Fic
Title: Five Holiday Scenarios: 5 - Ring Out The Old, Ring In The New
Written By: rhiannonhero
Category: General
Rating: NC-17
Author's Notes: T?WT? of course. Thanks to peggin and _alicesprings for the beta reading and input! Extra super thanks to susanderavish and peggin for the 5 Holiday Scenario prompts and ideas!
Sometimes Luke thought that Bob Hughes and John Dixon had almost as big of an investment in seeing his relationship with Reid flourish as he did. The neurosurgical wing that Reid had designed was bringing interest to the hospital that could only have been imagined a few years ago. Money was pouring in from donors all over the country for improvements to Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Urology, and now that John was back, the Cardiac unit.
Bob had retired, yes, for all intents and purposes, but he remained on the board, giving his input and helping to wrangle Reid and John when they got out of hand. And sometimes it took both of the older men to keep Reid in line if he thought something they were trying to do was idiotic, stupid, or boneheaded. All words that Reid bandied about in hospital board meetings without giving a damn about whom they were directed toward.
It was the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and Luke was sharing a hot chocolate with Natalie on the bench outside of Java when Bob Hughes and John Dixon approached him with grins and handshakes. They both greeted Natalie, and Luke was pleased that she was polite in response. She’d been going through some kind of change recently. Ever since Christmas Day, she’d been progressively more and more glum, and acting out of character for her usually sweet self. Luke didn’t know if it was early hormones, or if she was just having trouble dealing with the emotional stress of their parents’ on and off again relationship. If it was the latter, he completely understood, and he was considering talking to his mother about getting some counseling for Natalie to help her cope.
“Luke,” Bob said seriously, clapping his gloved hands together against the cold. “How are things with you?”
“Great!” Luke said, grinning. Though in a way it felt like an understatement. He and Reid were moving into their new apartment in a week’s time, and Luke had already found someone reliable to sublet Katie’s old one. Maddie had moved back to town and was currently staying with Henry and Barbara. Maddie’s return was, in and of itself, something that Luke was very happy about. Now that Noah was in L.A., his friendship with Maddie seemed like old times in some ways, and in others it was good to have someone who understood what it was like to be in a relationship with Noah Mayer. Not many people did. It was a very select club and membership didn’t have a lot of perks. Maddie had even managed to remain friends with Noah afterwards. Despite his family and Reid’s reticence about the idea, Luke was still hoping to achieve that.
Which was actually another reason that things were great. Noah had finally broken his radio silence with an email declaring that he’d be in town for New Year’s Eve. His flight was supposed to land any minute, and Casey and Alison were going to pick him up at the airport. Apparently, he had missed Oakdale during the holidays, and when Casey mentioned the New Year’s Eve celebration at Metro and Ali suggested that Noah could take advantage of one of the holiday super-deals with an inexpensive round-trip flight from L.A. to Chicago, he just hadn’t been able to resist. He had signed the email, “I hope to see you while I’m there. I’ve missed you. Love, Noah.” Luke was hoping this could be the beginning of a friendship after all.
And then there was Reid. Reid who was amazing, loving, thoughtful, supportive, and so incredibly great in bed that Luke sometimes felt like his brain had dribbled out of his ears for a good four or five hours after they had sex. Luke had thought he knew what sex was like, but he’d been wrong. Very wrong. And he’d also thought he knew what it meant to be in love, but he’d been wrong about that, too. There was a very big difference in how it felt when the person he was in love with loved him back just as much, if not more. Sometimes Luke was kind of in awe of how much Reid loved him. He sometimes wondered what he’d done to deserve that from a man like Reid, but he wasn’t about to give it up for anything in the world.
So, yeah, as far as he was concerned, things were completely and totally great.
“That’s good to hear,” John said, smiling down at Luke and then glancing over at Bob. There was anxiety in his glance. “Do you want to tell him, or should I?”
Luke’s stomach tightened and his hand clenched the cup of hot cocoa a little harder. “Is there a problem with Reid?” he asked.
“You could say that, yes,” John said.
Luke stood up. “Is he okay?”
John rolled his eyes and patted Luke’s shoulders, indicating that he should sit back down. “Oh, Lord boy, the man is physically fine. Relax.” He looked over at Bob. “Told you the kid loved him.”
“I never had any doubt of that,” Bob said.
“It’s his mental health we’re worried about,” John said. “He needs a vacation. It’s been a strenuous year for him with the move from Dallas, setting up the new neurowing, dealing with Chris’s ridiculous behavior over his heart.” He looked at Bob again. “No offense, Bob.”
“None taken. Chris owes his life to Reid.”
“Indeed he does,” John said.
Luke looked between them in confusion, and he remained standing. “Wait. Is Reid okay? I mean, is he having trouble at work?”
“No, not yet,” John said. “But every man has a limit. He needs to take a break. He’s refusing, saying that he missed enough work over the holidays. Personally, I don’t consider half a day off on Christmas to be a good enough respite for the kind of stress that he goes through every day.”
“Reid likes to be stressed,” Luke said, handing the cup of hot chocolate to Natalie. “He enjoys work. It’s all he knows how to do, actually.”
Natalie piped up then with, “He likes chess. He’s good at that, too. And he told me that he can play golf and that he beat the pants off that man with the weasel face we saw at the bakery.”
“You were with Reid at a bakery?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, cookies. We wanted them. It was that morning he took me to school? Remember?”
Luke couldn’t stop the grin. It had been one of the few nights that Reid had stayed over in Luke’s room at his mom’s house. There had been a mad rush the next morning and somehow Natalie had missed the bus. Reid had offered to take her since the school was next to the hospital. Well, “offered” was a strong word. More like he’d accepted Luke’s proposal that he do so. It sounded like he and Natalie made a little unscheduled stop along the way.
“Well, I don’t think chess and golf are necessarily what Bob and John are thinking of, am I right?” Luke asked.
“Exactly,” John said.
“We were thinking that Reid could use a real vacation, Luke. Some time away to relax and get back some energy to face the year ahead.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “Okay, what aren’t you telling me? Is his performance suffering?”
Bob and John exchanged glances again. “Well, no,” John said. “The problem is more of a…business one.”
Bob explained further, “There is a donor that is considering contributing to the planned improvements to the Cardiac Unit, but apparently Reid….” He looked down at Natalie. “Little pitchers have big ears,” he said.
Natalie frowned and glared at him. “I can keep a secret. I can keep all kinds of secrets.”
Luke looked down at her, making a note to ask her later what she meant by that, exactly, and just what kind of secrets she was keeping and for whom. “I’m following you,” Luke said to Bob. “So, you want Reid to be away during this donor’s visit, so that he, what? Doesn’t say anything to offend him?”
“It’s a her, actually,” John said. “And I don’t think Reid has to actually say anything. His presence in our hospital seems to offend her, but she’s agreed to come and consider donating so long as Reid’s signature as a board member is given…shall we say…in absentia.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest, and lifted his chin a little. “What makes you think that Reid being away from the hospital is going to make her willing to donate? And what about when he comes back? He’s got patients who have been on his waiting list for over a year. It’s not just about Reid. You’re asking people whose lives are at stake, or who are suffering, and have been for a long time, to put off being helped. Memorial is just as much Reid’s hospital as it is yours. He belongs here. Running him off so that-”
“Luke,” Bob said, putting his hands out to placate him. “You don’t have to worry. Reid is one of the hospital’s greatest assets. We aren’t trying to push him out. It’s just that this particular donor has what appears to be a very personal grudge against Reid. She claims that he refused to operate on her mother. He declared her mother’s case beyond help, and did so in terms that were, well, you know Dr. Oliver. And while the donor acknowledges that he is a fine doctor, the best in his field, and that it is in the best interest of the hospital and the patients to keep him on staff, she has no desire to interact with him.”
John said, “You see our quandary, Luke. It’s a week. The patients that are on his roster can easily be put off for a week. Besides, the man needs a vacation. You should take him somewhere nice. The Bahamas. Or Greece.”
Bob said, “We’re thinking the third week of January. That’s when the meetings with the donor are scheduled.”
Luke ran a hand over his face and looked down at Natalie. She was looking up at him with big, brown eyes and she was obviously waiting for his response.
“That soon? What does Reid say about all of this?” Luke asked.
“We haven’t told him,” Bob said. “You know him, son. He can be the very definition of contrary. If he knew that she didn’t want to see him -”
“He’d barge into the middle of the meeting blowing a horn and riding a bicycle. I know,” Luke said.
“Think it over,” John said. “And keep this secret, kid,” he added to Natalie. “But tell your brother here whatever the big one is that has you so glum lately, okay?” He tweaked her nose. “Thought no one noticed, didn’t ya? Well, you were wrong.”
Natalie took a big gulp of hot chocolate, looked down at her shoes, and shrugged. Luke put his hand on her head. He wasn’t going to let it go at that. He’d take her to the farm, maybe out to the pond, and they could discuss it there, in private, away from the rest of the family.
As for a vacation with Reid, it wasn’t like it was a bad idea. The idea of being alone with Reid at a gorgeous resort, somewhere far away from pagers and hospitals and emergencies, was a beautiful one. It wasn’t like he hadn’t entertained the idea himself. But it wasn’t something he was sure he could talk Reid into. He’d figured that he might manage to convince Reid to take some time away at the very soonest late next year. Now he had to convince him to go in the next two weeks. He wasn’t sure he could pull this off, and he sure as hell wasn’t keeping any secrets from Reid. The truth would have to be told.
***
Luke stuck his hand under the hot shower, testing the temperature, before climbing in. It had been a long day, and he was feeling gross from the sweat that had collected on his skin from the shivering he’d done sitting on the cold ground with Natalie by the pond. He was exhausted from the emotional drain of listening to Natalie pour her heart out to him about their parents, and about a kid at school who kept calling her a lesbian just because she was good at sports. It had progressed to the emotional bullying that some girls seemed to excel at, and she was dreading going back to school so much, that every day after Christmas had started to feel like one day closer to misery for her.
Luke was going to take care of that on his own. He’d had Natalie’s teacher when he was in fifth grade, and he was going to make sure that the bullying ended. As for whether or not Nat actually was a lesbian, only time would tell; they didn’t even address that issue during their talk. But he didn’t think so. She kept a bunch of photos of dopey teenage boy stars on the back of her bedroom door, so that was something, though certainly not everything.
There were only two hours before he was supposed to meet Reid at Metro, assuming that Reid could get away from the hospital. Reid’s last text had seemed promising. It had read: Only three more idiots and then home. Meet me there. If you blow off this party then I’ll blow you.
