The Better Man (29/30)
Title: The Better Man
Author: Bhumi
Rating: NC-17
Summary: AU- Luke is heartbroken and hopes that a break from his hectic work life and his horrible love life will do him some good. But what he didn’t know is that this one short journey full of fun, laughter and unexpected encounters would change his life forever and would lead him to something he never expected to find.
Disclaimer: I don’t own the boys unfortunately, just in my dreams...
Author's notes: Hey guys! This is the penultimate chapter *cries* I can't believe it's almost over! I think I may have cried a little while writing this chapter because...well...you'll see and plus I'm a sap and cry at the drop of a hat! Hehe! :P
Thank you all for your lovely comments and to all who drop by to read! Thanks to the amazing Bittersweetreid for being so awesome and my sounding board and thank you to Traci for correcting my horrendous grammar! A special thanks to Vallie who keeps me sane and stops me from freaking out <3! Previous chapters are under my authors tag! Feedback and concrit = <3 and I hope you enjoy! :D
Early the next morning Luke made his way down after getting ready and grinned to himself thinking about how effective Reid was as an alarm clock. He wouldn’t mind waking up early every morning if he was woken up in that way. He'd left Reid to get dressed and made his way downstairs to find everyone already in the kitchen.
Ben and Romy were by the stove whilst Ellie and Charlie were sitting at the breakfast table drinking their tea.
“Morning...” said Luke as he made his way over to greet Ellie and Charlie.
“Morning,” chorused everyone.
“Good morning, darling,” Ellie kissed Luke’s cheek, “Where’s Reid? I thought he would be the first down for breakfast.”
Luke laughed, “He should be down in a bit, he was just getting ready. Do you need help with anything, guys?” he asked.
“Nope,” Ben and Ramona declared over their shoulders, “We’re almost done,” Ben said. He then left Ramona to finish off, kissing her cheek before making his way over to Luke gripping his arm. “You’re just the man I wanted to see, let me grab some alone time with you before your clingy boyfriend comes down here.”
Luke narrowed his eyes but laughed, “Ben, he’s not clingy.”
Ben scoffed, “You didn’t see him yesterday when you went out, he is clingy, trust me. Come on, maybe before he comes down we can squeeze in a quickie,” he winked.
Luke chuckled and let Ben lead him out of the kitchen into his study and closed the door behind him.
“Ben, don’t you think you should lock the door in case anyone comes in?”
“There’s no need to, it would be a great show really. I mean look at you and look at me...we would be bloody hot together,” he grinned.
Luke sat down on the huge leather sofa that accommodated one corner of his study and laughed, “You are one crazy guy, you know that right?”
Ben walked over and dropped down on the sofa next to him, slipping an arm around his shoulder, “Yeah, I don’t deny that. Why be normal? It’s so overrated.”
“Hmmm, you’re right about that.”
“I’m glad we agree, so how are you? Really?”
“I’m fine, Ben, really good.”
Ben narrowed his eyes, “Then what was yesterday about? It was one of your ‘Snyder’ freak outs, wasn’t it?”
Luke laughed sharply in disbelief, “Jesus, am I that obvious?”
Ben’s lips curled into a half-smile, “Well, I know you and I could tell something was wrong. I didn’t want to say anything because I thought Reid would deal with it and I’m hoping he did?”
Luke nudged his shoulder, pouting, “I guess you do know me and yes, Reid dealt with it, but it was more like we sorted it out together.”
“What happened?” Ben shook his head at his stupidity, “Oh crap, sorry, I don’t mean to pry. You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, no, Ben. You’re not prying,” Luke smiled, “I was just...freaking out about what would happen when we got back. I thought that things would change between us and these feelings that we have for each other would somehow disappear and silly things like that.”
“Luke, mate, you guys love each other. I totally get why you would freak out but I’m guessing you talked things out.”
