Part Twenty-One: "I brought the party with me."

The next set of short clips show the beginning of Luke's descent into alcoholism. Eventually, all this drinking leads to the making of some poor choices, and that eventually leads to the needing of a new kidney. But we'll get there (very soon!). For now we have angry, adolescent Luke dealing with his mother's new boyfriend, and stealing some alcohol.


http://youtu.be/C8dDsVidJpU


http://youtu.be/h4LbbDNwwpo

Something I find interesting about this next clip is that it seems almost a continuation of the Luke-at-the-wedding clip where he clearly felt he had to impress the little boys he was hanging with by bringing something 'extra' to the party - at that time it was the cool game his dad had got him, and then by taking them to his grandmother's guest cottage. Now, it's booze. Even this early, Luke clearly didn't think he was enough for anyone to like all by himself.

http://youtu.be/BLRDfOWHKBo

Also, as an aside, I wrote this short fic after watching these scenes. I'll just post it here for convenience's sake, and maybe later in my fic journal.


Title: This Town
Author: Rhiannonhero
Rating: PG
Summary: Luke got drunk on the bench a hellavu a lot over the course of the show. He tells Reid about it.
Author's Notes: Thanks, as always, to Alice and Peggin for beta reading!

This Town

“What are you thinking about?” Reid asked. “No, let me guess. Mr. Mayer.”

“Eeeh, wrong,” Luke said.

They were sitting on a bench in Olde Towne, twisted to face each other over the remnants of Reid’s hastily eaten lunch - a sandwich and a small salad that Luke had brought for him, both made with love, Luke had claimed.

“You only get that distant, faraway, miserable look when you’re remembering the bad old days with your ex.”

“They weren’t that bad.”

Reid rolled his eyes, and Luke conceded, “Okay, they weren’t always great, but we had some good times together.”

“Once or twice, I’m sure.”

“Reid,” Luke said, but his amusement was evident.

“So, what then? What has you looking like you woke up on Christmas morning to nothing but a six pack of socks and a shiny, new bible bookmarked to Leviticus?”

“You really have a way with way with words, you know that?”

“And you’re really avoiding my question.”

Luke sighed, and Reid’s stomach twisted up. He wracked his brain trying to think of what he might’ve done or said in the four hours since Luke had dropped him off at work for his morning rounds, pressing a quick see-you-later kiss to his mouth. He couldn’t think of anything bad enough that it would’ve made its way back to Luke already to prompt this miserable moping.

Luke shifted uncomfortably. “Do you have any idea how many times I got drunk sitting on this bench?”

Reid’s brain reversed and rewound. It wasn’t about him, or them, or anything he might’ve shouted at that nurse that cries too much. “No. I don’t.”

Luke pressed his lips down in an attempt to shrug off the importance of what he said next, but it was clear that it still hurt to say. “A lot. Half my adolescence I spent drunk on this bench. Or drunk at Grandmother’s cottage. Or drunk by the pond. Or drunk in my room listening to sad music on my headphones. Though I guess sometimes I was drunk on the back porch listening to my parents fight, too. For variety.” Luke snorted. “Poor miserable rich kid, right?”

“No. Not really.” Reid swallowed, and then said, “Is there any reason you’re thinking about this now? Has anything happened that makes you want to --” he mimed tipping up a bottle. “Because I’ll help you through that. I’ll take the afternoon off, and we’ll head out of town. It’ll be nice to get out of this hell hole anyway.” Reid glanced at Luke, gauging his reaction. “Or not. We could go to that stinking rot of water you call a pond, and go swimming.” Reid’s pulse thrummed. “Or whatever you want - need - to do, so you can, I don’t know, focus on something else.”

“You’re babbling again,” Luke said.

“I know. I...don’t want you to - look, I’ve dealt with it before. As a doctor. Not with someone I...care about.” Reid cleared his throat. “Yeah, see, the thing is, I don’t want to lose you. I just got you,” Reid said, wanting to scoop all the words back into his mouth and swallow them away. “I love you,” he said, quickly, trying to cover his bumbling with affection, and hoping that it would make up for how much he was floundering.

Luke’s eyes were soft with returned emotion and twinkled with amusement. “I wasn’t thinking about getting drunk - today, anyway.”

“Oh,” Reid said, and rubbed his nose. “Good, because I have surgery this afternoon, and that would’ve been awkward.”

Luke laughed. “You were going to cancel a surgery? To hang out with me? So I wouldn’t be tempted to drink?”

