Chapter 5 – Reconciliation

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Willie met them at a park close to Bobby's house because Reggie didn't want to risk running into Bobby again, when Luke was pretty sure the rhythm guitarist was probably locked in his room, bemoaning the fact that he had ever considered Luke Patterson lovable.

Past tense. The word had been past tense. Loved, not love. He didn't love Luke, but he'd thought once upon a time that he'd loved him, and now he knew he didn't because he realized what a fucking dumb loser Luke was.

Reggie tried to console Luke while he cried his heart out on a park bench, and then he was frantically scooting them over, allowing room for Willie to sit down on Luke's free side.

Upon catching the skater's pinched expression, Luke sobbed again, trying to hide his face.

"I'm so sorry," he gasped, scrubbing at his cheeks. "You didn't sign up for this. You didn't- I'm sorry-"

"That's my call to make, not yours," Willie said, his voice firm but gentle. "And if you're hurting, I wanna be there for you. Now spill."

Luke took that to mean 'now continue your breakdown', so he did, leaning into Willie's chest with a harsh croak. He distantly registered Reggie draping himself over Luke's back, doing his best to nuzzle Luke better.

It was Reggie who gave a brief play-by-play of what happened. Reggie, whose voice was so tight, like he was terrified of what the next moment could bring them.

"Reg," Willie said when his babbling had trailed off into awkward silence. "Get over here."

The bassist complied, scrambling around Luke to cling to Willie's other side, the skater shifting so that he was sitting in the middle, the two of them using him as a pillow.

"Just-" Luke gasped, his eyes feeling hot. "I didn't know. How was I supposed to know? In what world would a guy like Bobby Wilson actually want to date me? I mean-" Luke shuddered, his throat feeling tight, like he'd never be able to swallow. "I'm a fucking mess. I have dumb plans that I give into on a whim because I'm stupid-"

"Hey, no – none of that stuff's true," Willie interrupted, his voice firm. He nuzzled Luke until the brunette was forced to look at him, and when he did, Willie's expression was so very certain. "You're not a mess. You're unconventional – sure – but I think all of us agree that's a bonus, not a detriment. You're sweet and love your friends so much – all of those are great qualities in a boyfriend. Of course Bobby's in love with you."

"Not-" Luke gasped, fresh tears pouring down his cheeks. "N-Not anymore. He said- he said loved, not- not loves. He doesn't- he doesn't like me a-anymore because I hurt our friends for my own dumb dick."

"You've literally never hurt me," Reggie gushed, reaching across Willie to hold Luke's hand. "When I was sad, you set me up with like, the best person you knew. You sacrificed your date just so I could have a nice one."

"And when rehearsals were canceled, Reggie was your first priority," Willie added, his gaze sincere. "You looked after him, and you gave Bobby and Alex distance even though it was killing you, and when Alex let you guys in again, you were like, ecstatic, and then you made sure you told him you loved him all the time because you didn't want him to doubt this fact. Luke-" he said, determined to hold Luke's focus, to drive this one point home because for him it was so very important. "All of those are the actions of a truly amazing and loving person, and I will not hesitate to tell you that every day if that's what it takes for you to believe it."

"Um." Luke felt like his head was spinning, everything coming at him too fast. "Only if um- you say nice things about Reggie too, because he forgets sometimes, and he's great- he's so sweet-"

"This just further proves my point," Willie interrupted, his smile stretching wide. "But yeah, I'd be happy to do that too. I- I am an amazingly lucky person to have both of you in my life."

"Awww, Wilbert," Luke sniffed, feeling his cheeks flood with a warmth that had nothing to do with sorrow. "You say the nicest things."

"You know my name's actually William, right?" Willie asked, his eyes shining in amusement.

"I mean, we guessed that much," Luke offered with a shrug. "But I… what do we do now?"

"At some point, you're going to have to actually talk to Bobby," Willie said. "Tell him the same stuff you told us."

