Brilliancy 11/14
Author - vallie82
Title - Brilliancy
Characters - Luke/Reid, Damian
Rating - PG-13
Warnings - None
Summary - A spectacular and beautiful game of chess, generally featuring sacrificial attacks and unexpected moves. Brilliancies are not always required to feature sound play or the best moves by either side.
A/N: So, we have almost reached the end. Have I mentioned how much I love feedback? No? I LOVE feedback! A big thank you to traciamc and bhumimak , I <3 you guys!
In the seventeenth week Reid Oliver is counting. Not that he ever would admit to doing such a ridiculous thing to anyone, but the truth is that he counts the weeks since he had amazingly hot sex with Mr. Grimaldi before throwing him out and it´s been exactly two long weeks. He has successfully managed to avoid Luke ever since, and that has been quite the achievement seeing how determined the other man has been in trying to get Reid to talk about what happened. Reid isn´t very interested in talking about anything with Luke and he learned a long time ago that whenever someone said, “Reid, we need to talk”, that was his cue to leave. Nothing good ever came out of that sentence.
The most disturbing thing about it all isn´t that he is angry or annoyed with Luke, because he really isn’t, in fact he is impressed by the kid, all that smooth talking and longing looks and really hard work to get Reid where he wanted. No, what disturbs him the most is that he actually fell for it. He really should have known better, after all he´s a genius.
After the blackmail, the almost sex at the hotel and the stalking, anyone could have told him that there was something seriously wrong with Mr. Grimaldi, but he didn´t get it. He should have told Mr. Grimaldi to get the fuck out of his life but he didn´t. Instead he invited him out on a non-date on New Year´s fucking Eve and then took him home and fucked him. He actually wished he could blame it all on his dick, as if his dick was the one taking charge and demanding to get to know more of Luke, pun intended. But Reid was many things and dishonest was not one of them.
The truth is that he had wanted to get to know Luke, and not only in the biblical way, he really wanted to be with him and that whole non-date had been… great. Okay, so maybe it had been more than great but what difference did it make now anyway? Having anything to do with Mr. Grimaldi meant headaches and trouble and Reid Oliver didn´t do that.
The sound of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts and he didn´t need to look at it to know who it was that had called him. Luke just didn´t know how to give up. Reid let the call go to voicemail and wasn´t surprised when his phone announced that he had one new message a minute later. He knows he should delete it immediately but he just couldn´t not listen to it first.
“Reid. It´s me. Again. I don´t even know if you´re listening to any of my messages and I know I should stop calling you since it probably makes me look even more of a stalker in your eyes. And I know that you don´t want to talk to me but I´m not going to give up. If you just would let me explain. You don´t have to say anything, just listen to me, and I don´t want to talk to your voicemail, no matter how hot your “you have reached Doctor Reid Oliver, leave a message” sounds. Reid, please call me.”
Well, at least he didn´t say the L-word this time.
The cafeteria in the clinic serves all kinds of excellent food and offers a wide range of different sandwiches. When Reid decided he was going to open his own clinic, the cafeteria was one of the things he knew right from the beginning how he wanted it to be. He had eaten too many unappealing meals in hospital cafeterias in his life to ever endure that again on a regular basis. He´s in the middle of devouring a remarkable outstanding sandwich when someone sits down opposite him. He looks up with his best Doctor Oliver-stare on but when he sees that it´s Susan, his gaze softens and he goes back to concentrating on his sandwich. That look never worked on her anyway.
“Reid, what a surprise to find you here, eating another one of those artery-clogging sandwiches. You do know they are going to kill you eventually right?”
“Well, I can think of worse ways to die”, he answers, mouth full of food. He doesn´t smile though because his mind wanders off to that annoying dream and a fate much worse than death from sandwiches.
As usual, Susan seems to be able to read his mind. “Still dreaming?” She asks, not succeeding in hiding the concern in her voice. Reid doesn´t like the feeling of anyone worrying about him, not even Susan.
“I´m always dreaming”, he answers and takes another large bite of his sandwich, “just never about you.”
“Oh Reid, you´re breaking my heart.” She puts her hands on her chest in a dramatic gesture which makes the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.
