I Believe You
Title: I Believe You
Written By: bluemagicrose
Category: General
Rating: PG-13, for language
Author's Notes: Thank you to the wonderful marsabi for being my beta. Sorry for the horrible that is the title.
“But he has nowhere else to go.”
Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver were in their kitchen making dinner. Reid had gotten home early from the hospital for once and Luke thought it would be a nice, couple-ly thing to do.
“Why can’t he go back to your mother’s house?” Reid was highly annoyed by the conversation. He and Noah Mayer weren’t getting along any better and he plainly didn’t like the thought of living with his boyfriend’s ex.
“Because it’ll be awkward. My ex-boyfriend living with my mother.”
“Oh, but your ex-boyfriend staying with you and your new boyfriend isn’t?” Reid gave Luke an incredulous look.
“It’ll only be for a few weeks. A month tops. He can’t afford the rent at the apartment he used to share with Alison. With her and Casey in Carbondale he has to find a new place he can afford.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Luke.”
“Look, I know it’ll be uncomfortable as hell.” Luke left his position at the stove and stepped close to Reid by the sink. He wrapped his arms around the older man’s waist and pulled him close. “But he’s my friend. And he needs help. I don’t know Reid. All this really good stuff has been happening to us lately. I just, I dunno. I-”
“Feel guilty?”
“Yeah. A little bit.”
The two held each other close, their foreheads touching.
“We just got this place for ourselves Luke.” When Katie Snyder moved into a house with Chris Hughes she gave Reid the lease to the apartment. Reid asked Luke to move in that same day. They both signed their names to the lease.
“I know. One month. Tops.” Luke moved his hands to Reid’s face and brought their lips together. The kisses were urgent but soft. Reid pulled back and looking into Luke’s big brown eyes for a long time.
“I want morning sex.”
“What?” A smile broke out on Luke’s face.
“I want morning sex. Every single day that he’s here. I want you on top of me. Me on top of you. I want one of us to wake up to the other giving him a blowjob. I take that back. I want to be the one waking up to a blow job every morning.”
“Reid,” Luke said, laughing. “He’ll hear us.”
“I don’t care. Those are the conditions Blondie. You want Noah to stay with us until he can find a place of his own, I want morning sex. Deal?”
Luke rolled his eyes and somehow pulled their bodies closer.
“Deal.”
+++
Reid hated late emergency surgeries. It was at the end of a long day, usually with a staff that wasn’t quite competent enough to make his first team. Often, he had to deal with a family that was panicked and not thinking clearly. And even if he did everything right, it didn’t always end the way he wanted it to, the way he expected it to.
Unfortunately the person was never in the OR in time. That was the part that Reid hated the most, if he would have gotten a patient just five or ten minutes earlier, he could have saved them.
But the main reason Reid hated late night emergency surgeries were because he wouldn’t be home with Luke. His boyfriend Luke. Reid still couldn’t believe he said things like that. He hated being apart from him so long. They both had busy careers, so any time they could be together was very much wanted.
But lately Reid and Luke hadn’t been spending so much time alone. With Noah living with them “for only a few weeks,” every time Reid got home Noah was there. He and Luke were watching a movie, or a television show, or reliving some part of their history. Reid would roll his eyes at this, but Luke would laugh, give Reid an earth shattering kiss, and continue on with Noah.
And truthfully Noah wasn’t that bad of a roommate. He didn’t make a mess and always made sure to clean up after himself. He made sure to give Reid money every week (always making sure Luke wasn’t around because Luke wouldn’t accept it). And he pretended to not hear when Luke and Reid had sex the night before or the morning of. It wasn’t as bad at Reid thought it would be, but he still couldn’t wait for Noah Mayer to be out of their apartment.
+++
Tonight had been difficult. Reid’s shift ended at 9 PM, but a five car accident prevented Reid from leaving the hospital at that time. One of the victims had needed a surgery that took four hours. When Reid successfully completed the surgery he spent the next hour explaining things to the family.
He usually didn’t do this, but the patient was a 23 year old blond man that reminded him of Luke. Ever since he and Luke got together he had slowly become more sympathetic to his patients. Nicer to interns and nurses. Respectful of the older brass at the hospital.
When he finally left the hospital a little after 2 AM he sped home, nobody else on the road. All he wanted to do was fall into bed, pull Luke close, and sleep for the next 10 hours. When he walked into the apartment everything was dark. Reid kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket onto the back of the couch. He quietly walked fast to the bedroom, hoping that Luke was awake.
Sometimes Luke tried to stay up when Reid had late night surgeries, and if it didn’t go too long he would manage. They usually ended up having sex. Even when Luke was asleep, Reid woke him up and they would have sex. They had sex a lot.
Reid opened the door to the bedroom and stopped. Luke was indeed asleep. Peacefully, at that. But next to him was Noah. Noah Mayer, Luke’s ex-boyfriend. Noah Mayer, the person Reid and Luke were nice enough to take in. He was sleeping, his arm thrown over Luke, looking…comfortable.
