The End, The Middle, The Beginning - Part 2
Title: The End, The Middle, The Beginning
Author(s):escapes
Artist: tsarcasm
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't any of this, except the way the words are strung together.. Don't sue.
Characters/Pairings: Nuke
Word Count:
Warnings: none really. Normal nuke angst.
Spoilers:None.
Summary: There are no good guys and no bad buys, just two people trying to rebuild their lives.
Author’s Notes: I've jokingly refered to this as the monster. This is the reason Divergence has been on hold, my life has been on hold really, for a while now. I wanted this story whole and complete when I posted it. I hope you enjoy it.
Beta by noelleleithe Shannon, you are a rockstar and thank you for being the best beta I could ask for and not smacking me when I wanted to give up and chuck this whole thing.
Link to Art Master Post: HERE
ONE
Fine Line Between Love and Hurting, Knowing Just When To Walk Away
He watched as Noah curled his fingers around the cutlery in his hands and idly wondered whether it was to the urge to do damage to Luke, or himself, that had the white knuckle grip on the butter knife in his hand.
He stirred the melted remains of his milkshake, as he watched the back of Noah’s head. The boy’s shoulders were so tense, they were practically in his ears and the ramrod straight posture only needed the stars and bars to be the spitting image of his father’s. He sucked in a breath at that thought and banished it from his mind. Noah was no more like his father than Maddie was like her psychotic sister Eve. Genetics meant shit.
Looking up to see if Noah had heard him, he relaxed when the unseeing stare remained steadfastly fixed out of the front window of Al’s. He quietly placed his glass down. He didn’t want to take the chance of being recognized. Who knew how those blind spidey senses worked. He’d made sure not to wear his regular cologne and even showered with different body wash, not wanting to take any chances. He shook his head, all that hard work and it had been for nothing. Stupid, stubborn assholes.
It had taken him over an hour to get Luke to even consider coming to Al’s after he’d gotten the call from Doc Asshole. He figured the Snyder stubbornness would be his biggest obstacle of the day. How wrong he was. Mayer then had to go and raise the bar. He shook his head, remembering the exchange between the two of them. Luke had completely forgotten he was there. That wasn’t surprising. The two of them had always been each other’s world and even now, when that world was spinning off its axis and littered with minefields, they still were each other’s focus.
He clenched his hand into a fist, remembering the conversation he’d had with Luke after the phone call. He’d gone from elation at Noah having a breakthrough, to anger he had to hear it from the asshole instead of Noah and then a quiet sort of resignation. That was the hardest for him to witness and had pushed him into action more than anything else. He’d known Luke Snyder for a long time and he was not quiet and he wasn’t one to give up without a fight. What the hell had happened to his two friends? He hardly recognized them anymore.
When he’d tried cajoling Luke into coming to Al’s to see Noah, he’d flat out refused. Man, that boy could give Ethan a run for his money in stubbornness. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and slumped on the couch in full-on emo fit. Not even telling him that Justin Beiber wanted his faux emo pouty face back had worked to make him react.
When he’d straight out demanded Luke give him one good reason why going to see Noah after him having a breakthrough was a bad thing, he’d had the most maddening conversation of his life. He unclenched his fist and shook out his hand just remembering it. For everything he said, Luke had a rebuttal for it, his mood swinging from needy, to angry, to argumentative, to downright belligerent, and then he’d get glimpses of the Luke he knew, but they slipped through his fingers like he was trying to nail Jello to the wall. He’d gotten so frustrated, he ended up grabbing Luke by the front of his shirt and shoving him against the wall, his fist itching to fly.
Luke refused to back down, the bugger, he just looked him right in the eyes and suddenly he was the Luke he’d known practically his whole life again. “Want to yell and hit something don’t you? You want to hit me, don’t you?”
He’d let go of Luke and stepped away, confused at the sudden turn. “What was all that about?”
Luke had looked at him and he swore Luke looked older than he’d ever seen him look. “That was what happens when Noah and I try to talk. He loves me and he hates me. Even at the best of times he’s never had a clue how to handle his emotions, except to repress them. Now? He’s all over the map and I can’t say I blame him. He loves me, but a big part of him hates me and blames me for him being blind and he can’t turn either part of him off, so it just explodes all over the place. That’s why I don’t want to go to Al’s. Because it’s painful and even thought I’m so happy he’s making progress, the fact that he didn’t call me to tell me....he doesn’t want me to be part of this. Not anymore.”
