New LuRe Fic: The Great American Fake-Off, 3/4
The Great American Fake-Off, Part 3
by Suz
Feedback would be fab! Also posted on AO3 here.
*
All five of them squeezed into a booth together at Al's - Luke and Reid on one side, the three kids on the other. Luke had been 'on' the entire drive there, chattering away in the car about nothing important, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. His purpose had been obvious - distract the kids. He continued that now, cheerfully going through the drinks menu with his siblings, encouraging them to get whatever they wanted, debating which flavours were the best and keeping up a non-stop conversation with his brother and sisters.
It had to be exhausting. Reid was exhausted just watching it.
None of them had finished their meals back at the Snyder house, so Reid quietly ordered a few sides of fries. Sure, it was hardly the healthiest combination in the world, but this little visit was about making the kids feel better anyway.
Shooting him a grateful look, Luke leant against him and helped Ethan narrow down his choice of flavours.
Sometime later, when his siblings were all smiling and laughing - well, Faith wasn't glaring, anyway - Reid dragged Luke to a regular table nearby where he could get some much needed physical, and mental, space.
"But," Luke began, gesturing to his family.
"They're fine," he pointed out, "we're nearby and we can see everything that's happening." It was remarkable how quickly kids could get over things, Reid thought, watching as they good-naturedly made fun of each other. A couple of milkshakes and they soon appeared as if nothing had upset them at all.
It wasn't really that simple, Reid knew that much, but he still thought kids were better at dealing with most things than adults were.
Finally giving in, Luke slumped down in his chair. "I just don't want Mom and Dad's drama to ruin their childhood, you know?"
That hadn't come out of nowhere. "Like it ruined yours?" It wasn't said to be mean, or upset him - at this point, Reid just honestly thought it was the truth.
Looking truly shocked, Luke seemed stunned for a few moments. Reid didn't know if it was a realisation or shock that Reid had been so blunt about it - though Luke must've known what he was like by now - but whatever it was, eventually it only changed into determination. "I knew I was right."
That'd come out of the left field. "About what?"
"You," Luke told him with a soft smile. "What I said here, yesterday," he went on, which Reid still didn't understand. "When I first realised they were going to be at the meal," he explained, nodding to his siblings, "I was...hesitant. The whole point of this," he gestured between them, "for me, anyway, was a way to indulge in my...darker side without hurting anyone, right?"
"Right."
"Only kids can get attached, you know? When I tell my parents we've split up it won't really be a big deal, but with kids..."
"You didn't want them to get to know me and then have me vanish out of their lives," Reid concluded.
"Like Noah did," Luke said darkly, which put a whole other spin on this conversation.
"He doesn't come and see them?" He knew Luke and Noah had been together for a couple of years, at least. Noah must've become pretty close with his siblings.
"I know it's harder for him to get around now," he admitted, apparently still trying to find some good in the guy, "but it's the fact he doesn't even try, you know? Natalie in particular doesn't understand why she doesn't get to see him anymore." He looked over at her sadly. "But," he went on, reviving his mood some as he looked back at Reid, "tonight only confirms for me what I thought yesterday."
"Which is...?"
"You're not going anywhere," Luke grinned, absolutely certain. "Even when we 'break up'," he waggled his head from side to side, "the way you were with them tonight - sticking up for me, sticking up for them," he nodded across at them again, "you're not about to leave them high and dry."
Reid had honestly never expected it, but... "No. I'm not."
"And I can't tell you how much it means to me, Reid," Luke went on, turning serious as he covered Reid's hand with his own. "Looking out for them is just about the best thing anyone's ever done for me."
"You mean dating me isn't amazing enough?" he asked, because it was getting too mushy again.
"That is pretty awesome, too," Luke conceded, the smile returning. "God," he continued after a few moments, "isn't it crazy how much things have changed in such a short amount of time? Barely a week ago I thought you hated me."
"I did - kind of," he amended, because that wasn't the whole truth. Even before he'd bumped into Steve in Java, he hadn't disliked Luke anywhere near as much as he had the first week he'd arrived.
"I know I didn't do myself any favours," Luke admitted.
"You definitely didn't," Reid confirmed, making Luke lift his eyebrows at him, unimpressed. "But then I didn't either," he gave.
"I guess we only wanted to see the worst in each other," Luke said quietly. "It's funny," he continued, shaking his head, "that my life finally started taking a turn for the better the day you asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend."
It wasn't even funny, in Reid's opinion - it was honestly kind of sad. He decided not to point that out. "Good things just happen when I'm around," he volunteered. "Even being my fake boyfriend improves peoples lives."
"I know you're joking," Luke replied honestly, "but that's actually the truth." Shaking his head, he got to his feet. "Bathroom break," he announced.
Before Luke could leave - and realising it'd been a while since he'd done anything 'boyfriendy' - Reid reached for Luke's hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.
Face flushed, Luke eyed him carefully. "You know you've already pulled that move, right?"
"The classics never go out of style," he retorted, making Luke roll his eyes before he finally walked away.
Reid was still watching him go, smiling to himself, when Faith suddenly plopped down in Luke's chair. "Oh," Reid blinked. "The sister."
"Oh," she replied smartly, "the boyfriend."
Glancing over at the booth to make sure Natalie and Ethan were still safely in place - they were, dipping fries in their milkshakes, the heathens - he focused back on her. "You need something?"
"Just wondering what you get out of this," she mused, narrowing her eyes.
Her paranoia wasn't entirely unexpected, he supposed. "You don't have the monopoly on being miserable about everything, you know. I used to do the same thing." Disturbingly, he was beginning to realise he had more in common with a grumpy teenager than he ever would've imagined.
Clearly not appreciating being called miserable - or maybe it was the comparison to Reid himself - she didn't drop the subject, either way. "What changed?"
"I met your brother." Not 100% true, but he did honestly feel like he'd been in a bit of a better space since 'dating' Luke.
"Oh my God, you are so cheesy," she complained, rolling her eyes.
"It's your brother who's the cheesily romantic one."
"I saw you kissing his hand," she pointed out, for which he really only had himself to blame. "That's only stuff that like...old people do." Faith squinted at him. "Just how old are you?"
Teenagers. "Thirty-four."
"Huh," she said, "you are a lot older than him." She didn't seem to be judging him for it. "But then Noah threw him away like a piece of trash, so maybe he needs an older guy this time."
Reid stared at her. "That's...harsh."
"Look," she began, sounding sadly world-weary, "Luke never talked about his relationship with Noah with me but I'm not a little kid, okay? I see a lot more of what goes on than what people tell me. Noah seemed...fun, at first, when I was too young to know any better. But then he always kept breaking up with Luke and Luke would always take him back and..." she shook her head. "I love my brother but he drives me crazy, you know? He does so much for Ethan and Nat but never does anything for himself. Until now, apparently," she finished, looking over Reid. "Is that because of you?"
