Almost Everything 1/15 [Lure Big Bang Fic]
Almost Everything Master Post
Chapter One
“Do you, Luke Snyder, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
A month ago, Luke never expected he’d be in this place. But that was before everything turned upside down. And what was most surprising-that even after all the twists and turns his life took, the times when his world did turn upside down-why would now make him feel like he couldn’t catch his breath?
Looking across to the man in front of him, the man he was vowing to promise his life to…Luke realized that was why.
Dr. Oliver wasn’t glaring at him, he actually looked a little nervous, and his hands-the ones that were holding Luke’s-felt clammy and he realized the older man’s palms were sweating.
“I do,” Luke responded and he could have sworn he saw a small smile on Reid’s lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it arrived.
Luke had started devoting himself to the Foundation, pouring his efforts into that while Noah constantly pushed him away, claiming he needed independence. Finally, when Luke wanted a promise, like the promise he was making now, Noah had said he couldn’t do it. To be fair, Luke knew that he had asked Noah to imagine a future with him, to imagine six months down the road, and he would want Luke in his life, not vowing to love, honor and cherish Luke forever. But in a way, that was what Luke was had been asking for. He had wanted to know if Noah could promise that someday they would love each other forever and vow that no matter how bad things got between them that they would still be there for one another. Noah couldn’t do that.
And so Luke had to walk away. He honestly believed he would never walk away from Noah, but he realized he didn’t have a choice, especially when Noah was choosing to leave first.
Then came the notice about Grimaldi Shipping. After everything that happened with Damian, Luke had planned to leave it. He didn’t want to have anything to do with that part of his family, but he couldn’t abandon it completely. He tried to find someone to take his place, but the company was bleeding money, because his replacement was doing a terrible job. And all those people…those workers who had been loyal to the company and actually helped Luke when he started-not all of them treating him like the boss’s son, but someone to respect and admire-they would be out of work. And worst of all, the Foundation was losing money as well. There were rising costs for the Snyder Pavilion, which Luke had agreed to finance, no questions, just telling his business manager “to make it happen.” Well, in order to do that, they would have to start defaulting on the promises, the gifts they had planned to donate to other groups. Luke couldn’t allow that to happen. Even though his family had money, the amount needed to keep the shipping company afloat, keep the Foundation alive and the Snyder Pavilion was too high. Unless Luke suddenly won the lottery, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
Lucinda and her team of lawyers were looking into anything they could to do help. Finally, he was summoned to her office and given the news that would completely alter his world.
“Damian had a trust set up for you, darling.”
Luke couldn’t hold back his surprise. “What? But he gave me my inheritance already, that’s what we used to start the Foundation. Was there more?”
“Well, Luke, this is something that he set up with his mother, when you were a baby. I don’t think they even told Lily. From what we could find, the money in it-well it’s more than enough to keep your foundation, the new wing, and Grimaldi Shipping going.”
“Grandmother, that’s amazing! What do I have to do? Do I need to go to Malta? Oh, God, do I have to talk to Damian?” he winced slightly, but he was determined. This was the answer he needed and nothing was going to stop Luke from getting it. Too many people were counting on him, and he’d let himself get caught up in Noah. He didn’t regret loving Noah, and it wasn’t that he’d even stopped loving Noah. However, he had other responsibilities that he had neglected. Now, he worried that he wouldn’t be able to help Noah or anyone else.
“No, but there are some conditions.”
“Anything, I’ll do it,” Luke insisted.
When he saw Lucinda’s sad smile and felt her pat him gently on the cheek, Luke knew he wasn’t going to like these conditions. “What?” he asked.
“You can’t get a hold of the money until you turn 30.”
“That’s eight years from now. I can’t wait, the people counting on me-”
“I know, darling,” Lucinda stopped his tirade. “There is one other way.”
“And that is?”
“You have to get married.”
Suddenly Luke felt the blood rushing through his ears. “Married? Who? How can I-”
Lucinda was sympathetic. While she didn’t understand Luke’s need to try and save the shipping company, she would do anything to help with the Foundation.. “Luke, it’s the only way. You need to get married.”
“But I’m gay.”
She smiled. “Yes, I know, darling.”
Luke shook his head. “Who would I marry? Noah and I- We broke up and if we stand a chance, I can’t ask him to get back together with me over a marriage of convenience.”
“Wouldn’t Noah be willing to help, if he knew what was going on?”
Luke wasn’t so certain, and that hurt almost as much as the break up itself. “He wants his independence; he wants to prove that he can be on his own.”
