fic: Storm-Stayed
Author: dolce_amore
Title: Storm-Stayed
Word count: 2,982
Genre/Type: Angst and Fluff at the same time, lol.
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Characters/Pairings: Reid/Luke
Warnings: None that I can think of, other than a little angst
Summary: Reid and Luke have been bickering a little about not being able to spend time together because of work and commitments. They find themselves snowed in at Katie's alone and are forced to talk and make-up.
Author's Notes: I've been working on this for a few days and still don't know if I really like it or not, lol! But, anyways, hope you enjoy! Comments are always appreciated.
------
Storm-Stayed
Reid walked in door at Lily’s house around 9 PM to find only Luke in the living room, sitting on the couch sideways with his legs crossed over the armrest, staring intently at his laptop.
“Guess I missed dinner,” Reid said softly.
Luke nodded, but didn’t look up. “Leftovers are in the refrigerator. Take your shoes off before you go in there.”
“Do you have a foot fetish all of the sudden?” Reid teased.
“No, I just don’t want you to track snow throughout the house,” Luke replied with no humor in his tone.
Reid raised an eyebrow, but kicked off his shoes anyway and made a beeline for the kitchen. “What are the leftovers of, anyway?” he called.
“Lasagna,” Luke replied more flatly than before.
Reid, for the first time in a long time, shut the refrigerator door without retrieving any food from it first. He went back into the living room, picked up Luke’s legs, and sat himself on the opposite side of the sofa from Luke, resting his legs onto his lap. He smiled softly at his boyfriend, who continued to stare at the screen of his laptop. “So… what ‘cha doing?” he asked.
“Playing chess,” Luke replied. Reid leaned over and looked at the screen to see Luke moving a pawn with a click on the keyboard.
“Why are you playing a computer game when we could play together?”
“When are you ever around to?” Luke replied, finally matching Reid’s eyes. His tone wasn’t angry, just… frustrated.
It had been like this for weeks, since just after Christmas. Just before the holiday they were together all of the time - they both had vacation days to use up before the year’s end, and after much coaxing on Luke’s part, Reid agreed to take the time off with him. They didn’t do anything special - they went Christmas shopping (not without a constant “All Christmas is, is one huge marketing ploy that makes one feel like a bad person if they don’t get a gift for their three hundred closest friends” buzzing in Luke’s ear from an all too familiar voice). They went house hunting (to no avail). They played chess. They spent a day or two (or three… or four) in bed. Regardless of what they were doing, though, they were doing it together, which was much needed for the couple comprised of two people with two very busy schedules.
All that time together then only highlighted how little they saw each other now. Luke wanted to sell Grimaldi Shipping and spent much of his time with realtors and potential buyers trying to do so. Being the new Chief of Staff and the head of the new wing, Reid was constantly either in surgery, in meetings, or doing rounds, with little to no break in between. Just like with most vacations, real life started up again all too soon and it was as though the vacation never happened at all. One had to look no further than their current conversation that had become a nightly ritual the past few weeks to see that the distance was starting to wear them thin.
“I know you wanted me to be here tonight,” Reid said gently.
Luke smiled sadly. “I always want you here.”
“I know.”
“So how did it go?” Luke asked, looking like he had relaxed a bit as Reid tenderly rubbed his leg. Reid slapped his leg playfully and stood back up.
“How did what go?” Reid replied as he once again attempted to go reheat some lasagna.
“Your surgery tonight.”
“I didn’t have any surgeries tonight,” Reid replied from the other room, watching his meal rotate in the microwave.
“But you were supposed to be here four hours ago. Isn’t that why you’re so late?” Luke asked, getting tense once again.
“No, I had a ton of paperwork to go through. Since the head of maternity went bat-shit crazy on us it’s been hell trying to find a replacement,” he explained as he brought his dinner back into the living room and resumed his spot on the sofa.
“So you’re saying that you could’ve come to dinner, you just didn’t,” Luke replied coldly.
Reid shook his head. “I had to get it finished before I left. It wasn’t fun, trust me.”
“But surely it was good enough to replace having to spend time with my mother over dinner, right?’
Reid rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t late on purpose and you know it,” he said with a full mouth.
Luke shrugged. “Whatever,” he said, snapping his laptop shut. “I’m just tired of having to go to functions alone, you know?”
