fan fic: it's that what if factor, part 14 (rated T/PG-13)
so i decided that since yesterday was so ... *cringes* not likable, that i would be nice and spoil you guys today. i wrote a LOT today for this [four or five more chapters at least], so i figured i could afford to do that. here's chapter 14 for everyone when they wake up, and i'll be posting 15 in the afternoon [so in about twelve hours]. enjoy <3
title: it's that what if factor, pt. 14
rating: pg-13
summary: luke never could have imagined that a business trip to dallas would so completely change his life.
notes: i like this one, and i'm dying to share future chapters. the last one i wrote [part 24] is just... -dies- xD this one makes me smile, too, though ^^; enjoy!
Nearly two weeks went by before Luke and Reid's unintentional game of phone tag led to a real conversation. Luke was near giving up, wondering if the universe was trying to tell him something. Every time he had a chance to call, Reid was working. Even on the evenings he knew Reid should be home, he would always call and get his voicemail. Sometimes Reid would text him far into the night hours, just briefly explaining that he'd been called in for an emergency, sorry he couldn't answer.
Likewise, Reid found that his scheduled must have been the exact opposite of Luke's, for it seemed Luke was always in a meeting or doing a family dinner or something that made it impossible for them to talk when he actually had time. It was driving him crazy, as much as he would never admit it. A lot could happen in two weeks and he wanted, no, needed to get a grip on where they stood. They hadn't even had a chance to discuss Luke's conversation with Noah, which Reid knew played a big role in his life right now, as much as he hated it. He wasn't too worried, Luke was still calling and texting him after all, but he was anxious and hated waiting.
It was Saturday night and Luke had taken the day off. Reid had gotten out early and was enjoying some pizza and watching the news when his phone buzzed. He nearly jumped on the thing, another fact he would never admit to, answering it hastily.
"Hello?" he breathed hard into the phone.
"Reid?" answered Luke, sounding surprised. Reid laughed and Luke relaxed. "Hey, wow, I finally managed to catch you. Are you busy?"
"No, no, just eating dinner. I assume you're not busy either?" he asked, standing up and walking across the room. He was too anxious to sit still.
"Yeah, it's been a pretty quiet day," said Luke. "It's good to hear you."
Reid smiled against the phone. Luke wasn't hear to physically see him, so he figured there was no harm in letting go a bit. "Good to hear you, too."
On the other end Luke was lighting up as well.
"How have things been? I know it's been pretty busy for you," said Luke.
"Yeah, it's been a little out there," Reid sighed. "We just got a new chief of staff so it's been a bit of a nightmare."
"Ouch. What's he like?"
"I don't know, haven't hardly talked to him," he shrugged. "He's not much different from our last chief of staff. Maybe a bit more OCD, though that might just be because he's new. I know it's driving the nurses crazy, which in turn makes things harder on the rest of us."
"Yeah, I bet."
Pause.
"So what about you, Mr. Philanthropist? Save anymore needy children this week?" Reid said almost playfully, his usual sarcasm sneaking in. Luke laughed.
"It's actually been kind of quiet at the foundation. We had some issues with filing last week, that's why I was in meetings so much, but no, we haven't really started anything new."
"Sounds… fun?"
"Oh yeah, loads," Luke laughed.
A few more minutes of small talk finally evolved and Reid decided he might as well get it over with.
"So how did your talk with Noah go?"
Luke sighed. He didn't seem surprised by the question, but he didn't sound happy, either.
"I saw him last Monday," Luke began. He had been standing in the kitchen at the farm house, but now he sat down. Likewise, Reid sat at the kitchen table, leaning on his elbow. If they had been sitting together they would have been near mirror images of the other. Luke sighed heavily, and Reid frowned. "I don't know, I feel like we didn't get anywhere, at least not anywhere new. It started out all right, I guess, a bit awkward but that's to be expected. He told me that he knew we couldn't just jump back into things but that he wanted to start over." Reid would have been worried by this statement, if it weren't for the annoyance in Luke's voice. Again the younger man sighed into the phone.