“I thought you brought in this world renowned neurosurgeon,” Lucinda pressed.
“Yes, Reid Oliver. He’s been having Noah do physical therapy and they’re optimistic, but if the surgery doesn’t work… If…” Luke’s voice cracked, thinking about his last conversation with Noah. “He wants to prove he can do this on his own. I don’t know if Noah would agree to marry me.”
“Darling, I’m sorry.”
Luke had spent so much time focused on Noah and what could be, and now he could lose everything else. But Luke wasn’t about to let that happen. In that moment, he came to a decision. “I have to get married.”
“Yes, the codicil says that you have to get married, but it doesn’t say to a woman,” Lucinda noted. “Damian would know something is suspect for sure if you were to suddenly find some girl to marry.”
Thinking back to Damian’s deprogramming attempts, Luke wasn’t so sure if Damian wouldn’t be happy about the prospect.
“Well, I can’t marry Noah,” he told her.
“Is there someone else? A friend, a man in your life who would be willing to enter into a marriage of convenience?”
Suddenly the image of Dr. Oliver flashed before Luke’s eyes, the smile on his face when Luke had teased the doctor about complimenting him over his idea: “Maybe you’re not going to be as useless on this project as I thought.” There had been a moment, a half-second before he realized Noah was there, but Luke couldn’t forget that smile or the gleam in the doctor’s eyes.
“I might have someone,” he told his grandmother.
“And do you, Reid Oliver, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others as long as you both shall live?”
There was that smile again. The sad smile on Luke’s face. Reid tried to ignore it, he’d seen it so much in his encounters with young Mr. Snyder. Sometimes he liked to see that sad smile because he had been trapped in the town that time forgot, all because of the man standing in front of him. But now, after he had so graciously agreed to-well, Reid amended himself-he hadn’t been so gracious, but how was he supposed to know what Luke was going to ask him when he showed up at his office that day?
“Look, Mr. Snyder, I already agreed to the rooms. What else do you want?”
Reid was actually surprised to see the young man standing in front of him. Last time he’d seen Luke, it was when Reid was passing Al’s on his way over to Java for his afternoon caffeine fix. It wasn’t that he had meant to spy, but he couldn’t help but notice the familiar blonde hair. And so almost of his own accord, Reid’s gaze locked onto the scene in front of him: his patient and the bane of Reid’s existence holding hands. He felt a burn in his stomach, which he attributed to indigestion, and he decided to forego the usual afternoon coffee and headed back to work.
“I have a business proposition for you,” Luke informed Reid.
He glanced at the young man in front of him. Luke was bouncing on the balls of his feet, and Reid was reminded of how young he really was. He knew he had responsibilities-some sort of business and the Foundation, board meetings and all, but he still looked like a kid to Reid. There were a few times when he didn’t appear child-like, when Luke would smile or offer a cheeky insult, something Reid would do, and kid was the last word that would come to Reid’s mind. Recalling the hand holding, the doctor shook his head and replied, “I already have a stock broker.”
Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s not that kind of proposition.”
Reid didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t like the idea of “proposition” and “Mr. Snyder” anywhere near each other, especially since his body started to react in kind.
“Why not?” Luke’s voice filtered through to his mind.
Reid hesitated for a moment, not sure what the young man was talking about. “What?”
“Why don’t you like the sound of a business proposition from me?”
Letting out a sigh of relief that grateful that he hadn’t voiced his other thoughts, Reid told the young man in front of him, “Well, you blackmailed me to get me here. And when I asked for money for the new wing, you insisted on being on the board. See how I could be just a little apprehensive?” he countered, crossing his arms over his chest.
“If you want the wing to finish being built, then listen to what I have to say,” Luke replied.
Reid’s arms fell to his sides. Luke definitely had his attention now. “What are you talking about?”
The young man sighed. He hated so much that this was happening, and that he needed Dr. Oliver, of all people to help him. He felt like he had failed, and what made it hurt so much was feeling like he had failed in front of this man. The brilliant, world-renown surgeon who had made Luke feel like a child since the moment they met. He’d fought against that so much, so that Noah could get his surgery, to get better, but lately… He ignored it, he pretended not to notice, but when Dr. Oliver listened to him, when someone like Reid could think of Luke as…well as anything other than a child…it got to him. It made him feel…
“What’s going on, Mr. Snyder?”
He shook his head, trying to focus on the matter at hand. “Grimaldi Shipping and the Foundation, they could go under. We put so much money into the Snyder Pavilion, and-”
“What?” Reid asked, taking a step closer.
