Fabrication (9/27)
“OK, let’s go through this one more time.”
Reid sighed loudly as he stretched out further on the chair in the corner of Luke’s hotel room. They had been reviewing his testimony for close to three hours straight. He had eaten almost everything in the minibar, until Luke cut him off, objecting to having to pay five dollars for a package of nuts. Reid reminded him that he was Richie Rich, which had earned him quite the glare. To sum up, the evening was pretty close to ending in homicide. Reid just wasn’t sure who was going to snap first.
He rubbed his hands across his face and sat up. “I think I got it,” he declared. “I’m ready.”
“Reid,” Luke reprimanded him.
Reid stood up. “What? What else can I possibly say? I know the facts of this case backwards and forwards.”
Luke nodded. “Yes, you do. And that’s not going to help you at all.”
Reid turned to him, a condescending expression on his face. “And you know this from your dozens of successful interrogations by the Texas Board of Medicine?”
“No,” Luke drawled. “I know this because I know people. I know that you’re going to get up there, and you’re going to be you, and then the Judds are going to get up there, and they’re going to talk about their daughter. This is more than just science.”
Reid stared at him for a few beats, then he sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Luke walked over and sat next to him silently.
“She had a nice smile,” Reid said softly.
Luke tilted his head questioningly, and Reid glanced at him before facing forward again. Reid swallowed.
“She reminded me of my sister, actually,” Reid continued. “Or what I remember of her. These lively, happy, young girls with beautiful smiles and inoperable brain tumors.” Reid shook his head, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I couldn’t do anything for my sister, and 30 years later, I still was helpless when it came to Annie. But she was so brave. I was the one who was causing her pain, cutting into her skull, sticking her with needles, ordering chemo, but she always lit up when I walked into the room. Nobody smiles when I walk in a room.”
Luke took a deep breath. He was about to reply when Reid turned to face him again. “That’s not true,” he said softly. “You smiled. I don’t think it was for the same reason, though.”
Luke fought a blush but he refused to look away. “You never know,” he said teasingly. “Girls mature faster than boys.”
Reid shuddered, suppressing an amused smirk. “Don’t ruin my memories of her, you sick bastard.”
Luke laughed in surprise, but then sobered quickly. “People think that you’re a brilliant doctor because you’re fearless. They don’t know it’s because you care so much.”
Reid shook his head and stood. “Have I met your weepy-testimonial standards? I need sleep before the hearing.”
Luke flopped back onto the bed with a groan. Reid tried not to get any ideas.
“Go on,” Luke permitted. “Get out of here.”
**
“Ready?”
“Yes, Luke, for the 800th time, I’m ready.”
“You’re gonna be great. Just remember - ”
“Luke!”
“OK, OK. Sorry.”
“We should get dinner after this.”
“Do you ever think about anything besides food?”
Reid smirked, raising one teasing eyebrow as he prepared to respond.
“Dr. Oliver. We’re ready for you.”
The humor left his body, and he turned to face Luke again. Luke smiled grimly.
“Here goes nothing,” Reid said, stepping away from Luke and walking into the conference room.
**
“So where’s a good place for dinner?”
There was no answer.
“Reid!”
Reid started, turning to look at Luke and inhaling slowly as he mentally returned to the conversation. Luke smiled supportively.
“They said they’d call when they made a decision. There’s nothing you can do. So, let’s eat. Give me the name of a restaurant.”
“There’s all sorts of take-out,” Reid muttered. “Whatever you want.”
Luke scrunched his nose and shook his head. “No take-out. Someplace real.”
“Don’t tell me; you want to find the nearest gay bar.”
Luke laughed mockingly. “Nope,” he said. “I have it on good authority that the gay bars here suck.”
“What?”
Luke shook his head. “Just this guy I met in Pamplona.”
Reid stared at him for a long time. “You ran with the bulls?” he finally asked.
Luke snickered. “Almost. I chickened out in the end and just watched. I’ve never been a particularly fast runner, and with my kidney - but anyway, this guy I met there did. He grew up in Dallas, but at that time, he was living in California. Said the gay bars there were much better.”
Reid continued to stare at him.
“He broke horses,” Luke added saucily.
“You did have some adventures,” Reid managed to say.
“Yes, I did.”
“And yet you moved back to Oakdale.”
Luke shrugged. “It’s my home. My family’s there. Oh, look!” Luke broke off, suddenly pulling Reid’s car into a bar parking lot. “Mechanical bulls.”
“What? No.”
“Come on,” Luke teased. “Prove you can ride a bucking beast with the best of them.”
**
Luke gulped. He was beginning to regret this idea. It was one thing to tease Reid with hints about his past or get up on that bull himself. It was another thing entirely to watch Reid swing his denim-clad leg (God, those jeans were tight) over the machine and settle on it, just before it started moving. Reid adjusted his seat as he went up and down and back and forth, and Luke felt all the moisture leave his mouth.
He was in way over his head right now.
What was he even doing? Faking a relationship with Casey? Then running off on an overnighter with Reid the first chance he got? What happened to acting like an adult instead of the same silly, obsessed teenager?