"What did you say to that?" Reid asked carefully, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"I told him I didn't think I could do that," Luke said honestly and plainly, surprising Reid greatly. "I told him that, after everything, I was tired of being thrown around and pushed away. I told him that I'd forced myself to let him go, to move on, and that it wasn't fair of him to ask me to go back after going through all of that."
"And what did he say?"
Another sigh. "He asked me if I was seeing someone else."
Reid was silent, feeling his chest tighten. He wondered what Luke had answered, but as before, he wasn't sure what to expect.
"What did you say?" said Reid, not caring if he was asking the same thing over and over gain. He could hear Luke's breathing catch on the other end.
"Well," Luke began nervously, clutching the phone tighter. He was actually glad he wasn't doing this in person. "I told him no," he started. Reid's heart clenched, though he wasn't completely sure why. "But I did tell him that I'd met someone, someone that I think I might want to move on with."
Reid practically stopped breathing at this point, falling into his chair with a blissful smile on his face and feeling like a fool. God he was glad that no one was there to see him like this. He couldn't find coherent words to answer, so Luke took the silence as encouragement to continue.
"I do mean that, Reid. I know the distance makes things complicated, but… if you want to, that is, I'd like to see where this goes," he said shakily. Still Reid was silent. Luke panicked. "I don't mean for that to sound so heavy or anything, I mean, I'm not asking you to tie yourself down to me or something," he started quickly, stumbling over his words.
"Luke, Luke," Reid said a few times before finally grabbing the boy's attention. He laughed softly and the sound made Luke's head spin. "I get it, it's alright, calm down," he teased. He paused, trying to find the right words. "I want to give this a try, too. And hey, you're the little rich boy with a plane who writes his own schedule. I guess there's no excuse not to come down here from time to time."
Luke laughed in relief, running a hand through his thick hair. "You mean that?"
"No, Luke. I'm kidding. I want nothing to do with you and hope you never return to Dallas. These sentiments should be obvious from my dozens of pathetic phone calls and late night texts messages," Reid responded sarcastically. Luke started laughing before Reid even finished.
"When is your next day off?" Luke asked suddenly. Reid leaned back, thinking for a minute.
"Next… Sunday," he answered.
"Still with the Saturday nights open, too?"
"Yep."
"Well then, I'll see you Saturday."
title: it's that what if factor, pt. 14
rating: pg-13
summary: luke never could have imagined that a business trip to dallas would so completely change his life.
notes: i like this one, and i'm dying to share future chapters. the last one i wrote [part 24] is just... -dies- xD this one makes me smile, too, though ^^; enjoy!
Nearly two weeks went by before Luke and Reid's unintentional game of phone tag led to a real conversation. Luke was near giving up, wondering if the universe was trying to tell him something. Every time he had a chance to call, Reid was working. Even on the evenings he knew Reid should be home, he would always call and get his voicemail. Sometimes Reid would text him far into the night hours, just briefly explaining that he'd been called in for an emergency, sorry he couldn't answer.
Likewise, Reid found that his scheduled must have been the exact opposite of Luke's, for it seemed Luke was always in a meeting or doing a family dinner or something that made it impossible for them to talk when he actually had time. It was driving him crazy, as much as he would never admit it. A lot could happen in two weeks and he wanted, no, needed to get a grip on where they stood. They hadn't even had a chance to discuss Luke's conversation with Noah, which Reid knew played a big role in his life right now, as much as he hated it. He wasn't too worried, Luke was still calling and texting him after all, but he was anxious and hated waiting.
It was Saturday night and Luke had taken the day off. Reid had gotten out early and was enjoying some pizza and watching the news when his phone buzzed. He nearly jumped on the thing, another fact he would never admit to, answering it hastily.
"Hello?" he breathed hard into the phone.
"Reid?" answered Luke, sounding surprised. Reid laughed and Luke relaxed. "Hey, wow, I finally managed to catch you. Are you busy?"
"No, no, just eating dinner. I assume you're not busy either?" he asked, standing up and walking across the room. He was too anxious to sit still.
"Yeah, it's been a pretty quiet day," said Luke. "It's good to hear you."