Reid stood there and watched them for a long time. So many things went through his mind - Luke and Noah are back together, they’re in our bed, we’re not an our anymore, I’m going to kill Noah - that he couldn’t move. He just stood there and watched them sleeping. From somewhere the word “Luke” was uttered and it took Reid a moment to realize it was from him. He kept saying it, quietly but forcefully, until he saw Luke stirring in the bed.
“Luke. Luke. Luke.”
The blond blinked a few times and wiped his eyes lazily. The first thing he saw was Reid and he smiled.
“Reid! Heeeey.” Luke always dragged his words out when he just woke up.
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you over there?” Reid’s left hand was tapping his thigh forcefully, making a slight dull sound. Luke was barely awake but he could see the anger in Reid’s eyes.
“Why don’t you ask Noah.”
“Noah? Why would-” Luke didn’t finish his sentence. He felt the heavy weight of an arm on his hips. He turned his head slightly and looked behind him, blinking a few times in confusion and then it hit him. He jumped out of bed quickly, a look of panic on his face. His eyes looked from Reid to Noah to Reid again. He went to walk over to Reid but Reid extended his arms to stop Luke.
“Don’t.” Reid closed his eyes. This is not what he wanted to be dealing with after a long late night surgery.
“Reid, I don’t-”
“You know, if you wanted to get back with him all you had to do was break up with me. You didn’t have to fuck him in our bed.”
“What!” Luke exclaimed. He didn’t understand what was going on. He didn’t go to bed with Noah and he certainly didn’t have sex with him.
“I can’t believe-”
“No. No, Reid. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t have sex with Noah.”
“Really? Because the two of you are in bed together Luke. He’s was holding you. I…I can’t be here right now.” Reid turned around and walked out of the room. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch but before he could walk out, Luke grabbed him and turned him around, almost pinning him against the door.
“Wait, Reid. Please.”
“Don’t you fucking touch me.” Reid’s voice was calm but dangerous. “Let me go Luke. If I stay here I’m going to do something that I regret.”
Luke was scared. He had never seen Reid like this before. He slowly moved back away from Reid.
“I love you. God, you know I love you. Please, just let me explain. I would never hurt you Reid.” Tears were starting to form. He was still confused about everything.
“You were in bed with another man. How does that not hurt me again?” Reid’s left leg was now shaking. He was oblivious to it.
“I swear to you Reid. I swear. I wasn’t with Noah. I don’t know how he got there.”
“Right. Okay, I’m leaving. Have fun with-”
“Just let me explain!” Luke couldn’t let Reid walk out that door. He had a feeling that if Reid left he wouldn’t be coming back. “Just let me try to explain. Please Reid. Please.”
“How the hell are you going to explain this Luke? You were in bed-”
“I know.”
“-with Noah.”
“I know. But it’s not what you think.”
Reid laughed. All he could do was laugh. If he didn’t laugh he knew he would cry. Reid took a few deep breaths and shook his head. He couldn’t believe that he was about to stand here and listen to Luke try to explain what happened.
“Okay Luke. How did Noah get in our bed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Terrific answer. Really.” Reid turned around and put his hand on the door knob.
“Wait! Please, just wait. Let me-”
“If you say explain one more time Luke I swear to God.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll…I’ll just talk through it.” Luke took a deep breath. He needed to calm his emotions before trying to figure out what happened. “You called last night. At 10, 10:30. You said you had an emergency surgery.”
“I know what happened on my end Luke.” Reid closed his eyes. Half of him wanted to hear Luke’s explanation, half of him wanted to get out, go to Yo’s, and get drunk.
“Okay. So when you called I was working on that story for that creative writing class I’m taking at Oakdale U. I continued writing that while and then me and…Noah…watched TV.” Luke hesitated before and after saying Noah’s name. He saw Reid flinched when he heard it.
“Okay.”
“Well, we watched “The Daily Show.” And then “The Colbert Report.” But Stephen was interviewing some guy I didn’t want to hear from, some ultra conservative guy.”
“I don’t care Luke.”
“So I saved my story and turned off my laptop and said goodnight to Noah and went to our bedroom. I put on this,” Luke motioned to his clothes, red and white checkered boxers and one of Reid’s old Harvard shirts, “and brushed my teeth and got into bed on your side. I read a chapter of that new book you bought me and then I sent you that text. You got the text, right?”
“Yeah, I got the text.” It was just a simple love you that Luke texted Reid a few hours ago. Reid had felt special when he read it. A little text from Luke made him feel special.
“And then I went to sleep. I turned off the lights and turned on my side like I always do and went to sleep. That’s it. I didn’t go to bed with Noah.”
Reid shook his head back and forth slowly. The emotional part of him believed Luke. The logical part of him didn’t. He didn’t know what to do.
“Luke,” Reid said as a sigh.