"I don't want to bother him," Luke protested. "I've already been such a nuisance-"

Willie interrupted him with a kiss he couldn't help but melt into, leaving Luke feeling slightly dazed before the skater turned and repeated the action on Reggie. "Not a nuisance," he informed both of them. "And if Bobby would ever dare to think that, he's not worth your time, and he's definitely not worth crying about."

From the other side of Willie, Reggie seemed to get very tense. "What if Bobby wants him back?" Reggie whispered, not looking at either of them. "What if they start dating for real?"

"He's not going to want me back," Luke said, a nervous feeling building in his chest at the thought of it. "It'll be okay-"

"No, it won't," Reggie gushed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "No one's going to be stupid enough to let go of you twice. If you had to choose between something real with him and something fake with us, you're not- you won't-" He pulled back, detaching himself from Willie and hovering at the far side of the bench. "And um- you won't- I mean, since Luke wouldn't be around anymore-"

"Reggie," Willie began, his voice firm. "I love you, okay? I love both of you guys, and regardless of what Luke decides to do, that doesn't mean I'm going to kick you to the curb. You're amazing. You're sweet and enthusiastic and sing along to every jingle you know when they come on and you have a notebook full of country western songs and just- you guys fucking kill me, you know? One of you, just having one of you was amazing – and then somehow getting both? I'm done. I'm just-" He ran a distracted hand through his hair. "So yeah, I'd be honored to get to stay your boyfriend. Your actual boyfriend – not a messy rebound."

"Wait," Luke said, his voice tight. "Can I-"

"Yes, you're fucking included in that," Willie said, and in the next moment Reggie was lunging for him again, all of them cuddling together while Luke and Reggie tried to hold back their sniffles and kind of failed. "Do you even know how you look, cuddled together in my bed?" Willie asked, rubbing his hands down their backs. "It's devastatingly adorable. I have drawn so many pictures of you guys, and then you'll borrow some of my clothes and it's just- I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Luke asked. "We'd be lucky to have you."

Willie tensed for a moment, a thread of guilt bleeding into his features. "I'll be honest, after you explained how things went with Bobby, I always sort of assumed I was living on borrowed time. I thought you guys would figure things out and then you wouldn't need me anymore."

"We always need you," Luke gushed, turning Willie's jaw to face him so the skater couldn't look away. "And not for rides or food or even a place to stay – you could have none of that and we'd still need you. You're like, our chill voice of reason. Your weird complements our weird."

"You're also very good looking," Reggie murmured into Willie's shoulder. "But those other points are more important."

"Definitely so," Luke sniffed. "So just- whatever happens, I- I don't want to give this up."

He said it and the words felt right, felt truer than anything else he'd committed to. He loved Bobby, and he missed what he had with the rhythm guitarist. He would be lucky to actually date the guy even if it would never happen, but Luke was pretty sure he'd never be able to commit to it after he'd had a taste of this. He liked having more than one boyfriend. It sort of lessened the pressure off of him, if that made any sense. If he failed in regards to one of them, he knew someone else was there to help pick up the slack, and he loved Willie and Reggie. He did. They meant as much to him as the rest of their band, and Luke was happy with them.

"Luke…" Reggie began, his voice small. "You and Bobby have been together for so long-"

"That doesn't mean we're good together like, romantically."

"Up until my dating troubles, it seemed like you really were," Reggie countered easily. "You guys were couple goals. Everyone always talked about it. Flynn would joke with Carrie all, 'why can't we be like them?' and people might roll their eyes but all of us agreed you were great together."

"Maybe," Luke allowed. "But I'm different now."

Now that he'd had this. Now that he'd gotten Reggie and Willie. It was a small thing, but it changed everything.

"So um," Luke began with a swallow. "I'd like to be your official boyfriend. Have all of us be official boyfriends-"

"Covington!" Bobby's angry voice snapped from down the path, and there was Alex and Bobby approaching them, the rhythm guitarist looking angry enough to kill. "Get the fuck away from them!"

Luke… did not know what was going on, but he didn't like the way Willie went all tense. "What are you talking about?"

He looked around, trying to see if Bobby was addressing someone else, but nope, his gaze was pinned on Willie.