“I didn´t know you actually had one.”
Susan laughs and slaps him on the arm before her face grows serious again. “Seriously though Reid, do you get enough sleep? And don´t give me any crap.”
Reid sighs and takes the last bite of the sandwich. “Well, thanks to those magic pills you gave me, I get enough sleep to function.”
“Reid,” she reaches out for his hand and he reluctantly lets her take it. “You have to do something about this. Now that we know that nothing is wrong with that brilliant brain of yours, you have to see someone else.”
“You mean like a psychiatrist?” Reid can´t help the disgusted look on his face.
“There is nothing wrong with getting some help! You´re a doctor Reid, you of all people should know that.” Her voice is sharp and Reid quietly admits that she does have a point but there is no way he would ever go to some cracked up wannabe-doctor and lay on the couch and talk about feelings. Susan doesn´t need to know that though.
“Fine, I´ll go see someone. Now can you release my hand before we have the whole staff gossiping about how you converted the gay man?”
Susan laughs and let go of his hand. “Speaking of gay man, I hear that you have told the nurses to not let in or accept any calls from that gorgeous blonde anymore. Care to explain why?”
“Not really”, he answers with a groan, debating whether or not it was possible to fire his entire staff for gossiping. But he probably couldn´t run this place all alone and besides, he had handpicked every single doctor and nurse who worked for him because they where the best in their field and he didn´t want to replace them with averages.
“Common Reid. I tell you everything about my love life.”
Reid snorts. “Oh please, you´re married with two kids. The odds that you even have a love life is close to zero.” That remark gained him another slap on the arm but Susan is clearly not giving up.
“Seriously Reid, he came here every day for two weeks delivering coffee and always looked so sad when you weren´t available. Alison even told me that you almost smiled when you saw him. And you had dinner together.”
“Christ, isn´t anything private anymore? How the hell do you know what I did on New Year´s Eve anyway?”
“You celebrated New Year’s with him? I meant the dinner in your office!” Before Reid can say anything Susan claps her hands excitingly, as if she is a 14 year old girl after all. “Wait a minute! Oh my God! You asked him out on a date!”
“It wasn´t a date!” Reid tries to interrupt, but Susan doesn´t really care.
“You asked him out on a date and then you slept with him and then what? And what about what´s-his-name, D-something?”
“I´m not having this conversation with you Susan.”
Susan leans back in her chair and looks far too satisfied for her own good which makes Reid annoyed. “What?”
She shakes her head and smiles impossibly wider. “I never thought I would see the day that Reid Oliver would actually fall in love with someone.”
Okay so this is enough, clearly Susan is just as crazy as Luke. “I´m not in… that with anyone. And definitely not with a lunatic.” Susan just continues smiling and Reid stands up and takes his tray. “I have a surgery to attend to.” And with that he walks off.
“Good luck Reid!” She shouts it after him and he doesn´t really want to know what she means with that.
It´s almost 9 PM and Reid is tired beyond belief when he finally pulls off his scrubs. The surgery had been a success and he was optimistic about the future for his patient. He debated whether he should take a shower here but decided against it. He wanted a beer, a shower and his bed, in that order. He grabbed his jacket and nodded goodbye to one of the nurses and walked out of the clinic. The cold air hit him and he stopped momentarily and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the chilly wind running through his hair. Sometimes he forgot how good it felt to just do nothing, being so caught up in his work the last months that he hadn´t taken enough time being outside or going for a run. He decided to change that, starting the next day. Now he wanted that beer.
“Doctor Oliver, I would like to have a word with you?” Reid reluctantly opens his eyes and his gaze lands on the tall and attractive man stepping out from the shadows beside the parking lot. He immediately recognizes him as none other than the father of a certain Luciano Grimaldi. He briefly entertains the idea of either closing his eyes again in hopes that the man in front of him is just a figure of his imagination or getting back into the clinic as fast as he can and locking the door. None of those ideas seems to be very mature though.
“Mr. Grimaldi senior, I presume?” He asks instead with his trademark smirk, but it´s not really a question.
