Reconstruction - Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reid rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Another restless night. He pulled the covers off and laid there for a few moments before he decided to get up. He was already awake, he might as well get something to eat. He padded downstairs and into the kitchen. The house was so quiet, peaceful. He used to like this time of night. Just after one am. The town was just settling down for the night. Since Luke was gone, he hated the night the most. He felt lonely, well he always felt lonely, but it was worst at night. On some level he knew that he should move on. Try to start a relationship again, but he just couldn’t find the will. Luke was the first person he even wanted to try building a relationship with. Luke was it for him. And the odds of finding another like him were slim to none. Even after a year since his death, he couldn’t. Katie, bless her heart, had tried to set him up with a few guys, but they never went past the first few dates. Katie was the only one who knew that he had loved Luke and she felt awful for Reid; never able to tell Luke the truth.
He pulled open the fridge and grabbed the milk. A bowl of cereal sounded good. He poured the milk and cereal into a bowl and ate standing up in the kitchen. All he could hear was the hum of the refrigerator and the crunch of his Honey Bunches of Oats. When he was done, he rinsed out the bowl, put the milk away, and decided to try to go back to bed.
But he stopped halfway to the stairs. Something wasn’t right.
He backpedaled back to the fridge and looked at the scrap of paper taped to the door. It was an announcement for a play that Ethan’s school was having. The fifth grade class’ production of Jack and the Beanstalk. Reid switched on the lights on the wall next to the fridge. The lights in the living room glowed suddenly and he scanned everything. The writing desk was next to the front door. A framed black and white photo of the pond hung over the fireplace. The huge brown leather sofa sat in front of the TV with X-Box controllers sitting on the coffee table. Reid ran upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time. He plowed into his bedroom and yanked the closet door open. Both sides had clothes hanging, with his side neatly put away while the other was an orderly chaos. Reid dashed into the bathroom and flicked the lights on. There were two kinds of toothpaste, mouthwash, and aftershave on the edge of the sink. He couldn’t believe it. He ran back downstairs and saw a brown envelope sitting on the dining room table. The addressee was blank with Tom Hughes Esq. listed as the return address.
He grabbed his jacket, threw on a pair of tennis shoes, and ran out of the house. He just started running. He was nearly five miles away but didn’t want to wait to start a car. Plus he wasn’t sure it was safe for him to be behind the wheel. He reached their door and knocked on the glass pane. His breaths were coming out in hard pants. He hadn’t run like that since he lived in Dallas. His stomach was cramping and wanted to empty its contents on the front stoop, but he had more important things to distract him. He knocked again harder and rang the bell. He saw the lights in the living room come on. He saw her through the window as she came into view and opened the door.
“Reid? What are you doing?” Lily asked, her face was a mix of worry and confusion.
“I need to see him Lily,”
“Reid, I just got Ethan and his friends to go to sleep. Everyone is asleep,” she said, cinching her robe closed against the cold outside.
“Lily. Please,” he pleaded.
“Ok. Just, please be quiet,” she stepped aside and Reid rushed past her. He was through the living room and bounded up the stairs before she even closed the door. She locked the door, shut off the lights and went back to bed. Hoping that he her son would be all right.
Reid stood outside his bedroom door and took a couple deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Reid could see he was asleep, lying on his left side; the comforter was pulled all the way up to his ear. His blonde hair was sticking up and over the edge of the blanket. As Reid stepped closer he could see the moonlight streaming through the window; casting a soft glow on his face. Reid kneeled next to the bed, his chest level with the blonde. His hands shaking, he carefully brushed the hair off his face. He watched Luke for a few moments. His chest rising and falling. His eyelids were fluttering softly. He felt the silky blonde strands sliding through his fingers. Luke stirred slightly and his eyelids slowly opened. He flinched and gasped when his eyes focused on someone next to his bed.
“Jesus! Reid! What are you…?”
Reid didn’t let him finish his question. He seized Luke’s lips with his own. In Reid’s mind it had been nearly two years since he’d kissed Luke, he was not going to waste any more time. Luke was surprised at first, but quickly recovered and kissed his husband back. It had been so long since they had been like this that Luke was not going to question it. Luke finally pulled away when he needed air. Both men were gasping and Reid’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Reid cupped Luke’s face in his hands. He rested his forehead against Luke’s, sharing breaths with his husband. He could smell the mint from Luke’s toothpaste. It was surprisingly calming.
“Reid, what? I don’t...,” Luke couldn’t make a coherent sentence. He had too many emotions running through him.
“I’ve lived without you Luke. I can’t do it.”
“Reid, I only moved out this afternoon,” Luke commented with a laugh. His laughter ceased when he saw the seriousness in his husband’s eyes.
“I lost you once. I won’t do it again,” Reid kept a tight hold Luke’s face in his hands, brushing his thumbs across Luke’s cheekbones. Luke could feel the emotions bubbling in his chest. His throat closing, lump rising.
