Some Things Never Change
Title: Some Things Never Change
Word Count: 3,100+
Summary: "All week something has come up with one of us. I feel like I’m dating my phone at this point."
Notes: A huge thank you to soapie_nl for creating the beautiful work! Also a thank you to bhumimak for being a wonderful beta <3 (And apologies that this wasn't unlocked right away!) Enjoy!
It was another early morning at Memorial Hospital, but Dr. Reid Oliver was pretty used to early mornings after all these years. He preferred it, really. Most of his daily activities, from rounds to surgeries to monotonous meetings, were scheduled for the afternoon hours, meaning the earlier he arrived to his office each morning, the more time he had before he had to actually interact with anyone. It gave him time to get things done at his own speed, to work through case files and answer emails without being interrupted every five minutes by the newest nurse that was clueless when it came to his or her own job. The hospital was much quieter at seven o’clock in the morning, just the way he liked it.
Manila folders stretched across the length of his desk, messily overlapping one another. He had a coffee mug in one hand, the other on his computer mouse as he clicked through the latest batch of emails. Two consultation requests, a calendar reminder from Bob for the upcoming fundraiser, replies to his inquiries over new lab equipment from Datascope, and… Well lookie there, Reid thought with genuine smile, setting down his mug and leaning closing to the screen. He clicked on the last email on the list.
To: r.oliver@memorialmed.com
From: luke@snyderfoundation.org
10:49pm
Good morning, Doctor Oliver :) Wanted to leave you something for when you came into work. Sorry I didn’t get to stop by tonight. Ellen’s son was sick so she left early, meaning I get to spend some quality time with my office computer for a few more hours. I’ll call you tomorrow though; maybe we can sneak in some time? Have a good day. I love you.
Reid rolled his eyes but couldn’t contain the smile on his face. He scooped the mouse into the palm of his hand again, but stopped short at the sound of buzzing in his pocket. With a curious frown he abandoned the mouse and dipped his hand into the pocket of his trousers, retrieving his phone. He laughed instantly when he saw the name on the screen and flipped it open.
“Your timing scares me sometimes, I’m starting to think you’re psychic,” he said, pressing the phone to his ear with his shoulder. “I just read your email.”
Luke Snyder laughed on the other end. “Didn’t you know? When Paul Ryan lost his powers they passed onto me,” he teased.
“Wait, what?” asked Reid.
“Never mind, a story for another time. So anyway, how is your morning going?”
“Fine. Quiet, trying to catch up on some things. How about you? I’m surprised to hear from you this early.”
“Got out earlier than expected last night, passed out as soon as I got home,” Luke explained.
Reid leaned back in his chair, taking in his boyfriend’s voice. In the background he could hear what sounded like passing cars.
“Where are you now?”
“Walking into work,” said Luke, and Reid could picture him instantly; crossing the street in his dress pants and button down shirt, tie perfectly fixed around his neck. No doubt that ancient messenger bag he loved so much was slung over his shoulder, one hand holding the phone and the other a carrier with two cups of coffee. Luke was the kind of boss that bought his secretary coffee each morning, and as ridiculous as it seemed to Reid for any boss to do such a thing, he kind of loved it about Luke. “Figured I’d get an early start. Maybe for once I really will get out of here by four o’clock.”
Reid laughed. “Yeah, maybe. If so you should stop by. I have a pretty uneventful day, I should be able to steal some time around then.”
“Sounds perfect,” said Luke, the smile evident in his voice. “Well I’m about to get in the elevator. I’ll see you around four thirty then?”
“It’s a date,” grinned Reid, knowing Luke would love it. And he did.
“Great!” replied Luke, sounding like a kid on Christmas day. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Have fun helping people.”
“Ha, you too. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Reid snapped his phone shut, shaking his head with a grin as he pocketed his phone. Not five minutes later his pager began to buzz against his hip and he was swept into the mix of lab coats and scrubs going about their daily routines. At least he had Luke to look forward to.