“I swear to God, Reid. I swear to God. I went to bed alone. He was not there.” The tears in Luke’s eyes were back and a few slip down his cheeks. “Why would I do it here? If I wanted to be with Noah, why would I do it here? In our bedroom? Why, why wouldn’t I go to the Lakeview? Or my mother’s house? Or anywhere else but here? Why would I send you the text? Why would I put on your clothes?”
The two of them stared at each other. Luke was crying now, not bothering to wipe away the tears. The old Harvard shirt was getting wetter and wetter. Reid blinked rapidly a few times. He could feel the strange sensation of tears wanting to start up in his tear ducts, but he wasn’t going to let them.
“I love you. I love you with everything in me. I couldn’t hurt you like that. You know me, Reid. I could never hurt you like that.” The two continued to stare at each other, but Luke suddenly felt safe enough to take a step towards Reid. Reid didn’t stop him.
“It was a mistake, letting Noah come stay with us. I’ll admit to that. It was a mistake. But Reid, I never had sex with him. I don’t want to be with him. I want to be with you. I need to be with you.”
Luke was close enough now to Reid that their bodies were just barely touching. He cautiously wrapped his arms around Reid’s waist. Reid’s hand automatically cupped Luke’s face and he looked into Luke’s eyes for a long time, softly stroking his cheek.
“Reid, I-”
“I believe you.” Reid didn’t know what it was he saw in Luke’s eyes. Maybe it was sincerity. Maybe it was honesty. He just knew that Luke wouldn’t hurt him like that. He knew Luke wouldn’t cheat on him. He knew Luke wanted him, not Noah.
Luke was shocked. He took several quick deep breaths, not sure if he would be able to continue standing.
“What?”
“I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else. You wouldn’t betray that.”
“Reid.” Luke started bounce a little bit. He couldn’t control his body anymore.
“And I love you too.” Reid’s voice started to crack. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. You’re everything to me.”
Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He kissed Reid quickly and forcefully, several times on the lips, a few on his cheeks, his nose, his eyes, and his neck. Luke buried his head into the crook of Reid’s neck, needing to be close to him. The two held each other.
“I love you.” Reid murmured, while kissing Luke’s neck. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“I love you too.” Luke spoke up softly.
The two had no idea how long there were standing there, but a voice brought them out of their own little bubble.
“What happened? What did I miss?” Simply hearing Noah’s voice made bile rise up in Reid’s throat. But before he could say anything he felt Luke whirl around quickly and heard him speak, his voice loud and clear and filled with anger.
“Get the fuck out of my home!” Luke almost never used profanity, so it surprised both Reid and Noah.
“What Luke?” Noah asked.
“You heard me. I said get the fuck out of my home. Get your stuff and get out!”
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit overly dramatic Luke?”
“Get out!” Luke started to run towards Noah. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he got to his ex, he just knew it wasn’t good. But before he got there he felt a strong pair of arms around his waist, holding him back.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Reid pressed a kiss into Luke’s cheek, trying to calm him down. “I’m right here.”
“It’s not okay Reid. He needs to get out. I want him out now.”
“I would suggest Mr. Mayer,” Reid said slowly, “that you get your things and leave. Now.”
“I don’t even know what’s going on. Are you two fighting or something?”
Luke’s anger had risen greatly. He was about to force Noah out when he heard Reid laughing. Luke turned to look at Reid and so did Noah, his eyes reluctantly leaving Luke.
Reid couldn’t stop laughing. It all hit him like an epiphany. He had figured it out.
“Oh, it was a good plan you had Noah. A damn good plan.”
“I don’t know what you’re-”
“You knew Luke would feel guilty about you losing your apartment. You knew he would want to help you. You preyed on his generosity and kindness.”
“I have no idea-”
“You subtly dropped it into the conversation, didn’t you. ‘Maybe I could stay with you and Reid’ or something like that. You knew Luke would ask me if I was alright with you staying here for a few weeks. And you know I wouldn’t say no to Luke.” Reid laughed again, tightening his hold on Luke’s waist.
“So you move in here, and you become the perfect roommate. You pretend not to hate me as much as I know you to. You help out around here, helping us cook and clean. You tell Luke that you never hear us having sex, although I know that’s a lie because the walls are as thin as paper.”
“Reid, what are you talking about?” Luke turned as much as he could to face Reid.
“Don’t you see it Luke? He was waiting for a night like this. He pretends that’s everything is alright with all of us, he shows you that he’s changed, that he isn’t an ass anymore. Yes, Luke has told me all about how you were a shitty boyfriend.”
“You would know about asses, wouldn’t you Reid?”
Reid chuckled at Noah’s comment. “Oh, there are so many ways I could go with that. All I’ll say is that as least I’m not a terrible boyfriend.”
Noah squinted at Reid.
“You were waiting for a night where I’d have an emergency surgery. Where I’d be at the hospital, when Luke went to bed. You waited until he was asleep and then you slowly crept into our room. You got into our bed behind Luke and waited until I got home and saw the two of you in there together. Were you even asleep?”