“Yeah we did, he believes that we’ll work and I do too, even though we’ll be apart for the first time since we’ve met,” Luke ran a hand through his hair and laughed shortly. “I can’t believe that all this happened in the space of two weeks. Doesn’t it sound so crazy?”
Ben shrugged, “It may sound crazy to an outsider but who gives a fuck about them? Love doesn’t have a set route or method, it just happens. Sometimes you fall in love quickly and sometimes it takes a little time, but the end result is the same, right?”
“When did you get all clever?” asked Luke pinching Ben’s cheek lightly.
“Excuse me, Luciano,” Ben pushed Luke’s hand away laughing, “I was always clever but I just like to share my knowledge with those who deserve it.”
“Thank you for thinking me worthy of your genius, Mr. Benjamin Warner Moore.”
“You’re welcome, baby,” he winked. “So, Luciano, what’s the plan for the future?” asked Ben, raising his eyebrows.
“We’re going to have to keep up a long distance thing for a little while, but I am planning to move to New York.”
“You serious?”
Luke nodded and smiled widely, “I want to take up my writing again. I felt so lost before I came here. I didn’t know where I was heading, what I wanted to do. My life had become monotonous and boring. But...I think I know where I want my life to go, you know? I think things will be better from now on.”
“That’s so great Luke, I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you Ben. I couldn’t have even thought about this if it wasn’t for you.”
“Pshhh,” Ben dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. “It was all you, man, I’m just glad that you’re happy, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Luke swallowed hard, not wanting to break down in front of Ben right at that moment and so he smiled widely and nodded. Ben ruffled Luke’s hair and laughed, trying to dispel the large lump in his throat. He got to his feet and walked over to his desk, “I have something for you Luciano,” he opened the drawer and pulled out a small rectangular package. He walked back over to Luke and handed him the package and saw that he was frowning.
“What’s with the upside down smile?”
“Ben, why did you get me something?”
“Because I wanted to,” Ben grinned, sitting down next to him. “Just open it.”
Luke frowned but opened the package carefully and pulled away the paper. It looked like an ornate book but when he opened the first page he gasped. As he flipped through pages and pages of photos, he found that the album was filled with candid shots of Luke and Reid from the wedding. Pictures of them laughing and joking when they didn’t even know photos were being taken. There were some pictures of them dancing, as well as some pictures of the four of them inside and outside of the church.
“You’re such a stalker...and a pervert,” Luke said as he nudged Ben with his shoulder.
“Hey, Luciano, if you don’t want it, just say so,” he reached out for the album but Luke hugged it to his chest. “No way, I am in love with this.”
“I should bloody well think so, this took a lot of effort. Romy and I went through a ton of photos to pick the right ones for that album.”
Luke put his hand on Ben’s knee and squeezed, “I can’t believe you went through that much trouble, thank you. I love it, I really do.”
“No thanks required. I’m just happy you like it, and for once, I didn’t tell the photographer to do anything. The both of you seemed to be very photogenic and, okay...maybe I did tell him to take a few more of you guys but the rest were all just what he thought looked good.”
Luke smiled, looked down and flipped to the one photo of Reid and him outside the church, arms around each other’s waists, the both of them smiling widely.
“Reid told me he wasn’t photogenic but he looks so amazing in this photo.”
“I know, that’s why I’ve had one album made for him too.”
“Really? He would think this is cheesy, you know that right?”
“I know, that’s why I had it sent straight to his apartment in New York,” Ben grinned mischievously.
Luke laughed loudly, “Oh my god! That is genius...”
“I’m a multi-millionaire for a reason, Luke,” Ben said smugly, straightening his imaginary collars.
Luke grinned and high-fived him in agreement before putting the album to the side and pulling Ben in for a tight hug.
“Thank you for everything. You don’t even know what you’ve given me,” Luke mumbled into his shoulder.
Ben rolled his eyes and patted Luke’s back, “Don’t be an idiot, Luke. I love you, man...I should be the one thanking you.”