“I wasn´t sure you would remember me, seeing how we weren´t properly introduced before. I´m pleased to see that you do.” Luke´s father spoke in a low pleasant voice with a small accent Reid couldn´t place. Italian maybe? Well, it didn´t really matter.
“Don´t flatter yourself, I have a photographic memory. Sometimes it´s a gift, other times”, Reid raised an eyebrow as if to point out that other times obviously meant now, “it´s a curse.”
Sadly, insults seemed to work just as poorly on Luke´s father as it did on Luke himself since the man just smiled and took a few steps towards Reid with his hand stretched out.
“I´m Damian Grimaldi. It´s nice to finally meet you Doctor Oliver, or may I call you Reid?”
Reid ignores the outstretched hand. “Not if you expect me to answer.”
Damian just smiles and lowers his hand as if he expects Reid not to take it. “I can see that my son was right about you.”
Reid knows that he shouldn´t be interested, he shouldn´t want to know what that means and he should definitely not ask what Luke has told his father about him. What he should do is walk past the other man. He should go home, drink the goddamn beer, take a shower and one of those ridiculous sleeping pills he needs and get in bed.
“What do you mean by that? He asks and hates himself a little bit when he sees the smile grow even wider on the other man’s face.
“Well, he said that your bedside manner wasn´t very impressive and I have to agree with him. I´m not sure why he finds it so fascinating though.” Damian takes a few steps closer and stares at Reid, as if that would make him see what it is that Luke finds so attractive. It makes Reid feel like a lab rat or as if he is seventeen years old again and Damian wants to know what his intentions towards his son are. It´s not a very comfortable feeling.
Reid snorts and forces himself to not take a step back. “What do you want Mr. Grimaldi?”
“I want to talk to you about my son.”
Reid rolls his eyes. Oh god, he really wants to know what his intentions are. “This is ridiculous.”
Damian raises an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“Seriously, how old is your son? 20-22?”
“He´s 23 actually,” Damian interrupts and Reid can tell that Damian somehow thinks he should know that. Fuck that and fuck Grimaldi senior.
“Well, 23 then. Isn´t he a bit too old to send his daddy telling me whatever it is that he wants to say?”
“Luciano didn´t send me, Doctor Oliver. In fact, he would probably not approve of our little meeting here if he knew about it.” Grimaldi senior leans slightly forward and lowers his voice which makes it sound like he and Reid are having an affair behind junior´s back. The thought of it isn’t all that unappealing but no matter how attractive both Grimaldi men are, Reid just isn’t interested in having anything more to do with either of them. So he decides that a more drastic approach might get the other man to back off.
“Look, so I fucked your son, I fail to see why that´s any of your business?”
“Everything that concerns Luciano is my business, Doctor Oliver. That includes who he chooses to go to bed with if it makes him as miserable as he is now.”
The last sentence strings on a small feeling of guilt inside Reid but he pushes it away and opens his mouth to say something but Damian holds up a hand to stop him.
“Let me ask you a question Doctor Oliver. Do you have feelings for my son?”
Reid can´t help but laugh. This was worse than he thought; both father and son seemed to be idiots. “This is unbelievable, I´m not going to answer that.”
That only made the other man smile. “That´s what I thought.” He reached forward and patted Reid on the arm. ”Now, this is what you are going to do. The next time my son calls you, you are going to pick up your phone and answer and you will agree to see him and listen to what he has to say.”
“Do you really think you can tell me what to do?” Reid suddenly didn´t find this little meeting funny anymore. There was something about Luke´s father that made him very uncomfortable.
“Oh, I know I can Doctor Oliver. I would be very careful if I were you.”
“Are you threatening me? Because your son has already tried that technique once and he wasn’t very good at it.”
That only made the other man laugh. “Don’t worry, I´m much better than my son when it comes to that. Just think about what I said.” And with that he turned around and left just as quietly as he arrived, leaving Reid feeling dumbstruck and very, very annoyed.
In the seventeenth week Reid still wants that beer. But there is something else he has to do first. He has to tell a certain Luciano Grimaldi exactly what he thinks about his and his father´s blackmailing attempts.
