Fic: The Other Side of Us, Part 15
Title: The Other Side of Us
Author: random_nic
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: ATWT characters are the property of Telenext and CBS.
Word Count: 1408
Summary: Lives are changed in the wake of a traumatic event.
Chapter 1 (for anyone catching up)
Reid shot Noah a look of disbelief before turning his eyes back to the road. He'd deemed the visit a success, yet Noah was acting like Reid kicked his puppy. "What else is new?" he responded sarcastically, his previous good mood effectively torpedoed by Noah's attitude.
"I told you I didn't want to go," Noah accused.
"You got in the car," Reid reminded.
"I didn't know where we were going!"
"You should’ve asked.” Unlike Noah, Reid kept his voice calm. It seemed like Noah was spoiling for a fight, and shouting matches weren't Reid's style.
"You knew I'd think we were going to Al's," Noah charged.
"I did," Reid confirmed.
"Did it ever occur to you to ask me before you told Lily I’d go there?"
"No."
Unsurprisingly, that answer didn't placate Noah in the least. "Why did she even call you?"
"She didn't. I called her."
That statement brought brief silence to the vehicle, as Noah processed the new information. "Why did you... what did you-"
"I asked if we could stop by for lunch."
"You said we were invited!"
"We were; she said yes.”
Reid awaited the incensed reply he expected, but it didn’t come. After a few moments, he glanced over to Noah. His passenger had shifted to turn his face away, and curl his body into the car door.
Reid didn’t know how to respond to no response, so he let minutes pass without saying a word. As they neared Noah’s apartment, though, the way the other man had suddenly shut down made him increasingly uncomfortable. “You had a good time,” he said defensively.
“That makes it worse,” came the sullen answer. “You had no right.”
If Noah Mayer was trying to confuse Reid, it was working. “You’re angry because you had a good time? I’ll make a note. Next time, I’ll see to it you have a terrible-“
“There’s not going to be a next time,” Noah interrupted as the car pulled into the parking lot of his building. “Stay away from me.” With that, Noah got out of the stopped car, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t look back as he stomped away and entered the building.
Reid sat gaping at the door Noah had disappeared through. What the hell just happened?, he wondered. Not that it mattered. He didn’t care.
He stared at the building’s entrance for a full ten seconds before exiting the car.
******
As Noah pushed the door of his apartment closed, the door inexplicably pushed back. The moment of incomprehension cleared when it opened all the way, and behind it stood a winded and red-faced Reid Oliver. The man had clearly run to catch up.
“What the hell is your problem?” Like so many of Reid’s rules - not getting involved, not giving a damn - his principle not to engage in shouting matches flew out the window thanks to Noah Mayer. He didn’t want to understand what had gone wrong today, but he needed to.
Reid cursed his late boyfriend, deciding he must’ve unwittingly picked up this blasted interventionist policy from Luke. Everything Reid had done today had the fingerprints of Luke all over it. Instead of minding his own damn business, he’d intruded into matters that had nothing to do with him.
Noah had justifiably called him out for overstepping. Still, Reid wasn’t about to concede the other man was right. Even though his logic agreed, some other part of Reid’s brain had been infected with Luke’s need to fix things; maybe even to fix people.
“I told you to stay away from me,” Noah ground out through clenched teeth as he pushed to close the door on Reid. Again he was met with resistance, so pushed harder knowing he would win a physical battle of wills.
“FUCK!”
At the other man’s strangled curse, Noah realized too late that it wasn’t just Reid’s strength preventing the door’s closure - but also, his foot. He immediately pulled the door open as Reid leaned forward in agony, clutching the door jam for support. The doctor transferred his weight to the unaffected foot, and glowered at Noah.
“Why did you put your foot there?” Laying the blame on Reid did nothing to assuage Noah’s guilt about injuring the other man. Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to apologize for trying to keep Reid out of his apartment - and his life.
“I was trying to talk to you,” Reid snapped, his earlier bewilderment now trumped by anger and a fair amount of physical pain. “I forgot that you like to settle your grievances by inflicting bodily harm.”
Noah knew Reid was intentionally baiting him. He’d figured it out; when Reid Oliver wanted his attention, the man would deliberately say something offensive to compel Noah to respond. It was his way to make Noah engage in the conversation whether he wanted to or not.
Noah wasn’t going to fall for it this time. “Guess you should’ve remembered that.”
Reid raised an eyebrow, thrown that Noah hadn’t tried to defend himself. The guy was constantly doing the exact opposite of what Reid expected. It was completely annoying - and a little bit intriguing.
“Can you at least get me a chair?”
Noah scowled, but headed for another room. A moment later, he emerged with a kitchen chair. To Reid’s surprise, Noah brushed past him to place the chair in the hallway. He then turned and walked back into his apartment, sitting down on his couch.
Incredibly, Reid felt the ridiculous urge to laugh. Such an unapologetically bitch move impressed him. Still, he wasn’t about to concede any victory to his surly companion.
