Chapter 8 – A Bad Plan
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"What?" Alex asked, a distant part of him hoping that he'd misheard Luke, even though he knew that wasn't the case.
Still, he could dream.
"I want your advice," Luke repeated, his gaze desperately earnest and wide in that imploring way he knew wrecked Alex and Bobby every time. It would probably wreck Reggie too if the bassist ever considered himself a person who could possess something Luke wanted, but since he didn't, he was forever incapable of registering Luke's probes in any kind of meaningful way. "You're good at making Reggie feel good-"
"It's not rocket science, Luke," Alex interrupted, knowing where this was going and trying desperately to cut off the impending train wreck. "He has a dick. You have a dick. Do the things you'd want done to you on him. I mean, even if you didn't do that, it's still pretty hard to mess up. Just about anything feels good."
"But I can't risk it going bad," Luke pressed, his gaze somehow getting wider because he was playing Alex, playing him like the damn fiddle he refused to learn (for now, Alex and Bobby both knew he'd eventually cave because Sunset Curve was going to have a country album oh so help them, and Alex had already started researching percussion arrangements for when they finally hit that day). "It's Reggie."
"You need to trust yourself," Alex informed him, trying to keep his expression schooled into one of stern neutrality. "The fact is, all of you guys are fumbling through this at the same time. Reggie's not going to expect you to be amazing, and part of being in a relationship is growing together through this stuff anyway."
"That's easy for you to say!" Luke waved his arms in a furious blur of movement. "You have inherent sexiness." While Alex tried very hard not to sputter at that comment, Luke pressed on. "Alex, please, these aren't normal circumstances. Reggie has you to compare us to now, and you're like, a wizard. How are we supposed to compare to a wizard?"
"By practicing?" Alex countered, somehow keeping his tone from jumping five octaves. He really didn't need Luke praising his sexual prowess or whatever. It was like, the last thing he needed. "You know Reggie would be more than happy to do that with you-"
"You could just show me what you do," Luke whined, the brunette having safely entered the part of the conversation where he knew Alex was in too deep and could therefore get away with being a bit of a shit. "Come on, it'd be easy. You, me, Reggie – a bed, we have all the components here!" He gestured to the Studio around them, as though Alex could forget the location to which Luke had summoned him – Luke, who had insisted there was an emergency that only Alex could solve right now, and could he 'pretty please come but have Willie drop you off because it's too important to wait for you to bike over'.
In hindsight, Alex now understood exactly why Luke didn't want him to be sweaty and gross before he came over, but if he'd realized this was what Luke wanted to talk about, he would have worn his worst outfit and thrown himself in a ditch. Better yet, Alex wouldn't have come at all.
"Did you talk to Bobby about this?" Alex asked, because Bobby was usually good at curtailing these kinds of things. He didn't always manage it, but the guy had a ninety percent success rate. That was better than most. "Did you talk to Reggie?"
"Of course," Luke waved him off with an offended huff. "Why do you think they're hiding in Bobby's room? It's my idea, so I have to do the sweet talking."
"It's a dumb idea," Alex pointed out. "Really Luke, I'm not that much better at this stuff than you are."
"Liar, liar, plants for hire," Luke accused with narrowed eyes. "You can rock Reggie's world in under a minute. We all saw you make out at the kitchen table." Alex was grateful he referred to the moment where he and Reggie began their secret arrangement rather than the incriminating video that had started it all. "It was like- bam. Bobby and I haven't managed that."
"And you won't without practice," Alex tried, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Alex," Luke whined, drawing closer. "Alex. Please, it's Reggie. You care about Reggie. We care about Reggie. We just want to be super awesome sexy boyfriends like you. Come on, you don't even have to take off your clothes if you don't want to."
Good, because that had literally never been on the table, but the fact that Luke had considered it a possibility left Alex fighting off a heat he really didn't need, especially since it wasn't like Luke actually wanted to see Alex in the buff. It was enough of a shock to counteract the blatant and unnecessary flattery that Alex had still found himself susceptible to, because he was a weak, weak fool.
"God damnit," Alex muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose again. It didn't help in any capacity, but if he had to look at Luke's hopeful eyes for another second, he was going to do something drastic. "Fine," he hissed, because he actually was the greatest master of self-sabotage in the history of existence. "Fine, but I'm only going to do this one time."
"But you'll do it?" Luke asked, eyes sparkling with wonder because Alex was indulging his current hyper-fixation, which automatically made the drummer the best in his world.