Even Reid couldn't give himself that much credit. "More like the other way around. I think I'm the result of him finally thinking about what he needs." It was kind of the truth.
"Well, good," she nodded sincerely. "What you did at dinner today," Faith told him, "that was good. You might be okay."
Reid genuinely got the impression that she didn't say those words very often. "Thanks."
"Don't think I won't be waiting for you to mess up, though," she announced, getting up and flouncing back over to the booth.
He realised why she'd left so suddenly when Luke sat back in his chair. "Was it just me, or was Faith actually talking to you?"
"She was talking to me," he confirmed. "I think she likes me." He honestly felt kind of smug, which was ridiculous, caring what a teenager thought about you.
"That is impressive," Luke said, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Faith doesn't really like anyone."
"Nah, she likes you," he told him, because that much had been obvious. "She's just picky. Doesn't take fools gladly."
"Sounds a lot like someone else I know," he said with a grin.
Reid didn't know if he should be offended or not - wait, yes he did, and he should definitely be offended. "Are you comparing me to your grumpy teenage sister?" He decided to ignore the fact that he'd mentally compared himself to Faith already.
"If the shoe fits...?" Luke began innocently.
Charming.
Shifting his chair closer to Reid's, Luke sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him as they looked at his brother and sisters.
After a while he asked seriously, "You think they'll be okay?"
"They've got you looking out for them," he replied just as seriously. "Life won't be perfect, because life isn't perfect. But they'll have all the emotional support they'll ever need." Even if it really shouldn't have been almost exclusively Luke's job, he knew it was one Luke would take on.
Turning his head to look at Reid fondly, Luke took his hand. "Because you'll be there to help too."
Luke had been right, in a way - things had changed so much in such a short amount of time. A ridiculous amount, really, but it wasn't all just down to the pretending to be boyfriends thing. Even before that Reid had been coming to understand that Luke wasn't just the spoiled brat who was used to getting everything his own way. He'd acted like he hadn't seen it, like his opinion of Luke hadn't been changing, mostly because he'd honestly enjoyed their little run-ins where they'd pick and make fun of each other. It'd always added a little spice to his day, put some pep in his step. Reid had honestly lost count of the amount of times he'd get to work or be at home after some run-in with Luke and would think back on the encounter, smiling to himself.
'Dating' Luke had made it even better. They spent time together deliberately and while they still made fun there was open fondness behind it, now. Spending time with Luke's 'dark side' was huge amounts of fun - and he got to kiss Luke. Kissing Luke was always a good thing.
As the days had passed, he'd found he genuinely liked the guy, was actually interested in his opinions and even wanted him to be happy and crap like that. Hell, at the meal tonight he hadn't been able to stand just how bad Luke's parents had been making him and his siblings feel and he literally hadn't been able to stop himself from reacting and holy shit he liked Luke.
He liked Luke. Not in some abstract, he was physically attracted to him way - he'd already known about that. He actually, seriously, liked him.
Suddenly everything made sense. Why he gave a crap about what happened to Luke's siblings - when did he ever care about other people's kids? Why he smiled almost anytime he saw Luke - and not as part of their 'act'. He didn't even have to think about it, it was just instinctive at this point. Seeing Luke always made him smile.
The way he deliberately hadn't been bringing up the topic of their relationship ending himself, because he didn't want it to end.
He wanted this to be real.
God, he was such an idiot.
"Hey," Luke began, sounding concerned - of course he was, he was Luke, "are you okay?"
"Fine," he shot back, frantically scrambling to cover his true feelings - Luke had brought up their inevitable break-up so many times he couldn't possibly feel the same. "Just pondering over my future career as Ethan's babysitter and how I can turn him against your mom."
"No indoctrinating the children, please," Luke replied instantly, which only reminded Reid of how quick and smart he was and just how much he liked that.
This was terrible.
Everything was terrible.
Except for the way Luke felt pressed up against him.
*
When Luke received the all-clear in a text message from Emma - Lily had gone back home so at least there'd be no more confrontations in front of them that night - they all piled back into Luke's car and made the drive to the farm.
Trapped in a car with Luke, Reid was beginning to regret leaving his own car at the farm. Still, the kids were there too so at least there weren't any awkward silences as, now being in a much better mood, there was a lot more talking in general from people who weren't Luke this time.
It wasn't long before they were parked up at home, and Faith and Natalie were helping Ethan out of his child seat and into the house.
"Well," Luke said as he pocketed his keys, turning to face Reid. "I should probably get in there and talk to Grandma, see how things went before I head home."
That probably wasn't going to be fun. "Need me to come in, or-"
"Nah, I should probably do this alone," he said. "Thank you, though," he added thoughtfully. "So much. For everything." Stepping forward, his hands clutched at Reid's jacket.
Reid swallowed, and he had to remind himself this was all for show. "It's fine."
"It's more than fine," Luke informed him, smiling, "it's amazing."
He made a production out of rolling his eyes. "Still on with that mushy stuff, I see."
"Ah, you love it really," Luke drawled, then looked over Reid's shoulder at something. "Grandma's looking," he said quietly, gaze moving back to meet Reid's.
Nodding in response, Reid leaned in to perform his boyfriendly duty, intending to give Luke a chaste kiss goodbye. He could handle that much, and would have to until they 'broke up'.
Luke very clearly had other ideas, giving Reid the same kind of kiss he'd given him earlier in the porch and - screw it. If this was all Reid was ever going to have of Luke, he might as well go all in.
He kissed Luke back just as deeply, just as passionately. Luke's hands went to the back of Reid's neck, then up into his hair so Reid cupped Luke's face with one hand and pulled his body close with another. It was different, more, knowing that it wasn't just physical attraction anymore and for all that they'd had some very satisfying kisses before, this one had them beat hands down.
"Um," Luke said afterwards, staring at him with wide eyes. "That was some kiss."
"We're good at that," Reid agreed, but still tried to act like it hadn't affected him just as deeply.
"I should...go," Luke told him. Was he imagining things, or was Luke's gaze on Reid's mouth? "I need to go."
"Okay," Reid said easily, releasing him and stepping back like his whole world hadn't shifted under his feet tonight. "I'll text you tomorrow."
"Yeah." Luke started walking towards the house. Hesitated. "Okay." Then kept going. "'Bye."
"'Bye," he replied, having to actually shove his hands into his pockets or he would've reached out for him again.
Shit, he was in so much trouble.
But it wouldn't be for very much longer, right?
He could do this. Reid nodded to himself as he turned and strode over to his car.
He could get through this.
He had no other choice.