Reid raised an eyebrow. “I went to the Grimaldi Shipping Holiday gala with you, I went to the Walsh Holiday party with you, I went to the Snyder Christmas party with you, I went to the Foundation Holiday gala with you, I went to New Year’s Eve at Metro with you…”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
“I’m not looking for appreciation, I’m just saying that despite what you’re saying, I go to as many functions as I can with you.”
“The last time we went out was New Year’s Eve. That was nearly two months ago. We haven’t had as much as a nice, quiet dinner alone in I don’t even know how long. It’s not even about the functions as much as I just feel like we never see each other anymore.” He said, his eyes drooping.
Reid let out a sigh and shrugged. “I… I know.” He rubbed his temples. “Maybe once you sell Grimaldi things will get less hectic and…”
“Oh, so it’s all my fault that we don’t see each other?” Luke snapped.
“What? No, that’s not what I said.”
Luke sighed. “I know. Sorry. But I have a headache and I just have to go to bed,” he replied, exasperated. He rose from the couch and headed towards the stairs.
“Do you feel okay otherwise?” Reid asked worriedly.
“Yes Doctor, I’m fine.”
“Okay, well, goodnight. I guess I’ll just head home when I’m finished,” Reid replied quietly, noticing the lack of invitation to join Luke in his bedroom.
“I guess you will. Goodnight.”
And with that, Reid was left in silence with his lasagna. Being alone with food wasn’t fun like it used to be.
He returned home about twenty minutes later to find a note on the kitchen table.
Reid - I wanted to say goodbye before we left for Disney World! ☹ I’m bummed. Anyway, our flight is leaving at 4 PM, it’s a two-hour flight, and there’s a one-hour time difference, so… you’re the smart one, you figure it out. Ha ha.
Expect plenty of texts to be flying your way for the next week! We’ll bring you back a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.
Love, Katie and Jacob
Reid looked on the Caller ID to see that no one had called while he was gone. In a split second he had his cell phone out, Katie on speed dial.
“Hello?” she answered.
“What the hell, Katie? You didn’t call to tell me you got there alright?” Reid practically yelled into the phone like a worried parent.
She tried to keep herself from laughing with no luck.
“It’s really not that funny,” Reid added.
“Ooh, somebody sounds a little grumpy,” she replied.
Reid sighed. “I’m fine. I take it you and Jacob made it there in one piece? Did his ears give him any trouble on the flight?”
“We’re fine, we even landed a little earlier than expected. Jacob did great, too - all your tips for his ears worked, as expected. We’re all settled into our hotel room and Casey and Ali have the room right next door.”
“Lucky you, you’ll be up all night with those two having sex romps in the next room over,” Reid replied.
“I’m used to it from you and Luke,” Katie shot back. “Anyway, everything is fine. Thank you for calling,” she said.
“Yup, well, you know - the rent is kind of expensive in this place. I needed to know if your plane went down in flames so I could prepare to start paying double my norm,” he cracked.
“I love you too, Reid. Goodnight,” she said, giggling.
“’Night,” he replied. As much as he adored Katie he couldn’t help but think about how he wished that was how he and Luke had ended their conversation.
-----
The next morning Reid called his assistant at that crack of dawn and cancelled whatever meetings he had scheduled after four in the afternoon. He figured if he blocked out his schedule from then on, he’d be able to make it out at a decent time and actually spend some time with his boyfriend. Enough was enough.
Around lunchtime he called Luke, anxious to hear him smiling through the phone as he told him that he had the whole night reserved for alone time. Instead, he was sent straight to voicemail.
“Ugh. I don’t know if you sent me to voicemail on purpose or if you’re just busy, but seriously, if you did it on purpose, you’re being a bitch.”
At that, Luke picked up the phone. “Excuse me?”
“I knew that would make you pick up,” Reid replied.
“I’m not being a bitch. What are you doing calling me in the middle of the day?” Luke asked. He still sounded pissed.
“Don’t I always call you at some point during the day?” Reid replied, furrowing his brow.
“No.”
“Okay,” Reid said awkwardly. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I cleared my schedule tonight and want to take you out to dinner. Wherever you want, you can pick,” he said.
“Reid!” Luke exclaimed, to Reid’s surprise, even still sounding pissed. “I can’t tonight. I have a meeting at five and I think it’s going to run late.”
“What are you doing scheduling meetings when you’re supposed to be leaving work?”
“It’s not like I have anyone at home waiting for me, Reid,” Luke shot back.