"I will do it once," Alex repeated, knowing he couldn't allow that boundary to crumble. "And I'm definitely not taking off any clothes."
"If that will make you more comfortable," Luke said with a shrug, but then he was turning away before he could see Alex sputter, the brunette already sprinting for the door. "I'll go get Bobs and Reggie!" he cheered. "You get the bed, it'll be great!"
"Sure," Alex drawled, mostly to himself because Luke was already gone, throwing himself into the great unknown. "Perfect. Wonderful. Amazing."
With a sigh, he turned back towards the couch bed, shoving the coffee table out of the way while sending a quick text to Willie warning of the potential need for a speedy escape. It was best to have all his bases covered, just in case.
The things he did for these people.
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"Are you comfortable?" Alex asked Reggie, potentially-and-almost-certainly stalling while he looked the bassist over.
There had been a reason he'd been avoiding the combination of Reggie and beds. Reggie and couches were safe. Reggie and bean bag chairs, fantastic. Reggie and beds, however, meant Alex knew what the bassist looked like splayed across a mattress, and while Alex had avoided it to this point so as not to inspire musings of why Reggie could be in his bed, now Alex was greeted with the vision for the sole purpose of doing the thing he'd avoided, because he wanted Reggie to have that with his boyfriends.
So much for that.
"Um- yeah," Reggie said, a lovely flush coloring his cheeks as he looked up at Alex. His shoes, socks, jacket, and belt had already all been abandoned, but that was enough of a change in the status quo to make them both a little apprehensive. "Are you guys?"
"I'm perfect," Luke chirped from Reggie's other side, looking on the proceedings with a wide smile. "Bobbert?"
"I'm good," Bobby said, his voice a little rough. He was sitting in the armchair angled next to the couch, his hands curled hard around the armrests like he was in desperate need to ground himself. "I'm- yeah, this is- yeah."
"Okay," Alex said, unsure as to whose behavior made him feel more comfortable – Bobby's anxiety or Luke's unrepentant Luke-ness. "If that changes – at any time – you need to speak up. We'll stop, no questions asked. I'll just- I'll leave. And I won't be upset, just to clarify."
Part of him hoped they would take him up on this right now, but neither Luke nor Bobby said anything, the rhythm guitarist simply offering a jerked nod of confirmation while Luke gave a thumbs up.
"That also goes for you, Reg," Alex said, settling down properly beside him. "Now um- how far do you want to go?"
"As far as you want?" Reggie offered, sounding a little breathless.
Which, hey, that was- if he was a bit of an exhibitionist, that was fine, Alex was totally cool with playing into that, but they still needed some kind of boundaries.
"Could you give me some clarification?" Alex pressed. "Do you want um- your clothes to stay on, or-"
"You can take them off, if you want," Reggie interrupted in a graceless rush, the eager hint to his tone enough to make Alex's cheeks flood with warmth.
"Okay then," Alex said, despite the fact that this was not a thing they'd actually done together yet. Doing it for the first time with an audience probably wasn't the best idea, but seeing as this entire endeavor had been a guaranteed failure from the beginning, Alex decided to go along with it.
It was easy to kiss Reggie while he slowly worked the bassist's shirt up his torso, Alex making sure to brush his fingers against as much of his chest as possible. Reggie was whimpering by the time they broke apart, a small gasp falling from his lips when Alex tugged his shirt off, tossing it casually to the side.
"Hey," Alex greeted, allowing that overwhelming fondness to seep into his tone as he looked down at Reggie, his hair mussed against the pillow. "How are you doing?"
"G-Good," Reggie murmured, biting at his bottom lip. "Could you um- touch me?"
Alex simply nodded, swallowing a hungry sound as he moved to do just that, using his free hand to trace aimless patterns against his skin while Alex began sucking a mark under his ear again, something that left Reggie shuddering.
"A-lex," Reggie whined, a certain neediness to his tone. "I um- I-"
"Like that?" Alex asked despite knowing that was the case. He worked his way lower, pressing kisses against Reggie's collar before he bit down and sucked, swirling his tongue in deliberate movements.
"Yes," Reggie moaned when Alex's hand found his nipple, the blond happily teasing and flicking at it before he switched to the other side, earning a new deluge of sounds. "Alex- fuck, Alex."
"I'm here," Alex hummed, moving his mouth lower so he could start doting on those pert nubs properly.
Immediately, Reggie was croaking, fingers curling through Alex's hair in an effort to keep him close.
A throat cleared beside them, and belatedly, Alex remembered they had an audience.
