First Love, Chapter 24 (Final chapter, not counting epilogue)
Chapter 24
Luke ran. Gripping bags above and below with firm fingers, he ran past the line of passengers, past the gate, past the shops and food court and restrooms. Past security and baggage claim, past too slowly sliding doors into still cool morning air.
He stepped into the path of a passing airport worker. “Delta - which terminal?”
The man leaned back, reacting to Luke as if a tornado had just touched down in front of him. “Uh, I believe all their flights leave from Terminal 4 now.”
“Which way?”
He pointed carefully to the left. “The airport shuttle leaves from over there.”
The man slipped away as Luke’s attention fixed on the empty shuttle stop, on the empty roadway - and then on the taxi stand across the narrow lane, empty of passengers but not of taxis. He rolled into motion and crossed the street.
The cab driver dropped his newspaper as Luke propelled himself and his bags into the backseat. “Yes, good morning, sir. Manhattan? Brooklyn?”
“Terminal 4.”
The driver’s accent thickened. “I’m sorry?”
“Terminal 4. Please go, now.”
“But sir…there is a free shuttle.”
“No time.”
“But there are set prices-”
Luke retrieved the last large bill from his wallet, extending his hand past the divider and into the front seat.
“Yes, sir.” The taxi pulled into the road.
Luke closed his eyes as the road curved; he deepened his breaths. He still felt it - the certainty, the cool wash of guiding light. He also felt the pain. Reid’s pain. Luke focused on keeping his inner tempos steady, opening his eyes only as he felt the cab slow.
“Terminal 4, sir.”
Without a word, Luke uncoiled from the backseat and targeted the terminal entrance. He looked down at his phone, retrieving the confirmation number for the second flight as he sped over smooth surfaces toward a row of self-service kiosks. The boarding pass printed successfully; there was still time. He ran to the short first-class security line, now grateful it had been the only type of seat available. After pulling off his shoes and emptying his pockets, he momentarily closed his eyes while waiting for the slow full-body scanner to screen each passenger, closing them again when it was his turn. He didn’t mind the exposure. There was nothing left to hide.
I’m coming, Reid.
“Excuse me, sir, is this your bag?”
Reaching for his luggage as it emerged from the x-ray machine, Luke realized the uniformed woman was speaking to him. He looked up to see her pointing to the tote bag.
“Uh, yes, is there a problem?”
“Please step over here, sir.” She moved to a table at the end of the conveyer belt. Her voice was large and sharp. “Please empty the bag.”
Ripples of anxiety pulsed through Luke’s aura of focused calm. Cool colors began to turn garish. “It’s a chess set.”
“Please empty your bag.”
Forcing shallow breaths down to previous depths, he lifted out the rosewood box and placed it in front of the woman, striving to appear and sound as non-threatening as possible. He landed in the vicinity of pleading. “Please…my flight’s about to take off.” He wished he’d brushed his hair.
“Open it.”
Steadying his hands, Luke unlatched the box, unfolding it to reveal orderly nestled pieces. “See? Just a chess set.”
The woman ran fingers tipped with nails painted black and silver along a row of maple before settling on a gleaming queen. She lifted it from its velvet bed. “Why is this so heavy?”
“Um, because it’s supposed to be. It’s weighted.”
“Weighted with what?”
Luke’s local atmosphere shifted quickly now, placid air masses dissipating under harsh light. Calm escaped on a sigh. “I have absolutely no idea.”
“Please step back, sir.”
Luke again applied force to his breaths, this time squeezing them through narrowed passages. He watched the woman reach under the counter for an explosives ‘sniffer’ cloth, which she rubbed around the base of the queen before temporarily returning it below to a detector. She then picked up a knight.
I almost made it to you.
Luke felt the pull more distantly now, as if the signal were trying to pass through metal, through lead. “Please, ma’am, I need to get on this flight. Someone’s waiting for me.”
The woman didn’t answer, simply worked through the pieces methodically, placing each on the counter in a line as she finished with them. Luke watched the flashing silver of her nails make ephemeral shapes in the air; he saw the outlines of shooting stars against black lacquer. Matching paired sparkles were clipped into her dark, smoothed-back hair, creating dissonance with her colorless demeanor.
“Did you purchase this yourself, sir, or was it given to you?”
The last wisps of equanimity floated just beyond his reach, carrying with them the will to lie. He dropped his head. “It was a gift.” His voice, also dropping, was saturated with equal parts resignation and longing. “From someone I love.”
Luke closed his eyes again, trying to recapture the calm, to secure the slender but still tangible cord of connection. It’s OK. I’ll just get on the next flight. What’s another overpriced last-minute first-class ticket? I’ll have Sabrina try to track down his address while I head for the hospital to wait until he’s done with his surgery. It’s just a few hours difference. Just a few more hours of fortress-building. A few more hours spent in pain.
Reid.
What Luke didn’t see was the woman’s movements becoming progressively slower as she passed the cloth over each piece, her fingers skimming the silky grain and precise edging. She picked up the white king.
“You should marry her.”
Luke opened his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“The woman who gave this to you. She’s a keeper.” She rubbed her thumb up the slope of the king. The jagged peaks of her voice had weathered into blunter edges - less Andes, more Appalachians. “Makes me wish I knew something about chess.”
The light from Luke’s polestar winked. “You’re right - he is a keeper.” The woman looked up, the blankness of her expression filling in like an etch-a-sketch. Luke leaned forward. “And he’s on that plane, right now, thinking I’m not coming. Thinking that we’re not meant to be. And it’s slowly killing him.”
Luke didn’t breathe, didn’t blink. He drew back the curtains, let her see in, showed her a whirlwind slideshow of past regrets, present purpose, future fulfillment. Aimed the urgency in his eyes into her opaqueness, past the boredom and dissatisfaction. The image appearing on her face gradually resolved; Luke could see his own likeness, a blurred but discernable reflection of the faith, of the belief emanating from him like a corona.
“Guess you’d better catch that plane.”
She briskly repacked the pieces; Luke’s fingers brushed silver stars as he took the tote bag from her outstretched hand. The brilliancy of his smile made them sparkle.
__________________________________________________
“Wait!” The crack of Luke’s voice whipped off the wall of windows and snapped the head of the gate agent in the process of closing the boarding door. “I’m coming!”
Luke’s full-speed momentum was too much at the end, his rolling suitcase clipping the back of his heels as he stopped in front of the female agent, the hand holding his ticket headed for a handful of breast before a last-minute adjustment landed it more safely on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” panted Luke. He held out the crumpled ticket. “Please…one more.”
The woman paused, her scrutiny making Luke feel more bedraggled than ever. It was as if he were standing under a beam of ultraviolet light, as if she could see the dried fluids on his clothes and skin.
He didn’t care. So fucking close. “Please. Please.” He backed up slightly so as to stop gasping directly into her face. His eyes openly begged.
She took the ticket. “We’ve been paging you, Mr. Snyder,” she said, looking down at the creased paper. “We almost left without you.”
“I’m…hard…to shake,” he wheezed.
She cracked under his crooked smile, her own dimples emerging as she scanned the ticket and then moved to the door, opening it wide enough for him to pass. “Enjoy the flight.”
Luke accelerated through the walkway as if it were pitched on a steep downward slant. The pull was strengthening. He slowed as he approached the open plane door, attempted to gather scattered energies. This was real. Reid is here.
He barely heard the male attendant direct him to his seat, didn’t remember lifting his suitcase overhead. His eyes were busy scanning - as he passed the first-class rows, as he craned his neck around the female attendant blocking his view into the coach cabin.
She turned toward him, pushing him back into first class. “Please take your seat, sir - we’re about to depart.” Luke let himself be pushed, reluctantly allowing that now was probably not the time. He sat on the wide leather aisle seat of his empty row, buckled in but twisted backward, systematically scouring what was visible of the rows behind. Just as the plane lurched away from the gate, Luke saw a black pant leg, a black sleeve - there, on the aisle, is that-? - at which point the attendant unlatched the divider curtain, cutting off Luke’s view.
The seatbelt cut into his abdomen as Luke strained toward the back of the plane, as if he could reach the curtain from his seat. Just a glimpse. I just need to see him. He wrenched back around on an exhalation, fitting himself against the back of the seat, hands crushing the armrests. A stream of air from above dried a patch of sweat at his hairline. His heart wriggled like a trapped ferret, repeatedly hurling itself against his ribs, trying to escape, to scamper down the aisle, to find him. The plane turned, then turned again, the droning of the engines intensifying, the beat frequency reverberating in the spaces of his mind and body, between thoughts and cells and atoms. He twisted around again, willing the curtain to move. And it did - the female attendant’s frozen blond hair poked through. The male attendant joined her from the front of the plane; he held back the curtain with his shoulder while together they grappled with an overhead compartment. Luke ducked his head down, around, angling for a view back to that aisle seat, on the opposite side, in the exit row…
Reid was there. Luke felt the tug, as if a fish had been caught on a line connected to his chest. As if it had pulled away a portion of the Brooklyn Bridge that had become trapped there, pressing down the entire time, a stopper plugging up the light of his polestar. As the male attendant continued working with the compartment, the woman walked down the aisle. She stopped at Reid’s row. At that moment the male attendant’s body shifted, blocking Luke’s sightline; Luke unbuckled his belt and crouched lower, half out of his seat, finding a vantage point in time to see the woman bending over Reid, speaking to him, motioning to his lap. It wasn’t until she touched his shoulder that Reid looked up and seemed to register what she was saying. Luke saw Reid feel beside himself for the ends of the seatbelt. Saw him grimace as he shifted in his seat, buckling and tightening. Saw him return to his previous still state. To his blankness. The woman continued down the aisle. The man, finally finished with the compartment, let the curtain drop.