He pushed the plate away, leaving his burger half eaten, his appetite drying up as he wondered if literally dragging Luke here had just broken his friends for good. He’d thought if they just talked again, now that the shock of their breakup had time to settle, they’d....what? He scoffed at himself. He’d expected them to talk and realize how much they missed and loved each other and work things out. How Pollyanna was that? Things don’t work out like that in real life. His own life was a prime example. Maybe someday he’d get it through his concrete head that his plans never work out.
Watching the beginning of the conversation, he’d been so hopeful. Luke had made a big deal of Noah’s breakthrough and you could see Noah responding to it, responding to Luke. Then Luke had thrown caution to the wind and invited Noah out to dinner to celebrate, offering to bring friends along so it wasn’t a date. He shook his head. Date. Good god, he owed Luke the biggest apology ever for bringing him here.
He understood now. Watching it had been like watching a train wreck. You knew it was coming, you knew the trains weren’t going to be able to stop in time before they obliterated each other, but you just couldn’t look away.
He saw Luke’s face as Noah said he was meeting someone and his own heart winced in sympathy. He was already dreading when that moment happened to him. Seeing her with someone else was going to tear him apart and judging from Luke’s gutted expression, it was going to be like being stabbed. He’d seen someone stabbed before and damn if that wasn’t the same expression Luke had on his face. He lanced his fork into his burger. Nope, not looking forward to that moment at all.
He waved away the waitress, wishing for a moment that Janet was there. She’d leave him alone and let him watch Noah, knowing it was something he needed to do. Replaying the conversation in his mind, he remembered Noah going from placating one moment, to defensive the next, to asking Luke how he was feeling, and then getting mad at him for telling the truth. He’d nearly blown his cover when Noah had given up and called it a date and then asked Luke if he was happy now. The urge to pound his head repeatedly onto the tabletop had been strong, but the need to see this through without getting caught had been stronger, so he’d clenched his fists, shut his mouth and tried to plan a way to trip a waitress into dumping a tray in Noah’s lap so he’d have to leave before Ricky-boy showed up.
It wasn’t long after Luke left that a dark haired, slightly awkward looking young guy came through the door and made a line straight for Noah.
Instead of sitting across from him at the table, he pulled a chair around and sat beside Noah. Oh yeah, not a date at all. For a smart guy, Noah sure was stupid about some things.
Ricky-Richard-whoeverthefuck’s jacket fell open and he had to pop a cold fry into his mouth to stop the laugh that wanted to come out. The dude was wearing a striped shirt. Of course. Life really was an ironic bitch sometimes. Sorry Ricky, but someone already rocked that look before you, and did a better job of it.
He watched as Ricky-boy and Noah started talking, starting with people in the physio place they went to, then onto movies and books. He felt a pang at the memories the conversation brought up. He remembered those awkward pushes for information and common ground, to see if you really had a connection with someone. He rolled his eyes as he balled up his napkin and tossed it onto his plate. But it wasn’t a date. Right. Sure as hell looked like one. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it must be a pigeon, right?
A half an hour later, he was contemplating his fork as a weapon of self-destruction and wanting to shake Noah. Ricky-boy had kept his hand on Noah the entire time they’d been talking and either Noah didn’t notice, or was ignoring it. He was ready to walk over there and throw the kid’s hand off when he sat back in surprise. Luke was walking towards the door to Al’s.
Crap. Crapcrapcrap! There was nothing he could do but watch the train wreck unfold. Again. Luke walked right up to the counter, pulling money out of his pocket, and of course Noah and Ricky-boy chose that moment to laugh at some no doubt hilarious reference to something boring as shit that he’d lost interest in about 20 minutes ago. He winced as Luke’s head turned and he caught sight of Noah laughing.
Luke had always had an expressive face and he watched the expressions flick across it quickly, the surprise at seeing Noah laughing, the hurt that it wasn’t with him, the longing to have that ability to laugh with Noah back-- and then it settled into a glare that must have had the hair on the back of Noah’s neck standing up.
Luckily, the waitress must have been expecting Luke. She came up to him with a takeout bag and Luke pretty much shoved the money at her and took the bag, practically leaving a smoke trail as he left.
