FIC: The Third Roommate (20/?)
Title: The Third Roommate
Rating: PG-13
Genres: AU, Romance, Angst
Word Count: ~ 1,900
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Characters are property of ATWT, CBS, P&G etc. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. RL has been kinda rough the past few weeks but I finally finished this chapter. Thanks to my beta ditzybea!
Somehow Jason hoped to find his roommates cuddled up on the couch together when he got home from work on Friday evening, but nobody was there when he entered and when he called out his roommates names, he was only met with silence. He also checked Luke’s room, only to confirm what he already assumed, Luke left and Reid didn’t stop him.
“I can’t believe this.” Jason muttered under his breath as he closed the door to his younger roommates bedroom. He turned on his heels to go back to the living room when the front door suddenly opened and Reid entered the apartment.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Reid asked, when he saw Jason staring at him, his arms crossed over his chest.
Jason snorted, following the older man into the living room. “I can’t believe you really let him go Reid. Just like that.”
Reid plunked down onto the couch and slipped his shoes off, pushing them aside. “It wasn't just like that. Well the thing is that he didn’t even want to stay.”
“What are you talking about?” Jason asked as he sat down on the couch opposite of his friend.
Reid sighed. “I tried to get him to stay, but he left anyway okay?" Reid tried to explain to his friend without letting the sadness he felt come out when he spoke. "There I said it. Now can we please drop this and not talk about him anymore.” His shift at the hospital had been pretty shitty, he didn’t need to be reminded that he wouldn’t see Luke in the next two weeks.
“I don’t believe you.” Jason said.
“Excuse me?”
“I think that you didn’t really try to get him to stay.” Jason replied and held up his hand when Reid wanted to reply something. “I mean knowing you, you probably didn’t tell him how you really feel about him. Am I right?”
Reid opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Jason said. “So what exactly did you say to him?”
“Like I said, I told him that I didn’t want him to leave.” Reid replied.
“And?”
“And I even told him that I miss spending time with him and that I wanted things to go back to the way they were before you came back. The way they were in the beginning. That’s when Luke told me that it was more for him than just sex.” The older man admitted, letting out a snort.
“Dammit Reid!” Jason shouted, throwing a couch cushion at his friend, hitting him square in the face . “Why the hell didn’t you tell him that you feel the same way? I know for a fact that you do!”
“I don’t know how to do this okay?” Reid yelled back. He let out a breath before he continued in a softer voice. “I have never been in love before. I've never felt anything close to this before. So how should I know how it feels to be in love or what I should and shouldn’t do? All I know is that I have never felt worse in my life. I mean I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin.”
“You feel that way because you’re falling in love.” Jason replied with a grin. He got up from the couch and sat back down next to his roommate, playfully bumping shoulders. “Welcome to the human race buddy. We’ve been waiting for ya.”
Reid snorted, but otherwise remained silence for a long moment. “To be honest, even though it’s terrifying, for the first time in a long time I can see myself in a relationship. With Luke.”
“Then tell Luke that. Open up to him Reid, tell him that you’re scared. I’m sure that he’ll understand and you will see that it’s worth it.” Jason said. “I know that love can be terrifying, but please don’t make the same mistake I made when I first met Marc. Don’t run away from your feelings because you think it’s easier or because you’re afraid of getting hurt. I truly believe that you could be really happy together. Despite your differences, you and Luke are pretty perfect for each other. Trust me.”
Reid sighed. “And what exactly should I do now, in your opinion?”
“Pack your stuff and get your ass to Oakdale of course!”
“Yeah, right.” Reid let out a snort and got up from the couch.
“Why the hell not?” Jason asked, following his roommate into the hallway. “What are you waiting for?”
“I’ve got work to do.” The older man grumbled before slamming the door of his bedroom shut; leaving everything Jason said on the other side of the door.
***
After having two meetings on Friday and spending the day with friends on Saturday, Luke spent most of his time on Sunday with his younger siblings before all of them had dinner together at his mom’s house. Lily had cooked a nice meal for them. She had actually allowed herself to stay single that last few years and seemed to have picked up some pretty decent cooking skills.
It wasn’t until an hour or so later, when Ethan was in bed and his sisters had left to meet up with their boyfriends, that Luke realized that he hadn’t been thinking about Reid all day, he had done it a lot since he left Chicago on Friday morning. Sometime during the past two days Luke had stopped checking his phone for messages from the older man. Maybe he was making progress. Maybe he could really get over this thing with Reid.