Noah turned his attention away from Reid and back to Luke. He could see the color had left Luke’s face, but his eyes were wide with fire.
“Luke, don’t-”
“You know,” Reid continued, “I almost can’t be angry at you. I’m actually a little impressed. I didn’t think you’d have the balls to do something like this. Tell me, what did you think would happen? I’d leave Luke, we’d eventually break up, and Luke would go running back into your arms? He’d be angry at you at first, but eventually forgive you because that’s what he does. And then you two would what, run off to LA together?”
Noah took in a gulp of air and look down at his bare feet. A smirk slowly came to his face.
“Something like that. And for the record, no, I wasn’t asleep.”
“I can’t believe you Noah. We’re friends. We’re best friends. How could you do this?” Luke started to shake a little. He didn’t want to believe what was going on around him.
“How could I not? I love you Luke.”
“And I love Reid.” Luke couldn’t stand to look at Noah anymore. He turned around and buried his face back into Reid’s chest. The tears that had stop were threatening to come out again.
“Mr. Mayer, I think it’s time you get your shit and get the fuck out of our home.” Reid kissed the top of Luke’s head, looking at Noah while doing so. He glared at Noah until Noah walked into the guest room and disappeared from sight. Reid gently ran a hand up and down Luke’s back, trying to comfort him.
“I’m sorry Reid. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Hey. Hey now. Shh shh.” Reid raised Luke’s head and smiled at the young man, wiping his tears away. “What did I tell you about that whole apologizing for things that aren’t your fault?”
“But Noah wouldn’t have been in here if it wasn’t for me.”
“Luke, he manipulated us. He got into the bed without your knowledge. He did this, not you.”
Luke kissed Reid’s palm several times. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“We both know that I should be saying that, not you,” Reid said right back. He smiled slightly and Luke returned it with one of his normal big smiles. He placed a slow, gentle, lingering kiss on Reid’s lips, trying to open them so it could go deeper.
Noah walked back into the kitchen, his belongings in his hands and dressed. He saw Luke and Reid kissing and closed his eyes, not wanting to see another man kissing Luke. Noah cleared his throat to get their attention, but Luke and Reid ignored him. Just as Luke was about to pull away, Reid grabbed Luke’s head, holding him there, kissing him harder. Reid wanted Noah to fully get the point. After another minute they pulled apart, panting for breath.
“Uh, here’s your key.”
“Just put it on the table and get out.” Reid hated being interrupted when he was kissing Luke, much less by the man that just tried to break them up.
“Luke, I just-”
“Please go Noah. And I never want to see you again. I don’t want you around me. Or my family.”
“But Luke! They’re like my family. They’re the only family I have. You can’t take them away from me.”
You’re right Noah.” Luke turned around again and faced Noah. “I won’t take them away from you. I’ll just tell them what you did tonight and let them decide if they want to continue a relationship with you.”
“You wouldn’t do that Luke. You know Faith, Natalie, Ethan, your mom, they all love me.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “If you come near me, Reid, or my family again I’ll make you regret it.”
“Who are you, Damian all of a sudden?”
“If you come anywhere near us again you’re going to wish it was Damian you were messing with. Get out.”
Noah stared at Luke, and with defeat walked towards the front door. He opened it but before he left, Noah turned around and spoke to Luke.
“I love you, Luke.”
“If you loved me you wouldn’t have tried to hurt me so badly.”
“You said that you’d always love me, even if you weren’t in love with me. Doesn’t that count for something?” There was desperation in Noah’s voice. Both Luke and Reid could hear it.
“I think you just killed it. Goodbye Noah.”
Noah walked out of the apartment. Luke let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Did that really just happen Reid?”
“Yes Luke, it did.” Reid took Luke’s hand and led them to the sofa, He sat down and Luke followed suit, putting his head on Reid’s shoulder and snuggling in to him close.
“Why did you believe me?”
“Because you’re right. You wouldn’t do that, have sex with another man. Not while we were together. And especially not here. I just wish I would have believed you sooner.”
“Reid. You saw me and Noah in bed together. If it was reversed I would have made a huge scene, slamming doors on my way out to my mother’s house to have a bitch-out session.” The two of them laughed, finally feeling the weight of the night leaving. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other.
“You want to go to bed?” Luke asked.
“Hell no. Let’s just stay out here. Go to sleep on the couch.”
Luke chuckled and got up. He walked to the bedroom and got a blanket off their bed. When he returned he locked the door and then he laid down next to Reid, trying to squeeze into the sofa as best as he could.
“You okay? We can go back to the room if you’re not.” Reid spoke quietly in the darkness. He pulled Luke as close to him as he could.
“I’m perfect Reid.” Luke smiled and kissed Reid. “This is perfect.”