He snickered as Noah’s hand went to the back of his neck and scratched it, probably feeling the scorch marks from his ex’s glare. Huh, he thought, it was really hitting him for the first time that his friends were over. He saw movement in the front window and Luke was standing there, looking in at Noah.
He knew if he had Luke’s writer mind, he’d have been drawing parallels about this being a metaphor for this whole mess, but he wasn’t. Instead, he caught Luke’s eye through the glass and he raised his phone, raising his eyebrows at Luke. Luke nodded, having gotten the message.
He saw someone come up behind Luke and crinkled his forehead at this latest development. Doctor Oliver said something to Luke and then both of them walked off. He grabbed his phone off the table and sent a message off to Luke.
He read the reply that came back a minute later and thought about this whole Dallas situation. He knew that Luke was only going to get Doctor Oliver cleared so he could do Noah’s surgery, but did the good doctor know that? The doctor had reminded him of a petulant third grader with how he treated Luke. He might as well have pulled Luke’s pigtails and called him a doodyhead to complete the whole grade school seduction plan he was following.
He saw the waitress that had handed Luke his order refill Noah and Ricky-boy’s coffee and a thought hit him. He knew the shape of those take out containers that Luke picked up. He started to chuckle. Luke’s really was a stealthy evil genius. One day the kid was gonna take over the world and he wouldn’t be one bit surprised.
One thing was for sure, the good doctor was in for one hell of a plane ride. Luke Snyder, chili that was heavy on the beans and a sealed small space like Lucinda’s jet. He shook his head with another chuckle. Yeah, that was the Luke he knew and loved. He almost felt sorry for the asshole. Almost.
He cleared the amusing thoughts of exactly what shade of green the good doctor was going to turn out of his head as he saw Noah’s date winding up. He threw some money on the table to cover his lunch and stood up just as Ricky was offering Noah a ride home.
“That’s okay, I’ll get him home.”
He saw Noah’s head swing to face him, his unseeing eyes focused at a point past his shoulder. “Casey?”
He grabbed the chair that Ricky had been sitting in and pulled it back around to the table beside Noah’s where it should have been all along and sat on the bench seat across from him, like a friend, not a date. “Hey Noah. Long time no see.”
He wiggled his fingers at Ricky in a mockery of a wave, “I’ll make sure he gets home. Drive carefully.”
Noah raised an eyebrow in Casey’s direction and shook his head with a smile that looked like it didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. “It’s all right, Richard. Casey will get me home. I’ll see you at PT on Tuesday?”
Casey watched the little troll clap Noah on the shoulder before agreeing and finally, finally leaving. “So Mayer, they not teach you how to dial a phone at rehab?”
Noah blushed faintly, before drumming his fingertips on the table. “How long have you been watching me, Casey?”
Casey had to give it to him, he wasn’t as oblivious as he pretended to be. “Long enough to make sure your virtue wasn’t compromised on your little date with Ricky.”
“Richard.”
“Whatever.”
Noah sighed and let the name issue drop. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Casey shook his head, dude needed to listen. He totally had. “Yeah, I did. But if you want an actual point of reference, then I came in with Luke. I stupidly convinced him to some and see you after Doctor Charming called him to let him know you’d had a breakthrough.”
Noah’s fingers curled around his coffee mug like the familiar security blanket it probably was for him. “What do you mean, convinced him?”
Casey rolled his eyes, of course he’d latch on to that. “Considering the conversation you two had, you really have to ask why it took convincing? Could you have shot him down more, Noah?”
The coffee cup clinked down onto Noah’s plate as he glared in Casey’s direction. “So...what? You’re his spy now? Really, Casey?” He started groping around on the table for his folded cane. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you aren’t wearing your normal cologne and even your soap is different.”
Casey snorted and even though he knew it was mean, he grabbed Noah’s cane and put it on the bench seat beside him. “I showered at the hospital. I was just getting off shift when I saw the good doctor calling Luke and breaking all sorts of doctor/patient confidentiality rules. I called Luke to see what was going on, since being blind apparently also impairs your ability to dial a phone.”
Noah gripped the side of the table, “I’ve been a little busy trying to put my life back together, Hughes.”
“Same here.”