Reid was quiet for a minute. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Luke. You knew what you were getting into when we first started dating.”
Luke’s voice started to crack on the other end. “I’m not blaming you for anything. It’s my fault we never see each other anymore, according to you.”
Reid groaned. “Stop it with the histrionics, I never said that. I’m trying here, Luke. I’m making an attempt to have that nice, quiet evening you said you’ve been missing and you’re not helping at all!”
“It’s not that I’m trying to work against you, I just have work to do, too!” Luke said a little louder than intended.
“Okay. Well, you do your work and I’ll do mine. Will I see you tonight at all?”
“My calendar says it’s my night at your place, so I guess so.”
Reid rolled his eyes at the fact that Luke made it sound he was only coming over because it was penciled into his planner. Reid was really starting to hate those damn things. “See you then,” Reid grunted, and hung up the phone.
---
By the time Luke made it into Katie and Reid’s place, it was 8 PM and the roads were starting to ice up, the snow racing towards the ground, and the air growing colder by the second. He entered the living room to find Reid sitting at the table doing a crossword puzzle, the TV playing in the background.
“I thought you said newspaper crosswords were too easy?” Luke said, trying to sound lighthearted. He smiled slightly at the man who didn’t look up at him and sighed.
Reid shrugged. “I had a long day. Easy is okay sometimes.”
“It’s absolutely freezing out there. And you should see how hard it’s snowing!” Luke exclaimed.
Reid pointed out the window. “Yup, I see it. Right there. Snow. Wow.”
Luke took his coat off and slung it over the nearest kitchen chair. “Are you going to ask me how my meeting went?”
“Maybe later, I’ll have to check my calendar to see if I’m scheduled to do so,” Reid replied dryly. Luke rolled his eyes. The tension was so thick in the room it was hard to breathe.
“Did you talk to Leslie about seeing any more houses?” Reid asked to break the silence, continuing on with his crossword puzzle as Luke stood beside him.
“You were supposed to do that.”
“Since when?”
“Since I asked you to a week ago. You forgot?”
“Considering I just asked you if you did it I’d think that’s fairly obvious.”
“Are you planning to stop speaking to me like one of your nurses anytime soon?” Luke asked with a huff.
“Mm, because you’ve just been a peach to be around lately,” Reid countered.
“Maybe I would be if I didn’t spend every night alone.”
“You spent tonight in a meeting presumably with other people, so that’s a sucky excuse.”
“Kind of like how you missed last night’s dinner to go through paperwork?” Luke replied.
“I’m not going to justify that to you. I apologized for being late. I tried to take you out to make up for the time we’ve lost lately. I’m not going to bend over backwards trying to get you to smile. I do that with Jacob enough.”
Luke picked his coat back up and ran a frazzled hand through his hair. “You know what? I’m going home. When you decide to stop being an ass you can call me.”
“I’ll stop being an ass when you stop being a brat, Snyder. I’m sorry we can’t all be as god damn wonderful St. Luke Snyder,” he mocked harshly, looking up at Luke. He winced as he said it. When they fought, it was always more teasing than anything. That was decidedly more than just teasing.
He loved having little disagreements with Luke. They challenged each other and their mini-arguments were a trademark of their relationship from the start. They argued all the time about stupid shit, both loving every second of it. This, though? He hated this, because he felt like Luke genuinely couldn’t stand him right now, a thought that killed him.
Their fiery eyes met and flickered wildly before looking both toward the TV as a loud drone came bellowing out of the speakers. Luke walked over to get a closer look at the message on the screen and groaned.
“They’re declaring it a state of emergency. The roads are closed.”
Reid sighed tiredly. “I’ll walk to the Lakeview or something then, alright? Stay here.”
“What? No! You can’t go out in that weather!” Luke exclaimed nervously. He peered out the window and his eyes widened at how much more snow covered the ground then just a few moments before. “Why would you leave?”
Reid heaved out a heavy breath. “You obviously don’t want to be trapped with me right now. I’m not about to watch you go out into that storm.”
“I’ll stay,” Luke said quietly. “And I want you to stay, too,” he said, lightly grasping to Reid’s forearm. Reid nodded and sat down on the couch. Luke awkwardly plopped down beside him. They stared quietly at the screen for a moment and Reid let out a relenting sigh.
“How did your meeting go?” Reid asked. Luke smiled a little.
