Gathering the Evidence
Title: Gathering the Evidence
Written By: loveoresteia
Category: General
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Reid learns about Luke and Noah’s relationship. Even by the end of the show, when Luke realized he and Noah weren't meant to be, he still defended many of Noah's actions. This was as realistic as I could make it. This is T?WT?, as well as unbeta-d, but I did proofread it.
It took a long time for Reid to understand.
He hated not understanding. The entire scenario was insulting. Reid always understood. He could identify a problem instantly, operate, and celebrate his success with a ham sandwich. Something just clicked in his brain and all the pieces would fall into place, one by one, making the problem easy to solve and the solution inevitable.
But with Luke Snyder, he wasn’t sure what to do.
Nothing in Oakdale made sense.
At first, he thought the explanation was simple: somehow, in some way, Luke Snyder was smarter than he was. He was the only person who was able to manipulate Reid; the only person who could play mind games with him and win. Every lie sounded like the truth. He was that good.
But the more time he spent with Luke, the more it didn’t make sense. Luke never lied. He was the most honest person Reid had ever met, and somehow that wasn’t even sickening. He was brave, and strong, and kind. He was full of love. It didn’t make sense.
So Reid moved on to the next experiment.
Purpose: To understand Noah and Luke’s relationship.
Hypothesis: They had a healthy relationship. Luke Snyder is not lying and not manipulative. Their relationship was something special.
Materials: Not applicable.
Even after being with Luke for over six months, he didn’t understand Noah and Luke’s relationship. The way Oakdale talked, their romance sounded like the greatest love story of the century, but the evidence just wasn’t there. His brain wasn’t clicking, and it was the most frustrating puzzle yet.
He had to find and gather the evidence. Their relationship had to be something special. Luke said it, the town said it, so it must be true. The evidence had to be there. He needed to know what he was competing against.
He just had to be objective about it.
*****
Just before Christmas, Alison and Casey invited Luke and him to their home in Carbondale. Reid tried to pick up an extra shift, but it seemed Luke had threatened the entire hospital, and Reid found himself sitting on an uncomfortable kitchen chair listening to Casey and Luke catch up. At least dinner was good. Very good, actually. And he could smell pie in the oven. That brightened things considerably.
“So, Reid,” Alison finally interrupted. “How’s the new wing coming?”
Reid raised his eyebrow. “It looks like a patient’s brain. Hey, is that pie done yet?”
Casey and Alison stared at him, uncomprehending. Luke rolled his eyes. “That’s Reid lingo for ‘it’s a mess right now, but it’s coming together’.”
“Exactly.” Reid smiled happily. The morons might not understand, but Luke always did. That’s all that mattered. He pointed to the kitchen. “So, about that pie...”
Luke squeezed his hand tightly under the table.
“The board is actually voting on the medical supplier right now,” Luke continued conversationally. “They’ll probably go with Invicta, but I’d really like to keep Cooper Medical. Memorial has worked with them for years, you know?”
Alison nodded. “We never had any problems ordering equipment from Cooper.”
Casey grinned across the table. “We could stuff the ballot box.”
The table groaned simultaneously. Reid wondered if he could slip out and steal the pie.
“Not that again,” Alison said.
“What? We got away with it last time!” Luke laughed.
Casey rolled his eyes. “Until your boyfriend turned us in.”
Now they had Reid’s attention. He turned to Luke. “Wait, what?”
“Nothing.” Luke shook his head. “When Case and I were in college, I decided I wanted to run for student president. I wasn’t going to win, so Casey and I stuffed the ballot box for a 99% win.”
“Casey was never the smartest boy in school,” Alison chimed in. Casey laughed.
“Anyway, Noah found out about it and told the school president.” Luke finished.
The conversation halted.
“And then?” Reid prompted.
“And then nothing,” Luke said. He sipped his water. “Casey and I were expelled, but we deserved it.”
“That’s not what happened!” Casey groaned. “Why are you always protecting him?”
“I’m not protecting him! It’s the truth!”
Casey placed his elbows on the table, leaning forward to Reid. “Listen, here’s what really happened: Kevin was running for Student President, and he was going to stop the student film festival that Noah was a part of. Luke decided to run in order to keep the festival, but Noah said he didn’t think Luke would win -”
“He was looking out for me!”
“Shut up, Luke. He didn’t think you would win. So anyway, Luke decides he really wants to run, because he could help out nerds and dorks and gay homeless kids and whatever - “
“Casey!”
“Yeah, yeah. So he decides to run, and he’s doing really well, but Kevin plays dirty. Like, really dirty. Noah keeps telling Luke to drop it, because Luke had a crush on Kevin in high school and Noah had some sort of jealousy thing about it - “
“He did not! Casey, this is stupid - “
“Um, yeah, he did. So it looks like Luke isn’t going to win, but he totally deserved to. So he and I decide to stuff the ballot box, and we do, and we win. But Noah thinks it’s wrong and tells the President of the school and gets us expelled.”
Luke was now bright red and glaring across the table. “He didn’t know they’d expel us. It’s not his fault.”
Casey groaned. “Oh, come on. What else would they do?” He looked back to Reid. “That’s why Luke can’t apply for another university. He’s like, banned from all of them because of it. And then Noah broke up with him because he needed another break...”
Alison rolled her eyes. “You know what? That’s it. I’m getting the pie. Casey, you don’t know what happened in their relationship, so don’t assume. What you and Luke did was wrong and you know it.”
Reid wasn’t interested in pie anymore, but he ate it anyway. His eyes were on Luke the entire time. Luke noticed his gaze and smiled at him, rolling his eyes and mouthing ‘Later’. The thigh rub Luke gave him under the table did nothing to stop the burning curiosity, either. Reid couldn’t understand why Luke laughed at Noah’s absurd behaviour.
They finally said goodbye to Casey and Alison and managed to squeeze out the door. Reid hugged Alison goodbye (Luke told him it was polite to do so) and complimented her on the pie. He reached out to shake Casey’s hand, but instead Casey threw his arms around him.
“What the hell are you-”
“He’s totally in denial about Noah, man. Don’t believe it,” Casey whispered in his ear.
Reid had barely pulled out of the driveway before Luke was talking.
“Noah didn’t know I’d get expelled. And he wasn’t against the election, either. He wanted to protect me, that’s it. It was my fault, anyway - I cheated and I was caught. Noah was only doing the right thing.”
Reid gripped the steering wheel tighter. “By turning his boyfriend in?”
“He was doing the right thing,” Luke repeated. “He loved me, okay? And he was right. I wanted to save the film festival, but part of me wanted to get back at Kevin for hurting me in high school. Noah was called in for questioning, and he was just being honest. If he lied, they would have expelled him.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
Reid sighed. “It wasn’t exactly like lying to the government, was it? It was just a stupid university election.”
“If it was so stupid, I shouldn’t have cheated,” Luke said.
Reid’s heart hurt. It physically hurt listening to Luke. He honestly believed that everything was his fault and that Noah did nothing wrong. From what Reid could see, Noah took things too far by getting Luke expelled. It was just student council, only for a year. Luke could have had a university education by now.
The car was silent for a few minutes before Reid spoke.
“You would have graduated by now.”
Luke laughed. “Not really. I don’t have any interest in university.”
“No, but you did then, right? Otherwise you wouldn’t have wanted to run for student council. “
Luke said nothing. Reid pressed on.
“And you know what? I did twelve years of post secondary education, and I couldn’t name a single person on my university student council. Not one.”
“That’s because you never pay attention to the people around you,” Luke teased.