Luke faced forward again, gutted. For he realized it hadn't been blankness he’d seen, but emptiness. Vacancy. The death shadow after an atomic blast, etched into the sidewalk - the outline of a human form, an impression of death. Luke was almost glad he hadn’t been close enough to see his eyes.
What have I done?
No - this wasn’t Luke’s doing, not this time. Not completely, anyway. The psychic (and now physical) pain, the haunted depths of the fear - of loss, of betrayal - Luke would always carry some responsibility for those (you break it, you buy it). But the rest, the current manifestation - this was the aftermath of an extreme event; this was coral bleaching on an epic scale. This was why Luke had felt the urgency, why he’d needed to find Reid now, before the aftershocks could do any further damage.
How can I fix this?
Luke already had an idea. He just needed to trust in his inner directives, in the bond - perhaps a bit frayed at Reid’s end at the moment, but still cosmically secure. As if it would take more than a single panic attack to sever it. As if even in death, neither man could be persuaded to let go.
Luke was pressed back into his seat as the plane left the ground. He was fixed in place for the time being, left to his thoughts and plans, engines thrumming around and within, awakening aches (I feel you, Reid). He was also left to old insecurities, flashes of doubt - who am I compared to him, how could he possibly want to share his life with me - but they were less compelling now, more easily subdued. Luke knew he might not always understand why he and Reid worked, only that they did. He knew in his core there was no other outcome. He believed.
And Reid would, too. He almost had, almost did. Luke suspected he didn’t need to stop pushing; instead he needed to convince Reid that it was safe to let himself be pushed.
Now if only the seatbelt light would-
Ding
Luke was unlatched and out of his seat in seconds. With similarly focused movements he moved into the aisle and lifted the overhead-compartment door, reaching in to unzip his suitcase and retrieve the black toiletry bag. Closing the door he turned down the aisle - only to be thwarted by a beverage cart that had materialized in front of him.
Really?
Luke checked the angles and estimated distances, grudgingly accepting that he was just going to have to wait until the cart had passed Reid’s row. He stood at the curtain, folding it back just enough to see the bleak beauty of Reid’s face, the absolute stillness. The profound absence. Luke doubted that, had he even been in his line of sight, Reid would have noticed him.
I’m coming.
Luke was convinced there were glaciers in the world advancing more quickly than was this beverage service. He had to hold himself back from offering to help. At last, the cart reached Reid’s row. Again, Reid didn’t respond to the attendant. Though he did finally move - he eased his phone out of his pocket, looking down at it while the attendant reached over to hand a drink to the woman sitting by the window. Reid then bent and lifted a bag from under the seat in front of him, placing it on the empty middle seat beside. He unzipped and began to rummage, swiveling his body toward the window - away from the aisle, away from an approaching Luke. Reid’s movements became increasingly frantic as he searched the bag. He started to pull out clothing.
“Yeah, you forgot something.”
All motion ceased. Reid’s hands froze where they were, deep in the bag, as if he’d just discovered a bomb while operating. Marginally faster than a glacier, Reid pivoted his torso around, stopping before facing Luke fully. He looked at Luke’s chest, at his face - dropping his gaze quickly to the small black bag Luke was holding out.
Reid closed his eyes.
Of all the possible scenarios, Luke hadn’t anticipated this one. He wavered. Is he waiting for me to go away? He stayed, lowering the bag to his waist but otherwise not moving. He waited. He wished he hadn’t seen the limits of visible space in Reid’s eyes just then, the crush of infinite density. Wished he didn’t now have proof that gravitational collapse had been mutual that morning.
Reid broke the silence with a shudder. His eyes were still closed as he expelled a broken breath, as chest and shoulders rose and fell in fits and starts. As his eyelashes darkened, channeling rivulets over taut planes.
He’s…crying.
Lost in transfixion, Luke crouched beside Reid’s seat. He rested the bag on the armrest.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but you can’t stay there. You’ll have to-”
Luke’s stricken face stopped the female attendant. His eyes asked for time. The woman backed away.
By now Reid’s eyes were open. He didn’t notice, perhaps didn’t care about the tears. His focus was the bag - without touching Luke’s hands, Reid took the bag and rested it on his lap. He placed his hands across the top, across the zipper, much as Luke had done earlier that morning. He squeezed gently.
“You opened it.” Reid’s voice was rusty.
Luke’s voice was tender. “I did.”
Though the tears had tapered off, Reid didn’t look up.
“Doesn’t quite seem fair - as mementos go, I think I got the better deal,” said Luke. “Even the security lady was impressed.” Reid lifted unfocused eyes, blinking away the wetness. “The chess set,” Luke continued. “Wins against a flower any day.” The tension in Reid’s face lessened slightly. Luke lightly brushed his fingers against the back of Reid’s hand, perching them there. “But we’re beyond mementos now, right?”
On a sharp inward breath, Reid turned his head away, facing forward, once more closing his eyes. His hand remained as it was. A man brushed past Luke on his way to the restroom. The woman in the window seat appeared to be asleep with headphones, her drink forgotten. Luke noticed neither of these things.
“You came.” Reid’s words were ragged. They unraveled as soon as they left his lips.
“Repeatedly.”
Reid turned his head sharply, opening his eyes. Luke’s were waiting, soft and light.
“Ah, so that’s what this is about?” Reid sounded slightly more of himself now.
“Reid,” Luke paused as Reid’s eyes briefly shut, “if we never had sex again, I would still be here.”
The look in Reid’s eyes reminded Luke of their time under the stone bridge in Central Park, when it seemed as if Reid were finally allowing himself to see Luke.
“But that would be…tragic.”
Luke smiled, flattening his hand against Reid’s. Squeezing. Reid slowly lifted his other hand from the top of the bag and covered Luke’s.
“Luke.” Reid paused, as if momentarily lost.
“Reid.”
Reid closed his eyes again; he seemed to be breathing in the breath that had borne his name. “You’re really here.” Luke’s grip tightened. Now Reid’s open eyes were moving over Luke’s features. “I’m not sure about the hair, though. Not your best look.”
Luke pinched Reid’s arm. “I had other priorities.”
Reid’s almost-smile slid into something sadder. He looked down. “Luke…‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. I…I just…”
“Freaked out?”
“Would be an understatement. It was…”
“Intense? Too much?”
Reid met Luke’s eyes. “It was everything. It was the universe. I was offered the entire universe. And I just…I couldn’t risk losing it.”
Luke nodded. His eyes were wet. “So you couldn’t risk having it.”
Their layered hands tightened. Luke rested the side of his head against Reid’s; Reid pressed back.
“I was dead without you. I was dead.” Reid whispered against Luke’s skin. “It was too late…the infection had spread too far. I’d forgotten I couldn’t survive without my algae.” Luke lifted his free hand around Reid’s neck, into his hair. Reid’s grip on Luke’s other hand burned. “I believe time of death happened somewhere over the Brooklyn Bridge.”
Luke pulled back. “Then why didn’t you turn around? Why didn’t you come back?” Tears had slipped out of the corner of Luke’s eye. Reid intercepted them with his thumb.
“I thought it was too late. If you’d woken up…after everything…after everything you’d given me…everything I’d promised…I didn’t think there’d be any coming back from that. I was sure I would have lost you.”
“Then you’re an idiot. How could you possibly think that? Reid, what did I tell you? I said I’d never let you go again. Did you really think I wouldn’t come after you?” Luke’s voice lost some of its steam. “Because I didn’t last time?”
Reid’s palm fit against Luke’s cheek. “I thought I would have hurt you too badly.”
“Didn’t compare to what I’d done to you.”
“Luke…I asked you to live with me.”
“I know. And I know you didn’t do it for the right reasons.”
“What? Luke-”
“No, it’s OK - I know you did it out of fear, because you were afraid that if you didn’t hold onto me that I would disappear. I pushed you into it.”
“Luke, no-”
“I did. And I’m going to keep pushing.” Luke moved his hands to Reid’s waist. He unbuckled the seatbelt. Standing, he grasped Reid’s upper arms; with a cautiously confused look, Reid let himself be lifted, let himself be pulled into the aisle until they were standing facing each other. Luke’s voice was low but clear. “I’m going to push because this is right. We're right. And maybe it's been only a day and a half, but even a non-medical-genius can figure out the prognosis - that it's no use for either of us to try to make a life without the other. I think it's been made pretty clear that the last three years have been kind of a disaster for both of us.”
Reid had reverted to stillness. To watchful waiting. The tension in Reid’s arms traveled into Luke’s fingers and up through his own arms. But he kept his core calm. He held on. “So now it comes down to trust. Trust that I'm never going to disappear. That I'm never not going to follow you. Trust that this,” he gingerly touched Reid’s frozen cheek, “that what we have is never going to be taken away from you. From either of us. And though you’re probably not going to like it, I know of one good way to reassure you of that.” Luke lowered his hand from Reid’s face, running it down Reid’s left arm to his hand.
Luke knelt on one knee.