“It went well. I think I finally found the one.”
“I know I’ve been pissing you off lately, but you’re replacing me as the one already?” he teased, nudging Luke.
Luke laughed. “I meant the one who’s actually going to buy Grimaldi Shipping.”
They both fell silent again for a moment and Reid let out a bitter laugh. “We’ve both been wanting alone time and now that we have it we’re not taking advantage of it.”
“We’re kind of stubborn like that.”
“Stubborn? Moi?” Reid teased.
Luke’s lips formed a grin that turned into an apologetic smile. “I never said thank you for trying to take me to dinner tonight. I’m sorry I couldn’t go.”
Reid shrugged. “Now we’re even for missing dinners. No biggie.”
“Well… you’ve missed more dinners than I have lately,” Luke replied and giggled as Reid shot him a look. “Just fact, I’m not holding it against you, dear.”
Reid scratched his head. “I feel like you’ve really been… I don’t know, resenting me lately.”
“I never resent you for having to work. I love how devoted you are.”
“But you realize that I’m devoted to you more, right?” Reid asked. Luke kissed him gently.
“Of course,” he said. He paused. “If I say something can you promise not to get upset with me for it?”
“No. But go on,” Reid replied with a smug smile.
“We absolutely need to start making more of an effort to see each other. I’m not saying we should brush off our obligations, but we need more… more…”
“Balance,” Reid finished. “Have you been talking to Bob lately?” he laughed.
Luke cocked his head to the side. “No. Why?”
Reid waved it off. “Nothing. It just something he told me a long time ago about balancing work and family - that sentimental bullshit he loves so much.”
Luke beamed, and Reid laughed. “What is that look for?”
Luke squeezed his arm. “We’re a family?”
“Well duh,” Reid replied nonchalantly. “Even old married couples have nothing on us in the bickering department.”
“True. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch lately,” Luke said.
“So you admit it!” Reid exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. Luke slapped his arm playfully, and Reid straightened up, getting more serious. “I’m sorry too, Snyder.”
Luke looked outside the window. The amount of snow on the ground in such a short amount of time was mind-blowing. “Well, since we obviously won’t be going anywhere tonight - want to continue catching up in bed?”
“I love the way your brain works.”
Title: Storm-Stayed
Word count: 2,982
Genre/Type: Angst and Fluff at the same time, lol.
Rating: PG-13 for some language
Characters/Pairings: Reid/Luke
Warnings: None that I can think of, other than a little angst
Summary: Reid and Luke have been bickering a little about not being able to spend time together because of work and commitments. They find themselves snowed in at Katie's alone and are forced to talk and make-up.
Author's Notes: I've been working on this for a few days and still don't know if I really like it or not, lol! But, anyways, hope you enjoy! Comments are always appreciated.
------
Storm-Stayed
Reid walked in door at Lily’s house around 9 PM to find only Luke in the living room, sitting on the couch sideways with his legs crossed over the armrest, staring intently at his laptop.
“Guess I missed dinner,” Reid said softly.
Luke nodded, but didn’t look up. “Leftovers are in the refrigerator. Take your shoes off before you go in there.”
“Do you have a foot fetish all of the sudden?” Reid teased.
“No, I just don’t want you to track snow throughout the house,” Luke replied with no humor in his tone.
Reid raised an eyebrow, but kicked off his shoes anyway and made a beeline for the kitchen. “What are the leftovers of, anyway?” he called.
“Lasagna,” Luke replied more flatly than before.
Reid, for the first time in a long time, shut the refrigerator door without retrieving any food from it first. He went back into the living room, picked up Luke’s legs, and sat himself on the opposite side of the sofa from Luke, resting his legs onto his lap. He smiled softly at his boyfriend, who continued to stare at the screen of his laptop. “So… what ‘cha doing?” he asked.
“Playing chess,” Luke replied. Reid leaned over and looked at the screen to see Luke moving a pawn with a click on the keyboard.
“Why are you playing a computer game when we could play together?”
“When are you ever around to?” Luke replied, finally matching Reid’s eyes. His tone wasn’t angry, just… frustrated.
