Chapter 1 – The Plan

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"Hey, hey, Bobby – Bobbin, hey, Bobbin," Luke huffed, swiping at the rhythm guitarist when he attempted to leave the studio, the other teen having the audacity to pass the back of the couch Luke was sitting on without giving him a kiss. "Bobbert, sugar lumps – you're killing me."

Bobby silenced him with a kiss just like he always did, leaning over the back of the couch to give Luke the attention he required, the attention he deserved, and it wasn't exactly like it was a hardship on the dude because Luke could feel him smiling into the contact, something he only ever did when he thought Luke wasn't looking.

"I literally just kissed you," Bobby said when he pulled back, his voice full of mirth.

"But then you walked by the couch again," Luke pointed out. "Attention was due."

"My mistake," Bobby hummed, his fingers sliding through Luke's hair until they could pet lovely patterns against his scalp.

In his peripherals, Luke could see Reggie shift uneasily, the bassist still holding onto his guitar after a rehearsal well done, but he'd always been like that when Luke and Bobby kissed. Luke had been afraid that maybe Reggie wasn't cool with the idea of two dudes being together, but then Luke had figured out (and by that, he meant Flynn had figured out) that Reggie was just like, the tiniest bit jealous of what they had, because he'd been trying to get a girlfriend for forever.

"So," Bobby cleared his throat, shifting uneasily. "About Saturday."

"What about Saturday?" Luke mused, pressing his lips together in an effort to keep from smiling.

Look at him, being the coyest of coy. He had this boyfriend shit on lock.

Bobby shifted again. "You're uh- busy the full day?"

"The full day," Luke echoed. "I'll make it up to you Sunday though, care bear. You'll never be wanting for kisses."

"That's good," Bobby said somewhat distractedly. "Are you um- sure you can't reschedule?"

"Absolutely no can do," Luke hummed, firing off a finger gun for emphasis. "But again, I'll make it up to you on Sunday."

Bobby's brows furrowed, and Luke could see him arguing with himself as to whether or not he should push the issue. It was a tense, nail-biting moment.

But then Bobby sighed. "I'll see you Sunday, then," he said before giving Luke one last kiss, making it nice and deep before he headed into the house to help Gran cook dinner, same as he did every night.

It took substantial effort for Luke not to break into giggles right then and there.

"He seemed a little down," Reggie murmured from the other side of the couch. "Is he sick?"

"He thinks I forgot our anniversary," Luke informed him, grateful that he finally had someone to tell his plan to. "He thinks I forgot but I totally didn't and I'm gonna surprise him with a romantic dinner Saturday night."

"Whoa, really?" Reggie asked, justly entranced by Luke's wonderous plan.

"Really," Luke echoed. "I'm gonna play a song I wrote just for him and Flynn even got me fake rose petals from the school's theater department and my mom's gonna help me make his favorite meal and he's not going to suspect any of it."

Luke was so clever, he really amazed himself sometimes.

"Wow, he's gonna be so happy," Reggie mused distractedly, sounding supportive with just the tiniest hint of longing.

"That's the plan," Luke hummed, flopping back against the couch with a grin.

His couch really was the best. It didn't matter if Bobby insisted it wasn't his to claim, Luke was the one that had found it on the side of the road, it was his.

"You're so good at this boyfriend stuff," Reggie sighed, setting his guitar on the coffee table so he could dramatically drape himself over the arm of the couch. "How do you do it?"

"I've had lots of time to practice," Luke said, fighting not to giggle at his own personal joke.

The beautiful catch of it all was that Luke and Bobby weren't even dating, not really. They'd been doing this song and dance for almost a year now, long enough for Luke to forget the exact specifics of how it started, but he was pretty sure it was Gran that had made the assumption. One day she'd referred to Luke as Bobby's boyfriend and Luke, never one to pass on a challenge, had simply quirked a brow at the flushed rhythm guitarist.

"You gonna lay one on me, sugar bear?" Luke had asked, batting his lashes the way Carrie did when she was being particularly obnoxious, and well-

There was a reason Luke and Bobby got along so well, why Luke spent so much time at Bobby's house rather than his own. The rhythm guitarist had squared his shoulders, crossed the room, and called Luke on his bluff, pulling him into a kiss that was only like, forty percent awkward. Luke was the one who went in for a second to see if they could improve things.

"Boyfriend?" Bobby had whispered against his lips, his mouth pulling wide in an amused smile.

"You know it," Luke had hummed, and the rest was history.

