Fic: When They Met
Title: When They Met
Written By: vallie82 and bhumimak
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: This was our first attempt to write together and we hope that you enjoy it because we had a lot of fun writing it. It is an AU so believe that everything has happened, including Noah’s blindness, except the arrival of Reid. Thank you to the wonderful Traci for being our beta, we love you! Hope you enjoy and feedback/concrit = <3
Luke felt weary and tired after a long day full of meetings and he needed a break to just relax and unwind. After a long hot shower in his hotel room, Luke felt the need to get out of his stifling hotel room. He was finally alone, had time, so why not explore while he has the chance. Luke grabbed his wallet, phone and a small jacket and left the hotel to find the nearest bar, because god, he craved a drink. He walked for about 5 minutes and finally came across a decent looking bar and made his way inside.
Luke entered and took a seat at the bar asking the bartender for a glass of water. His eyes couldn’t help but wander over the bottles of vodka, lined up neatly next to each other, staring at them longingly and wishing that he could just have one drink. Just to have one sip of the cool liquid numbing his thoughts, his senses, his body and he knew, he just knew it would make him feel better after all the shit he had gone through recently.
Luke had finally had the nerve and the strength to leave Noah. Three and a half years full of back and forth, and unnecessary drama, Luke had finally had enough. He had stood his ground and had finally told Noah that they were over. Yes, he loved him, he loved him deeply, but that just wasn’t enough anymore. Being with Noah, it felt as if he’d lost his identity and who he was. His focus in life was and had always been Noah. How was Noah feeling? What does Noah need? Why doesn’t Noah want me? What did I do wrong and why isn’t Noah talking to me?
Noah, Noah, Noah, the sound of his name had become annoying and when his mother had found out that they’d broken up, she was on a mission to get them back together again. She’d invited Noah around for dinner, without letting Luke know, which led to awkward small talk and Luke shooting his mother angry looks. Luke had had enough, he didn’t want to explain to his mom why he had broken up with him, why couldn’t she understand that he needed to break up with him. He needed to be free. He had realised that his relationship with Noah had never been healthy and wondered why no one in his family had bothered to point it out. Luke rubbed his hands over his face and groaned with annoyance, trying to rid himself of all thoughts about Noah.
He glanced back up and finally noticed that there was a man sitting next to him. He couldn’t help but stare, this man was hot. Luke wasn’t in the mood to chat anyone up, he didn’t want to embarrass himself and chat up a straight man and so he looked down at his water taking a sip at a time, wishing that he could just be somewhere else, just alone and far away.
“Are you seriously drinking water?” the man beside him interrupted his thoughts and before he even knew what he was doing Luke snapped back, “Why do you care?”
The man smiled at him, and it was oh so breathtaking and answered, “You look like you might need something stronger.”
“God yes, I wish.”
Reid smirked, “Go ahead then, are you too young to be drinking or something?”
Luke smiled sadly, “I wish that was the problem.”
Reid narrowed his eyes, intrigued by this blonde kid, “The problem can’t be that bad if you can’t drink a lick of alcohol.”
Luke drew his fingers along the rim of the glass in front of him. “You have no idea.”
Reid had no idea what forces were drawing him to this stranger but he just couldn’t help but say, “I’ve got the time for that idea.” the redhead smirked.
Luke stared at the bottles in front of him and was just about to open his mouth and tell the guy beside him to get lost when he shot him another glance. The man was seriously the best looking guy he had ever seen and if he really wanted to listen to his problem, why not?
“How much time do you have?” he asked and turns a little to the side, not completely away from the alcohol he still craves, but enough to show that he is willing to participate in a conversation.
Reid turned to face the blonde, his eyes glancing upon his face fully for the first time, “I’ve got all night. Okay, I’ve got most of the night and I could use the distraction.” Reid gestured for the bartender to get him a beer.
“So before we get started, let me try and narrow this problem of yours down. What do you say?”
Normally, Luke would have been concerned about the other person’s problems, and pushed his own problems aside, but he really wasn’t in the mood for listening to someone else’s problems. Just this once, he wanted this to be all about him.
There was no way this man would want him or even be gay in the first place so he believed he had nothing to lose. To be honest, he had been dying to talk to someone who didn’t want him back together with Noah. “I recently broke up with my boyfriend, how do you narrow that down?”
The same moment he uttered the words he realized that he was sitting in a bar in Texas, talking to a complete stranger, who, for all he knew, could be a complete homophobe. Luke bit on his lower lip and stared down at the table, as he anxiously awaited the man’s reaction.
Reid rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer, “Yup, I thought so. “, he sighed, “So, what did he do then? Cheat, lie, embezzle your money or was he still in the closet?”
Luke released a shaky breath he didn´t even realize he was holding and smiled a real smile for the first time in weeks. “No, nothing like that. Sadly, it´s not that simple. He took me for granted most of the time, but that´s not the worst part.” He reached out for his water glass and took a sip, desperately wanting something stronger.
“I can take complicated, but something worse than taking you for granted? Thank God I don’t go for relationships, they end up sucking the life out of you and not in a good way.” Reid raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Luke let out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, I think you’re right, at least when it comes to Noah.” Not that Noah had ever participated in any sucking at all unless it was Luke who did all the work. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the mental image, and turned to face the man fully beside him. “Why do you even wanna know, I mean, if you never do relationships?” Hold on, hold on, does this mean that he is gay?, Luke thought.
Reid couldn’t help but let a small smile tug on his lips at the blonde’s confession, “Well, let’s just say I would need more reasons as to why I shouldn’t get into a relationship in the first place and, I like learning new things.”
Reid took a final swig of the last of his beer and motioned to the bartender for one more, “So, how did this Noah take you for granted then?”
“Well, one thing was when he got some sort of reward for a film, which I finished for him and he totally hated me for, don´t ask, and he needed to move to LA to pursue his career as a filmmaker, he just expected me to go with him even though I have my family and all my friends back home. I run a shipping company and a foundation but none of that mattered in his eyes because he needed to go to LA, and since I was his boyfriend it was my duty to follow him and support him. He never supported me in any way!”
Luke realized that he had almost shouted the last words but he didn’t really care because he felt the anger filling him and it felt so good to actually be mad at Noah. His conscience had been bothering him ever since he had left Noah and his mother’s nagging hadn’t done anything to change that but when he told this man how Noah had treated him, now he was finally getting upset.
Reid’s eyes widened at the blonde’s sudden outburst of emotion, “Wow, you don’t hold back do you?”
Luke snorted. “You asked for it.”
Reid nodded in agreement and smiled, “Okay, so this guy sounds like a little self-involved. Since when was it anybody's duty to follow anyone, you obviously seemed to have a life, which sounds like a very good one to me, and he wasn’t supportive?”
Reid glanced over at the blonde, who hadn’t answered him. He seemed to look even more agitated if that was possible, fists clenched in front of him, nostrils flaring and eyes focused dead ahead as if he was trying to stare someone down. This Noah guy must have really done a number on him, Reid thought. “About this film then, why did you finish it for him if he was supposed to be Mr. Wannabe Hollywood Director?”
Luke´s gaze wandered back to the bottles in front of him, he could almost feel the taste on his tongue and the sweet numbness in his body. He took a deep breath and turned back to the man beside him.
“Because I caused an accident that made him blind. He was using fireworks for his movie and I distracted him. I finished the movie because I loved him and felt guilty about what happened and he hated me for doing it.”
Reid brows furrowed in confusion, “Hold the phone. It sounds like he was the one messing with the fireworks so how the hell is the accident your fault?”