"So…" Willie began quietly. "There's maybe some things I have neglected to tell you guys-"

"What part of get the fuck away from them did you not understand?" Bobby snarled when he got closer, Alex curling a hand around his shoulder to hold him back.

"I was more confused by the Covington part," Luke offered, feeling totally lost now. "What, like Caleb Covington?"

"That's the guy," Alex said, his expression painfully neutral. "That's his son between you."

Luke paused, and if he'd been confused before, now he felt like they were all speaking different languages, everything coming out as gibberish. "Um, no," he corrected. "William Covington's a dick, isn't he?" He shared a look with Reggie. "That's what Carrie said, right?"

"Man, I don't know," Reggie sniffed, rubbing at his cheeks. "She just said to avoid him. I kind of blocked out the rest."

"Yeah, me too," Luke admitted. "I started thinking about song lyrics."

"You always think about song lyrics."

"Well, they were important ones."

"Guys," Alex interrupted, his voice strained, and that was enough to get Luke back on track.

"This isn't William Covington," Luke explained easily. "It couldn't be, because Willie's not a dick."

"Yeah," Reggie added. "He's super duper nice."

There was a tense pause, and then-

"This is Willie?" Alex asked, his face going all red. "This is- this is who your rebound is? Luke, that's William Covington!"

Luke opened his mouth to object, because obviously that was wrong, but then he noticed how tense Willie was, the way he wasn't really looking at any of them. And like, Luke wasn't the most socially adept person at their school when it came to stuff outside of networking, but even he knew Caleb Covington was bad news. The guy preyed on hot, up-and-coming artists and trapped them into contracts that would never benefit them. Everyone knew to avoid Covington Records, just like they knew to avoid Covington's kid, because apparently he was a perfect recreation of his dad or something.

Except… Willie didn't look anything like Caleb, and even if he did, he didn't act like Caleb either. Granted, this entire thing could be a long play, but-

But one of the few rules Willie had made for when they visited his place was to not brainstorm new songs – no lyrics, no melodies, no nothing – while they were there. He asked that they not use him as a soundboard for anything, and Luke had thought that was because he wasn't musically inclined, but then he remembered the time Willie frantically called Luke back to his car after he'd dropped the brunette off one night because his songbook had accidentally fallen out of his backpack. Luke had assumed that Willie knew he wouldn't want to be without it, but maybe Willie was just… trying to protect both of them.

Luke had never asked Willie's last name; he'd never asked what the guy's parents did just like Willie never asked about Reggie's homelife or the struggles Luke had with his own parents. They were just cool with each other.

And now Willie wasn't looking at them, like he assumed they were going to condemn him too despite the fact that he'd just declared his love for them.

He didn't hang out with them at school. It was for their benefit. It wasn't because he didn't want to.

Maybe Luke was just stupid, but he had to trust his gut at some point. It had gotten him this far; gotten him the best bandmates he could hope for.

So he cupped Willie's chin in one hand and turned the skater to face him, shifting up so he could claim his lips in a soft kiss.

"You," Luke said when he pulled back. "Are not your dad."

Willie stared at him with big, wet eyes, and then Reggie was moving in to get kisses of his own, something Willie sighed into.

"Fucking hell," Willie murmured when he was done, his lashes fluttering in a furious attempt to keep the tears at bay, though it seemed fruitless. "I spent- I spent our entire first date thinking you were just fucking with me, that you had to know, but you didn't. You had no idea. And then with Reggie, I just thought- well there can't be two people who don't know, so he'd tell you and then you'd- you know, that would be that, but then- then he didn't know either, and…" He trailed off with a wet laugh. "What are the odds that two members of my favorite band not only don't know who I am, but actually like me? And wanted to date me? And were so fucking- just great?" He turned to Luke, almost beseeching. "What are the odds?"

"Very small," Luke said, his throat feeling all tight again. "But it uh- happened."

"Luke and I are the dumb ones," Reggie offered. "So-"

"Not dumb," Willie interrupted, sealing this with a kiss that Reggie melted into.

