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cuthian · 3 years

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Unfinished Business Chapter Two

Hi.

Remember when I said this was gonna be a short prequel? One chapter, two tops?

Yeah. Apparently I lied.

There's gonna be a third chapter: a Luke chapter 😉 This chapter is all Reggie, so I hope you guys enjoy!

I do have a few warnings: - the chapter definitely earns an M-rating for (implied) sexual acts and language - there is a scene depicting homophobic language and parents being shitty - Reggie has a panic attack and stops breathing for a second before the boys calm him down.

Exercise caution where needed, darlings.

Much, much love, Annaelle

PS Eternal thanks to my darling Juulna, who still doesn't know what's going on with these himbos, but continued beta'ing for me anyway. 😍 I'm nothing without you, darling.

PART TWO -- REGGIE (MARCH 1994 - MAY 1994)

EARLY MARCH 1994

“Is there something going on between you and Alex?”

Reggie’s head snapped up and he stared at Bobby, who looked back with an unreadable expression. They stood, waiting in line at the nearest pizzeria, and Reggie hadn’t expected anyone to pick up on the minor tension between him and Alex, and if anyone would, he certainly hadn’t expected it to be Bobby.

“No,” he squeaked, and then cleared his throat. “No. We just…”

He shook his head and started again, trying to come up with a believable lie. “It’s stupid,” he said, “We’ve just been spending a lot of time together, what with Luke… occupied.” The mere implication of Luke’s most recent infatuation with a girl he’d met in detention left a bad taste in his mouth, but… well, it wasn’t exactly a lie, was it?

He and Alex had been spending a lot of time together, even after Reggie had confessed his feelings towards their other best friend—towards Alex’s ex-boyfriend—but things were different now.

Alex hadn’t really been as open with Reggie since he’d confessed how he felt, had been notably more tense around Reggie, despite promising that there was nothing that would push him away, and Reggie didn’t know how to bridge this new gap in their friendship. It wasn’t like he could just stop loving Luke—if that was an option, he would’ve taken it in a heartbeat—so he didn’t know what to do.

“We just had a stupid disagreement,” he continued, smiling lightly at Bobby. “It’s fine, we’ll work it out.”

Bobby looked away for a second, and he looked conflicted, confused, before he said, “You’d tell me if you guys were…” he sighed and added, “if you guys were… more, right? I mean, you know I don’t care who you date, right?”

Reggie stared. He’d thought he and Alex had been sneaky, all this time, but if Bobby had picked up on it, then obviously they hadn’t been so very good at it.

“We’re not,” he denied quickly. “Just a stupid argument. I’ll talk to him, promise. It won’t affect the band.”

“That’s not—” Bobby began, but then it was their turn to order pizza and the conversation was, mercifully, dropped. Reggie kept up a steady stream of inane chatter as they waited for their pizzas and as they walked back to the studio, desperate to keep Bobby’s mind off of him and Alex—or worse, him and Alex and Luke—and as soon as they walked in, let himself be dragged off by Luke, who wanted to show him the chorus for their newest song ‘right now, Reggie, come on’.

It was easy to let himself be sucked into Luke’s orbit, to imagine that Luke was smiling at him because he felt the same way, to ignore the weird way Alex looked at him now, and the idea that Bobby could see right through him. “This is great,” Luke crowed happily when Reggie suggested a different pace for the chorus of his new song, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Thanks, Reg.”

Reggie, who was doing his level best to not burst into flames at the casual affectionate contact, squeaked, “No problem,” and then fled to the couch, where Alex and Bobby had already started on the pizza. He snatched two slices of whatever pizza was nearest and stuffed as much of it in his mouth as he could fit.

Luke, thankfully, didn’t seem to think this was out of character at all and just laughed, setting down his guitar before he joined Reggie and the others on the couch.

“So,” Bobby said once they’d finished off the pizzas. “I saw Clare from Coconut Teaszer yesterday. She’s gonna talk to her friend at Juvee and Circus Disco, see if she can call in a favor to get us a gig there.” He grinned and continued, “She said if we can get those and they go well, Teaszer’s manager might be willing to give us a regular gig—we could save up for a professional demo, finally.”

“Sweet!” Luke exclaimed, leaning halfway across Alex to bump his fist against Bobby’s.

“Bobby, that’s awesome,” Reggie grinned, patting his shoulder, and he could tell Bobby was preening a little under all the attention. “How’d you convince her? I thought she didn’t like our sound.”

“I can be persuasive,” Bobby smirked, self-satisfied, and Reggie wrinkled his nose a little. It wasn’t that he didn’t approve of a little flirting to get ahead here and there—they’d all done it at some point—but somehow he didn’t think flirting was what Bobby was implying.

“Oh, gross, Bobby,” Alex whined, falling back against the cushions. “Are we stooping that low, really?”

“Hey, I don’t see anyone else getting us an opportunity like this,” Bobby said defensively.

“Guys, guys,” Luke cut in before Alex could snap back and turn it into an argument. “It doesn’t matter, okay? All that matters is that this is a great opportunity for us, for the band. This could be the springboard that we need to jump into the big leagues.”

“Yeah,” Reggie nodded enthusiastically, because he didn’t want Alex and Bobby to start fighting, and Luke was right—it didn’t matter.

Alex didn’t say anything, but he frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, and Bobby very pointedly looked away from him, and no amount of chatter from either him or Luke could save the night. It was only a few minutes later that Bobby told them he had to work the next day and left, leaving Alex, Reggie and Luke sitting in awkward silence.

“I wanna hang out, guys, but I’m supposed to be meeting Charlie later,” Luke finally said awkwardly, rubbing his hands together, looking at both him and Alex with a pleading expression.

“Yeah,” Alex said curtly. “Fine. Go ahead.”

“Jesus,” Luke turned and frowned at Alex. “What crawled up your butt and died?”

“Nothing,” Alex snorted. “I’m totally fine with Bobby sleeping his way to the top and you cancelling band practice last minute so you can go make out with your newest girlfriend and pretending it’s all fine.” He finished with a sneer.

