. He had noticed that Reid was very quiet tonight, even more than usual. He wanted to ask his friend if he was alright but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. Somehow it made him wonder if it was Reid's way of showing that he would miss him.