"Could I help?" Luke asked, seeming tentative for the very first time. "Is that- would that be okay?"
"Please," Reggie whimpered before Alex could reply, so of course Alex nodded, breath hitching slightly as he watched Luke lower himself to Reggie's other pectoral, his tongue moving in tentative shifts against Reggie's flushed nipple.
"Don't just use your tongue," Alex suggested after a few seconds. "Teeth are important too, just don't go too hard. Pinch a little and suck."
"Oh." A flush spilled across the bridge of Luke's nose. "Like…"
He did his best to follow Alex's instructions, the blond trying to fight off an oncoming wave of heat because he had been given permission to watch this time, it was encouraged and he wouldn't be a creeper. He'd always wanted to see Luke at work, and granted, he'd wanted to be involved a bit more directly, but getting the opportunity to see him pleasure Reggie-
"Guys," Reggie moaned, his hips rutting up in a desperate shift.
"We've got you," Alex said, sounding far steadier than he felt while he motioned Luke back some, the blond shifting low so he could start undoing Reggie's pants.
Somehow, he managed to keep his fingers steady while he coaxed the pants down his thighs, Luke scrambling to pull them all the way off. It left Reggie in boxer briefs alone, his length making a prominent bulge against the dark fabric. The bassist whimpered again when he realized where they were all staring, but Alex silenced him with kisses he eagerly melted into, his hand falling between Reggie's legs on reflex to give him a gentle squeeze.
Immediately, he was moaning, Reggie twitching into his grip while that pretty flush spilled down his chest, the pale skin heaving underneath Luke's attentions.
"God- fuck," Reggie gasped, seeming constantly beset by trembles. "Guys-"
"We're here," Alex murmured, teasing his chest, doting on his neck, anything to keep those needy sounds coming. "Feel good?"
"Yes, yes, I-" Reggie broke off with a quiet sound, his length pulsing pleasantly against the fabric of his briefs.
"Hey," Luke said, his voice sounding a bit rough. "Could you…"
He extended his free hand towards Reggie's groin tentatively, and Alex – he wasn't entirely sure what Luke wanted, so he acted off of instinct. Terrible, horrible instinct, taking the brunette's hand and cupping it between Reggie's legs, guiding his movements with slow, deliberate shifts.
Reggie flailed against the attention, making Alex pause. They hadn't really done that much.
"Are you okay?" he asked, watching Reggie's flushed expression, his eyes screwed shut like he was overwhelmed with pleasure.
"Yes," Reggie managed, the words coming out in a croak. "Just- um- it's a lot."
"Do you want us to stop?" Alex asked. "Or put you pants back on-"
"No, no, we don't need to um- do that," Reggie babbled, managing to look at him. The bassist was still grinding pointedly into the contact Luke and Alex offered him. "I just- you guys working together is… it's hot."
Oh. Okay, Alex hadn't- he hadn't actually been prepared for that explanation.
"I'm glad," Alex managed, and somehow it didn't come off as strangled. Somehow he sounded confident and firm.
"Me too," Luke hummed, pressing kisses beneath Reggie's jaw. "Anything for you, babe."
Reggie whimpered. Alex was surprised he didn't join him.
"Alright," Alex began, moving on before he could get totally lost in this. He reached into his pocket, fumbling for the small tube Willie had procured for him just in case, but just in case was happening right now because Alex really needed a distraction. "Let's just-"
He hooked his finger on the waistband of Reggie's briefs, watching the bassist for any objections before he slowly guided them down. Alex's heart was pounding furiously in his chest, everything seeming tense when he got his eyes on Reggie in his entirety, his flushed length wavering hard against his abdomen, wet but just as pretty as he was, something that filled Alex with a distinct pang of want because he could have this, have part of his desires, and that alone was more than a gift for him.
"Aw, Reg," Alex murmured, pressing kisses to Reggie's shoulder, his cheek, pausing his efforts with the lube long enough to cup Reggie's length in his hand. "You're really fucking pretty."
"Alex," Reggie whined, but he couldn't hide the way he pulsed in Alex's hand, and Alex had done that, done it with words alone, Reggie's legs spreading wide in a hopeful invitation.
"I only speak the truth," Alex hummed before claiming Reggie's lips, coaxing him through some easy kisses while he slowly pumped his length up and down.
Eventually, Alex forced himself to pull back long enough to work some lube onto Reggie, enough to allow him to establish a proper tempo that had him writhing in Alex's hold.
"Damn, Reg," Luke murmured, seeming totally in awe while he watched the bassist's intense responses. "You are sex incarnate."