“I love you, too and you have nothing to thank me for,” he mumbled again.
Ben laughed, “Seriously...if I was gay, we would so be married with a few kids by now...”
Luke chuckled softly, “Oh really?”
“Hells yeah, we’d be living in some massive castle with a moat or something and I’d be your trophy husband or whatever, because clearly, I’m the better looking one out of the both of us and I’d only be married to you for the money.”
“Hey!” Luke chided as they both fell into a fit of laughter.
The door suddenly opened causing both Luke and Ben to spring apart seeing Reid standing in the doorway, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Was I interrupting something?”
Luke swatted Ben’s arm, “I told you, you should’ve locked the door. So much for the quickie we had planned.”
Ben’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and stared back at Reid, “Your boyfriend is evil, just saying.”
Reid shrugged, “I like them evil.”
Luke laughed and pulled Ben to his feet, “Come on, I’m hungry...let’s go and have breakfast. We might find time a little later,” he winked.
Ben chuckled and dropped his arm around Luke’s shoulder and then around Reid’s as he walked past him. “Oh man, am I going to miss you guys.”
***
The taxi arrived to take Luke and Reid to the airport just after they had finished breakfast. Reid volunteered to bring their bags down leaving Luke to say his goodbyes to everyone. Reid hated awkward moments like this but he knew he had to grin and bear it.
“God, I hate goodbyes,” Luke said laughing nervously, scratching behind his ear.
“Darling, then don’t say goodbye, say that you’ll see us soon,” Ellie said smiling.
Luke looked at the woman who had been everything for Reid when he had nothing and she had, with no hesitance, given her love and support to him when he needed it the most. He moved closer to her, hugging her and whispering thank you, unable to stop the tears rolling down his face. She let go of him and wiped away his tears with her fingers her own eyes filling up, “Don’t be a stranger, dear, okay?”
Luke nodded, inhaling deeply, “I don’t think you’ll be rid of me that easy.”
“I hope not,” Charlie chimed in smiling. “Like I said son, if you need any help with the writing career you wish to embark on, make sure you don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you Charlie,” Luke hugged him too before shaking his hand.
Ben was about to move forward towards Luke when Romy pushed past him and wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m going to miss you, Luciano,” she said cupping his face and kissing his cheek, smiling sadly.
“Me too, Romy, me too.”
Just then Reid came down with their bags, complaining about the weight when he noticed the very emotional moment going on in the hallway. He wished that you could just say goodbye and that would be the end of it, but he knew there was no way he would be able to avoid this.
He watched Luke wipe away some of his tears once Romy let him go and found Reid’s eyes, smiling faintly. Reid walked the rest of the way down, placing their bags by the door. Luke noticed Reid’s nervousness, seeing that his hand was bouncing up and down next to his thigh. He reached his hand down and held Reid’s hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb and shot him a smile. Reid smiled back and squeezed it lightly in acknowledgement before letting go and rubbing his hand under his nose.
"Can I just wave and say goodbye and go? I think Luke's done all the hugging for me."
Ellie stared at him incredulously, "Reid darling, I thought you were smart. Why are you asking such a stupid question?"
Reid rolled his eyes and was about to reply when Ben wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tight, resting his chin on his head.
"I'm going to miss you, Reidykins."
Reid awkwardly patted Ben's back, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"Just admit you'll miss me too. No one will judge you."
"Ben, seriously, get off me."
Ben sniffled exaggeratedly, wiping at his eyes, "Okay, fine. I will just pretend that you said that you love me big brother but let me say that I love you too.”
Reid managed to push Ben away and scowled at him seeing that his clothes were rumpled slightly and set to smooth them down, but when Ben saw the slight smile on Reid’s face and knew that although he couldn’t say it, Reid kind of felt the same way. Ben patted his back and tousled his hair before turning his attention to Luke, who he could tell was on the verge of sobbing.
