Fabrication (12/27)
“Reid! Reid!”
Reid paused momentarily, turning as Katie ran to catch up to him. Then he started walking quickly again, heading straight for his rental car.
“What is going on?”
“Nothing,” he said.
“Reid!”
He stopped, running a hand over his mouth as he turned to face Katie. He shook his head, then placed his hands on his hips and stared at the ground.
“He warned me off starting anything with Luke.”
“What?”
“Apparently, there’d be a conflict of interest, which is total crap.”
“This doesn’t sound like Bob.”
Reid laughed sarcastically. “Overly-involved and hypocritically sanctimonious? It sounds exactly like Bob.”
“Come on, Reid.”
“I’ve lost all respect for that man,” Reid declared, starting to walk again.
“No, you haven’t,” Katie said with a sigh.
“Want to bet? If he thinks he can tell me who I can and can’t date - or if he wants to act as if he’s my boss, then - ”
Katie reached out, putting a calming palm on Reid’s arm.
“You’re just upset,” Katie said. “Because you do care what he thinks about you.”
“Don’t psychoanalyze me.”
“And you’re starting to realize that maybe soon you will have to make a choice between your career in Dallas and the man you - ”
“Katie, not tonight. Not after he…I don’t want to hear it.”
**
“In love with him?!”
“I think so,” Bob confirmed.
Kim fell back into her chair. She was speechless for a minute, and then the first thing she managed to say was “Poor Luke!”
Bob laughed loudly.
“What? You don’t think he deserves better than that man?” Kim asked.
“I’ve watched Luke grow up, and I think he deserves someone who cares about him enough to fight for him. He’s old enough to make his own decisions, and now that I’ve thought about it…I suspect this may have been a long time in the making.”
Kim held a hand out. “You aren’t suggesting that, when Dr. Oliver was here before, they were…?”
Bob shook his head. “No, of course not. Say what you will about Reid, he has a strong sense of morality and professional ethics. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they were…aware of each other, even back then.”
Kim shook her head. “Now I’ve heard it all.”
**
“Hi Richard,” Luke said, as he encountered the other man on his way to Noah’s exam room a couple days later. “I thought I was picking him up today.”
“You are,” Richard said, not stopping to talk. His voice was shaking with emotion, and Luke watched him carefully. “You can pick him up every day, for all I care. I’m done.”
“Richard?”
The other man shook his head, refusing to explain. He kept walking, and Luke turned to look at the door to the exam room. He sighed, reaching out for the handle and praying that Reid had already left the room (and secretly wishing that he hadn’t).
Noah was alone in the room, his arms crossed and his head bowed.
“Noah?”
Noah looked up, inhaling. “Luke?”
Luke walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him. “I ran into Richard. What happened?”
Noah shook his head. “I don’t know why he’s acting this way. He knows how important it is for me to get my sight back. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“So…what are you doing that he doesn’t like?”
Noah sighed loudly. “Dr. Oliver said today there’s a possibility we may need to do the surgery in Dallas.”
Luke felt his heart drop into his stomach. Reid was planning on going back to Texas. “Oh.”
“Yeah, so obviously, I said I’d go wherever he wants to do it. And Richard got upset because I didn’t talk it over with him. Honestly, what’s to talk about?”
Luke tried to focus on his friend’s issues rather than his own rollercoaster emotions. He stared straight ahead for a second and then took a breath. “He’s just worried,” Luke said. “He wants to know he’s a part of your recovery. He wants to be here for you - or there for you.”
Noah shook his head. “I wish you’d stop trying to make excuses for him.”
“I’m not! I’m telling you what I think. It’s not exactly rocket science.”
“It’s probably for the best, anyway,” Noah said, ignoring Luke’s comments. “We still don’t know this is going to work. It’s better for us to break up now than for him to be saddled with me for the rest - ”
“Oh God,” Luke groaned. “Not this again.”
Noah looked in his direction, an expression of surprise evident on his face. “Huh?”
“I am so sick of the pity party. OK, first of all - you and Richard have done this break-up/make-up shit since you met. Find a new act, would you please? Secondly, the surgery will work or it won’t. If it doesn’t, your life doesn’t stop. You’ll have to figure out new ways of working and relating to people, but you can’t just give up on everything.”