They never really talked about it, because what was there to talk about? Fake dating was fun. It had all the benefits of real dating but way less of the pressure. Luke thought it would have been weird making out with one of his best bros, but kissing (at least for Luke, it seemed) was an all-around enjoyable pastime no matter who he was engaging in it with, so kissing Bobbin had always been fun.

Another benefit of fake dating your close friend – your kiss supplier was just about always on hand.

It was a great arrangement, one that really seemed to work for them. One day, they would probably have to break up because one of them would want to pursue like, an actual relationship, but until then they were happy doing what they were doing, and that was all that mattered.

"Aw man," Reggie groaned, bringing Luke back to the present. "Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy for you guys, I just wish I could get something like that."

"You will one day, Regster," Luke pressed, abandoning his own guitar so he could drape himself over Reggie in a full body hug, the bassist taking it with a soft squeak, which was a distinct improvement from his usual squawks. "You're too much of a stud for the ladies not to be crazy for you. One day, you're gonna find the perfect music-loving gal who understands how freakishly talented you are."

"I wouldn't say freakishly," Reggie mumbled, turning onto his back so that they could cuddle more effectively – something he only did when it was just the two of them in the studio. "You're crushing me."

"Fine," Luke huffed, flipping them so he was on his back and Reggie was sprawled out on his chest, the complainer. "And see? You're humble too, girls dig that."

Luke assumed. Like, Flynn and Carrie always seemed to be annoyed when he bragged about the band's achievements, so the opposite would likely inspire something closer to happiness.

"Maybe," Reggie sighed. "But they don't dig it on me." He let out a few more grumbles, shifting until he was settled comfortably against Luke, their legs tangling together with a familiar comfort. "Homecoming's almost here and I can't get one girl to go with me. And I've asked like, five."

"You're going to get a date," Luke soothed, putting out as many positive vibes into the universe as he could. "If Nick can snag Julie, you can snag pretty much anyone you want. You're way better than that guy."

There was a pause, Reggie turning his head so that his ear was pressed just above Luke's heart. "Probably can't get whoever I want," he muttered. "But it'd be nice to have someone."

"You will." Luke dragged a comforting hand up and down the bassist's back. "And even if you don't, that doesn't say anything against you, okay? It just says that there's a lot of dumb ladies out there with bad taste."

"You have to say that, you're my friend," Reggie grumbled, his fingers curling into the fabric of Luke's shirt. "Thanks, though."

"Do not make me call Flynn," Luke warned. "'Cuz she'll say the same thing as me, but like, she'll probably find a way to make fun of Star Wars while she's at it."

"Flynn is talented that way," Reggie sighed. "Could we cuddle for a bit?"

"For as long as you want, honeybun," Luke hummed, dragging a hand through Reggie's soft locks. "I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Luke," Reggie murmured, seeming to hold onto Luke a little bit tighter.

Reggie was a tactile person, which was okay with Luke. He loved holding onto his bros too. It was yet another reason why he loved fake dating Bobby so much.

Maybe they should set Reggie up with his own fake partner. Alex would have been a great candidate if he wasn't asexual – at least, that was the latest theory. Julie always got on them for gossiping about their friend's potential sexual orientation, and it wasn't like it mattered in the grand scheme of things, but Luke was pretty sure he'd never seen Alex checking anyone out, boy or girl. Flynn said there were a lot of flavors of asexuality he could potentially fall under, but until the blond was ready to talk about it, they were falling in line under the Molina rule of mind your own business.

So Alex was out of the question, and Flynn and Carrie were already dating and so were Julie and Nick.

They'd find someone for Reggie, Luke was sure. The guy was too cool to be single for long. It was actually sort of amazing he'd remained unattached as it was.

"You're welcome, Reg," Luke murmured, ducking his head so he could press a kiss against Reggie's hair. He always liked when Luke did that. "Forever and always."

That was what bros were for.

-:-:-:-:-:-

With Monday afternoon came the successful completion of the perfect surprise anniversary celebration – Luke coordinating with Gran to coax Bobby into the studio he'd redecorated with her permission. Bobby, of course, had been stunned, then delighted, calling Luke an asshole before pulling him into a tight hug. There was a chance he got a little teary eyed when Luke played him his song, but Bobby had always been a soft one, as much as he protested otherwise.

"You two are dorks," Flynn had informed Luke at school the day after he'd spammed their group chat with pictures from their anniversary, but that was totally code for I am super jealous of your skills because Flynn hadn't been dating Carrie nearly as long as Luke had been fake dating Bobby, because Luke had fake swag.