Written By: bluemagicrose
Category: General
Rating: PG-13, for language
Author's Notes: Thank you to the wonderful marsabi for being my beta. Sorry for the horrible that is the title.
“But he has nowhere else to go.”
Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver were in their kitchen making dinner. Reid had gotten home early from the hospital for once and Luke thought it would be a nice, couple-ly thing to do.
“Why can’t he go back to your mother’s house?” Reid was highly annoyed by the conversation. He and Noah Mayer weren’t getting along any better and he plainly didn’t like the thought of living with his boyfriend’s ex.
“Because it’ll be awkward. My ex-boyfriend living with my mother.”
“Oh, but your ex-boyfriend staying with you and your new boyfriend isn’t?” Reid gave Luke an incredulous look.
“It’ll only be for a few weeks. A month tops. He can’t afford the rent at the apartment he used to share with Alison. With her and Casey in Carbondale he has to find a new place he can afford.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Luke.”
“Look, I know it’ll be uncomfortable as hell.” Luke left his position at the stove and stepped close to Reid by the sink. He wrapped his arms around the older man’s waist and pulled him close. “But he’s my friend. And he needs help. I don’t know Reid. All this really good stuff has been happening to us lately. I just, I dunno. I-”
“Feel guilty?”
“Yeah. A little bit.”
The two held each other close, their foreheads touching.
“We just got this place for ourselves Luke.” When Katie Snyder moved into a house with Chris Hughes she gave Reid the lease to the apartment. Reid asked Luke to move in that same day. They both signed their names to the lease.
“I know. One month. Tops.” Luke moved his hands to Reid’s face and brought their lips together. The kisses were urgent but soft. Reid pulled back and looking into Luke’s big brown eyes for a long time.
“I want morning sex.”
“What?” A smile broke out on Luke’s face.
“I want morning sex. Every single day that he’s here. I want you on top of me. Me on top of you. I want one of us to wake up to the other giving him a blowjob. I take that back. I want to be the one waking up to a blow job every morning.”
“Reid,” Luke said, laughing. “He’ll hear us.”
“I don’t care. Those are the conditions Blondie. You want Noah to stay with us until he can find a place of his own, I want morning sex. Deal?”
Luke rolled his eyes and somehow pulled their bodies closer.
“Deal.”
+++
Reid hated late emergency surgeries. It was at the end of a long day, usually with a staff that wasn’t quite competent enough to make his first team. Often, he had to deal with a family that was panicked and not thinking clearly. And even if he did everything right, it didn’t always end the way he wanted it to, the way he expected it to.
Unfortunately the person was never in the OR in time. That was the part that Reid hated the most, if he would have gotten a patient just five or ten minutes earlier, he could have saved them.
But the main reason Reid hated late night emergency surgeries were because he wouldn’t be home with Luke. His boyfriend Luke. Reid still couldn’t believe he said things like that. He hated being apart from him so long. They both had busy careers, so any time they could be together was very much wanted.
But lately Reid and Luke hadn’t been spending so much time alone. With Noah living with them “for only a few weeks,” every time Reid got home Noah was there. He and Luke were watching a movie, or a television show, or reliving some part of their history. Reid would roll his eyes at this, but Luke would laugh, give Reid an earth shattering kiss, and continue on with Noah.
And truthfully Noah wasn’t that bad of a roommate. He didn’t make a mess and always made sure to clean up after himself. He made sure to give Reid money every week (always making sure Luke wasn’t around because Luke wouldn’t accept it). And he pretended to not hear when Luke and Reid had sex the night before or the morning of. It wasn’t as bad at Reid thought it would be, but he still couldn’t wait for Noah Mayer to be out of their apartment.
+++
Tonight had been difficult. Reid’s shift ended at 9 PM, but a five car accident prevented Reid from leaving the hospital at that time. One of the victims had needed a surgery that took four hours. When Reid successfully completed the surgery he spent the next hour explaining things to the family.
He usually didn’t do this, but the patient was a 23 year old blond man that reminded him of Luke. Ever since he and Luke got together he had slowly become more sympathetic to his patients. Nicer to interns and nurses. Respectful of the older brass at the hospital.
When he finally left the hospital a little after 2 AM he sped home, nobody else on the road. All he wanted to do was fall into bed, pull Luke close, and sleep for the next 10 hours. When he walked into the apartment everything was dark. Reid kicked off his shoes and threw his jacket onto the back of the couch. He quietly walked fast to the bedroom, hoping that Luke was awake.
Sometimes Luke tried to stay up when Reid had late night surgeries, and if it didn’t go too long he would manage. They usually ended up having sex. Even when Luke was asleep, Reid woke him up and they would have sex. They had sex a lot.
Reid opened the door to the bedroom and stopped. Luke was indeed asleep. Peacefully, at that. But next to him was Noah. Noah Mayer, Luke’s ex-boyfriend. Noah Mayer, the person Reid and Luke were nice enough to take in. He was sleeping, his arm thrown over Luke, looking…comfortable.