“The Foundation could survive if we remove the funding from the new wing.”
“You can’t do that,” Reid insisted. After everything he had agreed to, even being nice to Mr. Snyder, it was all for nothing?
“I have no intention of doing that!” Luke countered and poked him in the chest.
Reid took a step back, before he was tempted to poke Luke in retaliation. There was something about this guy. He always got in Reid’s way, and he seemed to bring out the five-year-old in the doctor. He was too old for this.
“Besides,” Luke continued, and Reid looked at him, sizing him up. “The work that you’ll accomplish… the patients that you can help...”
“Meaning Noah.”
“And Annie Judd,” the blonde added quietly.
If Luke had punched him in the gut, Reid couldn’t be certain if it would hurt less. “Don’t talk to me about Annie,” his voice was low and left no room for argument. He’d already said too much about the young girl to Luke. He hated how much he’d revealed, even without knowing it. Luke’s words about Reid’s care and thinking he deserved what he got from Dennis Judd…it all hit too close to home.
“All right,” Luke replied, but he refused to apologize for mentioning Annie. “But there is an option, something that will keep the business afloat, the Foundation still running and allow the Snyder Pavilion to be built.”
Not sure what that had to do with him, Reid asked, “What’s that? What is this little miracle you have cooked up?”
Luke looked at him for a moment. Could he really do this? Could he really ask for help, this kind of help from Reid Oliver? But what other choice did he have? “I need to get married.”
Hearing the bark of laughter in response, Luke suddenly wished he’d gone to Casey.
“Only the rich would think to get married. So who’s the poor soul? Who’s bank account are you planning to drain?”
At that point, Luke was dying to wipe that smirk off of Reid’s face. “You.”
Thinking all of this was some sort of joke, Reid couldn’t help but laugh again. “I don’t have any money.”
Luke gave him a look, which left no doubt that he thought the doctor was an idiot. “I know. There’s a trust fund that Damian-”
“Bad dad?” Reid interjected. Trying to keep track of the Snyder clan would need to involve an extensive flow chart. Reid decided to rely on the labels he’d set up for Richie Rich to help.
“Yes,” Luke replied, and he felt a headache coming on. “Damian set up this trust for me. I either wait until I turn 30 or I get married. If I get married, I can get access to the money to keep the Foundation and Grimaldi Shipping afloat. There will be extra funds for the new wing-anything you want will be available.”
Theoretically, all of the words that Luke were saying made sense. He wasn’t using them in the wrong way or placing different words where he shouldn’t, but Reid still had trouble comprehending what the young man was propositioning. He called it a business arrangement, but even Reid knew marriage wasn’t something to be brokered. “Why me?” he finally asked. “Why not Noah? The love of your life?”
“We broke up,” Luke reminded him.
A quick flash of the two men holding hands came before Reid’s eyes. Had he misinterpreted the situation? But how does holding hands with an ex mean- He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “So Noah doesn’t think this would be a good way to get back together?” After the brunette’s last appointment, Reid knew they were close to the surgery date. Noah would be able to see again soon and whatever ridiculous reason the two young men had broken up this week would not be there any more.
“He doesn’t know,” Luke replied quietly, so quietly Reid almost didn’t hear him.
When he understood what Luke was saying, the doctor was surprised. He also had to ask, “How many people turned you down before you came to me?”
Luke shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and he suddenly found the floor very fascinating. “You were my first choice.”
Reid crossed his arms over his chest and took a step closer to the young man. “And why is that, Mr. Snyder?” his voice was low, an added intimacy despite the fact that he had yet to refer to the younger man by his first name.
Luke glanced up at him and smirked. “Maybe I figure it’s the only way you’d call me Luke.”
Reid felt a smile tugging at his own lips. He liked the verbal sparring-a little too much sometimes. “What? You’re not going to take my name?” he feigned shock.
Luke chuckled and it felt so good. After he’d found out about the money problems and the trust fund with the codicil, he didn’t know when he’d ever find the urge to laugh again. Of course, it would be Reid of all people to get a smile out of him. “You would call me Mr. Oliver?”
Deciding to ignore the question, Reid demanded, “Why me?”
“Well, you’re gay.”
The doctor took another step closer; there was almost no space between the two men now. “That’s your only criteria?”
Luke held up a hand in surrender. “Look, I know you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you…I just find you really, really annoying.”