Testing his foot, he began hobbling towards the couch. Reid gritted his teeth as pain shot through his foot with each tentative step. But it didn’t dissuade him.
When Reid finally reached his destination, and plopped down onto the couch beside Noah, the incredulous look on the other man’s face more than made up for his throbbing foot.
******
“I repeat, what the hell is your problem?”
“Right now, you. Why can’t you mind your own damn business?” Though Noah addressed Reid, he pointedly refused to look at him. It was juvenile, but giving Reid even that felt like a consideration he didn’t want to extend to the other man. Not after Reid hadn’t bothered showing him any consideration.
“I’d love to,” Reid claimed. “And if you’ll stop ignoring the Snyders so they don’t show up on my lunch break to interrogate me about you, I can. Until that happens, this is my business.”
Noah’s plan to look at anything but Reid went up in smoke. His eyes shot to the doctor, needing to assess the man’s honesty. “They came to Memorial?”
“Holden,” Reid clarified.
“He shouldn’t have,” Noah said quietly, though he held no real resentment of the Snyder patriarch’s actions. Holden had always looked out for him, and that apparently hadn’t changed with Luke’s death.
“He shouldn’t have? If you weren’t being such a dick, he wouldn’t have to. Do you really hide out in here when they come by?”
Noah cringed. He had, in fact, done just that on more than one occasion. He didn’t realize until now that Holden had known he was home each time.
“It’s for the best,” Noah defended, a fresh wave of anger fueled by the helplessness he felt buried under. “I’m not trying to hurt them; I’m trying to keep them from getting hurt again.”
“By blowing them off? Yeah, I’m sure they appreciate that.” For the life of him, Reid couldn’t follow Noah’s reasoning.
“You don’t get it,” Noah insisted, stating the blatantly obvious. “Because of Luke, they’re attached to me. They think they need me around, but they don’t. I’m not going to stay here forever.”
This was news to Reid. “Where are you going?” He had given up all pretentions of appearing disinterested.
“I haven’t decided,” Noah answered. “But when I leave, it’s better if they’re used to not seeing me anymore. Then nobody gets hurt.”
Reid regarded Noah’s twisted logic with disbelief. “Congratulations. That’s pretty much the stupidest thing you’ve ever said - which is saying a lot.”
Noah had no more patience for this conversation or the man beside him. “Whatever you think doesn’t give you the right to fuck it all up,” he charged, rising from the couch. “Now Ethan’s going to expect me to keep visiting. When I leave and he gets hurt, just remember - you did that.”
Author: random_nic
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: ATWT characters are the property of Telenext and CBS.
Word Count: 1408
Summary: Lives are changed in the wake of a traumatic event.
Chapter 1 (for anyone catching up)
Reid shot Noah a look of disbelief before turning his eyes back to the road. He'd deemed the visit a success, yet Noah was acting like Reid kicked his puppy. "What else is new?" he responded sarcastically, his previous good mood effectively torpedoed by Noah's attitude.
"I told you I didn't want to go," Noah accused.
"You got in the car," Reid reminded.
"I didn't know where we were going!"
"You should’ve asked.” Unlike Noah, Reid kept his voice calm. It seemed like Noah was spoiling for a fight, and shouting matches weren't Reid's style.
"You knew I'd think we were going to Al's," Noah charged.
"I did," Reid confirmed.
"Did it ever occur to you to ask me before you told Lily I’d go there?"
"No."
Unsurprisingly, that answer didn't placate Noah in the least. "Why did she even call you?"
"She didn't. I called her."
That statement brought brief silence to the vehicle, as Noah processed the new information. "Why did you... what did you-"
"I asked if we could stop by for lunch."
"You said we were invited!"
"We were; she said yes.”
Reid awaited the incensed reply he expected, but it didn’t come. After a few moments, he glanced over to Noah. His passenger had shifted to turn his face away, and curl his body into the car door.
Reid didn’t know how to respond to no response, so he let minutes pass without saying a word. As they neared Noah’s apartment, though, the way the other man had suddenly shut down made him increasingly uncomfortable. “You had a good time,” he said defensively.
“That makes it worse,” came the sullen answer. “You had no right.”
If Noah Mayer was trying to confuse Reid, it was working. “You’re angry because you had a good time? I’ll make a note. Next time, I’ll see to it you have a terrible-“
“There’s not going to be a next time,” Noah interrupted as the car pulled into the parking lot of his building. “Stay away from me.” With that, Noah got out of the stopped car, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t look back as he stomped away and entered the building.
Reid sat gaping at the door Noah had disappeared through. What the hell just happened?, he wondered. Not that it mattered. He didn’t care.
He stared at the building’s entrance for a full ten seconds before exiting the car.
******
As Noah pushed the door of his apartment closed, the door inexplicably pushed back. The moment of incomprehension cleared when it opened all the way, and behind it stood a winded and red-faced Reid Oliver. The man had clearly run to catch up.