It had been like this for weeks, since just after Christmas. Just before the holiday they were together all of the time - they both had vacation days to use up before the year’s end, and after much coaxing on Luke’s part, Reid agreed to take the time off with him. They didn’t do anything special - they went Christmas shopping (not without a constant “All Christmas is, is one huge marketing ploy that makes one feel like a bad person if they don’t get a gift for their three hundred closest friends” buzzing in Luke’s ear from an all too familiar voice). They went house hunting (to no avail). They played chess. They spent a day or two (or three… or four) in bed. Regardless of what they were doing, though, they were doing it together, which was much needed for the couple comprised of two people with two very busy schedules.
All that time together then only highlighted how little they saw each other now. Luke wanted to sell Grimaldi Shipping and spent much of his time with realtors and potential buyers trying to do so. Being the new Chief of Staff and the head of the new wing, Reid was constantly either in surgery, in meetings, or doing rounds, with little to no break in between. Just like with most vacations, real life started up again all too soon and it was as though the vacation never happened at all. One had to look no further than their current conversation that had become a nightly ritual the past few weeks to see that the distance was starting to wear them thin.
“I know you wanted me to be here tonight,” Reid said gently.
Luke smiled sadly. “I always want you here.”
“I know.”
“So how did it go?” Luke asked, looking like he had relaxed a bit as Reid tenderly rubbed his leg. Reid slapped his leg playfully and stood back up.
“How did what go?” Reid replied as he once again attempted to go reheat some lasagna.
“Your surgery tonight.”
“I didn’t have any surgeries tonight,” Reid replied from the other room, watching his meal rotate in the microwave.
“But you were supposed to be here four hours ago. Isn’t that why you’re so late?” Luke asked, getting tense once again.
“No, I had a ton of paperwork to go through. Since the head of maternity went bat-shit crazy on us it’s been hell trying to find a replacement,” he explained as he brought his dinner back into the living room and resumed his spot on the sofa.
“So you’re saying that you could’ve come to dinner, you just didn’t,” Luke replied coldly.
Reid shook his head. “I had to get it finished before I left. It wasn’t fun, trust me.”
“But surely it was good enough to replace having to spend time with my mother over dinner, right?’
Reid rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t late on purpose and you know it,” he said with a full mouth.
Luke shrugged. “Whatever,” he said, snapping his laptop shut. “I’m just tired of having to go to functions alone, you know?”
Reid raised an eyebrow. “I went to the Grimaldi Shipping Holiday gala with you, I went to the Walsh Holiday party with you, I went to the Snyder Christmas party with you, I went to the Foundation Holiday gala with you, I went to New Year’s Eve at Metro with you…”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
“I’m not looking for appreciation, I’m just saying that despite what you’re saying, I go to as many functions as I can with you.”
“The last time we went out was New Year’s Eve. That was nearly two months ago. We haven’t had as much as a nice, quiet dinner alone in I don’t even know how long. It’s not even about the functions as much as I just feel like we never see each other anymore.” He said, his eyes drooping.
Reid let out a sigh and shrugged. “I… I know.” He rubbed his temples. “Maybe once you sell Grimaldi things will get less hectic and…”
“Oh, so it’s all my fault that we don’t see each other?” Luke snapped.
“What? No, that’s not what I said.”
Luke sighed. “I know. Sorry. But I have a headache and I just have to go to bed,” he replied, exasperated. He rose from the couch and headed towards the stairs.
“Do you feel okay otherwise?” Reid asked worriedly.
“Yes Doctor, I’m fine.”
“Okay, well, goodnight. I guess I’ll just head home when I’m finished,” Reid replied quietly, noticing the lack of invitation to join Luke in his bedroom.
“I guess you will. Goodnight.”
And with that, Reid was left in silence with his lasagna. Being alone with food wasn’t fun like it used to be.
He returned home about twenty minutes later to find a note on the kitchen table.
Reid - I wanted to say goodbye before we left for Disney World! ☹ I’m bummed. Anyway, our flight is leaving at 4 PM, it’s a two-hour flight, and there’s a one-hour time difference, so… you’re the smart one, you figure it out. Ha ha.
Expect plenty of texts to be flying your way for the next week! We’ll bring you back a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.
Love, Katie and Jacob
Reid looked on the Caller ID to see that no one had called while he was gone. In a split second he had his cell phone out, Katie on speed dial.
“Hello?” she answered.
“What the hell, Katie? You didn’t call to tell me you got there alright?” Reid practically yelled into the phone like a worried parent.
She tried to keep herself from laughing with no luck.
“It’s really not that funny,” Reid added.
“Ooh, somebody sounds a little grumpy,” she replied.