Of course, Monday afternoon brought other things, like a depressed Reggie collapsing onto the couch after rehearsal – Alex already a speck in the distance. The blond had started leaving as soon as rehearsal ended weeks ago, and at first, Luke had been worried. He and Reggie had tried following Alex, had tried asking if anything was wrong, had tried guessing if anything was wrong, but in the end, it was Julie that reined them in.

"He obviously needs space," Julie informed them. "If things seem to get really bad, push the issue, but otherwise trust that he'll come to you when he wants to."

It was a strategy that was painful for Luke, but he understood that friendship came with boundaries, as little as Sunset Curve usually exercised theirs.

Reggie let out another pitiful groan, dragging Luke back to the task at hand.

"I asked another two girls," Reggie muttered, slowly worming his way into the soft fabric of Alex's abandoned hoody. Luke and Reggie had maybe sort of hidden it in the studio a while ago when the blond first started skipping out on post-practice hangouts. They'd been hoping that maybe that would lure him back in, like he'd double back to search for it, but he never had. Now they just took turns wearing it for comfort. "They both said no. It's official, I'm a loser."

"You're not a loser," Luke growled, waiting for Reggie to finish wiggling into Alex's hoody before he bodily dragged the bassist into his lap. "I already told you you're a super stud. You're just asking all the wrong ladies."

"People are starting to talk, Luke," Reggie pressed, his cheeks darkening in a humiliated flush. "At this rate, the girls are saying no because all the other girls said no and I don't know how many more of them I can ask before my heart explodes." He sighed, slumping against Luke's shoulder with a weary exhale. "I've been thinking about maybe trying to ask the guys. See if I have better luck with that, but it's hard to tell who's into dudes or not."

That was a fair point, but also-

"You like guys?" Luke asked, because he'd always assumed that Reggie was straight.

"Um- yeah, I'm pretty sure," Reggie admitted. "Like, guys and girls."

"Cool," Luke said, running a comforting hand through Reggie's hair to let him know it was all okay. "On the bright side, I think I can now solve some of your problems."

"How so?" Reggie asked, but Luke was already sliding him out of his lap, settling Reggie back on the couch. "Luke, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I have a plan," Luke declared. "Stay here, I'll be back in five."

With that, he took off towards the Wilson's kitchen, where he found a very responsible Bobby chopping up onions.

"Gran, can I borrow my boyfriend for a sec?" Luke asked, because one was always respectful to the older Wilsons, who'd sacrificed their garage for a rehearsal space and didn't seem to care if Luke and Reggie essentially lived there half the time.

"Of course, dear," Gran hummed, giving him an indulgent smile. "Take all the time you need."

"Thanks, Gran," Luke chirped, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he grabbed Bobby's wrist and dragged him all the way up to his bedroom.

"Is something wrong?" Bobby asked when Luke herded him over towards his bed. "Or are you just horny? I told you, horyness isn't a valid excuse for interrupting-"

"You need to take Reggie to the homecoming dance," Luke interrupted, cutting straight to the point.

He thought Bobby would have appreciated that, but the guy just stared at him like a lost guppy. "What?"

"Reggie's bi," Luke informed him. "Or pan, or just- he also likes dudes and he deserves to go on an awesome date, and as you are a great dude who does pretty well in the date department, you need to ask him to homecoming."

Luke would do it himself, but this was his plan, and if anyone should be the odd man out, it should be him.

"I'll be totally okay flying solo," Luke continued. "Promise I'll only dance with half the boys there."

"You want me to take Reggie to homecoming," Bobby echoed, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Yes," Luke said, practically vibrating from his attempts to restrain his excitement. "Look, you already love Reggie, just give yourself a chance to romance him. He deserves romance."

"I'm dating you," Bobby pointed out.

Luke waved that off. "Details," he said, smiling in amusement. Bobby was so dedicated. He never brought up the word 'fake' in regards to their relationship. He was always so serious about it, the cutie.

Bobby didn't seem to know what to do with this information. "I don't think Reggie would want a pity date."

"Then don't pity date him," Luke pressed, his lips beginning to tug low in a slight frown. "Real date him. Do you know how crushed he is by all the dumb girls at our school? Super crushed, and he doesn't deserve it. He deserves nice dates and good dancing and maybe a goodnight kiss."

"You want me to kiss him," Bobby said, his tone entirely without inflection.