Reid stood there and watched them for a long time. So many things went through his mind - Luke and Noah are back together, they’re in our bed, we’re not an our anymore, I’m going to kill Noah - that he couldn’t move. He just stood there and watched them sleeping. From somewhere the word “Luke” was uttered and it took Reid a moment to realize it was from him. He kept saying it, quietly but forcefully, until he saw Luke stirring in the bed.
“Luke. Luke. Luke.”
The blond blinked a few times and wiped his eyes lazily. The first thing he saw was Reid and he smiled.
“Reid! Heeeey.” Luke always dragged his words out when he just woke up.
“Hey.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you over there?” Reid’s left hand was tapping his thigh forcefully, making a slight dull sound. Luke was barely awake but he could see the anger in Reid’s eyes.
“Why don’t you ask Noah.”
“Noah? Why would-” Luke didn’t finish his sentence. He felt the heavy weight of an arm on his hips. He turned his head slightly and looked behind him, blinking a few times in confusion and then it hit him. He jumped out of bed quickly, a look of panic on his face. His eyes looked from Reid to Noah to Reid again. He went to walk over to Reid but Reid extended his arms to stop Luke.
“Don’t.” Reid closed his eyes. This is not what he wanted to be dealing with after a long late night surgery.
“Reid, I don’t-”
“You know, if you wanted to get back with him all you had to do was break up with me. You didn’t have to fuck him in our bed.”
“What!” Luke exclaimed. He didn’t understand what was going on. He didn’t go to bed with Noah and he certainly didn’t have sex with him.
“I can’t believe-”
“No. No, Reid. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t have sex with Noah.”
“Really? Because the two of you are in bed together Luke. He’s was holding you. I…I can’t be here right now.” Reid turned around and walked out of the room. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch but before he could walk out, Luke grabbed him and turned him around, almost pinning him against the door.
“Wait, Reid. Please.”
“Don’t you fucking touch me.” Reid’s voice was calm but dangerous. “Let me go Luke. If I stay here I’m going to do something that I regret.”
Luke was scared. He had never seen Reid like this before. He slowly moved back away from Reid.
“I love you. God, you know I love you. Please, just let me explain. I would never hurt you Reid.” Tears were starting to form. He was still confused about everything.
“You were in bed with another man. How does that not hurt me again?” Reid’s left leg was now shaking. He was oblivious to it.
“I swear to you Reid. I swear. I wasn’t with Noah. I don’t know how he got there.”
“Right. Okay, I’m leaving. Have fun with-”
“Just let me explain!” Luke couldn’t let Reid walk out that door. He had a feeling that if Reid left he wouldn’t be coming back. “Just let me try to explain. Please Reid. Please.”
“How the hell are you going to explain this Luke? You were in bed-”
“I know.”
“-with Noah.”
“I know. But it’s not what you think.”
Reid laughed. All he could do was laugh. If he didn’t laugh he knew he would cry. Reid took a few deep breaths and shook his head. He couldn’t believe that he was about to stand here and listen to Luke try to explain what happened.
“Okay Luke. How did Noah get in our bed?”
“I don’t know.”
“Terrific answer. Really.” Reid turned around and put his hand on the door knob.
“Wait! Please, just wait. Let me-”
“If you say explain one more time Luke I swear to God.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll…I’ll just talk through it.” Luke took a deep breath. He needed to calm his emotions before trying to figure out what happened. “You called last night. At 10, 10:30. You said you had an emergency surgery.”
“I know what happened on my end Luke.” Reid closed his eyes. Half of him wanted to hear Luke’s explanation, half of him wanted to get out, go to Yo’s, and get drunk.
“Okay. So when you called I was working on that story for that creative writing class I’m taking at Oakdale U. I continued writing that while and then me and…Noah…watched TV.” Luke hesitated before and after saying Noah’s name. He saw Reid flinched when he heard it.
“Okay.”
“Well, we watched “The Daily Show.” And then “The Colbert Report.” But Stephen was interviewing some guy I didn’t want to hear from, some ultra conservative guy.”
“I don’t care Luke.”
“So I saved my story and turned off my laptop and said goodnight to Noah and went to our bedroom. I put on this,” Luke motioned to his clothes, red and white checkered boxers and one of Reid’s old Harvard shirts, “and brushed my teeth and got into bed on your side. I read a chapter of that new book you bought me and then I sent you that text. You got the text, right?”
“Yeah, I got the text.” It was just a simple love you that Luke texted Reid a few hours ago. Reid had felt special when he read it. A little text from Luke made him feel special.
“And then I went to sleep. I turned off the lights and turned on my side like I always do and went to sleep. That’s it. I didn’t go to bed with Noah.”
Reid shook his head back and forth slowly. The emotional part of him believed Luke. The logical part of him didn’t. He didn’t know what to do.
“Luke,” Reid said as a sigh.