*
Luke closed his office door behind him, slipping the strap to his bag over his shoulder in the process.
“If Rachel calls tell her I’m gone for the day but that she can email me,” he said, stopping briefly at his secretary’s desk.
“Will do,” Ellen chimed back. “See you tomorrow, Luke.”
“See you.”
It was a short walk from the building to his car. Normally Luke would take his time and enjoy the warm weather that had finally started to become common place in the Midwestern town, but today he was definitely in a hurry. He felt like he hadn’t seen Reid in ages. Come to think of it, when had he last seen Reid? Tuesday? Wednesday, maybe? It had been at least three days, he realized, which only made him all the more anxious to get to Memorial Hospital as soon as humanly possible.
Be-de-de-beep, be-de-de-beep.
The sound came just as Luke put the car in reverse. He held his foot to the brake, searching for his phone in his bag. When he managed to pull it out, ’1 new message(s)’ flashed across the screen.
From: Reid
Time: 4:06pm
Just got called into surgery. Rain check on that lunch date? I’ll call you when I’m out.
Luke let out a heavy sigh. Unfortunately he wasn’t too surprised by this turn of events. Accidents, meetings, family crisis. It was always something. But that was life, he reminded himself. Yes, it sucked that once again he had to push back his plans with Reid, but they’d see each other soon, he thought confidently. Tonight probably. Yes, definitely tonight.
He scrolled down his contact list and hit the green ‘call’ button, bringing the small device to his ear.
’This is Reid. If you have this number I clearly like you, so I guess you can go ahead and leave a message. Can’t promise I’ll get back to you.’ Beeeep.
Luke laughed, as he always did at Reid’s voicemail.
“Hey you, just got your text. I hope everything goes well and I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
He pulled out onto the main road, repeating, ‘I’ll see you tonight, I’ll see you tonight’ in his head.
*
Ten minutes later Luke was walking into Al’s and grabbing a table. The waitress had just left two menus when Casey Hughes made his grand entrance, bounding over to Luke.
“Your timing is flawless, man,” Casey laughed, falling into the chair across from Luke. “My dad called two minutes after you did asking if I could come in for a few hours tonight. Had to tell him I was busy hanging with my boy!”
“I must be psychic,” Luke chuckled, thinking back to Reid’s comment that morning. “I’m glad I could help you blow off work, Case.”
“So where’s the good doctor?”
“Working,” Luke said. Casey raised his brown, clearly catching the far-from-happy tone in Luke’s voice. “He got called into surgery last minute. It sort of threw off our lunch date plans.”
“Ah, so I’m just the rebound date,” Casey winked. “But that’s pretty typical, right?” the other blond continued, referring to Luke’s unfortunate change in plans.
“Yeah, it is, and we’re used to working around it. But I just feel like I haven’t seen him in forever. All week something has come up with one of us. I feel like I’m dating my phone at this point,” he said with a half-hearted laugh.
“That sucks, man,” Casey agreed. “I’m sure you’ll find time soon, though. And hey, at least you both have your own places now. One less obstacle,” he winked.
“Very true,” Luke nodded. Not having to worry about Katie and Jacob, or worse, Luke’s mother, was definitely a glorious change in pace for them. Reid had started renting a place closer to the hospital a few months back, and for the last five weeks Luke had been enjoying the privacy of his own condo in town. Life as a couple had certainly become more enjoyable in that time.
“Knock on wood, nothing else comes up today, or I thinking I’m going to go crazy!” Luke sighed dramatically, earning a sympathetic laugh from Casey.
*
“Something came up…” Luke said slowly into the phone, as though each word burned his mouth on its way out. “Mom called about an hour ago freaking out. I meant to call you…”
“It’s fine, Luke,” Reid said reassuringly, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. “Do what you gotta do.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“All right. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Snapping his phone shut, Reid sunk further into the driver’s seat of his car, pulling into the next available driveway and turning around. He’d been two blocks from Luke’s place when his phone had started buzzing on the seat next to him. The conversation had clearly not gone as he’d hoped.
