New Story: EQUALS 1/?
EQUALS…
Author: Scotianova
Beta-fairy: Carol38
Disclaimer: I don't own them and writing about them is just for fun.
Genre: A story about different shades of love
Pairing: Reid and Luke - as always
Characters: Reid Oliver, Luke Snyder, Ravi Oliver, Ruby Oliver II, Liath Orbanns, Damien Grimaldi, Henry Coleman, Kathryn Peretti, Dustin Donovan, Paul Ryan, Holly McLean…
Warning: none so far
Rating: sexual contents
Summary: On the surface they couldn’t be more different from every point of view, but if someone just looks closely at them…
AN1 : This is an attempt to invert some facts and whereabouts but I hope the character drawing is plausible- somehow at least ;)
AN2: I used the name Ruby in a story once before but I like it so much, that I named even two characters after it this time.
AN3: Finally I got this out - I hope you're going to enjoy it!
1.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Luke asked himself for the nth time. Shaking his head in confusion he called reception and asked for the hotel bill, he would leave tomorrow morning -definitely!
Well, it was high time to leave; he had been on the Island for three months now, ergo way too long.
And that cute redhead wouldn’t be able to hold him back either. Luke knew himself well enough to realize that he was developing feelings for Fionn O’Malley, the Irish painter with his ginger locks living on the Spanish Island for 10 years now. And developing feelings for attractive men had never done anything good for Luke.
Au contraire, obviously he wasn’t made for working relationships; every time he’d tried again he’d been left some inches smaller, some illusions poorer and needed to hole up to lick his wounds before he could come out of hiding again. So he’d cultivated his own remedy for surviving: Never stay anywhere long enough to get attached and avoiding attachment meant avoiding getting hurt.
It was as simple as that.
Who would have thought that Luke Snyder, the farm boy from Oakdale Illinois, would become a world traveler one day, never staying longer anywhere than a few months? Well maybe Damien’s genes were finally getting their way. He didn’t even know where the sly fox was buzzing around right now. He’d called Malta but his father’s chief of staff told him that “Don Damiano” was spending some time off. Whatever!
Sighing Luke realized it wasn’t easy to leave this place. He’d spent a wonderful time here; and it was wintertime back ‘home’, he enjoyed the sun and the playfulness of a place where people were in holiday-mood all the time.
Nevertheless it was time to strike camp and book a flight to Paris where he planned to meet his European publisher. To have a stable European fan community was nice. Very nice!
“So you’re getting antsy again.” Fionn had asked still lying on the huge comfortable bed - incapable of hiding his resignation mixed up with hurt.
“Yeah, and I’m sorry, but it’s better for you and me, trust me.”
“If you say so…”
Luke had turned away from Fionn’s brown eyes and looked down trying to find an appropriate answer by staring at his bare feet. But they didn’t tell him anything.
“Listen, I like you Fionn I really do…”
“And that’s exactly the point, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
Now Fionn had gotten up and slowly approached him, the red-head’s missing reluctance to show his bareness (literally and figuratively) had hit Luke from the beginning. Fionn just stood there, naked, open, his eyes filled with hurt but lacking blame, and presented himself to Luke, as if he wanted Luke to be aware of what and whom he was going to leave behind. So Luke raised his hand and gently touched Fionn’s bare shoulder only covered by countless freckles.
Finally Fionn shrugged.
“I had a great time with you, Luke Snyder, a really great time. And I think we could have worked but trying to hold on to a fleeing creature is futile. So take care, Luke. You’re worth it you know. You’re worth having someone’s love. I hope you’ll find the ONE, one day.” And with a sad, adorable smile Fionn grabbed his jeans and shirt and left.
So Luke was on the plane to Paris the following day, unsure if he felt sad or relieved. Fionn was really a nice guy and maybe...maybe they could have worked, but the shy painter was bound to the island, having a house, his few friends there and inspiration just hit him inhaling the warm and salty breeze blowing down on his house. And as nice as the stay had been, Luke wasn’t an islander, if he was interested in small closed-in communities he would still be living in Oakdale, Illinois. When he was a boy he’d loved the small town where he grew up but there was a point in his life when the small community started to suffocate him and he had to leave in order to survive.
Fionn’s missing defense had hit him however, the unique man knew Luke couldn’t stay and he couldn’t leave so he’d accepted their fate.
Luke could have fallen for Fionn but there was something telling him that he couldn’t give the sensitive man what he wanted and needed. In former times, half a lifetime ago, he would have been able though, but today? Not anymore. They would have ended up with him hurting Fionn. Somehow Luke had unlearned how to stay in love with someone.
Staring out of the window he wasn’t aware of the other passengers. He didn’t care anyway.
It was when he stood at the baggage carousel waiting for his trunk that he noticed ‘Papageno’ standing across and obviously waiting for his baggage too. That was weird!
It was unlikely that anyone could miss the unique showy man wearing - let’s just say - adventurous clothes such as multicolored shirts or red pants to begin with, which earned him the nickname, Papageno. Luke chuckled - how could anyone scream: “I am gay!” so loudly?