"Luke," Reggie moaned, his hips stuttering forwards even more pointedly.
"He's right, Reg," Bobby said, his voice seeming to be a low rumble. "The way you fuck Alex's hand-" 'What the fuck, Bobby?' Alex wanted to sputter but somehow didn't, which was a good thing because apparently Bobby was the king of dirty talk once he got on a roll. "Makes me so hard. How does it feel? Is it amazing, to finally get his hands on you? Are you wild for it?"
"Yes, yes, I-" Reggie gasped, his length throbbing in Alex's grasp. "Bobby, Bobby, I wanna- can I come?"
"Only if you make a proper mess of yourself," Bobby said, his voice ringing with a firm certainty that Alex knew he'd be replaying for many of his self-love sessions to come. "You fuck Alex's fingers until you coat that pretty chest of yours, and if you're real good, I'll let Luke lick it off you."
"Please," Reggie moaned, but now he was working his hips with abandon. "Please, please, please, I- Alex!"
Reggie's release was a powerful, overwhelming thing, getting to actually see him reach his climax, getting to feel his length pulse while he followed Bobby's orders, Alex keeping his dick aimed towards him until his chest was properly coated. Alex pumped him through it, until he was oversensitive, Reggie latching onto him while desperate 'oh, oh, oh's spilled form his lips.
When it was finally done, Alex felt dazed, his ears ringing with overstimulation and his groin painfully hard.
"Fuck," Luke offered elegantly before scrambling forward, moving to clumsily clean up Reggie's skin with an easy kind of familiarity. Maybe this was something they did often. Maybe Bobby watched Luke and Reggie get it on, the other two following Bobby's directions. Maybe this was an old standby that Alex was intruding upon. They'd asked for him there, but still.
Alex swallowed hard, trying to shift in a way that would ease some of the tension and failing horribly. "I guess I'll leave you guys to it, then," he managed before he got up, giving Reggie's shoulder one last kiss before he pulled away. "Hope you took notes."
He made himself leave after that, hoping his parting words came off as cool and collected, anything to hide the scattered chaos of his mind.
That had been as dangerous as he'd expected, but it was over now. He'd held up his end of the deal and they wouldn't ask him again; it was that simple.
Alright then.
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The thing about Luke was that he was a relentless asshole who liked to push his luck.
On one hand, it was a quality that had gotten them many gigs where they otherwise wouldn't have. It was one of the things that had pushed them to create their band, then pushed it further to consider it their future career. There were many capacities in which this could be a good thing.
Unfortunately for Alex, the flavor of stubbornness he was currently dealing with wasn't actually that good a thing for him. Not at all.
"Once, Luke," Alex griped when it was just the two of them cleaning up the studio – which seemed to be happening more and more nowadays. With the end of the school year drawing closer, Reggie's grades were now more important than ever, and though Alex had been trading off with Bobby in tutoring the bassist, they were currently working on some big project that Bobby had been monitoring with Reggie since day one, so it made sense for Alex to sit out this one. "What part of once did you not understand?"
"It all happened so fast!" Luke burst, flailing one hand while collecting their discarded soda cans with the other, deftly shoving them into a bag to be rinsed and recycled as needed. "You rock Reggie's world regularly-"
"And so can you," Alex reminded him as he collected the crumpled balls of paper that had once been song lyrics. He considered them with narrowed eyes before adding them to his pile of stuff that needed to be shredded just in case, because even if Luke apparently hated them enough to warrant being torn from his song notebook, it was always better to play it safe with this kind of stuff.
"Right, if you teach me," Luke said, wagging his brows in suggestive emphasis.
Alex didn't bother fighting back a sigh. Luke deserved to know he was being annoying. Unfortunately, the blond wasn't entirely surprised by this. He always knew if he gave Luke an inch the brunette would take twenty miles. It was simply his way.
"No," Alex said, putting his foot down. "You and Bobby are just going to have to figure things out for yourself."
"Mostly just me, though," Luke said, making Alex pause. "Bobby doesn't always like to participate. I mean, sometimes he does, depending on the day, but he usually watches."
"I… okay," Alex said, hoping his voice didn't sound as rough as it felt. He'd always wondered about the guys' bedroom preferences, and while he wasn't surprised Bobby preferred a more hands off approach, the idea of him sitting to the side, overseeing them… it was hot. Very hot. Hot enough to be distracting for a very long time, damnit. "That doesn't change my point."
