Fic: Coming Home 9/?
Author: PABWECG (aka Patricia)
Title: Coming Home
Genre/Type: Romance
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Luke/Noah, Lily/Holden, Katie, Casey, Bob, assorted little people, possibly others
Warnings: None really, except some Nuke intimacy
Disclaimer: I don't own Luke, Reid, Noah, or anyone else...they all belong to ATWT, and CBS.
Summary: Luke and Noah moved to L.A. in the Summer of 2009 for Noah to do his last year of school with an internship of sorts (no Mason, no blindness, etc. Everything else in their history has happened). Reid arrived, temporarily, at Memorial in August 2010.
It’s now October 2010. Luke is 22, Ethan is 6.
Thanks to Slayerkitty for being my beta!
Previous Chapters: 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/
Chapter 9
He is the love of my life. He is the love of my life. He kept repeating it, like a mantra, over and over in his head, as he tied Noah’s tie, not looking up at Noah’s face. Last night was just attraction; just lust, not anything else. He loved Noah, was committed to him, and to their life together. It must have been the environment last night that made him think he had a deeper connection to Reid; it was the party, the music, the starlight…his eyes, his voice, his lips…oh God. He could feel himself harden again. Again, really? I just got out of the shower. He thought once he had taken care of his “little problem” he could put last night’s events with reid into some perspective; see them for the meaningless, shallow feelings that they must be. What he felt last night was like nothing he ever felt for Noah, so how could it be anything resembling love?
He concentrated on what his hands were doing. This is how they shared their first kiss; looking at Noah, now, he sees that he is thinking about the same thing. In a reversal of that first time, Luke reaches up and kisses Noah. Trying to erase Reid from his lips, from his thoughts, he deepens the kiss. Noah seems glad and pulls him closer. His erection is pressing against Noah’s thigh, and he wants, he wants…God, he wants a very different blue-eyed man; he can’t do this…he pulls back. “I’m sorry Noah.”
“Why?” Luke sees many emotions on Noah’s face. He is very guarded, but Luke can see it: pain, sadness, fear, anger. “What are you sorry about? Kissing me? Not kissing me?” He manages a smile. “I’m your boyfriend, Luke. You don’t need to apologize for kissing me.”
“I know…I just. Well, there are still probably lots of things to get done before the ceremony, and my dad’s probably waiting for me. This isn’t the best time to be…um, well, you know.”
Noah put on a smile, and not for the first time Luke wonders if he somehow knows. “Okay. I understand. Let’s go downstairs then.”
Reid buckled Jacob into his car seat, as Katie placed the box with her potato salad in it on the floor behind the drivers seat; then she gave her son a quick tickle under his chin before closing the car door, and getting in front to drive. She hasn’t been to a potluck wedding reception in a long time, and she never thought she’d attend a Snyder-Walsh event that wasn’t expensively well catered. However, she was impressed when Lily and Holden had requested that guests not bring presents. “Your presence will be enough of a gift”, Holden had said, “and perhaps that famous potato salad of yours to bring to the reception - it’s a potluck. Nothing fancy this time.” He'd smiled a very contented smile.
They drove in silence, Katie feeling so grateful to be a part of this big-hearted Snyder clan, for both herself and Jacob; she knew they would both always be welcome in any Snyder home. Reid was thinking about a very particular member of the Snyder clan, feeling the anticipation building knowing he would finally see Luke again. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling this, but hearts have a difficult time following rules. Last night had been crazy - irresponsible, really. If Luke hadn’t pulled away when he did, would Reid have stopped them before they had gone much further? They had already gone further than they should have. But, he couldn’t help but wonder; if Luke was happy with Noah, then why was he with him last night instead of eagerly waiting for Noah to arrive? Reid realized suddenly, as if for the first time, they he would be meeting Noah - Luke’s boyfriend - any moment now. What was Luke feeling right now? Was he anticipating this moment also? Or was he with Noah, right now, regretting - or worse, forgetting - what had happened last night? Reid was filled with intense, irrational jealousy, not sure if he wanted Katie to turn around or to hurry the hell up.