Two weeks ago Papageno had checked in the same hotel as Luke, but the literally colorful man had always kept to himself. Luke bet that the guy was after the beautiful men crowding the beaches. But Luke was wrong. Papageno seemed strangely prudish - even sunbathing fully dressed, a huge hat on his head and almost larger sunglasses covering his curious eyes. That was weird, right? What gay man came to Ibiza and kept to himself all day?
But maybe he came out of his room at night to search for anonymous encounters.
Who knew?
Of course Luke didn’t miss the man’s inquiring glances when he was around, although Papageno tried to hide them. But sorry, he was really not Luke’s type. And now he was in Paris, too? Huh? Whatever!
Concentrating on the luggage carousel, Luke’s thoughts wandered back to Fionn again.
It would take quite some time to forget him but in the end Luke would succeed like he always did. Except one man, the one who’d hurt him in a way he almost didn’t recover from.
But Luke had learned the lesson, being brutally burnt once, he avoided hotplates for the rest of his life. He didn’t need hot dishes either way; he preferred them at the right temperature, not too cold, but surely not too hot. Of course sometimes he craved more, but eventually the life he’d chosen ten years ago worked for him, actually it worked pretty well.
Finally he detected his trunk and moved to the exit. Waiting for the driver who would take him to the city where Lucinda owned a fine apartment with an amazing view to Les Bois de Boulogne he caught something in the corner of his eyes. Look at him! Papageno was picked up by a tall guy with a fierce expression, who wasn’t unattractive at all, tall, very short cut salt and pepper stubbles, and very athletic…but when Luke thought about it the guy looked more like Papageno’s bodyguard than his lover. Obviously they were in an argument instantly with Papageno wildly gesturing and the tall guy shaking his head in disbelief.
Luke wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating but it was both guys now who seemed to throw hidden glances at him.
Suddenly a third one joined the arguing ‘pair’ grabbed them both by their arms and dragged them to a cab. The third one looked almost normal, a man in his early forties maybe, lean, well dressed, his blond hair was fashionably cut; there was only this vague resemblance to a fox that prevented Luke from calling his looks stunning.
Whatever, now he craved a good meal, a glass of Lucinda’s delicious Bordeaux and some rest. Tomorrow was another day to wonder about life.
Parenthesis
Well, the good news,…
“I always want to hear the bad news, first, you know that Henry!”
“He’s gay.”
“Perish the thought” was the sarcastic reply.
“I just mean…”
“Quit it!”
“Well and then he’s arrogant and every time he catches sight of me he laughs at me. And he doesn’t lead an ordinary life…”
“Is he promiscuous or what?”
“No, nothing like that, but he’s actually kind of a wanderer.”
“What?”
“I mean a wanderer, he never stays longer than a few months anywhere, then he leaves again and nobody knows where he’ll show up next.”
“So what? I don’t want him to stay close anyway. I want him to give us what only he can and then he can happily get lost again.”
“What if he doesn’t agree?”
“Offer him anything he wants, I don’t care, but get him here, Hank!”
“Easy for you to say, he’s rich himself and, and… maybe he means trouble…”
“Henry, please, it was you who suggested we do it your way ‘the smart, the cautious way’ if I might quote - I don’t care how fucked up and eccentric he is, the only thing I care about is his health and that you get him here very soon. And now it’s time for some good news!”
Henry didn’t like when that voice beyond the ocean got this specific tone, he didn’t like it all. It usually means trouble, lots and lots of trouble.
“Well you’ll love to hear that he’s really in the best of health, I got his French doctor’s bulletin today. He’s getting a checkup here every time he stops by. Doesn’t seem to trust American doctors, huh? It was a hard thing to get, you know - he’s an even more private man than we are - if that’s possible - although he’s kind of a celebrity.”
“You aren’t that private, Hank!” The voice indicated that someone’s patience was running thin.
“You know what I mean.”
“Not exactly - whatever.”
“…Private as people like us.”
“So what else?”
“You know, you didn’t need to send the evil twins after me. I dare say I am a bit hurt.”
“Hank, we don’t have all the time in the world! Why don’t you get that? Every day counts! We are running out of time for God’s sake!”
“I know, I know, and I really am doing everything I can but the first word Dustin said to me was a rude one. And Paul - you know how he is.”
“Look, Henry, I’ll try to make it up to you, when you’re back - tell me what you want, a new Gautier, a new …”
“Don’t offend me even more, if possible - I get it; I have to focus on the essentials right now.”
“Right! So when will you contact him - for real?”
“Tomorrow, Paul said, it has to be tomorrow or you will kick my ass. And this is not funny, don’t you dare laugh… --- sorry, I know you guys haven’t had much to laugh about lately.”
“It’s okay, Henry just don’t blow it tomorrow, okay?”
“I promise. You know I would do anything and everything for our boy…”
“I know…so take care, Henry, take care and say hello to the “evil twins”.
“Yeah and you say hello too - to everybody.”