Luke hadn't seen him get like this in a while, it usually only happened when they were having gross misunderstandings of some kind, but Luke wasn't entirely sure where he could have gone astray here, he'd laid it all out very clearly.

"If the mood strikes you," Luke said, because duh.

He didn't know why Bobby was being so weird about this. He kissed Luke all the time and they weren't even dating.

"Don't you like Reggie?" Luke asked, wondering if there was something he was missing here.

"Of course I like Reggie," Bobby said.

"Then this should be easy peasy, Wilson," Luke said, smiling wide. "Ask him to the dance, activate your usual charm, and let yourself have fun. Reg will get the real date of his dreams and you'll get the potential for something more."

"What exactly is 'more' in this instance?"

"Romance!" Luke cheered. "Actual, solid romance. So?" Luke slid down to his knees, draping his torso across Bobby's lap because that always got to the guy. "What do you say?"

Bobby sighed, seeming to decide to give up. He did it a lot when he could no longer find reason through Luke's logic, which spoke to how much he trusted Luke. "There's no guarantee he'll say yes."

"He'll say yes!" Luke cheered, already back on his feet. "Thanks, sugar bear – you're the best."

"So I've heard," Bobby said, and he was still smiling after Luke kissed his cheek, still smiling even as the brunette threw himself out the door, intent to go track down Reggie again.

He found the bassist hiding underneath one of Luke's abandoned jackets – one he honestly thought he'd misplaced – and he wasted no time dragging Reggie into his lap.

"I have solved your problem!" Luke chirped, ignoring Reggie's minor flails as he settled him into place. "All you have to do is say yes."

"Say yes to what?" Reggie asked, prompting Luke to re-explain his plan.

Reggie seemed to get it even less than Bobby, but that was to be expected, since he wasn't in on the whole fake dating thing yet.

"But Bobby's your boyfriend."

"And for the night of homecoming, he will be your boyfriend," Luke said, giving Reggie a wink. "Trust me, he's a great date, Reggie. All thoughtful and considerate a good dancer." Luke lowered his voice to a mischievous whisper. "If you play your cards right, you might even get a kiss."

"With Bobby?" Reggie squawked, flailing his arms a bit.

"He's pretty good at it," Luke informed him, giving Reggie's shoulder a few pats.

Look at him, setting up his best friends. Would it hurt if he lost his fake boyfriend to the whiles of Reggie? Yes, but that was a hurt Luke could live with if he knew both of his friends were getting taken care of. Sacrifices could be made for the sake of friendship.

"Oh man, aw geeze," Reggie murmured, burying his face against Luke's shoulder. "He'd never agree to that."

"That's it, I'm calling Flynn," Luke huffed. "She can tell you what a catch you are."

She did, and she was even generous enough not to mock Star Wars, though she did take a jab at the latest reality tv show Luke had been binging, but that was perfectly restrained for Flynn. She should be proud of herself.

"It's never gonna happen," Reggie insisted otherwise, and Luke sighed, hoping for Bobby to hold up his end of the plan soon.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Because Luke understood their friend group better than they could ever expect him to, he insisted that Bobby and Reggie keep their plan on the downlow until the day of the dance. There was no need to make a very straightforward plan entirely more complicated than it was.

"Okay, I got you guys dinner reservations beforehand – because, you know, romance," Luke explained, texting Bobby both the restaurant and itinerary he'd set up for them. "Here's the money for it." He passed over the cash he'd been saving up for admittedly frivolous things in good conscience, knowing that his best bros deserved it way more. "Gran said you can use the van-"

"I'm taking Reggie to dinner?" Bobby asked, terribly confused.

Luke despaired for this human, he really did.

"It's a date," Luke tried to explain. "You can't take him out afterwards because everyone else will be there." Being all nosy and whatever, but also the best and hilarious and Luke really did love spending time with them but this was important. "So you have to take him out beforehand. Anyway, Gran said you could take the van, and I already told Reggie you'll be picking him up at-"

"I can pay for dinner," Bobby interrupted, trying to put the bills back into Luke's hand. "If it's a date-"

"It's my plan, I'll pay," Luke huffed. "Oh my god, just accept the nice thing, Bobbert."

Bobby gave him another one of those pinched looks he and Alex had been wearing more and more recently. "And where will you be in all this?"

"At Julie's," Luke said with a shrug. "Ray said I could carpool with them."

It also had the added benefit of cockblocking any of Nick's potential plans, and seeing as Luke found an unjust amount of delight in ruining the blond at every turn, he obviously had to take advantage of that.

