FIC: It's a Bet (1/3)
Title: It’s a Bet (1/3)
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Reid agrees to operate on Noah . . . but only if Luke wins a bet.
Disclaimer: All belongs to the As the World Turns, not me.
Notes: Deviates from the 1/29 episode where Luke tries to convince Reid to help Noah.
“Could I get a large coffee, black, no milk, lots of sugar?” Reid said, smiling at the tall, broad-shouldered barista.
“It’s on me.”
Reid jumped slightly as he heard Luke’s voice beside him. “Mr. Snyder, what are you . . .? Are you seriously stalking me outside of the hospital now?”
“Well, you won’t listen to me in the hospital so . . .” Luke said as he dropped a five-dollar bill on the counter.
“Save your breath,” Reid said as he pushed the bill back towards Luke, “and your money. I’m not for sale.”
“Yeah, you said that already.”
“And you accuse me of not listening?” Reid said as he grabbed his coffee cup and walked to a table in the corner.
Luke sighed as he followed Reid. “Why are you so stubborn?”
“Why are you so pushy?”
“Because you refuse to help Noah,” Luke said, standing in front of the small, round table where Reid sat.
“I don’t help anyone who threatens me into doing something I don’t want to do,” Reid said, stirring his coffee.
Luke gripped the chair as he leaned over the table. “But Noah had nothing to do with that and I only did it because my dad told me to and-and . . .” Luke looked down at his hands.
Reid raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Luke shook his head and looked up at Reid. “It was me. It was all me. I blackmailed you, not Noah.”
Reid stared at Luke.
“So why are you punishing him for something I did?” continued Luke.
“I’m not punishing anyone. You’re just huffy because you’re not getting what you want, which I know is a foreign concept to you but that’s the way life is. Welcome to the real world, Mr. Snyder.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “You’re a doctor. Your job is to help people and Noah needs you. His life depends on it.”
Reid laughed. “His blindness is not life-threatening.”
“I’m talking about the life he has with me, Dr. Oliver. If, if Noah can’t see-if he never sees again, it’s not gonna be the same.” Luke, I lost my sight. How can things be the same between us?” Luke bit his lip remembering Noah’s painful words. He didn’t think things had changed between them, but if Noah thought so, then Luke had to make sure that things returned to the way they had been. That included Noah seeing again. And that’s why Dr. Oliver had to operate on Noah. He had to.
Reid sat back in his chair and smirked. “Am I here to fix Noah’s sight or your love life?”
“Neither, as you’ve made perfectly clear.”
Reid nodded. “That’s true.” He sipped his coffee.
Luke pulled back the chair and sat down. “Dr. Oliver, please.”
“Blackmail, bribery and now begging. Wow, you just don’t know when to stop, do you?”
“I’ll stop when you agree to operate on Noah, really. Just say yes and I’ll stop bothering you, I promise.”
“The way you’re pushing, I’d have thought you were the blind guy,” Reid said as he finished his coffee and stood.
Luke also stood and blocked Reid’s path. “I’ll do whatever I have to for Noah. If that means being the biggest pest you’ll ever encounter, so be it.”
“Oh, lucky me.”
“I’ll do anything for Noah to see again, Dr. Oliver. Anything.”
Reid stared at Luke. This guy really isn’t going away anytime soon, is he? Reid bit back a grin. Well, at least he’s easy on the eyes. Wait, what? Where the hell did that come from? Reid rubbed his forehead as if to erase the impure thoughts about Luke Snyder that were suddenly and strangely percolating his brain.
“Dr. Oliver?”
Walk away, Reid. “Just leave me alone.” He moved past Luke, brushing his shoulder against Luke’s.
“Dr. Oliver, wait.”
Reid turned back. “I have nothing more to say to you, Mr. Snyder. Like I told you earlier, if you want me to help Noah, take a number and get in line.”
Luke stood in front of him and crossed his arms. “There is really nothing I can do to get you to operate on Noah?”
“Have I not been answering that question with the same answer for the past few days, Mr. Snyder?”
“Fine, suit yourself, Dr. Oliver,” Luke said with a grin. “See you in court in a month. Wish I could say that the judge will go easy on you but since I intend to tell the truth under oath, he probably won’t.” Luke patted Reid’s shoulder. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
Reid glared as Luke walked away. I should hate him. I really should. He dumped his empty cup into the trash bin and smiled once more at the brawny barista before walking out of Java.