“I, ah, I thought that you didn’t want me anymore. I thought…,” Reid crashed his lips into Luke’s, ferocious and desperate. He needed to stop Luke’s train of thought. Luke surrendered to it, they both did. Luke’s arm wrapped around Reid’s back and he pulled him onto the bed. Reid quickly begun yanking off his shirt and kicking off his shoes. Luke pulled his own shirt off and reveled in the feel of Reid’s skin against his. This was what he wanted, what he missed. That connection. When they were like this it was as if everything around them faded away. Their hearts, their minds, and their bodies moved together.
Reid lay fully on top of Luke, nestled between Luke’s thighs. The blonde’s back arched when Reid ground his body into Luke’s. Reid ran his hand under Luke’s head and fisted his hair. The sting of Reid pulling at Luke’s hair only aroused him more. Reid’s mouth never left Luke’s and before Luke knew it he was naked under an equally naked Reid.
“Reid,” Luke moaned. God he missed this! In Reid’s mind he had not been with Luke in almost two years, but it would seem that none of that happened. But right now he didn’t care. He just knew that Luke was alive, writhing underneath him, and that was all that mattered.
An hour later, they lay spent and sweaty; skin sticking to skin. Luke could barely keep his eyes open. He nestled deeper into Reid’s side. Reid’s arm wrapped around Luke’s back; pulling him even closer. Luke looked up at Reid and saw a breathtaking pair of blue eyes already gazing at him.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that all about?”
“Life is short. It’s very short sometimes,”
“You know we have a lot to work out, right?”
“Yeah,” Reid said nodding, “and we will tomorrow. Go to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Luke yawned and rubbed his cheek against Reid’s chest. Reid watched Luke’s eyelids softly flutter closed. Reid’s hand splayed out across Luke’s back; his warm skin almost burning Reid’s hand. He could feel Luke breathing in and out; his ribcage expanding and contracting with each breath. The warm breaths of air moved across Reid’s chest. He never thought he would be so entranced with Luke’s breathing; that was until tonight. Reid fought against sleep. He was afraid that when he woke he would be back in his house and he would lose Luke all over again. If this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up.
~~~~~~~~~~
Reid woke when the sun was shining fully through the bedroom window. He felt sore; his legs especially. When he ran five miles to Lily’s, he wasn’t even thinking about what the next day would bring. He just wanted to find Luke. He needed to see him. Just the thought of Luke brought a smile to his sleepy face.
He reached over and felt for his hot blonde, but only felt cold sheets. Reid sat up quickly and looked around the room. The first thought he had was, ‘It was a dream. He’s really gone.’ He looked around and saw that he was still at the Snyder’s, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. The only way he’d feel secure would be when he held Luke again. Reid threw off the blankets and got to his feet. He stepped across the room to the bathroom. He could hear the shower running. He carefully opened the door and saw a shape behind the curtain. He dared to venture a peek along the edge of the light blue curtain and saw Luke rinsing shampoo out of his hair.
Reid felt his knees buckle and he leaned heavily against the vanity. He felt like he could breathe again. His head dropped; the adrenaline that had running through his body left him and now he felt like his legs were going to give out.
“You can join me in here you know,” Luke said through the spray of water.
“You knew I was here?”
“Yeah, the rush of cold air when you opened the door,” Luke said and then leaned out from behind the curtain. His hair was dripping wet and plastered to his head. Luke had a glowing smile; one that lifted his entire face. He pushed his hair off his face and looked Reid up and down with an appreciative leer.
“What are you smiling at?” Reid teased.
“Just enjoying the view,” Luke answered and raised his eyebrows. Reid couldn’t help but laugh and he was even blushing a little. “Now, get your hot ass in here!” Luke demanded and ducked back behind the curtain. Reid didn’t need to be told twice. He stepped inside and marveled at the sight in front of him. Water was trailing down his body in ribbons. The miles of perfect skin with beads of water; looking like diamonds. Reid inched closer and wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist and chest; pulling him flush against his body. Reid just wanted to revel in the feeling of Luke, in his arms. He was never letting go again. Luke ran his hands over Reid’s. He could feel the redhead shaking; just slightly.
“Hey,” Luke turned around in his embrace and draped his arms over Reid’s shoulders; clasping his hands behind Reid’s head. “Are you ok?”
“I’m perfect,” he answered breathlessly and before Luke could tease him, Reid pulled the blonde to him and captured his mouth. Luke moaned in appreciation and melted into Reid.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next night Luke and Reid were stretched out in the living room of their house. They had gone out for dinner and came back to watch a movie. Luke was curled into Reid’s side and Reid had an arm wrapped around Luke’s shoulders; occasionally Reid would brush his fingers through Luke’s hair. It was nearly 11 pm and Luke had a meeting in the morning that he couldn’t be late for. He moved to set up and Reid pulled him tighter.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You are home.”
“We have stuff to work through. If I stay, then we will just slip right back into where we were before all this. I don’t want to be back here in a year or two or ten. I want this to be the last time that we ever say goodbye like this.” Luke answered and was ready for Reid to tell him he was a sap, which never came.
“Well, at least let me take you home.”
“Reid, I can drive myself.”
“I just want to.”
Reid was not going to let Luke out of his sight as much as he could help it. He didn’t want anything to happen to him if there was any way he could avoid it. He didn’t care if he became Luke permanent chauffeur. Luke was not going to be in danger again.
Epilogue