*
Unsurprisingly Reid didn't get a lot of sleep that night. He spent a long time in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to work out just how long he'd been lying to himself. He didn't like the idea that he'd been kidding himself - he'd made a personal vow, after Steve, to be more aware of his feelings at all times. Yet, somehow, whatever this was with Luke had gotten away from him.
He forced himself to be bluntly honest about the whole experience - if Luke had been any other guy the day they'd run into Steve and this whole farce had started, would Reid have pretended to be dating them, too?
The answer was no.
He hadn't had the time - or inclination - to analyse it in the moment, but his immediate reaction, his instinct, had been to fake that he was dating Luke. Without having the time to think over his options at all, he'd just gone straight to dating Luke.
That said a lot about the way he'd regarded Luke even back then, though he clearly hadn't started to acknowledge it.
Was it really the end of the world that he liked Luke that much, though? It was obvious, at this point, that Luke liked him as a person - that alone gave Reid hope that Luke at least wouldn't run screaming if he ever found out. Also, just the fact that Luke liked him at all bode well, because almost nobody liked Reid.
They also both found each other attractive and, honestly, if Reid didn't have all these annoying feelings going on he could've well suggested a purely physical and mutually beneficial friends-with-benefits relationship. It didn't seem like a smart move though, when Reid's feelings for Luke were more than just physical attraction and he was reasonably sure that Luke didn't feel the same way.
Well, kind of. Luke had made it very clear that he liked Reid a lot, that his support and recent friendship had made him important to Luke - but that was all it'd come across as, to Reid. Friendship. And he'd honestly never had a friend like Luke, someone who made him laugh and just brightened his day.
Crap - Faith had been right. He really was cheesy.
Regardless, he didn't want to ruin the friendship he'd only recently started having with Luke by dumping these feelings on him. And it was only really an issue now because they were pretending to be in a relationship. Steve would hopefully be leaving soon - there was no way he'd stay long-term in a place as small as Oakdale - then they could 'break up' and at least Luke wouldn't be snuggling up to him all the time and things would be easier to bear.
Sometime after 7am, Reid finally stumbled out of his bedroom, blearily heading towards the coffee maker.
He knew Katie must've already been up because he could smell the coffee brewing, and he was proven right when she emerged, fully dressed, from he room. There was no sign of Jacob so, remarkably, he might have actually still been sleeping.
"Morning," he grunted, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and pouring himself a cup.
"Wow, listen to you," she remarked, reaching for her own mug which was already poured and sitting on the counter. "Everything okay?"
Adding a lot more sugar than he should have, he shrugged and sipped carefully at his drink. Nothing like the old hit of caffeine and too-much sugar in the morning. "Didn't sleep well."
"Everything okay?" she asked, frowning as she leant against the counter.
"Just didn't sleep well, that's all," he insisted, putting his drink down. She still kept staring at him. "Not everything has to mean something, Katie."
"Not always, that's true," she mused, "but all you've been doing lately is spending time with Luke so it's a fair bet this has something to do with him." Wonderful. "You said things went well when you called him, after getting his message."
"They did," he tried to say casually. "And things have still been going well since - between us, anyway."
She latched on to that quickly. "Did something happen last night?"
He very specifically didn't mention anything about his own realisation. "Just Luke's parents being a poor example for their kids," he told her. "So we all bailed on dinner and went for milkshakes at Al's instead."
"We?"
"Me and Luke. And Faith, Natalie and Ethan."
"Babysitting already?" she asked with a smile. "You keep doing that and you'll never get away from the Snyder's - though I'm guessing you don't want that anyway," she teased.
"Trust me, I've had more than enough of Luke's parents already," Reid told her, shaking his head in frustration as he recalled their behaviour the night before.
"I know they're not together anymore, right?" she asked and he nodded. "What did they do?"
"What didn't they do?" he spat back. "Fighting, arguing, embarrassing Emma, upsetting their kids. Luke was devastated." He shook his head. "These people are meant to be adults and they couldn't even play nice long enough to meet their son's new boyfriend. It was meant to be Luke's night, you know? And then ruined it."
Studying him intently, Katie just nodded as she frowned. "So then you guys went for milkshakes with the kids. And then you came home and couldn't sleep because you couldn't stop thinking about Luke-"
How the hell did she even know this stuff? "I never said that was the reason."
"You didn't need to," she brushed it off. "I know what's going on here, Reid," Katie told him, face slowly transforming into a smile. "And there's nothing to worry about."
Wouldn't that be a nice life? "There isn't?"
"No," she said gladly, shaking her head. "Look, you're freaking out because you're realising just how strong your feelings are for Luke - that's normal, when you're not sure if the other person feels the same way or not. But the great thing about your situation is that you don't need to freak out, Reid," she enthused encouragingly, "Luke already feels the same way."
He laughed a bizarre, high-pitched laugh. "Right."
"You should tell him," she announced definitively. "After those flowers and the message he sent the other day, there's no way he won't be happy about it. This is good, Reid," Katie continued. "Do you have any idea the amount of people who would love to be in your position? Knowing that the person they like already likes them back so there's no fear, no doubt?"
He nodded tightly. If she only knew... "Lucky me."
"I know you're probably used to playing it safe, when it comes to this stuff," she told him, turning a little more serious, "after being hurt before, but Luke's not going to hurt you, okay? He's a great guy and he feels the same way." Stepping around the counter, she grabbed his shoulders, looking him in the eye. "This is a good thing, Reid. You get to be happy and, for once, it's with none of the risk usually involved."
There was no way he was about to tell Luke - and definitely not while they were still pretending to date. It'd only make things weird and awkward between them, and Reid was beginning to think he was going to start acting that way himself anyway. He didn't need any extra help to be weird and awkward in front of Luke right now.
"I'll think about it," was all he could give her in the end because if he said he was going to do it, he knew Katie would absolutely check that he'd followed through.
"Well, don't wait too long," she warned, "these opportunities don't come around every day, Reid." Katie studied him with a soft look in her eye. "And I don't want you to miss out." Moving on, she let out a breath. "Okay, time to get Jacob up. You wanna help?" she teased, walking back over to her bedroom.
Reid was very much declining knowing that, at the very least, Jacob would have a wet diaper. "Nah, Blondie. I'm sure you can cope with this all by yourself."
Although honestly, right now, he could probably cope with a dirty diaper better than he could cope with anything else.
*
Work wasn't it's usual happy distraction. Bob told him that the hospital board were still playing it safe, though they hadn't spurned Invicta's offer completely. Reid had to acknowledge that, ultimately, all they'd really care about was the bottom line. If Steve could convince the board that they'd be better off financially, they'd probably still take the offer.
Unfortunately, Reid knew personally that Steve was extremely convincing.
For once it was Steve that was at the back of his mind all day instead of Luke, which was a definite step down. Even with his recent internal conflict, he would've much rather been thinking about Luke. Luke hadn't texted him at all today, either, which was a little unusual by now.