“His teacher was all over him and he didn´t believe me when I told him. So, short version, my father and I had his teacher kicked out, and Noah got totally upset with me and had to wrap up the film early. While he was putting up the fireworks I distracted him and the accident happened. So it´s all my fault.”
Reid pursed his lips as he tried to make sense of the situation, “Was Noah a pyrotechnician?”
Luke glanced at the redhead, “No.” He murmured.
“Were you standing in his way when he was putting up the fireworks?”
“No, he was on a ladder and I was waiting for him to finish prepping the fireworks.”
“Okay so let me get this straight, your boyfriend was being hit on. Who doesn’t know they’re being hit on by the way? Anyway, and he obviously didn’t think he was, so you did the noble thing and reported him therefore actually helping your boyfriend. Then he has to finish his film a tad earlier because of his weirdo professor and your boyfriend, who is no fireworks expert, climbed up a ladder while you waited for him from afar and somehow his accident is your fault. How does that work?”
“But it’s still my fault, I was talking to him while he was setting up the fireworks.”
Reid felt like smacking the blonde upside his head, “Accidents happen and they’re not always someone’s fault. It sounds like this Noah was beating up on you about this, seeing as though you’re carrying all this unnecessary guilt around.”
“Oh, he was beating up on me all right.” Luke said. “After he became blind, nothing I did was right. I was all over him too much or too little and he started to push me away. This, by the way, was common in our relationship. He didn´t want me helping him or hovering over him since it was my fault he was blind in the first place. So we broke up and he asked me to stay away. I managed to convince a doctor to operate on him and get his sight back and the same moment he could see again, he wanted me back. He still brought up the whole `you made me blind´ whenever I wanted to do something he didn´t want to.”
Luke sighed and continued. “Not that that wasn´t a common thing in our relationship either. Everything that I ever did for him was used against me, by him, to make me feel bad so I would do whatever he wanted. When he married that girl, he got upset with me because I didn´t want to save her.”
Reid closed his eyes trying to take in this torrent of information in which he was almost drowning, this Noah guy seemed to have huge problems with taking on the blame on his part. Aren’t people in relationships supposed to be equal partners and since when was one person blamed for everything that went wrong in a relationship? One detail from that rant however stuck out in his mind like a neon sign.
“He married a girl? And you stayed with him anyway? Just how stupid are you?”
Luke shook his head and stood up. “I loved him, so I guess that makes me pretty stupid.” He picked up his wallet and threw a bill on the bar and left, not caring if he paid too much, he just needed to get out of there.
Reid watched the blonde throw some bills down and walk out of the bar in huff, he didn’t mean to offend the guy, he didn’t have that brain mouth filter thingy, but something in him made him want to go after him and apologise. There was obviously something deeper than these petty relationship issues bothering him, it’s not like he wanted to know, it was just basic human concern. Reid threw some bills, grabbed his scarf and wrapping it around his neck he hurriedly made his way out of the bar, hoping he’d be able to catch the blonde.
Luke stopped right outside the bar and leaned against the wall. He took a few deep breaths and tried to gather his thoughts. He was thankful that he’d managed to stay away from ordering something stronger to drink and he knew that he had the redhead to thank for that. But when they started talking, Luke realized what an idiot he had been for all those years and having the man come to the same conclusion within a few minutes made him feel embarrassed. It made him feel even worse. He couldn’t decide if he should go back to his hotel or if he should take a walk, but before he could make up his mind, the door to the bar opened and the man he’d just poured all his problems out to, had stepped outside. Great, Luke thought, just great. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall hoping that the redhead wouldn’t see him.
Reid looked from left to right thinking the blonde must not have gone too far but his eyes finally fell upon him leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and deep, as evidenced by the cold chill in the air. He walked over to him and leaned his shoulder on the wall facing him.
“Hey, I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“Sorry, no such luck.” Luke opened his eyes and faced the other man. “Look, I´m sorry about the rambling, I have no idea why I told you all that, but you are right. I am an idiot and thank you for listening and all that but you don´t have to pretend to care anymore.”
Reid frowned, “Look, I didn’t actually call you an idiot so don’t march through with your pity party here. The only idiot that I can make out through your rambling, is that boyfriend of yours.”
Reid glanced back at the blonde but he looked as if he was itching to get away, “Hey, look, I can’t really believe that I’m saying this, but you seem like you need to talk, so why don’t we go for a walk, and for my troubles, you can thank me by buying me ice-cream. What do you say?”
Luke couldn´t stop himself from laughing, the man seemed to be a bit rude and clearly never thought before he spoke, but his honesty was refreshing and Luke really did need someone to talk to. He looked the other man in his eyes and bit on his lower lip in an attempt to look as if he was thinking it over. “An ice-cream? Have you noticed that it´s freezing outside? But sure, why not?”
“It’s never too cold for ice-cream, not in Dallas anyway,” Reid grinned and waved the blonde forward with his hand, “Shall we?” he asked. The blonde grinned back pushing himself away from the wall and Reid fell into step with him as they walked down the sidewalk.
“I’ve never been to Dallas before so you have to decide where we should go first,” Luke said.
“Well first, I want some ice-cream so that I have the energy to listen to your rambling,” Reid winked with a crooked smile.
Reid walked in silence with the blonde, their shoulders brushing lightly as they did, ‘til they reached their destination. Reid walked in, his eyes flitting over all the different ice cream flavours, his mind churning as he decided what he should get.
Luke could hardly believe his eyes when the other man started to order at least six different flavours. The woman behind the counter picked up the largest cup he had ever seen and started to fill it with ice-cream and three different kinds of topping.
Reid turned and noticed that the blonde was staring at him with a look of awe and disgust all at the same time, “Did you want anything? Seeing as though you’re paying?”
Luke managed to tear his gaze away from the other man’s ice-cream and looked him in the eyes instead. “I´m fine. I think it´s a bit too cold for me and you seem to eat for the both of us anyway.”
“That sounds about right.” Reid picked up his ice-cream monstrosity and gestured for Luke to pay and made his way out of the shop, the blonde following him back out into the winter chill. The blonde walked next to him and Reid could see him watching him eat the ice-cream out the corner of his eye, his nose wrinkled and a frown on his face. “So, the deal was you get me ice-cream and then you talk, so here I am eating, and now you talk. Otherwise I could’ve tricked you and walked off with the ice-cream by now, but because I’m a nice guy I’m still here.”
Luke laughed and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. He felt so much better now and didn’t know if he really wanted to bring up all the Noah-stuff again but he did need to talk and now was probably the best opportunity he would ever get. Besides, he’d just spent almost 10 dollars on ice-cream as payment for the other man to listen. “Where did I stop? When he married Ameera?”
Reid snorted unable to stop himself from asking, “Are you sure he was gay?”
“I don´t know actually. We never...anyway, that´s not important.” Luke could feel his cheeks growing pink and it wasn’t just because of the cold weather. He was a bit surprised that he’d almost told the other man about the lack of sex in their relationship. He cleared his throat and continued. “It´s a long story but in short, she was an immigrant from Iraq and her mother had been friends with his father in some way so Noah decided that he had to marry her so she could stay in the country.”
Reid wasn’t too interested about the marriage of convenience, because all that seemed pretty straightforward, well, also crazy and highly illegal, but only one part of what the blonde said stuck out in his mind and the reaction that the blonde had had to it, prompted him to ask anyway, “You didn’t what?”
Luke sighed heavily and decided that since he started the sentence he might as well finish it. “Weneverhadsex,” he admitted in a rushed voice and he could feel his cheeks had gone from pink to bright red.
Reid almost choked on his ice cream, “What?” asking with his mouth full. “How long were you with this guy?”
“Over three years,” Luke answered. When he saw the horrified look on the other man’s face he quickly added, “I mean, we did some things but we never had actual sex.”