“I pay attention to you,” Reid said softly. Luke didn’t answer. “University elections are nothing in the scheme of things. Noah shouldn’t have-”
Luke placed his hand on Reid’s thigh again. “Look, Reid. I love you, but you don’t understand the situation. There’s more to it than what you’ve heard. I was in the wrong, and Noah did the right thing. Just trust me, okay?”
Reid reached down to clasp Luke’s hand, rubbing his thumb gently. Maybe Luke was right. Relationships were about trust, right? Reid wasn’t around when it happened, and everyone in Oakdale loves Noah. For some unknown reason, Reid couldn’t understand the situation. Everything in Oakdale was so complicated.
He turned to Luke and smiled. “Okay.”
Luke smiled the smile that turned Reid to mush. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The car was silent again, the heat blasting throughout the car. Luke’s scent was everywhere, surrounding Reid and making him want more. Wanting to taste, and touch, and smell, and...
“Luke?”
“Mm?”
“Make up sex?”
Luke laughed. “Count on it.”
*****
Two weeks later, Reid was at another Snyder dinner. It was the only family event Reid went to willingly, with no bribes from Luke. Emma’s cooking was enough, and she never let him down. Tonight was stew with homemade bread and freshly baked, warm cookies for dessert. If Reid was a person who believed in heaven (which was impossible and defied all scientific logic), then this was it.
“Dad, why does Dr. Oliver get six cookies?!” Natalie whined.
Holden glanced at Reid from across the table. Reid shoved the cookies into his mouth faster before someone could take them away.
“Because he’s an adult,” Holden replied, but he looked doubtful. Luke snorted.
“So when I’m an adult, I get to eat six cookies?”
Luke laughed. “Natalie, you won’t want to. It’ll make you sick.”
“But Dr. Oliver’s not sick!”
Reid licked the melted chocolate off his fingers. “My brain needs more fuel than yours. Hence, more cookies.”
Natalie stared at him, trying to figure out if it was an insult. Luke glared at him from across the table. Reid knew that look. He quickly turned back to Natalie.
“So. . . study more? Then you can eat as many cookies as you want?”
Luke smiled, and Reid relaxed. Problem solved, and he’d still get sex tonight. Easy. Now maybe he could take a few cookies with him. . .
Emma came bustling into the room, holding a large, black photo album.
“Oh, Luke, you’ll never believe what I found!” Emma cried.
Luke groaned. “It’s not some embarrassing childhood thing, is it?”
At the words ‘embarrassing childhood thing’, Reid perked up and moved his chair so Emma could sit between them. To see Luke in some embarrassing childhood photo album would make his day. Or his life. Both, possibly. Luke tried to snatch the photo album away, but Emma held on tight.
“You had a bowl cut, didn’t you?” Reid said brightly.
“I did not!”
“Oh, god, you had a mullet, then.”
Luke rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at his grandmother. “What is it, Grandma?”
She handed Luke the album. “I was cleaning up the old guest room and came across Noah and Ameera’s wedding pictures! I think I’ll send them to Noah. He would love to have them. I found them in the bedside table, too, so I think they meant a lot to him, don’t you think?”
Reid didn’t quite understand. He didn’t know why his mind wasn’t as sharp as it was usually - maybe it was that sixth cookie - but Noah married someone?
He looked up at Luke, who was turning a strange shade of white, clutching the photo album tightly.
“Luke, are you okay?” he said in a low voice.
Luke looked at Emma. “You...you found it in the bedside table?”
His voice sounded strangled. Reid immediately stood and moved to Luke’s side, rubbing his shoulder. He didn’t know what was going on, but he needed to understand. In order to help, he needed to know everything.
“Who is Ameera?”
Emma looked up at him, shocked. “Ameera was the girl Noah married a few years ago. They lived together and everything. Luke, you never told him?”
“It never came up.”
Luke’s voice was still in that strange, strangled tone, and Reid didn’t like it. It wasn’t his Luke: his brave, strong, happy Luke. This Luke was hurting and broken, and he didn’t know what to do. He needed to get Luke away from it, somehow. He needed to get Luke out of the house. He pulled his pager out of his pocket.
“Emma, thank you for dinner, but I’m being paged. Luke needs to drive me to the hospital immediately.”
Reid learned long ago that if you make your voice sound authoritative and confident, no one questions it. It only took minutes before he was out the door and handing Luke the keys.
“My apartment first.”
Luke nodded, and they drove in silence to Reid’s place. Halfway there, Luke reached out and gripped Reid’s hand tightly in his own. It was sweaty, but Reid held on, tracing patterns on Luke’s skin with his thumb. They only let go when they got out of the car.
Reid led Luke up the steps, still holding the photo album, and into the apartment. Luke immediately walked to the couch and sat in his usual place in the middle. He waited until Reid took the corner of the couch before curling into his body.
Reid was never one for cuddling before Luke walked into his life. Now he pulled Luke close to his body, kissing his hair and neck and rubbing his arms, waiting for him to speak. Luke placed the photo album in his lap, staring at it for a long moment. Finally, he opened it.
Reid glanced at the photos. It was a traditional wedding with traditional wedding photos, Noah and Ameera smiling broadly at the camera as they danced, cut the cake together, held hands as they married. Luke’s family stood behind them, all smiling as well. But Reid’s eyes noticed Luke right away, standing in the corner of the group, not smiling. He looked miserable. He looked like he did now.
He didn’t know where to begin.
“Noah was married?” he finally asked.
Luke nodded. “Yeah. Her name was Ameera Ali Aziz.”
“What happened to her?”
“It’s a long story. She’s somewhere in California, I think.”
There was a long pause. “Are they still married?”
Luke shook his head.
Reid kissed Luke’s head. “You can tell me, if you want to. You don’t have to, though. If you don’t want to. I mean, I’m not going anywhere.”
It sounded dumb, even to his own ears, but Reid didn’t know what else to say. He continued to hold a silent Luke, raging on the inside as he thought of Noah. There was no way Luke could justify this, whatever had happened. No way at all. He didn’t know much about Noah Mayer, but everything he had observed wasn’t good. First he blamed Luke for an accident that wasn’t his fault, then he had Luke expelled permanently from all universities, and now he had married someone in front of Luke. He was going to fly to L.A and kill Noah Mayer. The man was a downright douchebag.
Luke closed the album, but didn’t turn to face Reid.
“Ameera was from Iraq. Her mother and Noah’s father were...together. I’m not really sure what happened; the details were kind of fuzzy, but basically he provided for her and protected her family.” Luke swallowed loudly. “When her mother died, she came here to look for Colonel Mayer, but he was in jail. So she stayed with Noah and I at the farm.”
Reid nodded slowly, digesting the information. “You and Noah were together then?”
“Yeah.”
Reid was seriously going to kill him.
“Anyway, her visa expired and she was going to be deported, so I suggested that Noah marry her. So he did, but the ICE was breathing down their necks. They had to live together for a long time and pretend to be a married couple.”
Reid didn’t know what to say. He just held Luke tighter.
“And it hurt, I guess. We hadn’t even been together and he was sleeping in a bed with Ameera, like she was really his wife and I was...look, you don’t want to hear this.”
Luke struggled to leave Reid’s arms, and Reid scrambled to hold him back. So close. Luke was so close to figuring it out. “No, I do. It’s okay. You were what?”
But Luke was shaking his head and standing up, and the moment was lost. “I was selfish, immature and stupid. Noah was saving this girl from deportation and I was upset because I couldn’t hug him in public.”