Immediately, Reid tried to pull Luke to his feet, pressing his other hand against the back of Luke’s shoulder. “Luke, no…get up. Don't do this. Not just because you think it's the only way to-”
Luke resisted, tugging firmly on Reid’s hand, settling squarely on his knee. “Will you stop, please? I'm trying to embarrass myself here.” He blocked out the murmur rising around them. “I'm doing this because I've been dreaming about being with you for over three years. Constantly, vividly. You’ve been everywhere - in my thoughts, on my desktop…you’ve never not been with me, Reid. I’m doing this because I want it for real now. I want to wake up.” Luke was conscious of the firm warmth of Reid’s hand, of the careful cool of his eyes. “I'm doing this because you're it for me. You're my first love - my first true love, now that I finally know what that is. And I think it’s safe to say that you’re going to be my last. You're everything - you're my universe. You're the alpha and omega. You're my yedina kohanya.” Luke waited for the gleam of comprehension, for the moment of embarrassment - followed by the smirk. “That's right.” Luke smiled. He rubbed across Reid’s knuckles with his thumb. “There's only you.” Reid’s hand relaxed in Luke’s, even if his eyes still revealed little.
“And this isn't a fear-based move, Reid. Trust me,” Luke flashed a crooked smile, “I've done that. I don't want my defining moment to have been one of fear. I want it to be one of faith. I have faith in us, Reid. I have enough for both of us. I love you.” His eyes were lit with galactic fire. “And I answered the riddles, so now you have no choice but to marry me.” His smile was blinding. Hopeful. “Marry me, Reid.”
Reid’s expression remained frustratingly blank, his eyes fiercely inscrutable. But Luke saw the sheen, like a liquid film over blue arctic ice in spring melt. “Luke, stand up, please.”
Again, Luke resisted. “No, not until you believe. Now, I know you're not a fan of weddings, so I'm actually fine with just being engaged. That's commitment enough for me. I just want to belong to you. As officially as possible. And there is nothing in this universe that I wouldn’t give to know that the great Dr. Oliver belongs to me. To know that we will always be in each other’s orbits. Of course, this whole proposal would have been more impressive had I had time to pick out rings-”
“You can use these.”
Speechless, Luke watched Reid’s right hand emerge from the front pocket of his jeans holding a silver chain. Two bands dangled at the bottom. Reid handed the chain to Luke.
“What…?” Luke fingered the rings. He looked up at Reid. “When?”
“When do you think?”
Horror crept in as befuddlement retreated. “No…not…not that last day?” Reid nodded. “Oh my Go…” Luke almost choked on his breath. “Reid, that night…you weren't going to…"
One peak of Reid’s top lip lifted. “No, nothing like that. It wasn't quite that bad. I just…after we left the pond, when I was getting supplies for that night, I passed one of those shops that I’d never previously registered as existing…but there I was, looking at those in the window. And it was like I saw your reflection there, like I saw that smile…and next thing you know, I was the proud if slightly shell-shocked owner of wedding rings. I was going to wait the appropriate amount of time, of course. Wait until you were under my sexual thrall.”
Befuddlement launched a counterattack. “You mean, back then…you really…I thought you hated the idea of ceremony and vows-”
“I did. But I loved you. And little did I know what that would mean. What that would make me want.”
“But…but then, why…why do you…?”
“Why do I happen to have them in my pocket three years later?” The curve of Reid’s lips was tinged with darkness. “Probably for the same reason I kept your picture on my phone. Because, apparently, I'm a masochist when it comes to you. And so I'd never forget my weakness, how I wasn't enough for you. So I'd never forget what it felt like to lose. To lose everything that counts.”
Luke realized his grip on Reid’s hand must have been causing pain. He loosened but didn’t let go. “OK. Right.” Luke stood and released Reid’s hand. “Here’s how it’s gonna go. We're going to forget all that nonsense and go back to what it meant when you first bought them.” He wiped at the tears that were interfering with his efforts to undo the chain’s small, stiff clasp. “And you can also forget what I said about just being engaged - clearly, my powers are greater than I ever realized. I'm going to be expecting a full-on wedding now. Lucky we’ll be living in Massachusetts.”
With the chain finally open, Luke slid the rings into his palm. Marveling at how little his hands were shaking, he chose the slightly smaller of the rings and reached for Reid’s left hand. He didn’t look up into Reid’s eyes until the ring was halfway on.
He saw the arctic ice had broken.
“You seem to be taking certain matters for granted.”
“Oh, you've already said yes. You said yes the moment you bought these rings.” Luke lifted his right hand toward Reid, palm up, lone ring resting. “And obviously I said yes the moment I proposed.”
Head tilted slightly back, Reid regarded Luke with eyes that were rapidly melting into summer seas. Holding Luke’s gaze, Reid reached for both the ring and Luke’s left hand. Sure and steady, his eyes still fixed on Luke’s, he slipped it into place. His hands held Luke’s hand. Reid blinked once, slowly, lids lifting to reveal a radiance capable of causing continental thaw.
“Marry me.”
Luke was sure his answering smile had transformative properties of its own. At the very least it lightened the shadows lingering on Reid’s face.
“So that's it, then? It's over?” Reid’s thumb rubbed Luke’s band.
Luke brought his other hand back up to Reid’s cheek. He stepped closer, leaning in, twisting his grin to match a playfully dramatic whisper. “No, Reid, it's just beginning.”
Luke didn’t stand a chance. The subtle shift in stance, the flash of wickedness - had Luke’s circuitry been less overloaded, he might have recognized the warnings. But he still would have lost the match. Because it wasn’t until his world had tilted and there existed only the certainty of Reid’s arms and lips that he realized his life would always be securely unexpected. That there were no more landmines, no more asteroids - they’d completed the gauntlet. That though he might never be entirely able to predict Reid’s moves, Luke realized he’d come to relish being off-balance. And not only had he mastered a few new moves of his own, but he and Reid were finally playing as one team.
As Luke was righted smoothly, he realized other things as well - that most of the passengers had rearranged themselves to watch the show, overtly or otherwise, that several were still applauding.
That the female flight attendant was standing directly behind Reid. “I'm sorry, sirs? Congratulations, but you're really going to have to take your seats, now.” Two more realizations quickly followed - first, that she was motioning toward the first-class cabin and second, that evidently a life of surprises was only just beginning: Reid kissed the back of her hand. Her resulting blush was, so far, the only part of the past day and a half that Luke had been able to see coming.
__________________________________________________
“So you're still moving in, right?”
Reid sat by the window, his right arm solid around Luke’s shoulder. Luke’s head rested in the slope of Reid’s neck, his eyes on their clasped left hands resting on Reid’s thigh.
“Still moving in. Porn, products and all.” The pulsing thrum of the engines harmonized with their heartbeats. “That whole thing was pretty mortifying, wasn’t it? All those people looking at us? Bet you hated it. Bet you blocked it all out.”
“Eh, I’m sure someone’s already put it on youtube by now. I’ll catch up later. Figure out what the heck I’m doing with this darn ring on my hand.”
“Excuse me,” the female flight attendant stood by their row holding two flutes. “The captain and the rest of the flight crew would like to offer you champagne. That was the first proposal for any of us.”
Reid smiled. “Yes, thank you - but would you have sparkling cider instead?”
“Of course, sir, just a moment.” She withdrew toward the front of the plane.
Luke lifted his head. “You know you didn’t have to do that. You don’t have to be careful around me. I’m stronger than you think.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that.” The hand around Luke’s shoulder moved to play with a stiff whorl of hair at Luke’s temple. “I just find I’ve recently lost my taste for experiencing things alone.”
Luke let the smile sweep over him before leaning in to brush his lips against Reid’s. The tips of their tongues grazed. Luke resettled his head on Reid’s shoulder.
“So, did you really just propose to me, Mr. Snyder?”
“I certainly did. And to be honest it was kind of an epiphany when I realized I didn’t have to wait for someone to ask me.”
“You don’t say. Was there lightning involved? Hail, perhaps?”
“Just being around you seems to do it. I finally feel like the man I’m supposed to be.” Luke watched their entwined left hands rock gently as his thumb ran rhythmically over Reid’s platinum band, his own catching the strengthening sunlight. “Did you really carry around these rings in your pocket for three years?”
“Yup.”
Luke cocked a brow. “And you wondered why you couldn’t be with anyone else?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.” Luke could hear Reid’s grin. “And it was suggested to me at one point that it might not have been helping the situation.” Luke angled his neck, peering up. “Like I said, I got checked out. Once I finally found a doctor who wasn’t hopelessly bush-league.”
“But of course you didn’t listen.”
“Of course not. Anyway, I wasn’t ready to let you go. Even if it did cause the junior Oliver considerable unhappiness.”
“I’ll have to be sure to make it up to him.”
“Sounds like an excellent use of your time. When you’re not funding hospital wings for the young and disenfranchised, that is.”
“You totally googled me.”
The shoulder under Luke’s head lifted briefly. “It was my responsibility to keep track of potential funding sources. I did think you were still running the foundation from LA, though.”
“LA never felt like home.”
“And what are your feelings on Boston?”
“Well, considering my heart has already been there for years, I’d say they’re pretty positive. Go Red Sox.”
“Hmph.”
“Go Celtics?”
“I suppose I could use some company rooting against the Lakers.”
“Never liked ’em.”
The flight attendant returned. “Your cider, gentlemen. And again - congratulations.”
“Thanks!” Luke turned his wattage from the woman to Reid, touching their glasses. “To the Celtics. And to Alex.”
“Hmm…I suppose he should get a modicum of credit. But best to keep that to ourselves.”
“He does grow on you.”