Reid cleared his throat, “Was your boyfriend crazy? I mean look at you!”
Luke didn’t really understand what he meant, it sounded like he’d given him a compliment but on the other hand he could just as well mean that Noah was crazy for dating him in the first place.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t look so shocked, I mean you’re pretty hot and I know I wouldn’t last three years without wanting to ravage you.” Reid said casually.
Luke didn´t think he could blush anymore then he did, but it turned out that he could. He stopped abruptly and turned to the other man. “Are you gay?”
Reid turned to face Luke, “Yup.”
“But why didn´t you tell me?”
“So, what? We could share the secret handshake?”
Luke snorted, “No, so we could... I don´t know. But you could have told me since I´m telling you all about myself. It only seems fair.”
“Look, I’m not one to spill my guts to a stranger and me telling you that I’m gay isn’t important. Should I have told you that I’m a Pisces but ironically I’m allergic to fish, would that have made a difference to our conversation?” Reid shrugged eating another spoonful of his ice-cream, “It’s not important.”
“Well, we aren´t eating fish now are we?
Reid laughed loudly, “You’re pretty funny, too. Your boyfriend missed out on a great guy, whiny and talkative, but pretty great.”
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t and snapped it shut again. Did this guy, this beautiful, gorgeous man actually find him attractive? It was beyond surreal, since they’d spent less than an hour together and the only thing they had done was talk about Luke´s problems.
Or, as Noah would say, the other guy had been listening to Luke´s whining. Whenever Luke complained about something, he was whining. When he needed Noah to be there for him, he was needy, and when he wanted to be there for Noah, he was hovering. Nothing he did was ever the right thing to do and if he didn´t do anything, somehow that was wrong too.
“You’re welcome by the way, I just complimented you. You could at least say thank you.” Reid took another spoonful of ice cream.
“Sorry and thank you” Luke said with a smile before he turned serious again. “It´s just...no one has ever said I was a great guy, except for my family and they are like obligated to say that.” He furrowed his brows. “At least they used to say it,” he added quietly.
Reid sighed, trying so hard to figure out this kid. On the outside he seemed to look so confident and sure of himself, but there was vulnerability in this kid. He had been maimed, mangled and maybe even a little destroyed, if he had to be honest. The way he talked ascertained him to the idea that the blonde had lived a lot in his short life.
“Why do you need someone to tell you how great you are? I know I don’t, because I know it. If you know it within yourself and if no one can see how great you are in the first place, then they were never worth your time.” Reid glanced over at Luke who had his hands in his pockets, eyes on the floor and he was biting his lower lip as if he was unsure whether to believe what he had just heard.
God, this kid was messed up.
“I want people to like me for who I am, but sometimes it doesn´t work. I don´t think Noah ever liked the person I was and I tried to change and be like he wanted me to be, but I guess I never managed to get it right.”
“Rule number one,” Reid held out his index finger, “you don’t ever change for anyone in a relationship, you can make compromises to make your other half happy. But if you ever do change, it’s because you were always meant to be that person.”
Luke snorted. “I thought you said you didn´t do relationships and yet here you are giving out advice.”
“Hey, I’ve dabbled in relationships before and I’m a genius. My advice normally costs money, you should be grateful I gave it to you for free.”
“Well, you didn´t. I had to buy you the biggest ice-cream I have ever seen, remember?”
“Oh yeah, well consider it an 80% discount, I charge a lot more than that normally.”
“So what? Are you a therapist or something?”
Reid visibly shuddered, “Hell no, I’m not some second rate therapist who listens to people’s feelings and problems, I’m a neurosurgeon and a fucking brilliant one. Wait, do I look like a therapist to you?”
Luke laughed, “Well, to be honest I think you sounded a bit too rude to be a therapist.”
“I’m not rude, I just like to tell the truth. If that classifies me as rude, I’m rude.”
“You are painfully honest, I like it, but most people would consider it being rude.”
“Well, you don’t do you?” Reid questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Like I said, I like it. I´m not used to people saying exactly what they think or what they feel. It´s refreshing and it´s such a relief to not have to guess what you want me to say or do.”
“Is that what prompted you to leave Noah?”
Luke looked up and realized that they had reached a park. He walked over to a bench and sat down and after hesitating shortly, the other man joined him. Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead absentmindedly not sure how to answer. “I don´t really know what was the final straw. It was more like all those things I have already told you about and him never being pleased with anything I did or said. Our whole relationship consisted of him pushing me away and when I thought we were over he would pull me back in again. I dedicated my whole life to try and please him but it was just never enough, there was always something I should have done differently. One day I woke up and realized that I was tired of doing everything for him when I never got anything back and that I didn´t want to be the only one fighting for us when he was constantly fighting me. I didn´t like the person I had become so I decided I had to end it. He didn´t take it very well.”
Reid sat in silence for a few moments taking in what the blonde had told him. This Noah guy sounded like a total douche, not only was he an awful boyfriend but he hadn’t recognised what a great boyfriend he had. Someone who would move the world for him, to please him, to make him happy, and what did this Noah do in return, absolutely nothing.
“Just a question, does Noah know about all of this? Or did you just up and leave him without any explanation?”
Luke laughed sarcastically. “Believe me, I´ve tried. He doesn´t want to listen. And my mother agrees with him and thinks I´m an idiot. He always brings that up, as if she should be giving advice about relationships.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Two weeks ago, my mom invited him over to a make-up dinner so we could talk about getting back together again,” Luke said with a look of disgust on his face.
“And you still didn’t talk to him about the shit he put you through, right?”
“It´s not like he would listen anyway. And I don´t want to hurt his feelings.”
Reid glared at him, “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re scared that you’ll hurt his feelings? What about yours? You idiot!”
Luke knew he was being ridiculous and didn’t really have an answer to that so he just shrugged.
Reid scoffed, “You’re an idiot, okay, give me your phone.” He held his hand out in front of Luke and watched as Luke frowned, looking confused. “Give me your phone, I’m not going to steal it for Christ's sake.”
Luke had no idea what he is going to do with it but he reluctantly picked up his phone and handed it over to Reid, who grabbed the phone and immediately scrolled through his contact list till he found Noah’s name.
“After this phone call, make sure you delete his number, okay?”
“What are you doing?”
Reid glanced up at Luke, “We’re going to call Noah, and you’re going to tell him exactly what you think of him. Everything you told me, everything he made you feel and everything he didn’t do for you, you have to tell him all of that. You’re going to swear and rant at him and tell him what a jerk he was to you and make sure you don’t let him get a word in, am I clear?”
“Wait, no. We can’t do that.”
“Trust me. You’ll feel fantastic and you will finally be over him.”
Reid pressed the call button on Luke’s phone putting it to his ear, while Luke tried to grab the phone off him, “Listen, we can’t do this, I can’t do this.”
Reid shushed him distractedly, “Just get ready with the swearing and the ranting, okay? Wait, it’s ringing...”
Reid heard someone pick up the phone on the other side, “Hello, is this Noah?” He got a yes in response, “Okay, one second, I have someone who wants to talk to you.” Reid passed the phone over to the blonde.
“Hi Noah, it´s me.” Luke said in a terrified voice.
“Luke? It´s past midnight...” His voice was thick with sleep and Luke felt the usual guilt he would feel.
“I´m so sorry? Did I wake you up?”
“Don’t apologise!” Reid whispered harshly,
“Who is that in the background? Are you with some guy?” Suddenly Noah sounded wide awake and his voice had a very disapproving tone that made Luke feel annoyed and made him remember that this was one of the reasons why they’d broke up.