Everything came to a head a little before 3 o'clock, when the door to the room he was using swung open and Luke stepped inside.
"There you are," he said urgently, looking relieved as he quickly closed the door behind him and hurried over.
Pausing the paperwork he'd been filling in, Reid stood up. Something was clearly up. "What's wrong? Is it your folks? How did things go after I-?"
"It's not that," Luke assured him but still looked incredibly concerned. "This is much more urgent."
What the hell was it? "Will you just tell me already?" Anything that had Luke this worried had to be bad.
He was right.
"Steve just came to see me," Luke said, holding his gaze, "at the foundation."
Reid's mouth went dry. Steve near Luke? No. "What did he want?"
"Well, he said he wanted to see if there was some way for Invicta and the foundation to work together to support LGBT kids in hospital. According to him there's a whole bunch of hospitals under the Invicta umbrella now so we could, potentially, reach a lot of kids. Do a lot of good."
It all sounded very good and worthwhile - but then Steve knew exactly what he was doing. "And you believed him?"
"Not for a second," Luke said instantly, which made Reid feel a whole hell of a lot better. Objectively, he knew Luke was aware of what an ass Steve was, but there were some things even Reid couldn't be rational about. "He was charming, the entire time, but we both knew I was there the first time you ran into each other at Java - when I saw his true side."
"You can't trust him," Reid said urgently, unable to do anything else. "And you can't let him be in a position where he has any power over you." Shit, just the idea that Steve could screw Luke over the way he'd screwed over Reid...
"Hey, hey," Luke grabbed his forearms, comforting. "I know that, okay? And I don't think he's really trying that anyway. This was a power play," he announced. "When you had that run-in with him here, a couple of days ago. You said he threatened you, right?"
That was true. "Right."
"Well that's all this is," Luke said. "He's trying to show that he'll follow through. By coming to me - the person he thinks you care most about - he's trying to show he'll do whatever it takes. But he can't actually do anything to hurt me, okay?" He smiled at Reid reassuringly. "I'm never going to trust him - and he knows it."
Calming a little, Reid tried to think it over objectively. "You've already seen his true colours."
"Right," he continued.
"So he can't get to you."
"Exactly."
Okay. Okay, he was starting to feel a little better. "I just wish he'd get out of town already."
Luke nodded, biting his lip. "I was thinking...there might be something we can do about that, actually."
Reid was more than willing to hear this. "What is it?"
"It didn't cross my mind at all until after I saw Steve today, but Grandma..." he gestured randomly. "She's not on the hospital board, but she certainly knows everyone on the board personally."
"Lucinda?"
He nodded. "They're all old business associates, friends - or enemies," he added wryly. "But, either way, she probably has a lot of influence that we can use." This was already giving Reid hope. "We'll have to give her some reason for why we want this deal to fail," he said awkwardly, "I don't know if you want to tell her the truth or think up something else, but..."
At this point he didn't care. If Lucinda had any pull at all they needed to use it as soon as possible and get that asshole far away from Oakdale. "Make the call."
Nodding, Luke pulled out his phone and stepped to the other side of the room. Reid tried to return to his paperwork while he waited but gave it up as a lost cause when all he could focus on was listening to Luke's side of the conversation.
"Is tonight okay?" Luke asked at one point, hand over the bottom of his phone.
"Definitely."
Nodding, Luke conveyed the response, confirmed a time, then thanked his grandmother and hung up. "Tonight, 8 o'clock at Grandmother's estate."
Reid honestly couldn't express how much that meant to him, staring at Luke from his seat. "Good. Good."
Smiling a little sadly, Luke crossed over to him. "Whenever he's mentioned he always makes you seem less...you. I hate it," he confessed. "I hate whatever it was he did that hurt you so much."
Maybe he couldn't express how much this had meant to him, but maybe he could give Luke this much. Hell, it was well beyond time that someone finally knew about it anyway. Gesturing for Luke to take the plastic chair next to his, he waited until he was seated before he began.
"I was brilliant, as a kid," Reid said, turning in his chair to face him. Luke looked at him attentively. "The technical term is 'child genius'. I was years ahead of everyone else my age, academically. My parents did the best they could," he said, "and they loved me a lot. When they died, my uncle didn't have a clue what to do with me and...made that obvious," he said distastefully, declining to go into detail. "I finished high school, pre-med and medical school years early," he went on, "got my fellowship in record time. I was the youngest qualified doctor they'd seen in the US in years," he said matter-of-factly, "which actually isn't that impressive - there are doctors in other countries who have qualified much earlier."
Luke smiled at him fondly. "Trust you to be competitive about being a genius."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "So, I was taught to be an amazing neurologist - but that's all I was. I'd focused so much on my education and career that I wasn't good at the people thing, and finishing everything years early didn't exactly help. My peers were never my own age and most of them resented me - either because of my age or because I was justifiably smug about my accomplishments." He shook his head. "When you're a genius, no one ever teaches you how to just be a person." He'd learned that the hard way.
Luke's expression turned sad. "And you met Steve."
"I was his perfect victim," he explained bluntly. "Somehow he saw through the bravado, knew that I actually wanted someone to like me," he said derisively. "And I made it easy," Reid shook his head, still angry at himself, "so easy for him."
Blinking heavily, Luke reached out and touched his arm. "You don't have to-"
"No, I want to," Reid said honestly. He was really starting to think that holding it in for all these years had still been giving Steve some kind of power over him.
He couldn't let that happen anymore.
"I thought he wanted me," he explained, "but all along all he ever wanted was my brain." Pausing, he went on when he saw Luke's frown. "There were a couple of papers I'd written but hadn't finished, on my computer. New techniques for dealing with specific neurological issues. He took them - including all my research - finished them and published them himself."
Luke looked absolutely furious, but like he was trying to contain it. "He was a neurologist too?"
Reid nodded. "He was decent enough but he wanted more recognition, a more prestigious job placement. And he used me to get it," he shrugged. "Those papers got him noticed and he got exactly what he wanted. He told me, after I confronted him," he spoke quietly, vividly remembering the conversation, "that he knew it wouldn't ruin things for me. That I was so smart I'd recover in no time. I think it was the only time he ever underestimated himself," he finished, looking down. "And now he's here, working in corporate medicine. He put me through all that bullshit all for a career he didn't end up keeping." Shaking his head, Reid let out a long, heavy breath. It had been...emotional, as he'd expected, but he thought he actually did feel a little better.
"Reid," Luke said intensely, and when he turned to look again Luke had a face like thunder, "I swear to you, that asshole will be out of town as soon as humanly possible. Whatever it takes, I'll get it done. Once I'm finished with him," he nodded decisively, "he'll never want to set foot in Oakdale again."
