Chapter Text
Luke sat in Bay City General Hospital’s ER. His Range Rover had been rear ended, had spun out and sent his paperwork flying. Oh, and he’d bumped his head, and so here he was, in an exam room. The nurse had brought him in, taken his vitals, and now he was waiting for the on-call doctor. Luke was more than a little annoyed. He had just come back from a really important meeting and had had plans to follow up with Natalie and his mother at Worldwide, once he got back home.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Snyder,” said the doctor, as he swept into the room. “I hear you had a little fender bender, which put your driver in intensive care. Lucky you though, you seem to have come out okay. I’m just going to check for a concussion.” The doctor with a mass of blondish-red hair was studying his paperwork; he barely even bothered to look up at Luke.
Luke laughed from his seat.
The slender man abruptly peered in his direction, really, for the first time since entering the room. “Something funny?”
“You remind me of someone I used to know. The way you spoke and said my name. He used to say it exactly like that.”
“Really. And how might that be?”
“With just the right amount of rudeness and coldness,” Luke answered, as he leaned forward.
“And this guy was your friend?” The doctor looked skeptical behind his wire framed glasses.
Luke noticed the doctor didn’t deny being rude or cold. “That’s just it. I don’t know if we were ever friends. At first we hated each other. Then we loved each other. We were working toward - to get to know one another - to being friends…” he said, looking down and shaking his head before he looked back up at the doctor, whose indigo eyes watched him through his lenses. “I apologize. I don’t know why I told you that.”
Suddenly, the other man seem to snap out of it, cleared his throat, shook his head and looked down at Luke’s chart again. “I’m Dr. Branch. Are you having any headaches, dizziness, confusion?”
Luke noted that the doctor’s Bay City General ID, attached to his navy scrubs, read Carmine J. Branch, MD. Luke idly wondered what the J stood for. The square jawed photo was of a clean-shaven Dr. Branch, unlike the doctor now, who had something more than five o’clock shadow, but less than a full beard.
“No. I feel fine. I was wearing my seat belt. Has anybody gotten in touch with Adelina?”
The man stared blankly at him.
“Arben’s wife,” Luke clarified.
“I wouldn’t know. You can check with the front desk reception on your way out.”
“Okayyyy, then,” was Luke’s only reply.
Doctor Branch then proceeded to give Luke a physical exam, check his reflexes, his pupils, eye movement and balance, etc. The entire time he couldn’t help but note the combination of antiseptic and a hint of sweat that emanated from the doctor. He hadn’t been hospitalized in years, and he’d not been involved with another man who was in medicine since Reid, so this new but familiar scent made him lick his lips and feel a little unsteady, which he was pretty sure had nothing to do with the accident.
“Well, it appears that you aren’t suffering from a concussion, like I said - just a slight bump on the head. So, I won’t order a CT scan or MRI. However, I would like if anything seems off when you get home, for you to come back immediately. And it’s probably best that you not,” he then looked back at the chart, “not drive yourself back to Oakdale. Get someone to pick you up, get an Uber, something like that. But you had a driver and a private car. I’m sure you have back up servants at the ready, right?” he said - with what Luke wasn’t sure - but might have been a slight tease on those lips. “And we also suggest that you have family or friends stay with you, just in case.”
“That’s very precise and thorough.” James was out of town, which meant the house was empty. The last thing Luke wanted to do was go stay at his parents’ house at this age. Maybe he could crash at Natalie’s.
“The hospital needs the bed,” Dr. Branch said dryly. “Can’t have unnecessary admittance. Although, you’re probably one of the few who can afford an overnight stay!”
“Don’t tell me, you’re one of those “eat the rich” people.”
“No. Just billionaires. I’m okay with simple millionaires.”
“Oh. Well, sorry to offend,” Luke replied, with a cock of his head. “How do you know I’m a billionaire? Lots of people have Range Rovers and get driven around. I bet your Chief of Staff has a pretty nice car.”
“Oakdale’s less than an hour away. Not to mention I have the Internet and I’m pretty sure that you and your company were mentioned on a Rachel Maddow segment last year. Most people are aware of Luke Snyder.”
“Are they?” Luke knew he was flirting with the doctor, and it had taken him years to hone it, but he sensed that he was being flirted with right back.
“Anyway.” Dr. Branch quickly looked at his watch. “I’ve got twenty minutes left on shift. You’re probably my last patient, then I’m off. Ready. To leave.”
“Got somewhere to be?” Luke found himself unexpectedly disappointed.
“Yup. It’s my birthday.”
“Happy birthday.”
“Well. My rude and cold Scorpio self, thanks you,” Dr. Branch replied, with a crooked smile.
Then it hit Luke. It’s not that he had forgotten. He never would. And to be fair, he’d just been in a car accident, and he’d had a lot on his mind the last few months. His tears had dried years ago, but still it ached to think about. Even though, he’d moved on. Or back.
“What, do you hate birthdays, Mr. Snyder?”
He realized that his face probably looked as unhappy as he felt in that moment. “No. Reid. That was my boyfriend’s name. He died. Went away. And until I started talking to you about him, I hadn’t thought about it in… a while.”
Dr. Branch gave him side eye, before, “Oh, sorry.” He actually seemed to mean it.
“Thank you. It’s only been 30 years,” Luke snorted.
“Coincidence. I’m 30 today.”
“Big plans, right?”
“Well, only if you count my family.”
Damn it. Maybe this man wasn’t flirting after all.
“My sister, her kid and me.”
“That sounds nice. Family’s important,” he said, thinking about Grandmother Lucinda, who had passed away over two years ago.
“Well it’s just going to be dinner, then I do Justin Bieber impressions for my nephew. He’s only a year old, but I think he likes it. I have no idea why? Kid’s not going to be Mozart obviously… with that taste in music.”
Luke laughed a genuine laugh. He then let his gaze sweep across Doctor Branch. He felt his heart and his dick throb in a way that they hadn’t in a long time.
Dr. Branch didn’t flinch nor did he recoil. “You don’t seem to have a concussion,” he repeated. “So, Mr. Snyder… so do you have any questions?”
“Are you free for dinner tomorrow?” Luke knew this was a bad idea. Not least of which was Noah. But there was something about Dr. Carmine J. Branch that he found attractive; from that lean build to his snarky humor. Why not?
The other man peered at him with curiosity – and maybe, caution. “I can’t. In good conscience… go out with somebody like you.”
Luke’s mouth opened, then closed. He’d been so sure that the doctor was gay and giving him the signals of attraction. After all these decades you’d think he’d be better at it than this.
“You’re a oligarch. People don’t hate you as much as they hate Elon… but you’re not as liked as Rihanna. ”
“That’s fair. Wow. That is great to hear! Doctor. Thank you.” Luke found himself smiling in relief and ran his fingers through his hair. “However. If you change your mind, 1347702092.”
“How do you know I’ll remember it?”
Something told Luke that this man would make a point of remembering. “You will. And even if you don’t. I’m world famous and you’re a young hot-shot-doc from Bay City. I think we’ll be able to find each other. Again.”
Just as the other man was about to respond, there was a beep. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out a pager. “Cardiac emergency.”
There was a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal the nurse who had brought Luke in earlier. “Doctor Branch, excuse me, but we need you…”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.” He then cast a glance at Luke. “Later.” He handed the nurse Luke’s chart and then he was gone.
Luke’s lips curved upward, as he hopped off the table, and followed the nurse out.