“I think he was the selfish, immature, stupid one,” Reid snorted.
Luke glared at him. “Reid.”
“You were upset and it doesn’t sound like he cared!”
“Of course he cared!” Luke said, exasperated. “He hated it as much as I did.”
“Doesn’t look like it here.” Reid replied, waving at the photo album.
“Look Reid, I know you don’t like him, but you don’t understand, okay? He did it to help her.”
Reid shrugged, his eyes on Luke’s upset face. “Maybe he did want to help her, but he took it too far, Luke. He lived with her, and didn’t let you touch him? You were his boyfriend. He shouldn’t have treated you like that. And your family celebrating it like an actual wedding? That wasn’t right of them.”
Luke picked up the photo album and put on his shoes. “You don’t understand the situation, okay? It was different. You just don’t get it.”
Luke was leaving. That couldn’t happen. Reid stood and took Luke’s hands in his.
“No, don’t go,” he said. “I’m sorry. Okay? You’re right. Maybe there’s something I’m not getting.”
Luke nodded. “You don’t get it. Noah loved me. He was honest and kind and wanted to help her. We both did. But he hated it too, okay?”
Reid nodded. “Okay.”
There wasn’t any evidence for that, but all Reid had was a photo album. Maybe Noah did hate it. He helped Luke pull off his coat and shoes and crawled into bed, leaving the album on the coffee table in the living room. As he spooned behind Luke, pulling him closer, he tried to make the puzzle work in his mind. It still didn’t make sense. None of the evidence fit his hypothesis. How could Noah do that to Luke? His Luke. Despite being an arrogant ass sometimes, Reid couldn’t imagine treating Luke that way. Even Luke, who thought Noah did the right thing, couldn’t make it sound justified.
He concluded he didn’t know the entire story, yet. He wasn’t ready to accept the other explanation.
*****
The pieces began to fall into place, one by one, as usual. Reid concluded that all of Oakdale, save for Casey, had drank the purple koolaid. All he ever heard was how amazing Noah was, how kind and sweet and helpful, but the evidence was never there. Whenever Luke told Reid a story about Noah, it was never good. No matter how Reid tried to spin it, he couldn’t make it positive.
Luke always laughed about how Noah hated when he became “Luciano”, as if it was a dangerous, split personality. Reid wondered how you could hate something so incredibly hot and such an integral part of Luke. There was the time Noah flew off to L.A during Holden’s funeral, but Luke laughed that off, too.
“Noah made tons of connections there, Reid, and it didn’t matter because Holden wasn’t actually dead,” he chuckled.
Casey told Reid how Noah didn’t support Luke’s decision to work for Grimaldi shipping, but Luke insisted Noah was looking out for him. Luke rolled his eyes when he told Reid of the time he and Noah spent an entire day alone in a house together, two teenagers, yet Noah didn’t want to have sex. Luke called it “waiting for the right moment”.
Reid thought he might die of Luke-withdrawals if they went a day without sex.
But every time a story about Noah was told, it was filled with fondness from the Snyder family. Every bad action was laughed about and called endearing, like Noah did everything right. It seemed Noah could do no wrong.
Oakdale was starting to make sense to Reid, and he refused to be sucked into the craziness.
It was a controlling relationship. It had to be. A quick phone call with Casey seemed to solidify the new hypothesis. Luke continuously took the blame and told Oakdale it was his fault, not Noah’s, and they believed him. Reid wanted to kill Luke’s parents for agreeing with it, assuming everything was Luke’s fault. Never once did Luke have someone on his side. From what Reid could tell, he was the only person who had stood up and said, “Luke, that wasn’t your fault,” and they weren’t even together at the time.
And he thought his childhood was bad.
When Luke received a ticket in the mail from Noah, asking him to fly to L.A to watch his film at a student festival, Reid bought his own ticket and tagged along. He wasn’t letting Luke anywhere near that jerk alone.
They didn’t see much of Noah before the screening. Reid couldn’t have been happier. When they did speak to him, Noah spent the time glaring at Reid, his hand possessively holding Luke as he introduced him to his friends.
Reid listened to Luke ramble on about how good Noah’s film was, about how he saw it being made ages ago and it was going to be a hit. Reid said nothing, popping mini appetizers into his mouth. Casey warned him about the film. He wasn’t expecting much.
They settled into their seat, Luke whispering in Reid’s ear, commenting on the other films as they slowly went down the list. Finally, Noah’s film.
Reid stopped wanting to kill Noah. Instead, he wanted to torture him for an eternity.
Every line was a crack at Luke, calling him (or rather the blonde, rich female who inherited a shipping company) shallow, insensitive, idiotic, snobby and stupid. They were only thirty minutes into the movie when Reid stood up and left, looking for Noah. Luke slipped out of his seat and followed.
“Reid, what are you doing? The movie isn’t even halfway,” he hissed.
Reid grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway. He was shaking with anger, not even knowing where to begin. He had enough evidence. He didn't need anymore. He hadn't for a long time. His conclusion was made, and he couldn’t let Luke keep thinking as he was.
“Luke, as I recall, Noah was the blind one, not you,” he snarled, trying to control his anger.
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“I may not understand every situation between you and Noah, but even I, a lowly brain surgeon, know that he’s humiliating you!”
Luke shook his head. “He’s not,” he protested.
Reid waved at the screening room. “A rich blonde who owns a shipping company? A poor man who just wants to become a famous film maker? Come on, Luke. And then all that stuff about how the blonde is controlling his every move and never lets him breathe?”
Luke was still shaking his head. “That’s not Noah.”
Reid was outraged. “Of course he made that character himself! Only someone as egotistical as Noah would-”
“No, no, I meant, Noah didn’t write that,” Luke chuckled. “It was Mason, his professor in university. He was the one who rewrote and directed all the scenes. He hated me because he wanted to date Noah.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too much. It was all too much. “So where is Mason now? Is he here?”
“No. I was jealous of how much time Noah and he were spending together and had him fired.”
“Were they spending too much time together?”
Luke stared. “Well, yeah, but...”
“I suppose Mason kissed him too, but that’s also your fault, right?”
Luke sighed. “Reid, I know you don’t like Noah, but this is ridiculous.”
Reid stared at Luke. He was being ridiculous? He was trying to show Luke what was going on, what Luke had to know but refused to see, and Luke was calling him ridiculous? He needed to make Luke see. He had to. He loved him so much, and it hurt to see Luke like this. He wanted his boyfriend back, when Luke first doubted Noah after the surgery.
“Are you listening to yourself?” he asked. “Noah could have changed the script anytime he wanted to. He could have realized what Mason was writing, told him your relationship wasn’t like that, but he didn’t. Instead he filmed it in front of hundreds of students. Think about it.”
Luke shook his head. “Noah wouldn’t do that.”
Reid laughed. “Really? Then why is it in there? You blame yourself for everything. The accident that made Noah blind - “
“I realize now that wasn’t completely my fault!”
“- the student election - “
“I shouldn’t have cheated!”
“- and now you’re blaming Mason for the movie - “
“That’s because he wrote it!”
“Then maybe he should be winning the damn award, not Noah!”
They paused, both breathing heavily, listening to the muted sounds of Noah’s movie playing down the hall. Reid lowered his voice.
“Anyone but Noah, right? It’s never Noah’s fault for how he treated you, but I know you realize how abusive it was. You have to see that, otherwise you wouldn’t be blaming everyone else,” Reid said softly.
Luke looked pissed.
“Look, Reid. I don’t know if this is a jealousy thing or what, but I need to be here for Noah. He’s had a really hard life and he deserves this. He needs someone to support him. So why don’t you just fly back home?”