“Alex,” Reggie whispered, but Luke had already jumped to his feet and was stalking towards the door.

“Fine,” he spat angrily. “Fine, be like that.” He grabbed his jacket and backpack up off the floor and slammed the garage door shut behind him.

Reggie sat, stunned, for a few minutes before he turned to Alex. “What the hell, man?”

Alex heaved a sigh and shut his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch. “Don’t, Reggie.”

He sounded exhausted.

“What’s going on?” Reggie asked, scooting closer to Alex and carefully reaching out to put a hand on his arm. “You’ve been… off for weeks. Since I told you about—”

“It’s not that. Not everything is about you,” Alex snapped, and Reggie reared back in surprise.

Alex never snapped at him. He sassed and teased and he was sarcastic as hell, but he never snapped. Reggie must not have realized just how strained things had become between them and he felt like an idiot for it.

“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely, scooting away again, looking away from Alex. “I just wanted to help.”

Alex swore under his breath, and Reggie winced a little. He didn’t do great with people being angry around him, and even though he knew Alex would never even dream of hurting him, knowing he was angry made Reggie feel nervous and twitchy and he didn’t like feeling that way around Alex.

“Reg,” Alex said, softer, and Reggie instinctively flinched away when Alex’s hand fell on his shoulder. Alex pulled away as though his hand had been burned, staring at Reggie with wide, startled eyes. “Shit,” he swore again, “I’m sorry, Reg, I didn’t—I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He exhaled roughly and shook his head. “My parents have been… pushy lately. About conversion therapy, getting a girlfriend, going to college… It’s been a lot, and I—I took it out on you guys. On you.”

He lifted his head and smiled weakly. “I’m so sorry, Reg. I didn’t mean to make you think it was you.”

Reggie wanted to just accept that, wanted to smile at Alex and tell him it was okay, but instead, the words that came out of his mouth were, “I thought you hated me. For… for what I said about my feelings for Luke.” He sounded more upset than he had meant to, and Alex made a soft, concerned sound.

This time when Alex reached out, Reggie didn’t flinch away, but the tension didn’t leave him until Alex folded him up in his arms, pressing his face into Reggie’s hair. “I’m sorry,” Alex muttered. “I’m so, so sorry. I don’t care that you fell in love with him too. I don’t wanna argue with you. I truly am sorry.”

Reggie exhaled shakily and wrapped his arms around Alex’s middle, leaning into him.

“It’s okay,” he conceded. “I’m okay. I just…” He swallowed thickly, ducked and pressed his nose in the crook of Alex’s neck. “I thought I screwed everything up.”

“No,” Alex whispered. “No, you didn’t.”

Reggie nodded against him. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah,” Alex huffed, his breath ruffling Reggie’s hair. “Yeah, Reg, we’re okay.”

-------------

LATE MARCH 1994

Reggie didn’t like drinking.

He didn’t.

The only time his dad ever raised a hand at him was when he’d been drinking, and Reggie had made a promise to himself to never get tempted, but then Bobby had shown up to practice with a bag full of liquor that he’d taken from his parents’ liquor cabinet, complete with a grin, and both Alex and Luke had been so enthusiastic that Reggie hadn’t wanted to be a downer.

Alex had babysat Maggie for him like four times this week and Luke had been super stressed about getting bigger gigs, his parents pressuring him about college and his girlfriend, who didn’t like how much time he spent with them. Even Bobby’s parents had been on his case non-stop about getting into a good university and not wasting his potential on their band.

They probably needed a drink and Reggie wasn’t going to be the one to keep them from it.

He’d only had one drink himself, and it’d made him feel all warm and just a little fuzzy, and if that was what drinking was, he wouldn’t mind. After they’d all reached an appropriate level of inebriation—Reggie had no idea what that level was, but the other boys all seemed to agree that three drinks was it for them—Bobby walked Luke home, and Reggie watched them laugh and giggle as they walked away.

Alex stood behind him when he turned, cheeks flushed pink and his pupils slightly dilated. “Walk you home?” he asked, holding out his hand and grinning, chewing on his lower lip. And Reggie was very stupidly in love with his other best friend, but he’d always been a little sweet on Alex too, and—

Well…

He knew that Alex smiled when he was kissed, that he liked to be held when he fell asleep and that he giggled when Reggie scraped his teeth over his earlobe.

He was in love with Luke, but this thing he had with Alex was also real.

“Yeah, okay,” Reggie chuckled, his insides going warm and squiggly when Alex honest to God giggled as he looped his arm through Reggie’s. They set off for the short walk to Reggie’s house, swaying lightly across the sidewalk as they walked.

“You know,” Alex said, slinging his arm around Reggie’s shoulder and drawing him closer. “Maggie asked me to marry her yesterday.”

“What?” Reggie exclaimed, laughing lightly, though he didn’t resist when Alex pulled him closer again.

“Yeah,” Alex laughed. “I had to explain that I didn’t like girls. Although I promised that if I ever changed my mind, she’d be the first girl I’d tell and give a chance.”

Reggie laughed. “I’m sure she was thrilled with that.”

“Eh,” Alex hedged. “She’ll get over it.” He tugged them to a stop and leaned in to press a lingering kiss to Reggie’s cheek. “I think I prefer her brother anyway.” Reggie swallowed thickly, and turned his head just a little, their noses brushing together.

“Good,” he whispered, brushing his lips across Alex’s in a barely-there kiss.

Alex swayed after him when he pulled away, eyes still shut, and God, Reggie loved him. Not like he loved Luke—not with the same breathless longing that he felt when he looked at Luke, not with the same burning desire that threatened to consume him when Luke smiled at him—but it was love nonetheless.

Alex’s eyes fluttered open again and he smiled, wide and happy, pressing his palm to Reggie’s cheek. Reggie kind of melted into the touch, swaying back towards Alex despite being in the middle of the sidewalk, only a few feet from his house, where just about anyone could see them. “I know you’re in love with Luke,” Alex said quietly, and he was so close that Reggie could feel his breath on his lips. “But I’m going to kiss you anyway.”