“Like a fungus.”
“Like the fungus that makes penicillin.” Sipping his cider, Luke relished the smile he’d coaxed. “And he did help me out this morning when I was desperate. Let me have his taxi.”
“Oh, I’m sure he loved that.”
“Actually, he was pretty gracious about the whole thing.”
The arm around Luke’s shoulder tightened as Reid turned his head into Luke’s hair. “Luke…I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
“It was worth it. And…in a way, I’m glad I had the chance to prove myself to you.”
“No. Nothing could be worth what it must have been like for you.”
Luke brought his right hand to Reid’s cheek. “I would have gone through a million times worse.” The corner of Luke’s mouth twitched. “Just do me a favor - next time you have a panic attack, don’t forget to think about brains.”
“My happy place is somewhat different now.”
Their eyes eventually unlocking, they resumed their previous postures of mutual melting. Luke’s world hummed. It was warm and sound and precious. Towers of cottony clouds beside the plane occasionally tempted his gaze away from their encircled fingers.
“Hang on, how did you find me?”
It took a moment for Luke to respond; he’d been captivated by the way Reid finished each word when he spoke, as if savoring the final consonant. “Huh? Oh, I heard you on the phone yesterday ordering a car. You said it was a 7 am flight from JFK.”
“Crafty. I didn’t see you at the gate - you must’ve cut it close.”
“I would have made it sooner if I hadn’t gambled on Jet Blue first.” Luke met Reid’s inquisitive look. “Seems there were two 7 am flights to Boston.”
“And you…”
“Had to try them both.”
“Ahh.” Reid’s arm tightened a touch. “So, that explains the…”
Luke pointed to his head, his lips pouting, his voice singsong. “Sad hair.”
“I’d say we could both do with a shower. It’s been a while. Lots of intervening activities.”
“Sounds like a plan. When’s your surgery?”
“10:30.”
Luke waggled his eyebrows. “So there’s time.” He nuzzled Reid’s neck. “But I kinda like the way you smell now.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to recreate it.”
“Mmm.” Luke’s voice dropped. “Are you…are you sore?”
“Well, it is to be expected. My fiancé has a massive cock.”
Luke turned his face into Reid’s neck to muffle the groan. Blindly, he reached for an in-flight magazine in the seat-pocket in front of him, opening it and laying it on his lap. “Oh Reid…”
“Did I say something?”
“Fuck, say it again.”
“Ooh, dirty…fiancé? Or cock?”
“Ungh.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific.”
Unfastening his seatbelt, Luke curled into Reid’s side, lifting the armrest, the magazine tumbling to the floor. He pressed his groin to Reid’s thigh.
“This is highly inappropriate behavior, Mr. Snyder,” Reid murmured against Luke’s hair. “Or should I say…future Mr. Oliver?”
“Aww motherfu-” Digging their joined hands into Reid’s thigh, Luke grasped Reid’s right arm, wrapping his fingers tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to minimize the humping. He was intensely grateful for the empty row across the aisle. “Reid…do you think we have time…” Luke flicked his tongue at the skin of Reid’s neck. “I mean, do you think it’s possible-”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our initial descent into the Boston area. At this time we would ask that you please return to your seats and ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened…”
Luke collapsed against Reid’s side. “Uhh.”
“Sorry, no mile-high club this time. Looks like you’re going to have to control yourself a little longer. And it’s highly unlikely we could’ve done anything under-the-radar on this particular flight.”
Luke whimpered weakly as he focused on regulating his breathing.
“Anyway, I think I’d prefer to be initiated on one of your many private jets.”
Still maintaining maximum contact, Luke shifted back into his seat and refastened his belt. “So…then you’re saying it would be another first for you?”
A ray of light from the opposite side of the plane lit Reid’s eyes like a shock of magnetic reconnection during a solar flare. “I have a feeling we still have plenty of those to come.”
Luke placed his head back in its home. His right hand reached around to play with the curl behind Reid’s ear.
“So does that mean you had to buy tickets for both flights?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good thing you’re rich.”
“And good thing I have such a great assistant. We owe Sabrina a dinner.”
“I see you’re inviting houseguests already.”
“Mmm.” Luke snuggled in. “So…honeymoon.”
“Ah yes, the upside to ceremony.”
“Beach? Mountains? Ooh, I know - bird-watching tour. You can defame species to your heart’s content.”
“I’ve always wanted to see the aurora borealis.”
“Mmm, cosmic. I’m thinking that feels right somehow. It’d be nice to go somewhere neither of us has been. We’d have to go north for that, right? Should probably do it before it gets too cold.”
“What happened to a long engagement?”
“That was before I knew what a secret romantic you were. Now there’s no reason not to make you mine immediately.”
“But won’t you need time to plan the giant wedding? I figure it’ll take a while to track down all the previously unrevealed half-siblings and presumed-dead relatives. And then there’s your side of the family.”
“I was thinking something simple. At the pond. We already have the caterers on speed dial.”
“I want Emma.”
“She can do the pies.”
“Fine…but I know what I want for the entertainment.”
“Oh, really?”
“Two words: hula hoop. Wait, two more: on fire. Think you can swing it?”
“Are we talking literally?”
“Indeed we are. I already know you have the talent. Hmm, though come to think of it, perhaps it’s better to save that for the honeymoon. I want you dancing only for me.”
His eyes flickering with caught light, Luke drew his hand from Reid’s curl to the corner of his mouth. “Only you.” Soft words landed on open lips. Their breath mingled, unseen eddies twirling as the distance between them dissolved. Their tongues duetted.
Lips slid apart slowly. The hand around Luke’s shoulder had lifted to embed itself in his hair. “We should spend Christmas in New York,” Reid whispered against Luke’s lips. “No, I suppose you’d want to be around your ridiculous family for that. New Year’s, then.”
Luke’s eyes lit.
“Banish all thoughts of Times Square from your mind.” Reid kissed Luke’s resulting pout. “I just find I have a yen to see Central Park in the snow.”
The pout was gone. “It can be magical, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. Though I suspect the magical ingredient might actually be you.” With a final kiss, this time on a smile, Reid re-tucked Luke against his side. “So what happened to my out?”
“Hmm? Should I pretend to know what you’re talking about?”
“After you answered the riddles…you were supposed to love me enough to give me another chance to behead you.”
“Mmm, kinky.”
“Focus, Luke. This is important. The future of the Chinese empire is at stake.”
“Well…if I remember you had to find out my name before dawn.”
“And you were supposed to be an idiot and give it to me.”
“I am definitely an idiot for loving you…but sorry - dawn deadline’s come and gone. The rules of opera demand that you marry me.”
“The rules of opera also call for singing full-voice while dying of tuberculosis. The rules of opera need work.”
“Don’t care. Holding you it.”
“Brat.”
“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”
“I do.” A quality in Reid’s voice prompted Luke to tilt his face up. Reid’s eyes were molten. “I love you, Luke. More than food. More than brains.”
“Yeah, right.” Luke tried to keep his voice light.
“Luke,” Reid’s grip and gaze pressed into him, “I would give my hands for you.” Luke’s eyes flitted down to where his left hand lay curled into the palm of Reid’s left hand, their fingers interleaved. Reid waited until Luke’s eyes returned. “No matter what happens…no matter how I try to mess this up…never doubt that.”
Luke felt the tears. Felt the lightness. Felt his polestar pulse. “So, does that mean you believe?”
The smile broke slowly, ultimately lighting Reid’s eyes, like a celestial sunrise transforming a ribbon of atmosphere into a halo of brilliant blue. “I believe.”
“May I please take your glasses gentlemen? We’re about to land.”
Still sharing stellar smiles, Luke and Reid passed the rest of their cider to the attendant. Luke leaned across Reid toward the window, enraptured by his first glimpse of the Boston skyline surrounded by sapphire water. He felt Reid vibrate.
“Why, Dr. Oliver, is that an illegally turned-on phone in your pocket or are you just that happy to see me?”
A smirk winking, Reid checked his phone. “Just a text about scheduling.”
“Lemme see.”
“Think I’m cheating already? Thought you were all about trust and whatnot.”
Luke grinned, quickly snatching the phone. “Exactly. So trust me.” He turned in his seat, away from the window, leaning his back against Reid’s side. Reid rested his palm at the nape of Luke’s neck, teasing his hair while looking out the window.
Reid had changed the photo. Luke saw his own face, eyes open, slightly overexposed. He saw the unmistakable expression, the unambiguous message. His smile once again testing the limits of his facial muscles, he opened Reid’s address book and began to scroll through the contacts.
Hmm, which name should I give myself? Hubby? Mr. Oliver? Luke paused, taking a moment to ride the wave of heat as it passed. Let’s see…Black-eyed Susan…Algae…Wet Walnuts… He was almost there. Magic Hands? Ooh, I know - Massive Cock.
He’d reached the “L”s. His name wasn’t there. Ohh. Right. He would have deleted my number. Of course. Wait, what about… His search of the “M”s came up empty as well, no “Mr. Snyder” - neither was there a "Snyder, Luke." Luke shook off the encroaching melancholy. That was the past. We’re writing a new story now.
Scanning the “L”s one last time, Luke was just about to create a new entry when he saw it. He checked the number to make sure. It was his. Mind and body arrested as he forgot to breathe, forgot to feel anything but the warmth of Reid’s hand against his neck, the soothe of his fingers. Luke stared at the name.
Love
She said his name was love.
