#reggie: willie kissed him

[innytoes]

21 + 46 and Reggie/Alex/Willie?

Dystopian AU + Blind Date

Anon I am so sorry but I cannot not make this pun. This is a Day of the Triffids AU. Basically, everyone who saw a mysterious asteroid shower woke up blind the next day (which is a huge portion of the population since everyone was really hyped about it). Also there's walking plants who will murder you with their tongues and then feast on your corpse.

Considering the chaotic mess the world was, they'd done alright for themselves, really. It probably helped that the band had been super tight beforehand, and that Carlos and Reggie had been super into zombie apocalypse movies. It was really not that big of a stretch to turn a zombie apocalypse plan into a 'my entire family and the whole world is blinded' plan.

In the beginning, Reggie had been the only one in their group who could see, and that was pure dumb luck. He'd forgotten what day it was, worked a full shift at the coffee shop, worked on the song he'd wanted to show Luke later, and then crashed like thirty minutes before the meteor shower was supposed to start, sleeping through all of it.

So yeah, in the beginning, it had been rough. Terrifying. Getting around as a sighted person had its own perils. Plenty of people were willing to get really violent for their chance at a sighted person to lead them around. They'd quickly worked out a system: Luke up front, Reggie subtly steering his shoulders through squeezes. That way, they moved like the others, didn't attract unwanted attention.

It was better when they'd linked up with Flynn's family. Flynn's mom was blind, had been most of her life. She'd helped the others, taught them how to get around. She's started teaching them braille. Alex' little sister, Stevie, and Carlos were picking it up quick as anything. She also loved to garden, so over the summer they'd turned a lot of the available front yard space into edible plants. Reggie's job was to do the morning patrols, finding and burning any triffid podlings that had taken root before they could become dangerous.

That's how he'd found Willie, who had been crouched in front of one of the tomato plants, shoving them in his mouth. He'd spoken before he could think about it, scolding him about not waiting until they were ripe, and Willie had shrugged and said 'they're red aren't they'. Both had realised their mistake almost immediately, but before Willie could run - or skate - away, Reggie had offered him a place to stay.

Willie fit in with their little group perfectly. He was friendly, funny, and just the right amount of chaotic. He was also beautiful, and kind, and great with kids. His laugh was the prettiest sound in the world and he knew how to get pretty much anyone out of a funk. So yeah, Reggie was smitten.

But when he’d seen Alex and Willie grow closer, of course Reggie had taken a step back. Alex deserved the world. Besides, Reggie had other responsibilities, he shouldn’t waste time mooning over some boy. He’d done it before, pushed down his crush on Alex even before the whole world fell apart, and now that was just a dull ache. In time, the same would happen with Willie, and he could move on and be happy for them.

It would be easy to hide his feelings, he figured, since only one person was around to see him. But one day Julie had followed him out during his morning patrol and confronted him about it in the most gentle way she could, and he’d spent an hour just crying in her arms. She’d urged him to talk to Willie and Alex, hinting that there might be feelings there as well, but he’d blown her off, taking her hand and describing the gardens to her while he weeded out any problems. They’d only gone back when Julie had promised his voice didn’t sound all wobbly and hoarse.

He’d forgotten to check if his eyes were still red and puffy. Because of course he had. He hadn’t had to worry about what he looked like in literal years. Which Willie of course noticed. Which had lead to the whole thing coming out anyway, Julie dragging Luke out of the studio by his ear so they could have some privacy.

They’d been dating ever since. And it was perfect. Except dates in the post apocalypse were really more ‘having dinner in the garage alone’ or ‘going to pick the tomatoes together’. It was dangerous to go outside of their little fenced off corner of the neighbourhood. It was hard for Alex to get around in the empty houses on the street, because he hadn’t memorised where everything was.

Still, on the nights the spent together on the pull-out sofa in the garage, the privacy was heaven. Curling up against Alex, playing with Willie’s hair, kissing them both without fear of being interrupted by his little brother or Luke who had an amazing song idea, it was bliss. Tonight, they were discussing things they missed from before the apocalypse. Willie missed skating competitions, and the internet. Reggie was sad they’d never make the next season of his favourite show. Alex sighed, and said he missed the beach.

Which was totally a fixable thing. It had taken them a few weeks, talking to the others behind Alex’ back, making sure everyone was okay with their day trip, preparing the safest route. Willie was the one who usually went outside their neighbourhood, scavenging and skating around. He’d mapped the safest route to the safest beach, getting rid of as many triffids as he could along the way.