There was a moment of silence, and then Alex was clearing his throat. "He kissed Reggie."

"Yeah," Luke sniffed. "We're also dating Reggie."

"You- both of you are dating Reggie," Alex repeated, not seeming to believe this. "How does that even work?"

"For us? Easily," Luke explained with a shrug. "Um." He stood up, not that he really wanted to detach himself from Willie, but this was something he'd sort of been putting off for entirely too long, so he approached Bobby with his head held high. "So um- I didn't know you loved me," he explained to the rhythm guitarist, who seemed to be stuck in a confused sort of silence. "I never expected it, because the joke was never 'hey, look at us not actually dating', the joke was, um- 'hey, in what universe would Bobby lower his standards to actually date Luke?', and like-" Bobby inhaled sharply, but Luke pushed forward, because if he didn't say this now, he never would. "I was- I was okay with being your joke boyfriend, because you always treated me nice. You let me- you gave me the full experience, and took me on dates and got me presents and let me hang out with you. You let me write you songs and stuff, let me have that, because I'd probably never get it on my own and I just… I always appreciated that." He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes because he'd started to tear up again. "I've always loved you, Bobby, but I was never dumb enough to think I had a chance with you."

"Luke," Bobby said, his voice all strained. "That's not- that isn't true. You're amazing."

"I um- know," Luke murmured, ducking his head. "Willie and Reggie told me. That's just- that's what I thought, was all."

"I'd also like you to hear it from me," Bobby said, and when Luke glanced up at him, it was to see moisture in his eyes. "Because you're my fucking north star, Luke Patterson. You're so loyal and full of love that it leaves me breathless. I spent so long being amazed that I could date a guy like you, thinking I could never measure up-"

"What is this bullshit with my bandmates not knowing how cool they are?" Luke snapped, unable to help himself. "Bobby, you're a fucking stud. You're our rock. You're steadfast and dependable and won't stop fighting if you think there's been some kind of injustice, and you- you give really good hugs and you're super fucking cute and I hate that you might not know that."

"Now you know how we feel," Willie said, his voice quiet. "When you talk about yourself that way."

Oh. Oh.

"I um- I didn't think of it like that," Luke said, feeling somewhat bamboozled. Helpless, he turned to check on Alex, just to move things along. "You know you're awesome, right?"

"I…" Alex startled, not expecting the sudden amount of attention. "I mean, I'm kind of annoying, and I've been a dick-"

"Oh my god," Reggie groaned, marching over to Alex and dragging Willie after him in determined steps. "I love you. We love you. Because you're damn amazing and super prepared and pay attention to small details and-"

"Just not amazing enough to date," Alex said, not really looking at any of them.

Luke paused. Not understanding the comment. "Who the fuck said that? Give me names, I'll fucking punch them in their dumbass faces."

Alex's face heated in a dark flush. "No one actually said it."

"Good," Luke huffed. "But also bad, because that means you thought it and it's wrong, Alex, any lady would be lucky to date you-"

"I'm gay!" Alex snapped, the words seeming to ring through the park. "I'm- I'm gay, alright? I'm gay, and the only two guys I knew who were potentially interested in that, the guys I was – am – hopelessly in love with were, until very recently, already dating each other! And now-" He waved a hand at Reggie. "Reg is suddenly bi, but how could I think of asking him out when Luke and Bobby are on the fritz and then you start dating this guy- which was- wasn't great and that was before we knew who he was-"

"Not his dad," Luke reminded him.

"Yeah, I'm getting that, my brain's just- it's change, it's all change," Alex babbled, running a distracted hand through his hair. "And now you and Bobby are going to get back together-"

"Who said that?"

"The stars!" Alex snapped with a dramatic wave of his arm. "You are like, soulmates, of course you're going to date, and Reggie's going to date your rebound and I'll just- I'll…" He started blinking rapidly, trying hard to hold back his tears.

"Alex," Reggie whined, wrapping an arm around the blond. "You can just date us."