“So,” Casey said as he watched Luke rearrange the flowers that were supposed to be hanging off the chairs on the end of each row for at least the third time. “How you doin’ this morning?” Luke continued to struggle with one in particular, with a scowl on his face. “Luke?”
“What?” Luke clipped. He looked anything but happy on this his parents’ wedding day, and Casey didn’t think Luke’s emotional state had anything to do with the many times his parents had been down this particular aisle. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Luke asked.
“I’m just looking," Casey began. "So, how was last night?” He asked, continuing to look directly at Luke. “Anything happen?”
“What? What do you mean? There was a party, it ended, and we went home.”
“Ha! Right. Okay, now the real answer.” Luke looked at him incredulously. “This is me, remember? Casey, your best friend? The one you can’t pull anything over on?” Luke rolled his eyes. “So, okay, that’s better. What. Happened?”
“Nothing.” Luke flopped down in the nearest chair. “Jesus, I wish nothing happened. No, I don’t. We kissed. God, Casey! It was…oh God, it was…”
“Dude, you don’t need to say. I can see it on your face.” He watched as Luke blushed. “And I could see it last night, which is why I offered to drive you home by the way - not that I believed for a second you’d take me up on that offer. So, now what?”
“What do you mean, ‘now what’? Now I pretend it never happened, I forget about it. Especially since he’s going to be here today.”
“Yeah, he is…and so is Noah. You haven’t said anything to him, I’m assuming.”
“No, I haven’t. Sometimes I think he might know, but that makes no sense, so…anyway, last night was just a highly-charged…”
“You can say that again! Damn, the electricity on that dance floor…”
“Casey, no…I meant that last night was just about attraction and lust, not love like I have with Noah. I’m sure that when I see Reid today, in the daylight, with Noah by my side, he won’t have the same effect on me.” He stood taller, as if to convince himself that he was sure about this.
“Whatever you say, Dude…but I don’t know...” He looked up and realized - for the second time this week - that Luke was not listening to him. Luke’s mouth had dropped open, and his eyes were smiling; he knew, without turning around, who had arrived. This was not a look Luke ever reserved for Noah. This Luke looked a lot like yesterday’s Luke.
Reid had spotted him as soon as he’d gotten out of the car. He watched Luke speaking to Casey for a moment; a small but significant smile breaking out on Reid's face as he saw the way the bright sun of the fall day sparkled in Luke’s hair. And Luke was dressed…really dressed. He looked good in his suit. But his smile was missing, and that made Reid’s brow furrow. He wanted to know why Luke wasn’t smiling. He wanted to fix it.
“Reid, would you mind getting Jacob out, while I bring the food inside? Reid? Why are you just…who are you…?” She followed his gaze. “Oh.”
“Huh? What did you…?” Reid bumbled along, turning part way towards Katie, but keeping his eyes on Luke.
She walked up close to him. He could feel her presence, but couldn’t remove his eyes from Luke, who seemed to sense Reid and looked over at him. And there was his smile. It was small, but oh it was there. Did I do that? He wasn’t smiling, and now he is…at me. Oh God, what that smile does to me.
He’s here. He’s finally here. What’s taken him so long? Didn’t he know I was waiting for him? Luke looked him up and down, admiring his gorgeous body, standing in the sunlight; he looked into to his eyes, those intense eyes looking back at him. God, I’ve missed him. I need to touch him…just hold him, that’s all. He began walking towards Reid.
“Whoa, Dude. What’re you doing? You can’t just walk over there right now…looking at him like that.” Luke looked at Casey, like he was surprised to see him standing there. “Hey, look at me.” Casey looked him in the eye. “You okay?”