“Oh,” Reggie breathed, leaning in to rest his forehead against Alex’s. “Okay. Yes. Please.”

Alex chuckled lightly and leaned in to press their lips together, running his hands down the length of Reggie’s back. Reggie shuddered and kissed him back, pressing into Alex’s embrace as much as he could, relishing in the easy comfort of Alex’s touch. “I don’t wanna stop,” he admitted in a rush when Alex broke the kiss, slipping his arms around Alex’s shoulders. “I know I love Luke, and I don’t know if that’s going away anytime soon, but…”

“Yeah,” Alex whispered, leaning in to press a flurry of small, soft kisses to Reggie’s cheeks, nose, and lips. “I get it. I don’t wanna stop either.” Reggie leaned into the kisses, allowing Alex to soothe the frantic energy within him, slanting their lips together again as soon as Alex tried to lean back, shivering a little when Alex slipped his—cold—hands up under his shirt.

“You know,” Reggie chuckled when Alex leaned back to gulp a few breaths, “My house is right up there. With my bedroom. I’ve got a bed and everything.”

“Yeah,” Alex grinned. “You gonna invite me in?”

Reggie smirked and bit his lower lip. “I think I might.”

-----------

Reggie smirked when Alex shoved him down onto his bed and unceremoniously plopped down on his lap, wiggling enticingly on top of him, pressing his palms against Reggie’s shoulders and grinning cheekily at him. Reggie barked a laugh and let Alex push him down until he rested on his back on the bed, fingers trailing down Alex’s torso until they came to rest on his hips.

“Tipsy you is handsy,” he chuckled, grinning up at Alex in delight.

“Shut up,” Alex laughed quietly, pressing his thumb to Reggie’s jaw to tilt his head up for a kiss, moving back a little on his thighs when Reggie moved to sit up again. “Just can’t keep my hands off of you—you’re too sexy.”

Reggie tried—tried so hard—not to blush at Alex’s words, but he could feel his cheeks heat up nonetheless, lips parting as he tried to figure out a way to say something smooth in response to that. “You can’t say stuff like that,” he whined, dropping his head forward to rest against Alex’s collar bone, and wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist.

“Aw, but you blush so pretty when I do,” Alex teased him playfully, poking at the ticklish spot just below his ribs that no one but Alex—and maybe Maggie—knew about, and Reggie yelped.

“Alex!” he exclaimed, jerking away from Alex’s questing fingers as much as he could with the other boy still perched on his lap and determined to make him produce the sound again.

“Shhh, be quiet, Reggie,” Alex laughed triumphantly, “We can’t wake up your mom and your sister.” And Reggie couldn’t—he couldn’t do anything other than writhe with laughter beneath him, falling back onto the bed in a desperately futile attempt to escape Alex’s relentless quest to make him laugh.

“Stop, stop,” he gasped breathlessly, tears of mirth rolling down his cheeks as he struggled to catch his breath between chuckles. “I give. You win.”

“Good,” Alex smirked, settling himself on top of Reggie with an elbow on each side of his head, and Reggie had to focus to keep his entire train of thought from becoming derailed by the feel of Alex’s body pressed along his own. “Now be quiet and let me decide if I wanna kiss you again.”

Reggie hummed contentedly and tilted his head up, pushing his lower lip out into a pout until Alex relented and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. Reggie grinned against Alex’s lips and dug his fingers into Alex’s hair—he was probably going to get it cut soon, it was longer than Reggie had ever seen him wear it before, and Reggie was going to take advantage of the longer coupe for as long as he damn well could—to drag him closer, licking up into Alex’s mouth as the other boy moaned against his lips.

The triumphant feeling only lasted for a second though, because it didn’t take long for Alex to get with the program enthusiastically, and Reggie thought it was entirely unfair that Alex knew to scrape his teeth against Reggie’s lower lip like that, the way that made him shiver all over and melt into a puddle beneath Alex’s steady weight.

“Alex,” he whined when the kiss broke, both of them gasping for air, Reggie’s fingers—the ones that weren’t locked in Alex’s hair—grabbing uselessly at the jean jacket that Alex was still wearing.

“Yeah, Reg,” Alex breathed harshly, grinding down and sending red-hot arousal rushing through Reggie’s veins. “I know, sweetheart,” Alex whispered against his lips, and Reggie’s brain—kind of—shorted out—

“Oh,” Reggie choked, slipping his hand down to dig his fingers into the meat of Alex’s ass. “That’s new.”

“Yeah,” Alex chuckled lightly. “Want me to stop?”

“No, dear God, don’t you dare stop,” Reggie groaned as Alex sat up, entranced by the graceful way Alex moved to get his jean jacket off and tossed aside, swiftly followed by his shirt, the light coming in through the window glinting on the gold chain around his neck.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Alex quipped cheekily, but before Reggie could say anything snarky in reply, Alex was on him again, and Reggie would say something, but Alex’s tongue was in his mouth and he was pretty sure he forgot how to think—much less talk—altogether when Alex’s chest rumbled with a moan against his fingers, his tongue sweeping against the back of Reggie’s teeth.

He keened when Alex’s fingers tugged on his hair, shooting sparks of pleasure down his spine, dragging his head to the side and breaking their kiss to mouth his way down Reggie’s jaw and neck.

He paid particular attention to the little spot just beneath Reggie’s jaw that had him practically melting into a puddle beneath Alex, the sensation of Alex’s lips against his feverishly hot skin and the solidness of Alex’s body pressing into him, surrounding him almost too much—but also not nearly enough.

“You’re being—” He gasped as Alex scraped his teeth across his earlobe, fingers digging into Alex’s biceps. “—you’re being really unfair.”

Alex laughed huskily against him, and Reggie shivered but pressed back into the touch when Alex’s hand slipped down from where his fingers were tangled in Reggie’s hair to cradle the back of his head. “It’s not unfair unless I don’t finish what I started. Don’t worry.” He shifted, pushing one leg between Reggie’s and pushing up, dragging his teeth across Reggie’s bottom lip teasingly. “I plan on following through, sweetheart.”