He stopped at Al’s on the way and picked up two burgers, seasoned fries, a chocolate shake and a bowl of chili. If he was going to be spending his evening alone at home, he might as well try to enjoy some of it.
The apartment felt unusually quiet tonight, he thought. Or maybe he was just lonely. Ugh, feeling lonely was quite possibly the worst sensation in the world. It made him feel needy and codependent, two things he hated in other people and especially in himself. He couldn’t help it, though. When his eyes began to feel heavy in the final hour or so of surgery, thinking about spending time with Luke was what kept him alert. And now here he was in his tiny apartment, eating takeout from Al’s, without Luke. There was something about Luke that Reid still couldn’t quite understand - the way that just having him around seemed to make even the most mundane things appear interesting. They’d spent more nights than he could remember just sitting on the couch at his place, doing absolutely nothing but eating dinner and watching crap television… yet those nights were some of the best Reid could remember.
And now he was simply grumpy. Opening his laptop, Reid could feel the near permanent frown on his face, the tension in his shoulders. He felt like he was going through withdrawal, as ridiculous as it seemed. He hadn’t seen Luke’s face or heard his voice other than over a phone in days and the separation was starting to take its toll.
Reid checked his email again, personal and work, and even replied to a few messages. It wasn’t enough though to thoroughly distract him. So, against his better judgment, he grudgingly clicked on the little blue ‘F’ on the task bar.
Facebook popped up and he felt blinded by the white background and cheery updates and ridiculous pictures. Luke had all but forced him to sign up a few months ago, insisting that it would help him keep in touch with his friends. It didn’t matter how many times Reid reminded Luke that all of his friends lived in Oakdale and that he could just call them. Luke always got his way in the end.
He rarely did anything on Facebook except snoop around, as awkward as it often felt. He had posted two updates in the seven months he’d had the account¸ and both were complaints about having a Facebook page in the first place. Still, he didn’t completely hate the social website. Moving his cursor across the screen, Reid clicked on the familiar image of a very handsome young blond, feeling his frown loosen a bit as Luke’s page came up.
“Finally getting to hang out with Reid this afternoon!” said his latest status. Casey Hughes, Katie Peretti-Snyder and Maddie Coleman’s names were listed underneath as having ‘liked’ the update. Reid felt his frown tighten again.
With a groan he shut the laptop, slouching into the couch.
*
Purple circles were beginning to form under Luke’s eyes, bold and dark against his fair skin, as he stepped into his condo. It was black outside and the apartment was cast in shadows, one dim lamp on the table by the door offering the only light in the room. He didn’t bother turning on any other lights, feeling the ache of exhaustion in every step. He dropped his keys into the dish on the table and draped his light jacket over the back of the couch as he moved through the living room toward the hall, eventually stumbling into his bedroom and collapsing onto the bed.
The weight in his muscles was enough to make him want to lie there forever, but he knew he had to get up if only to change his clothes. Slowly he managed to do just that before slipping beneath the sheets. Before he allowed his eyelids to win, he reached across to grab his phone off the nightstand, wincing at the bright light as he pressed buttons.
‘Hey you. Just got home. Sorry if this wakes you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.’
With a sigh he clicked ‘send’, tossing the phone back onto the stand before sinking into his pillows.
*
It as another early morning for Reid Oliver. The hospital was fairly quiet for a Saturday morning, much to his delight. He sipped at the latte in his hand, eyes unable to truly focus on anything in front of him. He’d woken up to a text from Luke, frowning to see a time stamp of 1:48am. He considered texting back, but he knew that Luke was probably still in bed and decided to let him sleep.
It was another day without any planned surgeries and Reid silently prayed to whatever power was out there that he didn’t get stuck with another surprise.
He knew Luke was just as miserable as he was. It was probably unhealthy, the way they’d become so dependent, if not addicted to each other over the last year. Truth be told, though, Reid didn’t care. He just wanted to see Luke.
*
“Hey, Bob.”