“I swear to God, Reid. I swear to God. I went to bed alone. He was not there.” The tears in Luke’s eyes were back and a few slip down his cheeks. “Why would I do it here? If I wanted to be with Noah, why would I do it here? In our bedroom? Why, why wouldn’t I go to the Lakeview? Or my mother’s house? Or anywhere else but here? Why would I send you the text? Why would I put on your clothes?”
The two of them stared at each other. Luke was crying now, not bothering to wipe away the tears. The old Harvard shirt was getting wetter and wetter. Reid blinked rapidly a few times. He could feel the strange sensation of tears wanting to start up in his tear ducts, but he wasn’t going to let them.
“I love you. I love you with everything in me. I couldn’t hurt you like that. You know me, Reid. I could never hurt you like that.” The two continued to stare at each other, but Luke suddenly felt safe enough to take a step towards Reid. Reid didn’t stop him.
“It was a mistake, letting Noah come stay with us. I’ll admit to that. It was a mistake. But Reid, I never had sex with him. I don’t want to be with him. I want to be with you. I need to be with you.”
Luke was close enough now to Reid that their bodies were just barely touching. He cautiously wrapped his arms around Reid’s waist. Reid’s hand automatically cupped Luke’s face and he looked into Luke’s eyes for a long time, softly stroking his cheek.
“Reid, I-”
“I believe you.” Reid didn’t know what it was he saw in Luke’s eyes. Maybe it was sincerity. Maybe it was honesty. He just knew that Luke wouldn’t hurt him like that. He knew Luke wouldn’t cheat on him. He knew Luke wanted him, not Noah.
Luke was shocked. He took several quick deep breaths, not sure if he would be able to continue standing.
“What?”
“I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else. You wouldn’t betray that.”
“Reid.” Luke started bounce a little bit. He couldn’t control his body anymore.
“And I love you too.” Reid’s voice started to crack. “I love you more than I ever thought I could love another person. You’re everything to me.”
Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He kissed Reid quickly and forcefully, several times on the lips, a few on his cheeks, his nose, his eyes, and his neck. Luke buried his head into the crook of Reid’s neck, needing to be close to him. The two held each other.
“I love you.” Reid murmured, while kissing Luke’s neck. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“I love you too.” Luke spoke up softly.
The two had no idea how long there were standing there, but a voice brought them out of their own little bubble.
“What happened? What did I miss?” Simply hearing Noah’s voice made bile rise up in Reid’s throat. But before he could say anything he felt Luke whirl around quickly and heard him speak, his voice loud and clear and filled with anger.
“Get the fuck out of my home!” Luke almost never used profanity, so it surprised both Reid and Noah.
“What Luke?” Noah asked.
“You heard me. I said get the fuck out of my home. Get your stuff and get out!”
“Don’t you think you’re being a bit overly dramatic Luke?”
“Get out!” Luke started to run towards Noah. He didn’t know what he was going to do when he got to his ex, he just knew it wasn’t good. But before he got there he felt a strong pair of arms around his waist, holding him back.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Reid pressed a kiss into Luke’s cheek, trying to calm him down. “I’m right here.”
“It’s not okay Reid. He needs to get out. I want him out now.”
“I would suggest Mr. Mayer,” Reid said slowly, “that you get your things and leave. Now.”
“I don’t even know what’s going on. Are you two fighting or something?”
Luke’s anger had risen greatly. He was about to force Noah out when he heard Reid laughing. Luke turned to look at Reid and so did Noah, his eyes reluctantly leaving Luke.
Reid couldn’t stop laughing. It all hit him like an epiphany. He had figured it out.
“Oh, it was a good plan you had Noah. A damn good plan.”
“I don’t know what you’re-”
“You knew Luke would feel guilty about you losing your apartment. You knew he would want to help you. You preyed on his generosity and kindness.”
“I have no idea-”
“You subtly dropped it into the conversation, didn’t you. ‘Maybe I could stay with you and Reid’ or something like that. You knew Luke would ask me if I was alright with you staying here for a few weeks. And you know I wouldn’t say no to Luke.” Reid laughed again, tightening his hold on Luke’s waist.
“So you move in here, and you become the perfect roommate. You pretend not to hate me as much as I know you to. You help out around here, helping us cook and clean. You tell Luke that you never hear us having sex, although I know that’s a lie because the walls are as thin as paper.”
“Reid, what are you talking about?” Luke turned as much as he could to face Reid.
“Don’t you see it Luke? He was waiting for a night like this. He pretends that’s everything is alright with all of us, he shows you that he’s changed, that he isn’t an ass anymore. Yes, Luke has told me all about how you were a shitty boyfriend.”
“You would know about asses, wouldn’t you Reid?”
Reid chuckled at Noah’s comment. “Oh, there are so many ways I could go with that. All I’ll say is that as least I’m not a terrible boyfriend.”
Noah squinted at Reid.