Luke had laughed. Reid was so not getting out of the party at Metro. Well, at least not the beginning of it. Luke was not actually against the idea of leaving early, though. The idea of ringing in the New Year with Reid’s cock buried in his ass was incredibly appealing, and seemed like an auspicious start to what would hopefully be a great year. Still, Casey and Ali were in town, and it seemed like ages since Luke had seen Ali, morning sickness kept her from visiting as often as Casey did, and his cousin Jade was in town with a new beau, and Luke was pretty damn excited to show off Reid in front of her. He couldn’t wait to see if Jade and Reid hit it off or exploded into a mess of snarls and insults. Either way, he’d have fun.
Luke was soaping up his hair when the doorbell starting ringing. It was insistent and annoying, and he started to wonder if Reid had lost his keys. So he rinsed his hair as fast as he could, grabbed a towel, and practically ran to the front door, leaving puddles on the floor behind him that he’d have to clean up.
“Sorry, sorry, I was in the -” Luke said as he flung the door open. “…shower. Noah. Wow. Hey. I…uh, come in. Come in.”
Noah’s face was downturned, but he looked at Luke with an expression of hope and worry when he said, “Sorry. I should have called.”
Luke grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him inside, and then shut the door behind him. “Yeah, you should have. But, hey, you’re here now. So -” Luke clapped his hands together. “Let me just-”
Noah was looking around, his eyes taking in Reid’s apartment, and from the furrow in his brow, Luke was sure he didn’t like what he saw. Though, what could possibly be the problem, Luke didn’t know. Reid kept the place incredibly neat.
Noah said, “Rumor had it that you practically live here now. I guess I shouldn’t have just stopped by. If I’ve interrupted anything, I could just….”
“No,” Luke said, shaking his head and clutching his towel a little more tightly. “No, you haven’t at all. Reid’s not even home from the hospital yet. Have a seat and I’ll be-”
“Home,” Noah said. “Time was…we had a home. Together.”
Luke swallowed. This was going to be another one of those conversations. He could tell already. “Yeah. We did. Those were sweet times. But, hey, there’s cola in the fridge, and beer if you want. Reid has a few different brands, I think. You can feel free to choose. I’ll be right back.”
In the bedroom Luke took a steadying breath, looked at himself in the mirror over the dresser, and ran his hands over his messy, wet hair. He hoped it dried okay because otherwise he’d look awful for the party. He opened one of the drawers that held some of his clothes and pulled out underwear, a t-shirt, and some jeans.
He wasn’t sure why Noah had decided to stop by. His email had made it seem like they’d catch up at the Metro party. He hoped that things would remain civil. He’d wanted to believe that maybe they could strike a balance that led to friendship.
As Luke was buttoning his pants, he heard Noah clear his throat from the doorway. He looked up and Noah was grimacing, staring at Reid’s bed.
“So, this is where you-” Noah swallowed hard. “I mean, wow. You’re actually with him. I guess I just never…believed that you’d…do that with him.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open a little and he stared at Noah, a feeling of pity swelling up inside of him. “Noah, it’s been almost a year since we broke up. And, if we’re honest, it was over a long time before that.”
Noah crossed his arms over his chest, and didn’t take his eyes off the bed. He shook his head, as though denying Luke’s words. Luke ran his eyes over Noah’s form - the long legs encased in blue jeans, the strong arms in the blue button up shirt. He was a good looking man, but with so much history between them, so much hurt, that sometimes Luke wondered if he would one day look at him and think he was ugly. He hoped not. He hoped it never came to that.
“Listen, let’s go back out to the living room, okay? You’re upset.”
“How could you do that with him?” Noah asked gesturing toward the bed. “What we did? It was sacred!”
Luke swallowed and he felt his eyes go wide. The sensation in his stomach was a strange one. He didn’t know what to make of it. Was it worry, or was it actually fear? He didn’t know for sure.
As for what he and Noah had done together, it had been special, yes, and even important, but when it came to sex, Luke knew now that it had been far from sacred. It had always been too fraught with the difficulties in their relationship, and Noah’s control issues, to be more than that.
“Noah,” Luke said slowly. “I…listen, you need to be very careful what you say to me right now. Let’s go back out to the living room.”
Noah looked as though he might actually step over the threshold into the room, and Luke took an instinctive step back, bumping his hip into the dresser behind him. Noah shook his head, let out a harsh snort, and then turned on his heel, stomping into the living room again.
Luke’s heart was beating hard, and he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. He took another long breath and then headed out to join Noah.
“So - you’re staying at the farm?” Luke said, trying to keep his voice light. “Grandma asked me if I thought that was okay, and of course I said sure. The farm is your home, too.”
“No, it’s not. Not really,” Noah said, and he sounded miserable and angry at the same time.
“Sure it is,” Luke said gently, though part of him was already resentful that he needed to coddle Noah into feeling like family. It was getting very old.
“Listen, don’t lie to me. The truth is they were never my family. You were never my family.”
Luke tilted his head and looked at Noah, aching for him, and feeling sickly ashamed of himself, though he couldn’t say just why.
Noah’s jaw flexed. “You know, this was mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”
Luke nodded slowly. He thought about saying that of course Noah should have come, that of course they were family, but he couldn’t. Not anymore. Something about how Noah had behaved in Reid’s bedroom, someplace that was sacred to Luke, simply made it impossible for him to say that. Noah had gone too far.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah. Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
His throat was tight, and his eyes were stinging. He didn’t know why. It just seemed like Noah had always had the power to do this to him, to make him feel this way. It didn’t make any sense: Noah had come to Reid’s home without being invited, barged in and acted like Luke was indulging in some hurtful, mindless fling, and yet somehow Luke was the one who felt ashamed. He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. It wasn’t right.
The key sounded in the front door. Reid looked up from the bills he had in his hand, and Luke thought that Noah might actually burst into flames from the rage in Reid’s eyes when he took in Noah’s presence and the expression on Luke’s face.
“What’s going on here?” Reid asked, and his voice sounded threatening, protective. It made Luke’s chest hurt even more and his throat feel even tighter.
“Noah’s in town for New Year’s Eve,” Luke managed to say. “He was just-”
“Leaving, actually,” Noah said. He held his hands up and pushed the air, as though physically trying to push the sight of Luke away. “I was leaving. I’m out of here.”
Luke wasn’t sure how the scene had gone from him being surprised in the shower by Noah’s unexpected presence, to Noah self-righteously storming out of Reid’s home, pushing past Reid in the door way, and stomping off like Luke had done something wrong, something he needed to be punished for, and he didn’t know why it worked.
Reid locked the door after Noah, and came over to Luke, his eyes narrowed with intense scrutiny the whole way. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Or threaten to?”
Luke shook his head, though he couldn’t be sure that was true. Sure, Noah hadn’t said anything, but the threat was there, just like always, in the way he towered over Luke aggressively, or balled his hands into fists when he was telling Luke off. Luke wasn’t sure why he’d never noticed it before, that, yeah, he was physically intimidated by Noah, and that sometimes that scared him.
“What was he doing here?” Reid asked.
Luke shook his head, shrugged, managed to whisper, “I don’t know”, and then his face crumbled. He let Reid hold him as he blinked away tears, surprised by his own reaction, and angry, too, that Noah could still do this to him.
Reid voice was low. “Did he hurt you?”
“He didn’t,” Luke said, pulling back. “He didn’t. I don’t really know what he wanted or why he came. I thought…I thought….”
“What you always think,” Reid said. “That you can be friends.”
Luke shook his head and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. His lips pressed together, trying to get a grip as he said, “We can’t be friends, Reid. He can’t be…I don’t think he…ever-” Luke was too choked up to go on then and he shook his head, annoyed with himself. He sat down on the couch and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He took a long breath, and shook his head. “No. I’m okay. I just…forgot. And I’m done with that. I’m fine. This is good. It’s good and I’m over it.”
Reid snorted, sat down beside him, and pulled him over, holding his head against his chest. Luke took a deep breath of Reid’s scent: laundry detergent, warm skin, and a little cologne, but not much because Reid had a sensitive nose and strong odors gave him headaches.
“I love you,” Luke said.
Reid pressed against Luke’s head even harder, and Luke listened to the beating of his heart.
“You know that, right?” Luke asked.
Reid chuckled. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve got that one figured out. It’s the why of it that I still don’t understand. But you know what they say - curiosity killed the cat. I like the mystery.”
Luke smirked. He took another deep breath of Reid’s scent to steady him, and then sat up. Reid looked at him and started to chuckle.
“What?” Luke asked.
Reid lifted his brows and then ran his hand through Luke’s hair. “Love the look. Everyone’s going to think we did it in the car on the way over if you leave it like this. I’m okay with that.”
Luke pushed up from the couch and said, “We need to get ready. We’re going to be late.”
“That jackass going to be there?” Reid asked, grunting a little as he got up from the couch, too, and stretched his lower back.
“Probably. It’s why he’s in town,” Luke said. “Long surgery? Want a back rub?”
Reid pulled Luke closer and murmured, “Mm-hmm, then we’d be really late. Or, given the company we’ll be keeping, we could just…oh, I don’t know, not go? Sound good?”
Luke smiled and kissed the side of Reid’s mouth, and then took his hand, dragging him toward the bedroom. “You need a shower. I’ll pick out your clothes. I want you to wear the new tux I got you.”
“Tux,” Reid said rolling his eyes. “I told you, I don’t-”
“Oh, but you will, Dr. Oliver. Just be thankful I finally got you one. What with you being so pretentious and all, it was shocking to find that you didn’t have a dozen.”
Reid’s eyes were warm and affectionate, and he grumbled, “The things I do for you. I’ll never understand why people are so fond of this love thing. It just makes you act like an idiot.”
Luke grinned. “So you do love me,” he said, pulling Reid into the bathroom, and turning on the shower for him.
Reid groaned as he shucked his shirt and started on his belt buckle. “Don’t even act like you don’t know it, Mr. Snyder. It’s a big enough pain in my ass that it’s true. When you act like you’re not aware of it, it’s just annoying.”
Luke laughed and said, “Oh, I know all about it, Dr. Oliver. You’re crazy about me. Now, get in the shower. We’re going to be late.”
***
Metro was packed and Reid almost turned around and walked back out the moment they got in the door, but Luke grabbed his arm and made him stay trying not to laugh at the expression of panic on Reid’s face. Reid was already mopping at his face with a handkerchief, and they were barely two feet in the door.
“We’re going to be packed in like sardines,” Reid said, and Luke suddenly understood his wariness.