"Sure it does," Luke hummed, draping himself over the back of the couch in a dramatic sprawl. "It means I'm all alone-"
"It really isn't rocket science," Alex reminded him, had been reminding him, but Luke was a selective listener on a good day, let alone whatever the hell kind of day today was.
"We should just pleasure him together regularly," Luke decided with all the certainty that this was an idea he'd settled on a while ago, perhaps as soon as when Alex had started dating Reggie, and had simply neglected to share it until now. "Then we can both rock his world-"
"There has to be lines, Luke," Alex snapped, trying to hold back his ire and failing, because it was that or give into despair. "I established boundaries for a reason-"
"Why, though?" Luke pressed, sliding off the couch so he could march into Alex's space, getting that particular gleam in his eye that always meant bad things.
"Because I'm not dating you!" The words seemed to be almost ripped from Alex, he felt them so strongly, but there was no denying them once they were said aloud, not that it was something any of them had been ignorant of to this point. "I'm dating Reggie, and-"
"What about me and Bobby?!" Luke snapped, and if Alex didn't know any better, he'd think the brunette actually looked hurt.
Come to think of it, he did look hurt. And as much as Alex wanted to think it, he was pretty sure it wasn't a trick of the lights that had Luke's gaze seeming to shine with restrained moisture.
"What's so bad about us?" Luke pressed. "I mean, I know we're not Reggie-"
"There's nothing wrong with you guys," Alex said, absolutely befuddled as to how they had gotten to this point.
"Then why won't you date us?"
Why? Why won't- why won't he-
"Because you don't want to date me!" Alex shot back, pushing himself back a few steps in a desperate bid to buy himself some space.
"How do you know that?" Luke pressed, having the audacity to seem confused by this point.
"I thought it was pretty fucking clear when the three of you started dating without telling me," Alex hissed, a terrible heat building behind his eyes. "You don't want me! You lied to me-"
"We thought you were straight!" Luke waved his arms as though to emphasize this. "And who said we didn't-"
"I thought you guys were straight!" Alex hissed. "But you talked to each other enough to figure out that you're like, each other's exceptions or whatever, or you're bi, or whatever sexuality that allows you to date each other, but you never talked to me about anything!"
"You always changed the subject when we talked about dating stuff!" Luke exclaimed.
"I tried not to!" That had been a defense mechanism more than anything else, Alex trying to do what he could just to survive. "I tried to be supportive, I just- I don't like thinking about all the girls you want to date-"
"Why?"
"Because I like you!" Alex snapped, the words seeming to ring through the studio with a ruthless clamor.
His chest was heaving by the time he was done, eyes likely as wide as Luke's, because even though he didn't specify, the brunette had to know. He just knew.
"I like you," Alex repeated, and he was crying now. "I didn't- I didn't mean to, I tried to stop it-"
"Alex," Luke said, taking a tentative step forward.
Alex swallowed hard and, making a firm decision, turned deftly on his heel.
"Alex!" Luke figured out his plan a second afterwards, but Alex was closer to the barn doors and had enough distance to get out and have them shut behind him before Luke slammed into the doors.
Alex felt a little bad about locking him inside, but the others would find him eventually, or Luke would text or call them or something, either way it didn't matter, because the cat was out of the bag and Alex was crying, which while familiar and likely inevitable, was still somewhat painful.
He could hear Luke pounding against the doors of the studio, his voice muffled by the wood, but Alex paid him no mind, fumbling for his bike and getting out of there, desperate to retreat. It would only buy him a small amount of peace, but Alex needed that, needed to calm down, before they decided what to do with him.
Probably nothing. He was probably overreacting. They'd just go back to being friends, staying friends, and maybe Reggie would break up with him – not that they'd ever publicly been dating-
Alex sighed and started pedaling. The problem could wait for a few hours.
-:-:-:-:-:-
"Oh shit," Willie said when Alex attempted to sneak through the living room, which was about as much a failure as him wiping away his tears, apparently. "What happened?"
"Luke," Alex huffed, and Willie was kind enough to follow Alex back to his guest room before the other teen prompted him to talk, settling in Alex's desk chair while the blond more or less threw himself down on the daybed. "I told him about- you know."
"Ah," Willie said as this dawned on him, not so much as missing a beat before he had the pieces put together. "How'd he take it?"
"No idea," Alex muttered. "I ran away."
There was a pause where Willie continued his generous extension of kindness by not saying anything, not so much as making an idle comment along the lines of 'then how do you know he'll take it badly?' because it wasn't like Alex would be crying if he thought this was a good development.