"Luciano, baby, are you leaving me?" he pouted, holding his arms out.
Luke ducked his head, pressing his lips together but he couldn’t stop tears from welling up in his eyes, “You’re such an idiot, Ben. You can come and visit you know?”
Ben shuffled towards Luke and embraced him and Luke wound his arms around his middle, resting his head on his chest.
“I will come and visit, I promise you. Once Romy and Reid are out of the way one weekend, we can have a secret rendezvous, okay?” He looked down at Luke and rubbed his back, swaying him gently, “Thank you for being here for the wedding though. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”
Luke thumped Ben’s chest and pushed back, “Don’t be stupid, there was no way I was going to miss this. You’re my best friend...you mean so much to me.”
Ben was touched by his words knowing that he felt the same way, “Regardless, thank you,” he said smiling, his eyes shimmering with tears before he cleared his throat and pointed at Reid. “And thank you, Reid. I’m going to be taking you up on that offer to come and visit you. You had better watch out.”
Reid raised his hands in defeat, “I’ll be waiting,” he smiled.
Reid rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, smiling knowingly and opened his arms when he saw Romy looking at him sadly. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, “Awww, I’m going to miss having you hot men in the house.”
“Excuse me, what about me?” Ben asked, looking slightly offended.
“Luke and I are a little higher up on the scale, don’t you think Romy?” Reid smirked.
“Of course, but I’m so happy for the both of you,” she sighed happily. “This feels like the ending of a movie. It’s like a romance novel come to life and I’ve lived through it and in it...and now it’s all over.”
“It’s not over yet,” declared Ellie, “It’s just the start, am I right Reid?”
She approached him slowly, her own eyes filled with happy tears and cupped Reid’s face in her hands.
“You had better take care of Luke, okay? Otherwise you’ll have me to answer to.”
Reid raised his eyebrows in shock, “Why does everyone think I’m going to do something? Do you even know how violent he is?”
“Reid!” Luke laughed.
Ellie grinned and patting Reid’s cheek lightly before winking at Luke, “I’m sure Luke has his reasons so I give him permission.” Reid looked to see Luke smiling smugly at him and he stopped himself from saying something back and nodded reluctantly. “And Reid, darling, visit your old Aunt more often and take care of yourself. But, then again...I finally feel at ease now because I know you have Luke.”
Reid didn’t know how much more he could owe his Aunt. She’d given him everything he needed when he was in the worst possible place in his life. She’d been there for him, taken care of him and been the mother he needed when he’d lost his own. Reid didn’t know what he could say to convey his gratitude, his love and his adoration for her and so without caring about anyone else, he let her envelop him in her arms and he held on tighter than he had ever before, hoping that it conveyed everything he couldn’t put into words.
She pressed a kiss to his cheek before letting him go and patting his cheek once more before fixing his hair lovingly.
“Now, go on, before I do something drastic to keep you boys here,” Ellie said, waving her hand towards the door, her voice thick with emotion.
They all laughed as Reid said his goodbyes to Charlie, hugging him with a pat on the back, thanking him for the stay. Even though Ellie had been instrumental in making sure Reid was cared for when things weren’t good for him, he knew that without his support and devotion to Ellie and his loyalty for family, Reid wouldn’t be where he was today.
Luke and Reid grabbed a hold of their respective bags and walked out of the house. Luke let Reid put the bags in the back of the car and he quickly hugged everyone goodbye one last time, trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him again. Reid waved goodbye this time and got in the taxi followed by Luke, who rolled down the window and waved them goodbye as the taxi drove off. Ellie was standing with Charlie’s arm wrapped around her waist, as Ben stood with Ramona hugged to his chest. Ben blew him a kiss from afar and waved. Luke grinned as he caught it and waved back as they all moved out of sight. Luke rolled the window back up and shifted closer to Reid, dropping his head onto his shoulder and exhaled shakily.
Reid dropped a kiss to his hair, letting his hand rub up and down Luke’s arm.