~END~
Luke ran. Gripping bags above and below with firm fingers, he ran past the line of passengers, past the gate, past the shops and food court and restrooms. Past security and baggage claim, past too slowly sliding doors into still cool morning air.
He stepped into the path of a passing airport worker. “Delta - which terminal?”
The man leaned back, reacting to Luke as if a tornado had just touched down in front of him. “Uh, I believe all their flights leave from Terminal 4 now.”
“Which way?”
He pointed carefully to the left. “The airport shuttle leaves from over there.”
The man slipped away as Luke’s attention fixed on the empty shuttle stop, on the empty roadway - and then on the taxi stand across the narrow lane, empty of passengers but not of taxis. He rolled into motion and crossed the street.
The cab driver dropped his newspaper as Luke propelled himself and his bags into the backseat. “Yes, good morning, sir. Manhattan? Brooklyn?”
“Terminal 4.”
The driver’s accent thickened. “I’m sorry?”
“Terminal 4. Please go, now.”
“But sir…there is a free shuttle.”
“No time.”
“But there are set prices-”
Luke retrieved the last large bill from his wallet, extending his hand past the divider and into the front seat.
“Yes, sir.” The taxi pulled into the road.
Luke closed his eyes as the road curved; he deepened his breaths. He still felt it - the certainty, the cool wash of guiding light. He also felt the pain. Reid’s pain. Luke focused on keeping his inner tempos steady, opening his eyes only as he felt the cab slow.
“Terminal 4, sir.”
Without a word, Luke uncoiled from the backseat and targeted the terminal entrance. He looked down at his phone, retrieving the confirmation number for the second flight as he sped over smooth surfaces toward a row of self-service kiosks. The boarding pass printed successfully; there was still time. He ran to the short first-class security line, now grateful it had been the only type of seat available. After pulling off his shoes and emptying his pockets, he momentarily closed his eyes while waiting for the slow full-body scanner to screen each passenger, closing them again when it was his turn. He didn’t mind the exposure. There was nothing left to hide.
I’m coming, Reid.
“Excuse me, sir, is this your bag?”
Reaching for his luggage as it emerged from the x-ray machine, Luke realized the uniformed woman was speaking to him. He looked up to see her pointing to the tote bag.
“Uh, yes, is there a problem?”
“Please step over here, sir.” She moved to a table at the end of the conveyer belt. Her voice was large and sharp. “Please empty the bag.”
Ripples of anxiety pulsed through Luke’s aura of focused calm. Cool colors began to turn garish. “It’s a chess set.”
“Please empty your bag.”
Forcing shallow breaths down to previous depths, he lifted out the rosewood box and placed it in front of the woman, striving to appear and sound as non-threatening as possible. He landed in the vicinity of pleading. “Please…my flight’s about to take off.” He wished he’d brushed his hair.
“Open it.”
Steadying his hands, Luke unlatched the box, unfolding it to reveal orderly nestled pieces. “See? Just a chess set.”
The woman ran fingers tipped with nails painted black and silver along a row of maple before settling on a gleaming queen. She lifted it from its velvet bed. “Why is this so heavy?”
“Um, because it’s supposed to be. It’s weighted.”
“Weighted with what?”
Luke’s local atmosphere shifted quickly now, placid air masses dissipating under harsh light. Calm escaped on a sigh. “I have absolutely no idea.”
“Please step back, sir.”
Luke again applied force to his breaths, this time squeezing them through narrowed passages. He watched the woman reach under the counter for an explosives ‘sniffer’ cloth, which she rubbed around the base of the queen before temporarily returning it below to a detector. She then picked up a knight.
I almost made it to you.
Luke felt the pull more distantly now, as if the signal were trying to pass through metal, through lead. “Please, ma’am, I need to get on this flight. Someone’s waiting for me.”
The woman didn’t answer, simply worked through the pieces methodically, placing each on the counter in a line as she finished with them. Luke watched the flashing silver of her nails make ephemeral shapes in the air; he saw the outlines of shooting stars against black lacquer. Matching paired sparkles were clipped into her dark, smoothed-back hair, creating dissonance with her colorless demeanor.
“Did you purchase this yourself, sir, or was it given to you?”
The last wisps of equanimity floated just beyond his reach, carrying with them the will to lie. He dropped his head. “It was a gift.” His voice, also dropping, was saturated with equal parts resignation and longing. “From someone I love.”
Luke closed his eyes again, trying to recapture the calm, to secure the slender but still tangible cord of connection. It’s OK. I’ll just get on the next flight. What’s another overpriced last-minute first-class ticket? I’ll have Sabrina try to track down his address while I head for the hospital to wait until he’s done with his surgery. It’s just a few hours difference. Just a few more hours of fortress-building. A few more hours spent in pain.
Reid.
What Luke didn’t see was the woman’s movements becoming progressively slower as she passed the cloth over each piece, her fingers skimming the silky grain and precise edging. She picked up the white king.
“You should marry her.”
Luke opened his eyes. “Excuse me?”
“The woman who gave this to you. She’s a keeper.” She rubbed her thumb up the slope of the king. The jagged peaks of her voice had weathered into blunter edges - less Andes, more Appalachians. “Makes me wish I knew something about chess.”
The light from Luke’s polestar winked. “You’re right - he is a keeper.” The woman looked up, the blankness of her expression filling in like an etch-a-sketch. Luke leaned forward. “And he’s on that plane, right now, thinking I’m not coming. Thinking that we’re not meant to be. And it’s slowly killing him.”
Luke didn’t breathe, didn’t blink. He drew back the curtains, let her see in, showed her a whirlwind slideshow of past regrets, present purpose, future fulfillment. Aimed the urgency in his eyes into her opaqueness, past the boredom and dissatisfaction. The image appearing on her face gradually resolved; Luke could see his own likeness, a blurred but discernable reflection of the faith, of the belief emanating from him like a corona.
“Guess you’d better catch that plane.”
She briskly repacked the pieces; Luke’s fingers brushed silver stars as he took the tote bag from her outstretched hand. The brilliancy of his smile made them sparkle.
__________________________________________________
“Wait!” The crack of Luke’s voice whipped off the wall of windows and snapped the head of the gate agent in the process of closing the boarding door. “I’m coming!”
Luke’s full-speed momentum was too much at the end, his rolling suitcase clipping the back of his heels as he stopped in front of the female agent, the hand holding his ticket headed for a handful of breast before a last-minute adjustment landed it more safely on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” panted Luke. He held out the crumpled ticket. “Please…one more.”
The woman paused, her scrutiny making Luke feel more bedraggled than ever. It was as if he were standing under a beam of ultraviolet light, as if she could see the dried fluids on his clothes and skin.
He didn’t care. So fucking close. “Please. Please.” He backed up slightly so as to stop gasping directly into her face. His eyes openly begged.
She took the ticket. “We’ve been paging you, Mr. Snyder,” she said, looking down at the creased paper. “We almost left without you.”
“I’m…hard…to shake,” he wheezed.
She cracked under his crooked smile, her own dimples emerging as she scanned the ticket and then moved to the door, opening it wide enough for him to pass. “Enjoy the flight.”
Luke accelerated through the walkway as if it were pitched on a steep downward slant. The pull was strengthening. He slowed as he approached the open plane door, attempted to gather scattered energies. This was real. Reid is here.
He barely heard the male attendant direct him to his seat, didn’t remember lifting his suitcase overhead. His eyes were busy scanning - as he passed the first-class rows, as he craned his neck around the female attendant blocking his view into the coach cabin.
She turned toward him, pushing him back into first class. “Please take your seat, sir - we’re about to depart.” Luke let himself be pushed, reluctantly allowing that now was probably not the time. He sat on the wide leather aisle seat of his empty row, buckled in but twisted backward, systematically scouring what was visible of the rows behind. Just as the plane lurched away from the gate, Luke saw a black pant leg, a black sleeve - there, on the aisle, is that-? - at which point the attendant unlatched the divider curtain, cutting off Luke’s view.
The seatbelt cut into his abdomen as Luke strained toward the back of the plane, as if he could reach the curtain from his seat. Just a glimpse. I just need to see him. He wrenched back around on an exhalation, fitting himself against the back of the seat, hands crushing the armrests. A stream of air from above dried a patch of sweat at his hairline. His heart wriggled like a trapped ferret, repeatedly hurling itself against his ribs, trying to escape, to scamper down the aisle, to find him. The plane turned, then turned again, the droning of the engines intensifying, the beat frequency reverberating in the spaces of his mind and body, between thoughts and cells and atoms. He twisted around again, willing the curtain to move. And it did - the female attendant’s frozen blond hair poked through. The male attendant joined her from the front of the plane; he held back the curtain with his shoulder while together they grappled with an overhead compartment. Luke ducked his head down, around, angling for a view back to that aisle seat, on the opposite side, in the exit row…
Reid was there. Luke felt the tug, as if a fish had been caught on a line connected to his chest. As if it had pulled away a portion of the Brooklyn Bridge that had become trapped there, pressing down the entire time, a stopper plugging up the light of his polestar. As the male attendant continued working with the compartment, the woman walked down the aisle. She stopped at Reid’s row. At that moment the male attendant’s body shifted, blocking Luke’s sightline; Luke unbuckled his belt and crouched lower, half out of his seat, finding a vantage point in time to see the woman bending over Reid, speaking to him, motioning to his lap. It wasn’t until she touched his shoulder that Reid looked up and seemed to register what she was saying. Luke saw Reid feel beside himself for the ends of the seatbelt. Saw him grimace as he shifted in his seat, buckling and tightening. Saw him return to his previous still state. To his blankness. The woman continued down the aisle. The man, finally finished with the compartment, let the curtain drop.
