Bad Dream Oneshot

[tuckatangent]

Title: Bad Dream
Author: Amber
Rating: NC-17
Notes: Spoilers for the L/R ending. I meant to write a small thing, and it became a beast.

Luke was nervous. He watched, detached, as Reid packed his emergency overnight bag. He was silent, his face divided into firm lines of concentration.

Luke couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Reid's hand, and forced him to stop packing.

"Luke?" Reid said softly. "What is it, babe?"

Luke chewed on his bottom lip, panic throbbing throughout his body.

"I don't want you to go," he blurted. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Reid's eyes widened in concern. He stepped away from this bag, and moved closer to Luke.

"Is this about your dream?" he asked gently.

Tears pooled in Luke's eyes. He nodded quickly.

Reid pulled Luke closer to him, drawing him into a loose hug.

"Tell me," he whispered into Luke's ear.

Luke grasped Reid's shoulders, sniffling against his back. He began to speak.

Reid waited patiently in front of the train tracks. A soft smile graced his face as he remembered his goodbye with Luke.

Luke kissed him deeply, threading his tongue against Reid's teeth.

For a moment, Reid basked in Luke's glittering eyes.

"Reid, I need to tell you something." Luke said seriously. He placed his hands on Reid's shoulders.

"Me too," Reid replied softly. He felt time seeping away from him, a real life hourglass. He had less than an hour before he had to leave for Bay City.

"I love you," Luke said, staring directly into Reid's eyes. "I love you more than I ever thought I could. You drive me crazy, but you push me to be a better man. I can't thank you enough." He nodded to himself, a reassuring gesture.

Reid bit down on his lower lip to curtail his chuckle. "I'm not gonna die, you know." he replied. He leaned forward until his lips were inches from Luke.

Luke blinked once, hurt at the joke.

"I love you too, Luke Snyder." Reid said sincerely. "I've loved you since the third time i saw you. As I watched you taking care of Noah, I wanted to be kissing you instead. I wanted your caring, your strength to be for me." He shook Luke gently. "I love you too, you hear me?"

Luke exhaled slowly. He was transfixed by Reid's gaze. His eyes conveyed lust, love, and tenderness all in one. It vividly reminded him of Dallas.

Luke rolled his tongue against his lips slowly. He edged forward, his lips grazing Reid's.

They held each other for a long moment, craving comfort.

Reid's beeper went off loudly.

He broke away from Luke reluctantly, swearing.

"I have to go." he said, checking the beeper. "It's time."

Luke didn't say anything at first, just patted Reid's shoulder.

"Be careful," he murmured.

"Always," Reid replied.

He left Luke without another word, grabbing his bag. He paused in the doorway, his shoulders heaving slightly.

"Reid?" Luke asked, coming behind him.

Reid turned, and without warning, kissed Luke deeply. His hands crept against Luke's back, tugging before finding purchase. Luke, though surprised, planted his hands on Reid's ass, rocking against him. He felt the faint swell of Reid's erection graze against his own.

Reid finally pulled himself, his tongue lapping at Luke's mouth like a cat.

"When I come home, Mr. Snyder," he said huskily. "We are going to christen your bed, okay?"

Luke smiled, grabbing Reid's hand in a strong hold.

"I'll be waiting for you," he said.

Reid nodded once, before leaving.

Luke and Reid were now sitting on the couch in the Snyder family room. Reid stroked Luke's knee in an absentminded gesture.

"Tell me the rest," he said.

Luke shrugged, embarrassed. "You've heard it already. It's stupid."

"Just tell me," Reid said, persistent.

Luke looked into Reid's caring eyes, and continued relating the dream.

Reid waited patiently in front of the train tracks. A soft smile graced his face, as he remembered his goodbye with Luke.

He inched forward onto the tracks, not seeing or hearing the train. Just as his car reached the railroad, the engine sputtered and died.

Reid kept calm. He didn't see a train, and he knew he only had to open the door to exit the car.

He tried to start the car, to no avail. He kept fiddling with the ignition, refusing to accept defeat. Chris needed that heart, or he was going to die. Failure was not an option.

In the distance, he heard the sound of an oncoming train. He tried the doors, but they wouldn't open. He tried to roll down the windows - no dice.

Reid began to panic. What was he supposed to do now? The car seemed suddenly stifling. He knew the claustrophobia was taking hold.

He closed his eyes, and tried to breathe deeply. He thought of Luke, waiting at home. He thought of Katie, waiting for a miracle.

He realized how he could escape the car. It was automatically locked. He pressed the unlock button, and opened the passenger door to escape.