So why don’t I?
Well, I tried, Luke thought dejectedly as he ran a hand through his hair. But it’s not my fault if Dr. Oliver is impossible.
It’s not my fault.
Luke knocked on the door of the guest bedroom where Noah had been sleeping-alone-since his accident.
“Yeah?”
Luke slowly opened the door and peeked in. “Noah?”
“What do you want, Luke?” Noah asked curtly.
Luke flinched at Noah’s tone even though he’d expected it. Ever since Dr. Oliver had fled the hospital saying he wasn’t going to operate on Noah, Noah had been acting cold and distant with Luke. He didn’t even go to the dining room for breakfast and dinner anymore, preferring to be holed up in his room alone. Noah was upset that Dr. Oliver wasn’t going to restore his sight so Luke couldn’t really blame him for acting like he did.
Noah lay on the bed with his back propped up against the headboard. “No, I’m not going down for lunch. I’m not hungry.”
“Um, no, it’s not that. I, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Dr. Oliver this morning.”
“Luke, can’t you just leave it alone? You’re making it worse,” Noah said as he sat up.
“I only want to help, No-”
“Then stay away from Dr. Oliver, Luke,” Noah practically shouted.
Luke tried to keep quiet-he really did-but after his encounters with Dr. Oliver earlier, Luke was tired of being chastised for simply trying to help. “How am I making it worse, Noah? Don’t forget I’m the reason he’s here at all.”
“And don’t forget you’re also the reason he won’t operate! He can’t stand you, Luke, so having you around is probably making him hate me too.”
“He only hates me,” Luke muttered as he jammed his hands into his jean pockets.
Noah stood.
“Where are you going?”
“Maddie’s picking up in a few minutes. We’re going over to her place.”
“For?” asked Luke, confused.
“We’re going to do some research on other doctors, see if there is anyone even slightly as competent as Reid Oliver.”
“I can help you with that, Noah. I’ll have Grandmother make some calls-”
“No, Luke, I’ve got it,” Noah said, putting up a hand. “Let me do this. Please.”
Luke bit his lip.
“Besides, don’t you have to go see Damian or something? He called me an hour ago looking for you.”
Luke pulled out his phone. “Yeah, he called me too but I was with Dr. Oliver.”
“Well, go see what he wants. I can handle things on my own,” Noah said softly.
“You really don’t want me to come?”
Noah hesitated before answering. “You’ve done enough.”
Luke stared at Noah before rushing out of the bedroom.
What’d you expect, Luke? This is all your fault. Luke’s conscience was right. It was his fault.
Reid slammed his locker shut and leaned his head against it. It’d been a long day. All he wanted now was to go home, turn on the sports channel and drink a beer.
Well, if he was honest with himself, what he really wanted was to go home, have sex and drink a beer. Thanks to Luke Snyder, though, that plan was shot to hell. The chance he’d had to possibly have sex with the hunky barista was gone as said barista had finished his shift earlier and Reid had no name or number.
Yes, it’d been a long day, made especially hellish because of his encounters with Luke, his dull, blind boyfriend and patients whose ailments were practically laughable. Reid ignored the other thing bothering him-his inexplicable desire for one Luke Snyder-as he walked out of the doctors' locker room and straight into-
“Mr. Snyder, again? Really?”
Luke raised his palms in the air. “Look, I’m only here to tell you that I’m not going to bother you anymore.”
“You know, you could just not do it. You telling me bothers me so that kind of negates the purpose of your intentions, doesn’t it?”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, that’s all I came to say. I-I’m sorry for everything. I’m just desperate for Noah to see again. It’s my fault he’s blind and I don’t know how else to make it up to him.”
Reid stared at Luke. “His accident was your fault?”
Luke nodded. “And you were the best hope for him, for us, so I did what I had to do.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor.
“I thought Daddy made you blackmail me.”
Luke looked up at Reid and shook his head. “I did it. It was all me.”
“That’s what Mr. Mayer said.”
“Noah? You talked to Noah?”
“He was here a while ago with some girl, making his own argument for why I should operate on him,” Reid explained. After hearing Noah’s pleading, Reid concluded that Noah Mayer was boring, not that smart, arrogant, and inaccurately blaming his boyfriend for an accident that was just that: an accident. What Reid didn’t understand was why Luke was blaming himself and, more perplexing, letting Noah blame him.
“And?”
“Overruled, though I must say that he had a very strong case against you.”