Luke faced forward again, gutted. For he realized it hadn't been blankness he’d seen, but emptiness. Vacancy. The death shadow after an atomic blast, etched into the sidewalk - the outline of a human form, an impression of death. Luke was almost glad he hadn’t been close enough to see his eyes.
What have I done?
No - this wasn’t Luke’s doing, not this time. Not completely, anyway. The psychic (and now physical) pain, the haunted depths of the fear - of loss, of betrayal - Luke would always carry some responsibility for those (you break it, you buy it). But the rest, the current manifestation - this was the aftermath of an extreme event; this was coral bleaching on an epic scale. This was why Luke had felt the urgency, why he’d needed to find Reid now, before the aftershocks could do any further damage.
How can I fix this?
Luke already had an idea. He just needed to trust in his inner directives, in the bond - perhaps a bit frayed at Reid’s end at the moment, but still cosmically secure. As if it would take more than a single panic attack to sever it. As if even in death, neither man could be persuaded to let go.
Luke was pressed back into his seat as the plane left the ground. He was fixed in place for the time being, left to his thoughts and plans, engines thrumming around and within, awakening aches (I feel you, Reid). He was also left to old insecurities, flashes of doubt - who am I compared to him, how could he possibly want to share his life with me - but they were less compelling now, more easily subdued. Luke knew he might not always understand why he and Reid worked, only that they did. He knew in his core there was no other outcome. He believed.
And Reid would, too. He almost had, almost did. Luke suspected he didn’t need to stop pushing; instead he needed to convince Reid that it was safe to let himself be pushed.
Now if only the seatbelt light would-
Ding
Luke was unlatched and out of his seat in seconds. With similarly focused movements he moved into the aisle and lifted the overhead-compartment door, reaching in to unzip his suitcase and retrieve the black toiletry bag. Closing the door he turned down the aisle - only to be thwarted by a beverage cart that had materialized in front of him.
Really?
Luke checked the angles and estimated distances, grudgingly accepting that he was just going to have to wait until the cart had passed Reid’s row. He stood at the curtain, folding it back just enough to see the bleak beauty of Reid’s face, the absolute stillness. The profound absence. Luke doubted that, had he even been in his line of sight, Reid would have noticed him.
I’m coming.
Luke was convinced there were glaciers in the world advancing more quickly than was this beverage service. He had to hold himself back from offering to help. At last, the cart reached Reid’s row. Again, Reid didn’t respond to the attendant. Though he did finally move - he eased his phone out of his pocket, looking down at it while the attendant reached over to hand a drink to the woman sitting by the window. Reid then bent and lifted a bag from under the seat in front of him, placing it on the empty middle seat beside. He unzipped and began to rummage, swiveling his body toward the window - away from the aisle, away from an approaching Luke. Reid’s movements became increasingly frantic as he searched the bag. He started to pull out clothing.
“Yeah, you forgot something.”
All motion ceased. Reid’s hands froze where they were, deep in the bag, as if he’d just discovered a bomb while operating. Marginally faster than a glacier, Reid pivoted his torso around, stopping before facing Luke fully. He looked at Luke’s chest, at his face - dropping his gaze quickly to the small black bag Luke was holding out.
Reid closed his eyes.
Of all the possible scenarios, Luke hadn’t anticipated this one. He wavered. Is he waiting for me to go away? He stayed, lowering the bag to his waist but otherwise not moving. He waited. He wished he hadn’t seen the limits of visible space in Reid’s eyes just then, the crush of infinite density. Wished he didn’t now have proof that gravitational collapse had been mutual that morning.
Reid broke the silence with a shudder. His eyes were still closed as he expelled a broken breath, as chest and shoulders rose and fell in fits and starts. As his eyelashes darkened, channeling rivulets over taut planes.
He’s…crying.
Lost in transfixion, Luke crouched beside Reid’s seat. He rested the bag on the armrest.
“Sir, I’m sorry, but you can’t stay there. You’ll have to-”
Luke’s stricken face stopped the female attendant. His eyes asked for time. The woman backed away.
By now Reid’s eyes were open. He didn’t notice, perhaps didn’t care about the tears. His focus was the bag - without touching Luke’s hands, Reid took the bag and rested it on his lap. He placed his hands across the top, across the zipper, much as Luke had done earlier that morning. He squeezed gently.
“You opened it.” Reid’s voice was rusty.
Luke’s voice was tender. “I did.”
Though the tears had tapered off, Reid didn’t look up.
“Doesn’t quite seem fair - as mementos go, I think I got the better deal,” said Luke. “Even the security lady was impressed.” Reid lifted unfocused eyes, blinking away the wetness. “The chess set,” Luke continued. “Wins against a flower any day.” The tension in Reid’s face lessened slightly. Luke lightly brushed his fingers against the back of Reid’s hand, perching them there. “But we’re beyond mementos now, right?”
On a sharp inward breath, Reid turned his head away, facing forward, once more closing his eyes. His hand remained as it was. A man brushed past Luke on his way to the restroom. The woman in the window seat appeared to be asleep with headphones, her drink forgotten. Luke noticed neither of these things.
“You came.” Reid’s words were ragged. They unraveled as soon as they left his lips.
“Repeatedly.”
Reid turned his head sharply, opening his eyes. Luke’s were waiting, soft and light.
“Ah, so that’s what this is about?” Reid sounded slightly more of himself now.
“Reid,” Luke paused as Reid’s eyes briefly shut, “if we never had sex again, I would still be here.”
The look in Reid’s eyes reminded Luke of their time under the stone bridge in Central Park, when it seemed as if Reid were finally allowing himself to see Luke.
“But that would be…tragic.”
Luke smiled, flattening his hand against Reid’s. Squeezing. Reid slowly lifted his other hand from the top of the bag and covered Luke’s.
“Luke.” Reid paused, as if momentarily lost.
“Reid.”
Reid closed his eyes again; he seemed to be breathing in the breath that had borne his name. “You’re really here.” Luke’s grip tightened. Now Reid’s open eyes were moving over Luke’s features. “I’m not sure about the hair, though. Not your best look.”
Luke pinched Reid’s arm. “I had other priorities.”
Reid’s almost-smile slid into something sadder. He looked down. “Luke…‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t even begin to cover it. I…I just…”
“Freaked out?”
“Would be an understatement. It was…”
“Intense? Too much?”
Reid met Luke’s eyes. “It was everything. It was the universe. I was offered the entire universe. And I just…I couldn’t risk losing it.”
Luke nodded. His eyes were wet. “So you couldn’t risk having it.”
Their layered hands tightened. Luke rested the side of his head against Reid’s; Reid pressed back.
“I was dead without you. I was dead.” Reid whispered against Luke’s skin. “It was too late…the infection had spread too far. I’d forgotten I couldn’t survive without my algae.” Luke lifted his free hand around Reid’s neck, into his hair. Reid’s grip on Luke’s other hand burned. “I believe time of death happened somewhere over the Brooklyn Bridge.”
Luke pulled back. “Then why didn’t you turn around? Why didn’t you come back?” Tears had slipped out of the corner of Luke’s eye. Reid intercepted them with his thumb.
“I thought it was too late. If you’d woken up…after everything…after everything you’d given me…everything I’d promised…I didn’t think there’d be any coming back from that. I was sure I would have lost you.”
“Then you’re an idiot. How could you possibly think that? Reid, what did I tell you? I said I’d never let you go again. Did you really think I wouldn’t come after you?” Luke’s voice lost some of its steam. “Because I didn’t last time?”
Reid’s palm fit against Luke’s cheek. “I thought I would have hurt you too badly.”
“Didn’t compare to what I’d done to you.”
“Luke…I asked you to live with me.”
“I know. And I know you didn’t do it for the right reasons.”
“What? Luke-”
“No, it’s OK - I know you did it out of fear, because you were afraid that if you didn’t hold onto me that I would disappear. I pushed you into it.”
“Luke, no-”
“I did. And I’m going to keep pushing.” Luke moved his hands to Reid’s waist. He unbuckled the seatbelt. Standing, he grasped Reid’s upper arms; with a cautiously confused look, Reid let himself be lifted, let himself be pulled into the aisle until they were standing facing each other. Luke’s voice was low but clear. “I’m going to push because this is right. We're right. And maybe it's been only a day and a half, but even a non-medical-genius can figure out the prognosis - that it's no use for either of us to try to make a life without the other. I think it's been made pretty clear that the last three years have been kind of a disaster for both of us.”
Reid had reverted to stillness. To watchful waiting. The tension in Reid’s arms traveled into Luke’s fingers and up through his own arms. But he kept his core calm. He held on. “So now it comes down to trust. Trust that I'm never going to disappear. That I'm never not going to follow you. Trust that this,” he gingerly touched Reid’s frozen cheek, “that what we have is never going to be taken away from you. From either of us. And though you’re probably not going to like it, I know of one good way to reassure you of that.” Luke lowered his hand from Reid’s face, running it down Reid’s left arm to his hand.
Luke knelt on one knee.