They were at a stalemate, Casey glaring and Noah glowering. Casey sighed and started talking again. “I didn’t stay here to spy on you for Luke. I stayed because after you finished with your impression of the many personalities of Noah Mayer, it was obvious Luke needed to be alone and you needed a chaperone on your date.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
Casey laughed. “Oh Mayer, it was so a date. If he came as your friend, he wouldn’t have sat right beside you and had his filthy paws all over you while you talked. He so would have gone for a kiss when he drove you home. You know, because you were on a date! Even you can’t have your head that far up your butt. There’s blind and then there’s stupid, Noah. You may be blind, but you sure as hell are not stupid, so stop being so dense!”
Noah had a white knuckle grip on the butter knife again. “What? You aren’t around for months and now you’re looking out for me? I was meeting a friend for coffee. That’s all it was on my side. I need to put my life back together. I need to be able to go for coffee and take the bus and shop by myself. I need to be independent and if you and Luke can’t understand that, then I’m sorry! But you don’t just get to come back after months of no contact and start ripping on me for being a shitty person! I know I’m hurting him, okay? I know. But, I have to do this.”
Casey shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He whistled out a long breath. “Wow, Mayer. I thought Luke had daddy issues, but you really take the cake.”
Noah flinched and Casey pushed forward. “All this independence you’re ranting about is bullshit. You think you’re broken because you can’t see and that asshole of a father of yours is still winning his war for control over your life. All your arguments about independence sound just like something your dad would say. Don’t accept help from anyone. Be the hero, not the victim. Show no weakness. Prove you’re a man. You don’t get that you already are a man, Noah, and that a true man knows when to ask for help, and how to receive it, without being a jackass. You don’t get that what you’re really proving is you’re still that little boy the Colonel projected all of his bullshit on. Christ, you could give me a run for my money on my immaturity on my worst days lately.” Casey leaned forward as he let all of that sink in. “Oh and that crack about me being gone for months? I’ve been a little busy having my life fall down around me. It would have been nice to have my friend Noah there to help me out, but seeing as your whole world revolves around you and how you can do nothing but be blind, I wasn’t going to hold my breath on hearing from you.”
He took the cane that he’d placed beside him and slammed it down on the table with enough force that it rattled the dishes. “I sure hope you get your eyesight back, Noah, and that it was worth losing everything else over it.”
He slid out from the bench and squeezed between the tables, intent on getting out of here, before he shook Noah until his teeth rattled. As someone who had lost damn near everything lately, it frustrated him to no end that Noah was frigging choosing to be miserable and alone. The damn Colonel couldn’t have orchestrated it better himself.
Noah’s hand shot out and grabbed Casey’s arm as he passed by. “You said you’d get me home.”
He shook Noah’s grip off his arm, “You’re so independent, now that you don’t have the horrible albatross around your neck that was your caring boyfriend, you can get home your damn self.”
Noah pulled out his phone, pressed number one on his speed dial and put it to his ear, intent on giving Luke a piece of his mind. “I’m sorry, the party you are calling has either turned off their phone or is out of the calling area. You will be forwarded to their voicemail in five seconds.”
Noah wished for a second that cell phones had bases so he could slam the receiver down with a satisfying noise, instead of just the click of plastic meeting plastic as he folded it. He didn’t want to think about how close Casey had hit on the things he’d said, so instead he unfolded his cane and counted out enough to cover coffee for himself and Richard, before making his way out the door of Al’s and bringing up a mental map of Old Town to figure out the direction he needed to go to get home.
He was walking for a few minutes, when he was sure he was being followed. Inhaling, he stopped and held his cane in both hands. “Casey, if you’re going to follow a blind man, you want to do it from upwind.”
The footsteps came closer, until he felt the heat from Casey’s arm as it brushed up against his jacket. “Look, just because you piss me off right now, it doesn’t mean I want something bad to happen to you. Luke would have my head and Alison would chop up what’s left over.”
They started walking again and Casey kept a hand on Noah’s arm as they walked toward the apartment. Noah cleared his throat. “Thanks for making sure I get home okay. I know Ali is probably the last person you want to be anywhere near right now.”
Casey grunted in acknowledgement. “Just because I’m really disappointed and angry at her and the whole situation doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to her roommate.” He paused. “I do have to ask though. Why is it okay to accept help from me and from Alison, but not Luke?”
Noah knew the reasons in his head were valid, but when he tried to say them out loud, they sounded stupid and self pitying. He knew he’d have no more luck convincing Casey of his reasons than he had of convincing Luke. He just kept his mouth shut and kept walking.
