For FFF prompt "Need you tonight..."
"You need to go home," Lily said, holding Luke's jacket out to him.
"Are you kicking me out?" Luke asked, increduously.
"No. Baby, I love when you come here to visit, but you need to go home. It's late. Reid's waiting for you."
"You called him?! What the hell, mom!" Luke's eyes filled with tears.
"He called me. About half an hour ago. He even called Faith earlier. He was worried about you, Luke. You left angry, and he hasn't been able to get ahold of you all day."
"That's because I don't feel like talking to him."
"Well, hon, I hate to tell you this, but it's time for you to go home and talk to him and resolve whatever this is about," Lily said, walking to the door. "You've been here, sulking, since ten o'clock this morning."
"I haven't been sulking. I've been playing with Nat and Ethan. I washed your car. I shocked the pool. I helped Nat with her English project."
"And I appreciate that," Lily said, turning around to face him. "But, sweetie, it's nearly 11 o'clock. The kids are asleep. I'm tired too, and you can't stay here tonight."
"I don't want to go home. I can't believe you are kicking your own son out of the house!"
"Did he physically hurt you?" Lily asked, pointedly.
"No! Of course not."
"Did he verbally abuse you?"
"He verbally abuses everyone." Luke said, chuckling, and feeling a warm surge of affection in his chest.
"Luke..."
"No, he didn't, nothing out of the ordinary anyway. You know how he is, he doesn't hold anything back, and you never have to guess where you..."
"Did he cheat on you?"
"No, mom..."
"Then go home, Luke."
"Why are you taking his side? You don't even like him."
"I'm not taking his side. I'm always on your side. In everything, and that's why I want you to go home. And why on earth do you think I dislike Reid? I love him because he makes you happy."
"He's not making me very happy right now."
"Be that as it may, you need to go home."
"I don't even want to look at him."
Lily hugged him. "Marriage isn't always easy."
"We're not married," Luke spat, his arms at his side. "We're not allowed, remember?"
"Oh, come on, Luke! You've built a life together. You wear the matching bands that Reid gave you on your second anniversary, for goodness sake. You have both said that you'll make it official when the state of Illinois finally gets this thing passed. You can't tell me that you're not already married in your hearts. Your relationship is more valid than half of the legally-sanctioned marriages in this town. Fight for that. Don't run just because things are hard right now. Don't be like me. You're better than that."
"I'm not running," Luke argued, wriggling out of her embrace and wiping at a stray tear on his cheek.
"You're here aren't you? Rather than at home, working things out with your partner?"
"He doesn't want me there."
"Oh, really? How many times has he called your cell?"
"Sixteen," Luke said, pulling out his phone and refreshing the screen. "Oh, wait....17. Seventeen missed calls." He let out a shakey breath as Lily looked down at his phone.
"Dr. Oliver? Over three years, and he's still in your phone as Dr. Oliver?"
"Yeah," Luke said, smiling softly and running his thumb over Reid's picture on his screen...the picture Luke had taken of him in the helicopter ride they took over Hoover Dam when they were in Vegas last year for a medical conference. He looked happy in the picture, even though Luke recalled that he was actually scared to pieces, in that "flying machine of death," as he had called it. Luke smiled at the memory. That was a fun trip. Luke ran his thumb over the picture again, over his pain-in-the-ass, stubborn boyfriend with that fucking adorable crooked smile. Luke sighed. God, that smile. He swallowed hard. "I've gotta go," he said quickly, returning the phone to his pocket and putting his jacket on.
"I know you do," Lily said, kissing her son's cheek. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Tell Reid I said hello."
*************************************
Luke opened the door, and Gatsby greeted him in the darkness. "Hey, Gats...," Luke whispered, petting the labrador's head. "Where's Doc?" He walked into the living room, the dog trailing behind him, and found Reid lying on the couch, his cell phone on his chest. He walked around to the front of the couch and looked at his boyfriend.
"I've been calling you."
"I know." Luke said, sitting down as Reid lifted his feet to make room for him. "Seventeen times?" Gatsby plopped down with a sigh at Luke's feet.
Reid rested his feet in Luke's lap. "Actually, it was nineteen. I called twice from hospital phones because you weren't picking up calls from my cell."
"Maybe you should have taken the hint," Luke said, the comment only half honest in its delivery.
"I was worried. You can't do that, man. You can't just leave and not let me know that you're okay."
