Now and Again (38/??)
Title: Now and Again
Author: alissablue
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 at some point. Almost there.
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Noah, other Oakdale characters and an OC here or there.
Category: Fix it-fic, AU
Summary: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”- W.I. Thomas
Warnings: Angsty Angst, some mindfuckery
Disclaimer: Do not own. Wish I did, though. I could make them do all sorts of kinky stuff.
A/N: Keywords for this fic are ‘patience’ and ‘payoff’. Title credit goes to my epically awesome beta slayerkitty, who deserves a round of applause for sitting through my long rants, freak outs, smut-related giggles and posting hesitation.
A/N: Me + comments is like... Reid + Sandwiches<3.
Prologue / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 /
21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 /
A/N: The parts in italics are flashbacks!
Chapters 38: I come bearing gifts
On Sunday, specifically on the 11th of August, Bob Hughes got two visitors. The first one arrived around three in
the afternoon, knocking on his door softly and entering as politely as Bob had ever seen him. He flashed a bright and charming smile, looking expensive in his tailored Italian business suit and tie, but still a little unsure of himself. Bob could see it in his stance, in the way he moved. The way every step toward Bob’s desk seemed like a thoughtful decision made with careful consideration. In his hands, he held a thick, red folder filled with more than a dozen sheets of paper and he gripped it tightly, holding it up against his chest, as if it was his only lifeline.
“What brings you here?”, Bob asked, more than a little amused and intrigued. Bob could count the number of times he’d seen him in a suit on one hand.
“I come bearing gifts.” He answered, taking the seat across Bob’s desk and placing his folder on it with a thud. He took a deep breath. “This, right here,” He gestured to it. “This is the answer to your problems.”
“My… problems?”
*******
Reid walked through the halls of Memorial Hospital. He’d just come from his patient, Charles Avery, 45, who had been in a car accident not too long ago and was at risk of becoming paralyzed, having lost all feeling in his legs. Reid was cautiously optimistic about Charles’ upcoming surgery, but, like with all of his patients, he knew there was a chance Charles wouldn’t survive. His surgery was a complicated one, one which Reid had only performed twice and, while he knew he was the best surgeon for the job, he also knew one twitch of his hand or one wrong move could mean the end of Charles’ life.
There was a fine line between life and death and Reid walked it every day, toyed and flirted with it and crossed it, only to pull back his patients from the brink of death. He wondered if Luke had ever been there, in limbo, with his life in someone else’s hands. He wondered if Luke had ever been in such grave danger, what it had taken for him to get that scar on his side.
Donor. Transplant. Recipient.
All this time, ever since meeting Luke, which in all honesty felt like a lifetime ago, he’d been so intrigued by him, so taken with Luke that it had scared him. Luke’s kidney scar had only added to that fear, the frightening and paralyzing ache. It had made all rational thoughts fly out the window like a bird on a mission. He still didn’t have the slightest clue what to do with all of it- the fear or the hunger and desire, nor did it have any idea of where they were headed or how far they could take this without completely losing their minds.
All he knew, was that he wanted Luke, whatever that meant.
Katie’s words from earlier that morning also rang through his mind. According to Katie, Luke needed and deserved more. Better, like a relationship. Like something that was more than just staring at Luke and kissing Luke and eventually fucking Luke until he couldn’t see straight. A relationship with Luke Snyder, that dreaded word he’d avoided for most of his adult life. They’d discussed it before, and Katie had made it abundantly clear every single time that a relationship with Luke was exactly where Reid was heading, whether he wanted it or not.
And that, the reality of a relationship, was becoming more and more difficult to avoid. He couldn’t ignore it or shrug it off anymore, with Luke in the picture, making Reid think- teasing and tempting and luring him into thinking that something resembling a relationship maybe -possibly, kind of, sort of- wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever heard.
Reid turned the corner, his thoughts still with Luke, when the collision caught him off guard.
Luke.
He felt his soft skin and smelled his scent before he realized it was him. Luke’s shoulder bumped into Reid’s, and their knees clashed, making Luke trip and making Reid swiftly move his arm to catch him.
As a folder containing paperwork fell out of Luke’s grasp, Reid got a hold of Luke right on time and pulled at his wrist, keeping Luke from stumbling even more, and keeping him from pulling away from Reid’s touch just one moment longer. Reid pulled too hard. Luke’s warmth meshed with his own, as he felt the muscles on Luke’s abdomen contract against his own stomach and Luke’s rapid breaths on his lips.
Nope, definitely not the worst idea he’d ever heard.