The blonde felt another smile tugging at his lips. “You say such nice things to me, how could I not want to marry you?”
Shaking his head in disgust and figuring he wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of the young man, Reid turned to leave.
Impulsively, Luke reached out and grabbed Reid by the arm. “Look, it would be a business arrangement. Six months-a year at the most.”
Glancing at the hand on his arm and then giving Luke a pointed look in return, he replied, “A year?”
Luke quickly let go of the doctor. “Am I keeping you from some great love?” he countered. “Because all I see you do is work and fight with me.”
Reid gave him an assessing look for a moment. “Go on.”
He smiled softly, hoping this conversation would go his way. Luke couldn’t fail this time. “Like I said, a simple business arrangement. I’ll get the money, and…anything you want for the new wing, I’ll make it happen.”
The doctor knew what could happen when Luke was determined. He believed the young man. He desperately wanted that wing to be a reality. A few months ago, Reid would never have believed it, but somehow this town or maybe it was living with Katie, had changed him. Looking at Luke’s hopeful expression, he refused to believe that the young man in front of him was part of that change. But no matter what Luke said, Reid couldn’t believe it would turn out to be as simple as he was promising.
“I assume your father or someone close to him will want to make sure this is real. How do you plan to fake a marriage?” Even as Reid asked, he couldn’t believe he was still entertaining this ridiculous idea.
“Yes, we’ll…” Luke sighed. “We’ll have to live together. Knowing your love of elevators-it’ll be a house. I do have some money so I can-”
Reid held up his hands. “I’m not going to be a kept man, Mr. Snyder.” It might be nice to have a maid again. Despite Katie’s efforts, he never did quite learn how to do his own laundry, but he wasn’t going to have a sugar daddy. Or was it sugar baby when the man in question was at least ten years younger than him?
“Well, what do you want?” Luke demanded. He couldn’t imagine trying to convince someone else. And he didn’t want too many people to know about this arrangement, fearing the consequences. “Dr. Oliver, I'm giving you this neurology wing and promising you every little thing you want to make it just perfect. Do you want me off the board?”
“No, of course not,” he responded instantly and then stopped.
Both men looked at each other, not sure who was more surprised by Reid’s response.
“Then what? Whatever you want, Dr. Oliver, I’ll make it happen.”
The redhead didn’t doubt the young man in front of him. He knew what he should ask for. “I want this malpractice suit dropped. Blackmail, bribe, I don't care. Do whatever you have to, to make this go away. I need to work and I can't with this thing hanging over my head. The doctors walk around me like I'm a leper and Bob Hughes…I think he's trying to fire me.”
“What?” Luke reached out for Reid’s arm. “What do you mean he’s trying to fire you?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Noah gets his surgery,” he muttered, tugging lose.
The blonde frown slightly. “That’s not what I mean, Dr. Oliver. What has Dr. Hughes said?”
“He keeps saying there's something he has to talk to me about, but he won't tell me what it is. You want my cooperation? Get the suit dropped and I'll marry you.”
“Okay.” Luke held out his hand.
Reid looked at it for a moment and then shook the proffered hand.
“Reid?” Luke asked, and his eyebrows rose.
The redhead looked at the man standing in front of him. Luke didn’t have that sad smile anymore, there was a hint of concern. He gently squeezed the doctor’s hands and smiled again.
“I do,” Reid vowed.
“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married,” the judge said. “You may kiss your spouse.”
Both men froze for a moment. Neither had considered the way the service would end. Reid jumped slightly when he felt his best man and their witness, Mark, smack him on the back.
Reid let go of Luke’s hands and watched the blonde’s eyes widen slightly. The older man was silently grateful that there was no disgust or fear in Luke’s eyes. He reached up, cupping Luke’s face in his hands. Reid’s thumb brushed gently across his soft cheekbone. Luke’s tongue darted out, wetting his dry lips and a small groan escaped Reid’s own mouth. He leaned over and brushed a gentle kiss across his new husband’s mouth. Reid felt Luke shudder and the blonde’s mouth opened, capturing the doctor’s lips between both of his, deepening the kiss. His fingers reached up, massaging Reid’s scalp and pulling him closer. It took every ounce of control Reid had to escape. Luke’s lips followed his for a moment, offering up one more soft kiss before Reid pulled away.
They stood looking at each other, their breath coming out in short puffs.
“Congratulations,” the judge told them.
Luke offered a small smile, and Reid wondered what he had just gotten himself into.
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Thank you for reading. What did Reid get himself into?
Onto Chapter Two