“And what if I am? It´s not like we’re together anymore.” Luke hesitated, but one glance at the pleased look on the redhead’s face made him continue. “It´s not like it´s any of your business if I´m seeing someone else.”
“Is that why you called? To rub in my face that you’ve met someone else? We both know it’ll never work out anyway.”
“Come on, go for it!” Reid encouraged him, gesturing with his hands, “Don’t think about it, just say it!”
Luke suddenly felt all his carefully wrapped up anger rushing through him and realized that he didn´t really care if he hurt Noah or not. It´s not like Noah ever thought about how he would feel.
“You know what Noah, that´s not why I called. I actually wanted to tell you...” Luke trailed off.
“Tell him, go on, don’t think about it, say it.” Reid put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, shaking him slightly, “I’m here, just say it!”
Luke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and took courage from the hand that was firmly gripping his shoulder.
“I actually called to tell you that there is no way in hell you and I will ever get back together again so you can stop conspiring with my mother. We will never ever happen again.”
“What are you talking about Luke?”
“What am I talking about? You’re seriously asking me that?”
“Are you drunk Luke?” Noah paused, “You are, aren’t you?”
Luke laughs. “No, I´m not drunk, but it´s no thanks to you. Do you have any idea how much I would like to drink just to forget that you and I were ever together in the first place? I have been thinking about this for weeks now and I have to ask, did you ever really love me? Because the more I think about how you treated me the more confused I get.”
“Luke, how I treated you? What are you talking about?”
“You don’t have a clue you fucking bastard, do you?”
“Luke?”
“You think you can just own me and make me do whatever you want? You thought you could control my life, you dick, but I am better than that. I am better than you. I don’t need you and your fucking approval for anything I do. I am a great and amazing person and I don’t think you ever realised that you asshole.”
“But-”
“No, Noah, you treated me like shit, right from the beginning. You classed our first kiss as a joke for crying out loud, and you then you shut me out. I was trying to help you with your father and what did I get in return? Him, trying to kill me, twice! But even then, everything was all about you, how you felt and how you were dealing with the supposed death of your father, which is fine, but to blame me for his death when I was trying to help you? No way, Noah, that was out of line.”
“Wait-”
“Fuck you Noah, you fucking douche bag, I did so much for you! I fought for you but you just kept fighting with me. You married a woman, I kept our relationship a secret for you and then when she went missing, it was my fault? When I needed your support I never had it, suddenly you were in charge of the moral compass, what you thought was right for you was morally right and what was wrong for you was morally wrong. The world does not revolve around you, Noah.”
“Lu-”
“Oh and one last thing, you blamed me for your accident which was unfair. The accident was no one’s fault. I got the best doctor I could for your surgery and I took care of you as best I could, but what did you do? Push me away! And just like every other time we had a problem in our relationship, you needed to be alone. Well guess what Noah, you son of a bitch? When I’m going through some troubles, I would want my boyfriend by my side, to be taking care of me, and to be helping me. If you loved me as much as you said you did, you would’ve wanted me around and you not wanting me, is the biggest piece of evidence that proves that you never truly loved me. You just loved the idea of me, and when I agree with that idea, I suddenly wasn’t your ideal boyfriend anymore. But guess what Noah, right now, the person you’re hearing, this is who I am.”
“No, but-”
“I don’t want to waste my energy on you any longer, but you needed to hear this. For fuck’s sake, I can’t believe I waited two years to have sex with you, scratch that, you made me wait two years for a fucking hand job. I am such an idiot, and you know what? You weren’t even that great! Fuck you and don’t you ever fucking call me ever again, you asshole.”
Luke snapped his phone shut and got to his feet, breathing heavily, Reid got up, putting his hand on the blonde’s shoulder, pulling him round to face him.
“So, how did that make you feel?” Reid grinned.
“That was amazing,” Luke said quietly, “That was absolutely fan-freaking-tastic,” Luke laughed in relief, he felt his anger ebbing away, replaced with a sense of accomplishment. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his heart and mind. He felt free, so free, and he laughed louder, hysterically even.
“I told you it would work.”
“Yeah,” Luke breathed, “Thank you.”
Reid bowed theatrically, “Anytime.”
They stood in silence, smiling at each other, but Luke then burst into a fit of giggles.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I did that!” Luke giggled.
“You had better believe it! To be honest I wasn’t sure whether you had it in you.”
“Shut up,” Luke swatted the redhead on his arm.
“But I am impressed. I didn’t think you would be able to tell him and now he knows and you feel better. Mission accomplished.”
“To be honest, I didn´t think I would be able to do it either, but it felt really good, and now I don´t have to feel bad for not taking him back again.” Luke turned to the other man and put his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, I would never been able to do this without you.” He stepped closer and pulled the other man in for a hug.
Reid stood stock still as the blonde pulled him into his arms, his hair brushing his cheek, his own arms however were glued to the side of his body, not sure what to do with them, “What are you doing?”
Luke pulled back a little so he could meet the other man’s gaze, but he kept his arms around him. “I´m giving you a thank you hug.”
Reid frowned and wrinkled his nose, “Yeah...I don’t do that.”
“You don´t do hugs?” Luke asked with a smile.
Reid’s eyes travelled over the blonde’s face taking in his big wide brown eyes sparkling with amusement, his lips pulled into a smile with his dimples on full show. Reid brought his hand up to caress the blonde’s cheek, cupping it lightly and running his thumb across his cheek bone, “I don’t do hugs, but how about this...” Reid moved in closer wrapping his other arm around the blonde’s waist, pulling his face nearer and pressing his lips lightly onto the blonde’s.
Luke wasn´t prepared, but when he felt the other man’s mouth against his own, he instantly closed his eyes. It was soft and warm and felt more right than anything had done in months. He pulled back a little and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but quickly realized that words were not important right now. The only thing that mattered was how good it felt to be kissed by this man. Luke raised his hand and grabbed the other man’s hair and smashed their mouths together again and this time it was neither a light nor soft kiss. Luke tilted his head to get a better angle, opening his mouth and pushing his tongue into the other man’s mouth.
When the blonde had pulled back from his first kiss, Reid wasn’t sure whether he’d offended him, but being pulled back into another harsh but deeper kiss, he was pretty sure now that he never minded the kiss in the first place. Reid kissed him back just as hard, letting his tongue caress the blonde’s own, but reluctantly pulled away when he needed air. He left his lips with a smack and rested his forehead on the blonde’s, breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath, his hands still on the other man’s face.
“Wow, that was... amazing,” Luke said breathlessly.
“I know.” Reid smirked.
Luke smiled but it quickly turned into a frown when he realized something. “But, I don´t even know your name.”
Reid raised his eyebrows at the realisation that he in fact didn’t know his name either, he gazed into the blonde’s eyes smiling, rubbed his thumb over the blonde’s kiss swollen bottom lip and moved back a few inches. He stuck his hand out, “Dr. Reid Oliver, world-class neurosurgeon and certified genius, and you are?”
Luke laughed but took the doctor’s hand in his, “Luke Snyder, I run Grimaldi Shipping and I am founder and head of my own foundation.”
Reid shook Luke’s hand, smiling as he did, “So Mr. Snyder, now that we have those formalities out of the way, how about we get back to what we were doing earlier.”
“And what would that be Doctor Oliver?” Luke asked, knowing exactly what the doctor meant.
Reid pulled Luke forward with the hand that was still holding onto his, his free hand caressing Luke’s cheek again. He gazed into Luke’s eyes and Luke couldn’t help but smile at him, his own fingers running lightly through Reid’s curls.
“This,” Reid said quietly as he leaned in to kiss Luke deeply.