Luke looked like he’d been punched. “What did he say?”
“What you just admitted, that you and only you caused his blindness, that you have absolutely no say in his care and that he had nothing to do with how I came to be here.”
Strands of hair fell over Luke’s eye as if to shield him from the embarrassment Reid’s words were causing. Reid had an urge to push the hair back and -
“There’s nothing more for me to say, then,” Luke said, his face bright red as he turned around.
“Mr. Snyder, wait.” I can’t believe I’m doing this. “What if I say yes to the surgery?”
Luke immediately faced Reid. “But you just said-”
Reid sighed. “Could you not talk for a second, Mr. Impatient, so you can hear me out?”
Luke crossed his arms. “Go ahead.”
“Maybe I will perform the surgery to restore Noah’s sight.”
Luke’s face broke into a grin. “Really?
Reid looked into Luke’s eyes to avoid staring at the huge smile on Luke’s face-a smile Reid suddenly liked very, very much.
“This is amazing. I can’t wait to tell Noah.”
“Hold on, hold on. Let’s talk about it first before you skip on home.”
“What do you want? I’ve told you-name it and it’s yours.”
“You might think twice after listening to the deal.”
“Deal? What deal?”
“Well, it’s not a deal so much as a bet.”
“What?” Luke asked, his smile disappearing quickly.
“After the hell you put me through these past few days, I’m not going to make it easy for you or him.”
“Go on.”
Reid grinned. This might be fun. And I need some fun after putting up with all the crap this guy has caused. “Let’s make a bet. If you win, I operate on Noah.”
Luke stared at Reid, trying to figure out where this was going.
“And if I win, I operate on Noah,” Reid continued.
“But-but that’s the same thing. I’m confused.”
Reid exhaled sharply. “For the love of-could you keep your mouth shut so I can finish?”
“You’re such a jerk. I can’t believe I’m even listening to you.”
“Do you want Noah to get his eyesight back or not?”
Luke feared he’d regret this, but he was willing to do anything for Noah so he nodded.
“Okay, so again: if you win, I perform Noah’s surgery. But if I win, I perform Noah’s surgery after you sleep with me.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open.
“Well, Mr. Snyder? Is it a bet?”
Part 2
Author: sleeper6
Characters: Luke/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Reid agrees to operate on Noah . . . but only if Luke wins a bet.
Disclaimer: All belongs to the As the World Turns, not me.
Notes: Deviates from the 1/29 episode where Luke tries to convince Reid to help Noah.
“Could I get a large coffee, black, no milk, lots of sugar?” Reid said, smiling at the tall, broad-shouldered barista.
“It’s on me.”
Reid jumped slightly as he heard Luke’s voice beside him. “Mr. Snyder, what are you . . .? Are you seriously stalking me outside of the hospital now?”
“Well, you won’t listen to me in the hospital so . . .” Luke said as he dropped a five-dollar bill on the counter.
“Save your breath,” Reid said as he pushed the bill back towards Luke, “and your money. I’m not for sale.”
“Yeah, you said that already.”
“And you accuse me of not listening?” Reid said as he grabbed his coffee cup and walked to a table in the corner.
Luke sighed as he followed Reid. “Why are you so stubborn?”
“Why are you so pushy?”
“Because you refuse to help Noah,” Luke said, standing in front of the small, round table where Reid sat.
“I don’t help anyone who threatens me into doing something I don’t want to do,” Reid said, stirring his coffee.
Luke gripped the chair as he leaned over the table. “But Noah had nothing to do with that and I only did it because my dad told me to and-and . . .” Luke looked down at his hands.
Reid raised an eyebrow. “And?”
Luke shook his head and looked up at Reid. “It was me. It was all me. I blackmailed you, not Noah.”
Reid stared at Luke.
“So why are you punishing him for something I did?” continued Luke.
“I’m not punishing anyone. You’re just huffy because you’re not getting what you want, which I know is a foreign concept to you but that’s the way life is. Welcome to the real world, Mr. Snyder.”
Luke narrowed his eyes. “You’re a doctor. Your job is to help people and Noah needs you. His life depends on it.”
Reid laughed. “His blindness is not life-threatening.”
“I’m talking about the life he has with me, Dr. Oliver. If, if Noah can’t see-if he never sees again, it’s not gonna be the same.” Luke, I lost my sight. How can things be the same between us?” Luke bit his lip remembering Noah’s painful words. He didn’t think things had changed between them, but if Noah thought so, then Luke had to make sure that things returned to the way they had been. That included Noah seeing again. And that’s why Dr. Oliver had to operate on Noah. He had to.