Luke felt the couch dip slightly beside him and lifted his head to look at his mom.
“Is everything all right honey?” Lily asked. “I feel like you haven’t been your usual happy self in the past few days. I thought you loved your new job and don’t regret mov
ing.”
The blond gave his mother a small smile. After his mom had accepted that he was gay they had grown even closer over the years and Luke knew he could always talk to her about everything. “I do love my job. It has nothing to do with it.”
“Then what’s wrong? You know you can tell me anything Luke.”
“I know mom.” Luke let out a sigh. “It just that it seems like I’ve fallen in love with the wrong guy again.”
“What happened?” Lily asked.
“Remember I told you about my roommate the last time I called? Reid?”
Lily nodded. “You mean the one you didn’t get along with at first?" Lily answered and Luke nodded in response. "But I thought you said that you got to know him better when your other roommate was in LA, right?”
Luke chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.” So he tells her the short version of what happened with Reid up until the moment that the older man half-heartedly tried to stop him from leaving.
“Oh honey. Are you sure he doesn’t feel the same way about you? I mean you did say that he did try to get you to stay.” Lily said, hoping for a sliver lining.
“No, I’m sure that’s not the case mom.” Luke gave her a small smile. “But thanks for listening. I'll be ok.”
“Anytime. Now come here.” She said, pulling her son into a hug. “You’re gonna find the right one Luke. I know it.”
It wasn’t the first time his mom told him that he would find the right guy and Luke always thought that it was kind of odd; she obviously not having found the right one herself, but was so sure that Luke would not share her fate. “Thanks mom.” Luke whispered before he pulled away from the embrace. “I have an early meeting tomorrow morning so I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Alright. See you in the morning?”
Luke nodded his head before he got up from the couch. “Good night mom.”
***
‘What the hell am I doing here?’ Reid thought.
He lifted his hand to knock on the door but dropped it again after a few moments. “Christ! This is ridiculous.” The auburn haired man muttered under his breath. ‘I’m Dr. Reid Oliver, word-class neurosurgeon, I can do anything.’ He took a deep breath before he finally knocked.
It was Wednesday and even though it took some more convincing from Jason, Reid had finally made a decision and now he found himself wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans as he waited. He briefly wondered if this was what it felt like for a teenager who was about to pick up his date.
After what felt like an eternity, a brunette middle-aged woman opened the door. “Can I help you?” Reid could see that she and Luke had the same eyes. He was about to meet Luke's mother.
“Um, yeah, I’m looking for Luke Snyder.” Reid said. “Is he here?”
“Who's asking?” She had her suspicions about who this man was, but waited for the younger man to answer.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners.” Reid chuckled nervously. “I am Dr. Reid Oliver, his, ah,... one of Luke’s roommates in Chicago?” Reid stopped himself from revealing too much and settled for the simplest introduction.
Lily’s face immediately lit up; he was so nervous. “Oh of course. Luke has told me a lot about you. It’s good to finally put a face to the name. I'm Lily, his mom." She said as she extended her hand. Reid took and hoped his hands weren't too sweaty; that would be some first impression. "I’m afraid to tell you that my son isn’t here right now. He's at the hospital.”
“Hospital?” Reid felt panic rise within himself, thinking that he came too late, that he waited too long. “What happened?”
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to... he is just meeting a friend who works at the hospital for lunch.” Lily explained. “He should be back soon. Would you like to come in and wait for him?”
Reid let out a sigh of relief, then thought about Luke’s mom’s offer for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually have the courage to come back if he left now so he decided to stay and wait for the blond. “Well if it’s not too much trouble...”
“Of course not.” Lily opened the door further. “Please come on in.”
“Thanks.” Reid said as he stepped inside.
A quick look around in the living room while Luke’s mom got him some cookies and milk was enough to confirm what he already knew, Luke was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His mother was actually bringing him milk and cookies; who does that anymore? His mother tried to keep a conversation going with him, but he was never one to do small talk, so he decided to keep his mouth busy by stuffing it with the cookies.
By the time they were almost gone, he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling that he was home. He turned around just in time to see Luke stop dead in his tracks. Shock visible on his beautiful face. Reid let out a sigh when their eyes locked.