“Here, I’ll go in and see how crowded it is,” Luke said, and he pushed his way through the people around the door and bar. Sure enough, there was plenty of space inside, and he saw a good table in the corner that he could stake a claim on where Reid could have his back to the wall and the full view of the room around him. That would hopefully take the edge off.
He went back to Reid and said, “Look, if you can just get through this crowd, it’s wide open pastures inside, okay?”
Reid looked into his eyes and seemed to get whatever reassurance he needed, and Luke pulled him through the crowd by the door, guiding him into the room.
Once inside, Reid’s eyes still flitted around, anxiously, and he asked, “Is there another exit?”
Luke nodded toward the emergency exit by the bathrooms, and the one against the back wall, near the table he was relieved to see was still open. “Two more. We’re not trapped in here,” Luke said, reassuringly. “Come on. I want that table, and then I’ll brave the crowd at the bar to get us some drinks.”
Half a rum and cola later, Reid was relaxed and actually seemed to be enjoying himself. He was sprawled out in his chair, watching the other people dance, and not complaining about anything, so Luke took it as a win.
Jade had already stopped by the table with a very handsome young man on her arm. His name was Justice, and Luke was pleased to hear that he was a cop. Maybe he could keep Jade on the straight and narrow, at least for a while. Unless Jade got him onto the crooked and wide, which given how cuckoo he seemed for her, was a distinct possibility.
Reid and Jade hadn’t gone up in flames, so Luke was pleased with that. He wasn’t entirely sure that it had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship either, but given that neither one of them were really “beautiful friendship” material, for the most part, Luke was just happy that they’d each only thrown one or two verbal punches, and seemed impressed enough with the other’s return shot that they’d parted company with only narrowed eyes and what appeared to be a small measure of respect.
Maddie, on the other hand, seemed to love Reid, and had planted herself right next to him, asking him all kinds of earnest questions with her big, brown eyes, and then shooting amused glances at Luke whenever Reid made a sarcastic or snarky response. “So, do you enjoy being a neurosurgeon?” “Do you enjoy being mentally deficient?” being one such interaction. Luke had started to scold Reid for being rude when Maddie gave Luke a high five and said, “Congratulations, Snyder. You caught a live one. ‘Bout time, too.”
After a while Maddie said, “Maybe I should get going. I don’t want to be sitting here all alone when Casey and Ali show up,” she said.
“Well, Noah will be with them, and you guys always got along so great,” Luke said.
Maddie said, “Great. Two ex-boyfriends in one room. That always makes a girl feel like a winner. Especially when one of them is happily married to someone else, and the other is gay. Such an ego boost that is.”
Reid got up to go to the bathroom then, and Luke chatted some more with Maddie about Noah. She told him about the emails she’d been getting from him, about Noah feeling like he didn’t fit into the L.A. movie scene, and how he wasn’t sure that he had what it took to be successful in the film industry. Apparently his student film, the one that Mason had been so encouraging of, and that he’d re-edited once he had his vision back, wasn’t considered such a big deal in that circuit. In fact, the prizes it had won were laughed off by the big studios, and Noah was feeling really defeated.
“And he says he misses you,” Maddie said, sadly.
“I miss him, too,” Luke said.
As the words came out of his mouth, he realized how untrue they were. It was like he knew he was supposed to feel that way, it only made sense, and he’d told himself for months that he missed Noah, that he wanted to be friends. He’d felt guilty over the way things ended between them, and over how he’d hurt Noah, disappointed him, and failed to be the man Noah wanted him to be.
But somehow, suddenly, listening to Maddie talk about Noah’s problems in L.A., with the memory of Noah at Reid’s apartment earlier that day fresh in his mind, Luke knew that he absolutely didn’t miss Noah at all. He didn’t miss feeling guilty because he’d misunderstood the rules of how to make Noah happy. He didn’t miss feeling ashamed, and wrong, and hurt because he couldn’t even figure out what those rules were anyway. He didn’t miss feeling blindsided by Noah’s anger, or shocked by his lack of support. He really didn’t miss feeling so damn sad all of the time. Most of all, he really didn’t miss hating himself or wanting to drink to make it all go away.
“Oh, God,” Maddie said through gritted teeth. “And here they are. Does my smile look too fake? Can you tell that I’m seething with jealousy on the inside?”
“No, you look beautiful,” Luke reassured her as they stood up to greet their friends.
Noah looked handsome in his suit and he greeted Maddie effusively. Casey pounded Luke on the back and gave him a massive bear hug, like Luke hadn’t just seen him two weeks earlier when he’d been in town to see his parents to make up for having missed Thanksgiving.
“Ali,” Luke said with affection. “Look at you! You look great! How far along are you now?”
Alison rubbed her still flat tummy and said, “Not quite three months, so keep your fingers crossed.”
“Yeah, we’re late because we had to go to Al’s for chili,” Casey said. “My baby was hungry. He needed chili.”
“Food. For the baby,” Luke said, laughing.
“Hey, it could be a ‘she’, you know,” Ali said to Casey, poking her finger into his chest playfully.
Luke turned to Noah then, feeling awkward and more than a little anxious, but it was New Year’s Eve, and he wasn’t going to let what happened earlier get in the way of having a good night with his friends. Besides, he and Reid were going to leave in a little while. No matter how awkward Noah wanted to make it, there was always that escape.
“Reid couldn’t make it, huh?” Noah said, his expression less hostile than earlier in the day, but his tone still confrontational. “Guess that’s what happens when you date doctors.”
“Actually, Reid made it just fine,” Reid said, and Luke turned to smile at him as Reid took his hand. “Noah,” Reid said as a greeting, and inclined his head. “How’s sunny L.A.?”
“Sunny,” Noah answered, turning back to Maddie, who shot Luke a look of empathy.
Casey lunged at Reid, and Luke laughed as Reid cringed back from Casey’s one-armed man-hug.
“Reid,” Casey said, grinning, and drawing out the name. “My hero.” He patted Reid’s chest and ignored Reid’s rolling eyes as he said to Noah, “Dude, this guy? This guy right here? Saved my life. What’s better than that? I’ll tell you what’s better than that. Nothing.”
“Hey!” Ali said in mock offense.
“You were choking. I performed the Heimlich. Any idiot could have done that,” Reid said, trying to get away from Casey’s grabby hands. Luke grinned and didn’t help him at all.
Casey squeezed Reid again and said, “Yeah, man, but you’re the idiot who actually did it.”
“And I question that decision every time I see you.”
Luke laughed as Casey tried to rub his fist on Reid’s hair, but Ali pulled him away, saying, “Stop bothering him. You know he hates that.”
“But it’s so fun to see him squirm!” Casey chuckled.
Luke laughed even harder watching Reid try to shake off the feeling of Casey touching him, and then caught Noah’s eye. Luke sobered almost immediately. Noah was pissed. Luke sighed. He wished that Casey had never invited Noah home for New Year’s Eve, and then Luke felt immediately guilty. Noah didn’t have anywhere else; Oakdale was his home, the Snyders were his family, and if he didn’t have that, then what did he have? A lonely life in L.A. according to Maddie. Luke sighed again, and looked at his shoes. It was just so much easier to remember the good times between them when Noah wasn’t actually around.
Luke looked up again when Noah asked Maddie, “Wanna dance?”
Maddie glanced toward Luke who nodded at her. He didn’t mind if they danced. It wasn’t him versus Noah, anyway. It was just a really awkward situation.
Maddie said, “Sure. It’s been a while since we danced together. As I recall, we really sucked at it.”
Noah laughed. “Let’s see if you can let me lead this time.”
Maddie wagged her finger at him and said, “Oh, no, no, no. Let’s see if you can let me lead.”
“Let her, man!” Casey called after them. “It’s the only way your toes won’t get crushed. Trust me!”
“So,” Reid said drolly. “Are we having fun yet?”
Luke smiled and pulled Reid closer. “We’re getting there. Care to dance, Dr. Oliver?”
“Do I have a choice, Mr. Snyder?”
Luke was amused to find that so long as the songs were slow, Reid had no complaints about dancing with him. He held Luke close with firm, steady hands, and his steps were sure and in rhythm, but nothing Luke said or did could convince Reid to stay on the dance floor during an up-tempo piece. Luke didn’t mind though, taking the opportunity to spazz out on the dance floor with Casey while Reid and Ali fed their bellies at the table.
Noah and Maddie had pretty much disappeared together, and Luke was oddly grateful for that. The way he saw it, Maddie had taken one for the team, and he’d have to thank her for it later.
It was while he was on the dance floor with Casey that Reid got the page. Reid tapped Luke on the shoulder and nearly got hit by one of Casey’s flying elbows in the process. Luke, sweaty and worried, followed Reid from the dance floor.
“I’m sorry. It’s an emergency.” Reid sighed. “Maybe I’ll be back by midnight.”
Luke knew the disappointment showed on his face, but he tried to smile. “Go be amazing. I love you.”
Reid nodded at him, and the look in his eyes, the love and strength, the way he thanked Luke without saying a word made Luke’s heart swell with affection and joy. In that moment, he felt as amazing as he knew Reid would be. Midnight would be just another midnight, but this moment was beautiful.
***
Luke thought about going back to Reid’s apartment at one point. Maddie and Noah had returned to the table, and Maddie kept giving Luke looks behind Noah’s back, making it clear that she was over being his faux date for the night.
“He totally cockblocked me,” Maddie said, sipping a cocktail and watching Casey and Ali slow dance. “See that hot guy over there? The blond one dancing with the redhead? That could be me. Instead, I’m drinking cocktails with my gay ex-boyfriend. And why is that? Because when hot guy asked me to dance, Noah grabbed my hand and said, ‘She’s with me.’ Who does that?”
Luke shrugged. He guessed that Noah did that. But why he couldn’t say.
“Um, newsflash. We’ve been broken up for what qualifies as a very long time now. And he’s not interested in what I’ve got. So what’s with the possessive streak? And then he had the gall to say that I should thank him for saving me. Whatever.”
Luke jerked his chin toward Noah who was coming from the bar with more drinks for everyone at the table. “At least he’s buying your drinks, right? That’s something.”
“No, Luke,” Maddie said. “You’re buying our drinks. Casey set up the tab that way.”
“What?” Luke asked, his jaw dropping.
“Yeah, he said since you’re gonna marry that hot neurosurgeon of yours and you’re already drowning in money that you wouldn’t mind.”
Luke rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t have minded, actually, but being asked would have been nice.
“Here you go,” Noah said handing Maddie another drink. “And Luke, here’s your water.”
Luke took it from him and thought about the incident earlier in the evening when Luke had been drinking his mocktail. Noah had asked, “Is that alcohol? Are you drinking again?”