Reid sat back in his chair and smirked. “Am I here to fix Noah’s sight or your love life?”
“Neither, as you’ve made perfectly clear.”
Reid nodded. “That’s true.” He sipped his coffee.
Luke pulled back the chair and sat down. “Dr. Oliver, please.”
“Blackmail, bribery and now begging. Wow, you just don’t know when to stop, do you?”
“I’ll stop when you agree to operate on Noah, really. Just say yes and I’ll stop bothering you, I promise.”
“The way you’re pushing, I’d have thought you were the blind guy,” Reid said as he finished his coffee and stood.
Luke also stood and blocked Reid’s path. “I’ll do whatever I have to for Noah. If that means being the biggest pest you’ll ever encounter, so be it.”
“Oh, lucky me.”
“I’ll do anything for Noah to see again, Dr. Oliver. Anything.”
Reid stared at Luke. This guy really isn’t going away anytime soon, is he? Reid bit back a grin. Well, at least he’s easy on the eyes. Wait, what? Where the hell did that come from? Reid rubbed his forehead as if to erase the impure thoughts about Luke Snyder that were suddenly and strangely percolating his brain.
“Dr. Oliver?”
Walk away, Reid. “Just leave me alone.” He moved past Luke, brushing his shoulder against Luke’s.
“Dr. Oliver, wait.”
Reid turned back. “I have nothing more to say to you, Mr. Snyder. Like I told you earlier, if you want me to help Noah, take a number and get in line.”
Luke stood in front of him and crossed his arms. “There is really nothing I can do to get you to operate on Noah?”
“Have I not been answering that question with the same answer for the past few days, Mr. Snyder?”
“Fine, suit yourself, Dr. Oliver,” Luke said with a grin. “See you in court in a month. Wish I could say that the judge will go easy on you but since I intend to tell the truth under oath, he probably won’t.” Luke patted Reid’s shoulder. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
Reid glared as Luke walked away. I should hate him. I really should. He dumped his empty cup into the trash bin and smiled once more at the brawny barista before walking out of Java.
So why don’t I?
Well, I tried, Luke thought dejectedly as he ran a hand through his hair. But it’s not my fault if Dr. Oliver is impossible.
It’s not my fault.
Luke knocked on the door of the guest bedroom where Noah had been sleeping-alone-since his accident.
“Yeah?”
Luke slowly opened the door and peeked in. “Noah?”
“What do you want, Luke?” Noah asked curtly.
Luke flinched at Noah’s tone even though he’d expected it. Ever since Dr. Oliver had fled the hospital saying he wasn’t going to operate on Noah, Noah had been acting cold and distant with Luke. He didn’t even go to the dining room for breakfast and dinner anymore, preferring to be holed up in his room alone. Noah was upset that Dr. Oliver wasn’t going to restore his sight so Luke couldn’t really blame him for acting like he did.
Noah lay on the bed with his back propped up against the headboard. “No, I’m not going down for lunch. I’m not hungry.”
“Um, no, it’s not that. I, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Dr. Oliver this morning.”
“Luke, can’t you just leave it alone? You’re making it worse,” Noah said as he sat up.
“I only want to help, No-”
“Then stay away from Dr. Oliver, Luke,” Noah practically shouted.
Luke tried to keep quiet-he really did-but after his encounters with Dr. Oliver earlier, Luke was tired of being chastised for simply trying to help. “How am I making it worse, Noah? Don’t forget I’m the reason he’s here at all.”
“And don’t forget you’re also the reason he won’t operate! He can’t stand you, Luke, so having you around is probably making him hate me too.”
“He only hates me,” Luke muttered as he jammed his hands into his jean pockets.
Noah stood.
“Where are you going?”
“Maddie’s picking up in a few minutes. We’re going over to her place.”
“For?” asked Luke, confused.
“We’re going to do some research on other doctors, see if there is anyone even slightly as competent as Reid Oliver.”
“I can help you with that, Noah. I’ll have Grandmother make some calls-”
“No, Luke, I’ve got it,” Noah said, putting up a hand. “Let me do this. Please.”
Luke bit his lip.
“Besides, don’t you have to go see Damian or something? He called me an hour ago looking for you.”
Luke pulled out his phone. “Yeah, he called me too but I was with Dr. Oliver.”
