Sparks and Gasoline 53/53
Summary: Sixteen years after Reid leaves town for college, Luke is the
editor in chief of the local newspaper, Oakdaily. When a corporation
decides to take over Oakdale Memorial, Luke becomes suspicious and
starts investigating. Then unexpectedly, Bob decides to retire and hire
Reid Oliver to come back to town. Hijinks ensue as Luke is convinced
Reid has something to do with the corruption and mystery. What is really
the history of their past? What will happen when sparks and gasoline
meet?
Rating:NC-17
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with ATWT
All mistakes are my own.
A/N:
This is finally over and done! This is how I always planned on ending the story and I know some of you will hate me for this, but this is what needed to be done. Enjoy!
If you'd like to read this in it's entirety, you can do so here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6116964/1/Sparks-and-Gasoline
As always feedback = <3
Epilogue:
Luke and Reid sat in Metro waiting for his mother and Holden to arrive. Reid had ordered an appetizer and was happily eating his wings and fried mushrooms as Luke smiled with affection at the man before him. It had been one year and a day since Reid and Luke decided enough was enough and they weren’t spending any more time apart. Of course, that was better said than done, and Reid and Luke still fought like the two stubborn men they had always been, but instead of running away and hurting each other, they always made up and made sure to communicate. It didn’t help that the sex was always fantastic and slowly, but surely, they were coming to realize that their life together was more than either of them could have possibly thought a year ago.
Luke had finally sold the paper and went back to writing. His manuscript had been picked up about six months after he started working on it again, and now he was working on a sequel to the love story of two gay teenage boys trying to find love in a world full of mystery and darkness. He knew exactly what he would base the story on. Alison had gotten therapy and spent time in the psychiatric hospital. She was out on parole now and working at Java. Luke saw her twice a week and they went shopping, went to see movies, and sometimes just hung out and got to know each other. The more time together they spent, the more they realized they really were twins. Alison apologized at least fifty times each time they hung out and Luke knew, eventually he would forgive her, but it was a slow process. Damian was still running around somewhere, but he no longer cared. After everything that went down with the hospital and the town, he decided to donate the money from his sale of the Oakdaily to building a new hospital on the other side of town. Just last week everything had been moved over and Memorial was just an empty shell, that held the memories of the terror that Damian and his thugs had unleashed on the town.
Reid was starting to build a relationship with his father. It started when Reid ran into his father a few months ago and they started meeting weekly to talk. His father told him that he missed and loved him, which he hadn’t heard in years, and that he was sorry that his mother still harbored so much resentment toward him. Reid banned the talk of his mother when he and his father had coffee. The more he reconnected with his father and his father asked him questions about his life and about Luke, the more he realized that just having his father try to accept him, was enough. He knew his mother would never accept him, and that she didn’t even want to try, but the fact that his father went against his mother to reconnect with him, gave him the courage to believe in himself and the love he shared with Luke. He was still scared about the future and if his father would show up on the day he married, Luke, but the more time he spent with Luke in his bed, in his arms, and in his life, the more he realized he would never be happy to have him not there.
Once Lily and Holden finally arrived, the party started. This was their engagement party, at least one of them, anyway, and Reid and Luke both were in the wedding party. Luke was happy for his mother and Holden and knew that this was the last time his mother would ever waver between Damian and Holden. He still didn’t know who his father actually was, and he didn’t care. He knew in his heart that the only man he’d ever claim as his father was Holden. Damian was a monster and he had finally escaped it’s clutches. Damian had tried relentlessly throughout the year to get Luke to see him, to honor his loyalty to family, and each time Luke had told him that his family was Lily, Holden, Emma, Lucinda, Alison, Faith, Natalie, Ethan, and Reid. He was a Snyder and would always be a Snyder. Damian had left one final message for Luke with the promise of sorrow and pain if he did not take his place as the rightful heir to his Grimaldi fortune and his royalty.
Reid and Luke christened every space in Reid’s new office as soon as the building was done, and were caught in the on-call room when a nurse barged in to get help from Reid. Neither Reid, Luke, or the nurse ended up having a good day after that, but when Lucinda approved a small room off of Reid’s office with a bed for ‘the nights when Reid worked late’, everything was solved. Reid loved his job and his office, and he loved that Luke came to visit him every day with coffee, food from Al’s, and always willing and ready to help him with anything he needed.
He smiled at Luke as Luke made a toast to Lily and Holden and knew that in just a few minutes, Luke himself would be getting engaged. The plan had been set in motion after Christmas, when they got back from their vacation to Fiji.