"Yeah!" Luke declared. "We already love you. Now we can do the stuff we already do but also make out."

"We can't- four people can't date, Luke," Alex said, sounding hysterical. "And Bobby-"

"We can date Bobby too," Luke declared with a sweep of his hand. "Bing, bang, boom – it's all solved."

"I'm um- pretty sure neither one of them wants to date me, guys," Willie said, looking flushed.

"And Bobby really doesn't want to date me," Reggie mumbled, slinking back to hide a little behind Willie.

"I didn't- I never said that, Reggie," Bobby said, his gaze softening. "I'm sorry if that's how I made you feel. That was my fault for not communicating better, but at the time I was just- I was so mixed up over Luke. I didn't think you could actually like me."

"I feel like we need to have a lot of conversations," Luke declared. "Let's just- let's go back to the studio and cuddle things out."

"I probably shouldn't go," Willie said, his tone going tight. "Just- I'm not going to steal anything, but if my dad comes out with something that sounds even slightly like your stuff, you're going to think I did and I don't blame you-"

Reggie interrupted him with a kiss. "Not your dad," he reminded the skater when he pulled back.

"You've um- made them really happy these past few weeks," Alex said. "So I'm inclined to think they're right. Let's just- let's go."

No one else objected, and while Luke did still worry, it was a little easier when Bobby reached out and took his hand, giving his fingers a light squeeze of apology. After going so long without the contact, Luke could have started crying all over again, but this- they were heading towards something good.

So Luke wasn't going to be afraid. Not this time.

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Finally, after weeks of wondering, they got a full explanation as to why Alex had been withdrawing for them.

"I think I sort of always knew I was gay," he admitted when they got to the studio, the five of them squishing together on the couch. It required some creative positioning from some of them – Luke settled in Bobby's lap while Reggie made a determined effort to split his weight between Willie and Alex equally, much to the skater's amusement. "But I pushed it off for a long time by just like, not thinking about it. By focusing on my grades and the band instead. It was just easier, but then I got to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore, and…" He sighed, turning his gaze towards Luke and Bobby. "You were the only bi guys I knew, and you already had each other. And then I developed these useless crushes and I just- I thought if I avoided you enough, maybe they would go away."

He cleared his throat, turning his attention towards Reggie. "I was afraid of um- having that attraction grow to include you as well, and you were straight so I just- I didn't want to make things worse. And then the whole thing with Bobby taking you to Homecoming, and then Luke danced with me…"

"Aw, sugar bear," Luke said, perking up. "You actually liked that? I thought you hated slow dancing."

"With girls, maybe," Alex allowed with a bashful shrug. "But with you… even if I knew nothing would ever come from it…"

"It could, though," Bobby said, his voice quiet. "If you wanted. I'd- I'd be happy to slow dance with you, Alex." He lowered his voice. "I'd be happy to be your boyfriend too."

"Me too, for the record," Reggie offered with a shy wave of his fingers.

"I- oh," Alex said, his cheeks flushing dark. "I'd… all you guys-" He swallowed hard. "I love you so much."

"Oh man," Reggie said, shifting so he could rest his head against Alex's shoulder. "I am going to give you so many blowjobs."

"Reggie," Alex squawked, his cheeks flushing hot. "You… we can't- I mean, can we even do that?"

Luke cleared his throat "The three of us sort of decided that unconventional people like us shouldn't try to conform to conventional, you know, expectations. We may as well do what works for us, and if that means dating more than one person, more power to us."

"It's called polyamory," Willie offered, seeming shy. "When more than two people are in a relationship together. It's worked for us because we're pretty great at communicating and um- trust and stuff, but I…" he sighed. "Luke, as much as I'd like to be involved-"

"Cool, because you're involved," Luke said, firing off a finger gun his way.

That earned him a strained smile. "This isn't going to work if Alex and Bobby don't trust me, and they have every reason not to-"

"Fellahs," Luke interrupted, turning his focus onto Alex and Bobby. "Allow me to give you the grand play-by-play of Willie being the best gentleman ever."