Reggie moaned, clutching at Alex as the other boy pushed his legs open to settle himself between them, lips occupying Reggie’s in a downright filthy kiss. Reggie couldn’t bring himself to care about the noise and the possibility of his parents finding them anymore, because Alex was between his legs, pressing up against him, and he could barely remember how to breathe.

God, Reggie adored him.

He groaned against Alex’s lips when the other boy rolled his hips down, slipped one leg up and around Alex’s hip, and slid his hands down to the edge of Alex’s waistband and then up, marveling at the fact that he could feel Alex’s warm skin beneath his palms and could feel the twitch of Alex’s muscles as he dragged his blunt nails across Alex’s back.

“I’m not done with us,” Alex panted when the kiss broke, teeth scraping across Reggie’s collar bone before he soothed over the abused skin with his tongue as he ground himself against Reggie’s painful hard-on. “I don’t care that you love Luke. I’m not done with us.”

“Me either,” Reggie croaked, feeling unexpectedly overwhelmed when he realised that he was with Alex, that Alex wanted this, him, too.

Still.

Even after Reggie had told him about his feelings for Luke.

Even though they weren’t actually in love.

Even though he didn’t think either of them actually had any idea what they were doing together.

“Me either,” he repeated, before pulling Alex down to kiss him again, grinding up against him. “I’m not done with us either.”

---------------

Reggie woke the next morning when he felt something flutter lightly across his forehead, then his nose, his lips, his chin, his collarbones, blinking in confusion before he realized it was Alex, gently tracing his fingers across Reggie’s face and upper body. He stilled for a second, and Alex froze before Reggie relaxed and leaned into Alex’s touch.

“Hi,” he whispered hoarsely when he rolled his head to the side to look at Alex.

He wondered, when Alex remained quiet and unreadable for a long, tense few minutes, if last night had been a mistake. They’d crossed a line they hadn’t crossed before, that they’d never meant to cross when they first kissed, and though Reggie had been so sure that they were on the same page, that Alex knew that Reggie cared about him so much, he was a little worried that maybe Alex had been more drunk than he’d let on last night.

And then Alex exhaled shakily and slid his hand down, coming to rest on Reggie’s bare waist. “Hey,” he finally said, sounding quite sleepy still, offering a tight smile when Reggie shuffled a little closer.

“You okay?” Reggie said quietly, reaching out to pat his hand on Alex’s bicep.

“Yeah,” Alex nodded. “Yeah, just…” He looked down and smiled wryly. “Trying to figure this out, I guess.” Reggie swallowed thickly, eyeing Alex nervously—he didn’t look like he regretted much of what they’d done and said the previous night, but then Alex always had the best poker face out of all of them.

“It wasn’t bad, right?” Reggie asked quietly, looking away from Alex, because he wasn’t sure he wanted to see the potential rejection on Alex’s face, not after Reggie had dared to hope that maybe… maybe he and Alex could figure out what they could be together.

“No,” Alex whispered, and Reggie’s head snapped back up to look at him.

Alex was smiling softly, expression open and fond. “You scare me sometimes,” Alex admitted. “Because I think… I think it’d be so easy to just get caught up in this. In us.” He swallowed thickly and ran his fingers through Reggie’s messy hair, and Reggie’s eyes fluttered shut for a second. Alex chuckled quietly and added, “I don’t want us both to end up with a broken heart, Reg.”

“I don’t ever wanna break your heart,” Reggie said urgently, pressing his hand to Alex’s cheek.

Alex smiled sadly. “I don’t want to break yours.”

“Then we just won’t,” Reggie said optimistically. “We can just… we can just try. And if it’s not working anymore, we’ll just be honest about it.” He looked at Alex pleadingly, rubbing his thumb across Alex’s cheek. “Can’t we just try?”

Alex huffed a breath through his nose, tipping forward to rest his forehead against Reggie’s with a small smile. “Yeah, okay, Reg. We can try. Does that mean we’re telling Luke and Bobby too?”

Reggie froze.

“I—” he choked. “Is it okay if I’m not ready for that?”

Alex nodded lightly. “Yeah, Reg, that’s okay. But,” he continued thoughtfully, “We can’t just keep lying indefinitely.” He ran his hand down the length of Reggie’s back and Reggie shivered a little as the move dislodged the sheet and exposed his bare skin to the cold morning air.

“I don’t want that either,” Reggie said. “I don’t like keeping things from Luke either.”

“So you’re going to tell him how you feel?” Alex asked.

“No, not yet,” Reggie shook his head. “But… maybe. When I feel less like I’ll break when I say something and he doesn’t feel the same way.”

Alex’s eyes darkened a little and his lips turned down into a frown, but he nodded in understanding.

“On a happier note,” Reggie said brightly, pressing into Alex with his entire body, “I am much less sore than I was last time.” He grinned when Alex’s cheeks flushed immediately and his hand tightened on Reggie’s bare hip. “Must mean we did something right this time,” Reggie finished.

“Oh, yeah, it’s gotta,” Alex snorted, but when Reggie leaned in to kiss him, he kissed back slowly and deeply. Reggie let Alex nudge him back until he was flat on his back again, Alex leaning over him, one hand on his hip, Reggie’s fingers tangled in Alex’s hair.

His lips were incredibly soft and still tasted faintly of the cherry liquor he’d drank last night. Reggie sighed happily against Alex’s lips and sank into the kiss, sliding his leg up over Alex’s to pull him closer. The feeling of fabric startled him though, and he leaned back to pout at Alex. “When did you put on pants?” He reconsidered and then said, “Why did you put on pants?”

Alex chuckled and whispered, “I didn’t wanna run to the bathroom naked. What if I’d run into your parents?” He grimaced and added, “Or worse, Maggie.”

Reggie snorted a laugh and nodded. “Okay, fair enough.”

Alex grinned down at him and pressed one more kiss against Reggie’s lips before he tapped at Reggie’s hip. “Come on, put something on. Everyone’s going to be up soon.” Reggie pouted and then smiled when Alex groaned, before he gave in and kissed Reggie again.