“Well, go see what he wants. I can handle things on my own,” Noah said softly.
“You really don’t want me to come?”
Noah hesitated before answering. “You’ve done enough.”
Luke stared at Noah before rushing out of the bedroom.
What’d you expect, Luke? This is all your fault. Luke’s conscience was right. It was his fault.
Reid slammed his locker shut and leaned his head against it. It’d been a long day. All he wanted now was to go home, turn on the sports channel and drink a beer.
Well, if he was honest with himself, what he really wanted was to go home, have sex and drink a beer. Thanks to Luke Snyder, though, that plan was shot to hell. The chance he’d had to possibly have sex with the hunky barista was gone as said barista had finished his shift earlier and Reid had no name or number.
Yes, it’d been a long day, made especially hellish because of his encounters with Luke, his dull, blind boyfriend and patients whose ailments were practically laughable. Reid ignored the other thing bothering him-his inexplicable desire for one Luke Snyder-as he walked out of the doctors' locker room and straight into-
“Mr. Snyder, again? Really?”
Luke raised his palms in the air. “Look, I’m only here to tell you that I’m not going to bother you anymore.”
“You know, you could just not do it. You telling me bothers me so that kind of negates the purpose of your intentions, doesn’t it?”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, that’s all I came to say. I-I’m sorry for everything. I’m just desperate for Noah to see again. It’s my fault he’s blind and I don’t know how else to make it up to him.”
Reid stared at Luke. “His accident was your fault?”
Luke nodded. “And you were the best hope for him, for us, so I did what I had to do.” Luke rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the floor.
“I thought Daddy made you blackmail me.”
Luke looked up at Reid and shook his head. “I did it. It was all me.”
“That’s what Mr. Mayer said.”
“Noah? You talked to Noah?”
“He was here a while ago with some girl, making his own argument for why I should operate on him,” Reid explained. After hearing Noah’s pleading, Reid concluded that Noah Mayer was boring, not that smart, arrogant, and inaccurately blaming his boyfriend for an accident that was just that: an accident. What Reid didn’t understand was why Luke was blaming himself and, more perplexing, letting Noah blame him.
“And?”
“Overruled, though I must say that he had a very strong case against you.”
Luke looked like he’d been punched. “What did he say?”
“What you just admitted, that you and only you caused his blindness, that you have absolutely no say in his care and that he had nothing to do with how I came to be here.”
Strands of hair fell over Luke’s eye as if to shield him from the embarrassment Reid’s words were causing. Reid had an urge to push the hair back and -
“There’s nothing more for me to say, then,” Luke said, his face bright red as he turned around.
“Mr. Snyder, wait.” I can’t believe I’m doing this. “What if I say yes to the surgery?”
Luke immediately faced Reid. “But you just said-”
Reid sighed. “Could you not talk for a second, Mr. Impatient, so you can hear me out?”
Luke crossed his arms. “Go ahead.”
“Maybe I will perform the surgery to restore Noah’s sight.”
Luke’s face broke into a grin. “Really?
Reid looked into Luke’s eyes to avoid staring at the huge smile on Luke’s face-a smile Reid suddenly liked very, very much.
“This is amazing. I can’t wait to tell Noah.”
“Hold on, hold on. Let’s talk about it first before you skip on home.”
“What do you want? I’ve told you-name it and it’s yours.”
“You might think twice after listening to the deal.”
“Deal? What deal?”
“Well, it’s not a deal so much as a bet.”
“What?” Luke asked, his smile disappearing quickly.
“After the hell you put me through these past few days, I’m not going to make it easy for you or him.”
“Go on.”
Reid grinned. This might be fun. And I need some fun after putting up with all the crap this guy has caused. “Let’s make a bet. If you win, I operate on Noah.”
Luke stared at Reid, trying to figure out where this was going.
“And if I win, I operate on Noah,” Reid continued.
“But-but that’s the same thing. I’m confused.”
Reid exhaled sharply. “For the love of-could you keep your mouth shut so I can finish?”
“You’re such a jerk. I can’t believe I’m even listening to you.”
“Do you want Noah to get his eyesight back or not?”
Luke feared he’d regret this, but he was willing to do anything for Noah so he nodded.
“Okay, so again: if you win, I perform Noah’s surgery. But if I win, I perform Noah’s surgery after you sleep with me.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open.
“Well, Mr. Snyder? Is it a bet?”
Part 2