Rating: PG-13
Genres: AU, Romance, Angst
Word Count: ~ 1,900
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Characters are property of ATWT, CBS, P&G etc. No profit is made from this fan creation. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. RL has been kinda rough the past few weeks but I finally finished this chapter. Thanks to my beta ditzybea!
Somehow Jason hoped to find his roommates cuddled up on the couch together when he got home from work on Friday evening, but nobody was there when he entered and when he called out his roommates names, he was only met with silence. He also checked Luke’s room, only to confirm what he already assumed, Luke left and Reid didn’t stop him.
“I can’t believe this.” Jason muttered under his breath as he closed the door to his younger roommates bedroom. He turned on his heels to go back to the living room when the front door suddenly opened and Reid entered the apartment.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Reid asked, when he saw Jason staring at him, his arms crossed over his chest.
Jason snorted, following the older man into the living room. “I can’t believe you really let him go Reid. Just like that.”
Reid plunked down onto the couch and slipped his shoes off, pushing them aside. “It wasn't just like that. Well the thing is that he didn’t even want to stay.”
“What are you talking about?” Jason asked as he sat down on the couch opposite of his friend.
Reid sighed. “I tried to get him to stay, but he left anyway okay?" Reid tried to explain to his friend without letting the sadness he felt come out when he spoke. "There I said it. Now can we please drop this and not talk about him anymore.” His shift at the hospital had been pretty shitty, he didn’t need to be reminded that he wouldn’t see Luke in the next two weeks.
“I don’t believe you.” Jason said.
“Excuse me?”
“I think that you didn’t really try to get him to stay.” Jason replied and held up his hand when Reid wanted to reply something. “I mean knowing you, you probably didn’t tell him how you really feel about him. Am I right?”
Reid opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Jason said. “So what exactly did you say to him?”
“Like I said, I told him that I didn’t want him to leave.” Reid replied.
“And?”
“And I even told him that I miss spending time with him and that I wanted things to go back to the way they were before you came back. The way they were in the beginning. That’s when Luke told me that it was more for him than just sex.” The older man admitted, letting out a snort.
“Dammit Reid!” Jason shouted, throwing a couch cushion at his friend, hitting him square in the face . “Why the hell didn’t you tell him that you feel the same way? I know for a fact that you do!”
“I don’t know how to do this okay?” Reid yelled back. He let out a breath before he continued in a softer voice. “I have never been in love before. I've never felt anything close to this before. So how should I know how it feels to be in love or what I should and shouldn’t do? All I know is that I have never felt worse in my life. I mean I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin.”
“You feel that way because you’re falling in love.” Jason replied with a grin. He got up from the couch and sat back down next to his roommate, playfully bumping shoulders. “Welcome to the human race buddy. We’ve been waiting for ya.”
Reid snorted, but otherwise remained silence for a long moment. “To be honest, even though it’s terrifying, for the first time in a long time I can see myself in a relationship. With Luke.”
“Then tell Luke that. Open up to him Reid, tell him that you’re scared. I’m sure that he’ll understand and you will see that it’s worth it.” Jason said. “I know that love can be terrifying, but please don’t make the same mistake I made when I first met Marc. Don’t run away from your feelings because you think it’s easier or because you’re afraid of getting hurt. I truly believe that you could be really happy together. Despite your differences, you and Luke are pretty perfect for each other. Trust me.”
Reid sighed. “And what exactly should I do now, in your opinion?”
“Pack your stuff and get your ass to Oakdale of course!”
“Yeah, right.” Reid let out a snort and got up from the couch.
“Why the hell not?” Jason asked, following his roommate into the hallway. “What are you waiting for?”
“I’ve got work to do.” The older man grumbled before slamming the door of his bedroom shut; leaving everything Jason said on the other side of the door.
***
After having two meetings on Friday and spending the day with friends on Saturday, Luke spent most of his time on Sunday with his younger siblings before all of them had dinner together at his mom’s house. Lily had cooked a nice meal for them. She had actually allowed herself to stay single that last few years and seemed to have picked up some pretty decent cooking skills.
It wasn’t until an hour or so later, when Ethan was in bed and his sisters had left to meet up with their boyfriends, that Luke realized that he hadn’t been thinking about Reid all day, he had done it a lot since he left Chicago on Friday morning. Sometime during the past two days Luke had stopped checking his phone for messages from the older man. Maybe he was making progress. Maybe he could really get over this thing with Reid.
