The remark that he'll be the first person Reid calls gets a smile out of Luke and he knows it just an indication that he's the first friend Reid has made in Darrow, he knows better than to try and read into it any further than that, but at the same time it warms his heart and does something to relieve the tension that's been building in his shoulders. Protecting everyone is an absurd, lofty goal and yet it's one Luke has never been able to let go. Being a Shadowhunter meant having that goal ingrained in every moment, every battle, every decision. Protecting the world from a demon invasion meant literally protecting everyone and while Luke has many disagreements over the way the Clave has run and their antiquated system of laws, he does believe they're doing far more good than harm. They have to adjust their way of thinking if they want to come out of Valentine's war alive -- and there will be a war, one he won't participate in because he's here in Darrow instead of back there with them. There will be a war and if they don't change how they look at Downworlders, if they refuse to learn to not only tolerate them, but accept them as warriors in their own rights, he's afraid the Clave really will fall. And then there will be no one left to protect the world.
Protecting the world is too grand a goal for him here in Darrow, but he can protect those he's close to, those he cares about. He can protect the people who matter, starting with Reid, and if he's done well enough to have convinced the other man to call him directly should he ever need help, then Luke thinks he's accomplished exactly what he set out to do. And when Reid lowers the ice pack and the skin around his eye does look a little less swollen, Luke feels better still. He reaches out for the damp cloth, intending to take it into the kitchen and wring it out, because he can't imagine it will be of much use to Reid now that the ice has nearly melted and there's cake to be had as well.
"I'm sure I won't hate it," Luke says and he doesn't know how he's so sure, but he is. Perhaps it's been less than two months, but Reid has come to know him fairly well and that isn't only due to being a profiler and being able to understand Luke and his motivations in a way many people can't simply because they haven't had the training. Luke has been willing to share things with Reid that he hasn't always shared with others and it isn't because he doesn't trust them, but because he's been offered a place in which he feels comfortable. They spend so much time in the store instead of out doing other things and it's because of that, because they often find themselves surrounded by familiar books and shelves, a place Luke has put together piece by piece until it's reminded him or something special and personal that he's always found it so easy to just say things to Reid without worrying much one way or the other how they might be received. Because for all Reid's training, Luke has a few things on his side as well. That he can sense the changes in Reid's body certainly helps, but besides that, when it comes to his daily interactions, Reid is easily read. He doesn't try to hide things, for better or worse, he is exactly the man he is and Luke has found him very easy to read. That, too, makes him comfortable.
"I also hear gifts and cake go very well together," he says as they return to the kitchen. For the moment he leaves the melting ice pack in the sink and while he would normally clean it up immediately, he doesn't want to make Reid stand here and watch while his kitchen gets another entire wipe down. He'll worry about it later, because right now he's spending time with someone who's willing to celebrate his birthday with him and he can't remember the last time he's had that. Clary and Simon have always done their best, they've always made sure they remember, that he has something to open, but it's different with them. They're incredible, lovely children, but they're still children. It's nice to think he might have an adult in his life now who cares enough to give him a quiet birthday celebration.
"Should I open the gift first?" he asks, but before he even finishes asks, he's already pulling back edges of the silvery paper. Since it's his birthday, he doesn't think he needs to wait for permission, especially since there's only one person here with him, only one gift, and Luke has another playful comment on his tongue before he reveals the sculpture and his words seem to all but dry up. It's beautiful and he already knows exactly where it needs to go, but more than that, it's personal. It means something to the two of them and Luke's mind feels like it's both stopped processing information altogether and is going a mile a minute. The night at the amusement park had been a strange one, but it's also the night he feels they'd really become friends. Reid had been willing to listen to him, to take in everything he'd said and accept it. Believe it. For a man who is so rooted in science and reality in so many ways, Luke had appreciated that more than he'd been able to say.
The night means a lot to him. And he thinks this is the most beautiful reminder of that he could possibly receive.
"It's perfect," he says finally, then laughs and picks it up gently. "Come with me."
The apartment isn't particularly large, but he goes down the hall to the small office just beside his bedroom. The other two spare rooms are shut up, their doors closed, and he hopes to one day have use for them, but until now he's just readied one with things Clary might like. Just in case. His office, though, isn't decorated yet and he crosses to his mostly bare desk and puts the ferris wheel at one side. Exactly where it looks like it belongs.
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Protecting the world is too grand a goal for him here in Darrow, but he can protect those he's close to, those he cares about. He can protect the people who matter, starting with Reid, and if he's done well enough to have convinced the other man to call him directly should he ever need help, then Luke thinks he's accomplished exactly what he set out to do. And when Reid lowers the ice pack and the skin around his eye does look a little less swollen, Luke feels better still. He reaches out for the damp cloth, intending to take it into the kitchen and wring it out, because he can't imagine it will be of much use to Reid now that the ice has nearly melted and there's cake to be had as well.
"I'm sure I won't hate it," Luke says and he doesn't know how he's so sure, but he is. Perhaps it's been less than two months, but Reid has come to know him fairly well and that isn't only due to being a profiler and being able to understand Luke and his motivations in a way many people can't simply because they haven't had the training. Luke has been willing to share things with Reid that he hasn't always shared with others and it isn't because he doesn't trust them, but because he's been offered a place in which he feels comfortable. They spend so much time in the store instead of out doing other things and it's because of that, because they often find themselves surrounded by familiar books and shelves, a place Luke has put together piece by piece until it's reminded him or something special and personal that he's always found it so easy to just say things to Reid without worrying much one way or the other how they might be received. Because for all Reid's training, Luke has a few things on his side as well. That he can sense the changes in Reid's body certainly helps, but besides that, when it comes to his daily interactions, Reid is easily read. He doesn't try to hide things, for better or worse, he is exactly the man he is and Luke has found him very easy to read. That, too, makes him comfortable.
"I also hear gifts and cake go very well together," he says as they return to the kitchen. For the moment he leaves the melting ice pack in the sink and while he would normally clean it up immediately, he doesn't want to make Reid stand here and watch while his kitchen gets another entire wipe down. He'll worry about it later, because right now he's spending time with someone who's willing to celebrate his birthday with him and he can't remember the last time he's had that. Clary and Simon have always done their best, they've always made sure they remember, that he has something to open, but it's different with them. They're incredible, lovely children, but they're still children. It's nice to think he might have an adult in his life now who cares enough to give him a quiet birthday celebration.
"Should I open the gift first?" he asks, but before he even finishes asks, he's already pulling back edges of the silvery paper. Since it's his birthday, he doesn't think he needs to wait for permission, especially since there's only one person here with him, only one gift, and Luke has another playful comment on his tongue before he reveals the sculpture and his words seem to all but dry up. It's beautiful and he already knows exactly where it needs to go, but more than that, it's personal. It means something to the two of them and Luke's mind feels like it's both stopped processing information altogether and is going a mile a minute. The night at the amusement park had been a strange one, but it's also the night he feels they'd really become friends. Reid had been willing to listen to him, to take in everything he'd said and accept it. Believe it. For a man who is so rooted in science and reality in so many ways, Luke had appreciated that more than he'd been able to say.
The night means a lot to him. And he thinks this is the most beautiful reminder of that he could possibly receive.
"It's perfect," he says finally, then laughs and picks it up gently. "Come with me."
The apartment isn't particularly large, but he goes down the hall to the small office just beside his bedroom. The other two spare rooms are shut up, their doors closed, and he hopes to one day have use for them, but until now he's just readied one with things Clary might like. Just in case. His office, though, isn't decorated yet and he crosses to his mostly bare desk and puts the ferris wheel at one side. Exactly where it looks like it belongs.