“What the hell is your problem?” Like so many of Reid’s rules - not getting involved, not giving a damn - his principle not to engage in shouting matches flew out the window thanks to Noah Mayer. He didn’t want to understand what had gone wrong today, but he needed to.
Reid cursed his late boyfriend, deciding he must’ve unwittingly picked up this blasted interventionist policy from Luke. Everything Reid had done today had the fingerprints of Luke all over it. Instead of minding his own damn business, he’d intruded into matters that had nothing to do with him.
Noah had justifiably called him out for overstepping. Still, Reid wasn’t about to concede the other man was right. Even though his logic agreed, some other part of Reid’s brain had been infected with Luke’s need to fix things; maybe even to fix people.
“I told you to stay away from me,” Noah ground out through clenched teeth as he pushed to close the door on Reid. Again he was met with resistance, so pushed harder knowing he would win a physical battle of wills.
“FUCK!”
At the other man’s strangled curse, Noah realized too late that it wasn’t just Reid’s strength preventing the door’s closure - but also, his foot. He immediately pulled the door open as Reid leaned forward in agony, clutching the door jam for support. The doctor transferred his weight to the unaffected foot, and glowered at Noah.
“Why did you put your foot there?” Laying the blame on Reid did nothing to assuage Noah’s guilt about injuring the other man. Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to apologize for trying to keep Reid out of his apartment - and his life.
“I was trying to talk to you,” Reid snapped, his earlier bewilderment now trumped by anger and a fair amount of physical pain. “I forgot that you like to settle your grievances by inflicting bodily harm.”
Noah knew Reid was intentionally baiting him. He’d figured it out; when Reid Oliver wanted his attention, the man would deliberately say something offensive to compel Noah to respond. It was his way to make Noah engage in the conversation whether he wanted to or not.
Noah wasn’t going to fall for it this time. “Guess you should’ve remembered that.”
Reid raised an eyebrow, thrown that Noah hadn’t tried to defend himself. The guy was constantly doing the exact opposite of what Reid expected. It was completely annoying - and a little bit intriguing.
“Can you at least get me a chair?”
Noah scowled, but headed for another room. A moment later, he emerged with a kitchen chair. To Reid’s surprise, Noah brushed past him to place the chair in the hallway. He then turned and walked back into his apartment, sitting down on his couch.
Incredibly, Reid felt the ridiculous urge to laugh. Such an unapologetically bitch move impressed him. Still, he wasn’t about to concede any victory to his surly companion.
Testing his foot, he began hobbling towards the couch. Reid gritted his teeth as pain shot through his foot with each tentative step. But it didn’t dissuade him.
When Reid finally reached his destination, and plopped down onto the couch beside Noah, the incredulous look on the other man’s face more than made up for his throbbing foot.
******
“I repeat, what the hell is your problem?”
“Right now, you. Why can’t you mind your own damn business?” Though Noah addressed Reid, he pointedly refused to look at him. It was juvenile, but giving Reid even that felt like a consideration he didn’t want to extend to the other man. Not after Reid hadn’t bothered showing him any consideration.
“I’d love to,” Reid claimed. “And if you’ll stop ignoring the Snyders so they don’t show up on my lunch break to interrogate me about you, I can. Until that happens, this is my business.”
Noah’s plan to look at anything but Reid went up in smoke. His eyes shot to the doctor, needing to assess the man’s honesty. “They came to Memorial?”
“Holden,” Reid clarified.
“He shouldn’t have,” Noah said quietly, though he held no real resentment of the Snyder patriarch’s actions. Holden had always looked out for him, and that apparently hadn’t changed with Luke’s death.
“He shouldn’t have? If you weren’t being such a dick, he wouldn’t have to. Do you really hide out in here when they come by?”
Noah cringed. He had, in fact, done just that on more than one occasion. He didn’t realize until now that Holden had known he was home each time.
“It’s for the best,” Noah defended, a fresh wave of anger fueled by the helplessness he felt buried under. “I’m not trying to hurt them; I’m trying to keep them from getting hurt again.”
“By blowing them off? Yeah, I’m sure they appreciate that.” For the life of him, Reid couldn’t follow Noah’s reasoning.
“You don’t get it,” Noah insisted, stating the blatantly obvious. “Because of Luke, they’re attached to me. They think they need me around, but they don’t. I’m not going to stay here forever.”
This was news to Reid. “Where are you going?” He had given up all pretentions of appearing disinterested.
“I haven’t decided,” Noah answered. “But when I leave, it’s better if they’re used to not seeing me anymore. Then nobody gets hurt.”
Reid regarded Noah’s twisted logic with disbelief. “Congratulations. That’s pretty much the stupidest thing you’ve ever said - which is saying a lot.”
Noah had no more patience for this conversation or the man beside him. “Whatever you think doesn’t give you the right to fuck it all up,” he charged, rising from the couch. “Now Ethan’s going to expect me to keep visiting. When I leave and he gets hurt, just remember - you did that.”