Luke looked back at Reid, who was now carrying Jacob towards a group of the seats. “God, Case. I thought it was just last night, some sort of spell I was under. But he looks just as beautiful today. What am I going to do?” He looked pleadingly at Casey.
“Right now? You’re going to stand up front and be your Dad’s best man. It’s time. I see your parents coming out of the house now…oh, and Noah too.”
Luke looked up suddenly. “What? Oh God, here he comes.” Luke looked over at Noah, who was heading his way, with a big smile on his face.
Reid passed Jacob over to Katie as he watched a tall dark haired man approach Luke. So, this is Noah. The man smiled at Luke, and Luke returned an unsure smile. Reid saw Noah reach out to adjust Luke’s tie; Luke took his hands, looking down at his tie, and shook his head. It looked like Luke whispered “It’s fine, Noah.” Noah’s smile fell for a moment, before being replaced by one that looked as equally forced as the first one. Noah said something else to Luke, and again Luke shook his head ‘No, thanks’ before Noah turned around to take his seat. That’s when he saw him. He seemed shocked to see Reid (Has he seen me before?), looked like he wanted to kill him, and just as quickly the look disappeared from Noah’s face. He smiled blandly at a few people before finally sitting down a few rows in front of Reid and Katie. Luke studiously avoided Reid’s gaze. A quiet piece of music, played on the piano and violin, announced that Lily and Holden were about to process down the aisle together. Everyone turned in their direction.
Reid was watching Lily and Holden approach, but he could feel two sets of eyes on him. As the couple walked past him and Katie, Reid turned around. His eyes met Luke’s and locked for a moment or two; he could feel his pulse racing, could see the light in Luke’s eyes, could tell he was breathing just as fast. And there was that small smile again, that smile that seemed to be just for him. Luke looked over at Noah suddenly, and so did Reid - Noah had seen, that much was clear. Reid returned his gaze to Luke, who was studying his hands, or the ground, obvious shame and confusion written all over his face. He seemed to recover some of his composure, before lifting his head again to smile genuinely upon his parents.
next part/
Title: Coming Home
Genre/Type: Romance
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Luke/Noah, Lily/Holden, Katie, Casey, Bob, assorted little people, possibly others
Warnings: None really, except some Nuke intimacy
Disclaimer: I don't own Luke, Reid, Noah, or anyone else...they all belong to ATWT, and CBS.
Summary: Luke and Noah moved to L.A. in the Summer of 2009 for Noah to do his last year of school with an internship of sorts (no Mason, no blindness, etc. Everything else in their history has happened). Reid arrived, temporarily, at Memorial in August 2010.
It’s now October 2010. Luke is 22, Ethan is 6.
Thanks to Slayerkitty for being my beta!
Previous Chapters: 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8/
Chapter 9
He is the love of my life. He is the love of my life. He kept repeating it, like a mantra, over and over in his head, as he tied Noah’s tie, not looking up at Noah’s face. Last night was just attraction; just lust, not anything else. He loved Noah, was committed to him, and to their life together. It must have been the environment last night that made him think he had a deeper connection to Reid; it was the party, the music, the starlight…his eyes, his voice, his lips…oh God. He could feel himself harden again. Again, really? I just got out of the shower. He thought once he had taken care of his “little problem” he could put last night’s events with reid into some perspective; see them for the meaningless, shallow feelings that they must be. What he felt last night was like nothing he ever felt for Noah, so how could it be anything resembling love?
He concentrated on what his hands were doing. This is how they shared their first kiss; looking at Noah, now, he sees that he is thinking about the same thing. In a reversal of that first time, Luke reaches up and kisses Noah. Trying to erase Reid from his lips, from his thoughts, he deepens the kiss. Noah seems glad and pulls him closer. His erection is pressing against Noah’s thigh, and he wants, he wants…God, he wants a very different blue-eyed man; he can’t do this…he pulls back. “I’m sorry Noah.”