Luke explained the concept of a mocktail, and then said, “You know, it’s strange. I haven’t even been tempted to drink since I’ve been with Reid. I guess I just don’t need to drown my sorrows.”
“I wonder why that is?” Maddie asked, playing into it.
“Guess I don’t have any sorrows to drown,” Luke said, and he wondered if there was liquor in the drink after all, because that was pretty mean, and he wasn’t sure what had prompted him to say it, except that he was pretty sick of Noah and his crap.
That had been over an hour ago, though, and there was still no word from Reid. He sat down at the table and watched the other couples dance. He tried to avoid looking directly at or talking directly to Noah, too.
“Look,” Noah eventually said. “We’re both here tonight. I think we should make the best of it.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “Sure. You stop being a jerk, and I’ll accept your apology.”
“My apology,” Noah said, and laughed in a way that made Luke’s stomach hurt. “And just what do I have to apologize for? I’m not the one who started dating your doctor.”
“Stop,” Luke said, and stood up. “I’m going home.”
“Don’t you mean to Reid’s home?” Noah asked.
“Come on, guys,” Maddie cut in. “Things are tense, but it’s the new year. If there was ever a time to let bygones be bygones, now’s the time.” She turned to Noah and said in a commanding tone, “Noah, tell Luke you’re sorry.”
Noah huffed like a child but said, “Luke, sorry your night hasn’t turned out the way you wanted, but neither has mine.”
Luke didn’t point out that the apology was complete b.s. and simply nodded his head.
Maddie went on, “And, Luke, don’t go home. It’s almost midnight. You won’t have time to even get anywhere. You don’t want to spend midnight alone in the car, do you? Stay here with your friends.”
Luke looked over at Casey who gave him a thumbs up sign, and Ali who smiled at him encouragingly, and he agreed to stay.
And so it came to pass that it was midnight, and Luke stood alone in the middle of the dance floor, kicking at confetti on the floor. Maddie and Noah hugged, and Casey and Ali kissed. Luke searched for Jade, hoping to cop a big hug from his cousin to take the sting off the midnight hour striking while he was, as always on the New Year, alone, but from what he could see her tongue was so far down that guy Justice’s throat that it might never make it back out again.
He sighed and sent Reid a text. Happy New Year. I love you.
He supposed that was good enough. Better than nothing.
He wondered if his mom and dad were together at the farm, and if Faith and Parker were making out somewhere for their first New Year’s as a couple. He hoped that wherever they were, it was in public, so that making out was as far as it could go. He half-regretted not going out to the farm the minute that Reid left, actually. He could have been with Natalie at least, watching the Times Square ball drop and eating popcorn.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t have fun with Casey, Ali, and Maddie, but it hadn’t really been worth the irritation of having Noah there to open old wounds. It would have been better to be alone at Reid’s apartment, waiting for him to get home, curled up with Reid’s pillow. He liked to do that when Reid wasn’t home at night, and it would’ve been better than this.
It was strange how the moment the clock had struck midnight, all of the decorations, the glitter, the confetti, and the balloons looked tawdry and old, like debris from another time, a party past. Luke was ready for the night to be over and to be waking up the next morning in bed with Reid, safely away from disappointed expectations.
The dance floor had started to clear off, but Luke continued to stand there, waiting for some of the maudlin feelings to dissipate. He glanced up and saw Noah looking at him with a softness in his expression that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Luke let a smile touch the edges of his mouth, too, and felt a weird tangle of emotions as Noah took a step toward him.
At that moment, Luke was spun around by a firm hand on his arm. Luke barely had time to register what was happening before he was kissed. He gasped and started to pull away, but then his brain processed the taste of the tongue in his mouth, the feel of the hands gripping his face, and Luke kissed back. It was Reid. Reid, with his strong grip, and his amazing mouth. Reid, who could make Luke weak in the knees.
There were hoots and catcalls, but Luke barely heard them over the rush in his ears. Reid’s mouth was hot, and wet, and Luke whimpered a little into the kiss when Reid sucked his lip in and then kissed him deeply again. The kiss ended with a loud smacking noise, and Reid pulled back.
“Sorry I’m late,” Reid said. “It took a little longer than I hoped. Serious concussion; no need for surgery.”
Luke blinked at him and there was a round of applause through the room, along with some more hooting.
“Luke?” Reid asked. “You okay?”
Luke grinned. “That was some kiss.”
Reid looked a little smug. “Wanted to start the New Year right.”
Luke leaned in and kissed Reid again, a quick one before pulling back and saying, “Happy New Year, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid kissed him again, too, and said, “Happy New Year, Mr. Snyder.”
They grinned at each other and Luke felt like his stomach flip, and his heart pound. The feeling of rising joy was impossible to contain, and he smiled, out of breath with it.
Casey’s voice cut through the air. “That guy? Right there? He saved my life! He’s, like, totally awesome!”
Reid rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Your friend is drunk.”
Luke laughed. “Yeah. He is.”
“Please tell me that someone else can drive him home? I’m exhausted.”
Luke glanced over Reid’s wrinkled tux, and the dangling, untied bow tie, and said, “You look terrible, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid smirked. “You’re pretty hot yourself.”
Luke grinned and grabbed Reid’s face, kissed him one more time, and headed toward the door. He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to and he almost didn’t care. One day soon, he was pretty sure that he’d manage it completely. And then he’d be free.
***
Luke was still sweaty and panting from the incredibly intense sex he and Reid had just had when he remembered something important.
“Reid,” he said, lifting up on his elbow to look down at Reid who was also panting and wet with sweat and their combined come smeared on his stomach.
“Mmm,” Reid answered, his eyes closed and a shiver running through him like a delayed after-shock.
“I want to go to Borneo in two weeks.”
Reid was silent for a moment and then said, “Borneo?”
“Yeah, it’s for Grimaldi Shipping. There’s some contracts that I’m working on there, and a visit would be a good gesture.”
“Mmm,” Reid said again. “How long?”
“A week.”
He sighed and turned toward Luke, opening his eyes, and touching Luke’s chest, pulling lightly on the hair there. “If you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.” Then almost like an afterthought, but still so sincere that it made Luke’s heart clench, Reid said, “I’ll miss you.”
“I want you to come with me.”
Reid scoffed. “I have work. I can’t just take off to Borneo. My waiting list is over a year long, and what would I tell those people? Sorry, my boyfriend wants me to go to Borneo? Too bad, so sad?”
Luke said, “You’d tell them that you’re taking a long over-due vacation.”
Reid looked as though Luke had just suggested that he have mutually consensual sex with an inanimate object, because what Luke had just said was equally as impossible to achieve.
“I don’t do vacations.”
Luke grinned. “Mmm-hmm,” he said. “John’s already cleared your calendar. In fact, the vacation was his idea.”
Reid narrowed his eyes. “Why? Is it - wait, this is because of that donor, isn’t it? The insane woman who insisted that I cut her mother even when it would have been a futile endeavor, a waste of time, and cruel to the person who should have mattered the most in that scenario, her mommy dearest. She wants me gone.”
“For a week,” Luke nodded.
“And they’re giving in to her demands? Now I’ve really lost all respect-”
“Shh,” Luke said, putting his finger over Reid’s lips. “You need a vacation. They want you to take one. The hospital will get tons of money for the cardiac unit. Your chief of staff will be happy. Your hospital even more reputable. And, more importantly, I want you to fuck me in Borneo. I’ve never been fucked there…or anywhere outside of Oakdale, Reid. Not even once.”
Reid licked his lips, and stared at Luke. “When you talk like that, it’s cheating.”
“I’m thinking, on my hands and knees, with you slapping my ass to make me squeeze your cock while you fuck me. And I’d be moaning the way you like it, totally begging for it - ”
“Luke,” Reid said, narrowing his eyes. “I never knew you fought so dirty.”
“I’m a Grimaldi. What did you expect?”
“Throw in a little blackmail and we might have a deal,” Reid muttered darkly.
“How about a little kidnapping?” Luke said. “You ended up liking it enough last time, when I trapped you here in Podunk with me.”
“So, you’re going to kidnap me to Borneo and force me to fuck you for a week.”
Luke bit down on his lower lip and nodded.
Reid snorted, rolled his eyes, and said, “Fine. Fine. Whatever. Tell all those poor sick souls waiting for me to save their lives or restore motor functions or eye sight that they’ll have to wait. I’ll be fucking my boyfriend in Borneo.”
Luke laughed and fell back to the bed. “Good. I can’t wait.”
Reid rolled on top of him, the sticky remains of their orgasms smearing against Luke’s stomach, too, and Reid said, “Me either.”
Half an hour later, Luke held onto the bed-head as it rattled against the wall. He was on his knees, ass up, taking Reid’s cock greedily. He loved being fucked like this, being pummeled with passion and force, and when Reid grabbed his hair to jerk his head back for a kiss, Luke let go of the head board with one hand, pinched his own nipple hard, and came with a few fast jerks of Reid’s hand on his cock.
“So good, so hot when you come for me,” Reid muttered, and Luke felt him come, too, jerking against Luke’s back, and holding on to Luke’s hips hard enough to leave bruises.
Cuddled up in Reid’s arms, exhausted and clean from a fast shower together, Luke was on the verge of sleep when Reid asked, “Did it go okay…with Noah?”
Luke shook his head.
“And I’m not sorry about that,” Reid said.
“I know. And it’s okay. I figured something out.”
“What?” Reid asked squeezing Luke a little tighter. “That Mr. Mayer’s a self-absorbed asshole who uses and emotionally abuses you to pump up his own self-esteem, and who would just as soon hate you as love you?”
Luke knew that Reid was purposely trying to be an ass. He knew that Reid expected him to dispute it. “Yes, actually. I think I finally get that. I still don’t know why he has that effect on me, though. I don’t know why I feed into it. But, yeah.”
“Oh,” Reid said, and Luke snorted. He knew that Reid had probably planned an entire rant about how awful Noah was to Luke and how Luke needed to kick him to the curb for good.
“Yeah, I realized today, being around him, that I don’t even miss him. Not at all. Not even a little.”
Reid kissed the top of Luke’s head and said, “Good.”
Luke yawned and said, “It’s so late. You’ve got to work tomorrow and I have to talk to a teacher about bullying. We should be asleep.”
“A teacher? About bullying?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you in the morning.”
Reid rolled onto his side and pulled Luke into his arms, and they settled into the position they generally slept in when they slept together.
“Next week, Reid, we move into our place,” Luke murmured.
“Sleeping,” Reid said.
“And then we’ll go to Borneo.”
“Sleeping,” Reid said again.
“I love you, Dr. Oliver.”