Title - Brilliancy
Characters - Luke/Reid, Damian
Rating - PG-13
Warnings - None
Summary - A spectacular and beautiful game of chess, generally featuring sacrificial attacks and unexpected moves. Brilliancies are not always required to feature sound play or the best moves by either side.
A/N: So, we have almost reached the end. Have I mentioned how much I love feedback? No? I LOVE feedback! A big thank you to traciamc and bhumimak , I <3 you guys!
In the seventeenth week Reid Oliver is counting. Not that he ever would admit to doing such a ridiculous thing to anyone, but the truth is that he counts the weeks since he had amazingly hot sex with Mr. Grimaldi before throwing him out and it´s been exactly two long weeks. He has successfully managed to avoid Luke ever since, and that has been quite the achievement seeing how determined the other man has been in trying to get Reid to talk about what happened. Reid isn´t very interested in talking about anything with Luke and he learned a long time ago that whenever someone said, “Reid, we need to talk”, that was his cue to leave. Nothing good ever came out of that sentence.
The most disturbing thing about it all isn´t that he is angry or annoyed with Luke, because he really isn’t, in fact he is impressed by the kid, all that smooth talking and longing looks and really hard work to get Reid where he wanted. No, what disturbs him the most is that he actually fell for it. He really should have known better, after all he´s a genius.
After the blackmail, the almost sex at the hotel and the stalking, anyone could have told him that there was something seriously wrong with Mr. Grimaldi, but he didn´t get it. He should have told Mr. Grimaldi to get the fuck out of his life but he didn´t. Instead he invited him out on a non-date on New Year´s fucking Eve and then took him home and fucked him. He actually wished he could blame it all on his dick, as if his dick was the one taking charge and demanding to get to know more of Luke, pun intended. But Reid was many things and dishonest was not one of them.
The truth is that he had wanted to get to know Luke, and not only in the biblical way, he really wanted to be with him and that whole non-date had been… great. Okay, so maybe it had been more than great but what difference did it make now anyway? Having anything to do with Mr. Grimaldi meant headaches and trouble and Reid Oliver didn´t do that.
The sound of his phone snapped him out of his thoughts and he didn´t need to look at it to know who it was that had called him. Luke just didn´t know how to give up. Reid let the call go to voicemail and wasn´t surprised when his phone announced that he had one new message a minute later. He knows he should delete it immediately but he just couldn´t not listen to it first.
“Reid. It´s me. Again. I don´t even know if you´re listening to any of my messages and I know I should stop calling you since it probably makes me look even more of a stalker in your eyes. And I know that you don´t want to talk to me but I´m not going to give up. If you just would let me explain. You don´t have to say anything, just listen to me, and I don´t want to talk to your voicemail, no matter how hot your “you have reached Doctor Reid Oliver, leave a message” sounds. Reid, please call me.”
Well, at least he didn´t say the L-word this time.
The cafeteria in the clinic serves all kinds of excellent food and offers a wide range of different sandwiches. When Reid decided he was going to open his own clinic, the cafeteria was one of the things he knew right from the beginning how he wanted it to be. He had eaten too many unappealing meals in hospital cafeterias in his life to ever endure that again on a regular basis. He´s in the middle of devouring a remarkable outstanding sandwich when someone sits down opposite him. He looks up with his best Doctor Oliver-stare on but when he sees that it´s Susan, his gaze softens and he goes back to concentrating on his sandwich. That look never worked on her anyway.
“Reid, what a surprise to find you here, eating another one of those artery-clogging sandwiches. You do know they are going to kill you eventually right?”
“Well, I can think of worse ways to die”, he answers, mouth full of food. He doesn´t smile though because his mind wanders off to that annoying dream and a fate much worse than death from sandwiches.
As usual, Susan seems to be able to read his mind. “Still dreaming?” She asks, not succeeding in hiding the concern in her voice. Reid doesn´t like the feeling of anyone worrying about him, not even Susan.
“I´m always dreaming”, he answers and takes another large bite of his sandwich, “just never about you.”
“Oh Reid, you´re breaking my heart.” She puts her hands on her chest in a dramatic gesture which makes the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.