Reid smiled against the phone. Luke wasn't hear to physically see him, so he figured there was no harm in letting go a bit. "Good to hear you, too."
On the other end Luke was lighting up as well.
"How have things been? I know it's been pretty busy for you," said Luke.
"Yeah, it's been a little out there," Reid sighed. "We just got a new chief of staff so it's been a bit of a nightmare."
"Ouch. What's he like?"
"I don't know, haven't hardly talked to him," he shrugged. "He's not much different from our last chief of staff. Maybe a bit more OCD, though that might just be because he's new. I know it's driving the nurses crazy, which in turn makes things harder on the rest of us."
"Yeah, I bet."
Pause.
"So what about you, Mr. Philanthropist? Save anymore needy children this week?" Reid said almost playfully, his usual sarcasm sneaking in. Luke laughed.
"It's actually been kind of quiet at the foundation. We had some issues with filing last week, that's why I was in meetings so much, but no, we haven't really started anything new."
"Sounds… fun?"
"Oh yeah, loads," Luke laughed.
A few more minutes of small talk finally evolved and Reid decided he might as well get it over with.
"So how did your talk with Noah go?"
Luke sighed. He didn't seem surprised by the question, but he didn't sound happy, either.
"I saw him last Monday," Luke began. He had been standing in the kitchen at the farm house, but now he sat down. Likewise, Reid sat at the kitchen table, leaning on his elbow. If they had been sitting together they would have been near mirror images of the other. Luke sighed heavily, and Reid frowned. "I don't know, I feel like we didn't get anywhere, at least not anywhere new. It started out all right, I guess, a bit awkward but that's to be expected. He told me that he knew we couldn't just jump back into things but that he wanted to start over." Reid would have been worried by this statement, if it weren't for the annoyance in Luke's voice. Again the younger man sighed into the phone.
"What did you say to that?" Reid asked carefully, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"I told him I didn't think I could do that," Luke said honestly and plainly, surprising Reid greatly. "I told him that, after everything, I was tired of being thrown around and pushed away. I told him that I'd forced myself to let him go, to move on, and that it wasn't fair of him to ask me to go back after going through all of that."
"And what did he say?"
Another sigh. "He asked me if I was seeing someone else."
Reid was silent, feeling his chest tighten. He wondered what Luke had answered, but as before, he wasn't sure what to expect.
"What did you say?" said Reid, not caring if he was asking the same thing over and over gain. He could hear Luke's breathing catch on the other end.
"Well," Luke began nervously, clutching the phone tighter. He was actually glad he wasn't doing this in person. "I told him no," he started. Reid's heart clenched, though he wasn't completely sure why. "But I did tell him that I'd met someone, someone that I think I might want to move on with."
Reid practically stopped breathing at this point, falling into his chair with a blissful smile on his face and feeling like a fool. God he was glad that no one was there to see him like this. He couldn't find coherent words to answer, so Luke took the silence as encouragement to continue.
"I do mean that, Reid. I know the distance makes things complicated, but… if you want to, that is, I'd like to see where this goes," he said shakily. Still Reid was silent. Luke panicked. "I don't mean for that to sound so heavy or anything, I mean, I'm not asking you to tie yourself down to me or something," he started quickly, stumbling over his words.
"Luke, Luke," Reid said a few times before finally grabbing the boy's attention. He laughed softly and the sound made Luke's head spin. "I get it, it's alright, calm down," he teased. He paused, trying to find the right words. "I want to give this a try, too. And hey, you're the little rich boy with a plane who writes his own schedule. I guess there's no excuse not to come down here from time to time."
Luke laughed in relief, running a hand through his thick hair. "You mean that?"
"No, Luke. I'm kidding. I want nothing to do with you and hope you never return to Dallas. These sentiments should be obvious from my dozens of pathetic phone calls and late night texts messages," Reid responded sarcastically. Luke started laughing before Reid even finished.
"When is your next day off?" Luke asked suddenly. Reid leaned back, thinking for a minute.
"Next… Sunday," he answered.
"Still with the Saturday nights open, too?"
"Yep."
"Well then, I'll see you Saturday."