Just as they were drinking champagne in honor of Lily and Holden, right on cue Carly ran down the stairs,
“Hey, fireworks are going off!”
Reid knew how much Luke loved them and told him to grab his coat.
They went outside and Reid grabbed Luke’s hand,
“Come on, let’s go watch them from our hill.”
“But they might be over by then.”
“Trust me, Luke, they won’t be.”
They made their way down the street and then to the hill that overlooked the park.
Reid sat down by Luke and pulled him closer to him.
“Are you too cold?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Luke oohed and ahhed as he watched the fireworks.
They stopped and Luke sighed,
“I have always loved fireworks.”
“I know. That’s why I had these done.”
“You had these done?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“Yes, for you?”
“But why?”
“Because you love fireworks and I love you.”
Luke crawled into Reid’s lap. He kissed him passionately and snuggled into him.
“You are the sweetest, kindest, most romantic man I have ever known.”
“I know.”
“Really, Reid. This is so beautiful.”
“Yes you are.”
“Stop it. I’m being serious.”
“So am I, Luke. I love you, everything about you. I know that fireworks make you happy, because I know you. You are so passionate and full of life and you love with everything you have. There isn’t one part of you that doesn’t feel . When you’re angry, you’re entire body exudes that, and when you’re happy, everything about you screams of pure joy. And that’s why I know you love fireworks. You have always pushed me and gotten under my skin and made me feel things I didn’t want to or even knew I could feel. You’ve always done that to me, even in high school. All I wanted to do was tell you to fuck off, but you always came back and you always made me want you. And I still want you, all of you. Even when you’re pissed off at me for eating the last piece of cheesecake from Emma, or for taping over your Glee episodes with baseball games, or for telling Ethan on Christmas that Santa had an allergic reaction to the cookies he left out and died.”
“You’re still an asshole by the way for telling him that. He cried for three days. He’s still traumatized.”
“But even though I do those things, and you get angry at me, you’re still here in my lap, kissing me and telling me that you love me. And now I finally believe it.”
“Believe what?”
“That you love me, that I deserve to be happy and that I deserve a marriage and a wedding and life with you.”
Luke gasped and tensed up.
He whispered the words,
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. I want to marry you Luciano Snyder. I want to have a family with you and spend every day for the rest of my life antagonizing you and making you feel more loved than you have ever felt loved.”
Luke was crying by that point,
“Did you change your mind, Luke about wanting that?”
“These are happy tears, Reid. These are tears of joy and disbelief and so much love for you. I want all of that with you.”
“So, I guess all that’s left then is this.”
With that Reid gently pushed Luke off, lifted him to his feet and then got down on the frozen, cold ground.
“Will you Luciano Snyder, make an honest man of me and marry me with a big wedding and all that shit?”
Luke burst out laughing at the proposal,
“Only you would call our marriage and wedding, ‘all that shit’, Reid. But yes, I will marry you. I would be honored to.”
With that, Luke pulled Reid up and kissed him. In the background he heard the fireworks going again and cheering. But he didn’t care, all he wanted to do was kiss the man he loved.
When he finally came up for air, he realized all of his friends and family were there, and they were cheering for them and the grand finale that was going off.
They went back into Metro and celebrated Luke and Reid’s engagement and as the New Year rang in, Luke got a phone call. He saw the number and hit cancel on his phone. It was Damian. Damian was not going to ruin his night. Not anymore, not ever again.
He kissed Reid on the lips and told him he’d be right back.
He went back up to the street and pulled up one of his contacts, he hit the send button and waited for the reply,
“Are you sure about this, Luke?”
“Yes, but the question is are you sure you want to be the one to do this?
"Are you kidding me? After everything he put me through? Yes. And then 1,000 more times yes."
"Alright, but this is the last we will ever speak of this."
"No problem."
With that he hung up the phone. In the distance he heard an explosion and went back downstairs to enjoy the rest of his life with the man he loved.
The next morning, Lily called him in a panic.
“Did you know that the old Memorial Hospital was blown up last night?”
“Really?”
“Yeah, they found a body inside.”
“Interesting, I wonder whose it is.”
“I don’t know, but apparently the body was so badly damaged, they can’t even get dental records to identify the body.”
“That’s a shame. I have to go mother, Reid needs me.”
Reid pulled Luke down to kiss him,
“What was that about.”
“Nothing, just tying up loose ends.”
Luke pulled the sim card out of his phone and replaced it. Then he threw the old one in the trash.
He laid back down and snuggled closer to Reid and laughed to himself.
Sparks and gasoline really don’t mix.