“Happy New Year, Mr. Snyder.”
THE END
Written By: rhiannonhero
Category: General
Rating: NC-17
Author's Notes: T?WT? of course. Thanks to peggin and _alicesprings for the beta reading and input! Extra super thanks to susanderavish and peggin for the 5 Holiday Scenario prompts and ideas!
Sometimes Luke thought that Bob Hughes and John Dixon had almost as big of an investment in seeing his relationship with Reid flourish as he did. The neurosurgical wing that Reid had designed was bringing interest to the hospital that could only have been imagined a few years ago. Money was pouring in from donors all over the country for improvements to Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Urology, and now that John was back, the Cardiac unit.
Bob had retired, yes, for all intents and purposes, but he remained on the board, giving his input and helping to wrangle Reid and John when they got out of hand. And sometimes it took both of the older men to keep Reid in line if he thought something they were trying to do was idiotic, stupid, or boneheaded. All words that Reid bandied about in hospital board meetings without giving a damn about whom they were directed toward.
It was the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and Luke was sharing a hot chocolate with Natalie on the bench outside of Java when Bob Hughes and John Dixon approached him with grins and handshakes. They both greeted Natalie, and Luke was pleased that she was polite in response. She’d been going through some kind of change recently. Ever since Christmas Day, she’d been progressively more and more glum, and acting out of character for her usually sweet self. Luke didn’t know if it was early hormones, or if she was just having trouble dealing with the emotional stress of their parents’ on and off again relationship. If it was the latter, he completely understood, and he was considering talking to his mother about getting some counseling for Natalie to help her cope.
“Luke,” Bob said seriously, clapping his gloved hands together against the cold. “How are things with you?”
“Great!” Luke said, grinning. Though in a way it felt like an understatement. He and Reid were moving into their new apartment in a week’s time, and Luke had already found someone reliable to sublet Katie’s old one. Maddie had moved back to town and was currently staying with Henry and Barbara. Maddie’s return was, in and of itself, something that Luke was very happy about. Now that Noah was in L.A., his friendship with Maddie seemed like old times in some ways, and in others it was good to have someone who understood what it was like to be in a relationship with Noah Mayer. Not many people did. It was a very select club and membership didn’t have a lot of perks. Maddie had even managed to remain friends with Noah afterwards. Despite his family and Reid’s reticence about the idea, Luke was still hoping to achieve that.
Which was actually another reason that things were great. Noah had finally broken his radio silence with an email declaring that he’d be in town for New Year’s Eve. His flight was supposed to land any minute, and Casey and Alison were going to pick him up at the airport. Apparently, he had missed Oakdale during the holidays, and when Casey mentioned the New Year’s Eve celebration at Metro and Ali suggested that Noah could take advantage of one of the holiday super-deals with an inexpensive round-trip flight from L.A. to Chicago, he just hadn’t been able to resist. He had signed the email, “I hope to see you while I’m there. I’ve missed you. Love, Noah.” Luke was hoping this could be the beginning of a friendship after all.
And then there was Reid. Reid who was amazing, loving, thoughtful, supportive, and so incredibly great in bed that Luke sometimes felt like his brain had dribbled out of his ears for a good four or five hours after they had sex. Luke had thought he knew what sex was like, but he’d been wrong. Very wrong. And he’d also thought he knew what it meant to be in love, but he’d been wrong about that, too. There was a very big difference in how it felt when the person he was in love with loved him back just as much, if not more. Sometimes Luke was kind of in awe of how much Reid loved him. He sometimes wondered what he’d done to deserve that from a man like Reid, but he wasn’t about to give it up for anything in the world.
So, yeah, as far as he was concerned, things were completely and totally great.
“That’s good to hear,” John said, smiling down at Luke and then glancing over at Bob. There was anxiety in his glance. “Do you want to tell him, or should I?”
Luke’s stomach tightened and his hand clenched the cup of hot cocoa a little harder. “Is there a problem with Reid?” he asked.
“You could say that, yes,” John said.
Luke stood up. “Is he okay?”
John rolled his eyes and patted Luke’s shoulders, indicating that he should sit back down. “Oh, Lord boy, the man is physically fine. Relax.” He looked over at Bob. “Told you the kid loved him.”
“I never had any doubt of that,” Bob said.
“It’s his mental health we’re worried about,” John said. “He needs a vacation. It’s been a strenuous year for him with the move from Dallas, setting up the new neurowing, dealing with Chris’s ridiculous behavior over his heart.” He looked at Bob again. “No offense, Bob.”
“None taken. Chris owes his life to Reid.”
“Indeed he does,” John said.
Luke looked between them in confusion, and he remained standing. “Wait. Is Reid okay? I mean, is he having trouble at work?”
“No, not yet,” John said. “But every man has a limit. He needs to take a break. He’s refusing, saying that he missed enough work over the holidays. Personally, I don’t consider half a day off on Christmas to be a good enough respite for the kind of stress that he goes through every day.”
“Reid likes to be stressed,” Luke said, handing the cup of hot chocolate to Natalie. “He enjoys work. It’s all he knows how to do, actually.”
Natalie piped up then with, “He likes chess. He’s good at that, too. And he told me that he can play golf and that he beat the pants off that man with the weasel face we saw at the bakery.”
“You were with Reid at a bakery?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, cookies. We wanted them. It was that morning he took me to school? Remember?”
Luke couldn’t stop the grin. It had been one of the few nights that Reid had stayed over in Luke’s room at his mom’s house. There had been a mad rush the next morning and somehow Natalie had missed the bus. Reid had offered to take her since the school was next to the hospital. Well, “offered” was a strong word. More like he’d accepted Luke’s proposal that he do so. It sounded like he and Natalie made a little unscheduled stop along the way.
“Well, I don’t think chess and golf are necessarily what Bob and John are thinking of, am I right?” Luke asked.
“Exactly,” John said.
“We were thinking that Reid could use a real vacation, Luke. Some time away to relax and get back some energy to face the year ahead.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “Okay, what aren’t you telling me? Is his performance suffering?”
Bob and John exchanged glances again. “Well, no,” John said. “The problem is more of a…business one.”
Bob explained further, “There is a donor that is considering contributing to the planned improvements to the Cardiac Unit, but apparently Reid….” He looked down at Natalie. “Little pitchers have big ears,” he said.
Natalie frowned and glared at him. “I can keep a secret. I can keep all kinds of secrets.”
Luke looked down at her, making a note to ask her later what she meant by that, exactly, and just what kind of secrets she was keeping and for whom. “I’m following you,” Luke said to Bob. “So, you want Reid to be away during this donor’s visit, so that he, what? Doesn’t say anything to offend him?”
“It’s a her, actually,” John said. “And I don’t think Reid has to actually say anything. His presence in our hospital seems to offend her, but she’s agreed to come and consider donating so long as Reid’s signature as a board member is given…shall we say…in absentia.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest, and lifted his chin a little. “What makes you think that Reid being away from the hospital is going to make her willing to donate? And what about when he comes back? He’s got patients who have been on his waiting list for over a year. It’s not just about Reid. You’re asking people whose lives are at stake, or who are suffering, and have been for a long time, to put off being helped. Memorial is just as much Reid’s hospital as it is yours. He belongs here. Running him off so that-”
“Luke,” Bob said, putting his hands out to placate him. “You don’t have to worry. Reid is one of the hospital’s greatest assets. We aren’t trying to push him out. It’s just that this particular donor has what appears to be a very personal grudge against Reid. She claims that he refused to operate on her mother. He declared her mother’s case beyond help, and did so in terms that were, well, you know Dr. Oliver. And while the donor acknowledges that he is a fine doctor, the best in his field, and that it is in the best interest of the hospital and the patients to keep him on staff, she has no desire to interact with him.”
John said, “You see our quandary, Luke. It’s a week. The patients that are on his roster can easily be put off for a week. Besides, the man needs a vacation. You should take him somewhere nice. The Bahamas. Or Greece.”
Bob said, “We’re thinking the third week of January. That’s when the meetings with the donor are scheduled.”
Luke ran a hand over his face and looked down at Natalie. She was looking up at him with big, brown eyes and she was obviously waiting for his response.
“That soon? What does Reid say about all of this?” Luke asked.
“We haven’t told him,” Bob said. “You know him, son. He can be the very definition of contrary. If he knew that she didn’t want to see him -”
“He’d barge into the middle of the meeting blowing a horn and riding a bicycle. I know,” Luke said.
“Think it over,” John said. “And keep this secret, kid,” he added to Natalie. “But tell your brother here whatever the big one is that has you so glum lately, okay?” He tweaked her nose. “Thought no one noticed, didn’t ya? Well, you were wrong.”
Natalie took a big gulp of hot chocolate, looked down at her shoes, and shrugged. Luke put his hand on her head. He wasn’t going to let it go at that. He’d take her to the farm, maybe out to the pond, and they could discuss it there, in private, away from the rest of the family.
As for a vacation with Reid, it wasn’t like it was a bad idea. The idea of being alone with Reid at a gorgeous resort, somewhere far away from pagers and hospitals and emergencies, was a beautiful one. It wasn’t like he hadn’t entertained the idea himself. But it wasn’t something he was sure he could talk Reid into. He’d figured that he might manage to convince Reid to take some time away at the very soonest late next year. Now he had to convince him to go in the next two weeks. He wasn’t sure he could pull this off, and he sure as hell wasn’t keeping any secrets from Reid. The truth would have to be told.
***
Luke stuck his hand under the hot shower, testing the temperature, before climbing in. It had been a long day, and he was feeling gross from the sweat that had collected on his skin from the shivering he’d done sitting on the cold ground with Natalie by the pond. He was exhausted from the emotional drain of listening to Natalie pour her heart out to him about their parents, and about a kid at school who kept calling her a lesbian just because she was good at sports. It had progressed to the emotional bullying that some girls seemed to excel at, and she was dreading going back to school so much, that every day after Christmas had started to feel like one day closer to misery for her.
Luke was going to take care of that on his own. He’d had Natalie’s teacher when he was in fifth grade, and he was going to make sure that the bullying ended. As for whether or not Nat actually was a lesbian, only time would tell; they didn’t even address that issue during their talk. But he didn’t think so. She kept a bunch of photos of dopey teenage boy stars on the back of her bedroom door, so that was something, though certainly not everything.
There were only two hours before he was supposed to meet Reid at Metro, assuming that Reid could get away from the hospital. Reid’s last text had seemed promising. It had read: Only three more idiots and then home. Meet me there. If you blow off this party then I’ll blow you.