TBC
Original post on Dreamwidth - there are
comments there.
by Suz
Feedback would be fab! Also posted on AO3 here.
*
All five of them squeezed into a booth together at Al's - Luke and Reid on one side, the three kids on the other. Luke had been 'on' the entire drive there, chattering away in the car about nothing important, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. His purpose had been obvious - distract the kids. He continued that now, cheerfully going through the drinks menu with his siblings, encouraging them to get whatever they wanted, debating which flavours were the best and keeping up a non-stop conversation with his brother and sisters.
It had to be exhausting. Reid was exhausted just watching it.
None of them had finished their meals back at the Snyder house, so Reid quietly ordered a few sides of fries. Sure, it was hardly the healthiest combination in the world, but this little visit was about making the kids feel better anyway.
Shooting him a grateful look, Luke leant against him and helped Ethan narrow down his choice of flavours.
Sometime later, when his siblings were all smiling and laughing - well, Faith wasn't glaring, anyway - Reid dragged Luke to a regular table nearby where he could get some much needed physical, and mental, space.
"But," Luke began, gesturing to his family.
"They're fine," he pointed out, "we're nearby and we can see everything that's happening." It was remarkable how quickly kids could get over things, Reid thought, watching as they good-naturedly made fun of each other. A couple of milkshakes and they soon appeared as if nothing had upset them at all.
It wasn't really that simple, Reid knew that much, but he still thought kids were better at dealing with most things than adults were.
Finally giving in, Luke slumped down in his chair. "I just don't want Mom and Dad's drama to ruin their childhood, you know?"
That hadn't come out of nowhere. "Like it ruined yours?" It wasn't said to be mean, or upset him - at this point, Reid just honestly thought it was the truth.
Looking truly shocked, Luke seemed stunned for a few moments. Reid didn't know if it was a realisation or shock that Reid had been so blunt about it - though Luke must've known what he was like by now - but whatever it was, eventually it only changed into determination. "I knew I was right."
That'd come out of the left field. "About what?"
"You," Luke told him with a soft smile. "What I said here, yesterday," he went on, which Reid still didn't understand. "When I first realised they were going to be at the meal," he explained, nodding to his siblings, "I was...hesitant. The whole point of this," he gestured between them, "for me, anyway, was a way to indulge in my...darker side without hurting anyone, right?"
"Right."
"Only kids can get attached, you know? When I tell my parents we've split up it won't really be a big deal, but with kids..."
"You didn't want them to get to know me and then have me vanish out of their lives," Reid concluded.
"Like Noah did," Luke said darkly, which put a whole other spin on this conversation.
"He doesn't come and see them?" He knew Luke and Noah had been together for a couple of years, at least. Noah must've become pretty close with his siblings.
"I know it's harder for him to get around now," he admitted, apparently still trying to find some good in the guy, "but it's the fact he doesn't even try, you know? Natalie in particular doesn't understand why she doesn't get to see him anymore." He looked over at her sadly. "But," he went on, reviving his mood some as he looked back at Reid, "tonight only confirms for me what I thought yesterday."
"Which is...?"
"You're not going anywhere," Luke grinned, absolutely certain. "Even when we 'break up'," he waggled his head from side to side, "the way you were with them tonight - sticking up for me, sticking up for them," he nodded across at them again, "you're not about to leave them high and dry."
Reid had honestly never expected it, but... "No. I'm not."
"And I can't tell you how much it means to me, Reid," Luke went on, turning serious as he covered Reid's hand with his own. "Looking out for them is just about the best thing anyone's ever done for me."
"You mean dating me isn't amazing enough?" he asked, because it was getting too mushy again.
"That is pretty awesome, too," Luke conceded, the smile returning. "God," he continued after a few moments, "isn't it crazy how much things have changed in such a short amount of time? Barely a week ago I thought you hated me."
"I did - kind of," he amended, because that wasn't the whole truth. Even before he'd bumped into Steve in Java, he hadn't disliked Luke anywhere near as much as he had the first week he'd arrived.
"I know I didn't do myself any favours," Luke admitted.
"You definitely didn't," Reid confirmed, making Luke lift his eyebrows at him, unimpressed. "But then I didn't either," he gave.
"I guess we only wanted to see the worst in each other," Luke said quietly. "It's funny," he continued, shaking his head, "that my life finally started taking a turn for the better the day you asked me to pretend to be your boyfriend."
It wasn't even funny, in Reid's opinion - it was honestly kind of sad. He decided not to point that out. "Good things just happen when I'm around," he volunteered. "Even being my fake boyfriend improves peoples lives."
"I know you're joking," Luke replied honestly, "but that's actually the truth." Shaking his head, he got to his feet. "Bathroom break," he announced.
Before Luke could leave - and realising it'd been a while since he'd done anything 'boyfriendy' - Reid reached for Luke's hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.
Face flushed, Luke eyed him carefully. "You know you've already pulled that move, right?"
"The classics never go out of style," he retorted, making Luke roll his eyes before he finally walked away.
Reid was still watching him go, smiling to himself, when Faith suddenly plopped down in Luke's chair. "Oh," Reid blinked. "The sister."
"Oh," she replied smartly, "the boyfriend."
Glancing over at the booth to make sure Natalie and Ethan were still safely in place - they were, dipping fries in their milkshakes, the heathens - he focused back on her. "You need something?"
"Just wondering what you get out of this," she mused, narrowing her eyes.
Her paranoia wasn't entirely unexpected, he supposed. "You don't have the monopoly on being miserable about everything, you know. I used to do the same thing." Disturbingly, he was beginning to realise he had more in common with a grumpy teenager than he ever would've imagined.
Clearly not appreciating being called miserable - or maybe it was the comparison to Reid himself - she didn't drop the subject, either way. "What changed?"
"I met your brother." Not 100% true, but he did honestly feel like he'd been in a bit of a better space since 'dating' Luke.
"Oh my God, you are so cheesy," she complained, rolling her eyes.
"It's your brother who's the cheesily romantic one."
"I saw you kissing his hand," she pointed out, for which he really only had himself to blame. "That's only stuff that like...old people do." Faith squinted at him. "Just how old are you?"
Teenagers. "Thirty-four."
"Huh," she said, "you are a lot older than him." She didn't seem to be judging him for it. "But then Noah threw him away like a piece of trash, so maybe he needs an older guy this time."
Reid stared at her. "That's...harsh."
"Look," she began, sounding sadly world-weary, "Luke never talked about his relationship with Noah with me but I'm not a little kid, okay? I see a lot more of what goes on than what people tell me. Noah seemed...fun, at first, when I was too young to know any better. But then he always kept breaking up with Luke and Luke would always take him back and..." she shook her head. "I love my brother but he drives me crazy, you know? He does so much for Ethan and Nat but never does anything for himself. Until now, apparently," she finished, looking over Reid. "Is that because of you?"