But then the day had come. Ray had waited for them at the door, giving him a hug. Reggie had clung to him, nervous. He didn’t want to leave them alone. He’d been responsible for their safety for so long, it felt wrong to leave. Which was exactly why he should, Flynn’s mother had told him firmly, the week before. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” Ray said. “You boys deserve this. Go have fun. And Reggie...” He paused, and Reggie tensed. “Remember to wear sunscreen.” Ray winked at him, squeezing his arms before ushering him out of the door. 

The walk to the beach was long, and slightly tense. Willie had a make-shift molotov cocktail in one hand, and Alex’ hand in the other. Reggie was on Alex’ other side, quietly leading them around debris and muttering a running commentary of what he saw around them.

They set off at first light, so they didn’t really run into many people, and they were mostly able to avoid the ones who were out, only stopping to make polite conversation with a group of women lead by an old lady with a guide dog. They told them that the beach seemed to be clear today, as Rover hadn’t alerted once while they heard the waves. They even let Reggie give Rover a quick pet, and Alex joked that whatever happened, Reggie’s day was already made.

When they could hear the waves, Willie climbed one of the palm trees to scout the area, declaring Rover was right and it seemed to be all clear. As soon as they hit the sand, Alex laughed, stopping. He yanked his shoes off, and Reggie smiled, shoving them in his backpack while Willie pulled Alex towards the waves.

They played in the sand and the water for hours, taking turns floating on their backs, splashing at each other, just sitting in the surf and letting the waves crash over them. Kissing each other with salty lips. Eating the lunch that Flynn’s mom had packed them. Laying on their backs and soaking up the sun. Maybe even spreading out the big towel they’d packed and... taking advantage of the privacy they had (after they checked and reassured Alex there was nobody around, of course).

And when they got home, salty and sated and happy, they were welcomed with open arms, a home cooked meal, and a good bit of healthy teasing when the first thing Reggie said when asked how it had been was: “I pet a dog!”

#julie and the phantoms #fanfic #ralexie #alex mercer #reggie peters #willie throckmorton #reggiexalexxwillie #the day of the triffids #AUs are awesome #triffid au #I wrote a thing #willie didn't go blind because his evil foster dad caleb locked him up in the basement as punishment for something #KARMA IS A BITCH ISN'T IT CALEB #oh man can you imagine the sheer angst of Alex and Reggie going to get his baby sister like: I'm taking her #and there aint shit his parents can do about it because Reggie can see and they can't #also: Ray teaching Reggie to drive even though he can't see #it is hilarious and terrifying and he mostly plays it by ear and hopes Reggie doesn't crash into anything #Same with ray and flynn's dad teaching the guys how to shave #(Luke is like 'who cares nobody will see' for .3 seconds before Julie tells him she's not kissing him again until he does) #there is so many amazing backstory coming into my brain and I am never going to write it lol

[onlygenxhere]

I guess I live here now

Willie was trapped.

Happily.

Under a sleeping Alex.

He was running his hands through those beautiful blonde locks as he ignored the movie still playing quietly on the tv.

It was usually Alex who was playing with his hair, telling him how much he liked it. Willie really needed to tell Alex more often how much he liked his hair. It was so soft and the color was... every shade of yellow he could think of and some he hadn’t considered.

He let the silky tresses fall through his fingers again. Golds and yellows and browns and maybe a little red mix in.

A part of him wished he could go get his paints or his colored pencils so he could capture this moment of quiet. Alex looked so happy and peaceful right now the apartment would have to be on fire before he’d do anything to wake him. 

Alex had had a long day of practice for a gig the band had tomorrow night and while Reggie, Luke and Julie were wired after playing and wanted to go out Alex had begged off opting for a movie night with him.

Willie had been happy to stay home.

He would have been happy to go out if that’s what Alex had wanted to do. All he really cared about was spending time together.

They’d both been so busy lately, him with school and work and Alex with school and the band. It had been awhile since they’d been alone together.

Willie had originally thought they’d take a different kind of advantage of a quiet apartment but he wasn’t about to complain or wake his boyfriend up.

Alex sniffed and snuggled into Willie’s chest squeezing him around the waist and shifting them both into a more horizontal position without waking up.

Willie chuckled silently as Alex settled back against him like he was his favorite stuffy. Which… Willie grinned as he started to card his fingers through his hair again, he guessed he was.

