Luke had just grabbed the handle to open the door of his apartment and had already turned around to walk back into the living room, expecting Reid to be right behind.

''Can I use your shower?'' Luke turned back around to face him, suddenly puzzled by the strange tone of his voice.

It was completely lacking its usual arrogance and instead it sounded flat and defeated even almost humble if he had ever gone as far as using this word to describe Reid.

''What happened?'' Luke walked back into the hall closing the distance between them.

Reid just shook his head and pointed it towards the bathroom.

''May I?'' he asked again.

''Sure go ahead.'' Luke waved for him to walk down the hall and followed him, picking up a towel from the closet on the way.

He placed it on the sink and remained motionless in the doorframe, watching Reid strip out of his clothes and throw them over the edge of the sink.

The water turned hot immediately and Reid closed his eyes with a deep sigh as he felt it seep through his skin, warming his insides from the top down to the soles of his feet. The crystal stream ran down his strained body, rinsing off the last few hours, soothing the pain in his muscles. He had been standing in the operating room for nearly six hours and his whole body felt like one big cramp. Only his brain felt even worse. It had gone into overload long ago and he felt like he could never get it back running, let alone use it effectively. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter and brought up his left hand to rub his temples.

Just a second later he heard the sound of the shower door and from the corner of his eyes he could see the frame of Luke's naked body. He felt him move closer and he wanted to react but his brain was still not working and so he just closed his eyes again and merely registered Luke's body lining up with his own, connecting them from thighs to shoulders. He felt Luke's breath on his wet cheek and warm hands being placed on his skin.

Luke moved yet closer and when he could feel his breath against hip lips Reid instinctively parted them and looked up into Luke's eyes, dark and warm.

Luke remained glued to the spot, his eyes sinking into Reid's, willing him not to look away, willing himself not to kiss him just yet. He stared into Reid's eyes, desperate to find out what was making him tick, craving so badly to get a glimpse at this part of him he could not posses through his body.

When his own longing finally became unbearable he leaned in and connected their mouths, taking only Reid's bottom lip between his own. He first nibbled at it softly and then licked over it with the tip of his tongue. Deliberately slow he continued to breathe hints of kisses onto his lips, his tongue never entering his mouth. He gently pulled his bottom lips in softly sucking on it and then parted Reid's lips with his tongue sliding it past them slowly, pressing his mouth down on Reid's.

Reid moaned almost inaudibly and stepped closer his hands searching for the best angle to grab Luke's body.

When he felt Reid respond to the kiss, he brought one hand up to his neck to pull him closer and switch to deep french kissin. Reid suddenly felt a piercing need rise from his core, not a sexual need but a need that reached much deeper, that almost made his heart shatter. And he desperately hoped Luke would not walk just one inch away from him because all of a sudden he was sure he would have fallen apart.

Don't let go of me he thought as he pushed into Luke's embrace, curling himself up against his chest, taking in Luke's heartbeat that was now running through his own blood in soft, swaying waves.

The kiss had turned deep and desperate, each of them trying to fill his own void, keeping it up for as long as they could possibly go without air. Finally Luke pulled away resting his forehead against Reid's to catch his breath. Through wet lashes he stared down at Reid's lips. They were parted and swollen red, glistening with saliva and small drops of water.

Luke licked his own lips and then lifted his head up again. He moved both his hand up to Reid's face this time going for a heavy kiss right away, his fingertips crawling around his neck searching for a grip in the wet, dirty blond strands.

Reid exhaled audibly and leaned into the touch. His head was still slightly tilted when Luke had taken his hand away and placed it to rest on his shoulder, his thumb stroking over the sensitive skin just above Reid's clavicle. Neither of them in a hurry to get anywhere they switched between slow and heavy making out, locking their eyes between kisses every so often.

Their bodies entwined, chests heaving against each other, Luke's palms were lying flat against Reid's back, roaming up and down his spine along with the water, leaving heat and sparks where they went.

The steam had wrapped around their bodies and began to cloud Luke's vision. He blinked as he felt a drop of sweat slowly running down his brow and getting caught in his lashes.

When he felt his head spin with heat and the lack of air Luke broke their kiss again. It only took him a second to regain his breath but instead of leaning in again he stayed still watching the water run across Reid's face. Slowly, his eyes followed the small trickle that had got caught around the root of his nose and then ran further down, dripping from his lips in small crystal pearls. God he was so beautiful it literally hurt to look at him. Luke struggled against the urge to turn his eyes away and focused on touching him instead. He didn't want to look away. He wanted to take in as much of this painful beauty as he possibly could.

For a short while he managed to stop moving, just keep their eyes locked but then Reid leaned in almost unnoticeably, his lips parted and Luke met him with his own, crushing their mouths together, not hesitant for a second to give him what he wanted. There was not one single of Reid's longings he would not have fulfilled the minute he'd asked him to.

While they kept kissing Luke moved his hands down Reid's body, grazing both thumbs over the slender hipbones and then to his back. How he wished he could have gone on like this forever. It broke his heart to know he'd eventually have to stop touching him, stop worshipping his body and tenderly stroking every inch of it. He had never really felt this in his life but this was a moment so precious and rare to him he would have loved to lock it up somewhere and keep it, making sure he would never forget how intimate it had really felt to be with him.

Careful to spare the spot he would have loved to touch the most, Luke softly kept running his hands over the small of Reid's back briefly resting his fingers in the ridge of his spine and then moved them over his sides, around to Reid's stomach. His palms were resting flat against it, thumbs trailing off to trace the lines of his well defined abs. With a deep wet kiss he finally dropped his hand all the way down wrapping it around Reid's erection, catching its weight in his palm. A husky moan from deep inside Reid's chest escaped into his mouth and echoed in his body.

Holding Reid's hips in place with his left hand he kept stroking, brushing and tugging slowly almost solemnly, his lips never leaving Reid's mouth. With unhurried movements he slowly worked him towards his climax and when he felt the body in his arms quiver with near orgasm he took a step forward and walked him right under the hot stream of water, backing him up against the wall. Luke moved his left hand away from Reid's hip and used it to grab his neck pulling him close to create more suction. He kissed him deeply adding more pressure to the kiss as well as to his last few strokes.

When he finally came, Reid breathlessly broke the kiss and rested his head against Luke's shoulder, hot air brushing over wet skin as he moaned Luke's name.

Luke remained motionless, silently holding him until he stepped away and out of the shower.

In the half-light of the small bathroom they each rubbed their bodies dry neither of them speaking. When he was done, Luke slung the towel around his hips and turned around to watch Reid put his clothes back on.

''You don't have to leave.'' he said. His eyes were sunk into Reid's again and they looked like liquid amber so beautiful it nearly took Reid's breath away.

'' I have to go back to the hospital.'' Reid's voice still sounded a bit husky but steady.

Luke looked at him the question raging through his mind, desperate to be asked.

Reid picked the wet towel up from the floor to toss it into the laundry bag and then looked back at Luke.

'' I lost a patient.'' he said catching Luke's gaze, holding it as he went on.

'' He died because I have taken the wrong decision.'' He added the words just simply stating, holding back whatever emotion they were carrying.

Luke moved forward yet staying out of touching range, his eyes still locked with Reid's.

''Reid you are not perfect.'' He paused and remained still, just looking at him. '' You are human.''

Luke had stated an obvious fact and under normal circumstances he would probably have felt insulted but simply the way how he had said it and said nothing else but that, almost made them feel like an absolution.