Immediately, Reid tried to pull Luke to his feet, pressing his other hand against the back of Luke’s shoulder. “Luke, no…get up. Don't do this. Not just because you think it's the only way to-”
Luke resisted, tugging firmly on Reid’s hand, settling squarely on his knee. “Will you stop, please? I'm trying to embarrass myself here.” He blocked out the murmur rising around them. “I'm doing this because I've been dreaming about being with you for over three years. Constantly, vividly. You’ve been everywhere - in my thoughts, on my desktop…you’ve never not been with me, Reid. I’m doing this because I want it for real now. I want to wake up.” Luke was conscious of the firm warmth of Reid’s hand, of the careful cool of his eyes. “I'm doing this because you're it for me. You're my first love - my first true love, now that I finally know what that is. And I think it’s safe to say that you’re going to be my last. You're everything - you're my universe. You're the alpha and omega. You're my yedina kohanya.” Luke waited for the gleam of comprehension, for the moment of embarrassment - followed by the smirk. “That's right.” Luke smiled. He rubbed across Reid’s knuckles with his thumb. “There's only you.” Reid’s hand relaxed in Luke’s, even if his eyes still revealed little.
“And this isn't a fear-based move, Reid. Trust me,” Luke flashed a crooked smile, “I've done that. I don't want my defining moment to have been one of fear. I want it to be one of faith. I have faith in us, Reid. I have enough for both of us. I love you.” His eyes were lit with galactic fire. “And I answered the riddles, so now you have no choice but to marry me.” His smile was blinding. Hopeful. “Marry me, Reid.”
Reid’s expression remained frustratingly blank, his eyes fiercely inscrutable. But Luke saw the sheen, like a liquid film over blue arctic ice in spring melt. “Luke, stand up, please.”
Again, Luke resisted. “No, not until you believe. Now, I know you're not a fan of weddings, so I'm actually fine with just being engaged. That's commitment enough for me. I just want to belong to you. As officially as possible. And there is nothing in this universe that I wouldn’t give to know that the great Dr. Oliver belongs to me. To know that we will always be in each other’s orbits. Of course, this whole proposal would have been more impressive had I had time to pick out rings-”
“You can use these.”
Speechless, Luke watched Reid’s right hand emerge from the front pocket of his jeans holding a silver chain. Two bands dangled at the bottom. Reid handed the chain to Luke.
“What…?” Luke fingered the rings. He looked up at Reid. “When?”
“When do you think?”
Horror crept in as befuddlement retreated. “No…not…not that last day?” Reid nodded. “Oh my Go…” Luke almost choked on his breath. “Reid, that night…you weren't going to…"
One peak of Reid’s top lip lifted. “No, nothing like that. It wasn't quite that bad. I just…after we left the pond, when I was getting supplies for that night, I passed one of those shops that I’d never previously registered as existing…but there I was, looking at those in the window. And it was like I saw your reflection there, like I saw that smile…and next thing you know, I was the proud if slightly shell-shocked owner of wedding rings. I was going to wait the appropriate amount of time, of course. Wait until you were under my sexual thrall.”
Befuddlement launched a counterattack. “You mean, back then…you really…I thought you hated the idea of ceremony and vows-”
“I did. But I loved you. And little did I know what that would mean. What that would make me want.”
“But…but then, why…why do you…?”
“Why do I happen to have them in my pocket three years later?” The curve of Reid’s lips was tinged with darkness. “Probably for the same reason I kept your picture on my phone. Because, apparently, I'm a masochist when it comes to you. And so I'd never forget my weakness, how I wasn't enough for you. So I'd never forget what it felt like to lose. To lose everything that counts.”
Luke realized his grip on Reid’s hand must have been causing pain. He loosened but didn’t let go. “OK. Right.” Luke stood and released Reid’s hand. “Here’s how it’s gonna go. We're going to forget all that nonsense and go back to what it meant when you first bought them.” He wiped at the tears that were interfering with his efforts to undo the chain’s small, stiff clasp. “And you can also forget what I said about just being engaged - clearly, my powers are greater than I ever realized. I'm going to be expecting a full-on wedding now. Lucky we’ll be living in Massachusetts.”
With the chain finally open, Luke slid the rings into his palm. Marveling at how little his hands were shaking, he chose the slightly smaller of the rings and reached for Reid’s left hand. He didn’t look up into Reid’s eyes until the ring was halfway on.
He saw the arctic ice had broken.
“You seem to be taking certain matters for granted.”
“Oh, you've already said yes. You said yes the moment you bought these rings.” Luke lifted his right hand toward Reid, palm up, lone ring resting. “And obviously I said yes the moment I proposed.”
Head tilted slightly back, Reid regarded Luke with eyes that were rapidly melting into summer seas. Holding Luke’s gaze, Reid reached for both the ring and Luke’s left hand. Sure and steady, his eyes still fixed on Luke’s, he slipped it into place. His hands held Luke’s hand. Reid blinked once, slowly, lids lifting to reveal a radiance capable of causing continental thaw.
“Marry me.”
Luke was sure his answering smile had transformative properties of its own. At the very least it lightened the shadows lingering on Reid’s face.
“So that's it, then? It's over?” Reid’s thumb rubbed Luke’s band.
Luke brought his other hand back up to Reid’s cheek. He stepped closer, leaning in, twisting his grin to match a playfully dramatic whisper. “No, Reid, it's just beginning.”
Luke didn’t stand a chance. The subtle shift in stance, the flash of wickedness - had Luke’s circuitry been less overloaded, he might have recognized the warnings. But he still would have lost the match. Because it wasn’t until his world had tilted and there existed only the certainty of Reid’s arms and lips that he realized his life would always be securely unexpected. That there were no more landmines, no more asteroids - they’d completed the gauntlet. That though he might never be entirely able to predict Reid’s moves, Luke realized he’d come to relish being off-balance. And not only had he mastered a few new moves of his own, but he and Reid were finally playing as one team.
As Luke was righted smoothly, he realized other things as well - that most of the passengers had rearranged themselves to watch the show, overtly or otherwise, that several were still applauding.
That the female flight attendant was standing directly behind Reid. “I'm sorry, sirs? Congratulations, but you're really going to have to take your seats, now.” Two more realizations quickly followed - first, that she was motioning toward the first-class cabin and second, that evidently a life of surprises was only just beginning: Reid kissed the back of her hand. Her resulting blush was, so far, the only part of the past day and a half that Luke had been able to see coming.
__________________________________________________
“So you're still moving in, right?”
Reid sat by the window, his right arm solid around Luke’s shoulder. Luke’s head rested in the slope of Reid’s neck, his eyes on their clasped left hands resting on Reid’s thigh.
“Still moving in. Porn, products and all.” The pulsing thrum of the engines harmonized with their heartbeats. “That whole thing was pretty mortifying, wasn’t it? All those people looking at us? Bet you hated it. Bet you blocked it all out.”
“Eh, I’m sure someone’s already put it on youtube by now. I’ll catch up later. Figure out what the heck I’m doing with this darn ring on my hand.”
“Excuse me,” the female flight attendant stood by their row holding two flutes. “The captain and the rest of the flight crew would like to offer you champagne. That was the first proposal for any of us.”
Reid smiled. “Yes, thank you - but would you have sparkling cider instead?”
“Of course, sir, just a moment.” She withdrew toward the front of the plane.
Luke lifted his head. “You know you didn’t have to do that. You don’t have to be careful around me. I’m stronger than you think.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that.” The hand around Luke’s shoulder moved to play with a stiff whorl of hair at Luke’s temple. “I just find I’ve recently lost my taste for experiencing things alone.”
Luke let the smile sweep over him before leaning in to brush his lips against Reid’s. The tips of their tongues grazed. Luke resettled his head on Reid’s shoulder.
“So, did you really just propose to me, Mr. Snyder?”
“I certainly did. And to be honest it was kind of an epiphany when I realized I didn’t have to wait for someone to ask me.”
“You don’t say. Was there lightning involved? Hail, perhaps?”
“Just being around you seems to do it. I finally feel like the man I’m supposed to be.” Luke watched their entwined left hands rock gently as his thumb ran rhythmically over Reid’s platinum band, his own catching the strengthening sunlight. “Did you really carry around these rings in your pocket for three years?”
“Yup.”
Luke cocked a brow. “And you wondered why you couldn’t be with anyone else?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.” Luke could hear Reid’s grin. “And it was suggested to me at one point that it might not have been helping the situation.” Luke angled his neck, peering up. “Like I said, I got checked out. Once I finally found a doctor who wasn’t hopelessly bush-league.”
“But of course you didn’t listen.”
“Of course not. Anyway, I wasn’t ready to let you go. Even if it did cause the junior Oliver considerable unhappiness.”
“I’ll have to be sure to make it up to him.”
“Sounds like an excellent use of your time. When you’re not funding hospital wings for the young and disenfranchised, that is.”
“You totally googled me.”
The shoulder under Luke’s head lifted briefly. “It was my responsibility to keep track of potential funding sources. I did think you were still running the foundation from LA, though.”
“LA never felt like home.”
“And what are your feelings on Boston?”
“Well, considering my heart has already been there for years, I’d say they’re pretty positive. Go Red Sox.”
“Hmph.”
“Go Celtics?”
“I suppose I could use some company rooting against the Lakers.”
“Never liked ’em.”
The flight attendant returned. “Your cider, gentlemen. And again - congratulations.”
“Thanks!” Luke turned his wattage from the woman to Reid, touching their glasses. “To the Celtics. And to Alex.”
“Hmm…I suppose he should get a modicum of credit. But best to keep that to ourselves.”
“He does grow on you.”