The silence in the room made Willie look over at the TV where the floating message ‘are you still watching’ blinked on the screen.

He looked over to where the remote sat on the coffee table out of reach then back down at a deeply sleeping Alex lying peacefully on his chest.

“I would rather watch you sleep than a movie without you anyway.” He whispered before leaning forward and giving Alex a kiss on the top of the head.

“I’ll take the pink one thanks,” Alex mumbled.

Willie chuckled quietly and whispered. “I wanna watch your movie.”

He closed his eyes and settled back against the arm of the couch. “Save me a seat hotdog.”

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #willex #happy willex wednesday #it's always about willie's hair #but I can see willie being just as enamored with alex's

[legolasghosty]

if this doesn't scream boggie, i don't know what does: They smell like sparkles and sunshine and I want to kiss their stupid face so bad

Bobby slammed the apartment door behind him, heading straight for the couch. He didn't slow down until he was flat on his stomach, his burning cheeks hidden by a Gayosaurus throw pillow ("Like a normal gay, but more awesome!") that Willie had found somewhere six months ago. Bobby wasn't ever sure where he found this sort of thing. He'd given up on asking when they were still in college, the two of them and Alex randomly paired up in a freshman dorm.

"What happened here?" the previously mentioned pillow finder said from somewhere above Bobby.

The soft click of Alex closing their front door properly was followed by the drummer's sigh of, "Reggie, what else."

Bobby felt the couch dip near his feet as probably Willie sat down. "You wanna talk about it, dude?" they asked. Bobby couldn't decide if their tone was sympathetic or teasing.

"No," he mumbled into the pillow.

Look, dating your bandmates didn't work out well. Reggie and Luke had been together for a bit when they were all in college and it had burned hot and fast. Bobby had been sure the band would break up for good when they called it quits. It had taken a whole new person, Luke's now queerplatonic partner and their band frontwoman Julie, to get the two of them to talk it out and become friends again. Even then, it had been a rough couple of months for all of them.

So, no matter how pretty Reggie was or how sometimes Bobby thought he leaned a bit closer to their shared mic than necessary, they couldn't be a thing. It wouldn't work.

"Dude, you can't just keep ignoring it and hope it goes away," Alex sighed, now sounding much closer. "Remember how I tried that and it failed? Epicly?"

Bobby lifted his head just enough to shoot Alex a glare. "That's not the same thing," he protested. "No offense, Willie."

"None taken," they chuckled. "But Lex has a point. Shoving it down doesn't work, and it might just turn out better than you think."

Bobby dropped his face back down to the pillow and flipped them both off. "No."

He felt a foot nudging his shoulder, indicating that Alex had found his perch on the back of the couch above him. "Bobby, Reggie likes you back, you guys just have to get your acts together and talk about it."

"Hypocrite," Bobby mumbled. But he groaned and rolled onto his side, glancing up at his roommates and best friends. Maybe talking it out would help erase his stupid crush on his bandmate. "I know he maybe thinks I'm cute or whatever, but it wouldn't work. The band almost broke up when Luke and Reggie did, and I can't be responsible for doing that to you guys. I just can't."

"Okay, I get that," Alex began. "But what makes you so sure the two of you wouldn't work? I mean yeah, Luke and him didn't go so well, but there were a lot of reasons for that."

"Very much including the fact that they were 19 and neither of them had actually been in a serious relationship before," Willie added. "And I love them both, but their communication skills aren't the best now, let alone two years ago."

"You and Reg are good for each other," Alex continued, giving Bobby that heavy, open stare that he usually masked behind several layers of sarcasm. "He gets you out of your routine and trying new things. You help him slow down and talk things out."

"You're both better people for being around each other," Willie agreed, one hand resting on Bobby's ankle. Then the corner of his mouth quirks up. "Not to mention the fact that you guys practically make out at the mic every other song."

"We do not!" Bobby insisted, forcing himself up on one elbow. "Mic sharing is totally normal."

"Mic sharing, yes. But you two take the phrase 'eat the mic' a little too literally," Alex laughed. Then his amusement faded. "But seriously. You like him. He likes you. And we're all semi-functioning adults who can at least pretend to be emotionally mature. At least talk to him."

"Even if you decide not to give it a shot, at least you'll have been honest with each other," Willie said.

"But what if it messes everything up?" Bobby asked, hating how small his voice sounded. "I mean, yeah, he smells like sparkles and sunshine and I wanna kiss his stupid face so bad, but I don't want it to destroy the band. Or our whole... family."