“Why?” Luke sees many emotions on Noah’s face. He is very guarded, but Luke can see it: pain, sadness, fear, anger. “What are you sorry about? Kissing me? Not kissing me?” He manages a smile. “I’m your boyfriend, Luke. You don’t need to apologize for kissing me.”
“I know…I just. Well, there are still probably lots of things to get done before the ceremony, and my dad’s probably waiting for me. This isn’t the best time to be…um, well, you know.”
Noah put on a smile, and not for the first time Luke wonders if he somehow knows. “Okay. I understand. Let’s go downstairs then.”
Reid buckled Jacob into his car seat, as Katie placed the box with her potato salad in it on the floor behind the drivers seat; then she gave her son a quick tickle under his chin before closing the car door, and getting in front to drive. She hasn’t been to a potluck wedding reception in a long time, and she never thought she’d attend a Snyder-Walsh event that wasn’t expensively well catered. However, she was impressed when Lily and Holden had requested that guests not bring presents. “Your presence will be enough of a gift”, Holden had said, “and perhaps that famous potato salad of yours to bring to the reception - it’s a potluck. Nothing fancy this time.” He'd smiled a very contented smile.
They drove in silence, Katie feeling so grateful to be a part of this big-hearted Snyder clan, for both herself and Jacob; she knew they would both always be welcome in any Snyder home. Reid was thinking about a very particular member of the Snyder clan, feeling the anticipation building knowing he would finally see Luke again. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling this, but hearts have a difficult time following rules. Last night had been crazy - irresponsible, really. If Luke hadn’t pulled away when he did, would Reid have stopped them before they had gone much further? They had already gone further than they should have. But, he couldn’t help but wonder; if Luke was happy with Noah, then why was he with him last night instead of eagerly waiting for Noah to arrive? Reid realized suddenly, as if for the first time, they he would be meeting Noah - Luke’s boyfriend - any moment now. What was Luke feeling right now? Was he anticipating this moment also? Or was he with Noah, right now, regretting - or worse, forgetting - what had happened last night? Reid was filled with intense, irrational jealousy, not sure if he wanted Katie to turn around or to hurry the hell up.
“So,” Casey said as he watched Luke rearrange the flowers that were supposed to be hanging off the chairs on the end of each row for at least the third time. “How you doin’ this morning?” Luke continued to struggle with one in particular, with a scowl on his face. “Luke?”
“What?” Luke clipped. He looked anything but happy on this his parents’ wedding day, and Casey didn’t think Luke’s emotional state had anything to do with the many times his parents had been down this particular aisle. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Luke asked.
“I’m just looking," Casey began. "So, how was last night?” He asked, continuing to look directly at Luke. “Anything happen?”
“What? What do you mean? There was a party, it ended, and we went home.”
“Ha! Right. Okay, now the real answer.” Luke looked at him incredulously. “This is me, remember? Casey, your best friend? The one you can’t pull anything over on?” Luke rolled his eyes. “So, okay, that’s better. What. Happened?”
“Nothing.” Luke flopped down in the nearest chair. “Jesus, I wish nothing happened. No, I don’t. We kissed. God, Casey! It was…oh God, it was…”
“Dude, you don’t need to say. I can see it on your face.” He watched as Luke blushed. “And I could see it last night, which is why I offered to drive you home by the way - not that I believed for a second you’d take me up on that offer. So, now what?”
“What do you mean, ‘now what’? Now I pretend it never happened, I forget about it. Especially since he’s going to be here today.”
“Yeah, he is…and so is Noah. You haven’t said anything to him, I’m assuming.”
“No, I haven’t. Sometimes I think he might know, but that makes no sense, so…anyway, last night was just a highly-charged…”
“You can say that again! Damn, the electricity on that dance floor…”
“Casey, no…I meant that last night was just about attraction and lust, not love like I have with Noah. I’m sure that when I see Reid today, in the daylight, with Noah by my side, he won’t have the same effect on me.” He stood taller, as if to convince himself that he was sure about this.