But it was too late. The train barreled down on him, unrelenting. His last thought was that he would never see Luke again.

Luke couldn't finish the story. He lapsed into quiet sobs. Reid immediately scooted closer to him, and gathered Luke into his arms.

"It's okay," he murmured. "It's okay, Luke. I'm right here. I'm not leaving you."

Luke's breath hitched, as he clung to the lifeline that was Reid.

"Seeing you get hit by that train, terrified because of your claustrophobia -" he broke off.

Reid kissed Luke's earlobe.

"Luke, I have to." he reminded him gently. "We don't have a choice. I'll get the car serviced before I leave. I promise you - "

"No!" Luke interjected, almost hysterically. "I'm not gonna lose you, Reid. I don't care how noble you are. You're not going to retrieve that heart. I'll call Grandmother. She can have the private jet ready to go within an hour." He pulled away from Reid, staring into his eyes with determination. "Please," he pleaded. "Let the transplant team handle it. Do it for me."

Reid couldn't refuse Luke anything.

"Okay," he relented. He watched Luke with increasing concern. He was trembling slightly, sweat beading out on his forehead. Reid stroked Luke's arm in slow circles. "Make the call."

Luke grabbed his cell phone off the coffee table, and dialed his grandmother. When he hung up, he sagged in relief, his head resting on Reid's chest.

Reid encircled his boyfriend his arms, holding tightly.

I love you, he thought. I love you so much. I don't ever want to cause you pain.

Luke sniffled into Reid's chest in silence.

Reid cradled him to his chest, feeling an incredible burst of tenderness.

What did I do to deserve you? he thought.

"Luke," he murmured. "Let me take you to bed?"

Damn it. Didn't mean for it come out that way. he cursed himself.

Luke looked up at Reid. The vulnerability in his eyes shifted slowly to desire. He grabbed Reid's hand, pulling him off the couch. His finger disappeared underneath Reid's shirt, scraping his nipple roughly.

"Let's go," Luke said, voice low and husky.

A small moan escaped Reid's mouth, unbidden.

"Let's go," he affirmed.

When they reached the bedroom, Luke shoved Reid onto the bed. He straddled him, removing his pants with one practiced motion.

"Luke," Reid gasped. "Slow down."

Luke ignored him, caught in the frenzy of the remembered nightmare. He kissed Reid roughly. Reid's body bucked involuntarily at the motion. He separated from Luke with a tinge of regret. He maneuvered his legs underneath Luke, flipping him over.

He put his hands around Luke's wrists, handcuffing him. Luke glared at Reid, hissing in frustration.

"Reid?" he panted. "Why are you stopping?"

Reid tilted forward, rubbing his chin against Luke's. "I want us to take this slow," he said. "I'm not going anywhere. We have a lot of time. Just take it easy. Let me take care of you, for once."

Not letting Luke respond, Reid breathed him in, the sweat and anxiety mingling into one Luke flavored smell. He savored their kiss, using his left hand to cup Luke's cheek.

Luke pulled at Reid's hair sharply, verging on desperation. He couldn't possibly explain to Reid how the nightmare made him feel. In his mind's eye, he could see again and again, the train crashing into Reid's car, the suffocating fear as the car closed in.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to dispel the images.

Reid felt the tension in Luke's body, and wanted to do something to provide a distraction. Luke was starting to have a panic attack.

"Luke," he said gently. "Luke, look at me."

Luke opened his eyes, and stared into Reid's, the soft blue providing an anchor for him to grasp.

"What do you want me to do?" Reid asked. "How I can help you?" He rubbed Luke's shoulders tenderly, to relieve the stress.

Luke exhaled air slowly. He blinked, tears shining in his eyes.

"It just felt so real," he murmured. "You were dead."

Reid clenched his jaw, fighting for control.

"It was just -" he gulped back the sudden lump in his throat. "It was just a bad dream, babe. It was only a dream."

A dream he could see all too clearly. He didn't need to see Luke's reaction to imagine being stuck in a car, as a train barreled down. He suppressed a shudder. It sounded terrible.

Luke nodded, seeking reassurance in Reid.

"Just a dream," he echoed. Fatigue began to wear him down.

Reid recognized the looming tiredness, and carefully moved off Luke's body. He kissed the back of Luke's neck, gathering him into his arms. Luke closed his eyes, and drank in the security Reid offered. Then he turned to face his boyfriend, tracing his hands along Reid's thighs.

"Thank you for indulging my nightmare," he said sheepishly.

Reid smiled, a full-blown grin that wiped years off his features.

"You know, it sounds more like my nightmare. With my claustrophobia - " he shuddered visibly.