Luke’s breaths grew shallow and shaky. For a moment he worried Reid could feel just how affected he was by Reid’s touch and general presence. Reid’s eyes were clear and blue, so, so blue and open to Luke as if Luke was the only one who was allowed to see their clarity and depth. The ache stirred in his abdomen, filled his lungs, and swarmed around his heart, as Reid’s breath smelled like coffee mixed with something sweet, and as it made Luke’s tongue dart out to wet his lips as a reflex.
Reid looked at him, his pupils torn between Luke’s tempting lips and eyes. He thought he saw flecks of gold in them, and flecks of darkness, heat that would have made him rock hard in an instant, if Luke hadn’t done what he did next. Before Reid had a chance to settle on either Luke’s eyes or lips - fuck, those lips-, Luke broke the spell, putting his hand on Reid’s chest and pulling away from him. He crouched down in front of Reid, frantically recollecting his papers, as Reid snapped out of his daze.
“Do you need a hand with-”
“No!”, Luke almost shouted. “No, no, I- I mean- I’m fine, Reid, thanks.” Luke said, trying to grab the papers that had scattered behind Reid. Reid’s fingers, the very tips, itched as he looked down and saw Luke on the floor in front of him.
“What are you doing here, all suited up?” Reid asked, crouching down as well, and grabbing a hold of the few pieces of paper just out of Luke’s reach. As soon as he’d collected them, though, Luke quickly snatched them out of his hands and put them back in his folder, as if he’d just cracked a secret code he didn’t want the world to know about.
“I just came from work, and I’m here to pick up a prescription.” Luke said, still not looking up at him. He tried to pick up a piece of paper near Reid, stretching and grazing past Reid’s knee with his knuckles, but before his fingertips could even come close to the sheet, Luke saw him lean forward and come closer, right until Luke felt his warm breaths on his ear.
“It’s Sunday, Luke. What are you really doing here?” Reid’s voice in his ear was low and soft and warm, with a hint of seduction, as he said Luke’s name in a way he couldn’t remember ever hearing it before. Reid’s voice sparked a shiver down his spine, and Luke drew in a sharp breath at the sound of his name.
“You’re here, too, you know. On a Sunday.”
“How very observant of you.” Reid said with a smirk, as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind Luke’s ear. “So, Snyder… How’s the considering going?” he asked, allowing his fingertips to linger just a little longer.
Reid felt the fear all the way down to the base of his spine, but he pushed through it, breathing deeply. Wandering and letting himself caress Luke’s skin, he indulged in the feel of the soft, blond hairs underneath his fingertips. Luke. The cure, the medicine, the ‘Eureka!’, the alpha, omega, and the magic light bulb. Luke was the conundrum, the enigma, the equation and the solution. And more. Luke was more.
“One- One- It’s been one day.” Luke choked out, as if he was having trouble coming up with coherent thoughts or sentences, as he felt a slight scrape of Reid’s clipped fingernails down his neck. He stilled his movements and leaned into the touch, relishing in the surge of need and heat and the feeling of something he wasn’t ready to admit.
“Patience is not… my best event. I’m done holding back, Luke.”
Luke’s brow furrowed, a faint and familiar feeling of déjà vu ignited by Reid’s words, but the flash of ‘been there, done that’ passed as quickly as it had appeared. He finally looked up at Reid, making Reid’s hand fall from his skin.
“I see. Well, I’m getting there, I am. You have no idea how hard you make it for me to… ” ‘Breathe, resist you’, Luke thought. He looked right into Reid’s eyes, looking for any sign of deceit or betrayal again and once more finding nothing to indicate Reid wasn’t telling him the truth. Luke wanted to let himself give in to Reid like a free fall from the highest tower, but there was still a niggling feeling of doubt which wouldn’t let go just yet. “You look good, though. Very good. Like, really, really good. Too good.” Luke said instead.
A crooked smile appeared on Reid’s face, and Luke barely resisted the urge to drag him into the nearest room. “You’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself.”
Luke looked down with a hint of a smile on his face, picking up the last of his papers with a sigh. He put them back in his red folder, clutching it tightly against his chest as he stood up. “I had to catch up on some paperwork for ‘Grimaldi Shipping’, my company. I figured I might as well get it done today.”
Reid joined him, standing up as well, with a smirk on his face, as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Right. The landlocked shipping company.”
Luke smiled. “Yeah, that’s the one. Katie?”
“Google.” Reid said matter-of-factly, as though he hadn’t spent time online, entering the name ‘Luke Snyder’ into a search engine, right after ‘craniotomy’ and right before ‘porn’.
Luke’s smile brightened, and he ducked his head for a moment as if he couldn’t control himself or contain his excitement, before looking back up at Reid. “Google? Really.”