Bobby opened his mouth. Closed it. "Okay," he said. "Okay, um- so are you gonna stay tonight?"

"Robert, Imma need you to focus," Luke informed him, because it wasn't like he enjoyed not hanging out at Bobby's, but the guy needed to get used to life without Luke as his fake boyfriend, assuming this went well. Luke couldn't be his crutch anymore. "The goal is Reggie. Reggie."

"Of course," Bobby sighed, and that time he didn't even try for a kiss when Luke climbed out the window, onto his next order of business.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Despite the power of Julie's mighty side eye, Luke got to the dance in one piece looking as studly as always. It was a major fight not to text either Bobby or Reggie to ask for updates, though he had helped the bassist throw together his outfit beforehand – something they'd gotten Carrie-approved as she was both Bobby's cousin and the toughest critic they knew.

"So what is this?" Flynn asked when they met up with her at the front of the school gymnasium, the lot of them waiting for the rest of their friends. "Are you doing another surprise thing for Bobby? Is that why he didn't drive you?"

"Nope," Luke said, barely suppressing his giggles. "Tonight, I am not dating Bobby."

The others paused, looking at Luke with frankly hilarious expressions of surprise.

"Oh my god," Flynn said just as Nick showed up, the blond making an immediate beeline for Julie. "Do not tell me you two broke up."

"Who broke up?" Alex asked as he joined their group, looking dorky in his pink button up and grey sports jacket because his parents wouldn't let him leave the house with any kind of style credibility.

"No one broke up," Luke huffed, adding a mental addendum of officially because you had to be dating officially for that to work out. "I was just telling them that tonight Bobby is Reggie's boyfriend, not mine."

There was an awkward pause.

And then Julie was looking around. "Is this the part where they prank us?"

"I'm being serious," Luke pressed, feeling his lips jut low in a pout. "Bobby's taking Reggie to the dance."

"But you didn't break up?" Flynn asked.

"Not yet, anyway," Luke sighed.

"I'm not following the logic," Nick admitted. "But it's you, so that was probably never going to happen."

"You guys are haters," Luke informed them with a sniff. "Reggie deserved a good date, so Bobby's going to give him one."

"A pity date," Flynn surmised.

"An actual date," Luke huffed. Why did no one get that?

"Does- does Reggie like guys?" Alex asked, his expression all pinched. "I didn't think he uh- did."

"He just told me on Monday," Luke informed him (Reggie had already said it was okay), giving the drummer's arm a few consoling pats because Luke knew how well he did with change. "Guys, this isn't rocket science."

At this point, the only one who seemed to actually get it was Reggie, who'd been slowly getting more excited by the prospect of his date as the week went on.

Luke was with him every step of the way, hyping him up, trying to be the best wingman possible. They'd practiced slow dancing together, Luke told Reggie the ways Bobby liked cuddling the most, and Luke had even sent Reggie off with a pack of breath mints because he'd been worried about that, and there was no better way to say 'hey, I'm totally cool with you kissing this person' than guaranteeing they had fresh breath.

Around that time, the couple in question made their approach with Carrie trailing in beside them, the redhead giving them a pinched once over that Reggie seemed entirely oblivious to.

"Reggie!" Luke cheered, pulling the bassist into a tight hug. "Did you have a good dinner?"

"Yeah, it was awesome," Reggie gushed, clinging onto Luke tight. "He paid and everything."

"Yeah, 'cuz you're a stud," Luke reminded him before nudging Reggie back towards Bobby, who gladly took the rhythm guitarist's arm. "Now let's go do this dance thing!"

He prodded Alex's shoulder because he was the closest before pushing onwards, the two of them leading the charge while the others fell in line behind them.

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" Carrie asked, her voice carrying over the growing din of the dance.

"Probably not," Flynn sighed, but Luke ignored her, because they obviously didn't understand true genius when they saw it.

-:-:-:-:-:-

This dance wasn't much different from any of their other dances, only this time Luke couldn't use it as an excuse to hang all over Bobby and demand kisses that made the rhythm guitarist go all flushed. That kind of sucked, but it was worth it for how much fun Reggie seemed to be having, Bobby wearing that small little grin that was so especially hard to earn.

Really, the only huge differences were when they hit a slow dance. Luke had gone out and looked for Freshmen for the first few, because they'd say yes to just about anyone, but then they started getting a little too dreamy eyed for his taste so he'd retreated to Alex, who usually hung out awkwardly near a column or table whenever slow dances broke out.