Reid was so angry he wanted to cry. Instead, he turned his face into an emotionless mask. “Goodbye, Mr. Snyder. Enjoy the movie.”
He stood, trying to move his feet, as Luke stormed back into the screening room. Luke had chosen Noah over him. He couldn’t say he was surprised. To Luke, Noah was an angel who could do no wrong, and Reid was the guy trying to destroy that image.
Luke loving him was too good to be true.
He made his way back to the hotel and searched for a bottle of whiskey.
*****
Reid was still staring at the unopened bottle an hour later. He knew the strong liquid would numb him, but he couldn’t bring himself to drink it. All he could think was how disappointed Luke would be if he found Reid drunk. Or how he didn’t want to feel numb. He wanted to feel his heart breaking. He wanted to know what it felt like to screw up so badly and lose the most important person in his life.
The film had finished thirty minutes ago. If Luke opened his eyes and saw what was in front of him, he would have been back at the hotel by now. But he wasn’t. He was probably with Noah, reuniting. The thought made Reid feel sick to his stomach.
Reid put his hands over his head. He had messed up. He was still learning how to be a boyfriend, and Luke had had enough of him. He needed to learn to trust Luke: if Luke believed Noah was a nice guy, then he must be, regardless of the evidence.
At the sound of an automatic key in the hotel lock, Reid’s heart sank into his stomach. Luke was coming to collect his things. He only had one chance. Reid waited until Luke entered the room and closed the door, the room filled with an awkward silence. He kept his head down, his hands over it.
“Luke,” he started, but his voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be judging your relationship with Noah. Just...don’t leave. Please.”
More silence filled the room. Reid couldn’t take it anymore. He had to know what Luke was doing. He lifted his head.
Luke was standing in the doorway, crying. When their eyes connected, Luke let out a small sob.
“I love you so much,” Luke whispered.
Reid scrambled off the couch, practically tripping over his own feet to get to Luke. He wrapped his arms around him as Luke cried, trying to keep up with the broken speech. His heart pounded in his chest.
“I just thought it was healthy,” Luke voice quivered. “I just assumed that’s how relationships were. I was always told to apologize and get back together, regardless of our problems. No one really listened, so I thought it was normal.”
Reid shook his head. “It’s not normal.”
“I know. You were right. Everything you said was right,” Luke whispered. “He hates me. He never loved me. It was all so obvious in the movie. I always knew, I just...”
Reid pulled him closer, his own heart breaking. He didn’t know what the second half of the movie showed, but it couldn’t be good. He never wanted to see Luke like this, but whenever Noah was in the picture, Luke became emotionally beaten. He didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not your fault,” Reid whispered back, the only thing he could think to say. “Nothing was your fault.”
At that, Luke pulled away, fumbling in his pockets for his cell phone.
“Luke, what are you-”
Reid stared at him as Luke dialed a number, his watery eyes black with humiliation and hatred. They both listened to ringing until a familiar voice answered.
“Luke! How was Noah’s movie?”
Reid’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice to be Lily. He immediately reached for the phone, but Luke was already yelling.
“How could you always take his side? Everything he did was never his fault. It was always his horrible childhood, or it was justified, or it was my fault. How could you choose Noah’s side over your own son?” Luke screamed. “I hated myself when I was with him. I thought I deserved to be yelled at! And the only person to ever tell me it wasn’t my fault was Reid!”
Luke stopped, breathing heavily as he listened to the other line. He snapped the phone shut, holding it tightly, and turned back to Reid. Tears streamed down his face, and Reid didn’t know what to do. He had waited for such a long time for Luke to see the truth, and now he wished Luke hadn’t. Luke in pain was unbearable.
“None of them...not one took my side,” Luke whispered. “Even now. It’s all about Noah.”
Reid pulled him to the couch, wrapping his arms around Luke. “I did,” he said. “Casey did.”
Luke looked up at him, another tear falling down his face. Reid brushed it away. “Casey took my side?”
Reid nodded. “Always.”
Luke curled further into Reid’s body. “How could I be so stupid?” he whispered.
“No,” Reid said, shaking his head. “You’re far from stupid, Luke.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“You’re not...you’re not going to break up with me, are you? I mean, take a break?” Luke sniffed.
Reid stared at him like he was crazy. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Luke alone to deal with the downfall. It was going to be a long, hard process, and no matter the outcome, Reid wanted to be there.
“Why would I do that?” he asked.
Luke shrugged. “That’s what Noah always did.”
Reid turned Luke to face him. He had to make Luke understand.
“I love you. I don’t say it often, but I do. I love you, and I will never treat you like that. I’ll never marry some crazy Iraqi girl-”
Luke laughed feebly.
“-or create some passive aggressive movie. I’m not that guy, okay?”
Luke nodded. “Okay.”
They talked it out, deciding to phone Casey for emotional support. For the rest of the night, Luke told them everything. Every moment of his life with that idiot Noah Mayer, every fight they had, and every time he blamed himself. All night, Casey and Reid corrected him, telling him over and over that none of it was his fault. It had taken hours, but Luke finally realized the truth. That Noah was a horrible boyfriend, and their relationship was far from healthy. Casey laughed across the line:
“By Jove, I think he’s got it!”
By morning, Luke was all cried out and emotionally exhausted, Reid petting his hair as Luke fell asleep. Reid heart was broken, replaying the night in his mind. Luke had trained himself to be happy for so long, not wanting to cause anyone problems. Reid hoped that now, finally, it was all over.
Luke’s cell buzzed on the table. He reached for it blindly, assuming it was Lily. She had probably been trying to phone all night.
“H’lo?” he mumbled.
“Luke? Where did you go? You didn’t even stay for the entire film last night.”
Reid’s eyes snapped open as he realized the voice. Noah Mayer.
“Luke is asleep right now, no thanks to you,” he said cooly.
There was a pause on the line. “What?”
“You publicly humiliated him with that movie of yours in front of hundreds of people.”
“You really think hundreds showed up?” Noah said.
Reid’s vision went red.
Luke shifted on the couch, looking up at Reid. He reached his hand out to take the cell. Reid stared at him, silently asking if he was ready to speak to Noah. Luke nodded, and Reid handed him the phone. He kissed Luke’s forehead softly as Luke took a deep breath.
“Noah, it’s me. No, you listen...”
Reid stood up and walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower to give Luke some privacy. Whenever he heard a yell, he jumped out of the tub and opened the door to a crying Luke, who would give him the thumbs up and turn away. Reid respected Luke’s space. He didn’t have to protect Luke. With just a little support, Luke was protecting himself.
The pads of his fingers were wrinkling when he heard the bathroom door open and close. A few minutes later, a naked Luke pressed against his back. Reid turned, kissing him hard on the mouth.
“Is everything okay?” he asked cautiously.
Luke’s eyes were still watery, but he was smiling. There was no trace of humiliation or denial in them. Reid could only see pride.
“Everything's perfect.”
Reid kissed him again, softly. "And Noah?"
"Noah, who?"
Reid chuckled. “Just what I want to hear.”
*****
Later that day, as Reid curled up against a naked, sleeping Luke, he came to a realization. He had finished his experiment.
He had tested his hypothesis and found it to be false. Luke and Noah’s relationship was far from healthy, and there were countless examples to support it. But most of all, Luke finally realized it, and that was what mattered. He opened the mental file in his mind and wrote something new.
Diagnosis: Noah was a douche.
And Luke was cured of him forever.