“Like a fungus.”
“Like the fungus that makes penicillin.” Sipping his cider, Luke relished the smile he’d coaxed. “And he did help me out this morning when I was desperate. Let me have his taxi.”
“Oh, I’m sure he loved that.”
“Actually, he was pretty gracious about the whole thing.”
The arm around Luke’s shoulder tightened as Reid turned his head into Luke’s hair. “Luke…I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”
“It was worth it. And…in a way, I’m glad I had the chance to prove myself to you.”
“No. Nothing could be worth what it must have been like for you.”
Luke brought his right hand to Reid’s cheek. “I would have gone through a million times worse.” The corner of Luke’s mouth twitched. “Just do me a favor - next time you have a panic attack, don’t forget to think about brains.”
“My happy place is somewhat different now.”
Their eyes eventually unlocking, they resumed their previous postures of mutual melting. Luke’s world hummed. It was warm and sound and precious. Towers of cottony clouds beside the plane occasionally tempted his gaze away from their encircled fingers.
“Hang on, how did you find me?”
It took a moment for Luke to respond; he’d been captivated by the way Reid finished each word when he spoke, as if savoring the final consonant. “Huh? Oh, I heard you on the phone yesterday ordering a car. You said it was a 7 am flight from JFK.”
“Crafty. I didn’t see you at the gate - you must’ve cut it close.”
“I would have made it sooner if I hadn’t gambled on Jet Blue first.” Luke met Reid’s inquisitive look. “Seems there were two 7 am flights to Boston.”
“And you…”
“Had to try them both.”
“Ahh.” Reid’s arm tightened a touch. “So, that explains the…”
Luke pointed to his head, his lips pouting, his voice singsong. “Sad hair.”
“I’d say we could both do with a shower. It’s been a while. Lots of intervening activities.”
“Sounds like a plan. When’s your surgery?”
“10:30.”
Luke waggled his eyebrows. “So there’s time.” He nuzzled Reid’s neck. “But I kinda like the way you smell now.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to recreate it.”
“Mmm.” Luke’s voice dropped. “Are you…are you sore?”
“Well, it is to be expected. My fiancé has a massive cock.”
Luke turned his face into Reid’s neck to muffle the groan. Blindly, he reached for an in-flight magazine in the seat-pocket in front of him, opening it and laying it on his lap. “Oh Reid…”
“Did I say something?”
“Fuck, say it again.”
“Ooh, dirty…fiancé? Or cock?”
“Ungh.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific.”
Unfastening his seatbelt, Luke curled into Reid’s side, lifting the armrest, the magazine tumbling to the floor. He pressed his groin to Reid’s thigh.
“This is highly inappropriate behavior, Mr. Snyder,” Reid murmured against Luke’s hair. “Or should I say…future Mr. Oliver?”
“Aww motherfu-” Digging their joined hands into Reid’s thigh, Luke grasped Reid’s right arm, wrapping his fingers tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to minimize the humping. He was intensely grateful for the empty row across the aisle. “Reid…do you think we have time…” Luke flicked his tongue at the skin of Reid’s neck. “I mean, do you think it’s possible-”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our initial descent into the Boston area. At this time we would ask that you please return to your seats and ensure that your seatbelts are securely fastened…”
Luke collapsed against Reid’s side. “Uhh.”
“Sorry, no mile-high club this time. Looks like you’re going to have to control yourself a little longer. And it’s highly unlikely we could’ve done anything under-the-radar on this particular flight.”
Luke whimpered weakly as he focused on regulating his breathing.
“Anyway, I think I’d prefer to be initiated on one of your many private jets.”
Still maintaining maximum contact, Luke shifted back into his seat and refastened his belt. “So…then you’re saying it would be another first for you?”
A ray of light from the opposite side of the plane lit Reid’s eyes like a shock of magnetic reconnection during a solar flare. “I have a feeling we still have plenty of those to come.”
Luke placed his head back in its home. His right hand reached around to play with the curl behind Reid’s ear.
“So does that mean you had to buy tickets for both flights?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Good thing you’re rich.”
“And good thing I have such a great assistant. We owe Sabrina a dinner.”
“I see you’re inviting houseguests already.”
“Mmm.” Luke snuggled in. “So…honeymoon.”
“Ah yes, the upside to ceremony.”
“Beach? Mountains? Ooh, I know - bird-watching tour. You can defame species to your heart’s content.”
“I’ve always wanted to see the aurora borealis.”
“Mmm, cosmic. I’m thinking that feels right somehow. It’d be nice to go somewhere neither of us has been. We’d have to go north for that, right? Should probably do it before it gets too cold.”
“What happened to a long engagement?”
“That was before I knew what a secret romantic you were. Now there’s no reason not to make you mine immediately.”
“But won’t you need time to plan the giant wedding? I figure it’ll take a while to track down all the previously unrevealed half-siblings and presumed-dead relatives. And then there’s your side of the family.”
“I was thinking something simple. At the pond. We already have the caterers on speed dial.”
“I want Emma.”
“She can do the pies.”
“Fine…but I know what I want for the entertainment.”
“Oh, really?”
“Two words: hula hoop. Wait, two more: on fire. Think you can swing it?”
“Are we talking literally?”
“Indeed we are. I already know you have the talent. Hmm, though come to think of it, perhaps it’s better to save that for the honeymoon. I want you dancing only for me.”
His eyes flickering with caught light, Luke drew his hand from Reid’s curl to the corner of his mouth. “Only you.” Soft words landed on open lips. Their breath mingled, unseen eddies twirling as the distance between them dissolved. Their tongues duetted.
Lips slid apart slowly. The hand around Luke’s shoulder had lifted to embed itself in his hair. “We should spend Christmas in New York,” Reid whispered against Luke’s lips. “No, I suppose you’d want to be around your ridiculous family for that. New Year’s, then.”
Luke’s eyes lit.
“Banish all thoughts of Times Square from your mind.” Reid kissed Luke’s resulting pout. “I just find I have a yen to see Central Park in the snow.”
The pout was gone. “It can be magical, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. Though I suspect the magical ingredient might actually be you.” With a final kiss, this time on a smile, Reid re-tucked Luke against his side. “So what happened to my out?”
“Hmm? Should I pretend to know what you’re talking about?”
“After you answered the riddles…you were supposed to love me enough to give me another chance to behead you.”
“Mmm, kinky.”
“Focus, Luke. This is important. The future of the Chinese empire is at stake.”
“Well…if I remember you had to find out my name before dawn.”
“And you were supposed to be an idiot and give it to me.”
“I am definitely an idiot for loving you…but sorry - dawn deadline’s come and gone. The rules of opera demand that you marry me.”
“The rules of opera also call for singing full-voice while dying of tuberculosis. The rules of opera need work.”
“Don’t care. Holding you it.”
“Brat.”
“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”
“I do.” A quality in Reid’s voice prompted Luke to tilt his face up. Reid’s eyes were molten. “I love you, Luke. More than food. More than brains.”
“Yeah, right.” Luke tried to keep his voice light.
“Luke,” Reid’s grip and gaze pressed into him, “I would give my hands for you.” Luke’s eyes flitted down to where his left hand lay curled into the palm of Reid’s left hand, their fingers interleaved. Reid waited until Luke’s eyes returned. “No matter what happens…no matter how I try to mess this up…never doubt that.”
Luke felt the tears. Felt the lightness. Felt his polestar pulse. “So, does that mean you believe?”
The smile broke slowly, ultimately lighting Reid’s eyes, like a celestial sunrise transforming a ribbon of atmosphere into a halo of brilliant blue. “I believe.”
“May I please take your glasses gentlemen? We’re about to land.”
Still sharing stellar smiles, Luke and Reid passed the rest of their cider to the attendant. Luke leaned across Reid toward the window, enraptured by his first glimpse of the Boston skyline surrounded by sapphire water. He felt Reid vibrate.
“Why, Dr. Oliver, is that an illegally turned-on phone in your pocket or are you just that happy to see me?”
A smirk winking, Reid checked his phone. “Just a text about scheduling.”
“Lemme see.”
“Think I’m cheating already? Thought you were all about trust and whatnot.”
Luke grinned, quickly snatching the phone. “Exactly. So trust me.” He turned in his seat, away from the window, leaning his back against Reid’s side. Reid rested his palm at the nape of Luke’s neck, teasing his hair while looking out the window.
Reid had changed the photo. Luke saw his own face, eyes open, slightly overexposed. He saw the unmistakable expression, the unambiguous message. His smile once again testing the limits of his facial muscles, he opened Reid’s address book and began to scroll through the contacts.
Hmm, which name should I give myself? Hubby? Mr. Oliver? Luke paused, taking a moment to ride the wave of heat as it passed. Let’s see…Black-eyed Susan…Algae…Wet Walnuts… He was almost there. Magic Hands? Ooh, I know - Massive Cock.
He’d reached the “L”s. His name wasn’t there. Ohh. Right. He would have deleted my number. Of course. Wait, what about… His search of the “M”s came up empty as well, no “Mr. Snyder” - neither was there a "Snyder, Luke." Luke shook off the encroaching melancholy. That was the past. We’re writing a new story now.
Scanning the “L”s one last time, Luke was just about to create a new entry when he saw it. He checked the number to make sure. It was his. Mind and body arrested as he forgot to breathe, forgot to feel anything but the warmth of Reid’s hand against his neck, the soothe of his fingers. Luke stared at the name.
Love
She said his name was love.
~END~