Luke had laughed. Reid was so not getting out of the party at Metro. Well, at least not the beginning of it. Luke was not actually against the idea of leaving early, though. The idea of ringing in the New Year with Reid’s cock buried in his ass was incredibly appealing, and seemed like an auspicious start to what would hopefully be a great year. Still, Casey and Ali were in town, and it seemed like ages since Luke had seen Ali, morning sickness kept her from visiting as often as Casey did, and his cousin Jade was in town with a new beau, and Luke was pretty damn excited to show off Reid in front of her. He couldn’t wait to see if Jade and Reid hit it off or exploded into a mess of snarls and insults. Either way, he’d have fun.
Luke was soaping up his hair when the doorbell starting ringing. It was insistent and annoying, and he started to wonder if Reid had lost his keys. So he rinsed his hair as fast as he could, grabbed a towel, and practically ran to the front door, leaving puddles on the floor behind him that he’d have to clean up.
“Sorry, sorry, I was in the -” Luke said as he flung the door open. “…shower. Noah. Wow. Hey. I…uh, come in. Come in.”
Noah’s face was downturned, but he looked at Luke with an expression of hope and worry when he said, “Sorry. I should have called.”
Luke grabbed Noah’s arm and pulled him inside, and then shut the door behind him. “Yeah, you should have. But, hey, you’re here now. So -” Luke clapped his hands together. “Let me just-”
Noah was looking around, his eyes taking in Reid’s apartment, and from the furrow in his brow, Luke was sure he didn’t like what he saw. Though, what could possibly be the problem, Luke didn’t know. Reid kept the place incredibly neat.
Noah said, “Rumor had it that you practically live here now. I guess I shouldn’t have just stopped by. If I’ve interrupted anything, I could just….”
“No,” Luke said, shaking his head and clutching his towel a little more tightly. “No, you haven’t at all. Reid’s not even home from the hospital yet. Have a seat and I’ll be-”
“Home,” Noah said. “Time was…we had a home. Together.”
Luke swallowed. This was going to be another one of those conversations. He could tell already. “Yeah. We did. Those were sweet times. But, hey, there’s cola in the fridge, and beer if you want. Reid has a few different brands, I think. You can feel free to choose. I’ll be right back.”
In the bedroom Luke took a steadying breath, looked at himself in the mirror over the dresser, and ran his hands over his messy, wet hair. He hoped it dried okay because otherwise he’d look awful for the party. He opened one of the drawers that held some of his clothes and pulled out underwear, a t-shirt, and some jeans.
He wasn’t sure why Noah had decided to stop by. His email had made it seem like they’d catch up at the Metro party. He hoped that things would remain civil. He’d wanted to believe that maybe they could strike a balance that led to friendship.
As Luke was buttoning his pants, he heard Noah clear his throat from the doorway. He looked up and Noah was grimacing, staring at Reid’s bed.
“So, this is where you-” Noah swallowed hard. “I mean, wow. You’re actually with him. I guess I just never…believed that you’d…do that with him.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open a little and he stared at Noah, a feeling of pity swelling up inside of him. “Noah, it’s been almost a year since we broke up. And, if we’re honest, it was over a long time before that.”
Noah crossed his arms over his chest, and didn’t take his eyes off the bed. He shook his head, as though denying Luke’s words. Luke ran his eyes over Noah’s form - the long legs encased in blue jeans, the strong arms in the blue button up shirt. He was a good looking man, but with so much history between them, so much hurt, that sometimes Luke wondered if he would one day look at him and think he was ugly. He hoped not. He hoped it never came to that.
“Listen, let’s go back out to the living room, okay? You’re upset.”
“How could you do that with him?” Noah asked gesturing toward the bed. “What we did? It was sacred!”
Luke swallowed and he felt his eyes go wide. The sensation in his stomach was a strange one. He didn’t know what to make of it. Was it worry, or was it actually fear? He didn’t know for sure.
As for what he and Noah had done together, it had been special, yes, and even important, but when it came to sex, Luke knew now that it had been far from sacred. It had always been too fraught with the difficulties in their relationship, and Noah’s control issues, to be more than that.
“Noah,” Luke said slowly. “I…listen, you need to be very careful what you say to me right now. Let’s go back out to the living room.”
Noah looked as though he might actually step over the threshold into the room, and Luke took an instinctive step back, bumping his hip into the dresser behind him. Noah shook his head, let out a harsh snort, and then turned on his heel, stomping into the living room again.
Luke’s heart was beating hard, and he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. He took another long breath and then headed out to join Noah.
“So - you’re staying at the farm?” Luke said, trying to keep his voice light. “Grandma asked me if I thought that was okay, and of course I said sure. The farm is your home, too.”
“No, it’s not. Not really,” Noah said, and he sounded miserable and angry at the same time.
“Sure it is,” Luke said gently, though part of him was already resentful that he needed to coddle Noah into feeling like family. It was getting very old.
“Listen, don’t lie to me. The truth is they were never my family. You were never my family.”
Luke tilted his head and looked at Noah, aching for him, and feeling sickly ashamed of himself, though he couldn’t say just why.
Noah’s jaw flexed. “You know, this was mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”
Luke nodded slowly. He thought about saying that of course Noah should have come, that of course they were family, but he couldn’t. Not anymore. Something about how Noah had behaved in Reid’s bedroom, someplace that was sacred to Luke, simply made it impossible for him to say that. Noah had gone too far.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah. Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
His throat was tight, and his eyes were stinging. He didn’t know why. It just seemed like Noah had always had the power to do this to him, to make him feel this way. It didn’t make any sense: Noah had come to Reid’s home without being invited, barged in and acted like Luke was indulging in some hurtful, mindless fling, and yet somehow Luke was the one who felt ashamed. He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. It wasn’t right.
The key sounded in the front door. Reid looked up from the bills he had in his hand, and Luke thought that Noah might actually burst into flames from the rage in Reid’s eyes when he took in Noah’s presence and the expression on Luke’s face.
“What’s going on here?” Reid asked, and his voice sounded threatening, protective. It made Luke’s chest hurt even more and his throat feel even tighter.
“Noah’s in town for New Year’s Eve,” Luke managed to say. “He was just-”
“Leaving, actually,” Noah said. He held his hands up and pushed the air, as though physically trying to push the sight of Luke away. “I was leaving. I’m out of here.”
Luke wasn’t sure how the scene had gone from him being surprised in the shower by Noah’s unexpected presence, to Noah self-righteously storming out of Reid’s home, pushing past Reid in the door way, and stomping off like Luke had done something wrong, something he needed to be punished for, and he didn’t know why it worked.
Reid locked the door after Noah, and came over to Luke, his eyes narrowed with intense scrutiny the whole way. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Or threaten to?”
Luke shook his head, though he couldn’t be sure that was true. Sure, Noah hadn’t said anything, but the threat was there, just like always, in the way he towered over Luke aggressively, or balled his hands into fists when he was telling Luke off. Luke wasn’t sure why he’d never noticed it before, that, yeah, he was physically intimidated by Noah, and that sometimes that scared him.
“What was he doing here?” Reid asked.
Luke shook his head, shrugged, managed to whisper, “I don’t know”, and then his face crumbled. He let Reid hold him as he blinked away tears, surprised by his own reaction, and angry, too, that Noah could still do this to him.
Reid voice was low. “Did he hurt you?”
“He didn’t,” Luke said, pulling back. “He didn’t. I don’t really know what he wanted or why he came. I thought…I thought….”
“What you always think,” Reid said. “That you can be friends.”
Luke shook his head and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. His lips pressed together, trying to get a grip as he said, “We can’t be friends, Reid. He can’t be…I don’t think he…ever-” Luke was too choked up to go on then and he shook his head, annoyed with himself. He sat down on the couch and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He took a long breath, and shook his head. “No. I’m okay. I just…forgot. And I’m done with that. I’m fine. This is good. It’s good and I’m over it.”
Reid snorted, sat down beside him, and pulled him over, holding his head against his chest. Luke took a deep breath of Reid’s scent: laundry detergent, warm skin, and a little cologne, but not much because Reid had a sensitive nose and strong odors gave him headaches.
“I love you,” Luke said.
Reid pressed against Luke’s head even harder, and Luke listened to the beating of his heart.
“You know that, right?” Luke asked.
Reid chuckled. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ve got that one figured out. It’s the why of it that I still don’t understand. But you know what they say - curiosity killed the cat. I like the mystery.”
Luke smirked. He took another deep breath of Reid’s scent to steady him, and then sat up. Reid looked at him and started to chuckle.
“What?” Luke asked.
Reid lifted his brows and then ran his hand through Luke’s hair. “Love the look. Everyone’s going to think we did it in the car on the way over if you leave it like this. I’m okay with that.”
Luke pushed up from the couch and said, “We need to get ready. We’re going to be late.”
“That jackass going to be there?” Reid asked, grunting a little as he got up from the couch, too, and stretched his lower back.
“Probably. It’s why he’s in town,” Luke said. “Long surgery? Want a back rub?”
Reid pulled Luke closer and murmured, “Mm-hmm, then we’d be really late. Or, given the company we’ll be keeping, we could just…oh, I don’t know, not go? Sound good?”
Luke smiled and kissed the side of Reid’s mouth, and then took his hand, dragging him toward the bedroom. “You need a shower. I’ll pick out your clothes. I want you to wear the new tux I got you.”
“Tux,” Reid said rolling his eyes. “I told you, I don’t-”
“Oh, but you will, Dr. Oliver. Just be thankful I finally got you one. What with you being so pretentious and all, it was shocking to find that you didn’t have a dozen.”
Reid’s eyes were warm and affectionate, and he grumbled, “The things I do for you. I’ll never understand why people are so fond of this love thing. It just makes you act like an idiot.”
Luke grinned. “So you do love me,” he said, pulling Reid into the bathroom, and turning on the shower for him.
Reid groaned as he shucked his shirt and started on his belt buckle. “Don’t even act like you don’t know it, Mr. Snyder. It’s a big enough pain in my ass that it’s true. When you act like you’re not aware of it, it’s just annoying.”
Luke laughed and said, “Oh, I know all about it, Dr. Oliver. You’re crazy about me. Now, get in the shower. We’re going to be late.”
***
Metro was packed and Reid almost turned around and walked back out the moment they got in the door, but Luke grabbed his arm and made him stay trying not to laugh at the expression of panic on Reid’s face. Reid was already mopping at his face with a handkerchief, and they were barely two feet in the door.
“We’re going to be packed in like sardines,” Reid said, and Luke suddenly understood his wariness.
“Here, I’ll go in and see how crowded it is,” Luke said, and he pushed his way through the people around the door and bar. Sure enough, there was plenty of space inside, and he saw a good table in the corner that he could stake a claim on where Reid could have his back to the wall and the full view of the room around him. That would hopefully take the edge off.