Bob Hughes looked up from the nurses’ station where he was signing forms, smiling at the friendly face looking back at him.
“Hello, Luke. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Everything all right?”
“Oh, yeah, everything is fine. I was actually wondering if Reid was around?”
Bob frowned, looking a little confused.
“I’m afraid you just missed him. He left about a half an hour ago, barged into my office insisting he needed the rest of the day off.”
Luke’s eyes widened a little, confusion seeping into his own expression.
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll just call him then. Thanks, Bob.”
Luke walked quickly down the corridor, reaching for his phone. At that same moment, it began to ring. He glanced at the screen and frowned.
“Hey Ellen,” he said quickly.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Snyder, but Mr. Oliver just arrived looking for you,” she said.
Unsurprisingly, Luke suddenly skidded to a halt.
“What? Reid’s there?” he said breathlessly. “Can you put him on?”
“Of course,” said Ellen. He heard her mumble in the background and the sound of the phone changing hands.
“Luke?”
“Reid?”
“Where are you at? I got here and Ellen said you’d already left for the day. I thought you worked until four?”
“I’m at memorial, I was trying to surprise you!” said Luke, laughter filtering into his voice as everything began to make sense. He began to walk again, practically jogging toward the parking lot.
He heard Reid laugh. “Believe it or not I was trying to do the same thing.”
“I’m leaving the hospital now. Meet me at my place?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Reid said urgently, and both men laughed.
Luke hung up and ripped his keys from his pocket, dropping ungracefully into his car.
When he arrived at the condo, Reid was already there. He was parked on the street out front, leaning back on the car with his arms crossed and, at the sight of Luke, a small grin on his lips. Luke scrambled out of the car, looking up to see that Reid was already making his way toward him.
They met on the sidewalk, Luke instantly draping his arms around Reid’s neck and Reid’s hands taking hold of Luke’s hips. Their lips met in a desperate kiss, followed by soft laughter.
“I take it you’ve missed me,” Reid teased.
“Oh, like you haven’t missed me,” Luke laughed along.
They kissed again, relaxing and truly breathing for the first time in days.
“It’s nice to see your handsome face, Dr. Oliver,” said Luke with a grin. “Though we should be careful, my phone is going to think I’m cheating on it.”
Reid laughed whole heartedly, moving to wrap an arm around Luke’s waist as they walked toward the front door.
“I promise not to tell your phone if you promise not to tell mine.”
*
“So I’ve been thinking…”
“Should I be worried?”
Reid gave Luke a stern look. “Very funny, but no. I was thinking about the fact that we both basically went crazy all because we had to go four days without seeing each other.”
“Five,” corrected Luke.
“Five. Anyway, it’s a bit ridiculous. We basically played hooky today. We’re both grown men, we shouldn’t be reduced to teenage antics just because we miss our boyfriend.”
Luke turned onto his side to face Reid, tugging the top sheet with him and curling it against his chest.
“Teenage antics, huh?” he grinned.
“Yes, exactly. Frankly, it’s embarrassing.”
“Oh, very embarrassing.”
“So I’ve come up with a solution.”
“Of course you have.”
“Stop teasing,” said Reid, though he was clearly trying hard not to smile. “Believe it or not, I’m serious. We can’t seem to handle being apart for more than a few days, and as sad as that is, I’ve come up with a very logical, mature solution to the problem.”
“Go on,” said Luke, putting on his best serious face.
“I propose that we move in together.”
The serious façade on Luke’s face disappeared instantly, replaced by something far more natural, more Luke. It was raw and emotional and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Oh god, not the eyes,” Reid winced.
“Reid,” chastised Luke, batting at him playfully. “Do you mean that?”
Reid stared at Luke for a moment, propping himself up on one arm. With his free hand he reached for Luke, drawing him closer and planting a firm kiss on his mouth.
“I mean it.”
Luke’s face was glowing even more than before and he all but tackled Reid, covering him with kisses and dragging him back under the covers.