Written By: loveoresteia
Category: General
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Reid learns about Luke and Noah’s relationship. Even by the end of the show, when Luke realized he and Noah weren't meant to be, he still defended many of Noah's actions. This was as realistic as I could make it. This is T?WT?, as well as unbeta-d, but I did proofread it.
It took a long time for Reid to understand.
He hated not understanding. The entire scenario was insulting. Reid always understood. He could identify a problem instantly, operate, and celebrate his success with a ham sandwich. Something just clicked in his brain and all the pieces would fall into place, one by one, making the problem easy to solve and the solution inevitable.
But with Luke Snyder, he wasn’t sure what to do.
Nothing in Oakdale made sense.
At first, he thought the explanation was simple: somehow, in some way, Luke Snyder was smarter than he was. He was the only person who was able to manipulate Reid; the only person who could play mind games with him and win. Every lie sounded like the truth. He was that good.
But the more time he spent with Luke, the more it didn’t make sense. Luke never lied. He was the most honest person Reid had ever met, and somehow that wasn’t even sickening. He was brave, and strong, and kind. He was full of love. It didn’t make sense.
So Reid moved on to the next experiment.
Purpose: To understand Noah and Luke’s relationship.
Hypothesis: They had a healthy relationship. Luke Snyder is not lying and not manipulative. Their relationship was something special.
Materials: Not applicable.
Even after being with Luke for over six months, he didn’t understand Noah and Luke’s relationship. The way Oakdale talked, their romance sounded like the greatest love story of the century, but the evidence just wasn’t there. His brain wasn’t clicking, and it was the most frustrating puzzle yet.
He had to find and gather the evidence. Their relationship had to be something special. Luke said it, the town said it, so it must be true. The evidence had to be there. He needed to know what he was competing against.
He just had to be objective about it.
*****
Just before Christmas, Alison and Casey invited Luke and him to their home in Carbondale. Reid tried to pick up an extra shift, but it seemed Luke had threatened the entire hospital, and Reid found himself sitting on an uncomfortable kitchen chair listening to Casey and Luke catch up. At least dinner was good. Very good, actually. And he could smell pie in the oven. That brightened things considerably.
“So, Reid,” Alison finally interrupted. “How’s the new wing coming?”
Reid raised his eyebrow. “It looks like a patient’s brain. Hey, is that pie done yet?”
Casey and Alison stared at him, uncomprehending. Luke rolled his eyes. “That’s Reid lingo for ‘it’s a mess right now, but it’s coming together’.”
“Exactly.” Reid smiled happily. The morons might not understand, but Luke always did. That’s all that mattered. He pointed to the kitchen. “So, about that pie...”
Luke squeezed his hand tightly under the table.
“The board is actually voting on the medical supplier right now,” Luke continued conversationally. “They’ll probably go with Invicta, but I’d really like to keep Cooper Medical. Memorial has worked with them for years, you know?”
Alison nodded. “We never had any problems ordering equipment from Cooper.”
Casey grinned across the table. “We could stuff the ballot box.”
The table groaned simultaneously. Reid wondered if he could slip out and steal the pie.
“Not that again,” Alison said.
“What? We got away with it last time!” Luke laughed.
Casey rolled his eyes. “Until your boyfriend turned us in.”
Now they had Reid’s attention. He turned to Luke. “Wait, what?”
“Nothing.” Luke shook his head. “When Case and I were in college, I decided I wanted to run for student president. I wasn’t going to win, so Casey and I stuffed the ballot box for a 99% win.”
“Casey was never the smartest boy in school,” Alison chimed in. Casey laughed.
“Anyway, Noah found out about it and told the school president.” Luke finished.
The conversation halted.
“And then?” Reid prompted.
“And then nothing,” Luke said. He sipped his water. “Casey and I were expelled, but we deserved it.”
“That’s not what happened!” Casey groaned. “Why are you always protecting him?”
“I’m not protecting him! It’s the truth!”
Casey placed his elbows on the table, leaning forward to Reid. “Listen, here’s what really happened: Kevin was running for Student President, and he was going to stop the student film festival that Noah was a part of. Luke decided to run in order to keep the festival, but Noah said he didn’t think Luke would win -”
“He was looking out for me!”
“Shut up, Luke. He didn’t think you would win. So anyway, Luke decides he really wants to run, because he could help out nerds and dorks and gay homeless kids and whatever - “
“Casey!”
“Yeah, yeah. So he decides to run, and he’s doing really well, but Kevin plays dirty. Like, really dirty. Noah keeps telling Luke to drop it, because Luke had a crush on Kevin in high school and Noah had some sort of jealousy thing about it - “
“He did not! Casey, this is stupid - “
“Um, yeah, he did. So it looks like Luke isn’t going to win, but he totally deserved to. So he and I decide to stuff the ballot box, and we do, and we win. But Noah thinks it’s wrong and tells the President of the school and gets us expelled.”
Luke was now bright red and glaring across the table. “He didn’t know they’d expel us. It’s not his fault.”
Casey groaned. “Oh, come on. What else would they do?” He looked back to Reid. “That’s why Luke can’t apply for another university. He’s like, banned from all of them because of it. And then Noah broke up with him because he needed another break...”
Alison rolled her eyes. “You know what? That’s it. I’m getting the pie. Casey, you don’t know what happened in their relationship, so don’t assume. What you and Luke did was wrong and you know it.”
Reid wasn’t interested in pie anymore, but he ate it anyway. His eyes were on Luke the entire time. Luke noticed his gaze and smiled at him, rolling his eyes and mouthing ‘Later’. The thigh rub Luke gave him under the table did nothing to stop the burning curiosity, either. Reid couldn’t understand why Luke laughed at Noah’s absurd behaviour.
They finally said goodbye to Casey and Alison and managed to squeeze out the door. Reid hugged Alison goodbye (Luke told him it was polite to do so) and complimented her on the pie. He reached out to shake Casey’s hand, but instead Casey threw his arms around him.
“What the hell are you-”
“He’s totally in denial about Noah, man. Don’t believe it,” Casey whispered in his ear.
Reid had barely pulled out of the driveway before Luke was talking.
“Noah didn’t know I’d get expelled. And he wasn’t against the election, either. He wanted to protect me, that’s it. It was my fault, anyway - I cheated and I was caught. Noah was only doing the right thing.”
Reid gripped the steering wheel tighter. “By turning his boyfriend in?”
“He was doing the right thing,” Luke repeated. “He loved me, okay? And he was right. I wanted to save the film festival, but part of me wanted to get back at Kevin for hurting me in high school. Noah was called in for questioning, and he was just being honest. If he lied, they would have expelled him.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
Reid sighed. “It wasn’t exactly like lying to the government, was it? It was just a stupid university election.”
“If it was so stupid, I shouldn’t have cheated,” Luke said.
Reid’s heart hurt. It physically hurt listening to Luke. He honestly believed that everything was his fault and that Noah did nothing wrong. From what Reid could see, Noah took things too far by getting Luke expelled. It was just student council, only for a year. Luke could have had a university education by now.
The car was silent for a few minutes before Reid spoke.
“You would have graduated by now.”
Luke laughed. “Not really. I don’t have any interest in university.”
“No, but you did then, right? Otherwise you wouldn’t have wanted to run for student council. “
Luke said nothing. Reid pressed on.
“And you know what? I did twelve years of post secondary education, and I couldn’t name a single person on my university student council. Not one.”
“That’s because you never pay attention to the people around you,” Luke teased.
