The Long and Winding Road 17/?
Title: The Long and Winding Road
Pairing: Luke and Reid
Other Characters: Noah, Chris, Katie, and Gretchen
Summary: This is the courtship of Reid and Luke.
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. All mistakes are mine.
Rating: PG 14
Warning: Strong language.
Luke woke up the next morning feeling happy and refreshed. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so content. He reached over to touch Reid, needing to feel that connection and was sorely disappointed to find that he was alone. He noted that the sheets were cool, indicating that Reid had left awhile ago.
Reid must have had an emergency in the night. I wish that he had woken me up to tell me.
Luke hugged Reid’s pillow to his chest, inhaling Reid’s unique sent. Luke sighed; it just isn’t as good as the real thing. Well I’d better get going. I have to get to the foundation before I pick up my mom from the airport. I’m really going to miss this, having the house to myself and having Reid here all the time. Luke sighed again and got out of bed. As he stood up he felt something flutter over his body and onto the floor. It was one of Reid’s business cards. That’s weird, what would one of Reid’s business cards be doing in my bed? He picked it up and turned it over and saw that Reid had left him a message. “Goodbye Luke” was all it said. That seems a bit formal, but at least he didn’t just leave.
Luke put the card down on his bedside table and headed to the shower.
Thirty minutes later, Luke was dressed and out the door. When he arrived at his office, he decided to call Reid to see if he could meet him for coffee at Java at 10:00. The call went straight to Reid’s voicemail and Luke decided not to leave a message. He must be busy. I don’t want to bother him. I’m sure that I will talk to him later.
Reid slept in. He couldn’t believe it, he never slept in. It’s 9:45 shit!! I’ll never make it to Java by 10:00. Fuck, fuck fuck!!!
He showered and dressed as quickly as possible. He didn’t even bother to eat anything as he rushed out the door.
He checked his phone and saw that he had missed a call from Luke. He checked his voicemail but it was empty.
Well at least he called. That has to be a positive sign. He smiled to himself as he drove the short distance to Java.
Luke arrived at Java at 10:00 to get his morning coffee. He quickly scanned the coffee house to see if Reid might be there. Reid wasn’t there..
“Hey Luke, how are you?” Noah asked approaching Luke with two coffees. “I thought you might be in this morning so I took the liberty of preparing your coffee for you. I’m on a break so let’s sit down and catch up.”
Luke groaned inwardly, but didn’t want to be rude. “Sure,” he responded half heartedly.
Luke and Noah sat at a table that unfortunately had Luke with his back to the door.
“So how are things with you?” Noah asked. Damn Luke looks good.
“Good,” Luke responded. “How are things with you?”
“Great, I have a really interesting film project in the works…” Noah began.
Luke drifted off while Noah droned on about his latest “amazing” film project. Was Noah always this boring? Or am I just noticing it now because I have Reid to compare him too. Reid… I wonder what he’s doing right now. God yesterday was fantastic. I hope that he enjoyed it as much as I did.
“What??” Luke asked as he saw that Noah was squinting at him. Damn, I bet he realized that I wasn’t really paying attention to him. “That sounds really great, Noah! I bet your film will win a bunch of awards when it’s on the film festival circuit,” Luke improvised. Noah always appreciated getting his ego stroked.
Luke watched as Noah’s face relaxed and knew that he had said the right thing.
Noah went off again talking about camera angles, lighting and important plot points while Luke began wondering where Reid was, what he was doing, and what he was wearing. Reid please rescue me!!! I don’t think I can fake listening to Noah for much longer.
Reid checked his watch and saw that it was 10:15. Please be here Luke, please be here.
As soon as Reid walked into Java he felt himself relax as he recognized the back of Luke’s head. He couldn’t help but smile at Luke’s relaxed posture. Then he noticed that Luke wasn’t alone. Reid’s stomach plummeted and he quickly turned and left the coffee shop. Fucking Noah Mayer! Why is Luke sitting with fucking Noah Mayer??? Are they back together? Reid felt his stomach lurch at that thought. No, they can’t be back together. Luke assured me that he would never go there again. Why are they sitting together? Oh God, what should I do? I need to talk to him. Should I call Katie for advice? Oh my God, I am a grown man I can handle this. No I really can’t. Fuck it, I am going to go in there and talk to him. What’s the worst that can happen? He’ll confirm that we’re over and he’s back with Noah. Fuck, kill me now. Okay I’m going in.
Reid re-entered Java with as much dignity as he could muster. He was about to walk over to Luke until he saw that the table was empty. Fuck where is he now??? Where is Noah? They had better not be having sex in the bathroom. Bile rose in his throat at that image. I need some brain bleach!
“Reid, can I get you something?” Noah asked from the counter.
Oh thank God, they are not having sex in the bathroom!
Reid turned around so that he was now facing Noah who was squinting back at him.
“Uh…yeah, just a coffee please, black.”
“You don’t want your special caramel latte, this morning?” Noah smirked.
“No thank you,” Reid replied coldly. Why did everyone pay attention to what he drank?
“You just missed Luke, he and I were having coffee together. He was very interested in a film project that I have in the works,” Noah finished with a self satisfied smile on his face.