"So now what?" Willie asked. "Do you want me to call Kayla?"
"No," Alex groaned, burying his head under the pillow as though that would help drown out the world. "I don't know what's going to happen. I already tried quitting the band once-"
"What," Willie said, shock rendering it more of a statement than a question, reminding Alex that not everyone knew that little tidbit of information.
"It didn't take," Alex waved him off. "Bobby wouldn't let me."
"That does sound like Bobbert," Willie agreed, making Alex swallow a hysterical giggle because somewhere along the line Luke's stupid nickname for Bobby had become so engrained in their version of normality that Willie was throwing it out without even the slightest hint of irony. That was just what Luke did. He stirred up chaos. He rejected reality and enforced a version of his own that he decided was more suitable with such a strong ferocity that the rest of them either had to adapt or be abandoned altogether.
There was a good chance these thoughts made Alex tear up again, because he knew Luke. He knew Bobby. They were kind guys. They wouldn't allow him to feel bad for having an unreciprocated crush on them. Luke might back down on the shared makeout times or whatever, but he'd still make a pointed effort to be Alex's friend, as would Bobby. Reggie might feel a little bad, might try to overcompensate by throwing himself into dating Alex since he was the only one attracted to the blond, and as guilty as Alex felt at the prospect of it, he also knew Reggie wouldn't listen to any of his assurances not to do that. It would be both a gift and insult to injury, and eventually Alex would adjust, Reggie would settle down, and they'd find their new normal, but for the moment Alex just wanted to mope, so that was what he did.
Alex sighed, begrudgingly turning onto his side. "It'll be fine," Alex deciding, knowing that if he said it enough times, he'd eventually start to believe it. "I'm just not looking forward to the whole… you know."
"Yeah." Willie considered him for a moment, then abandoned the desk, clambering onto the bed and over Alex until he could curl around the blond's back like a particularly clingy orangutang. "That'll suck, and I'm sorry about it."
"Willie," Alex groaned, but he was happy to lean back into the other teen's hold. He was tempted to close his eyes and pretend that maybe it was someone else, but that would be a disservice to Willie, who'd become so much more than a friend these past few weeks. They were family now, and if there was one person Alex wanted to do right by, it was him.
"You deserve snuggles," Willie laughed, pulling the pillow off Alex's head so he could drag a hand through the blond's locks. "I know there's not a lot I can say to make it better, but you guys… you've overcome a lot. This is just another hurdle, and it'll get better with time."
Alex swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. "What if Reggie doesn't want to date me anymore? What if he thinks it's weird that I like his boyfriends?"
"Dude, it's Reggie," Willie chuckled. "If anything, it'll give you something to bond over. At most, he'll feel bad that you're left out, then try to compensate by giving you all the love in the world."
"That sounds like Reggie," Alex said, refusing to feel self-conscious by the awed fondness in his tone. Willie would be the last person to judge him for it anyway. "Thanks, Wills."
"Don't mention it," Willie hummed, pressing his forehead against the back of Alex's head. "I'm here if you need anything, okay?"
"I don't deserve you," Alex said, and he knew that much was true, knew that even though he'd lost so much, he'd been given more than enough to make up for it, been allowed freedom and support in a life where he thought he'd get neither. At least not anytime soon.
Willie chuckled. "Who does?"
"Watch it," Alex huffed, but he didn't so much as bother to poke Willie in the ribs, the objection halfhearted at best. More for the principle than anything else, to revert them to some form of normality.
It was a relief when Willie held him closer, the other teen's body a soothing blanket against the temporary trials of his world. "No," Willie hummed, squeezing Alex's hand. "I don't think I will."
There was nothing more to say after that. They could simply rest in companionable silence, enjoy the calm comfort while it was offered and save energy for whatever was to follow. Alex only hoped that it wouldn't be explosive, but it involved Luke, so whatever preconceptions he might have may as well be thrown entirely out the window.
He'd deal with it later. For now, he had this.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Endnotes:
In today's installment of 'committing to bad ideas instead of just communicating because obviously that is the much easier solution', Luke goes above and beyond the call of duty and Bobby's brain is melted enough at this point to just go along with it. Like, come on, guys. Come on.
Story notes:
To be fair, I was also surprised by Bobby's assertiveness in the bedroom.
Also upon rereading this, Luke is a bit of a shit this chapter. Like, I pushed boundaries for the sake of angst and absurdity, as always, but in reality weaseling for consent isn't really consent, so take the no for what it is, Lucas.
Until next time