“I pay attention to you,” Reid said softly. Luke didn’t answer. “University elections are nothing in the scheme of things. Noah shouldn’t have-”
Luke placed his hand on Reid’s thigh again. “Look, Reid. I love you, but you don’t understand the situation. There’s more to it than what you’ve heard. I was in the wrong, and Noah did the right thing. Just trust me, okay?”
Reid reached down to clasp Luke’s hand, rubbing his thumb gently. Maybe Luke was right. Relationships were about trust, right? Reid wasn’t around when it happened, and everyone in Oakdale loves Noah. For some unknown reason, Reid couldn’t understand the situation. Everything in Oakdale was so complicated.
He turned to Luke and smiled. “Okay.”
Luke smiled the smile that turned Reid to mush. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
The car was silent again, the heat blasting throughout the car. Luke’s scent was everywhere, surrounding Reid and making him want more. Wanting to taste, and touch, and smell, and...
“Luke?”
“Mm?”
“Make up sex?”
Luke laughed. “Count on it.”
*****
Two weeks later, Reid was at another Snyder dinner. It was the only family event Reid went to willingly, with no bribes from Luke. Emma’s cooking was enough, and she never let him down. Tonight was stew with homemade bread and freshly baked, warm cookies for dessert. If Reid was a person who believed in heaven (which was impossible and defied all scientific logic), then this was it.
“Dad, why does Dr. Oliver get six cookies?!” Natalie whined.
Holden glanced at Reid from across the table. Reid shoved the cookies into his mouth faster before someone could take them away.
“Because he’s an adult,” Holden replied, but he looked doubtful. Luke snorted.
“So when I’m an adult, I get to eat six cookies?”
Luke laughed. “Natalie, you won’t want to. It’ll make you sick.”
“But Dr. Oliver’s not sick!”
Reid licked the melted chocolate off his fingers. “My brain needs more fuel than yours. Hence, more cookies.”
Natalie stared at him, trying to figure out if it was an insult. Luke glared at him from across the table. Reid knew that look. He quickly turned back to Natalie.
“So. . . study more? Then you can eat as many cookies as you want?”
Luke smiled, and Reid relaxed. Problem solved, and he’d still get sex tonight. Easy. Now maybe he could take a few cookies with him. . .
Emma came bustling into the room, holding a large, black photo album.
“Oh, Luke, you’ll never believe what I found!” Emma cried.
Luke groaned. “It’s not some embarrassing childhood thing, is it?”
At the words ‘embarrassing childhood thing’, Reid perked up and moved his chair so Emma could sit between them. To see Luke in some embarrassing childhood photo album would make his day. Or his life. Both, possibly. Luke tried to snatch the photo album away, but Emma held on tight.
“You had a bowl cut, didn’t you?” Reid said brightly.
“I did not!”
“Oh, god, you had a mullet, then.”
Luke rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at his grandmother. “What is it, Grandma?”
She handed Luke the album. “I was cleaning up the old guest room and came across Noah and Ameera’s wedding pictures! I think I’ll send them to Noah. He would love to have them. I found them in the bedside table, too, so I think they meant a lot to him, don’t you think?”
Reid didn’t quite understand. He didn’t know why his mind wasn’t as sharp as it was usually - maybe it was that sixth cookie - but Noah married someone?
He looked up at Luke, who was turning a strange shade of white, clutching the photo album tightly.
“Luke, are you okay?” he said in a low voice.
Luke looked at Emma. “You...you found it in the bedside table?”
His voice sounded strangled. Reid immediately stood and moved to Luke’s side, rubbing his shoulder. He didn’t know what was going on, but he needed to understand. In order to help, he needed to know everything.
“Who is Ameera?”
Emma looked up at him, shocked. “Ameera was the girl Noah married a few years ago. They lived together and everything. Luke, you never told him?”
“It never came up.”
Luke’s voice was still in that strange, strangled tone, and Reid didn’t like it. It wasn’t his Luke: his brave, strong, happy Luke. This Luke was hurting and broken, and he didn’t know what to do. He needed to get Luke away from it, somehow. He needed to get Luke out of the house. He pulled his pager out of his pocket.
“Emma, thank you for dinner, but I’m being paged. Luke needs to drive me to the hospital immediately.”
Reid learned long ago that if you make your voice sound authoritative and confident, no one questions it. It only took minutes before he was out the door and handing Luke the keys.
“My apartment first.”
Luke nodded, and they drove in silence to Reid’s place. Halfway there, Luke reached out and gripped Reid’s hand tightly in his own. It was sweaty, but Reid held on, tracing patterns on Luke’s skin with his thumb. They only let go when they got out of the car.
Reid led Luke up the steps, still holding the photo album, and into the apartment. Luke immediately walked to the couch and sat in his usual place in the middle. He waited until Reid took the corner of the couch before curling into his body.
Reid was never one for cuddling before Luke walked into his life. Now he pulled Luke close to his body, kissing his hair and neck and rubbing his arms, waiting for him to speak. Luke placed the photo album in his lap, staring at it for a long moment. Finally, he opened it.
Reid glanced at the photos. It was a traditional wedding with traditional wedding photos, Noah and Ameera smiling broadly at the camera as they danced, cut the cake together, held hands as they married. Luke’s family stood behind them, all smiling as well. But Reid’s eyes noticed Luke right away, standing in the corner of the group, not smiling. He looked miserable. He looked like he did now.
He didn’t know where to begin.
“Noah was married?” he finally asked.
Luke nodded. “Yeah. Her name was Ameera Ali Aziz.”
“What happened to her?”
“It’s a long story. She’s somewhere in California, I think.”
There was a long pause. “Are they still married?”
Luke shook his head.
Reid kissed Luke’s head. “You can tell me, if you want to. You don’t have to, though. If you don’t want to. I mean, I’m not going anywhere.”
It sounded dumb, even to his own ears, but Reid didn’t know what else to say. He continued to hold a silent Luke, raging on the inside as he thought of Noah. There was no way Luke could justify this, whatever had happened. No way at all. He didn’t know much about Noah Mayer, but everything he had observed wasn’t good. First he blamed Luke for an accident that wasn’t his fault, then he had Luke expelled permanently from all universities, and now he had married someone in front of Luke. He was going to fly to L.A and kill Noah Mayer. The man was a downright douchebag.
Luke closed the album, but didn’t turn to face Reid.
“Ameera was from Iraq. Her mother and Noah’s father were...together. I’m not really sure what happened; the details were kind of fuzzy, but basically he provided for her and protected her family.” Luke swallowed loudly. “When her mother died, she came here to look for Colonel Mayer, but he was in jail. So she stayed with Noah and I at the farm.”
Reid nodded slowly, digesting the information. “You and Noah were together then?”
“Yeah.”
Reid was seriously going to kill him.
“Anyway, her visa expired and she was going to be deported, so I suggested that Noah marry her. So he did, but the ICE was breathing down their necks. They had to live together for a long time and pretend to be a married couple.”
Reid didn’t know what to say. He just held Luke tighter.
“And it hurt, I guess. We hadn’t even been together and he was sleeping in a bed with Ameera, like she was really his wife and I was...look, you don’t want to hear this.”
Luke struggled to leave Reid’s arms, and Reid scrambled to hold him back. So close. Luke was so close to figuring it out. “No, I do. It’s okay. You were what?”
But Luke was shaking his head and standing up, and the moment was lost. “I was selfish, immature and stupid. Noah was saving this girl from deportation and I was upset because I couldn’t hug him in public.”
“I think he was the selfish, immature, stupid one,” Reid snorted.