Epilgoue
Word Count: 3,100+
Summary: "All week something has come up with one of us. I feel like I’m dating my phone at this point."
Notes: A huge thank you to soapie_nl for creating the beautiful work! Also a thank you to bhumimak for being a wonderful beta <3 (And apologies that this wasn't unlocked right away!) Enjoy!
It was another early morning at Memorial Hospital, but Dr. Reid Oliver was pretty used to early mornings after all these years. He preferred it, really. Most of his daily activities, from rounds to surgeries to monotonous meetings, were scheduled for the afternoon hours, meaning the earlier he arrived to his office each morning, the more time he had before he had to actually interact with anyone. It gave him time to get things done at his own speed, to work through case files and answer emails without being interrupted every five minutes by the newest nurse that was clueless when it came to his or her own job. The hospital was much quieter at seven o’clock in the morning, just the way he liked it.
Manila folders stretched across the length of his desk, messily overlapping one another. He had a coffee mug in one hand, the other on his computer mouse as he clicked through the latest batch of emails. Two consultation requests, a calendar reminder from Bob for the upcoming fundraiser, replies to his inquiries over new lab equipment from Datascope, and… Well lookie there, Reid thought with genuine smile, setting down his mug and leaning closing to the screen. He clicked on the last email on the list.
To: r.oliver@memorialmed.com
From: luke@snyderfoundation.org
10:49pm
Good morning, Doctor Oliver :) Wanted to leave you something for when you came into work. Sorry I didn’t get to stop by tonight. Ellen’s son was sick so she left early, meaning I get to spend some quality time with my office computer for a few more hours. I’ll call you tomorrow though; maybe we can sneak in some time? Have a good day. I love you.
Reid rolled his eyes but couldn’t contain the smile on his face. He scooped the mouse into the palm of his hand again, but stopped short at the sound of buzzing in his pocket. With a curious frown he abandoned the mouse and dipped his hand into the pocket of his trousers, retrieving his phone. He laughed instantly when he saw the name on the screen and flipped it open.
“Your timing scares me sometimes, I’m starting to think you’re psychic,” he said, pressing the phone to his ear with his shoulder. “I just read your email.”
Luke Snyder laughed on the other end. “Didn’t you know? When Paul Ryan lost his powers they passed onto me,” he teased.
“Wait, what?” asked Reid.
“Never mind, a story for another time. So anyway, how is your morning going?”
“Fine. Quiet, trying to catch up on some things. How about you? I’m surprised to hear from you this early.”
“Got out earlier than expected last night, passed out as soon as I got home,” Luke explained.
Reid leaned back in his chair, taking in his boyfriend’s voice. In the background he could hear what sounded like passing cars.
“Where are you now?”
“Walking into work,” said Luke, and Reid could picture him instantly; crossing the street in his dress pants and button down shirt, tie perfectly fixed around his neck. No doubt that ancient messenger bag he loved so much was slung over his shoulder, one hand holding the phone and the other a carrier with two cups of coffee. Luke was the kind of boss that bought his secretary coffee each morning, and as ridiculous as it seemed to Reid for any boss to do such a thing, he kind of loved it about Luke. “Figured I’d get an early start. Maybe for once I really will get out of here by four o’clock.”
Reid laughed. “Yeah, maybe. If so you should stop by. I have a pretty uneventful day, I should be able to steal some time around then.”
“Sounds perfect,” said Luke, the smile evident in his voice. “Well I’m about to get in the elevator. I’ll see you around four thirty then?”
“It’s a date,” grinned Reid, knowing Luke would love it. And he did.
“Great!” replied Luke, sounding like a kid on Christmas day. “I’ll see you later then.”
“Have fun helping people.”
“Ha, you too. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Reid snapped his phone shut, shaking his head with a grin as he pocketed his phone. Not five minutes later his pager began to buzz against his hip and he was swept into the mix of lab coats and scrubs going about their daily routines. At least he had Luke to look forward to.