“You okay?” he asked, concernedly.
“I’m fine, just going to miss them, that’s all. I didn’t think it would be that hard leaving them.”
“You had better believe that you’ll be coming back, plus now that they’re in your life, they won’t be going anywhere. They have you in their clutches.”
Luke chuckled softly and lifted his head to meet Reid’s eyes, “Just like you’re in my life and you won’t be going anywhere?”
“Exactly that, you sap.”
Luke pressed his forehead to the side of Reid’s head and laughed, “Well, you’ll just have to deal with it, Dr. Oliver, because I love you,” he said, kissing his cheek.
Reid looked to the heavens, “The things I have to deal with in the name of love...why did I bother?”
Luke grinned widely, “Because you know that after everything, the end result is worth it?”
Reid gazed into Luke’s eyes and caressed his cheek with his hand, kissing him softly, “Totally worth it.”
***
“This is so surreal.”
“Why?”
“We’re on a plane...together.”
“And?”
“We are sitting next to each other on a plane again. You’re in the aisle seat and I’m in the window seat, this is so, so weird.”
“Luke, what the--you sound ridiculous.”
“Okay, what I’m trying to say is that when I was last on a plane, you were next to me and we didn’t know each other and now we do and we’re sitting together and...”
“Luke, just stop-I kind of get what you’re trying to say but honey, have you taken your medication? You know how you get when you miss a dose?” he asked sarcastically, holding a hand to his forehead.
Luke brushed it off in annoyance but took a hold of his hand. “You’re a dick, however I will forgive you because I know you’re feeling a little vulnerable with the whole claustrophobia thing you have.”
“I’m not feeling vulnerable,” Reid tightened his hold on Luke’s hand as they hit a little turbulence. He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed audibly, “I never thought I would say this but I’m grateful for your bogus pop psychology at the moment.”
“Oh the brain thing? Does it really work?”
“It would work if you stopped talking to me.”
Luke ignored him and moved his mouth close to Reid’s ear, “I have another idea which is much more, how do you say…? Something that would require a joint effort, a collaboration of sorts,” he whispered.
“Pray tell, what is this idea, Mr. Snyder?” he asked, annoyed.
Luke grasped Reid’s hand firmly, yanking him out of his seat and pulled him towards the bathroom, he opened the door, pushing Reid inside and when Luke hoped no one was looking, he squeezed himself inside too, locking the door.
He turned to see Reid with his eyes squeezed shut, trying to regulate his breathing in the tiny space, “How the fuck is this supposed to help, Luke?”
Luke pushed Reid against the sink, grinding his hips against his and licked a line up his neck, his hands unbuckling Reid’s belt and undoing his trousers.
“Like this...” he said in a low, hot voice, as his hand began stroking Reid’s cock, his mouth latching onto Reid’s neck.
Reid gave into the pleasure, feeling his tension and panic melt away, “Mr. Snyder, your ideas are...ahhh fuck...good, very, very good.”
“Shhhhh,” Luke mumbled against his neck before pecking his lips, “this collaboration requires no talking...just feeling.”
“I could deal with tha-shit...”
***
If Luke thought that saying goodbye to Ben and Romy had been hard, saying goodbye to Reid at the airport was a hundred times harder. He had been clinging onto Reid for the past five minutes, his head buried in his shoulder.
"Luke, you're going to miss your flight and I can't breathe."
"I don't care," he mumbled.
Reid laughed softly and pressed a kiss to his hair, "Come on Blondie, don't be so clingy or I might just change my mind about you. Plus this is my favourite jacket and you're kind of ruining it..."
Luke moved back wiping at his eyes, "Jerk," he pouted.
“What a lovely way to say goodbye."
"Reid..."
"I'm kidding, okay come on, no more of this leaking," Reid said as he used his fingers to wipe away his tears. "We're going to see each other soon, aren't we?"