Reggie smiled when Alex pulled away, and he inhaled deeply, taking a second to, you know, remember how his limbs worked before he managed to roll out of the bed and onto his feet. He grabbed the nearest pair of sweatpants and tank top and shimmied them on, spinning around with his arms spread wide to grin at Alex.

“Better?” he asked teasingly.

“No,” Alex smirked, leaning back on his hands, blatantly eyeing Reggie up and down, and Reggie could feel Alex’s eyes burning on his skin. “I preferred you with less clothing.”

“You told me to put something on,” Reggie pointed out, raising both eyebrows at Alex.

Alex grinned and pushed to his feet, approaching Reggie with a kind of predatory gleam in his eye that Reggie had never seen before and that—that did things to his insides. “Jesus, Alex,” he groaned, “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Why not?” Alex asked playfully, reaching out and tugging Reggie to him by his hips.

“It makes me wanna do really inappropriate things,” Reggie admitted, framing Alex’s face in his hands when Alex wrapped his arms around Reggie’s waist. Alex just raised an eyebrow at him, and really, that was a challenge if Reggie ever saw one—he never could resist a dare. Alex huffed a mildly surprised breath against his lips when Reggie crashed their lips together again, but Reggie could tell he was smiling too.

And then Reggie’s bedroom door swung open.

They jerked apart, eyes wide and slightly horrified, but the damage was done, and Reggie’s dad stood in the doorway, large and imposing and frozen in shock.

“Dad,” Reggie choked.

It was like the sound of Reggie’s voice unfroze his father, his pale cheeks flushing with anger and his entire face twisting into a nearly unrecognizable, furious expression that Reggie instinctively flinched away from. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, boy?!” he hissed dangerously, and Reggie knew that tone, knew that when his dad spoke like that, it was time to hide in his room and to make sure Maggie was asleep or wearing earphones.

But Alex was right behind him and his dad was blocking the door and there was nowhere to hide.

“Dad,” he tried, and he hated how small and weak his voice sounded, how scared. “It wasn’t—”

“How dare you do this to our family?!” his dad roared, and Reggie flinched back, bumping into Alex, who steadied him with his hands on Reggie’s upper arms. That, evidently, was the wrong thing to do, because Reggie’s dad stormed forward and ripped Alex bodily away from him, shoving him so hard that Alex nearly tripped over the various items of clothing they’d carelessly thrown around the room last night, barely able to catch himself on the side of the bed.

“You,” his dad hissed, and Reggie watched in horror as his father loomed over Alex. “You’re so lucky your parents are prominent members of the church. They will hear about this and I will make sure that they know you defiled my boy.”

“He didn’t—” Reggie tried, “Dad, I’m—it’s not—”

“This isn’t about you,” his dad screamed at him, and Reggie recoiled again. “Do you think you’re ready for this kind of lifestyle, boy? Do you think anyone will want to employ you? Do you think they’ll employ me and your mother? All of our trouble will be on you! What do you think they’ll call your sister if they know about you, you stupid boy? She’s gonna lose her friends—parents won’t let their kids play with her now, this is gonna follow her forever!”

Reggie winced and hunched in on himself—was he being selfish? He’d never… he’d never considered that what he did might have ill effects on his family—on Maggie.

“This is more than just you,” his dad spat disgustedly. “This affects us all, you spoiled, selfish, ungrateful little faggot!” He glared at Reggie and Alex both and then hissed, “Get out. Get your stuff and get the fuck out—and don’t you dare come back. You have five minutes to get out. Don’t you darken our doorway again.”

He shot one more venomous glare at them and then stomped out of the room, slamming the door so hard it rattled in the frame.

Reggie let out a shaky breath he hadn’t known he was holding, staring at the door. He didn’t even realize he was breathing erratically until Alex pressed a hand to the center of his back and said, urgently, “Reg, calm down. We have to pack your things, okay, really fast. We can freak out later, but I need you to focus right now. Please, Reg.”

Reggie’s eyes fastened on the red mark on Alex’s arm. “He hurt you,” he whispered hoarsely, reaching out trembling fingers to touch Alex’s arm. “Alex, he hurt you.”

“No,” Alex sighed, “No, Reg, I’m okay, I promise. It’s probably not even going to bruise.” He took Reggie’s hand and squeezed it. “Grab a bag, okay? Put your clothes in there, as many of them as you can fit. I’ll get your school things and your guitar.”

“Alex,” Reggie choked when Alex tried to pull away, and Alex exhaled sharply before ducking down and pressing a hard, brief kiss to Reggie’s lips.

“We’re okay,” he insisted. “Now get your things, okay? Can you do that for me?”

Reggie nodded shakily.

“Good,” Alex smiled shakily. “Good.” He pressed one more kiss to Reggie’s forehead and then pulled away, leaving Reggie swaying in place, cold and disoriented for a couple of seconds before he managed to do as Alex asked and got a bag, pulling open his closet and stuffing as many clothes in there as he could.

When the bag was full, stuffed with jeans, socks, t-shirts and underwear, Reggie turned to Alex, who had Reggie’s bass slung over one shoulder and his bag with school books and materials over the other.

“Come on,” Alex said quietly, holding out a hand. “Let’s go.”

Reggie stared at him for a beat and then, slowly, feeling like he was making an irreversible decision, took it, and let Alex lead him out of the house.

-----------

Later, Reggie couldn’t remember much of the walk to Luke’s house.

He knew that Alex, at some point, had moved the book bag he was carrying to his other shoulder and had wrapped an arm around Reggie, tugging him close, and that Reggie had sunk into the warmth of him eagerly, because he was dressed in sweatpants and a tank top and flip flops, and Alex wasn’t even wearing a shirt, just an unzipped hoodie he must’ve shrugged on as they were leaving, and it was still cold outside.

He knew that he had, at one point, tried to talk, but that his mouth just didn’t want to form the words.

Alex had understood anyway.

He knew that he’d suddenly found himself on Luke’s front porch, Alex’s arm still around him, when Mrs. Patterson opened the door in her bathrobe, looking confused and then horrified to find them standing there in their pyjamas, bags in hand and tears still burning in Reggie’s eyes.