The phone on the bar next to him buzzed, and Luke welcomed the distraction. He read the screen quickly, recognizing the number as the one he had called several times the other day to push forward the hearing. Luke took a deep breath and looked back at Reid.
His ride was finished, and Reid was jogging back up to him, a large grin on his face.
“That was fun! Let’s do it again.”
Luke held out the phone, sorry to bring Reid back to reality. “The board called,” he said.
Reid stared at the phone, unmoving - as if reaching out to touch it would somehow make the situation worse. Finally, he grabbed it from Luke.
“I can’t talk to them here,” he said. “It’s too noisy.”
“I’ll drive us back to the hotel,” Luke agreed.
**
Luke followed Reid into the hotel room silently. Reid hadn’t said anything on the drive back, and Luke was starting to feel very awkward. He watched as Reid reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Reid’s head bent slightly, and Luke could see he was just staring at the missed-call notice.
“What are you waiting for?” Luke asked softly.
Reid lifted his head and straightened his shoulders. He took a deep breath, and then he dialed.
“Hi, this is Dr. Reid Oliver.”
Luke could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Because he was worried for Noah, of course.
“I see. Mm-hmm. I understand. Bye,” Reid said, hanging up the phone. He didn’t say anything for a long moment.
“Well?” Luke asked.
Suddenly, Reid turned around. He put his hands to Luke’s cheeks and pulled him into a forceful, if closed-mouth, kiss. Neither man moved for a moment; in fact, Luke didn’t think he’d be able to move if he tried. And then Reid backed away, grinning widely, leaving his warm hands on Luke’s face and neck.
“I’m reinstated, can you believe it? They’re gonna keep the investigation open - why? I have no idea.”
Luke blinked. “I - I - that’s great. Um,” he murmured, swaying closer to Reid unintentionally.
Reid’s gaze dropped to Luke’s lips, and Luke swallowed. His eyelids felt very heavy, and they started to drift shut even as his fingers slid up from Reid’s elbow to wrap around Reid's wrist. Reid bent forward, closing the distance between them again.
**
Reid had convinced himself that his memory of how the inside of Luke’s mouth tasted had to be false. That his mind played tricks on him over the years, turning the vague recollection into something impossible to recreate in real life. Nobody he had met (and kissed) since ever had just the right combination of spearmint and Coca-Cola and Luke. But as his tongue found the flavor again, he realized it was exactly as he remembered it. And he wondered how he had managed to go so long without it. He wondered how he had managed to walk away in the first place.
Luke made a small noise, and Reid felt him let go of his wrist. He moved his hand to the back of Reid’s head and pulled him closer, holding him still as their kiss deepened. Reid moved one of his own hands to the small of Luke’s back, pressing against Luke until he stumbled forward a couple steps and they were touching torso to torso. The kiss turned passionate, tongues and teeth colliding, Luke’s fingers threading into and pulling at Reid’s hair. They paused for a moment, their mouths open and just barely separate, their hot breath mixing as they panted into each other’s mouths. Luke groaned deep in his throat, and in an instant, Reid was kissing him again.
Reid began to walk Luke closer to the bed, their feet tripping over each other in a clumsy dance. Luke laughed lightly, his hands sliding around to Reid’s cheeks as he gave him quick, so quick kisses. Reid, frustrated and wanting more, moved a hand to Luke’s head and held him in place as he caught Luke’s lips in another brain-melting kiss.
Reid knew exactly when the backs of Luke’s legs came into contact with the bed. Luke almost lost his balance, and Reid tightened his embrace to support him. And then Luke deliberately sat down, looking up at Reid. His mouth was open, and his lips were swollen. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes - his eyes…
Reid put one knee on the bed, tight against Luke’s hip. He grabbed Luke’s head again, tilting it back as he bent down to meet Luke in another kiss. He pushed lightly. Luke fell slowly back, and as Reid stretched out on top of him, he crab crawled up the bed until they were in line with each other. Reid lowered himself onto Luke, who bent his knee and planted his foot on the mattress, angling his leg over Reid’s hip and lower back. Reid could feel Luke growing harder as he arched up against Reid’s thigh.
Reid broke the kiss, putting a few inches between them as he stared down at Luke’s body. He started unbuttoning Luke’s shirt, admiring the way Luke’s rough breathing made his stomach quiver.
“This is all happening so fast,” Luke whispered, almost involuntarily.
It was enough to stop Reid dead, like a bucket of cold water. Reid swallowed. Then he sat up.
“What? What is it?” Luke asked urgently, sitting up next to him and putting a hand on Reid’s shoulder.
Reid shook it off, standing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have - this is…”
“Reid?”
“Come on, Luke. You have a boyfriend. You’re moving in together, for Christ’s sake.”
Luke didn’t respond, and Reid walked quickly to the door.
“Reid, wait. I - ”
Reid shook his head as he turned the knob. He couldn’t even look at Luke, although he wasn’t quite sure why not. “This was a mistake,” he said, as he walked out the door.
Continued