"Yeah but--"
"No buts, just keep that in mind and in the meantime we do have other ways we can communicate. Have you heard of something called a phone?"
"I know, but it isn't the same, Reid."
"It's better than nothing and this way, we can expand our sex life a little more. Phone sex is supposed to be pretty great..," he grinned.
Reid pulled Luke closer by his hips and watched as his face broke out into a shy smile. It amazed him that even though Luke was so voracious in bed, he still had an innocence about him, which if he had to be honest, made him love him even more.
Luke fixed Reid’s jacket and looked up shyly to meet his eyes, "Fine, I'll be taking you up on that, Dr. Oliver."
"I can't wait,” he smirked.
They gazed at each other for a few moments before they were interrupted by the announcement for the final call for Luke’s flight. Luke closed his eyes and sighed when Reid lifted his chin to look at him.
"Luke," he lifted a hand to cup his cheek, "come on, you’re going to miss your flight, you need to go.”
Luke inhaled shakily and ran a hand through Reid’s hair, his eyes travelling over his face, memorising him as much as he could, before resting his hand on the side of his neck. Reid smiled softly and closed the distance capturing Luke’s lips between his own. They kissed deeply but softly, their warm wet lips gliding together as Luke pulled him closer wanting to deepen the kiss even more. Reid left Luke’s lips reluctantly needing to breathe, but if it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t have stopped kissing Luke...ever.
“I love you,” Luke murmured, his eyes still closed as he rested his forehead against Reid’s.
Reid moved back slightly so he could see his face, “I love you too, and if you don’t go right now I might do something right here in the middle of the airport that might get us arrested.”
Luke laughed softly and kissed Reid gently, “God, I’m going to miss you so much...”
“I’ll miss you too, not your leech like sleeping habits but I will definitely miss the hot sex.”
"Reid..." Luke whined trying not to smile.
Reid smirked and ran a hand through Luke's blonde locks, "Okay, make sure you let me know once you get back to Oakdale safe and call me later tonight if you want to.”
Luke nodded and swallowed hard, "Hey, Reid?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll be okay, won't we?"
Reid sighed exaggeratedly and pressed a soft kiss to Luke's forehead and one more to his lips, "We'll be more than okay, I promise you," he said smiling softly.
Luke smiled, feeling reassured but most of all loved, "I'll call you when I get a chance tonight. I have a feeling my whole family will be at home to welcome me which means there will probably be a massive dinner or something."
Reid snorted, "I wouldn't be surprised, you are their golden boy after all."
Luke laughed and pressed one more kiss to Reid's lips, "I should really go now," he said quietly.
"You should, now bugger off and give me a call anytime tonight, I'll be awake, okay?"
"Okay," Luke hugged him one more time and kissed his cheek, "I love you."
Reid brought one of Luke's hands to his lips and kissed his fingers lightly, "I love you, too...now go..."
Luke bit his bottom lip, trying to stop it from trembling, knowing this was as hard for Reid as it was for him. He didn't know what inner strength he found, but he took a deep breath and turned away from Reid, relishing the feel of his hand, holding onto it as he walked towards security, before he couldn't hold on any longer. He scrubbed his face with his hand, wiping away those errant tears he was trying so hard to stop. Reid didn’t want him to cry and so he wouldn’t.
Once he’d passed security, he dared to turn around once more, knowing that he had something to stop him running back to Reid. He was still standing there, arms folded across his chest and smiling that crooked smile. Luke waved once more and Reid saluted back goofily making him laugh out loud and smile that dimpled sunshine smile. He walked backwards and away, not wanting to lose sight of Reid until he had to.
Once Reid saw that Luke had gone he shook his head in disbelief. He had already begun to count down the days, hours and minutes till he could have Luke in his arms again, ‘Fuck, I am such a sap.’ But for once he didn’t care if he was one...he loved Luke and Luke loved him, it was as simple as that.
Chapter Thirty