She had ushered them inside immediately, and Reggie knew that she was asking them things, that Alex was answering, but he felt like his head was under water and all sound was muffled.

He let himself be led to the couch and relinquished his death grip on his bag when Alex pried his fingers open, and when he looked up he could see Alex’s lips moving, could tell that he was talking to him, that Alex was probably scared and confused and hurt too, but he couldn’t—

He couldn’t breathe.

What was he supposed to do now?

He couldn’t go home anymore. He couldn’t go home. He was barely eighteen, he hadn’t even graduated yet—Sunset Curve was nowhere near successful enough to support him.

What was he going to do?

And then someone’s warm palm was burning on his cheek and when Reggie looked up, Luke was right in front of him, brow furrowed in concern, Alex hovering anxiously just behind him and—and—

“Hey. Hey, Reggie. Look at me.” Luke was talking, and though he still sounded like he was miles away, his voice managed to penetrate the haze of static white noise that encapsulated Reggie’s entire world. Luke smiled when Reggie looked at him, and Reggie vaguely thought that if he could still breathe, that smile would probably take his breath away all over again. “Yeah,” Luke grinned. “Okay, hey, buddy. Take a deep breath for me, okay? You’re not breathing right, Reg.”

Reggie thought that was probably a bit of an exaggeration, because he was pretty sure he wasn’t breathing at all, so how could he not be breathing right?

“Reggie,” Alex pleaded, rushing forward to kneel in front of him, next to Luke, his voice piercing through the white noise as his hand landed heavily on Reggie’s knee. “Breathe.” Reggie obeyed before he thought about it, inhaling sharply, dizzy with the sudden rush of oxygen, and swayed in place for a single heartbeat before he tipped forward into Luke and Alex.

They both caught him, as he had known, instinctively, that they would, their arms wrapping around him and holding him steady, and Reggie broke.

He burst into tears, pressing his face into the crook of Alex’s neck, fingers clenched in the back of Luke’s shirt too, to keep him close, where Reggie could feel him and hear him and smell him, because he couldn’t bear the thought of either of the boys being any less close than this, being anywhere other than right here with him, warm hands rubbing soothingly over his back and their voices melting together in a wordless, reassuring murmur.

“We’ve got you,” he heard Luke mutter as his hand swept up and down Reggie’s back. “We’re here, Reg.”

Reggie had no idea how long he cried, but slowly, his tears tapered off, and his body relaxed in his best friends’ arms, and he kind of drifted into a light doze. He barely registered being moved back onto the couch, refusing to loosen his grip on Alex, who didn’t stop running his fingers through Reggie’s hair.

“What happened?” he heard Luke ask quietly, rubbing his thumb over Reggie’s ankle soothingly.

Alex’s chest rumbled a little under his cheek, but it was soothing, and Reggie kept his eyes closed, relaxing into them as much as he could. “I stayed over,” Alex said softly. “I’d had a little too much, yesterday, and I didn’t want to walk all the way home, so I stayed. His dad’s always been a little weird around me, but I guess when he walked in and saw us hugging, he lost it. Called Reggie a fag and…” He paused and Reggie was just aware enough to press into him a little more, to move to comfort even though he wasn’t even looking at Alex. “... It was awful, Luke. He’s probably gonna tell me parents God knows what too, but—”

“Shit,” Reggie heard Luke curse. “Shit, Alex, I’m sorry.”

“Nothing we can do now,” Alex muttered. “Besides I think Reg got the worst of it, not me. My parents already knew I was an incurable homosexual, in their words. This probably won’t change much for me, but…” Reggie hummed under his breath when Alex tugged very lightly on his hair. “He can’t go home.”

“Yeah,” Luke whispered. “We’ll figure something out. My dad’s driving over to talk to Reggie’s dad, to see if he can pack up his stuff, at least.”

Alex exhaled shakily. “Well, that’s something.”

They fell silent, and Reggie relaxed further into them, the steady beat of Alex’s heart under his ear lulling him deeper and deeper into a doze until he eventually managed to fall asleep.

He was with Alex and Luke. He was safe.

They’d figure everything out.

----------------

MAY 1994 (SATURDAY)

There was something different in the way Alex kissed him, these days.

It was like… like his heart wasn’t in it anymore, like he was just going along with whatever Reggie wanted, and Reggie hated it. Alex was distant, was pulling away from him, and Reggie didn’t know what had triggered it, what had changed to make Alex go from desperately affectionate in the wake of Reggie’s dad kicking them out, to… to this.

Before, whenever Reggie would look at him, Alex would catch his eye and grin back at him or wink at him; would smile the same kind of smile that he smiled right before he’d lean in to kiss him, and Reggie would have to look away so he wouldn’t have to explain to Luke or Bobby why he was blushing.

Now, whenever Reggie managed to catch Alex’s eye, Alex would wince and look away or pointedly gaze at Luke or Bobby instead, and Reggie…

Reggie would feel like an idiot.

They barely spent any time alone together anymore, and Alex hadn’t managed more than a perfunctory peck on the lips unless Reggie reached out for him first; he’d hardly made any sort of move towards Reggie at all.

He wondered, as he curled up on the little bed they’d put together in the loft, if Alex had just grown tired of him, of them, or if he’d decided he couldn’t deal with Reggie not being over Luke yet, or if he’d just decided that they weren’t working anymore.

Reggie shivered.

He didn’t want Alex to break things off so soon after they’d decided they wanted to give things a real shot. He didn’t know how they’d gone from an easy, effortless relationship that they’d kind of tumbled into, to this… this strained connection that felt like it was seconds away from shattering if Reggie pushed too hard, too fast.

He missed the simplicity of their relationship before, missed how sure he’d been that if he reached out for Alex, that he’d find Alex reaching out for him too. Missed kissing Alex and making out with him and having sex and sleeping together—

He missed Alex.

And that was ridiculous, because Alex was right here; he hadn’t stopped spending time with him and the others, but the simple intimacy Reggie had gotten used to had vanished as if overnight, and he was afraid that he’d done something to make Alex pull away.