He went back to Reid and said, “Look, if you can just get through this crowd, it’s wide open pastures inside, okay?”
Reid looked into his eyes and seemed to get whatever reassurance he needed, and Luke pulled him through the crowd by the door, guiding him into the room.
Once inside, Reid’s eyes still flitted around, anxiously, and he asked, “Is there another exit?”
Luke nodded toward the emergency exit by the bathrooms, and the one against the back wall, near the table he was relieved to see was still open. “Two more. We’re not trapped in here,” Luke said, reassuringly. “Come on. I want that table, and then I’ll brave the crowd at the bar to get us some drinks.”
Half a rum and cola later, Reid was relaxed and actually seemed to be enjoying himself. He was sprawled out in his chair, watching the other people dance, and not complaining about anything, so Luke took it as a win.
Jade had already stopped by the table with a very handsome young man on her arm. His name was Justice, and Luke was pleased to hear that he was a cop. Maybe he could keep Jade on the straight and narrow, at least for a while. Unless Jade got him onto the crooked and wide, which given how cuckoo he seemed for her, was a distinct possibility.
Reid and Jade hadn’t gone up in flames, so Luke was pleased with that. He wasn’t entirely sure that it had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship either, but given that neither one of them were really “beautiful friendship” material, for the most part, Luke was just happy that they’d each only thrown one or two verbal punches, and seemed impressed enough with the other’s return shot that they’d parted company with only narrowed eyes and what appeared to be a small measure of respect.
Maddie, on the other hand, seemed to love Reid, and had planted herself right next to him, asking him all kinds of earnest questions with her big, brown eyes, and then shooting amused glances at Luke whenever Reid made a sarcastic or snarky response. “So, do you enjoy being a neurosurgeon?” “Do you enjoy being mentally deficient?” being one such interaction. Luke had started to scold Reid for being rude when Maddie gave Luke a high five and said, “Congratulations, Snyder. You caught a live one. ‘Bout time, too.”
After a while Maddie said, “Maybe I should get going. I don’t want to be sitting here all alone when Casey and Ali show up,” she said.
“Well, Noah will be with them, and you guys always got along so great,” Luke said.
Maddie said, “Great. Two ex-boyfriends in one room. That always makes a girl feel like a winner. Especially when one of them is happily married to someone else, and the other is gay. Such an ego boost that is.”
Reid got up to go to the bathroom then, and Luke chatted some more with Maddie about Noah. She told him about the emails she’d been getting from him, about Noah feeling like he didn’t fit into the L.A. movie scene, and how he wasn’t sure that he had what it took to be successful in the film industry. Apparently his student film, the one that Mason had been so encouraging of, and that he’d re-edited once he had his vision back, wasn’t considered such a big deal in that circuit. In fact, the prizes it had won were laughed off by the big studios, and Noah was feeling really defeated.
“And he says he misses you,” Maddie said, sadly.
“I miss him, too,” Luke said.
As the words came out of his mouth, he realized how untrue they were. It was like he knew he was supposed to feel that way, it only made sense, and he’d told himself for months that he missed Noah, that he wanted to be friends. He’d felt guilty over the way things ended between them, and over how he’d hurt Noah, disappointed him, and failed to be the man Noah wanted him to be.
But somehow, suddenly, listening to Maddie talk about Noah’s problems in L.A., with the memory of Noah at Reid’s apartment earlier that day fresh in his mind, Luke knew that he absolutely didn’t miss Noah at all. He didn’t miss feeling guilty because he’d misunderstood the rules of how to make Noah happy. He didn’t miss feeling ashamed, and wrong, and hurt because he couldn’t even figure out what those rules were anyway. He didn’t miss feeling blindsided by Noah’s anger, or shocked by his lack of support. He really didn’t miss feeling so damn sad all of the time. Most of all, he really didn’t miss hating himself or wanting to drink to make it all go away.
“Oh, God,” Maddie said through gritted teeth. “And here they are. Does my smile look too fake? Can you tell that I’m seething with jealousy on the inside?”
“No, you look beautiful,” Luke reassured her as they stood up to greet their friends.
Noah looked handsome in his suit and he greeted Maddie effusively. Casey pounded Luke on the back and gave him a massive bear hug, like Luke hadn’t just seen him two weeks earlier when he’d been in town to see his parents to make up for having missed Thanksgiving.
“Ali,” Luke said with affection. “Look at you! You look great! How far along are you now?”
Alison rubbed her still flat tummy and said, “Not quite three months, so keep your fingers crossed.”
“Yeah, we’re late because we had to go to Al’s for chili,” Casey said. “My baby was hungry. He needed chili.”
“Food. For the baby,” Luke said, laughing.
“Hey, it could be a ‘she’, you know,” Ali said to Casey, poking her finger into his chest playfully.
Luke turned to Noah then, feeling awkward and more than a little anxious, but it was New Year’s Eve, and he wasn’t going to let what happened earlier get in the way of having a good night with his friends. Besides, he and Reid were going to leave in a little while. No matter how awkward Noah wanted to make it, there was always that escape.
“Reid couldn’t make it, huh?” Noah said, his expression less hostile than earlier in the day, but his tone still confrontational. “Guess that’s what happens when you date doctors.”
“Actually, Reid made it just fine,” Reid said, and Luke turned to smile at him as Reid took his hand. “Noah,” Reid said as a greeting, and inclined his head. “How’s sunny L.A.?”
“Sunny,” Noah answered, turning back to Maddie, who shot Luke a look of empathy.
Casey lunged at Reid, and Luke laughed as Reid cringed back from Casey’s one-armed man-hug.
“Reid,” Casey said, grinning, and drawing out the name. “My hero.” He patted Reid’s chest and ignored Reid’s rolling eyes as he said to Noah, “Dude, this guy? This guy right here? Saved my life. What’s better than that? I’ll tell you what’s better than that. Nothing.”
“Hey!” Ali said in mock offense.
“You were choking. I performed the Heimlich. Any idiot could have done that,” Reid said, trying to get away from Casey’s grabby hands. Luke grinned and didn’t help him at all.
Casey squeezed Reid again and said, “Yeah, man, but you’re the idiot who actually did it.”
“And I question that decision every time I see you.”
Luke laughed as Casey tried to rub his fist on Reid’s hair, but Ali pulled him away, saying, “Stop bothering him. You know he hates that.”
“But it’s so fun to see him squirm!” Casey chuckled.
Luke laughed even harder watching Reid try to shake off the feeling of Casey touching him, and then caught Noah’s eye. Luke sobered almost immediately. Noah was pissed. Luke sighed. He wished that Casey had never invited Noah home for New Year’s Eve, and then Luke felt immediately guilty. Noah didn’t have anywhere else; Oakdale was his home, the Snyders were his family, and if he didn’t have that, then what did he have? A lonely life in L.A. according to Maddie. Luke sighed again, and looked at his shoes. It was just so much easier to remember the good times between them when Noah wasn’t actually around.
Luke looked up again when Noah asked Maddie, “Wanna dance?”
Maddie glanced toward Luke who nodded at her. He didn’t mind if they danced. It wasn’t him versus Noah, anyway. It was just a really awkward situation.
Maddie said, “Sure. It’s been a while since we danced together. As I recall, we really sucked at it.”
Noah laughed. “Let’s see if you can let me lead this time.”
Maddie wagged her finger at him and said, “Oh, no, no, no. Let’s see if you can let me lead.”
“Let her, man!” Casey called after them. “It’s the only way your toes won’t get crushed. Trust me!”
“So,” Reid said drolly. “Are we having fun yet?”
Luke smiled and pulled Reid closer. “We’re getting there. Care to dance, Dr. Oliver?”
“Do I have a choice, Mr. Snyder?”
Luke was amused to find that so long as the songs were slow, Reid had no complaints about dancing with him. He held Luke close with firm, steady hands, and his steps were sure and in rhythm, but nothing Luke said or did could convince Reid to stay on the dance floor during an up-tempo piece. Luke didn’t mind though, taking the opportunity to spazz out on the dance floor with Casey while Reid and Ali fed their bellies at the table.
Noah and Maddie had pretty much disappeared together, and Luke was oddly grateful for that. The way he saw it, Maddie had taken one for the team, and he’d have to thank her for it later.
It was while he was on the dance floor with Casey that Reid got the page. Reid tapped Luke on the shoulder and nearly got hit by one of Casey’s flying elbows in the process. Luke, sweaty and worried, followed Reid from the dance floor.
“I’m sorry. It’s an emergency.” Reid sighed. “Maybe I’ll be back by midnight.”
Luke knew the disappointment showed on his face, but he tried to smile. “Go be amazing. I love you.”
Reid nodded at him, and the look in his eyes, the love and strength, the way he thanked Luke without saying a word made Luke’s heart swell with affection and joy. In that moment, he felt as amazing as he knew Reid would be. Midnight would be just another midnight, but this moment was beautiful.
***
Luke thought about going back to Reid’s apartment at one point. Maddie and Noah had returned to the table, and Maddie kept giving Luke looks behind Noah’s back, making it clear that she was over being his faux date for the night.
“He totally cockblocked me,” Maddie said, sipping a cocktail and watching Casey and Ali slow dance. “See that hot guy over there? The blond one dancing with the redhead? That could be me. Instead, I’m drinking cocktails with my gay ex-boyfriend. And why is that? Because when hot guy asked me to dance, Noah grabbed my hand and said, ‘She’s with me.’ Who does that?”
Luke shrugged. He guessed that Noah did that. But why he couldn’t say.
“Um, newsflash. We’ve been broken up for what qualifies as a very long time now. And he’s not interested in what I’ve got. So what’s with the possessive streak? And then he had the gall to say that I should thank him for saving me. Whatever.”
Luke jerked his chin toward Noah who was coming from the bar with more drinks for everyone at the table. “At least he’s buying your drinks, right? That’s something.”
“No, Luke,” Maddie said. “You’re buying our drinks. Casey set up the tab that way.”
“What?” Luke asked, his jaw dropping.
“Yeah, he said since you’re gonna marry that hot neurosurgeon of yours and you’re already drowning in money that you wouldn’t mind.”
Luke rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t have minded, actually, but being asked would have been nice.
“Here you go,” Noah said handing Maddie another drink. “And Luke, here’s your water.”
Luke took it from him and thought about the incident earlier in the evening when Luke had been drinking his mocktail. Noah had asked, “Is that alcohol? Are you drinking again?”