FIN
Written By: vallie82 and bhumimak
Category: General
Rating: PG-13
Author's Notes: This was our first attempt to write together and we hope that you enjoy it because we had a lot of fun writing it. It is an AU so believe that everything has happened, including Noah’s blindness, except the arrival of Reid. Thank you to the wonderful Traci for being our beta, we love you! Hope you enjoy and feedback/concrit = <3
Luke felt weary and tired after a long day full of meetings and he needed a break to just relax and unwind. After a long hot shower in his hotel room, Luke felt the need to get out of his stifling hotel room. He was finally alone, had time, so why not explore while he has the chance. Luke grabbed his wallet, phone and a small jacket and left the hotel to find the nearest bar, because god, he craved a drink. He walked for about 5 minutes and finally came across a decent looking bar and made his way inside.
Luke entered and took a seat at the bar asking the bartender for a glass of water. His eyes couldn’t help but wander over the bottles of vodka, lined up neatly next to each other, staring at them longingly and wishing that he could just have one drink. Just to have one sip of the cool liquid numbing his thoughts, his senses, his body and he knew, he just knew it would make him feel better after all the shit he had gone through recently.
Luke had finally had the nerve and the strength to leave Noah. Three and a half years full of back and forth, and unnecessary drama, Luke had finally had enough. He had stood his ground and had finally told Noah that they were over. Yes, he loved him, he loved him deeply, but that just wasn’t enough anymore. Being with Noah, it felt as if he’d lost his identity and who he was. His focus in life was and had always been Noah. How was Noah feeling? What does Noah need? Why doesn’t Noah want me? What did I do wrong and why isn’t Noah talking to me?
Noah, Noah, Noah, the sound of his name had become annoying and when his mother had found out that they’d broken up, she was on a mission to get them back together again. She’d invited Noah around for dinner, without letting Luke know, which led to awkward small talk and Luke shooting his mother angry looks. Luke had had enough, he didn’t want to explain to his mom why he had broken up with him, why couldn’t she understand that he needed to break up with him. He needed to be free. He had realised that his relationship with Noah had never been healthy and wondered why no one in his family had bothered to point it out. Luke rubbed his hands over his face and groaned with annoyance, trying to rid himself of all thoughts about Noah.
He glanced back up and finally noticed that there was a man sitting next to him. He couldn’t help but stare, this man was hot. Luke wasn’t in the mood to chat anyone up, he didn’t want to embarrass himself and chat up a straight man and so he looked down at his water taking a sip at a time, wishing that he could just be somewhere else, just alone and far away.
“Are you seriously drinking water?” the man beside him interrupted his thoughts and before he even knew what he was doing Luke snapped back, “Why do you care?”
The man smiled at him, and it was oh so breathtaking and answered, “You look like you might need something stronger.”
“God yes, I wish.”
Reid smirked, “Go ahead then, are you too young to be drinking or something?”
Luke smiled sadly, “I wish that was the problem.”
Reid narrowed his eyes, intrigued by this blonde kid, “The problem can’t be that bad if you can’t drink a lick of alcohol.”
Luke drew his fingers along the rim of the glass in front of him. “You have no idea.”
Reid had no idea what forces were drawing him to this stranger but he just couldn’t help but say, “I’ve got the time for that idea.” the redhead smirked.
Luke stared at the bottles in front of him and was just about to open his mouth and tell the guy beside him to get lost when he shot him another glance. The man was seriously the best looking guy he had ever seen and if he really wanted to listen to his problem, why not?
“How much time do you have?” he asked and turns a little to the side, not completely away from the alcohol he still craves, but enough to show that he is willing to participate in a conversation.
Reid turned to face the blonde, his eyes glancing upon his face fully for the first time, “I’ve got all night. Okay, I’ve got most of the night and I could use the distraction.” Reid gestured for the bartender to get him a beer.
“So before we get started, let me try and narrow this problem of yours down. What do you say?”
Normally, Luke would have been concerned about the other person’s problems, and pushed his own problems aside, but he really wasn’t in the mood for listening to someone else’s problems. Just this once, he wanted this to be all about him.
There was no way this man would want him or even be gay in the first place so he believed he had nothing to lose. To be honest, he had been dying to talk to someone who didn’t want him back together with Noah. “I recently broke up with my boyfriend, how do you narrow that down?”
The same moment he uttered the words he realized that he was sitting in a bar in Texas, talking to a complete stranger, who, for all he knew, could be a complete homophobe. Luke bit on his lower lip and stared down at the table, as he anxiously awaited the man’s reaction.
Reid rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer, “Yup, I thought so. “, he sighed, “So, what did he do then? Cheat, lie, embezzle your money or was he still in the closet?”
Luke released a shaky breath he didn´t even realize he was holding and smiled a real smile for the first time in weeks. “No, nothing like that. Sadly, it´s not that simple. He took me for granted most of the time, but that´s not the worst part.” He reached out for his water glass and took a sip, desperately wanting something stronger.
“I can take complicated, but something worse than taking you for granted? Thank God I don’t go for relationships, they end up sucking the life out of you and not in a good way.” Reid raised his eyebrows suggestively.
Luke let out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, I think you’re right, at least when it comes to Noah.” Not that Noah had ever participated in any sucking at all unless it was Luke who did all the work. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the mental image, and turned to face the man fully beside him. “Why do you even wanna know, I mean, if you never do relationships?” Hold on, hold on, does this mean that he is gay?, Luke thought.
Reid couldn’t help but let a small smile tug on his lips at the blonde’s confession, “Well, let’s just say I would need more reasons as to why I shouldn’t get into a relationship in the first place and, I like learning new things.”
Reid took a final swig of the last of his beer and motioned to the bartender for one more, “So, how did this Noah take you for granted then?”
“Well, one thing was when he got some sort of reward for a film, which I finished for him and he totally hated me for, don´t ask, and he needed to move to LA to pursue his career as a filmmaker, he just expected me to go with him even though I have my family and all my friends back home. I run a shipping company and a foundation but none of that mattered in his eyes because he needed to go to LA, and since I was his boyfriend it was my duty to follow him and support him. He never supported me in any way!”
Luke realized that he had almost shouted the last words but he didn’t really care because he felt the anger filling him and it felt so good to actually be mad at Noah. His conscience had been bothering him ever since he had left Noah and his mother’s nagging hadn’t done anything to change that but when he told this man how Noah had treated him, now he was finally getting upset.
Reid’s eyes widened at the blonde’s sudden outburst of emotion, “Wow, you don’t hold back do you?”
Luke snorted. “You asked for it.”
Reid nodded in agreement and smiled, “Okay, so this guy sounds like a little self-involved. Since when was it anybody's duty to follow anyone, you obviously seemed to have a life, which sounds like a very good one to me, and he wasn’t supportive?”
Reid glanced over at the blonde, who hadn’t answered him. He seemed to look even more agitated if that was possible, fists clenched in front of him, nostrils flaring and eyes focused dead ahead as if he was trying to stare someone down. This Noah guy must have really done a number on him, Reid thought. “About this film then, why did you finish it for him if he was supposed to be Mr. Wannabe Hollywood Director?”
Luke´s gaze wandered back to the bottles in front of him, he could almost feel the taste on his tongue and the sweet numbness in his body. He took a deep breath and turned back to the man beside him.
“Because I caused an accident that made him blind. He was using fireworks for his movie and I distracted him. I finished the movie because I loved him and felt guilty about what happened and he hated me for doing it.”
Reid brows furrowed in confusion, “Hold the phone. It sounds like he was the one messing with the fireworks so how the hell is the accident your fault?”
