[turkey day, nov 21]

[youfeelluckypunk]

They've graciously been invited to Derek's Thanksgiving celebration on the actual day itself, but Reid had gotten to thinking after Luke had told him of the invitation that it would be nice to throw a small get-together of their own. Halloween at the bookstore had been a success, after all, and in spite of the fact that they'd been sent to a hellish version of Darrow for the next ten days, Reid had really enjoyed planning and decorating for the holiday with his boyfriend. In a way, it also serves as a bit of a housewarming, even if nobody else needs to know that. They've been officially living together for a week now, though the only real difference is that he's handed over his keys to the Dimera apartment back to the landlord.

Still, being able to call this apartment home, knowing that he gets to spend every night with the man he loves, it means something special to him, and he wants to share that sense of home with the rest of the people he cares about.

So he sends out texts to Alec and Magnus, Peter and Jason and Hild, telling them all to save the date for the twenty-first so they can have an early Thanksgiving celebration. Others are welcome, of course, and Reid suspects they'll have more than enough food because he'd made arrangements for one restaurant in particular (one that he visits often and had already been promoting take-out for Thanksgiving Day) to set him up with a turkey dinner early. There are all the expected fixings, though he'd ordered four turkeys because Luke still needs to eat more to make up for all the weight he'd lost in the alternate version of Darrow, plus a couple pumpkin pies and various other desserts strewn out across the table. The wine Peter had given to him on Halloween is out, available for consumption to those who want it, but Reid will be sticking to water tonight.

If anyone asks, he's been slaving away in the kitchen all day long, brewing coffee after coffee as he and Luke make sure everything looks nice and neat for their first Thanksgiving dinner together. The food is set out over the counter in the kitchen, china and utensils and glassware placed at the very end so people can take what they want and find a place to eat in the living room, where they've placed extra chairs, and it isn't until they hear the first knock at the door that Reid finally decides he's satisfied with the way everything looks.

Every single person who will be here tonight has been through so much, seen more than one person ever should, but tonight, Reid is just grateful that they're all still here.

Comments

[notaretriever]

They're still teasing each other and yet there's something so sweet and so genuine in the way Reid is speaking about showing Luke just how thankful he is that he has to pause and really smile at his boyfriend. This isn't the sort of relationship he's ever had before, which is something he thinks about nearly every day. There are just these moments where he's reminded of how lucky he is, how far he's come, how much things have changed, and he doesn't mind at all, he's never been adverse to change and change like this has been especially welcome, but he has to acknowledge that he's truly new to all of this. The way they interact, the light teasing, the genuine affection under the teasing, it's all new to Luke and he thinks it's mostly new to Reid, too, which makes it all a little more fun to navigate. They're discovering how they fit together, the ways in which they're meant to interact, the ways they'll communicate, and as of right now, he thinks it's all working out rather well for the two of them.

"We can save our fight," he agrees and although he's still making a joke, his voice has gone soft as well. There's just something about the way Reid looks at him, the way they speak to each other, it all makes Luke feel rather important in a way he never has before. Being a Shadowhunter had been a certain level of important, being Valentine's second in command when it came to the Circle had been another thing entirely, being a pack leader had been what Luke still thinks was his most important call to duty, but this is something else. This is being important in a way that doesn't matter to a single person beyond this room and he thinks it's by far the best he's ever felt. Being important to one person, as it turns out, is a lot better than being important to an entire army. It's something Luke realizes he's known for a long time now, that being important in Clary's life had always been better than being a pack leader, but it's only here with Reid that it's really been driven home.

With a smile, he sets aside the knives he'd been preparing to take out into the other room with the pies, and reaches up to smooth his hands over Reid's hair. It doesn't help, it doesn't change anything, but he's always rather liked how his boyfriend's hair curls wildly, without any hope of control. It's effortless, it makes how unbelievably attractive he is seem so simple, and Luke doesn't really know how to say that. He's comfortable with some things -- with telling Reid how much he loves him -- but for some reason it's still difficult to word compliments in a way he likes unless they're in bed together, and then he thinks without speaking. He wants to tell Reid that he's beautiful, that his hair is perfect in the way it's a complete mess, but he only smiles and cups his face again.

"Perfectly disheveled," he says with a smile, then presses another soft kiss to Reid's mouth before he steps back and picks up two of the pies to bring out into the other room. "Shall we? Before the masses start to rebel over the fact that they've yet to be served their promised dessert? I've seen Magnus eyeing the kitchen for the better part of an hour already."

[youfeelluckypunk]

As delightfully fun their teasing always is, Reid loves these quiet, tender moments between them even more. With his teammates at the BAU, he'd been the subject of a lot of teasing it, most of it fond and affectionate so he'd rarely taken offense. The prank wars between him and Morgan had always been something to look forward to, as well, mostly because they'd never failed in finding another way to get a leg up over the other. As he often describes them, the team had been like his family, and as the youngest of that family, he'd grown accustomed to receiving the regular brunt of the jokes.

That's not what it's like with Luke, not at all. While they are playful with each other, it comes from a different place in their hearts. He doesn't tease Luke the way he would have teased Morgan, doesn't joke with him the way he would with Garcia or JJ; everything is on an entirely new level, more balanced and in sync than he's ever been with anyone else.

But this, the way Luke looks at him, the way Luke makes him feel when he looks at him, Reid has absolutely nothing to compare it to, and he finds it pointless to even try. He understands that people are different, that not everyone is interesting in entering into a committed relationship with just one person, but Reid thinks they must never have been look at quite like this. There's a hint of desire there but more than that, there's genuine love, and it threatens to knock Reid to the floor with its sheer force. What they feel for each other, it sometimes almost seems tangible, like Reid could reach out and grasp it in his hands, this connection between them. On a day like this, seeing that look in Luke's eyes somehow seems all the more important, and he huffs a breathless laugh just before Luke kisses him again.

He's not sure how he's supposed to go from this profound gratitude for having his boyfriend in his life to going out to deal with Magnus's fake flirting, but Reid merely nods, unable to even form proper words just yet. As he's following Luke out of the kitchen, earning the approving whoops of more guests who've apparently been patiently waiting for dessert as long as Magnus has, Reid manages to give them all an enormous grin. It's the first Thanksgiving dinner he's had with a family that isn't his team and knowing that every single person is here out of want and not obligation means more to him than he truly knows how to express.

Maybe next year, he'll have figured out how to say it. Maybe by then, he'll have been able to let it process a bit more, this new feeling of having friends who choose to enjoy his company. Until then, he's content to let it be, to simply let the pleasantness of the evening warm him, and he rests a hand against the small of Luke's back as his boyfriend cuts into one of the pies.

"'And suddenly we see,'" he murmurs, barely loud enough so Luke can hear him over the music and chatter behind them, "'that love costs all we are and will ever be. Yet it is only love which sets us free.'" He presses a kiss to Luke's shoulder, ignoring the catcall that surely belongs to Magnus, then smiles up at his boyfriend. "It's true. You have set me free."