*
Luke closed his office door behind him, slipping the strap to his bag over his shoulder in the process.
“If Rachel calls tell her I’m gone for the day but that she can email me,” he said, stopping briefly at his secretary’s desk.
“Will do,” Ellen chimed back. “See you tomorrow, Luke.”
“See you.”
It was a short walk from the building to his car. Normally Luke would take his time and enjoy the warm weather that had finally started to become common place in the Midwestern town, but today he was definitely in a hurry. He felt like he hadn’t seen Reid in ages. Come to think of it, when had he last seen Reid? Tuesday? Wednesday, maybe? It had been at least three days, he realized, which only made him all the more anxious to get to Memorial Hospital as soon as humanly possible.
Be-de-de-beep, be-de-de-beep.
The sound came just as Luke put the car in reverse. He held his foot to the brake, searching for his phone in his bag. When he managed to pull it out, ’1 new message(s)’ flashed across the screen.
From: Reid
Time: 4:06pm
Just got called into surgery. Rain check on that lunch date? I’ll call you when I’m out.
Luke let out a heavy sigh. Unfortunately he wasn’t too surprised by this turn of events. Accidents, meetings, family crisis. It was always something. But that was life, he reminded himself. Yes, it sucked that once again he had to push back his plans with Reid, but they’d see each other soon, he thought confidently. Tonight probably. Yes, definitely tonight.
He scrolled down his contact list and hit the green ‘call’ button, bringing the small device to his ear.
’This is Reid. If you have this number I clearly like you, so I guess you can go ahead and leave a message. Can’t promise I’ll get back to you.’ Beeeep.
Luke laughed, as he always did at Reid’s voicemail.
“Hey you, just got your text. I hope everything goes well and I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
He pulled out onto the main road, repeating, ‘I’ll see you tonight, I’ll see you tonight’ in his head.
*
Ten minutes later Luke was walking into Al’s and grabbing a table. The waitress had just left two menus when Casey Hughes made his grand entrance, bounding over to Luke.
“Your timing is flawless, man,” Casey laughed, falling into the chair across from Luke. “My dad called two minutes after you did asking if I could come in for a few hours tonight. Had to tell him I was busy hanging with my boy!”
“I must be psychic,” Luke chuckled, thinking back to Reid’s comment that morning. “I’m glad I could help you blow off work, Case.”
“So where’s the good doctor?”
“Working,” Luke said. Casey raised his brown, clearly catching the far-from-happy tone in Luke’s voice. “He got called into surgery last minute. It sort of threw off our lunch date plans.”
“Ah, so I’m just the rebound date,” Casey winked. “But that’s pretty typical, right?” the other blond continued, referring to Luke’s unfortunate change in plans.
“Yeah, it is, and we’re used to working around it. But I just feel like I haven’t seen him in forever. All week something has come up with one of us. I feel like I’m dating my phone at this point,” he said with a half-hearted laugh.
“That sucks, man,” Casey agreed. “I’m sure you’ll find time soon, though. And hey, at least you both have your own places now. One less obstacle,” he winked.
“Very true,” Luke nodded. Not having to worry about Katie and Jacob, or worse, Luke’s mother, was definitely a glorious change in pace for them. Reid had started renting a place closer to the hospital a few months back, and for the last five weeks Luke had been enjoying the privacy of his own condo in town. Life as a couple had certainly become more enjoyable in that time.
“Knock on wood, nothing else comes up today, or I thinking I’m going to go crazy!” Luke sighed dramatically, earning a sympathetic laugh from Casey.
*
“Something came up…” Luke said slowly into the phone, as though each word burned his mouth on its way out. “Mom called about an hour ago freaking out. I meant to call you…”
“It’s fine, Luke,” Reid said reassuringly, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. “Do what you gotta do.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“All right. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Snapping his phone shut, Reid sunk further into the driver’s seat of his car, pulling into the next available driveway and turning around. He’d been two blocks from Luke’s place when his phone had started buzzing on the seat next to him. The conversation had clearly not gone as he’d hoped.