Even Reid couldn't give himself that much credit. "More like the other way around. I think I'm the result of him finally thinking about what he needs." It was kind of the truth.
"Well, good," she nodded sincerely. "What you did at dinner today," Faith told him, "that was good. You might be okay."
Reid genuinely got the impression that she didn't say those words very often. "Thanks."
"Don't think I won't be waiting for you to mess up, though," she announced, getting up and flouncing back over to the booth.
He realised why she'd left so suddenly when Luke sat back in his chair. "Was it just me, or was Faith actually talking to you?"
"She was talking to me," he confirmed. "I think she likes me." He honestly felt kind of smug, which was ridiculous, caring what a teenager thought about you.
"That is impressive," Luke said, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Faith doesn't really like anyone."
"Nah, she likes you," he told him, because that much had been obvious. "She's just picky. Doesn't take fools gladly."
"Sounds a lot like someone else I know," he said with a grin.
Reid didn't know if he should be offended or not - wait, yes he did, and he should definitely be offended. "Are you comparing me to your grumpy teenage sister?" He decided to ignore the fact that he'd mentally compared himself to Faith already.
"If the shoe fits...?" Luke began innocently.
Charming.
Shifting his chair closer to Reid's, Luke sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him as they looked at his brother and sisters.
After a while he asked seriously, "You think they'll be okay?"
"They've got you looking out for them," he replied just as seriously. "Life won't be perfect, because life isn't perfect. But they'll have all the emotional support they'll ever need." Even if it really shouldn't have been almost exclusively Luke's job, he knew it was one Luke would take on.
Turning his head to look at Reid fondly, Luke took his hand. "Because you'll be there to help too."
Luke had been right, in a way - things had changed so much in such a short amount of time. A ridiculous amount, really, but it wasn't all just down to the pretending to be boyfriends thing. Even before that Reid had been coming to understand that Luke wasn't just the spoiled brat who was used to getting everything his own way. He'd acted like he hadn't seen it, like his opinion of Luke hadn't been changing, mostly because he'd honestly enjoyed their little run-ins where they'd pick and make fun of each other. It'd always added a little spice to his day, put some pep in his step. Reid had honestly lost count of the amount of times he'd get to work or be at home after some run-in with Luke and would think back on the encounter, smiling to himself.
'Dating' Luke had made it even better. They spent time together deliberately and while they still made fun there was open fondness behind it, now. Spending time with Luke's 'dark side' was huge amounts of fun - and he got to kiss Luke. Kissing Luke was always a good thing.
As the days had passed, he'd found he genuinely liked the guy, was actually interested in his opinions and even wanted him to be happy and crap like that. Hell, at the meal tonight he hadn't been able to stand just how bad Luke's parents had been making him and his siblings feel and he literally hadn't been able to stop himself from reacting and holy shit he liked Luke.
He liked Luke. Not in some abstract, he was physically attracted to him way - he'd already known about that. He actually, seriously, liked him.
Suddenly everything made sense. Why he gave a crap about what happened to Luke's siblings - when did he ever care about other people's kids? Why he smiled almost anytime he saw Luke - and not as part of their 'act'. He didn't even have to think about it, it was just instinctive at this point. Seeing Luke always made him smile.
The way he deliberately hadn't been bringing up the topic of their relationship ending himself, because he didn't want it to end.
He wanted this to be real.
God, he was such an idiot.
"Hey," Luke began, sounding concerned - of course he was, he was Luke, "are you okay?"
"Fine," he shot back, frantically scrambling to cover his true feelings - Luke had brought up their inevitable break-up so many times he couldn't possibly feel the same. "Just pondering over my future career as Ethan's babysitter and how I can turn him against your mom."
"No indoctrinating the children, please," Luke replied instantly, which only reminded Reid of how quick and smart he was and just how much he liked that.
This was terrible.
Everything was terrible.
Except for the way Luke felt pressed up against him.
*
When Luke received the all-clear in a text message from Emma - Lily had gone back home so at least there'd be no more confrontations in front of them that night - they all piled back into Luke's car and made the drive to the farm.
Trapped in a car with Luke, Reid was beginning to regret leaving his own car at the farm. Still, the kids were there too so at least there weren't any awkward silences as, now being in a much better mood, there was a lot more talking in general from people who weren't Luke this time.
It wasn't long before they were parked up at home, and Faith and Natalie were helping Ethan out of his child seat and into the house.
"Well," Luke said as he pocketed his keys, turning to face Reid. "I should probably get in there and talk to Grandma, see how things went before I head home."
That probably wasn't going to be fun. "Need me to come in, or-"
"Nah, I should probably do this alone," he said. "Thank you, though," he added thoughtfully. "So much. For everything." Stepping forward, his hands clutched at Reid's jacket.
Reid swallowed, and he had to remind himself this was all for show. "It's fine."
"It's more than fine," Luke informed him, smiling, "it's amazing."
He made a production out of rolling his eyes. "Still on with that mushy stuff, I see."
"Ah, you love it really," Luke drawled, then looked over Reid's shoulder at something. "Grandma's looking," he said quietly, gaze moving back to meet Reid's.
Nodding in response, Reid leaned in to perform his boyfriendly duty, intending to give Luke a chaste kiss goodbye. He could handle that much, and would have to until they 'broke up'.
Luke very clearly had other ideas, giving Reid the same kind of kiss he'd given him earlier in the porch and - screw it. If this was all Reid was ever going to have of Luke, he might as well go all in.
He kissed Luke back just as deeply, just as passionately. Luke's hands went to the back of Reid's neck, then up into his hair so Reid cupped Luke's face with one hand and pulled his body close with another. It was different, more, knowing that it wasn't just physical attraction anymore and for all that they'd had some very satisfying kisses before, this one had them beat hands down.
"Um," Luke said afterwards, staring at him with wide eyes. "That was some kiss."
"We're good at that," Reid agreed, but still tried to act like it hadn't affected him just as deeply.
"I should...go," Luke told him. Was he imagining things, or was Luke's gaze on Reid's mouth? "I need to go."
"Okay," Reid said easily, releasing him and stepping back like his whole world hadn't shifted under his feet tonight. "I'll text you tomorrow."
"Yeah." Luke started walking towards the house. Hesitated. "Okay." Then kept going. "'Bye."
"'Bye," he replied, having to actually shove his hands into his pockets or he would've reached out for him again.
Shit, he was in so much trouble.
But it wouldn't be for very much longer, right?
He could do this. Reid nodded to himself as he turned and strode over to his car.
He could get through this.
He had no other choice.
