The ride was a short one, maybe ten minutes at best, and the two continued to chat idly along the way. When the car finally came to a stop it was in the parking lot of a small mom and pop burger joint. Reid stared out the window with a crooked expression on his face.

"This is where we're going?" he asked incredulously. The driver parked the car and Luke was the first to get out. Reid opened his door and stepped out slowly, eying Luke carefully.

"What?" asked Luke with a big grin. "I stopped here for lunch on the way back from my visit today. Trust me, you're going to love it."

Reid followed Luke inside hesitantly. It was a nice place, simple and everything you would imagine from a family owned restaurant. They sat down in one of those classic red booths and Reid felt like he had stepped into the 50s. A waitress brought them both menus and Luke began to glance over the desserts on the back. Reid did the same, but his eyes kept wandering to Luke.

"I don't see why we couldn't have just ate at the first restaurant instead of driving all the way out here for… what do they even offer? One flavor of ice cream?" Reid complained, pursing his lips.

"Hey, you got to choose the first restaurant. Actually, you didn't just choose, you decided before I even knew we were going out," Luke laughed, apparently not as annoyed by the facts as some people might have been. "So I get to pick dessert. Fair is fair."

"Who said I do fair?"

Luke just smiled and went back to the menu. When the waitress came back he ordered a simple brownie fudge sundae. Reid ordered a chocolate milk shake and French fries, which Luke teased him about until their orders arrived, mostly for the sake of seeing Reid's expression as he tried to defend his choice.

Silence fell over the table as they began to eat. Luke did his best not to laugh when Reid pulled the top off the shake and began dipping his fries in it. When Reid questioned what he thought was so funny Luke only smiled wider, shaking his head and stuffing his mouth with his own dessert so he wouldn't have to talk. They ate in silence after that. Luke would gaze around the diner and Reid mostly stared out the window, watching as the headlights filed down the road outside in the darkness.

"You never did tell me why you felt the need to share with me that you would be returning in two weeks," said Reid after finishing his fries. Luke was still picking at the last bits of ice cream and hot fudge, apparently intent on scraping up every last piece.

Luke shrugged, hoping his face wasn't as red as he feared it was. "I don't know. I guess I figured, maybe if you aren't busy, we could do dinner again," he said boldly, or at least bold for him. He looked up at Reid with those doe eyes of his that Reid could already sense would cause him more trouble than he was prepared for. Reid pressed his lips tightly together and sighed before strategically taking another sip of his shake simply for the sake of having a moment longer to think. He suddenly felt like he was in one of those annoying Twix commercials, trying to stall, and groaned at the thought. Luke didn't seem to notice.

"I suppose that's a possibility," he answered, trying to sound as neutral about the suggestion as possible. Apparently he did a good job because Luke's face seemed to fall and he realized he'd shot down the boy's hopes. He gulped a little, realizing quickly that he hadn't meant to sound so convincing. "As long as you don't insist on driving me out to the middle of nowhere for a second rate shake and less than impressive fries," he added, gazing down at his food with annoyance.

Luke looked up with a look of relief. While Reid still had a bit of scowl on his face, supposedly because he wasn't impressed with the food, Luke still understood his words to be a positive answer.

They discussed the possibilities of going out to dinner again, Reid reminded him that staying in town would be preferred, and Luke even suggested a movie. Reid shot that down right away, simply because he "wasn't a movie person." In the end they decided to figure things out later, which they both knew was probably best anyway. Luke didn't know how much free time he would have, though he had ever intention of scheduling things in order to give him as much as possible. Reid also could not be expected to predict how the following day would go for him, let alone two weeks down the line. With his work there was always the possibility of unexpected emergencies that would sometimes keep him hours past his scheduled shift.

And on top of all of that, neither of them knew exactly how they would be feeling in two weeks, if the excitement of someone new would wear off or if fear would set in. Both being scorned men, they knew that it was best to keep things casual, and planning was hardly ever that.

When they arrived back at Luke's hotel he found himself picking at the skin around his nails nervously, knowing that if he had keys in his hand he'd be fumbling with them like an idiot. Reid seemed sure and confident, though only he knew that to be a lie. He had an unreadable look on his face, which didn't help Luke any.

"Thanks for this, for dinner and everything," Luke said awkwardly with a grin.

"Hey, you paid for it," Reid said with a smirk. Luke laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have had anything to pay for if you hadn't agreed to come along."

Reid actually smiled at that.

"I should probably go," Luke said after a long pause between them. Reid let out a very plain sigh.

"Yep. Don't want to cut into your beauty sleep," he said with a hint of sarcasm. Luke narrowed his eyes but continued to grin.

"So I'll see you around?" Luke said hopefully, feeling the slight tug of déjà vu but deciding to ignore it.

"Maybe," Reid grinned. Luke relaxed, and nodded. He hated awkward goodbyes.

"Take care," said Luke, smiling sincerely.

"You, too," replied Reid evenly, allowing only a hint of affection to enter his tone.

Luke smiled and nodded again, turning around nervously. Just as the night before he walked inside, stopped just inside the door, and smiled at Reid. He even waved this time, laughing a little at the awkwardness of it all. Reid grinned widely, holding up a hand as a simple wave back. Once Luke was out of sight Reid started back to the lot again, finding himself stuck in the same daze and confusion as he'd been in the night before.

The next morning Luke met with Mark and some of the board members in one of the meeting rooms a the hotel. They went over the final estimates and began signing some of the initial papers before shaking hands and uttering words of sincere gratitude, looking forward to seeing each other again in a few weeks. By 3pm Luke was on his grandmother's plane, which for all intents and purposes practically belonged to the foundation by now, and was flying over the city and back north. He watched Dallas fade below him as the plane rose and the clouds flooded his sight. Leaning back in his chair, Luke smiled to himself. He slept most of the way, drifting into sleep easily and waking feeling fully rested once they landed. Two weeks, he told himself. He had plenty to keep him busy until them, but a part of him still worried. Two weeks was a long time, and he had no idea if Reid had any intention of talking to him before then.