He stopped at Al’s on the way and picked up two burgers, seasoned fries, a chocolate shake and a bowl of chili. If he was going to be spending his evening alone at home, he might as well try to enjoy some of it.
The apartment felt unusually quiet tonight, he thought. Or maybe he was just lonely. Ugh, feeling lonely was quite possibly the worst sensation in the world. It made him feel needy and codependent, two things he hated in other people and especially in himself. He couldn’t help it, though. When his eyes began to feel heavy in the final hour or so of surgery, thinking about spending time with Luke was what kept him alert. And now here he was in his tiny apartment, eating takeout from Al’s, without Luke. There was something about Luke that Reid still couldn’t quite understand - the way that just having him around seemed to make even the most mundane things appear interesting. They’d spent more nights than he could remember just sitting on the couch at his place, doing absolutely nothing but eating dinner and watching crap television… yet those nights were some of the best Reid could remember.
And now he was simply grumpy. Opening his laptop, Reid could feel the near permanent frown on his face, the tension in his shoulders. He felt like he was going through withdrawal, as ridiculous as it seemed. He hadn’t seen Luke’s face or heard his voice other than over a phone in days and the separation was starting to take its toll.
Reid checked his email again, personal and work, and even replied to a few messages. It wasn’t enough though to thoroughly distract him. So, against his better judgment, he grudgingly clicked on the little blue ‘F’ on the task bar.
Facebook popped up and he felt blinded by the white background and cheery updates and ridiculous pictures. Luke had all but forced him to sign up a few months ago, insisting that it would help him keep in touch with his friends. It didn’t matter how many times Reid reminded Luke that all of his friends lived in Oakdale and that he could just call them. Luke always got his way in the end.
He rarely did anything on Facebook except snoop around, as awkward as it often felt. He had posted two updates in the seven months he’d had the account¸ and both were complaints about having a Facebook page in the first place. Still, he didn’t completely hate the social website. Moving his cursor across the screen, Reid clicked on the familiar image of a very handsome young blond, feeling his frown loosen a bit as Luke’s page came up.
“Finally getting to hang out with Reid this afternoon!” said his latest status. Casey Hughes, Katie Peretti-Snyder and Maddie Coleman’s names were listed underneath as having ‘liked’ the update. Reid felt his frown tighten again.
With a groan he shut the laptop, slouching into the couch.
*
Purple circles were beginning to form under Luke’s eyes, bold and dark against his fair skin, as he stepped into his condo. It was black outside and the apartment was cast in shadows, one dim lamp on the table by the door offering the only light in the room. He didn’t bother turning on any other lights, feeling the ache of exhaustion in every step. He dropped his keys into the dish on the table and draped his light jacket over the back of the couch as he moved through the living room toward the hall, eventually stumbling into his bedroom and collapsing onto the bed.
The weight in his muscles was enough to make him want to lie there forever, but he knew he had to get up if only to change his clothes. Slowly he managed to do just that before slipping beneath the sheets. Before he allowed his eyelids to win, he reached across to grab his phone off the nightstand, wincing at the bright light as he pressed buttons.
‘Hey you. Just got home. Sorry if this wakes you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you.’
With a sigh he clicked ‘send’, tossing the phone back onto the stand before sinking into his pillows.
*
It as another early morning for Reid Oliver. The hospital was fairly quiet for a Saturday morning, much to his delight. He sipped at the latte in his hand, eyes unable to truly focus on anything in front of him. He’d woken up to a text from Luke, frowning to see a time stamp of 1:48am. He considered texting back, but he knew that Luke was probably still in bed and decided to let him sleep.
It was another day without any planned surgeries and Reid silently prayed to whatever power was out there that he didn’t get stuck with another surprise.
He knew Luke was just as miserable as he was. It was probably unhealthy, the way they’d become so dependent, if not addicted to each other over the last year. Truth be told, though, Reid didn’t care. He just wanted to see Luke.
*
“Hey, Bob.”