“His teacher was all over him and he didn´t believe me when I told him. So, short version, my father and I had his teacher kicked out, and Noah got totally upset with me and had to wrap up the film early. While he was putting up the fireworks I distracted him and the accident happened. So it´s all my fault.”
Reid pursed his lips as he tried to make sense of the situation, “Was Noah a pyrotechnician?”
Luke glanced at the redhead, “No.” He murmured.
“Were you standing in his way when he was putting up the fireworks?”
“No, he was on a ladder and I was waiting for him to finish prepping the fireworks.”
“Okay so let me get this straight, your boyfriend was being hit on. Who doesn’t know they’re being hit on by the way? Anyway, and he obviously didn’t think he was, so you did the noble thing and reported him therefore actually helping your boyfriend. Then he has to finish his film a tad earlier because of his weirdo professor and your boyfriend, who is no fireworks expert, climbed up a ladder while you waited for him from afar and somehow his accident is your fault. How does that work?”
“But it’s still my fault, I was talking to him while he was setting up the fireworks.”
Reid felt like smacking the blonde upside his head, “Accidents happen and they’re not always someone’s fault. It sounds like this Noah was beating up on you about this, seeing as though you’re carrying all this unnecessary guilt around.”
“Oh, he was beating up on me all right.” Luke said. “After he became blind, nothing I did was right. I was all over him too much or too little and he started to push me away. This, by the way, was common in our relationship. He didn´t want me helping him or hovering over him since it was my fault he was blind in the first place. So we broke up and he asked me to stay away. I managed to convince a doctor to operate on him and get his sight back and the same moment he could see again, he wanted me back. He still brought up the whole `you made me blind´ whenever I wanted to do something he didn´t want to.”
Luke sighed and continued. “Not that that wasn´t a common thing in our relationship either. Everything that I ever did for him was used against me, by him, to make me feel bad so I would do whatever he wanted. When he married that girl, he got upset with me because I didn´t want to save her.”
Reid closed his eyes trying to take in this torrent of information in which he was almost drowning, this Noah guy seemed to have huge problems with taking on the blame on his part. Aren’t people in relationships supposed to be equal partners and since when was one person blamed for everything that went wrong in a relationship? One detail from that rant however stuck out in his mind like a neon sign.
“He married a girl? And you stayed with him anyway? Just how stupid are you?”
Luke shook his head and stood up. “I loved him, so I guess that makes me pretty stupid.” He picked up his wallet and threw a bill on the bar and left, not caring if he paid too much, he just needed to get out of there.
Reid watched the blonde throw some bills down and walk out of the bar in huff, he didn’t mean to offend the guy, he didn’t have that brain mouth filter thingy, but something in him made him want to go after him and apologise. There was obviously something deeper than these petty relationship issues bothering him, it’s not like he wanted to know, it was just basic human concern. Reid threw some bills, grabbed his scarf and wrapping it around his neck he hurriedly made his way out of the bar, hoping he’d be able to catch the blonde.
Luke stopped right outside the bar and leaned against the wall. He took a few deep breaths and tried to gather his thoughts. He was thankful that he’d managed to stay away from ordering something stronger to drink and he knew that he had the redhead to thank for that. But when they started talking, Luke realized what an idiot he had been for all those years and having the man come to the same conclusion within a few minutes made him feel embarrassed. It made him feel even worse. He couldn’t decide if he should go back to his hotel or if he should take a walk, but before he could make up his mind, the door to the bar opened and the man he’d just poured all his problems out to, had stepped outside. Great, Luke thought, just great. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall hoping that the redhead wouldn’t see him.
Reid looked from left to right thinking the blonde must not have gone too far but his eyes finally fell upon him leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and deep, as evidenced by the cold chill in the air. He walked over to him and leaned his shoulder on the wall facing him.
“Hey, I thought you’d be gone by now.”
“Sorry, no such luck.” Luke opened his eyes and faced the other man. “Look, I´m sorry about the rambling, I have no idea why I told you all that, but you are right. I am an idiot and thank you for listening and all that but you don´t have to pretend to care anymore.”
Reid frowned, “Look, I didn’t actually call you an idiot so don’t march through with your pity party here. The only idiot that I can make out through your rambling, is that boyfriend of yours.”
Reid glanced back at the blonde but he looked as if he was itching to get away, “Hey, look, I can’t really believe that I’m saying this, but you seem like you need to talk, so why don’t we go for a walk, and for my troubles, you can thank me by buying me ice-cream. What do you say?”
Luke couldn´t stop himself from laughing, the man seemed to be a bit rude and clearly never thought before he spoke, but his honesty was refreshing and Luke really did need someone to talk to. He looked the other man in his eyes and bit on his lower lip in an attempt to look as if he was thinking it over. “An ice-cream? Have you noticed that it´s freezing outside? But sure, why not?”
“It’s never too cold for ice-cream, not in Dallas anyway,” Reid grinned and waved the blonde forward with his hand, “Shall we?” he asked. The blonde grinned back pushing himself away from the wall and Reid fell into step with him as they walked down the sidewalk.
“I’ve never been to Dallas before so you have to decide where we should go first,” Luke said.
“Well first, I want some ice-cream so that I have the energy to listen to your rambling,” Reid winked with a crooked smile.
Reid walked in silence with the blonde, their shoulders brushing lightly as they did, ‘til they reached their destination. Reid walked in, his eyes flitting over all the different ice cream flavours, his mind churning as he decided what he should get.
Luke could hardly believe his eyes when the other man started to order at least six different flavours. The woman behind the counter picked up the largest cup he had ever seen and started to fill it with ice-cream and three different kinds of topping.
Reid turned and noticed that the blonde was staring at him with a look of awe and disgust all at the same time, “Did you want anything? Seeing as though you’re paying?”
Luke managed to tear his gaze away from the other man’s ice-cream and looked him in the eyes instead. “I´m fine. I think it´s a bit too cold for me and you seem to eat for the both of us anyway.”
“That sounds about right.” Reid picked up his ice-cream monstrosity and gestured for Luke to pay and made his way out of the shop, the blonde following him back out into the winter chill. The blonde walked next to him and Reid could see him watching him eat the ice-cream out the corner of his eye, his nose wrinkled and a frown on his face. “So, the deal was you get me ice-cream and then you talk, so here I am eating, and now you talk. Otherwise I could’ve tricked you and walked off with the ice-cream by now, but because I’m a nice guy I’m still here.”
Luke laughed and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. He felt so much better now and didn’t know if he really wanted to bring up all the Noah-stuff again but he did need to talk and now was probably the best opportunity he would ever get. Besides, he’d just spent almost 10 dollars on ice-cream as payment for the other man to listen. “Where did I stop? When he married Ameera?”
Reid snorted unable to stop himself from asking, “Are you sure he was gay?”
“I don´t know actually. We never...anyway, that´s not important.” Luke could feel his cheeks growing pink and it wasn’t just because of the cold weather. He was a bit surprised that he’d almost told the other man about the lack of sex in their relationship. He cleared his throat and continued. “It´s a long story but in short, she was an immigrant from Iraq and her mother had been friends with his father in some way so Noah decided that he had to marry her so she could stay in the country.”
Reid wasn’t too interested about the marriage of convenience, because all that seemed pretty straightforward, well, also crazy and highly illegal, but only one part of what the blonde said stuck out in his mind and the reaction that the blonde had had to it, prompted him to ask anyway, “You didn’t what?”
Luke sighed heavily and decided that since he started the sentence he might as well finish it. “Weneverhadsex,” he admitted in a rushed voice and he could feel his cheeks had gone from pink to bright red.
Reid almost choked on his ice cream, “What?” asking with his mouth full. “How long were you with this guy?”