Luke explained the concept of a mocktail, and then said, “You know, it’s strange. I haven’t even been tempted to drink since I’ve been with Reid. I guess I just don’t need to drown my sorrows.”
“I wonder why that is?” Maddie asked, playing into it.
“Guess I don’t have any sorrows to drown,” Luke said, and he wondered if there was liquor in the drink after all, because that was pretty mean, and he wasn’t sure what had prompted him to say it, except that he was pretty sick of Noah and his crap.
That had been over an hour ago, though, and there was still no word from Reid. He sat down at the table and watched the other couples dance. He tried to avoid looking directly at or talking directly to Noah, too.
“Look,” Noah eventually said. “We’re both here tonight. I think we should make the best of it.”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “Sure. You stop being a jerk, and I’ll accept your apology.”
“My apology,” Noah said, and laughed in a way that made Luke’s stomach hurt. “And just what do I have to apologize for? I’m not the one who started dating your doctor.”
“Stop,” Luke said, and stood up. “I’m going home.”
“Don’t you mean to Reid’s home?” Noah asked.
“Come on, guys,” Maddie cut in. “Things are tense, but it’s the new year. If there was ever a time to let bygones be bygones, now’s the time.” She turned to Noah and said in a commanding tone, “Noah, tell Luke you’re sorry.”
Noah huffed like a child but said, “Luke, sorry your night hasn’t turned out the way you wanted, but neither has mine.”
Luke didn’t point out that the apology was complete b.s. and simply nodded his head.
Maddie went on, “And, Luke, don’t go home. It’s almost midnight. You won’t have time to even get anywhere. You don’t want to spend midnight alone in the car, do you? Stay here with your friends.”
Luke looked over at Casey who gave him a thumbs up sign, and Ali who smiled at him encouragingly, and he agreed to stay.
And so it came to pass that it was midnight, and Luke stood alone in the middle of the dance floor, kicking at confetti on the floor. Maddie and Noah hugged, and Casey and Ali kissed. Luke searched for Jade, hoping to cop a big hug from his cousin to take the sting off the midnight hour striking while he was, as always on the New Year, alone, but from what he could see her tongue was so far down that guy Justice’s throat that it might never make it back out again.
He sighed and sent Reid a text. Happy New Year. I love you.
He supposed that was good enough. Better than nothing.
He wondered if his mom and dad were together at the farm, and if Faith and Parker were making out somewhere for their first New Year’s as a couple. He hoped that wherever they were, it was in public, so that making out was as far as it could go. He half-regretted not going out to the farm the minute that Reid left, actually. He could have been with Natalie at least, watching the Times Square ball drop and eating popcorn.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t have fun with Casey, Ali, and Maddie, but it hadn’t really been worth the irritation of having Noah there to open old wounds. It would have been better to be alone at Reid’s apartment, waiting for him to get home, curled up with Reid’s pillow. He liked to do that when Reid wasn’t home at night, and it would’ve been better than this.
It was strange how the moment the clock had struck midnight, all of the decorations, the glitter, the confetti, and the balloons looked tawdry and old, like debris from another time, a party past. Luke was ready for the night to be over and to be waking up the next morning in bed with Reid, safely away from disappointed expectations.
The dance floor had started to clear off, but Luke continued to stand there, waiting for some of the maudlin feelings to dissipate. He glanced up and saw Noah looking at him with a softness in his expression that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Luke let a smile touch the edges of his mouth, too, and felt a weird tangle of emotions as Noah took a step toward him.
At that moment, Luke was spun around by a firm hand on his arm. Luke barely had time to register what was happening before he was kissed. He gasped and started to pull away, but then his brain processed the taste of the tongue in his mouth, the feel of the hands gripping his face, and Luke kissed back. It was Reid. Reid, with his strong grip, and his amazing mouth. Reid, who could make Luke weak in the knees.
There were hoots and catcalls, but Luke barely heard them over the rush in his ears. Reid’s mouth was hot, and wet, and Luke whimpered a little into the kiss when Reid sucked his lip in and then kissed him deeply again. The kiss ended with a loud smacking noise, and Reid pulled back.
“Sorry I’m late,” Reid said. “It took a little longer than I hoped. Serious concussion; no need for surgery.”
Luke blinked at him and there was a round of applause through the room, along with some more hooting.
“Luke?” Reid asked. “You okay?”
Luke grinned. “That was some kiss.”
Reid looked a little smug. “Wanted to start the New Year right.”
Luke leaned in and kissed Reid again, a quick one before pulling back and saying, “Happy New Year, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid kissed him again, too, and said, “Happy New Year, Mr. Snyder.”
They grinned at each other and Luke felt like his stomach flip, and his heart pound. The feeling of rising joy was impossible to contain, and he smiled, out of breath with it.
Casey’s voice cut through the air. “That guy? Right there? He saved my life! He’s, like, totally awesome!”
Reid rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Your friend is drunk.”
Luke laughed. “Yeah. He is.”
“Please tell me that someone else can drive him home? I’m exhausted.”
Luke glanced over Reid’s wrinkled tux, and the dangling, untied bow tie, and said, “You look terrible, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid smirked. “You’re pretty hot yourself.”
Luke grinned and grabbed Reid’s face, kissed him one more time, and headed toward the door. He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to and he almost didn’t care. One day soon, he was pretty sure that he’d manage it completely. And then he’d be free.
***
Luke was still sweaty and panting from the incredibly intense sex he and Reid had just had when he remembered something important.
“Reid,” he said, lifting up on his elbow to look down at Reid who was also panting and wet with sweat and their combined come smeared on his stomach.
“Mmm,” Reid answered, his eyes closed and a shiver running through him like a delayed after-shock.
“I want to go to Borneo in two weeks.”
Reid was silent for a moment and then said, “Borneo?”
“Yeah, it’s for Grimaldi Shipping. There’s some contracts that I’m working on there, and a visit would be a good gesture.”
“Mmm,” Reid said again. “How long?”
“A week.”
He sighed and turned toward Luke, opening his eyes, and touching Luke’s chest, pulling lightly on the hair there. “If you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.” Then almost like an afterthought, but still so sincere that it made Luke’s heart clench, Reid said, “I’ll miss you.”
“I want you to come with me.”
Reid scoffed. “I have work. I can’t just take off to Borneo. My waiting list is over a year long, and what would I tell those people? Sorry, my boyfriend wants me to go to Borneo? Too bad, so sad?”
Luke said, “You’d tell them that you’re taking a long over-due vacation.”
Reid looked as though Luke had just suggested that he have mutually consensual sex with an inanimate object, because what Luke had just said was equally as impossible to achieve.
“I don’t do vacations.”
Luke grinned. “Mmm-hmm,” he said. “John’s already cleared your calendar. In fact, the vacation was his idea.”
Reid narrowed his eyes. “Why? Is it - wait, this is because of that donor, isn’t it? The insane woman who insisted that I cut her mother even when it would have been a futile endeavor, a waste of time, and cruel to the person who should have mattered the most in that scenario, her mommy dearest. She wants me gone.”
“For a week,” Luke nodded.
“And they’re giving in to her demands? Now I’ve really lost all respect-”
“Shh,” Luke said, putting his finger over Reid’s lips. “You need a vacation. They want you to take one. The hospital will get tons of money for the cardiac unit. Your chief of staff will be happy. Your hospital even more reputable. And, more importantly, I want you to fuck me in Borneo. I’ve never been fucked there…or anywhere outside of Oakdale, Reid. Not even once.”
Reid licked his lips, and stared at Luke. “When you talk like that, it’s cheating.”
“I’m thinking, on my hands and knees, with you slapping my ass to make me squeeze your cock while you fuck me. And I’d be moaning the way you like it, totally begging for it - ”
“Luke,” Reid said, narrowing his eyes. “I never knew you fought so dirty.”
“I’m a Grimaldi. What did you expect?”
“Throw in a little blackmail and we might have a deal,” Reid muttered darkly.
“How about a little kidnapping?” Luke said. “You ended up liking it enough last time, when I trapped you here in Podunk with me.”
“So, you’re going to kidnap me to Borneo and force me to fuck you for a week.”
Luke bit down on his lower lip and nodded.
Reid snorted, rolled his eyes, and said, “Fine. Fine. Whatever. Tell all those poor sick souls waiting for me to save their lives or restore motor functions or eye sight that they’ll have to wait. I’ll be fucking my boyfriend in Borneo.”
Luke laughed and fell back to the bed. “Good. I can’t wait.”
Reid rolled on top of him, the sticky remains of their orgasms smearing against Luke’s stomach, too, and Reid said, “Me either.”
Half an hour later, Luke held onto the bed-head as it rattled against the wall. He was on his knees, ass up, taking Reid’s cock greedily. He loved being fucked like this, being pummeled with passion and force, and when Reid grabbed his hair to jerk his head back for a kiss, Luke let go of the head board with one hand, pinched his own nipple hard, and came with a few fast jerks of Reid’s hand on his cock.
“So good, so hot when you come for me,” Reid muttered, and Luke felt him come, too, jerking against Luke’s back, and holding on to Luke’s hips hard enough to leave bruises.
Cuddled up in Reid’s arms, exhausted and clean from a fast shower together, Luke was on the verge of sleep when Reid asked, “Did it go okay…with Noah?”
Luke shook his head.
“And I’m not sorry about that,” Reid said.
“I know. And it’s okay. I figured something out.”
“What?” Reid asked squeezing Luke a little tighter. “That Mr. Mayer’s a self-absorbed asshole who uses and emotionally abuses you to pump up his own self-esteem, and who would just as soon hate you as love you?”
Luke knew that Reid was purposely trying to be an ass. He knew that Reid expected him to dispute it. “Yes, actually. I think I finally get that. I still don’t know why he has that effect on me, though. I don’t know why I feed into it. But, yeah.”
“Oh,” Reid said, and Luke snorted. He knew that Reid had probably planned an entire rant about how awful Noah was to Luke and how Luke needed to kick him to the curb for good.
“Yeah, I realized today, being around him, that I don’t even miss him. Not at all. Not even a little.”
Reid kissed the top of Luke’s head and said, “Good.”
Luke yawned and said, “It’s so late. You’ve got to work tomorrow and I have to talk to a teacher about bullying. We should be asleep.”
“A teacher? About bullying?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you in the morning.”
Reid rolled onto his side and pulled Luke into his arms, and they settled into the position they generally slept in when they slept together.
“Next week, Reid, we move into our place,” Luke murmured.
“Sleeping,” Reid said.
“And then we’ll go to Borneo.”
“Sleeping,” Reid said again.
“I love you, Dr. Oliver.”
“Happy New Year, Mr. Snyder.”
THE END