Bob Hughes looked up from the nurses’ station where he was signing forms, smiling at the friendly face looking back at him.
“Hello, Luke. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Everything all right?”
“Oh, yeah, everything is fine. I was actually wondering if Reid was around?”
Bob frowned, looking a little confused.
“I’m afraid you just missed him. He left about a half an hour ago, barged into my office insisting he needed the rest of the day off.”
Luke’s eyes widened a little, confusion seeping into his own expression.
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll just call him then. Thanks, Bob.”
Luke walked quickly down the corridor, reaching for his phone. At that same moment, it began to ring. He glanced at the screen and frowned.
“Hey Ellen,” he said quickly.
“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Snyder, but Mr. Oliver just arrived looking for you,” she said.
Unsurprisingly, Luke suddenly skidded to a halt.
“What? Reid’s there?” he said breathlessly. “Can you put him on?”
“Of course,” said Ellen. He heard her mumble in the background and the sound of the phone changing hands.
“Luke?”
“Reid?”
“Where are you at? I got here and Ellen said you’d already left for the day. I thought you worked until four?”
“I’m at memorial, I was trying to surprise you!” said Luke, laughter filtering into his voice as everything began to make sense. He began to walk again, practically jogging toward the parking lot.
He heard Reid laugh. “Believe it or not I was trying to do the same thing.”
“I’m leaving the hospital now. Meet me at my place?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Reid said urgently, and both men laughed.
Luke hung up and ripped his keys from his pocket, dropping ungracefully into his car.
When he arrived at the condo, Reid was already there. He was parked on the street out front, leaning back on the car with his arms crossed and, at the sight of Luke, a small grin on his lips. Luke scrambled out of the car, looking up to see that Reid was already making his way toward him.
They met on the sidewalk, Luke instantly draping his arms around Reid’s neck and Reid’s hands taking hold of Luke’s hips. Their lips met in a desperate kiss, followed by soft laughter.
“I take it you’ve missed me,” Reid teased.
“Oh, like you haven’t missed me,” Luke laughed along.
They kissed again, relaxing and truly breathing for the first time in days.
“It’s nice to see your handsome face, Dr. Oliver,” said Luke with a grin. “Though we should be careful, my phone is going to think I’m cheating on it.”
Reid laughed whole heartedly, moving to wrap an arm around Luke’s waist as they walked toward the front door.
“I promise not to tell your phone if you promise not to tell mine.”
*
“So I’ve been thinking…”
“Should I be worried?”
Reid gave Luke a stern look. “Very funny, but no. I was thinking about the fact that we both basically went crazy all because we had to go four days without seeing each other.”
“Five,” corrected Luke.
“Five. Anyway, it’s a bit ridiculous. We basically played hooky today. We’re both grown men, we shouldn’t be reduced to teenage antics just because we miss our boyfriend.”
Luke turned onto his side to face Reid, tugging the top sheet with him and curling it against his chest.
“Teenage antics, huh?” he grinned.
“Yes, exactly. Frankly, it’s embarrassing.”
“Oh, very embarrassing.”
“So I’ve come up with a solution.”
“Of course you have.”
“Stop teasing,” said Reid, though he was clearly trying hard not to smile. “Believe it or not, I’m serious. We can’t seem to handle being apart for more than a few days, and as sad as that is, I’ve come up with a very logical, mature solution to the problem.”
“Go on,” said Luke, putting on his best serious face.
“I propose that we move in together.”
The serious façade on Luke’s face disappeared instantly, replaced by something far more natural, more Luke. It was raw and emotional and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Oh god, not the eyes,” Reid winced.
“Reid,” chastised Luke, batting at him playfully. “Do you mean that?”
Reid stared at Luke for a moment, propping himself up on one arm. With his free hand he reached for Luke, drawing him closer and planting a firm kiss on his mouth.
“I mean it.”
Luke’s face was glowing even more than before and he all but tackled Reid, covering him with kisses and dragging him back under the covers.
Epilgoue