“Over three years,” Luke answered. When he saw the horrified look on the other man’s face he quickly added, “I mean, we did some things but we never had actual sex.”
Reid cleared his throat, “Was your boyfriend crazy? I mean look at you!”
Luke didn’t really understand what he meant, it sounded like he’d given him a compliment but on the other hand he could just as well mean that Noah was crazy for dating him in the first place.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t look so shocked, I mean you’re pretty hot and I know I wouldn’t last three years without wanting to ravage you.” Reid said casually.
Luke didn´t think he could blush anymore then he did, but it turned out that he could. He stopped abruptly and turned to the other man. “Are you gay?”
Reid turned to face Luke, “Yup.”
“But why didn´t you tell me?”
“So, what? We could share the secret handshake?”
Luke snorted, “No, so we could... I don´t know. But you could have told me since I´m telling you all about myself. It only seems fair.”
“Look, I’m not one to spill my guts to a stranger and me telling you that I’m gay isn’t important. Should I have told you that I’m a Pisces but ironically I’m allergic to fish, would that have made a difference to our conversation?” Reid shrugged eating another spoonful of his ice-cream, “It’s not important.”
“Well, we aren´t eating fish now are we?
Reid laughed loudly, “You’re pretty funny, too. Your boyfriend missed out on a great guy, whiny and talkative, but pretty great.”
Luke opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t and snapped it shut again. Did this guy, this beautiful, gorgeous man actually find him attractive? It was beyond surreal, since they’d spent less than an hour together and the only thing they had done was talk about Luke´s problems.
Or, as Noah would say, the other guy had been listening to Luke´s whining. Whenever Luke complained about something, he was whining. When he needed Noah to be there for him, he was needy, and when he wanted to be there for Noah, he was hovering. Nothing he did was ever the right thing to do and if he didn´t do anything, somehow that was wrong too.
“You’re welcome by the way, I just complimented you. You could at least say thank you.” Reid took another spoonful of ice cream.
“Sorry and thank you” Luke said with a smile before he turned serious again. “It´s just...no one has ever said I was a great guy, except for my family and they are like obligated to say that.” He furrowed his brows. “At least they used to say it,” he added quietly.
Reid sighed, trying so hard to figure out this kid. On the outside he seemed to look so confident and sure of himself, but there was vulnerability in this kid. He had been maimed, mangled and maybe even a little destroyed, if he had to be honest. The way he talked ascertained him to the idea that the blonde had lived a lot in his short life.
“Why do you need someone to tell you how great you are? I know I don’t, because I know it. If you know it within yourself and if no one can see how great you are in the first place, then they were never worth your time.” Reid glanced over at Luke who had his hands in his pockets, eyes on the floor and he was biting his lower lip as if he was unsure whether to believe what he had just heard.
God, this kid was messed up.
“I want people to like me for who I am, but sometimes it doesn´t work. I don´t think Noah ever liked the person I was and I tried to change and be like he wanted me to be, but I guess I never managed to get it right.”
“Rule number one,” Reid held out his index finger, “you don’t ever change for anyone in a relationship, you can make compromises to make your other half happy. But if you ever do change, it’s because you were always meant to be that person.”
Luke snorted. “I thought you said you didn´t do relationships and yet here you are giving out advice.”
“Hey, I’ve dabbled in relationships before and I’m a genius. My advice normally costs money, you should be grateful I gave it to you for free.”
“Well, you didn´t. I had to buy you the biggest ice-cream I have ever seen, remember?”
“Oh yeah, well consider it an 80% discount, I charge a lot more than that normally.”
“So what? Are you a therapist or something?”
Reid visibly shuddered, “Hell no, I’m not some second rate therapist who listens to people’s feelings and problems, I’m a neurosurgeon and a fucking brilliant one. Wait, do I look like a therapist to you?”
Luke laughed, “Well, to be honest I think you sounded a bit too rude to be a therapist.”
“I’m not rude, I just like to tell the truth. If that classifies me as rude, I’m rude.”
“You are painfully honest, I like it, but most people would consider it being rude.”
“Well, you don’t do you?” Reid questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Like I said, I like it. I´m not used to people saying exactly what they think or what they feel. It´s refreshing and it´s such a relief to not have to guess what you want me to say or do.”
“Is that what prompted you to leave Noah?”
Luke looked up and realized that they had reached a park. He walked over to a bench and sat down and after hesitating shortly, the other man joined him. Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead absentmindedly not sure how to answer. “I don´t really know what was the final straw. It was more like all those things I have already told you about and him never being pleased with anything I did or said. Our whole relationship consisted of him pushing me away and when I thought we were over he would pull me back in again. I dedicated my whole life to try and please him but it was just never enough, there was always something I should have done differently. One day I woke up and realized that I was tired of doing everything for him when I never got anything back and that I didn´t want to be the only one fighting for us when he was constantly fighting me. I didn´t like the person I had become so I decided I had to end it. He didn´t take it very well.”
Reid sat in silence for a few moments taking in what the blonde had told him. This Noah guy sounded like a total douche, not only was he an awful boyfriend but he hadn’t recognised what a great boyfriend he had. Someone who would move the world for him, to please him, to make him happy, and what did this Noah do in return, absolutely nothing.
“Just a question, does Noah know about all of this? Or did you just up and leave him without any explanation?”
Luke laughed sarcastically. “Believe me, I´ve tried. He doesn´t want to listen. And my mother agrees with him and thinks I´m an idiot. He always brings that up, as if she should be giving advice about relationships.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Two weeks ago, my mom invited him over to a make-up dinner so we could talk about getting back together again,” Luke said with a look of disgust on his face.
“And you still didn’t talk to him about the shit he put you through, right?”
“It´s not like he would listen anyway. And I don´t want to hurt his feelings.”
Reid glared at him, “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re scared that you’ll hurt his feelings? What about yours? You idiot!”
Luke knew he was being ridiculous and didn’t really have an answer to that so he just shrugged.
Reid scoffed, “You’re an idiot, okay, give me your phone.” He held his hand out in front of Luke and watched as Luke frowned, looking confused. “Give me your phone, I’m not going to steal it for Christ's sake.”
Luke had no idea what he is going to do with it but he reluctantly picked up his phone and handed it over to Reid, who grabbed the phone and immediately scrolled through his contact list till he found Noah’s name.
“After this phone call, make sure you delete his number, okay?”
“What are you doing?”
Reid glanced up at Luke, “We’re going to call Noah, and you’re going to tell him exactly what you think of him. Everything you told me, everything he made you feel and everything he didn’t do for you, you have to tell him all of that. You’re going to swear and rant at him and tell him what a jerk he was to you and make sure you don’t let him get a word in, am I clear?”
“Wait, no. We can’t do that.”
“Trust me. You’ll feel fantastic and you will finally be over him.”
Reid pressed the call button on Luke’s phone putting it to his ear, while Luke tried to grab the phone off him, “Listen, we can’t do this, I can’t do this.”
Reid shushed him distractedly, “Just get ready with the swearing and the ranting, okay? Wait, it’s ringing...”
Reid heard someone pick up the phone on the other side, “Hello, is this Noah?” He got a yes in response, “Okay, one second, I have someone who wants to talk to you.” Reid passed the phone over to the blonde.
“Hi Noah, it´s me.” Luke said in a terrified voice.
“Luke? It´s past midnight...” His voice was thick with sleep and Luke felt the usual guilt he would feel.
“I´m so sorry? Did I wake you up?”
“Don’t apologise!” Reid whispered harshly,
“Who is that in the background? Are you with some guy?” Suddenly Noah sounded wide awake and his voice had a very disapproving tone that made Luke feel annoyed and made him remember that this was one of the reasons why they’d broke up.