“Uh huh, how nice for you,” Reid replied paying for his coffee and planning his escape.
“Luke is running errands,” Noah called after Reid’s retreating back, pleased that he knew Luke’s schedule.
Reid didn’t even bother to acknowledge this last statement.
Why the fuck was Luke having coffee with Noah? Was it planned or did it just happen because Noah was working. Where are you Luke? I really need to talk to you.
Reid picked up his cell phone and punched in Luke’s number. The call went straight to voice mail. Reid smiled as he heard Luke’s voice, but hung up without leaving a message.
Chris had been lurking in a corner at Java and had witnessed the entire scene. He was giddy when he saw how distressed Reid had been when he saw Luke sitting with Noah. Trouble in paradise; well let’s just see if I can make it worse for the good doctor.
Chris went up to the counter and approached Noah. “You and Luke certainly looked chummy this morning,” he mentioned casually.
“Yes, it was great talking to Luke,” Noah answered dreamily.
“Are you guys back together? Luke sure looked happy to be with you,” Chris added. Truthfully, Luke looked like he was daydreaming about something or someone else, but Chris saw no need to mention that.
“Do you really think so?” Noah asked squinting at Chris.
“Definitely,” Chris answered, wondering if there was something wrong with Noah’s eyes.
Perhaps Reid screwed up the surgery after all. Wouldn’t that be fantastic, well maybe not for Noah, but really who cares about him?
Hoping that the seed was firmly planted in Noah’s brain, Chris walked back to the hospital.
Chris popped by the nurse’s station pretending to be concerned about Reid.
He checked to make sure that Reid was not around before approaching Gretchen. Reid always made her cry and Chris reasoned this would make her a good ally.
“I’m concerned about Dr. Oliver, how did he seem to you today?”
“Oh my God, he is in a foul mood. I don’t remember ever seeing him in such a state. I hope that he snaps out of it quickly. Do you know what’s gotten him so wound up?” Gretchen asked, clearly concerned about Reid.
“I think that he and Luke are having problems. I think that Reid probably just needs some space. If I were you I would do my best to keep those two apart,” Chris advised.
“Oh thanks for the tip. I will do that and pass the word on to the other nurses. Dr. Oliver is lucky to have as caring a friend as you are,” Gretchen responded smiling at Dr. Hughes.”
“Do you think that you could keep this little chat just between us? Reid might be embarrassed if he knew that I was looking out for him,” Chris stated in an earnest tone.
“Oh, of course,” Gretchen responded, nodding. God knows how sensitive men are. I definitely don’t want to open up that particular can of worms.
“Thanks I really appreciate your cooperation, and I’m sure that Reid would too.” Wow this was easier than I thought it was going to be. It must be because I have right on my side. I deserve this and Reid deserves to be miserable.
Reid was hiding in his office, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. What am I going to do? I am completely lost.
He picked up his phone and punched in Katie’s number. This is what Luke has reduced me to. I am now actively seeking advice from Katie. God help me.
“Hi Reid, how did it go?” Katie asked when she answered her phone. She had been waiting for this call; half hoping it wouldn’t come until much later.
“It was a disaster,” Reid began.
“Oh come on Reid. It couldn’t have been that bad,”
“I didn’t even get to talk to him,” he moaned into the phone.
“Why not? Wasn’t he at Java?”
“Yes, he was there, but he was talking to Noah.”
“Oh,” Katie answered uncertainly. “Well that probably doesn’t mean anything; I mean they are friends after all.”
“Yeah, that’s what I told myself before I forced myself to go back in so that I could talk to him.”
“Okay, well I’m glad that you went back in. That was definitely the right thing to do.”
“Yeah well I was too late. By the time I went back in he was gone. Noah informed me that he was running errands,” he finished bitterly. He hated that Noah knew something about Luke’s schedule that he himself didn’t know.
“Reid,” Katie started in a gentle tone. “You still need to talk things over with him.”
“I know, I called him on his cell, but it went straight to voicemail.”
“I’m glad that you called. Did you leave a message for him?”
“No,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“Okay, well at least you called, that’s a start. I’m sorry but I have to go now. We’ll talk about this more tonight. Okay?”
“Yeah,” Reid replied. “Katie do you really think that this might all be a misunderstanding?”
Katie heard the naked pain in Reid’s voice, and just wanted to hug him. Instead she told him what he needed to hear and prayed that she wasn’t lying to him.
“Yes Reid, I really do. You just need to talk to him and to listen to what he has to say.”
Luke and Lily finally got home from the airport. Lily insisted on telling Luke all about her adventures in Paris. Luke dutifully listened while she droned on and on about it.
When Lily had finally finished regaling Luke about her trip she gave Luke a list of errands she needed him to run for her, while she went upstairs to shower and nap.
Luke rolled his eyes inwardly but promised to complete the given tasks.
Once Lily went upstairs Luke checked his phone and saw that he had missed a call from Reid. Noting that there was no voicemail from him, Luke quickly phoned Reid’s cell.
It went straight to voicemail. Luke sighed and hung up. I had better take care of these jobs for my mom. Geez I still have to head back to the foundation. I will try Reid again later. I miss him.