Once at the farm they walked into the kitchen in silence. Luke poured himself a glass of water, ignoring his father's greeting and downing the cool liquid. Reid stood in the doorway, frowning. Holden looked to him questioningly but he just shook his head.

"I'm going to go take a shower," declared Luke. He stepped past Reid and headed up the stairs, letting the door fall behind him. Reid sighed, fingers tangling through his curly hair.

"Everything okay?" asked Holden. Reid frowned again. He noticed that Holden was holding a beer.

"Mind if I have one of those?" he asked lamely. Holden just pointed to the fridge. Reid staggered over and pulled out a beer, using the opener on the counter to pull off the tab before joining Holden at the table, taking a giant gulp of the beverage in the process. "We ran into Noah."

Holden nodded slowly. "Ah."

"Yeah," Reid frowned, bringing the bottle to his lips.

"That had to be awkward for you," suggested Holden. Reid shrugged.

"I was fine," he insisted. "Not so sure about Luke."

"Why, what happened?"

Reid carefully began to describe the run-in. He forgot Casey's name and even when Holden reminded him of it he still referred to him as Blabber-Mouth. As he finished up the short and pathetically dramatic story, he found himself surprised that he was actually talking so freely to Holden. Here he was, sharing a beer and recounting the awkward meeting with his boyfriend's ex to his boyfriend's dad.

"Ouch," Holden said, sipping his own beer. Reid nodded. "I wouldn't let it get to you too much, though, Reid," he continued. "You have to remember, Noah's the first person Luke was ever with, the first person he really loved. I don't know how many stories Luke has shared, but they've been through a lot together. That's not something you ever really get over," he sighed. Again Reid noticed the speaking-from-experience, but ignored it.

"I know, and I get that. I've been there," he frowned. "And I'm not too worried, to be honest. I keep reminding myself that Noah has been here this entire time, and yet Luke still flies halfway across the country almost every week to see me. That's got to count for something, right?"

Holden was smiling.

"You love Luke, don't you?" he asked. Reid looked up, trying not to look like a deer in headlights, because that's exactly how he felt. He scrunched up his face a bit, shaking his head.

"What? No, it's nothing like that," he insisted, his voice a bit higher pitched than usual. Holden just continued to smile. Reid frowned. "I don't know," he sighed, sitting his beer on the table. He glanced up at Holden. "No offense, but you're not exactly the first person that comes to mind when I think about pouring out my feelings, not that I'd do that with anyone," he clarified. Holden laughed.

"I know, I know, sorry. I get that you're not that kind of guy, and talking to the father can't be easy to begin with," he said with a gentle smile. Reid knew that Luke wasn't biologically Holden's, and yet he swore he still saw a resemblance in the kindness of their faces. "I just want to look out for him. He's had a tough couple of years, but the past few months seem to have been good for him. I haven't seen him like this in a long time, and I know I have you to thank," he said, tipping his drink at Reid. Unable to help it this time, Reid found himself smiling.

"I can honestly say it's been the same for me," he began, running his finger over the brim of his beer bottle. "I'd fallen into such a rut, juggling work and sleep and nothing else. And then this hazel eyed blond brat from Illinois decides to chat me up in a bar," he laughed. "He's turned everything in my life upside down, literally. Once I would have thought that to be a bad thing, worrying about things other than my work. Now…" he trailed off.

"You don't have to say anything more, Reid," Holden insisted easily. Reid glanced up and smiled appreciatively.

"Did I mention that, besides your mother and her amazing skills in the kitchen, you're my favorite?" joked Reid. The two men shared a laugh and finished their beers over easy conversation that didn't involved Reid's romantic life with Holden's son. On the other side of the door, Luke sat in clean clothes, his hair still wet, listening in with glazed eyes.