“Yes, Google. Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Duly noted… But, I’m still not finished- paperwork and stuff… So if you’d excuse me…” Luke lightly swung back and forth on the balls of his feet, unsure for a moment as to what he wanted to do next. His folder was still clutched tightly against his chest, leaving no room for him to accidentally drop it once again, and Reid was still right there, so, so close that Luke’s tongue had trouble resisting Reid’s long neck, as Reid swallowed thickly.
“Yes, go.” Reid said, clearing his throat. “Go to work and finish your paperwork on a Sunday.” He made a gesture with his hand, indicating some sort of bow, and it made Luke laugh, before he left.
The delight in Luke’s laugh was contagious, and as he watched him walk away, Reid found it both invigorating and -as much as he hated himself for thinking it- endearing at the same time.
Almost as soon after Luke had left, Reid noticed two white sheets of paper in a corner just a few feet away. Realizing that Luke must have forgotten to pick it up, he picked it up himself with the intention of giving it to him the next time he saw him. But, as he walked toward the locker room for a quick snack, Reid’s curiosity overtook him. He took one look at the papers, and another, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he read a few words that caught his attention like honey would catch a bee’s or blood a mosquito’s.
“Well, fuck me… That’s interesting.”
*******
“Most people would just…” Bob chuckled, shaking his head with a gleam in his blue eyes. He gently laid down the folder and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “But this- You’re talking about carrying the weight of most of this operation. It doesn’t just end at the donation.”
“I know what I’m doing. I’ve put a lot of thought into this, Dr. Hughes.”
“I’m sure you have, but-”
He sat up just a little straighter, mirroring Bob’s position. He put both of his palms flat on the desk. “Look, Dr. Hughes, I want to help, and I think this is a good way to do that. You, Memorial… Dr. Oliver… I know this wing could help so many people and I’d very much like to be a part of that.”
Bob took a moment too stare at him with a look of disbelief, before it changed into something much more reassuring. “You really are determined to make this work, aren’t you?”
“Very.”
“But this shouldn’t be taken lightly. This would be a very permanent thing.”
“Good. Something permanent is exactly what I need.”
*******
Bob Hughes got his second visitor about thirty minutes after the first one had left. Bob was just about to leave his office, wanting to go home to his wife, when his second visitor stormed in like he had a habit of doing.
“What the hell is Luke Snyder doing with our finances?!” The door slammed shut behind Reid, as Reid came to a stop right in front of Bob’s desk. He crossed his arms over his chest, one hand clutching white sheets of paper, as his mouth formed a thin line.
“Dr. Oliver, what are you-”
“Luke Snyder. Finances.” Reid barely refrained from growling. “What’s he doing with them?!”
“Last time I checked, Luke Snyder wasn’t any of your business.”
“Last time I checked, our finances weren’t lying out on the street for all to see.”
“I can assure you they’re still not.”
Reid sighed, placing the papers on Bob’s desk and putting his palms flat on the surface as he leaned forward, barely keeping a sneer from forming. “Then why did I find this?”
“Whatever you think you found-”
“Think, Bob-o? Really? This isn’t your idiot of a son you’re talking to. Mr. Snyder left this behind, apparently. It’s hardly that much of a mystery to figure out what he was doing with it in the first place… I told you I’d find an investor, and you go and ask Lu-Mr. Snyder without consulting me first?”
“Dr. Oliver- Reid, making assumptions certainly won’t get you anywhere. What makes you think that whatever- if anything- I discussed with Luke Snyder is any of your business?”
“He’s… The wing is my business. And if Mr. Snyder is walking around with our budget, than that makes it my business.”
“I assured Luke that-”
“So you did talk to him-”
“I assured him that what we discussed wouldn’t leave this room and I intend to keep that promise.”
“Fine!” Reid said, louder than he’d intended. He pinched the bridge of his nose, before recollecting the two pieces of paper. “If I can’t get you to tell me what’s going on, I’ll just have to get it out of Mr. Snyder myself.”
*******
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
It was the third time Dr. Hughes had asked him that very same question in the half hour he’d been there. Bob looked up from the papers that were sprawled all over his desk.
“Positive.” He tried to convey more authority, more assurance so Bob wouldn’t have to ask him again. He was sure, very sure, that this was right. It felt right. There was so much more to it than only donating cash, and getting a seat on the hospital board. This gave him a sense of purpose, direction, as he helped to build the new wing. And, of course, if it could give Reid a reason to stay, then that would only be an added bonus. The cherry on top he wanted to eat.
“There’s only one condition.”
“Name it.”
Luke hesitated for a brief moment, before uttering the words. “Don’t… Don’t tell Dr. Oliver about it.”
NEXT
********
Thank you for reading, as always<3.