He heaved a sigh and let himself topple backwards into the pillows and sheets, staring up at the ceiling blankly. The band, thankfully, was doing really great—they’d gotten bigger gigs, and even a few specifically advertised as Sunset Curve that had a turnout they hadn’t quite expected, and it’d helped Reggie keep his mind off of Alex (and Luke).

Most of the time anyway.

He’d gotten really good at keeping his mind off Luke, made easier by Luke hooking up with every pretty girl—and the occasional guy—that fluttered their eyelashes at him, but he’d been so focused on Alex for so long that he didn’t know what to do with himself now that Alex wasn’t there.

“Hey man.”

Reggie startled and nearly rolled off the loft, eyes wide as he looked at Luke, who’d just appeared atop the ladder. “Jesus,” he groaned, heaving himself back to the middle of the bed. “Warn a guy, Luke.”

Luke snorted a laugh and crawled onto the bed too, kicking off his shoes and wedging himself into the narrow space beside Reggie, pressing their sides together. “Didn’t feel like going home,” he explained, nudging his shoulder against Reggie’s. “And I feel like you and I haven’t spent time together in ages.”

They really hadn’t.

Reggie had made sure of it because he couldn’t act normal around him. He kept getting lost in Luke’s eyes, kept catching himself staring at Luke’s lips while his best friend was talking, gravitating towards him even when he was trying not to—

He didn’t want Luke to pull away from him too, just because Reggie couldn’t keep himself in check.

“I guess we haven’t,” Reggie admitted quietly. “We’ve both probably been busy.”

Luke winced a little and Reggie turned his head to look at him quizzically. Luke frowned and said, “Yeah, I’m sorry, I’ve—” He heaved a sigh and shrugged. “My mom’s been putting a lot of pressure on me about college, and I just wanna focus on the band now that we’re actually getting somewhere, and it’s—it’s been a lot.” He smiled at Reggie and Reggie’s heart did some kind of funny flop in his chest.

“Right,” Reggie choked. “That sucks, man. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well,” Luke sighed. “She’s not gonna let go and neither am I, so…”

Reggie bumped their shoulders together and offered Luke a sad little smile. “Still sucks.” He wished there was something else he could say, a way he could make this easier for Luke and his mom, but he knew that this was something they’d have to work out themselves too.

This had been brewing for years, ever since they’d started the band.

Luke sighed and rolled onto his side, tucking himself close to Reggie, his nose pressed against Reggie’s neck and his arm slung around his waist, and Reggie was terrified that Luke would hear the way his heart was racing, terrified he’d realize Reggie was holding himself just a little too stiffly even as he folded his arms around Luke in return.

“You cool if I crash with you?” Luke muttered against Reggie’s skin, and Reggie shivered.

“Yeah,” he squeaked, ignoring the little flutter in the pit of his stomach at the thought of getting to spend at least eight hours pressed up against Luke like this. “Yeah, anytime.”

Luke hummed happily, and Reggie smiled stupidly up at the ceiling, relishing in the soft weight of Luke’s body as he leaned against him. Before he could second guess himself, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Luke’s head, slipping his arm around Luke’s shoulders, waiting for Luke to start talking again because he’d known him long enough to know Luke wasn’t done yet.

“She just doesn’t get it,” Luke muttered, splaying his fingers out on Reggie’s chest, absent-mindedly rubbing the fabric of Reggie’s shirt between his fingers. “She still thinks this is just… just… a hobby. A teenage obsession that I’m gonna grow out of.” Reggie swallowed thickly when Luke accidentally rubbed his fingers over Reggie’s nipple, which hardened immediately beneath the innocent touch, and briefly lost track of what Luke was telling him.

“...just so focused on college, and building a regular career and she doesn’t get that I don’t want that, and I hate that she doesn’t get it, she’s my mom, I love her, and I want her to understand—” He broke off with a barely muffled sob and buried his face against Reggie’s throat again, and all Reggie could really do was hold him and hope that Luke knew Reggie wasn’t going anywhere.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered against the top of Luke’s head, rubbing his hands over Luke’s back and arms. “You two are gonna work this out, I know it.”

Luke was quiet for a while after that, and Reggie almost thought he’d fallen asleep when Luke whispered, “She hates everyone I date too. I can’t do anything right anymore. She hates the band, she hates whoever I date, she hates my grades, she hates that I don’t want to go to college. It’s exhausting.”

Reggie bit down on his lip, waiting for Luke to tell him more, as he tried to squash the little spark of jealousy that ignited in the pit of his stomach at the idea of Luke actually liking someone else.

“It’s just…” Luke hesitated. “I hate how tense I am every time I go home.”

Reggie swallowed and rubbed his hand through Luke’s messy hair, smiling a little when Luke groaned and then went boneless against him. “Maybe don’t bring up the actual amount of people you’re messing around with to your mom,” he suggested, taking care to infuse nonchalance and sarcasm in his tone—Luke needed Reggie to be supportive, not jealous of said aforementioned people.

“Yeah,” Luke snorted. “Like I’m bringing those up around mom. Or my dad. I know they’re okay with it, with me, just… they don’t really understand that either. I just—I want them to get me.” He unsuccessfully tried to stifle another sob by pressing his face against Reggie’s neck, and choked, “Why can’t they just get me? Why is that so much to ask?”

“I dunno, Luke,” Reggie whispered, and his heart squeezed painfully as he thought about his own parents, about his father, who had kicked him out without a second thought, about his mother who hadn’t lifted a finger to stop him, about his little sister who barely had a clue why Reggie had abandoned her. “You got me, though. And Alex. And Bobby. We get you.”

“Yeah,” Luke whispered hoarsely, tightening his fingers in Reggie’s shirt. “Thank God.”

---------------

MAY 1994 (WEDNESDAY)

Reggie managed to corner Alex after rehearsal when Bobby and Luke left, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him back inside the studio. Alex, to his credit, didn’t struggle when Reggie dragged him back in, and looked at him with raised eyebrows as soon as Reggie closed the doors, almost like he was saying “well, what now?”