"Hey, hey," Luke said, giving the blond's shoulder a gentle poke. "Will you pity me with a dance?"

Luke had only ever seen Alex slow dance maybe a handful of times over the course of their scholastic career. It had mostly been with girls, back when that sort of thing was inherently expected from them, before they got older and realized that they didn't have to immediately conform to society's bullshit expectations for dance interactions. Alex hadn't really done it recently – maybe because of his nerves or whatever – but Luke thought he would at least ask. He wouldn't want the guy to feel left out.

To his immense surprise, the blond gave a shy nod. "Um- sure," he said, motioning for Luke to lead the way.

Luke might have led, but Alex was also taller than him so he still got to rest his head against someone's shoulder, still got to be held and stay close with someone he greatly respected and cared for.

"Thanks, 'Lex," Luke murmured when it was done, giving the blond's hands an extra squeeze.

"You're- you're welcome," Alex mumbled. "If you want to um- do it again- I mean-"

"Aw, thanks bud," Luke said, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before he dragged the drummer towards the mini mosh pit their friends had created.

All in all, it was a pretty good night. It was cute to see Reggie curled up in Bobby's arms, the bassist looking utterly content, the smile on Bobby's face fond. It made something all warm and fluttery dance in Luke's stomach, enough to have him sneak at least a few pictures before they finally decided as a collective that they were all danced out.

He spent the rest of his slow dances with Alex, and he knew he was pushing his luck but the blond always took pity on him and said yes, which was really super nice of him. Luke needed to find a way to do something nice for him in repayment – maybe he could buy him a few packs of those sour straws he loved so much that his parents never let him get. That would be cool.

Bobby drove them all to their usual diner after prom, Luke making sure to sit as far away from his fake boyfriend and Reggie as possible – snagging a seat next to Alex on the far side of the booth. It got them some more weird stares that were frankly unwarranted, but the others were easily distracted with chili cheese fries and milkshakes and piles of waffles.

The guys ended their night in the studio like they'd planned to do, camping out on air mattresses while they took turns watching family friendly movies, because neither Reggie nor Alex had the constitution for anything heavier, not that Luke and Bobby ever minded.

When they wound down for the night, Luke turned in towards Reggie, the two of them on the inside of their little pile, the same as always. Granted, Luke was usually next to Bobby instead of Alex due to the whole fake dating thing (and the first friendship thing that preceded that), but it was sort of nice to mix things up. Now Luke could definitely cuddle up next to Alex and give him like, quiet friend support to help him get through his issues.

"Hey," Luke whispered, waiting until he was pretty sure Alex and Bobby were asleep. "That was good, right? You had a good time?"

He reached forward tentatively, taking Reggie's hand in his own, and was rewarded by the bassist twining their fingers together, something they usually reserved for when one of them was having a really awful day.

"Yeah, Luke," Reggie whispered, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I had a great time. Thanks for um- making it happen."

"That was you, bud," Luke informed him. "You and your awesomeness."

Reggie was quiet for a moment, the pause drawing on long enough that Luke thought that maybe he'd drifted off, which didn't seem like a bad idea at all.

But then Reggie cleared his throat. "Luke," Reggie murmured, his voice rougher than before. "I um- I really love you."

Luke felt a smile pull at his lips, because the band as a whole might all be for cuddling and supporting each other and abolishing the concept of toxic masculinity as a whole, but they didn't really bust out the 'L' word all that often. In fact, Luke was pretty sure this was the first time Reggie had said it at all. It was a pretty big deal.

So Luke shifted forward so he could pull Reggie into a hug, something that had the bassist gladly clinging to him. "I love you too, Reg," Luke murmured, nuzzling his hair. "Lots and lots."

Reggie didn't say anything for a moment, his body tense – maybe from the shock of taking such a big step – before he relaxed into Luke's arms.

Luke stayed there until he felt the bassist fall asleep, and then he slowly pulled away, turning back towards Alex because as much as he loved Reg, he didn't want to give Bobby the wrong idea. Make him think Luke wanted to romance their bassist or anything. That wasn't an option now.

But Luke didn't mind. If his boys were happy, he was happy.

It was as simple as that.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

Because I will forever and always push the boundaries of just how badly Luke can misread a situation. It brings me a certain joy, I suppose, even if it ultimately makes Bobby suffer. No worries, it'll turn out okay in the end ;)

This story will consist of 5 chapters of story content, plus an epilogue that will be posted along with chapter 5. I update once a week, on Sundays.

Until next time :)