“Whatever you say, Dude…but I don’t know...” He looked up and realized - for the second time this week - that Luke was not listening to him. Luke’s mouth had dropped open, and his eyes were smiling; he knew, without turning around, who had arrived. This was not a look Luke ever reserved for Noah. This Luke looked a lot like yesterday’s Luke.
Reid had spotted him as soon as he’d gotten out of the car. He watched Luke speaking to Casey for a moment; a small but significant smile breaking out on Reid's face as he saw the way the bright sun of the fall day sparkled in Luke’s hair. And Luke was dressed…really dressed. He looked good in his suit. But his smile was missing, and that made Reid’s brow furrow. He wanted to know why Luke wasn’t smiling. He wanted to fix it.
“Reid, would you mind getting Jacob out, while I bring the food inside? Reid? Why are you just…who are you…?” She followed his gaze. “Oh.”
“Huh? What did you…?” Reid bumbled along, turning part way towards Katie, but keeping his eyes on Luke.
She walked up close to him. He could feel her presence, but couldn’t remove his eyes from Luke, who seemed to sense Reid and looked over at him. And there was his smile. It was small, but oh it was there. Did I do that? He wasn’t smiling, and now he is…at me. Oh God, what that smile does to me.
He’s here. He’s finally here. What’s taken him so long? Didn’t he know I was waiting for him? Luke looked him up and down, admiring his gorgeous body, standing in the sunlight; he looked into to his eyes, those intense eyes looking back at him. God, I’ve missed him. I need to touch him…just hold him, that’s all. He began walking towards Reid.
“Whoa, Dude. What’re you doing? You can’t just walk over there right now…looking at him like that.” Luke looked at Casey, like he was surprised to see him standing there. “Hey, look at me.” Casey looked him in the eye. “You okay?”
Luke looked back at Reid, who was now carrying Jacob towards a group of the seats. “God, Case. I thought it was just last night, some sort of spell I was under. But he looks just as beautiful today. What am I going to do?” He looked pleadingly at Casey.
“Right now? You’re going to stand up front and be your Dad’s best man. It’s time. I see your parents coming out of the house now…oh, and Noah too.”
Luke looked up suddenly. “What? Oh God, here he comes.” Luke looked over at Noah, who was heading his way, with a big smile on his face.
Reid passed Jacob over to Katie as he watched a tall dark haired man approach Luke. So, this is Noah. The man smiled at Luke, and Luke returned an unsure smile. Reid saw Noah reach out to adjust Luke’s tie; Luke took his hands, looking down at his tie, and shook his head. It looked like Luke whispered “It’s fine, Noah.” Noah’s smile fell for a moment, before being replaced by one that looked as equally forced as the first one. Noah said something else to Luke, and again Luke shook his head ‘No, thanks’ before Noah turned around to take his seat. That’s when he saw him. He seemed shocked to see Reid (Has he seen me before?), looked like he wanted to kill him, and just as quickly the look disappeared from Noah’s face. He smiled blandly at a few people before finally sitting down a few rows in front of Reid and Katie. Luke studiously avoided Reid’s gaze. A quiet piece of music, played on the piano and violin, announced that Lily and Holden were about to process down the aisle together. Everyone turned in their direction.
Reid was watching Lily and Holden approach, but he could feel two sets of eyes on him. As the couple walked past him and Katie, Reid turned around. His eyes met Luke’s and locked for a moment or two; he could feel his pulse racing, could see the light in Luke’s eyes, could tell he was breathing just as fast. And there was that small smile again, that smile that seemed to be just for him. Luke looked over at Noah suddenly, and so did Reid - Noah had seen, that much was clear. Reid returned his gaze to Luke, who was studying his hands, or the ground, obvious shame and confusion written all over his face. He seemed to recover some of his composure, before lifting his head again to smile genuinely upon his parents.
next part/