“I didn´t know you actually had one.”
Susan laughs and slaps him on the arm before her face grows serious again. “Seriously though Reid, do you get enough sleep? And don´t give me any crap.”
Reid sighs and takes the last bite of the sandwich. “Well, thanks to those magic pills you gave me, I get enough sleep to function.”
“Reid,” she reaches out for his hand and he reluctantly lets her take it. “You have to do something about this. Now that we know that nothing is wrong with that brilliant brain of yours, you have to see someone else.”
“You mean like a psychiatrist?” Reid can´t help the disgusted look on his face.
“There is nothing wrong with getting some help! You´re a doctor Reid, you of all people should know that.” Her voice is sharp and Reid quietly admits that she does have a point but there is no way he would ever go to some cracked up wannabe-doctor and lay on the couch and talk about feelings. Susan doesn´t need to know that though.
“Fine, I´ll go see someone. Now can you release my hand before we have the whole staff gossiping about how you converted the gay man?”
Susan laughs and let go of his hand. “Speaking of gay man, I hear that you have told the nurses to not let in or accept any calls from that gorgeous blonde anymore. Care to explain why?”
“Not really”, he answers with a groan, debating whether or not it was possible to fire his entire staff for gossiping. But he probably couldn´t run this place all alone and besides, he had handpicked every single doctor and nurse who worked for him because they where the best in their field and he didn´t want to replace them with averages.
“Common Reid. I tell you everything about my love life.”
Reid snorts. “Oh please, you´re married with two kids. The odds that you even have a love life is close to zero.” That remark gained him another slap on the arm but Susan is clearly not giving up.
“Seriously Reid, he came here every day for two weeks delivering coffee and always looked so sad when you weren´t available. Alison even told me that you almost smiled when you saw him. And you had dinner together.”
“Christ, isn´t anything private anymore? How the hell do you know what I did on New Year´s Eve anyway?”
“You celebrated New Year’s with him? I meant the dinner in your office!” Before Reid can say anything Susan claps her hands excitingly, as if she is a 14 year old girl after all. “Wait a minute! Oh my God! You asked him out on a date!”
“It wasn´t a date!” Reid tries to interrupt, but Susan doesn´t really care.
“You asked him out on a date and then you slept with him and then what? And what about what´s-his-name, D-something?”
“I´m not having this conversation with you Susan.”
Susan leans back in her chair and looks far too satisfied for her own good which makes Reid annoyed. “What?”
She shakes her head and smiles impossibly wider. “I never thought I would see the day that Reid Oliver would actually fall in love with someone.”
Okay so this is enough, clearly Susan is just as crazy as Luke. “I´m not in… that with anyone. And definitely not with a lunatic.” Susan just continues smiling and Reid stands up and takes his tray. “I have a surgery to attend to.” And with that he walks off.
“Good luck Reid!” She shouts it after him and he doesn´t really want to know what she means with that.
It´s almost 9 PM and Reid is tired beyond belief when he finally pulls off his scrubs. The surgery had been a success and he was optimistic about the future for his patient. He debated whether he should take a shower here but decided against it. He wanted a beer, a shower and his bed, in that order. He grabbed his jacket and nodded goodbye to one of the nurses and walked out of the clinic. The cold air hit him and he stopped momentarily and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the chilly wind running through his hair. Sometimes he forgot how good it felt to just do nothing, being so caught up in his work the last months that he hadn´t taken enough time being outside or going for a run. He decided to change that, starting the next day. Now he wanted that beer.
“Doctor Oliver, I would like to have a word with you?” Reid reluctantly opens his eyes and his gaze lands on the tall and attractive man stepping out from the shadows beside the parking lot. He immediately recognizes him as none other than the father of a certain Luciano Grimaldi. He briefly entertains the idea of either closing his eyes again in hopes that the man in front of him is just a figure of his imagination or getting back into the clinic as fast as he can and locking the door. None of those ideas seems to be very mature though.
“Mr. Grimaldi senior, I presume?” He asks instead with his trademark smirk, but it´s not really a question.