“Yes.”

Luke’s eyelashes fluttered and his smile dimpled his cheeks. Reid’s heart clenched, thinking that it shouldn’t be so surprising to Luke that someone would put him first.

Reid brought his hand up to Luke’s cheek, and caressed his chin with his thumb. “So, what was it that made you feel nostalgic for all the times you were drunk on this bench?”

Luke shrugged, and looked up at Reid under his lashes. “I saw someone earlier today. He reminded me of a bad time in my life.”

Reid sat patiently, waiting for the rest of the information. He knew Luke would give it. He wouldn’t have brought up the drinking otherwise.

“This guy - Keith. He and my mother hooked up when I was a teenager. It was right after my dad left the family for Keith’s sister Julia. But then Julia died, and it looked like he and my mom might make it work --” Luke shrugged. “Then Mom started up with Keith, and it was during all of that when I really started drinking.”

Reid moved his hand down to the back of Luke’s neck, fingering the short hairs along the nape.

Luke went on, “Anyway, Keith’s in town. I don’t know why, but I saw him outside the hospital earlier.” Luke looked up at Reid, saying urgently, “You have to be careful, Reid. There might be something going on at the hospital that isn’t on the up and up. Keith deals in illegal organs.” Luke’s eyes went down, a look of shame on his face. “He got my kidney for me.”

Reid hadn’t know that Luke’s kidney was illegally obtained. But nothing in this town surprised him anymore. “It’s your kidney now,” Reid said. He didn’t want any illegal organ trafficking in his hospital, but he’d cut a kidney out of someone himself to save Luke’s life. If he had to.

Luke shook his head, eyes still down. “I shouldn’t have it, and he shouldn’t have given it to me. He didn’t even like me. And I sure as hell didn’t like him. He just got this kidney for me to make my mother marry him.”

“I think your mother has some kind of straight-man pheromone power. The men who fall for her all go a little crazy with it.”

Luke snorted, his dimples back momentarily. “Yeah, it seems that way, huh?”

“As for that kidney, I don’t care where it came from. You have it, and you’re alive. That’s all that matters to me.”

“You’re a mushball,” Luke said, smiling again. “If people saw you like this, they wouldn’t be afraid of you anymore.” Luke’s eyes gleamed. “You’re just a giant ball of mush.”

“As far as love declarations go, that was one of my least romantic attempts, but I’m glad you liked it.”

“But, really, Reid - I don’t know why Keith was at the hospital, but you have to keep an eye on him. He’s no good. And his being there can only mean trouble.”

“This town,” Reid muttered, pulling Luke closer, gazing at Luke’s lips. “It’s always something in this town.”

Luke’s mouth was soft, wet, and never enough. Reid wished he could take Luke home and get him naked, but his lunch break was almost up.

“Sure you‘re not tempted to drink?” Reid asked, his voice husky. “I’ve got a bed, and it’s full of distractions.”

“In your bed, getting drunk would be the farthest thing from my mind.”

“I could make that happen, Mr. Snyder.”

Luke grinned. “Tonight. When Katie’s at Chris’s, and you’re exhausted from your surgery. I’ll rub you down and ride you, and we’ll both be happy.”

Reid’s cock twitched, and his brain seemed to fizz and snap at the mere thought of Luke riding him. “I’m sorry, did you say ‘now’?”

“Tonight. I have to meet my mother at her house. Some kind of problem with Faith again.”

“Your family,” Reid sighed. “This town.”

“I know,” Luke agreed. “Sometimes I want to just go into your room, shut the door, and never leave.”

“They have delivery for a reason, you know. We could do that.”

“Your patients need you.”

Reid leaned close and whispered in Luke’s ear, “I need you.”

“Tonight,” Luke said, and kissed him, wet and warm.

Reid stood up reluctantly when Luke did, abandoning the bench where Luke had gotten drunk countless times, feeling wobbly on his feet and a little drunk himself with want for Luke.

“If you see Keith -” Luke said.

“I know, I know, be careful, see what he’s up to, don’t trust any organs he shoves our way.”

Luke smirked. “Exactly.”

It was only as Luke turned the corner, heading to his car to drive to Lily’s house, that Reid realized he had no idea what Keith looked like, or what his last name might be, or whether or not he’d be able to make it until tonight to get Luke naked in his bed.

“This town,” Reid muttered. “Christ, Luke Snyder will be the end of me.”

THE END