Luke glared at him. “Reid.”
“You were upset and it doesn’t sound like he cared!”
“Of course he cared!” Luke said, exasperated. “He hated it as much as I did.”
“Doesn’t look like it here.” Reid replied, waving at the photo album.
“Look Reid, I know you don’t like him, but you don’t understand, okay? He did it to help her.”
Reid shrugged, his eyes on Luke’s upset face. “Maybe he did want to help her, but he took it too far, Luke. He lived with her, and didn’t let you touch him? You were his boyfriend. He shouldn’t have treated you like that. And your family celebrating it like an actual wedding? That wasn’t right of them.”
Luke picked up the photo album and put on his shoes. “You don’t understand the situation, okay? It was different. You just don’t get it.”
Luke was leaving. That couldn’t happen. Reid stood and took Luke’s hands in his.
“No, don’t go,” he said. “I’m sorry. Okay? You’re right. Maybe there’s something I’m not getting.”
Luke nodded. “You don’t get it. Noah loved me. He was honest and kind and wanted to help her. We both did. But he hated it too, okay?”
Reid nodded. “Okay.”
There wasn’t any evidence for that, but all Reid had was a photo album. Maybe Noah did hate it. He helped Luke pull off his coat and shoes and crawled into bed, leaving the album on the coffee table in the living room. As he spooned behind Luke, pulling him closer, he tried to make the puzzle work in his mind. It still didn’t make sense. None of the evidence fit his hypothesis. How could Noah do that to Luke? His Luke. Despite being an arrogant ass sometimes, Reid couldn’t imagine treating Luke that way. Even Luke, who thought Noah did the right thing, couldn’t make it sound justified.
He concluded he didn’t know the entire story, yet. He wasn’t ready to accept the other explanation.
*****
The pieces began to fall into place, one by one, as usual. Reid concluded that all of Oakdale, save for Casey, had drank the purple koolaid. All he ever heard was how amazing Noah was, how kind and sweet and helpful, but the evidence was never there. Whenever Luke told Reid a story about Noah, it was never good. No matter how Reid tried to spin it, he couldn’t make it positive.
Luke always laughed about how Noah hated when he became “Luciano”, as if it was a dangerous, split personality. Reid wondered how you could hate something so incredibly hot and such an integral part of Luke. There was the time Noah flew off to L.A during Holden’s funeral, but Luke laughed that off, too.
“Noah made tons of connections there, Reid, and it didn’t matter because Holden wasn’t actually dead,” he chuckled.
Casey told Reid how Noah didn’t support Luke’s decision to work for Grimaldi shipping, but Luke insisted Noah was looking out for him. Luke rolled his eyes when he told Reid of the time he and Noah spent an entire day alone in a house together, two teenagers, yet Noah didn’t want to have sex. Luke called it “waiting for the right moment”.
Reid thought he might die of Luke-withdrawals if they went a day without sex.
But every time a story about Noah was told, it was filled with fondness from the Snyder family. Every bad action was laughed about and called endearing, like Noah did everything right. It seemed Noah could do no wrong.
Oakdale was starting to make sense to Reid, and he refused to be sucked into the craziness.
It was a controlling relationship. It had to be. A quick phone call with Casey seemed to solidify the new hypothesis. Luke continuously took the blame and told Oakdale it was his fault, not Noah’s, and they believed him. Reid wanted to kill Luke’s parents for agreeing with it, assuming everything was Luke’s fault. Never once did Luke have someone on his side. From what Reid could tell, he was the only person who had stood up and said, “Luke, that wasn’t your fault,” and they weren’t even together at the time.
And he thought his childhood was bad.
When Luke received a ticket in the mail from Noah, asking him to fly to L.A to watch his film at a student festival, Reid bought his own ticket and tagged along. He wasn’t letting Luke anywhere near that jerk alone.
They didn’t see much of Noah before the screening. Reid couldn’t have been happier. When they did speak to him, Noah spent the time glaring at Reid, his hand possessively holding Luke as he introduced him to his friends.
Reid listened to Luke ramble on about how good Noah’s film was, about how he saw it being made ages ago and it was going to be a hit. Reid said nothing, popping mini appetizers into his mouth. Casey warned him about the film. He wasn’t expecting much.
They settled into their seat, Luke whispering in Reid’s ear, commenting on the other films as they slowly went down the list. Finally, Noah’s film.
Reid stopped wanting to kill Noah. Instead, he wanted to torture him for an eternity.
Every line was a crack at Luke, calling him (or rather the blonde, rich female who inherited a shipping company) shallow, insensitive, idiotic, snobby and stupid. They were only thirty minutes into the movie when Reid stood up and left, looking for Noah. Luke slipped out of his seat and followed.
“Reid, what are you doing? The movie isn’t even halfway,” he hissed.
Reid grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway. He was shaking with anger, not even knowing where to begin. He had enough evidence. He didn't need anymore. He hadn't for a long time. His conclusion was made, and he couldn’t let Luke keep thinking as he was.
“Luke, as I recall, Noah was the blind one, not you,” he snarled, trying to control his anger.
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“I may not understand every situation between you and Noah, but even I, a lowly brain surgeon, know that he’s humiliating you!”
Luke shook his head. “He’s not,” he protested.
Reid waved at the screening room. “A rich blonde who owns a shipping company? A poor man who just wants to become a famous film maker? Come on, Luke. And then all that stuff about how the blonde is controlling his every move and never lets him breathe?”
Luke was still shaking his head. “That’s not Noah.”
Reid was outraged. “Of course he made that character himself! Only someone as egotistical as Noah would-”
“No, no, I meant, Noah didn’t write that,” Luke chuckled. “It was Mason, his professor in university. He was the one who rewrote and directed all the scenes. He hated me because he wanted to date Noah.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too much. It was all too much. “So where is Mason now? Is he here?”
“No. I was jealous of how much time Noah and he were spending together and had him fired.”
“Were they spending too much time together?”
Luke stared. “Well, yeah, but...”
“I suppose Mason kissed him too, but that’s also your fault, right?”
Luke sighed. “Reid, I know you don’t like Noah, but this is ridiculous.”
Reid stared at Luke. He was being ridiculous? He was trying to show Luke what was going on, what Luke had to know but refused to see, and Luke was calling him ridiculous? He needed to make Luke see. He had to. He loved him so much, and it hurt to see Luke like this. He wanted his boyfriend back, when Luke first doubted Noah after the surgery.
“Are you listening to yourself?” he asked. “Noah could have changed the script anytime he wanted to. He could have realized what Mason was writing, told him your relationship wasn’t like that, but he didn’t. Instead he filmed it in front of hundreds of students. Think about it.”
Luke shook his head. “Noah wouldn’t do that.”
Reid laughed. “Really? Then why is it in there? You blame yourself for everything. The accident that made Noah blind - “
“I realize now that wasn’t completely my fault!”
“- the student election - “
“I shouldn’t have cheated!”
“- and now you’re blaming Mason for the movie - “
“That’s because he wrote it!”
“Then maybe he should be winning the damn award, not Noah!”
They paused, both breathing heavily, listening to the muted sounds of Noah’s movie playing down the hall. Reid lowered his voice.
“Anyone but Noah, right? It’s never Noah’s fault for how he treated you, but I know you realize how abusive it was. You have to see that, otherwise you wouldn’t be blaming everyone else,” Reid said softly.
Luke looked pissed.
“Look, Reid. I don’t know if this is a jealousy thing or what, but I need to be here for Noah. He’s had a really hard life and he deserves this. He needs someone to support him. So why don’t you just fly back home?”