“Wow, Luke. I can’t believe you’re saying this to me.”
Luke looked at his watch exaggeratedly. “Oh, is it time for the guilt trip? I’m the only one who can say this to you, Noah. We’ve known each other too well and too long to put up with each other’s crap without calling each other on it. I let you have a while to deal with everything, because I know this was hard. But now I’m calling you on it. You love Richard, and Richard loves you, and it has nothing to do with whether you can see him.”
Noah bowed his head. He took a breath and after a long moment of silence, he turned his head in Luke’s direction. “You’re right,” he said softly. “Thanks.”
Luke shrugged. “I will always yell at you when I think you deserve it.”
Noah grinned. He leaned closer, aiming to give Luke a quick peck on the cheek. Of course, considering he was blind and had no idea where he was going, it wasn’t too surprising that he ended up kissing Luke on the lips instead. Luke mmphed and then snickered, both noises overpowered by the sound of a door opening and closing.
“Mr. Mayer, one more thing.”
Luke pulled quickly away, looking at Reid in shock. Reid met his eyes and then looked to the chart in his hands.
“I’m going to start you on some physical therapy. Schedule it with the nurse,” Reid said, before turning around and walking out of the exam room. Luke watched after him.
Noah shook his head, amused. “His bedside manner leaves something to be desired. Maybe that’s why you’re being all ‘telling it like it is.’ You spent too much time with him in Texas, and he rubbed off on you.”
Luke choked, coughing quickly.
Noah faced his general direction. “What?”
Luke shook his head. “Nothing. Uh, nothing.”
Noah didn’t react for a moment, and Luke watched him nervously. He could see Noah reviewing their conversation in his head, and then Noah’s mouth dropped open.
“Oh my God! You have a crush on my doctor!”
**
After dropping off Noah at home (the ride was filled with Noah’s teasing and Luke’s denials), Luke went back to the foundation offices. He stared at the paperwork in front of him without reading it. His mind was, in fact, a million miles away. Maybe not a million. Maybe just a thousand. In Dallas.
The kiss had been amazing. More than a kiss, it was more than a kiss, no matter what Reid said. Luke was sure they would have done more, would have…had sex, if Reid hadn’t stopped. Luke couldn’t quite believe that Reid apparently (now? still?) had feelings for him, wanted him after all these years.
And now he’s completely messed it up. He’s ruined everything. Reid was preparing to leave the state (and now Luke’s thoughts were back to Dallas again) just to get away from him.
Luke closed the file folder, slamming his hand down on the desk. Not if he had anything to say about it. When he was 16 years old, he was brave enough to deal with Reid openly. He sure as hell wasn’t afraid now. What did he have to lose?
Luke stood and walked out of his office.
**
If anyone asked, Reid was not moping. He just was…sitting sadly on the couch, hugging a pillow. Reid groaned, leaning his head back against the top of the couch. What was it about this town that could mess up his life so thoroughly, so quickly? He had been fine. He had been fine. Maybe other people wouldn’t have wanted his routine, but it was his and he liked it.
And it only took a few weeks in Oakdale for everything to go to hell. Bob thinks he’s unethical, and Luke is back to making Reid feel completely…just completely…
There were no words! Because sometimes he was nearly giddy with happiness just from seeing Luke across the conference table. And sometimes he wanted to bend him over that conference table until Luke screamed and groaned his name. And sometimes he just couldn’t take the incessant cheerfulness, and he had to snark all over the place until Luke’s smile fell. And sometimes he really believed they were becoming friends. And sometimes he really believed they were becoming more than friends. And then, it turned out Luke lied to him, but even that didn’t make Reid wash his hands of Luke entirely, because there was something about him that…
Reid hated feeling this way. He hated it. He liked simplicity. He liked feeling in control. He did not like drama, and drama followed Luke around like a thundercloud.
The doorbell rang. Reid turned to stare at it. Katie was out, and so he knew that if anyone was going to answer it, it’d have to be him. He considered pretending nobody was home.
The doorbell rang again, and Reid sighed. He pulled himself off the couch and walked slowly over to the door. He opened it, already glaring at whoever dared to interrupt his sulk.
It was Luke.
Continued