Luke nodded in the dim light emmanating from the small lamp on the mantle. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a wave of remorse. Reid had some serious abandonment issues, stemming from a lot of fucked up shit that happened in his childhood. Reid didn't dwell on it, didn't let it have dominion over him, but it was there, and nobody knew that but Luke. Not even Katie. Luke was the only person in the world who was allowed to see the broken parts of Reid Oliver, the ones behind the tough, bad-ass facade, the ones that still very rarely haunted him at night, the ones that caused him to wake up in a cold sweat, reaching for Luke. Luke ran a hand over his face. He should have considered all of that. He should have known how frantic Reid would be, wondering where he was. They always let each other know where they were going, right from the very beginning, not because of some weird control issues but because it's what you do, out of consideration, for the people you love. "You're right. I'm sorry. That was inconsiderate of me." Luke massaged one of Reid's sock-covered feet.
"It was just a stupid fight," Reid said softly.
"But we don't fight," Luke said, moving his left hand to Reid's thigh, where Reid found it and tangled their fingers together.
"All couples fight," Reid rationalized.
"We don't. Well, not like we did this morning anyway. I threw my deodorant at your head." Luke chuckled awkwardly. "Thank God, I missed. And you said some mean things that I hope you don't mean. It was an ugly fight, Reid."
"Of course I don't mean them, Luke," Reid said sighing. Don't you remember a few years ago when we used to fight all the time?" Reid asked, smiling at the thought. "All that bickering about.......I don't even know what."
"But that was different," Luke offered. "That bordered on flirting."
"You physically pushed me more than once. I remember my back hitting the wall at the Mayberry Police Station on one occasion."
"You liked it," Luke teased, picking at a loose thread on Reid's sock, thankful that he could feel the tension leaving the air.
"I did," Reid confessed. "I fucking loved it."
"Maybe we should have pushed each other around this morning, instead of throwing things and cursing," Luke said, smiling and finally able to look over and meet Reid's eyes, which he found red-rimmed and weary.
"Mmmm, yeah...maybe you could have slammed me up against a wall, rather than slamming cabinets and doors. Which would have, of course, turned me on, and you know how we are...we would have ended up in bed or on some other horizontal surface. Or maybe in the shower. Or up against the wall in the hallway. No matter what, it would have been a much better start to the day than what we had."
"Yeah," Luke said sadly, squeezing Reid's hand. "I'm sorry, Doc," he said softly.
Reid nodded. "I'm sorry too, Skywalker," he replied, sitting up and pulling Luke to him, their arms immediately going around each other. "But we're gonna fight sometimes. I'm no expert on relationships, but I'm pretty sure it's normal."
Luke buried his face in Reid's neck, breathing in his scent, relief washing over him that they were back in a place of calm. "And I'm sorry I made you worry. That wasn't cool."
Reid ran his fingers into Luke's hair, tugging gently. "We're in this forever, right?" Luke nodded silently against Reid's skin. "Then we can't leave. No matter how pissed off we are. Let's face it, Luke, if we're together for the next fifty years, I'm bound to piss you off. I can be a dick. I recognize that. And you, my love, have a tendency toward drama."
"Shut up," Luke said, his words muffled by Reid's neck.
Reid smiled and kissed Luke's temple. "But we have to stay and fight it out. We're worth it, right?" He laid down and pulled Luke down with him so that Luke wound up next to him, with his back against the cushions, their legs tangled together.
"Right," Luke replied, snuggling against Reid's side and kicking off his shoes.
Reid tugged up Luke's shirt and lightly played with the hair on his stomach. "And that shit earlier today, we'll work it out. It's nothing that needs to be decided tonight, right?"
"Right," Luke repeated, caressing Reid's arm.
"I need you here, Luke. Tonight and every night. Next to me, in our bed." Luke nodded, feeling guilty that he had considered sleeping at his mother's house.
They laid silently for a good number of minutes in each other's arms. "Reid?"
"Mmm?"
"I'm sorry about today. I should have at least let you know that I was okay, if nothing else. Ignoring your phone calls was very immature. And hey---," Luke raised himself up on an elbow next to Reid. "I won't leave. I know people you loved have left, but I won't be one of them. I promise."
"You can't promise that. You don't know what's going to happed to..."
"I promise," Luke said, kissing Reid to shut him up.
Luke then snuggled back down against Reid as Reid whispered, "I promise too."