PART THREE
Author(s):escapes
Artist: tsarcasm
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I don't any of this, except the way the words are strung together.. Don't sue.
Characters/Pairings: Nuke
Word Count:
Warnings: none really. Normal nuke angst.
Spoilers:None.
Summary: There are no good guys and no bad buys, just two people trying to rebuild their lives.
Author’s Notes: I've jokingly refered to this as the monster. This is the reason Divergence has been on hold, my life has been on hold really, for a while now. I wanted this story whole and complete when I posted it. I hope you enjoy it.
Beta by noelleleithe Shannon, you are a rockstar and thank you for being the best beta I could ask for and not smacking me when I wanted to give up and chuck this whole thing.
Link to Art Master Post: HERE
ONE
Fine Line Between Love and Hurting, Knowing Just When To Walk Away
He watched as Noah curled his fingers around the cutlery in his hands and idly wondered whether it was to the urge to do damage to Luke, or himself, that had the white knuckle grip on the butter knife in his hand.
He stirred the melted remains of his milkshake, as he watched the back of Noah’s head. The boy’s shoulders were so tense, they were practically in his ears and the ramrod straight posture only needed the stars and bars to be the spitting image of his father’s. He sucked in a breath at that thought and banished it from his mind. Noah was no more like his father than Maddie was like her psychotic sister Eve. Genetics meant shit.
Looking up to see if Noah had heard him, he relaxed when the unseeing stare remained steadfastly fixed out of the front window of Al’s. He quietly placed his glass down. He didn’t want to take the chance of being recognized. Who knew how those blind spidey senses worked. He’d made sure not to wear his regular cologne and even showered with different body wash, not wanting to take any chances. He shook his head, all that hard work and it had been for nothing. Stupid, stubborn assholes.
It had taken him over an hour to get Luke to even consider coming to Al’s after he’d gotten the call from Doc Asshole. He figured the Snyder stubbornness would be his biggest obstacle of the day. How wrong he was. Mayer then had to go and raise the bar. He shook his head, remembering the exchange between the two of them. Luke had completely forgotten he was there. That wasn’t surprising. The two of them had always been each other’s world and even now, when that world was spinning off its axis and littered with minefields, they still were each other’s focus.
He clenched his hand into a fist, remembering the conversation he’d had with Luke after the phone call. He’d gone from elation at Noah having a breakthrough, to anger he had to hear it from the asshole instead of Noah and then a quiet sort of resignation. That was the hardest for him to witness and had pushed him into action more than anything else. He’d known Luke Snyder for a long time and he was not quiet and he wasn’t one to give up without a fight. What the hell had happened to his two friends? He hardly recognized them anymore.
When he’d tried cajoling Luke into coming to Al’s to see Noah, he’d flat out refused. Man, that boy could give Ethan a run for his money in stubbornness. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and slumped on the couch in full-on emo fit. Not even telling him that Justin Beiber wanted his faux emo pouty face back had worked to make him react.
When he’d straight out demanded Luke give him one good reason why going to see Noah after him having a breakthrough was a bad thing, he’d had the most maddening conversation of his life. He unclenched his fist and shook out his hand just remembering it. For everything he said, Luke had a rebuttal for it, his mood swinging from needy, to angry, to argumentative, to downright belligerent, and then he’d get glimpses of the Luke he knew, but they slipped through his fingers like he was trying to nail Jello to the wall. He’d gotten so frustrated, he ended up grabbing Luke by the front of his shirt and shoving him against the wall, his fist itching to fly.
Luke refused to back down, the bugger, he just looked him right in the eyes and suddenly he was the Luke he’d known practically his whole life again. “Want to yell and hit something don’t you? You want to hit me, don’t you?”
He’d let go of Luke and stepped away, confused at the sudden turn. “What was all that about?”
Luke had looked at him and he swore Luke looked older than he’d ever seen him look. “That was what happens when Noah and I try to talk. He loves me and he hates me. Even at the best of times he’s never had a clue how to handle his emotions, except to repress them. Now? He’s all over the map and I can’t say I blame him. He loves me, but a big part of him hates me and blames me for him being blind and he can’t turn either part of him off, so it just explodes all over the place. That’s why I don’t want to go to Al’s. Because it’s painful and even thought I’m so happy he’s making progress, the fact that he didn’t call me to tell me....he doesn’t want me to be part of this. Not anymore.”