"But it would never happen in real life," Luke interrupted. He giggled, slightly tinged with hysteria. "I mean, what were you thinking? Driving to pick up a heart? You'd have to stick to a tight schedule, and it would still be a hard sell to keep it viable." Luke idly played with Reid's nipples as he spoke.

"And the part about the car stalling? I hope I'd have enough sense to get out of the car," Reid replied. "I mean, seriously?"

Luke moved closer to rest his head against Reid's chest.

"You're a genius," he murmured. "You would never stay put in a car, with a train coming. For one thing, all the railroad tracks within 50 miles have warning lights posted. You'd hear the train with plenty of time to escape."

"You're damn right," Reid said huskily. He rested on his hand on Luke's back, smoothing the tension away.

They lay in silence for a few moments.

Luke moaned softly as he sleepily began to grind against Reid's body.

Reid sucked in a breath. "Uh, Luke?" Reid gasped. "You can't still be in the mood?"

Luke didn't reply in words. He just began laying butterfly kisses on Reid's chest, slowly inching down his stomach.

Luke looked up briefly, with a devilish smirk.

"When was the last time you had sex, Dr. Oliver?"

Reid's mouth fell open in surprise.

"It's like that, is it?" he said.

Luke's eyes danced. He scooted up to claim Reid's mouth with a searing kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance. Luke won.

Reid finally broke for air. He cupped Luke's cheek in the palm of his hand.

His hand trailed down Luke's stomach to rest above his boyfriend's burgeoning erection. He gave it a gentle tug.

Luke's eyes clouded over for a moment.

"Not that way," he said. "Not yet. I want to look into your eyes the whole time."

Reid nodded in understanding. He watched in fascination as Luke licked pink lips with an even pinker tongue.

"Your mouth is so fucking sexy," he said without thinking.

"Yours too," Luke answered.

He kissed Luke slowly, while he tried to squirm out of his boxers.

"Lil help," Reid mumbled between kisses.

Luke looked down at his futile effort, and laughed.

"Lil?" he teased. "You really are a Texan."

Reid's eyes sparked with affection.

"You should hear me when I'm drunk. The y'alls come out in force."

Luke tap danced his fingers down Reid's stomach. He worked the boxers off with one hand.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Snyder," Reid purred. "When was the last time you had sex?"

Luke blushed hotly. "Let's just say, me and my hand have really gotten acquainted."

Reid's erection brushed against Luke's hardness. He exhaled slowly.

The reality of what he was about to do hit him. He wanted to savor every moment.

Luke felt Reid's erection against him. He closed his eyes and began to grind against Reid.

"Okay?" he asked.

Reid's nonverbal gasp was all the acknowledgment Luke needed.

Luke began to move more quickly, timing his movements with Reid. They began out of sync, but soon matched each other perfectly. Reid clung to Luke's back, scratching it lightly. He found his lover mouth's again, as he got closer. They climaxed together, Luke resting heavily on top of Reid's body.

Reid hugged Luke to him tightly, as the dream once again came back into his thoughts.

Two tears slowly leaked out of his eyes. He tried to hold onto Luke, but he could only feel the tightness of the car, trapping him as the train was only seconds away. His heart throbbed in his chest rapidly.

He wanted to speak, but he was trapped in the living nightmare.

Luke immediately saw the panic on his lover's face, and gently kissed the tears away. He didn't speak, just held Reid's far away gaze for several moments.

When the words finally came, they tasted like gravel.

"I lied," Reid whispered. "I lied, Luke. I would have done anything to get that heart. I would have stayed in the car until the last possible second trying to start the engine." Quiet panic stampeded in his chest.

Luke nodded, stroking Reid's cheeks with his fingertips.

"I know," he murmured. "Baby, I know."

"I would do anything for Katie," Reid whispered. "I didn't see any other way except to drive. But I haven't serviced my car in months, since before I moved here. Something could have happened," he broke away, and sobbed, keeping it firmly enclosed in his throat.

He rubbed aimless shapes on Luke's back.

"I could have died," Reid said, trembling. "I could have -"

"No," Luke said firmly. He laid a soft kiss on Reid's mouth.

"It was just a dream," he said. "You're right here. You're alive. Chris will get his heart from my grandmother's jet. Everything is just fine."

Reid found his warm gaze incredibly comforting. He nodded slowly.

"Okay," he said. "Okay."

Luke shifted to lay flat against Reid, tangling his hand in his lover's hair.

They lay in silence on the bed, listening to each other's breathing.

They fell asleep, cocooned in the warmth of their bodies.