*
Unsurprisingly Reid didn't get a lot of sleep that night. He spent a long time in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to work out just how long he'd been lying to himself. He didn't like the idea that he'd been kidding himself - he'd made a personal vow, after Steve, to be more aware of his feelings at all times. Yet, somehow, whatever this was with Luke had gotten away from him.
He forced himself to be bluntly honest about the whole experience - if Luke had been any other guy the day they'd run into Steve and this whole farce had started, would Reid have pretended to be dating them, too?
The answer was no.
He hadn't had the time - or inclination - to analyse it in the moment, but his immediate reaction, his instinct, had been to fake that he was dating Luke. Without having the time to think over his options at all, he'd just gone straight to dating Luke.
That said a lot about the way he'd regarded Luke even back then, though he clearly hadn't started to acknowledge it.
Was it really the end of the world that he liked Luke that much, though? It was obvious, at this point, that Luke liked him as a person - that alone gave Reid hope that Luke at least wouldn't run screaming if he ever found out. Also, just the fact that Luke liked him at all bode well, because almost nobody liked Reid.
They also both found each other attractive and, honestly, if Reid didn't have all these annoying feelings going on he could've well suggested a purely physical and mutually beneficial friends-with-benefits relationship. It didn't seem like a smart move though, when Reid's feelings for Luke were more than just physical attraction and he was reasonably sure that Luke didn't feel the same way.
Well, kind of. Luke had made it very clear that he liked Reid a lot, that his support and recent friendship had made him important to Luke - but that was all it'd come across as, to Reid. Friendship. And he'd honestly never had a friend like Luke, someone who made him laugh and just brightened his day.
Crap - Faith had been right. He really was cheesy.
Regardless, he didn't want to ruin the friendship he'd only recently started having with Luke by dumping these feelings on him. And it was only really an issue now because they were pretending to be in a relationship. Steve would hopefully be leaving soon - there was no way he'd stay long-term in a place as small as Oakdale - then they could 'break up' and at least Luke wouldn't be snuggling up to him all the time and things would be easier to bear.
Sometime after 7am, Reid finally stumbled out of his bedroom, blearily heading towards the coffee maker.
He knew Katie must've already been up because he could smell the coffee brewing, and he was proven right when she emerged, fully dressed, from he room. There was no sign of Jacob so, remarkably, he might have actually still been sleeping.
"Morning," he grunted, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and pouring himself a cup.
"Wow, listen to you," she remarked, reaching for her own mug which was already poured and sitting on the counter. "Everything okay?"
Adding a lot more sugar than he should have, he shrugged and sipped carefully at his drink. Nothing like the old hit of caffeine and too-much sugar in the morning. "Didn't sleep well."
"Everything okay?" she asked, frowning as she leant against the counter.
"Just didn't sleep well, that's all," he insisted, putting his drink down. She still kept staring at him. "Not everything has to mean something, Katie."
"Not always, that's true," she mused, "but all you've been doing lately is spending time with Luke so it's a fair bet this has something to do with him." Wonderful. "You said things went well when you called him, after getting his message."
"They did," he tried to say casually. "And things have still been going well since - between us, anyway."
She latched on to that quickly. "Did something happen last night?"
He very specifically didn't mention anything about his own realisation. "Just Luke's parents being a poor example for their kids," he told her. "So we all bailed on dinner and went for milkshakes at Al's instead."
"We?"
"Me and Luke. And Faith, Natalie and Ethan."
"Babysitting already?" she asked with a smile. "You keep doing that and you'll never get away from the Snyder's - though I'm guessing you don't want that anyway," she teased.
"Trust me, I've had more than enough of Luke's parents already," Reid told her, shaking his head in frustration as he recalled their behaviour the night before.
"I know they're not together anymore, right?" she asked and he nodded. "What did they do?"
"What didn't they do?" he spat back. "Fighting, arguing, embarrassing Emma, upsetting their kids. Luke was devastated." He shook his head. "These people are meant to be adults and they couldn't even play nice long enough to meet their son's new boyfriend. It was meant to be Luke's night, you know? And then ruined it."
Studying him intently, Katie just nodded as she frowned. "So then you guys went for milkshakes with the kids. And then you came home and couldn't sleep because you couldn't stop thinking about Luke-"
How the hell did she even know this stuff? "I never said that was the reason."
"You didn't need to," she brushed it off. "I know what's going on here, Reid," Katie told him, face slowly transforming into a smile. "And there's nothing to worry about."
Wouldn't that be a nice life? "There isn't?"
"No," she said gladly, shaking her head. "Look, you're freaking out because you're realising just how strong your feelings are for Luke - that's normal, when you're not sure if the other person feels the same way or not. But the great thing about your situation is that you don't need to freak out, Reid," she enthused encouragingly, "Luke already feels the same way."
He laughed a bizarre, high-pitched laugh. "Right."
"You should tell him," she announced definitively. "After those flowers and the message he sent the other day, there's no way he won't be happy about it. This is good, Reid," Katie continued. "Do you have any idea the amount of people who would love to be in your position? Knowing that the person they like already likes them back so there's no fear, no doubt?"
He nodded tightly. If she only knew... "Lucky me."
"I know you're probably used to playing it safe, when it comes to this stuff," she told him, turning a little more serious, "after being hurt before, but Luke's not going to hurt you, okay? He's a great guy and he feels the same way." Stepping around the counter, she grabbed his shoulders, looking him in the eye. "This is a good thing, Reid. You get to be happy and, for once, it's with none of the risk usually involved."
There was no way he was about to tell Luke - and definitely not while they were still pretending to date. It'd only make things weird and awkward between them, and Reid was beginning to think he was going to start acting that way himself anyway. He didn't need any extra help to be weird and awkward in front of Luke right now.
"I'll think about it," was all he could give her in the end because if he said he was going to do it, he knew Katie would absolutely check that he'd followed through.
"Well, don't wait too long," she warned, "these opportunities don't come around every day, Reid." Katie studied him with a soft look in her eye. "And I don't want you to miss out." Moving on, she let out a breath. "Okay, time to get Jacob up. You wanna help?" she teased, walking back over to her bedroom.
Reid was very much declining knowing that, at the very least, Jacob would have a wet diaper. "Nah, Blondie. I'm sure you can cope with this all by yourself."
Although honestly, right now, he could probably cope with a dirty diaper better than he could cope with anything else.
*
Work wasn't it's usual happy distraction. Bob told him that the hospital board were still playing it safe, though they hadn't spurned Invicta's offer completely. Reid had to acknowledge that, ultimately, all they'd really care about was the bottom line. If Steve could convince the board that they'd be better off financially, they'd probably still take the offer.
Unfortunately, Reid knew personally that Steve was extremely convincing.
For once it was Steve that was at the back of his mind all day instead of Luke, which was a definite step down. Even with his recent internal conflict, he would've much rather been thinking about Luke. Luke hadn't texted him at all today, either, which was a little unusual by now.