He pushed the plate away, leaving his burger half eaten, his appetite drying up as he wondered if literally dragging Luke here had just broken his friends for good. He’d thought if they just talked again, now that the shock of their breakup had time to settle, they’d....what? He scoffed at himself. He’d expected them to talk and realize how much they missed and loved each other and work things out. How Pollyanna was that? Things don’t work out like that in real life. His own life was a prime example. Maybe someday he’d get it through his concrete head that his plans never work out.
Watching the beginning of the conversation, he’d been so hopeful. Luke had made a big deal of Noah’s breakthrough and you could see Noah responding to it, responding to Luke. Then Luke had thrown caution to the wind and invited Noah out to dinner to celebrate, offering to bring friends along so it wasn’t a date. He shook his head. Date. Good god, he owed Luke the biggest apology ever for bringing him here.
He understood now. Watching it had been like watching a train wreck. You knew it was coming, you knew the trains weren’t going to be able to stop in time before they obliterated each other, but you just couldn’t look away.
He saw Luke’s face as Noah said he was meeting someone and his own heart winced in sympathy. He was already dreading when that moment happened to him. Seeing her with someone else was going to tear him apart and judging from Luke’s gutted expression, it was going to be like being stabbed. He’d seen someone stabbed before and damn if that wasn’t the same expression Luke had on his face. He lanced his fork into his burger. Nope, not looking forward to that moment at all.
He waved away the waitress, wishing for a moment that Janet was there. She’d leave him alone and let him watch Noah, knowing it was something he needed to do. Replaying the conversation in his mind, he remembered Noah going from placating one moment, to defensive the next, to asking Luke how he was feeling, and then getting mad at him for telling the truth. He’d nearly blown his cover when Noah had given up and called it a date and then asked Luke if he was happy now. The urge to pound his head repeatedly onto the tabletop had been strong, but the need to see this through without getting caught had been stronger, so he’d clenched his fists, shut his mouth and tried to plan a way to trip a waitress into dumping a tray in Noah’s lap so he’d have to leave before Ricky-boy showed up.
It wasn’t long after Luke left that a dark haired, slightly awkward looking young guy came through the door and made a line straight for Noah.
Instead of sitting across from him at the table, he pulled a chair around and sat beside Noah. Oh yeah, not a date at all. For a smart guy, Noah sure was stupid about some things.
Ricky-Richard-whoeverthefuck’s jacket fell open and he had to pop a cold fry into his mouth to stop the laugh that wanted to come out. The dude was wearing a striped shirt. Of course. Life really was an ironic bitch sometimes. Sorry Ricky, but someone already rocked that look before you, and did a better job of it.
He watched as Ricky-boy and Noah started talking, starting with people in the physio place they went to, then onto movies and books. He felt a pang at the memories the conversation brought up. He remembered those awkward pushes for information and common ground, to see if you really had a connection with someone. He rolled his eyes as he balled up his napkin and tossed it onto his plate. But it wasn’t a date. Right. Sure as hell looked like one. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, then it must be a pigeon, right?
A half an hour later, he was contemplating his fork as a weapon of self-destruction and wanting to shake Noah. Ricky-boy had kept his hand on Noah the entire time they’d been talking and either Noah didn’t notice, or was ignoring it. He was ready to walk over there and throw the kid’s hand off when he sat back in surprise. Luke was walking towards the door to Al’s.
Crap. Crapcrapcrap! There was nothing he could do but watch the train wreck unfold. Again. Luke walked right up to the counter, pulling money out of his pocket, and of course Noah and Ricky-boy chose that moment to laugh at some no doubt hilarious reference to something boring as shit that he’d lost interest in about 20 minutes ago. He winced as Luke’s head turned and he caught sight of Noah laughing.
Luke had always had an expressive face and he watched the expressions flick across it quickly, the surprise at seeing Noah laughing, the hurt that it wasn’t with him, the longing to have that ability to laugh with Noah back-- and then it settled into a glare that must have had the hair on the back of Noah’s neck standing up.
Luckily, the waitress must have been expecting Luke. She came up to him with a takeout bag and Luke pretty much shoved the money at her and took the bag, practically leaving a smoke trail as he left.
He snickered as Noah’s hand went to the back of his neck and scratched it, probably feeling the scorch marks from his ex’s glare. Huh, he thought, it was really hitting him for the first time that his friends were over. He saw movement in the front window and Luke was standing there, looking in at Noah.