He started from the beginning, recapping everything he'd done with Willie. The lack of judgement in regards to how Luke's other relationship had ended, the way he'd invited Reggie along on their dates. He let Willie himself explain how much he didn't care about Luke cuddling or looking after Reggie, the skater admitting that he thought their connection was both pure and sweet.

Luke was the one that explained the rules Willie had given them, stuff that made Willie flush steadily darker.

"I was just covering my own ass," he grumbled, trying to shy away from Reggie but that was never going to take, not when the bassist was wearing his stubborn expression. "Cutting off potential arguments before they could even start-"

He cut off with a gasp when he was interrupted with a kiss from Alex, of all people, the skater whimpering into the blond's mouth as Alex fumbled his way through deepening the kiss.

"They're right," Alex breathed when he pulled back, his cheeks flushed. "You're a gentleman, and more than that, you've looked out for our friends – for the people we care about – when we couldn't."

"To be fair, I made Bobby feel really bad," Luke offered.

He probably should have been less surprised when Bobby cupped a hand against his jaw, turning Luke's head until he could pull the brunette into a slow and sweet kiss.

Immediately, Luke was whining, pressing into the contact because he'd missed Bobby so much. He loved Reggie and he loved Willie and he loved Alex – didn't know what it was like to date him, but he wanted it – but despite all that, Luke had always loved his Bobbin, even if he'd never felt like they were in the same league.

"Bobby," Luke gasped when he pulled back, his eyes getting all hot again. "Bobbin- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't think- I didn't think you would care-"

"That's on me," Bobby said, his gaze firm. "I should have actually talked this out when we started dating. I know how you get, but I just- I was so happy, and-" He kissed Luke again, leaving the singer scrambling for his shoulder, trying to hold on for dear life. "Luke, I love you, and I would very much like the opportunity to date you." He looked towards the others. "I would very much like the opportunity to date all of you and yes, that includes you, Willie, because I… I might not know you, but I know you love them, and anyone who's smart enough to do that must be pretty great in their own right."

"Fuck," Willie murmured, his lashes fluttering against his cheek, like he was overwhelmed. "Fucking damn, man, I don't know if my brain can handle this. I never expected this to lead to a long-term thing."

"But you're happy, right?" Reggie asked, his tone a little shaky.

"I'm ecstatic," Willie countered, making the bassist light up in a grin. "But I um- do think there's some reassurances that need to be doled out here."

"Yep," Luke agreed, grinning at the way he and Willie were always on the same wavelength. "Reg, get over here and receive some sweet Bobby kisses."

The bassist paused, his cheeks flooding with heat. "I mean- he doesn't have to- ack!" He cut off with a surprised sound when Alex and Bobby worked together to drag him into Bobby's lap, Luke vacating the position by slipping off the couch with a grin.

"I very much want to," Bobby promised when he had Reggie curled against him, the bassist looking up at him with a flushed expression of want. "You're a great date, Reg. I look forward on taking you on many more."

"Bobbin," Reggie gasped, but then Bobby was kissing him, and that was- hot damn, was that great.

Luke smiled before he promptly shoved Alex into Willie's space, the blond taking it with a graceless flail before Luke curled around his back, leaving the drummer sandwiched between him and Willie.

"We'll get you Bobby kisses later," Luke hummed, kissing up Alex's neck. "But for now, we're gonna make good on what we started before." He shot Willie a wink. "Don't think we forgot about that demonstration."

"Oh my god," Alex whimpered, but then he was gladly accepting kisses from Willie anyway, so he must not object that much to the idea of it.

At least, not for the moment.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

And everyone was surprised when they all got together because my stories are not in any way predictable ;D

If you'd like to see some more Phantoms' nonsense, I'll be posting the first chapter of my next fic, 'So What if Right Now Everything's Wrong?' next Sunday. It's a Reggie-centric 5 plus 1, inspired by the line 'I just really like showers, and sometimes the occasional bath'.

Things have been pretty hectic lately, hence the later update. The next two Sundays will also have later uploads, but things should get back to normal after that :)

Until next time