Reid sighed. “I’m fine. I take it you and Jacob made it there in one piece? Did his ears give him any trouble on the flight?”
“We’re fine, we even landed a little earlier than expected. Jacob did great, too - all your tips for his ears worked, as expected. We’re all settled into our hotel room and Casey and Ali have the room right next door.”
“Lucky you, you’ll be up all night with those two having sex romps in the next room over,” Reid replied.
“I’m used to it from you and Luke,” Katie shot back. “Anyway, everything is fine. Thank you for calling,” she said.
“Yup, well, you know - the rent is kind of expensive in this place. I needed to know if your plane went down in flames so I could prepare to start paying double my norm,” he cracked.
“I love you too, Reid. Goodnight,” she said, giggling.
“’Night,” he replied. As much as he adored Katie he couldn’t help but think about how he wished that was how he and Luke had ended their conversation.
-----
The next morning Reid called his assistant at that crack of dawn and cancelled whatever meetings he had scheduled after four in the afternoon. He figured if he blocked out his schedule from then on, he’d be able to make it out at a decent time and actually spend some time with his boyfriend. Enough was enough.
Around lunchtime he called Luke, anxious to hear him smiling through the phone as he told him that he had the whole night reserved for alone time. Instead, he was sent straight to voicemail.
“Ugh. I don’t know if you sent me to voicemail on purpose or if you’re just busy, but seriously, if you did it on purpose, you’re being a bitch.”
At that, Luke picked up the phone. “Excuse me?”
“I knew that would make you pick up,” Reid replied.
“I’m not being a bitch. What are you doing calling me in the middle of the day?” Luke asked. He still sounded pissed.
“Don’t I always call you at some point during the day?” Reid replied, furrowing his brow.
“No.”
“Okay,” Reid said awkwardly. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I cleared my schedule tonight and want to take you out to dinner. Wherever you want, you can pick,” he said.
“Reid!” Luke exclaimed, to Reid’s surprise, even still sounding pissed. “I can’t tonight. I have a meeting at five and I think it’s going to run late.”
“What are you doing scheduling meetings when you’re supposed to be leaving work?”
“It’s not like I have anyone at home waiting for me, Reid,” Luke shot back.
Reid was quiet for a minute. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Luke. You knew what you were getting into when we first started dating.”
Luke’s voice started to crack on the other end. “I’m not blaming you for anything. It’s my fault we never see each other anymore, according to you.”
Reid groaned. “Stop it with the histrionics, I never said that. I’m trying here, Luke. I’m making an attempt to have that nice, quiet evening you said you’ve been missing and you’re not helping at all!”
“It’s not that I’m trying to work against you, I just have work to do, too!” Luke said a little louder than intended.
“Okay. Well, you do your work and I’ll do mine. Will I see you tonight at all?”
“My calendar says it’s my night at your place, so I guess so.”
Reid rolled his eyes at the fact that Luke made it sound he was only coming over because it was penciled into his planner. Reid was really starting to hate those damn things. “See you then,” Reid grunted, and hung up the phone.
---
By the time Luke made it into Katie and Reid’s place, it was 8 PM and the roads were starting to ice up, the snow racing towards the ground, and the air growing colder by the second. He entered the living room to find Reid sitting at the table doing a crossword puzzle, the TV playing in the background.
“I thought you said newspaper crosswords were too easy?” Luke said, trying to sound lighthearted. He smiled slightly at the man who didn’t look up at him and sighed.
Reid shrugged. “I had a long day. Easy is okay sometimes.”
“It’s absolutely freezing out there. And you should see how hard it’s snowing!” Luke exclaimed.
Reid pointed out the window. “Yup, I see it. Right there. Snow. Wow.”
Luke took his coat off and slung it over the nearest kitchen chair. “Are you going to ask me how my meeting went?”
“Maybe later, I’ll have to check my calendar to see if I’m scheduled to do so,” Reid replied dryly. Luke rolled his eyes. The tension was so thick in the room it was hard to breathe.
“Did you talk to Leslie about seeing any more houses?” Reid asked to break the silence, continuing on with his crossword puzzle as Luke stood beside him.
“You were supposed to do that.”
“Since when?”
“Since I asked you to a week ago. You forgot?”
“Considering I just asked you if you did it I’d think that’s fairly obvious.”
“Are you planning to stop speaking to me like one of your nurses anytime soon?” Luke asked with a huff.