He knew if he had Luke’s writer mind, he’d have been drawing parallels about this being a metaphor for this whole mess, but he wasn’t. Instead, he caught Luke’s eye through the glass and he raised his phone, raising his eyebrows at Luke. Luke nodded, having gotten the message.
He saw someone come up behind Luke and crinkled his forehead at this latest development. Doctor Oliver said something to Luke and then both of them walked off. He grabbed his phone off the table and sent a message off to Luke.
He read the reply that came back a minute later and thought about this whole Dallas situation. He knew that Luke was only going to get Doctor Oliver cleared so he could do Noah’s surgery, but did the good doctor know that? The doctor had reminded him of a petulant third grader with how he treated Luke. He might as well have pulled Luke’s pigtails and called him a doodyhead to complete the whole grade school seduction plan he was following.
He saw the waitress that had handed Luke his order refill Noah and Ricky-boy’s coffee and a thought hit him. He knew the shape of those take out containers that Luke picked up. He started to chuckle. Luke’s really was a stealthy evil genius. One day the kid was gonna take over the world and he wouldn’t be one bit surprised.
One thing was for sure, the good doctor was in for one hell of a plane ride. Luke Snyder, chili that was heavy on the beans and a sealed small space like Lucinda’s jet. He shook his head with another chuckle. Yeah, that was the Luke he knew and loved. He almost felt sorry for the asshole. Almost.
He cleared the amusing thoughts of exactly what shade of green the good doctor was going to turn out of his head as he saw Noah’s date winding up. He threw some money on the table to cover his lunch and stood up just as Ricky was offering Noah a ride home.
“That’s okay, I’ll get him home.”
He saw Noah’s head swing to face him, his unseeing eyes focused at a point past his shoulder. “Casey?”
He grabbed the chair that Ricky had been sitting in and pulled it back around to the table beside Noah’s where it should have been all along and sat on the bench seat across from him, like a friend, not a date. “Hey Noah. Long time no see.”
He wiggled his fingers at Ricky in a mockery of a wave, “I’ll make sure he gets home. Drive carefully.”
Noah raised an eyebrow in Casey’s direction and shook his head with a smile that looked like it didn’t know whether to be annoyed or amused. “It’s all right, Richard. Casey will get me home. I’ll see you at PT on Tuesday?”
Casey watched the little troll clap Noah on the shoulder before agreeing and finally, finally leaving. “So Mayer, they not teach you how to dial a phone at rehab?”
Noah blushed faintly, before drumming his fingertips on the table. “How long have you been watching me, Casey?”
Casey had to give it to him, he wasn’t as oblivious as he pretended to be. “Long enough to make sure your virtue wasn’t compromised on your little date with Ricky.”
“Richard.”
“Whatever.”
Noah sighed and let the name issue drop. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Casey shook his head, dude needed to listen. He totally had. “Yeah, I did. But if you want an actual point of reference, then I came in with Luke. I stupidly convinced him to some and see you after Doctor Charming called him to let him know you’d had a breakthrough.”
Noah’s fingers curled around his coffee mug like the familiar security blanket it probably was for him. “What do you mean, convinced him?”
Casey rolled his eyes, of course he’d latch on to that. “Considering the conversation you two had, you really have to ask why it took convincing? Could you have shot him down more, Noah?”
The coffee cup clinked down onto Noah’s plate as he glared in Casey’s direction. “So...what? You’re his spy now? Really, Casey?” He started groping around on the table for his folded cane. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you aren’t wearing your normal cologne and even your soap is different.”
Casey snorted and even though he knew it was mean, he grabbed Noah’s cane and put it on the bench seat beside him. “I showered at the hospital. I was just getting off shift when I saw the good doctor calling Luke and breaking all sorts of doctor/patient confidentiality rules. I called Luke to see what was going on, since being blind apparently also impairs your ability to dial a phone.”
Noah gripped the side of the table, “I’ve been a little busy trying to put my life back together, Hughes.”
“Same here.”