Luke felt the couch dip slightly beside him and lifted his head to look at his mom.
“Is everything all right honey?” Lily asked. “I feel like you haven’t been your usual happy self in the past few days. I thought you loved your new job and don’t regret mov
ing.”
The blond gave his mother a small smile. After his mom had accepted that he was gay they had grown even closer over the years and Luke knew he could always talk to her about everything. “I do love my job. It has nothing to do with it.”
“Then what’s wrong? You know you can tell me anything Luke.”
“I know mom.” Luke let out a sigh. “It just that it seems like I’ve fallen in love with the wrong guy again.”
“What happened?” Lily asked.
“Remember I told you about my roommate the last time I called? Reid?”
Lily nodded. “You mean the one you didn’t get along with at first?" Lily answered and Luke nodded in response. "But I thought you said that you got to know him better when your other roommate was in LA, right?”
Luke chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.” So he tells her the short version of what happened with Reid up until the moment that the older man half-heartedly tried to stop him from leaving.
“Oh honey. Are you sure he doesn’t feel the same way about you? I mean you did say that he did try to get you to stay.” Lily said, hoping for a sliver lining.
“No, I’m sure that’s not the case mom.” Luke gave her a small smile. “But thanks for listening. I'll be ok.”
“Anytime. Now come here.” She said, pulling her son into a hug. “You’re gonna find the right one Luke. I know it.”
It wasn’t the first time his mom told him that he would find the right guy and Luke always thought that it was kind of odd; she obviously not having found the right one herself, but was so sure that Luke would not share her fate. “Thanks mom.” Luke whispered before he pulled away from the embrace. “I have an early meeting tomorrow morning so I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Alright. See you in the morning?”
Luke nodded his head before he got up from the couch. “Good night mom.”
***
‘What the hell am I doing here?’ Reid thought.
He lifted his hand to knock on the door but dropped it again after a few moments. “Christ! This is ridiculous.” The auburn haired man muttered under his breath. ‘I’m Dr. Reid Oliver, word-class neurosurgeon, I can do anything.’ He took a deep breath before he finally knocked.
It was Wednesday and even though it took some more convincing from Jason, Reid had finally made a decision and now he found himself wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans as he waited. He briefly wondered if this was what it felt like for a teenager who was about to pick up his date.
After what felt like an eternity, a brunette middle-aged woman opened the door. “Can I help you?” Reid could see that she and Luke had the same eyes. He was about to meet Luke's mother.
“Um, yeah, I’m looking for Luke Snyder.” Reid said. “Is he here?”
“Who's asking?” She had her suspicions about who this man was, but waited for the younger man to answer.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners.” Reid chuckled nervously. “I am Dr. Reid Oliver, his, ah,... one of Luke’s roommates in Chicago?” Reid stopped himself from revealing too much and settled for the simplest introduction.
Lily’s face immediately lit up; he was so nervous. “Oh of course. Luke has told me a lot about you. It’s good to finally put a face to the name. I'm Lily, his mom." She said as she extended her hand. Reid took and hoped his hands weren't too sweaty; that would be some first impression. "I’m afraid to tell you that my son isn’t here right now. He's at the hospital.”
“Hospital?” Reid felt panic rise within himself, thinking that he came too late, that he waited too long. “What happened?”
“Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to... he is just meeting a friend who works at the hospital for lunch.” Lily explained. “He should be back soon. Would you like to come in and wait for him?”
Reid let out a sigh of relief, then thought about Luke’s mom’s offer for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he’d actually have the courage to come back if he left now so he decided to stay and wait for the blond. “Well if it’s not too much trouble...”
“Of course not.” Lily opened the door further. “Please come on in.”
“Thanks.” Reid said as he stepped inside.
A quick look around in the living room while Luke’s mom got him some cookies and milk was enough to confirm what he already knew, Luke was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His mother was actually bringing him milk and cookies; who does that anymore? His mother tried to keep a conversation going with him, but he was never one to do small talk, so he decided to keep his mouth busy by stuffing it with the cookies.
By the time they were almost gone, he suddenly heard a familiar voice calling that he was home. He turned around just in time to see Luke stop dead in his tracks. Shock visible on his beautiful face. Reid let out a sigh when their eyes locked.