“Mm, because you’ve just been a peach to be around lately,” Reid countered.
“Maybe I would be if I didn’t spend every night alone.”
“You spent tonight in a meeting presumably with other people, so that’s a sucky excuse.”
“Kind of like how you missed last night’s dinner to go through paperwork?” Luke replied.
“I’m not going to justify that to you. I apologized for being late. I tried to take you out to make up for the time we’ve lost lately. I’m not going to bend over backwards trying to get you to smile. I do that with Jacob enough.”
Luke picked his coat back up and ran a frazzled hand through his hair. “You know what? I’m going home. When you decide to stop being an ass you can call me.”
“I’ll stop being an ass when you stop being a brat, Snyder. I’m sorry we can’t all be as god damn wonderful St. Luke Snyder,” he mocked harshly, looking up at Luke. He winced as he said it. When they fought, it was always more teasing than anything. That was decidedly more than just teasing.
He loved having little disagreements with Luke. They challenged each other and their mini-arguments were a trademark of their relationship from the start. They argued all the time about stupid shit, both loving every second of it. This, though? He hated this, because he felt like Luke genuinely couldn’t stand him right now, a thought that killed him.
Their fiery eyes met and flickered wildly before looking both toward the TV as a loud drone came bellowing out of the speakers. Luke walked over to get a closer look at the message on the screen and groaned.
“They’re declaring it a state of emergency. The roads are closed.”
Reid sighed tiredly. “I’ll walk to the Lakeview or something then, alright? Stay here.”
“What? No! You can’t go out in that weather!” Luke exclaimed nervously. He peered out the window and his eyes widened at how much more snow covered the ground then just a few moments before. “Why would you leave?”
Reid heaved out a heavy breath. “You obviously don’t want to be trapped with me right now. I’m not about to watch you go out into that storm.”
“I’ll stay,” Luke said quietly. “And I want you to stay, too,” he said, lightly grasping to Reid’s forearm. Reid nodded and sat down on the couch. Luke awkwardly plopped down beside him. They stared quietly at the screen for a moment and Reid let out a relenting sigh.
“How did your meeting go?” Reid asked. Luke smiled a little.
“It went well. I think I finally found the one.”
“I know I’ve been pissing you off lately, but you’re replacing me as the one already?” he teased, nudging Luke.
Luke laughed. “I meant the one who’s actually going to buy Grimaldi Shipping.”
They both fell silent again for a moment and Reid let out a bitter laugh. “We’ve both been wanting alone time and now that we have it we’re not taking advantage of it.”
“We’re kind of stubborn like that.”
“Stubborn? Moi?” Reid teased.
Luke’s lips formed a grin that turned into an apologetic smile. “I never said thank you for trying to take me to dinner tonight. I’m sorry I couldn’t go.”
Reid shrugged. “Now we’re even for missing dinners. No biggie.”
“Well… you’ve missed more dinners than I have lately,” Luke replied and giggled as Reid shot him a look. “Just fact, I’m not holding it against you, dear.”
Reid scratched his head. “I feel like you’ve really been… I don’t know, resenting me lately.”
“I never resent you for having to work. I love how devoted you are.”
“But you realize that I’m devoted to you more, right?” Reid asked. Luke kissed him gently.
“Of course,” he said. He paused. “If I say something can you promise not to get upset with me for it?”
“No. But go on,” Reid replied with a smug smile.
“We absolutely need to start making more of an effort to see each other. I’m not saying we should brush off our obligations, but we need more… more…”
“Balance,” Reid finished. “Have you been talking to Bob lately?” he laughed.
Luke cocked his head to the side. “No. Why?”
Reid waved it off. “Nothing. It just something he told me a long time ago about balancing work and family - that sentimental bullshit he loves so much.”
Luke beamed, and Reid laughed. “What is that look for?”
Luke squeezed his arm. “We’re a family?”
“Well duh,” Reid replied nonchalantly. “Even old married couples have nothing on us in the bickering department.”
“True. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch lately,” Luke said.
“So you admit it!” Reid exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. Luke slapped his arm playfully, and Reid straightened up, getting more serious. “I’m sorry too, Snyder.”
Luke looked outside the window. The amount of snow on the ground in such a short amount of time was mind-blowing. “Well, since we obviously won’t be going anywhere tonight - want to continue catching up in bed?”
“I love the way your brain works.”