They were at a stalemate, Casey glaring and Noah glowering. Casey sighed and started talking again. “I didn’t stay here to spy on you for Luke. I stayed because after you finished with your impression of the many personalities of Noah Mayer, it was obvious Luke needed to be alone and you needed a chaperone on your date.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
Casey laughed. “Oh Mayer, it was so a date. If he came as your friend, he wouldn’t have sat right beside you and had his filthy paws all over you while you talked. He so would have gone for a kiss when he drove you home. You know, because you were on a date! Even you can’t have your head that far up your butt. There’s blind and then there’s stupid, Noah. You may be blind, but you sure as hell are not stupid, so stop being so dense!”
Noah had a white knuckle grip on the butter knife again. “What? You aren’t around for months and now you’re looking out for me? I was meeting a friend for coffee. That’s all it was on my side. I need to put my life back together. I need to be able to go for coffee and take the bus and shop by myself. I need to be independent and if you and Luke can’t understand that, then I’m sorry! But you don’t just get to come back after months of no contact and start ripping on me for being a shitty person! I know I’m hurting him, okay? I know. But, I have to do this.”
Casey shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. He whistled out a long breath. “Wow, Mayer. I thought Luke had daddy issues, but you really take the cake.”
Noah flinched and Casey pushed forward. “All this independence you’re ranting about is bullshit. You think you’re broken because you can’t see and that asshole of a father of yours is still winning his war for control over your life. All your arguments about independence sound just like something your dad would say. Don’t accept help from anyone. Be the hero, not the victim. Show no weakness. Prove you’re a man. You don’t get that you already are a man, Noah, and that a true man knows when to ask for help, and how to receive it, without being a jackass. You don’t get that what you’re really proving is you’re still that little boy the Colonel projected all of his bullshit on. Christ, you could give me a run for my money on my immaturity on my worst days lately.” Casey leaned forward as he let all of that sink in. “Oh and that crack about me being gone for months? I’ve been a little busy having my life fall down around me. It would have been nice to have my friend Noah there to help me out, but seeing as your whole world revolves around you and how you can do nothing but be blind, I wasn’t going to hold my breath on hearing from you.”
He took the cane that he’d placed beside him and slammed it down on the table with enough force that it rattled the dishes. “I sure hope you get your eyesight back, Noah, and that it was worth losing everything else over it.”
He slid out from the bench and squeezed between the tables, intent on getting out of here, before he shook Noah until his teeth rattled. As someone who had lost damn near everything lately, it frustrated him to no end that Noah was frigging choosing to be miserable and alone. The damn Colonel couldn’t have orchestrated it better himself.
Noah’s hand shot out and grabbed Casey’s arm as he passed by. “You said you’d get me home.”
He shook Noah’s grip off his arm, “You’re so independent, now that you don’t have the horrible albatross around your neck that was your caring boyfriend, you can get home your damn self.”
Noah pulled out his phone, pressed number one on his speed dial and put it to his ear, intent on giving Luke a piece of his mind. “I’m sorry, the party you are calling has either turned off their phone or is out of the calling area. You will be forwarded to their voicemail in five seconds.”
Noah wished for a second that cell phones had bases so he could slam the receiver down with a satisfying noise, instead of just the click of plastic meeting plastic as he folded it. He didn’t want to think about how close Casey had hit on the things he’d said, so instead he unfolded his cane and counted out enough to cover coffee for himself and Richard, before making his way out the door of Al’s and bringing up a mental map of Old Town to figure out the direction he needed to go to get home.
He was walking for a few minutes, when he was sure he was being followed. Inhaling, he stopped and held his cane in both hands. “Casey, if you’re going to follow a blind man, you want to do it from upwind.”
The footsteps came closer, until he felt the heat from Casey’s arm as it brushed up against his jacket. “Look, just because you piss me off right now, it doesn’t mean I want something bad to happen to you. Luke would have my head and Alison would chop up what’s left over.”
They started walking again and Casey kept a hand on Noah’s arm as they walked toward the apartment. Noah cleared his throat. “Thanks for making sure I get home okay. I know Ali is probably the last person you want to be anywhere near right now.”
Casey grunted in acknowledgement. “Just because I’m really disappointed and angry at her and the whole situation doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to her roommate.” He paused. “I do have to ask though. Why is it okay to accept help from me and from Alison, but not Luke?”
Noah knew the reasons in his head were valid, but when he tried to say them out loud, they sounded stupid and self pitying. He knew he’d have no more luck convincing Casey of his reasons than he had of convincing Luke. He just kept his mouth shut and kept walking.
PART THREE