“You’ve been distant,” Reggie blurted, and Alex’s eyes widened minutely before he schooled his expression into a cool mask of indifference.

“No, I haven’t,” he said, but his voice went up a little higher at the end, and Reggie knew he was lying immediately. Alex, it seemed, realized that too, because he heaved a sigh, his shoulders slumping as he pushed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. “Okay, maybe I have,” he admitted.

“Why?” Reggie demanded, pushing forward, pressing his hands to Alex’s shoulders. “I thought we were—I thought we were okay. That we were trying, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alex breathed, looking down. “Yeah, we were. Look, Reg—”

Reggie abruptly stepped back. “Are you breaking up with me?” His voice was shaking and he didn’t like how hard the idea of Alex actively wanting to stop everything between them was hitting him, even though he’d been… he’d been kind of prepared for it too.

“Reg, we’re not even really dating,” Alex said, and that—that really wasn’t what Reggie had expected.

“Oh,” Reggie choked. “We’re not?”

Alex heaved a sigh, running his hand through his hair. “Okay, look,” he said slowly. “I know I said—I know I said that we could try, that I didn’t care that you were still in love with Luke… but it—it hurts. Seeing you look at him like that when… Shit, Reggie.” He shook his head and Reggie felt vaguely nauseous. “I don’t know if I can do it anymore.”

Reggie sucked his lower lip between his teeth, chewing on it anxiously as he took a few steps back until the backs of his legs hit the couch and he sank down onto it.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” he asked quietly, looking up at Alex helplessly. “We promised.”

Alex heaved a sigh and then moved to sit beside Reggie. “Look… After your dad, I know we were… I know I let myself get so caught up in this, in us, and I—” He shook his head again and looked down at his hands. “Reg, I want to give us a shot, I really, really do, but I feel like you can’t do that. Not really, not while you’re in love with Luke, and I don’t want to force you to get over that. I know how hard it is, but—”

“No, hang on,” Reggie interrupted, holding a hand up. “Why do you get to decide how I feel?”

“Reg,” Alex tried, but Reggie jumped to his feet, actually a little angry at Alex for just presuming.

“No,” he said harshly. “No, you don’t get to decide who I love more—yes, I’m in love with Luke, but that doesn’t mean I don’t… that doesn’t make what you and I have any less real, Alex, I thought… I thought you knew that.”

Alex looked up at him, eyes wide and lips parted.

“Alex,” Reggie sighed, deflating. “Alex, tell me you know that.”

Alex swallowed thickly and looked down. Reggie exhaled shakily and dropped back onto the couch beside Alex, reaching out to put a hand on his thigh. “Alex,” he said quietly, rubbing his thumb over Alex’s thigh soothingly. “What’s really going on?”

“I got you kicked out of your house,” Alex blurted, and Reggie blinked. Of all the things he’d expected Alex to say, that hadn’t been one.

“What?” he whispered.

“You were kicked out because you were with me,” Alex said again, a little wildly, “and I know how hard it’s been on you, not being able to see Maggie, and—” He looked down and exhaled shakily before he took Reggie’s hand and entwined their fingers. “Reg, I don’t want you to resent me.”

Reggie blinked again.

“Why would—Alex,” he shook his head and turned, curling one leg up and underneath him so he was facing Alex directly. “Look at me,” he told Alex, squeezing his hand hard when Alex didn’t comply. “Alex, look at me.” Alex heaved a sigh, but did as Reggie asked and mirrored his position.

Reggie smiled tremulously and reached out, touching Alex’s cheek lightly. “I need you to listen, because you’re being a massive, massive dumbass, and that’s coming from me.” Alex grinned despite himself and Reggie smiled back. “I am never going to blame you for what my dad did. You took care of me after, when I was a mess, when I could barely even remember how to breathe, you made sure I was somewhere safe, you—” Reggie leaned in and pressed a brief, hard kiss against Alex’s lips. “Nothing that happened was your fault.”

He smirked when Alex chased after his lips when he pulled away, but didn’t give in and lean back in right away. “I meant it,” he said quietly, leaning their foreheads together. “I meant it when I said I wanted to try. And I’m not over Luke, and I know that’s hard for you, and I’m sorry. But I’m trying. I’m trying.”

Alex nodded shakily. “Okay. I’m sorry, I—it’s okay. I wanna try to.”

“Yeah?” Reggie whispered.

“Yeah,” Alex smiled, before fitting his hand around the back of Reggie’s neck and pulling him in for another kiss, deeper and hungrier than the first. It was easy, to let loose and lose himself in Alex’s eager touch and the slide of their lips, easy to let Alex draw him closer, so close Reggie was practically in his lap, fingers curled in Alex’s hair and the drummer’s firm hands in his hair and on his waist.

Reggie rolled his hips against Alex’s and Alex moaned against his lips, a deep, wanton sound that abruptly reminded him that they were on the couch in the studio and that the garage door didn’t lock.

Slowly, he leaned back, barely able to bite back a groan as Alex tightened his hold on him, digging his teeth into Reggie’s lower lip and his fingers into the back of his neck.

“Slow down,” he chuckled. “I just don’t want to do this on the couch.”

Alex pouted, but conceded the point wordlessly, and Reggie grinned, pressing a single, lingering kiss to Alex’s lips before disentangling their limbs and getting to his feet. “Come on then,” he smiled, offering Alex his hand to pull him up from the couch. “We got a perfectly good bed up there.”

“Good,” Alex hummed, letting Reggie pull him to his feet and slipping his arms around him. “I got plans.” He pressed a kiss to Reggie’s lips. “I’ve missed you.”

Reggie grinned and took Alex’s hand again, their fingers slotting together neatly.

“Me too, ‘Lex. Me too.”

---------------

READ IT HERE:

Start from the beginning:

Becoming a Memory, Becoming a Treasure:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Unfinished Business:

(1) (2) (3)

Or read it HERE (BaMBaT) or HERE (UB) on AO3 :D

#Alex #Reggie #jatp #Luke patterson #ruke #Alex/reggie #Julie and the phantoms #Julie and the himbos #bambat #unfinished business

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