Characters: Luke/Reid, Katie, mentions of Bob, Kim and Nuke.
Disclaimer: As the World Turns and it's characters are not mine, no matter how much I enjoy playing with them. :)
Author's Note: So far, what I have been spoiled for is on accident, so please keep your comments as spoiler free as possible! :)
Summary: Katie decides to play matchmaker one last time. My take on two spoilers for this coming week: Reid misinterprets a moment between Luke and Noah, and Reid's grand romantic gesture. Come on now. Are we supposed to believe that matchmaking Katie isn't going to be involved in the grand gesture at all? This is a Reid POV companion piece to Matchmaker. Also, as of today, completely AU.
Chapter 1: Sulking
Sulking is an art form.
Reid knows this.
He's perfected it over the years, when no one was watching.
It's what spawned his loved for large sandwiches, bursting with meat and cheese.
He's done a lot of sulking the few days...and a lot of eating.
Between Bob's ultimatum and Luke walking away from him…
He cringed. The image of Luke's hurt face was constantly in his thoughts. Reid wasn't sure what Luke wanted from him. They'd barely gotten started and he was already asking him to give up his career.
Could he do that?
Did he want to?
At first, the answer had been no. It was insane for Luke to ask him.
The more Reid thought about it, about what his life was like in Dallas and what it was like in Oakhell, he knew the differences were because of Luke.
Hell, he had actual friends here. Well, a friend.
The final nail in the coffin had been today. He'd been making rounds and turned a corner in the hall to see Luke talking with Noah. They were standing too close together, talking and laughing, and then Luke hugged him.
That's when Reid knew how much it would hurt losing Luke.
That's why he's sitting the dark, moping, when Katie gets home.
"Enough is enough." She says, flicking on the lights. He glares at her, the light blinding him.
"What?" He asks. He's really trying not to snap at her. This isn't Katie's fault.
It's his.
She accuses him of acting like a teen-age girl after a break up, and then hit the nail on the head. He looks at her, trying to hide his emotions behind his familiar mask, and fails.
"Did Luke and Noah get back together?"
"No." He says. "No." He hears the pleading tone in his voice and hates himself for it. He can't even think about what he saw earlier today.
"Reid." Katie murmurs his name, and sits down next to him on the couch. She tries to put a comforting hand on his arm, but he brushes her off, stands and walks to the kitchen.
"Just let it go, Katie." He nearly whispers, grabbing a beer from the fridge and twisting the top off. He lets it drop the counter with a satisfying clatter. "I never should have…" Reid trails off, unable to finish that thought.
He drinks his beer in a rush.
"I'll be in my room." He says, heading down the hallway.
Reid enters his room, ignores the mound of case files mocking him from his desk top, and slowly crawls onto the bed. He lies down and grabs a pillow, hugging it to his chest.
He tries not to think.
He barely registers Katie's voice calling out that she's leaving.
He hopes she'll listen to him and not get involved.
He knows he isn't that lucky.
Reid hasn't moved since Katie left. He's spent most of his time making shapes and things out of the pattern on the wallpaper. He hears her come in, and rolls onto his back.
His door opens but he doesn't acknowledge it.
"Well, don't you look productive." He can hear the sarcasm in her voice. "I'm glad to see you love all pillows equally, but don't let the ones on my couch know. They might get jealous." Reid ignores her. Maybe she'll go away. "So, there are some things you should know." She says. That gets his attention, and he finally sits up.
"What did you do Katie?" Reid asks, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.
"Nothing." She replies with a smile. "It's what you're going to do."
He knows at that moment that he won't be able to say no. Katie will have her way, everyone else be damned.
He just hopes that it works.