Reid was so angry he wanted to cry. Instead, he turned his face into an emotionless mask. “Goodbye, Mr. Snyder. Enjoy the movie.”
He stood, trying to move his feet, as Luke stormed back into the screening room. Luke had chosen Noah over him. He couldn’t say he was surprised. To Luke, Noah was an angel who could do no wrong, and Reid was the guy trying to destroy that image.
Luke loving him was too good to be true.
He made his way back to the hotel and searched for a bottle of whiskey.
*****
Reid was still staring at the unopened bottle an hour later. He knew the strong liquid would numb him, but he couldn’t bring himself to drink it. All he could think was how disappointed Luke would be if he found Reid drunk. Or how he didn’t want to feel numb. He wanted to feel his heart breaking. He wanted to know what it felt like to screw up so badly and lose the most important person in his life.
The film had finished thirty minutes ago. If Luke opened his eyes and saw what was in front of him, he would have been back at the hotel by now. But he wasn’t. He was probably with Noah, reuniting. The thought made Reid feel sick to his stomach.
Reid put his hands over his head. He had messed up. He was still learning how to be a boyfriend, and Luke had had enough of him. He needed to learn to trust Luke: if Luke believed Noah was a nice guy, then he must be, regardless of the evidence.
At the sound of an automatic key in the hotel lock, Reid’s heart sank into his stomach. Luke was coming to collect his things. He only had one chance. Reid waited until Luke entered the room and closed the door, the room filled with an awkward silence. He kept his head down, his hands over it.
“Luke,” he started, but his voice was hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be judging your relationship with Noah. Just...don’t leave. Please.”
More silence filled the room. Reid couldn’t take it anymore. He had to know what Luke was doing. He lifted his head.
Luke was standing in the doorway, crying. When their eyes connected, Luke let out a small sob.
“I love you so much,” Luke whispered.
Reid scrambled off the couch, practically tripping over his own feet to get to Luke. He wrapped his arms around him as Luke cried, trying to keep up with the broken speech. His heart pounded in his chest.
“I just thought it was healthy,” Luke voice quivered. “I just assumed that’s how relationships were. I was always told to apologize and get back together, regardless of our problems. No one really listened, so I thought it was normal.”
Reid shook his head. “It’s not normal.”
“I know. You were right. Everything you said was right,” Luke whispered. “He hates me. He never loved me. It was all so obvious in the movie. I always knew, I just...”
Reid pulled him closer, his own heart breaking. He didn’t know what the second half of the movie showed, but it couldn’t be good. He never wanted to see Luke like this, but whenever Noah was in the picture, Luke became emotionally beaten. He didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not your fault,” Reid whispered back, the only thing he could think to say. “Nothing was your fault.”
At that, Luke pulled away, fumbling in his pockets for his cell phone.
“Luke, what are you-”
Reid stared at him as Luke dialed a number, his watery eyes black with humiliation and hatred. They both listened to ringing until a familiar voice answered.
“Luke! How was Noah’s movie?”
Reid’s eyes widened as he recognized the voice to be Lily. He immediately reached for the phone, but Luke was already yelling.
“How could you always take his side? Everything he did was never his fault. It was always his horrible childhood, or it was justified, or it was my fault. How could you choose Noah’s side over your own son?” Luke screamed. “I hated myself when I was with him. I thought I deserved to be yelled at! And the only person to ever tell me it wasn’t my fault was Reid!”
Luke stopped, breathing heavily as he listened to the other line. He snapped the phone shut, holding it tightly, and turned back to Reid. Tears streamed down his face, and Reid didn’t know what to do. He had waited for such a long time for Luke to see the truth, and now he wished Luke hadn’t. Luke in pain was unbearable.
“None of them...not one took my side,” Luke whispered. “Even now. It’s all about Noah.”
Reid pulled him to the couch, wrapping his arms around Luke. “I did,” he said. “Casey did.”
Luke looked up at him, another tear falling down his face. Reid brushed it away. “Casey took my side?”
Reid nodded. “Always.”
Luke curled further into Reid’s body. “How could I be so stupid?” he whispered.
“No,” Reid said, shaking his head. “You’re far from stupid, Luke.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“You’re not...you’re not going to break up with me, are you? I mean, take a break?” Luke sniffed.
Reid stared at him like he was crazy. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Luke alone to deal with the downfall. It was going to be a long, hard process, and no matter the outcome, Reid wanted to be there.
“Why would I do that?” he asked.
Luke shrugged. “That’s what Noah always did.”
Reid turned Luke to face him. He had to make Luke understand.
“I love you. I don’t say it often, but I do. I love you, and I will never treat you like that. I’ll never marry some crazy Iraqi girl-”
Luke laughed feebly.
“-or create some passive aggressive movie. I’m not that guy, okay?”
Luke nodded. “Okay.”
They talked it out, deciding to phone Casey for emotional support. For the rest of the night, Luke told them everything. Every moment of his life with that idiot Noah Mayer, every fight they had, and every time he blamed himself. All night, Casey and Reid corrected him, telling him over and over that none of it was his fault. It had taken hours, but Luke finally realized the truth. That Noah was a horrible boyfriend, and their relationship was far from healthy. Casey laughed across the line:
“By Jove, I think he’s got it!”
By morning, Luke was all cried out and emotionally exhausted, Reid petting his hair as Luke fell asleep. Reid heart was broken, replaying the night in his mind. Luke had trained himself to be happy for so long, not wanting to cause anyone problems. Reid hoped that now, finally, it was all over.
Luke’s cell buzzed on the table. He reached for it blindly, assuming it was Lily. She had probably been trying to phone all night.
“H’lo?” he mumbled.
“Luke? Where did you go? You didn’t even stay for the entire film last night.”
Reid’s eyes snapped open as he realized the voice. Noah Mayer.
“Luke is asleep right now, no thanks to you,” he said cooly.
There was a pause on the line. “What?”
“You publicly humiliated him with that movie of yours in front of hundreds of people.”
“You really think hundreds showed up?” Noah said.
Reid’s vision went red.
Luke shifted on the couch, looking up at Reid. He reached his hand out to take the cell. Reid stared at him, silently asking if he was ready to speak to Noah. Luke nodded, and Reid handed him the phone. He kissed Luke’s forehead softly as Luke took a deep breath.
“Noah, it’s me. No, you listen...”
Reid stood up and walked to the bathroom, turning on the shower to give Luke some privacy. Whenever he heard a yell, he jumped out of the tub and opened the door to a crying Luke, who would give him the thumbs up and turn away. Reid respected Luke’s space. He didn’t have to protect Luke. With just a little support, Luke was protecting himself.
The pads of his fingers were wrinkling when he heard the bathroom door open and close. A few minutes later, a naked Luke pressed against his back. Reid turned, kissing him hard on the mouth.
“Is everything okay?” he asked cautiously.
Luke’s eyes were still watery, but he was smiling. There was no trace of humiliation or denial in them. Reid could only see pride.
“Everything's perfect.”
Reid kissed him again, softly. "And Noah?"
"Noah, who?"
Reid chuckled. “Just what I want to hear.”
*****
Later that day, as Reid curled up against a naked, sleeping Luke, he came to a realization. He had finished his experiment.
He had tested his hypothesis and found it to be false. Luke and Noah’s relationship was far from healthy, and there were countless examples to support it. But most of all, Luke finally realized it, and that was what mattered. He opened the mental file in his mind and wrote something new.
Diagnosis: Noah was a douche.
And Luke was cured of him forever.