Everything came to a head a little before 3 o'clock, when the door to the room he was using swung open and Luke stepped inside.
"There you are," he said urgently, looking relieved as he quickly closed the door behind him and hurried over.
Pausing the paperwork he'd been filling in, Reid stood up. Something was clearly up. "What's wrong? Is it your folks? How did things go after I-?"
"It's not that," Luke assured him but still looked incredibly concerned. "This is much more urgent."
What the hell was it? "Will you just tell me already?" Anything that had Luke this worried had to be bad.
He was right.
"Steve just came to see me," Luke said, holding his gaze, "at the foundation."
Reid's mouth went dry. Steve near Luke? No. "What did he want?"
"Well, he said he wanted to see if there was some way for Invicta and the foundation to work together to support LGBT kids in hospital. According to him there's a whole bunch of hospitals under the Invicta umbrella now so we could, potentially, reach a lot of kids. Do a lot of good."
It all sounded very good and worthwhile - but then Steve knew exactly what he was doing. "And you believed him?"
"Not for a second," Luke said instantly, which made Reid feel a whole hell of a lot better. Objectively, he knew Luke was aware of what an ass Steve was, but there were some things even Reid couldn't be rational about. "He was charming, the entire time, but we both knew I was there the first time you ran into each other at Java - when I saw his true side."
"You can't trust him," Reid said urgently, unable to do anything else. "And you can't let him be in a position where he has any power over you." Shit, just the idea that Steve could screw Luke over the way he'd screwed over Reid...
"Hey, hey," Luke grabbed his forearms, comforting. "I know that, okay? And I don't think he's really trying that anyway. This was a power play," he announced. "When you had that run-in with him here, a couple of days ago. You said he threatened you, right?"
That was true. "Right."
"Well that's all this is," Luke said. "He's trying to show that he'll follow through. By coming to me - the person he thinks you care most about - he's trying to show he'll do whatever it takes. But he can't actually do anything to hurt me, okay?" He smiled at Reid reassuringly. "I'm never going to trust him - and he knows it."
Calming a little, Reid tried to think it over objectively. "You've already seen his true colours."
"Right," he continued.
"So he can't get to you."
"Exactly."
Okay. Okay, he was starting to feel a little better. "I just wish he'd get out of town already."
Luke nodded, biting his lip. "I was thinking...there might be something we can do about that, actually."
Reid was more than willing to hear this. "What is it?"
"It didn't cross my mind at all until after I saw Steve today, but Grandma..." he gestured randomly. "She's not on the hospital board, but she certainly knows everyone on the board personally."
"Lucinda?"
He nodded. "They're all old business associates, friends - or enemies," he added wryly. "But, either way, she probably has a lot of influence that we can use." This was already giving Reid hope. "We'll have to give her some reason for why we want this deal to fail," he said awkwardly, "I don't know if you want to tell her the truth or think up something else, but..."
At this point he didn't care. If Lucinda had any pull at all they needed to use it as soon as possible and get that asshole far away from Oakdale. "Make the call."
Nodding, Luke pulled out his phone and stepped to the other side of the room. Reid tried to return to his paperwork while he waited but gave it up as a lost cause when all he could focus on was listening to Luke's side of the conversation.
"Is tonight okay?" Luke asked at one point, hand over the bottom of his phone.
"Definitely."
Nodding, Luke conveyed the response, confirmed a time, then thanked his grandmother and hung up. "Tonight, 8 o'clock at Grandmother's estate."
Reid honestly couldn't express how much that meant to him, staring at Luke from his seat. "Good. Good."
Smiling a little sadly, Luke crossed over to him. "Whenever he's mentioned he always makes you seem less...you. I hate it," he confessed. "I hate whatever it was he did that hurt you so much."
Maybe he couldn't express how much this had meant to him, but maybe he could give Luke this much. Hell, it was well beyond time that someone finally knew about it anyway. Gesturing for Luke to take the plastic chair next to his, he waited until he was seated before he began.
"I was brilliant, as a kid," Reid said, turning in his chair to face him. Luke looked at him attentively. "The technical term is 'child genius'. I was years ahead of everyone else my age, academically. My parents did the best they could," he said, "and they loved me a lot. When they died, my uncle didn't have a clue what to do with me and...made that obvious," he said distastefully, declining to go into detail. "I finished high school, pre-med and medical school years early," he went on, "got my fellowship in record time. I was the youngest qualified doctor they'd seen in the US in years," he said matter-of-factly, "which actually isn't that impressive - there are doctors in other countries who have qualified much earlier."
Luke smiled at him fondly. "Trust you to be competitive about being a genius."
He nodded in acknowledgement. "So, I was taught to be an amazing neurologist - but that's all I was. I'd focused so much on my education and career that I wasn't good at the people thing, and finishing everything years early didn't exactly help. My peers were never my own age and most of them resented me - either because of my age or because I was justifiably smug about my accomplishments." He shook his head. "When you're a genius, no one ever teaches you how to just be a person." He'd learned that the hard way.
Luke's expression turned sad. "And you met Steve."
"I was his perfect victim," he explained bluntly. "Somehow he saw through the bravado, knew that I actually wanted someone to like me," he said derisively. "And I made it easy," Reid shook his head, still angry at himself, "so easy for him."
Blinking heavily, Luke reached out and touched his arm. "You don't have to-"
"No, I want to," Reid said honestly. He was really starting to think that holding it in for all these years had still been giving Steve some kind of power over him.
He couldn't let that happen anymore.
"I thought he wanted me," he explained, "but all along all he ever wanted was my brain." Pausing, he went on when he saw Luke's frown. "There were a couple of papers I'd written but hadn't finished, on my computer. New techniques for dealing with specific neurological issues. He took them - including all my research - finished them and published them himself."
Luke looked absolutely furious, but like he was trying to contain it. "He was a neurologist too?"
Reid nodded. "He was decent enough but he wanted more recognition, a more prestigious job placement. And he used me to get it," he shrugged. "Those papers got him noticed and he got exactly what he wanted. He told me, after I confronted him," he spoke quietly, vividly remembering the conversation, "that he knew it wouldn't ruin things for me. That I was so smart I'd recover in no time. I think it was the only time he ever underestimated himself," he finished, looking down. "And now he's here, working in corporate medicine. He put me through all that bullshit all for a career he didn't end up keeping." Shaking his head, Reid let out a long, heavy breath. It had been...emotional, as he'd expected, but he thought he actually did feel a little better.
"Reid," Luke said intensely, and when he turned to look again Luke had a face like thunder, "I swear to you, that asshole will be out of town as soon as humanly possible. Whatever it takes, I'll get it done. Once I'm finished with him," he nodded decisively, "he'll never want to set foot in Oakdale again."
TBC
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