“And what if I am? It´s not like we’re together anymore.” Luke hesitated, but one glance at the pleased look on the redhead’s face made him continue. “It´s not like it´s any of your business if I´m seeing someone else.”
“Is that why you called? To rub in my face that you’ve met someone else? We both know it’ll never work out anyway.”
“Come on, go for it!” Reid encouraged him, gesturing with his hands, “Don’t think about it, just say it!”
Luke suddenly felt all his carefully wrapped up anger rushing through him and realized that he didn´t really care if he hurt Noah or not. It´s not like Noah ever thought about how he would feel.
“You know what Noah, that´s not why I called. I actually wanted to tell you...” Luke trailed off.
“Tell him, go on, don’t think about it, say it.” Reid put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, shaking him slightly, “I’m here, just say it!”
Luke closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and took courage from the hand that was firmly gripping his shoulder.
“I actually called to tell you that there is no way in hell you and I will ever get back together again so you can stop conspiring with my mother. We will never ever happen again.”
“What are you talking about Luke?”
“What am I talking about? You’re seriously asking me that?”
“Are you drunk Luke?” Noah paused, “You are, aren’t you?”
Luke laughs. “No, I´m not drunk, but it´s no thanks to you. Do you have any idea how much I would like to drink just to forget that you and I were ever together in the first place? I have been thinking about this for weeks now and I have to ask, did you ever really love me? Because the more I think about how you treated me the more confused I get.”
“Luke, how I treated you? What are you talking about?”
“You don’t have a clue you fucking bastard, do you?”
“Luke?”
“You think you can just own me and make me do whatever you want? You thought you could control my life, you dick, but I am better than that. I am better than you. I don’t need you and your fucking approval for anything I do. I am a great and amazing person and I don’t think you ever realised that you asshole.”
“But-”
“No, Noah, you treated me like shit, right from the beginning. You classed our first kiss as a joke for crying out loud, and you then you shut me out. I was trying to help you with your father and what did I get in return? Him, trying to kill me, twice! But even then, everything was all about you, how you felt and how you were dealing with the supposed death of your father, which is fine, but to blame me for his death when I was trying to help you? No way, Noah, that was out of line.”
“Wait-”
“Fuck you Noah, you fucking douche bag, I did so much for you! I fought for you but you just kept fighting with me. You married a woman, I kept our relationship a secret for you and then when she went missing, it was my fault? When I needed your support I never had it, suddenly you were in charge of the moral compass, what you thought was right for you was morally right and what was wrong for you was morally wrong. The world does not revolve around you, Noah.”
“Lu-”
“Oh and one last thing, you blamed me for your accident which was unfair. The accident was no one’s fault. I got the best doctor I could for your surgery and I took care of you as best I could, but what did you do? Push me away! And just like every other time we had a problem in our relationship, you needed to be alone. Well guess what Noah, you son of a bitch? When I’m going through some troubles, I would want my boyfriend by my side, to be taking care of me, and to be helping me. If you loved me as much as you said you did, you would’ve wanted me around and you not wanting me, is the biggest piece of evidence that proves that you never truly loved me. You just loved the idea of me, and when I agree with that idea, I suddenly wasn’t your ideal boyfriend anymore. But guess what Noah, right now, the person you’re hearing, this is who I am.”
“No, but-”
“I don’t want to waste my energy on you any longer, but you needed to hear this. For fuck’s sake, I can’t believe I waited two years to have sex with you, scratch that, you made me wait two years for a fucking hand job. I am such an idiot, and you know what? You weren’t even that great! Fuck you and don’t you ever fucking call me ever again, you asshole.”
Luke snapped his phone shut and got to his feet, breathing heavily, Reid got up, putting his hand on the blonde’s shoulder, pulling him round to face him.
“So, how did that make you feel?” Reid grinned.
“That was amazing,” Luke said quietly, “That was absolutely fan-freaking-tastic,” Luke laughed in relief, he felt his anger ebbing away, replaced with a sense of accomplishment. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his heart and mind. He felt free, so free, and he laughed louder, hysterically even.
“I told you it would work.”
“Yeah,” Luke breathed, “Thank you.”
Reid bowed theatrically, “Anytime.”
They stood in silence, smiling at each other, but Luke then burst into a fit of giggles.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I did that!” Luke giggled.
“You had better believe it! To be honest I wasn’t sure whether you had it in you.”
“Shut up,” Luke swatted the redhead on his arm.
“But I am impressed. I didn’t think you would be able to tell him and now he knows and you feel better. Mission accomplished.”
“To be honest, I didn´t think I would be able to do it either, but it felt really good, and now I don´t have to feel bad for not taking him back again.” Luke turned to the other man and put his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, I would never been able to do this without you.” He stepped closer and pulled the other man in for a hug.
Reid stood stock still as the blonde pulled him into his arms, his hair brushing his cheek, his own arms however were glued to the side of his body, not sure what to do with them, “What are you doing?”
Luke pulled back a little so he could meet the other man’s gaze, but he kept his arms around him. “I´m giving you a thank you hug.”
Reid frowned and wrinkled his nose, “Yeah...I don’t do that.”
“You don´t do hugs?” Luke asked with a smile.
Reid’s eyes travelled over the blonde’s face taking in his big wide brown eyes sparkling with amusement, his lips pulled into a smile with his dimples on full show. Reid brought his hand up to caress the blonde’s cheek, cupping it lightly and running his thumb across his cheek bone, “I don’t do hugs, but how about this...” Reid moved in closer wrapping his other arm around the blonde’s waist, pulling his face nearer and pressing his lips lightly onto the blonde’s.
Luke wasn´t prepared, but when he felt the other man’s mouth against his own, he instantly closed his eyes. It was soft and warm and felt more right than anything had done in months. He pulled back a little and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but quickly realized that words were not important right now. The only thing that mattered was how good it felt to be kissed by this man. Luke raised his hand and grabbed the other man’s hair and smashed their mouths together again and this time it was neither a light nor soft kiss. Luke tilted his head to get a better angle, opening his mouth and pushing his tongue into the other man’s mouth.
When the blonde had pulled back from his first kiss, Reid wasn’t sure whether he’d offended him, but being pulled back into another harsh but deeper kiss, he was pretty sure now that he never minded the kiss in the first place. Reid kissed him back just as hard, letting his tongue caress the blonde’s own, but reluctantly pulled away when he needed air. He left his lips with a smack and rested his forehead on the blonde’s, breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath, his hands still on the other man’s face.
“Wow, that was... amazing,” Luke said breathlessly.
“I know.” Reid smirked.
Luke smiled but it quickly turned into a frown when he realized something. “But, I don´t even know your name.”
Reid raised his eyebrows at the realisation that he in fact didn’t know his name either, he gazed into the blonde’s eyes smiling, rubbed his thumb over the blonde’s kiss swollen bottom lip and moved back a few inches. He stuck his hand out, “Dr. Reid Oliver, world-class neurosurgeon and certified genius, and you are?”
Luke laughed but took the doctor’s hand in his, “Luke Snyder, I run Grimaldi Shipping and I am founder and head of my own foundation.”
Reid shook Luke’s hand, smiling as he did, “So Mr. Snyder, now that we have those formalities out of the way, how about we get back to what we were doing earlier.”
“And what would that be Doctor Oliver?” Luke asked, knowing exactly what the doctor meant.
Reid pulled Luke forward with the hand that was still holding onto his, his free hand caressing Luke’s cheek again. He gazed into Luke’s eyes and Luke couldn’t help but smile at him, his own fingers running lightly through Reid’s curls.
“This,” Reid said quietly as he leaned in to kiss Luke deeply.
FIN