“You were waiting for a night where I’d have an emergency surgery. Where I’d be at the hospital, when Luke went to bed. You waited until he was asleep and then you slowly crept into our room. You got into our bed behind Luke and waited until I got home and saw the two of you in there together. Were you even asleep?”
Noah turned his attention away from Reid and back to Luke. He could see the color had left Luke’s face, but his eyes were wide with fire.
“Luke, don’t-”
“You know,” Reid continued, “I almost can’t be angry at you. I’m actually a little impressed. I didn’t think you’d have the balls to do something like this. Tell me, what did you think would happen? I’d leave Luke, we’d eventually break up, and Luke would go running back into your arms? He’d be angry at you at first, but eventually forgive you because that’s what he does. And then you two would what, run off to LA together?”
Noah took in a gulp of air and look down at his bare feet. A smirk slowly came to his face.
“Something like that. And for the record, no, I wasn’t asleep.”
“I can’t believe you Noah. We’re friends. We’re best friends. How could you do this?” Luke started to shake a little. He didn’t want to believe what was going on around him.
“How could I not? I love you Luke.”
“And I love Reid.” Luke couldn’t stand to look at Noah anymore. He turned around and buried his face back into Reid’s chest. The tears that had stop were threatening to come out again.
“Mr. Mayer, I think it’s time you get your shit and get the fuck out of our home.” Reid kissed the top of Luke’s head, looking at Noah while doing so. He glared at Noah until Noah walked into the guest room and disappeared from sight. Reid gently ran a hand up and down Luke’s back, trying to comfort him.
“I’m sorry Reid. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Hey. Hey now. Shh shh.” Reid raised Luke’s head and smiled at the young man, wiping his tears away. “What did I tell you about that whole apologizing for things that aren’t your fault?”
“But Noah wouldn’t have been in here if it wasn’t for me.”
“Luke, he manipulated us. He got into the bed without your knowledge. He did this, not you.”
Luke kissed Reid’s palm several times. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“We both know that I should be saying that, not you,” Reid said right back. He smiled slightly and Luke returned it with one of his normal big smiles. He placed a slow, gentle, lingering kiss on Reid’s lips, trying to open them so it could go deeper.
Noah walked back into the kitchen, his belongings in his hands and dressed. He saw Luke and Reid kissing and closed his eyes, not wanting to see another man kissing Luke. Noah cleared his throat to get their attention, but Luke and Reid ignored him. Just as Luke was about to pull away, Reid grabbed Luke’s head, holding him there, kissing him harder. Reid wanted Noah to fully get the point. After another minute they pulled apart, panting for breath.
“Uh, here’s your key.”
“Just put it on the table and get out.” Reid hated being interrupted when he was kissing Luke, much less by the man that just tried to break them up.
“Luke, I just-”
“Please go Noah. And I never want to see you again. I don’t want you around me. Or my family.”
“But Luke! They’re like my family. They’re the only family I have. You can’t take them away from me.”
You’re right Noah.” Luke turned around again and faced Noah. “I won’t take them away from you. I’ll just tell them what you did tonight and let them decide if they want to continue a relationship with you.”
“You wouldn’t do that Luke. You know Faith, Natalie, Ethan, your mom, they all love me.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “If you come near me, Reid, or my family again I’ll make you regret it.”
“Who are you, Damian all of a sudden?”
“If you come anywhere near us again you’re going to wish it was Damian you were messing with. Get out.”
Noah stared at Luke, and with defeat walked towards the front door. He opened it but before he left, Noah turned around and spoke to Luke.
“I love you, Luke.”
“If you loved me you wouldn’t have tried to hurt me so badly.”
“You said that you’d always love me, even if you weren’t in love with me. Doesn’t that count for something?” There was desperation in Noah’s voice. Both Luke and Reid could hear it.
“I think you just killed it. Goodbye Noah.”
Noah walked out of the apartment. Luke let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Did that really just happen Reid?”
“Yes Luke, it did.” Reid took Luke’s hand and led them to the sofa, He sat down and Luke followed suit, putting his head on Reid’s shoulder and snuggling in to him close.
“Why did you believe me?”
“Because you’re right. You wouldn’t do that, have sex with another man. Not while we were together. And especially not here. I just wish I would have believed you sooner.”
“Reid. You saw me and Noah in bed together. If it was reversed I would have made a huge scene, slamming doors on my way out to my mother’s house to have a bitch-out session.” The two of them laughed, finally feeling the weight of the night leaving. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other.
“You want to go to bed?” Luke asked.
“Hell no. Let’s just stay out here. Go to sleep on the couch.”
Luke chuckled and got up. He walked to the bedroom and got a blanket off their bed. When he returned he locked the door and then he laid down next to Reid, trying to squeeze into the sofa as best as he could.
“You okay? We can go back to the room if you’re not.” Reid spoke quietly in the darkness. He pulled Luke as close to him as he could.
“I’m perfect Reid.” Luke smiled and kissed Reid. “This is perfect.”