“I wasn´t sure you would remember me, seeing how we weren´t properly introduced before. I´m pleased to see that you do.” Luke´s father spoke in a low pleasant voice with a small accent Reid couldn´t place. Italian maybe? Well, it didn´t really matter.
“Don´t flatter yourself, I have a photographic memory. Sometimes it´s a gift, other times”, Reid raised an eyebrow as if to point out that other times obviously meant now, “it´s a curse.”
Sadly, insults seemed to work just as poorly on Luke´s father as it did on Luke himself since the man just smiled and took a few steps towards Reid with his hand stretched out.
“I´m Damian Grimaldi. It´s nice to finally meet you Doctor Oliver, or may I call you Reid?”
Reid ignores the outstretched hand. “Not if you expect me to answer.”
Damian just smiles and lowers his hand as if he expects Reid not to take it. “I can see that my son was right about you.”
Reid knows that he shouldn´t be interested, he shouldn´t want to know what that means and he should definitely not ask what Luke has told his father about him. What he should do is walk past the other man. He should go home, drink the goddamn beer, take a shower and one of those ridiculous sleeping pills he needs and get in bed.
“What do you mean by that? He asks and hates himself a little bit when he sees the smile grow even wider on the other man’s face.
“Well, he said that your bedside manner wasn´t very impressive and I have to agree with him. I´m not sure why he finds it so fascinating though.” Damian takes a few steps closer and stares at Reid, as if that would make him see what it is that Luke finds so attractive. It makes Reid feel like a lab rat or as if he is seventeen years old again and Damian wants to know what his intentions towards his son are. It´s not a very comfortable feeling.
Reid snorts and forces himself to not take a step back. “What do you want Mr. Grimaldi?”
“I want to talk to you about my son.”
Reid rolls his eyes. Oh god, he really wants to know what his intentions are. “This is ridiculous.”
Damian raises an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“Seriously, how old is your son? 20-22?”
“He´s 23 actually,” Damian interrupts and Reid can tell that Damian somehow thinks he should know that. Fuck that and fuck Grimaldi senior.
“Well, 23 then. Isn´t he a bit too old to send his daddy telling me whatever it is that he wants to say?”
“Luciano didn´t send me, Doctor Oliver. In fact, he would probably not approve of our little meeting here if he knew about it.” Grimaldi senior leans slightly forward and lowers his voice which makes it sound like he and Reid are having an affair behind junior´s back. The thought of it isn’t all that unappealing but no matter how attractive both Grimaldi men are, Reid just isn’t interested in having anything more to do with either of them. So he decides that a more drastic approach might get the other man to back off.
“Look, so I fucked your son, I fail to see why that´s any of your business?”
“Everything that concerns Luciano is my business, Doctor Oliver. That includes who he chooses to go to bed with if it makes him as miserable as he is now.”
The last sentence strings on a small feeling of guilt inside Reid but he pushes it away and opens his mouth to say something but Damian holds up a hand to stop him.
“Let me ask you a question Doctor Oliver. Do you have feelings for my son?”
Reid can´t help but laugh. This was worse than he thought; both father and son seemed to be idiots. “This is unbelievable, I´m not going to answer that.”
That only made the other man smile. “That´s what I thought.” He reached forward and patted Reid on the arm. ”Now, this is what you are going to do. The next time my son calls you, you are going to pick up your phone and answer and you will agree to see him and listen to what he has to say.”
“Do you really think you can tell me what to do?” Reid suddenly didn´t find this little meeting funny anymore. There was something about Luke´s father that made him very uncomfortable.
“Oh, I know I can Doctor Oliver. I would be very careful if I were you.”
“Are you threatening me? Because your son has already tried that technique once and he wasn’t very good at it.”
That only made the other man laugh. “Don’t worry, I´m much better than my son when it comes to that. Just think about what I said.” And with that he turned around and left just as quietly as he arrived, leaving Reid feeling dumbstruck and very, very annoyed.
In the seventeenth week Reid still wants that beer. But there is something else he has to do first. He has to tell a certain Luciano Grimaldi exactly what he thinks about his and his father´s blackmailing attempts.