Willie's expression is now solidly in the sympathetic zone. "But what if it makes it better?" they countered. "I mean, Lex and I were great as friends, and we're better as partners, and we're both better friends to the rest of you because of being together."

The smile Alex gave them for that is enough to make Bobby fake gag and throw the Gayosaurus pillow at them. But... maybe they're right.

"Hug time?" Alex questioned.

Bobby just nodded, suddenly feeling heavy at the possibility of having Reggie as something other than a bandmate. But heavy in a good way, like crawling under his weighted blanket at the end of a long day.

Alex dropped down onto the couch beside him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pulling him in. Bobby let Willie resituate both of their legs on his lap. He usually wasn't one for being manhandled by his friends, but it was nice to let them take care of him every once in a while. He tried to focus on the clean and salty scent of Alex's hoodie and the easy movement of Willie's thumb on his ankle.

Maybe, just maybe, they had a point. At the very least, he owed it to Reggie to let him be a part of the conversation, right? Bobby let out a soft sigh. This meant he'd have to actually have a conversation about it with the bassist. But he was getting better at those at least. It was 'healthy' or something. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe they would be okay.

"So..." Willie mused after a while, "what do sparkles and sunshine smell like?"

"Screw you," Bobby groaned, hiding his face in Alex's chest.

#legolas tag #julie and the phantoms #legolas ask #jatp #jatp fanfic #bobby shaw #reggie peters #(he doesn't technically show up but they talk about him a lot?) #alex mercer #willie jatp #willex #boggie #someday #once the boys actually get their acts together and talk #Willex being the ones in the group who have been to the most therapy #also I didn't mention it in the fic #but Luke is aro #Julie helped him figure that one out #also she and Flynn are together #as are Flynn and Carrie. #Julie and Carrie aren't dating... yet. Maybe they will #maybe they won't #look all the relationships and backstory of this are taking up too much space in my brain #leave me alone

[interestinglittlerelationship]

We Should Kiss Like Real People Do

It’s finally time! This was so much fun! @jatpfebfanfest

This is for @princessmuk

“Wait, wait, wait, explain this to me again?” Julie says, tilting her head at him in confusion.

“Aragagh,” Alex groans, “I’ve explained it twice already,” he tilts his head at her, “Shouldn’t you know all about this, already? Willie is basically your brother.”  

Julie flings herself down next to him, “I know about the stupid family reunion thing, yeah, but why are you going?”

“Because Willie doesn’t want to go alone,” Alex supplies.

“Right, but…” and then she seems to stop herself, “You know what? Never mind. So, Willie asked you to be his fake boyfriend, and you said yes?”

Alex face plants into Julie’s pile of pillows, “Yes,” he mutters. This does nothing to block out the sound of Julie’s giggles, “I hate you,” he adds, rolling over and hugging a pillow to his chest.

After a moment he feels Julie’s arm press up against his side, “I’m sorry, Lexi,” she says seriously, “this is just a situation so ridiculous only you could have managed to end up in it.”

“Thanks, that just make me feel loads better.” 

Julie sighs, “It’s really going to be okay, Alex.”

“You think? Because I think I’m gonna get my heart broken.”

“I’m fairly confident that’s not going to happen, besides you already said yes,” she points out.

“I know,” he whispers.

“So, what are you going to do?”

And that’s the thing, isn’t it? There’s nothing he can do. Willie is his best friend and he needs help. Alex has to do this even if it destroys him, “I’m going to be Willie’s fake boyfriend.”

The time of his demise is delayed slightly by the fact this “favor” Willie asked him for is actually a week away. For someone with a normally functioning brain that might be a good thing, but Alex is far too anxious, and simply comes up with ten new ways it could go horribly wrong with each passing day.

His friends are unsurprisingly the opposite of helpful. Bobby straight up laughs in his face when he finds out, pats him on the shoulder, and says, “Good luck with that.” Reggie gets really excited and insists that this is the start of Alex’s very own rom-com, and then goes on a long-winded tangent about movies where the two main characters start fake dating and end up falling in actual love. Luke, at least, seems properly sympathetic but offers exactly zero practical advice.

Willie, for his part seems remarkably unconcerned about the many possible ramifications of this deal of theirs. Then again, Willie seems remarkably unconcerned about most things. It’s part of the reason Alex likes him so much, Willie balances him out somehow. Calms the whirlwind in his brain.

Willie is holding his hand.

Honestly, he’s having a hard time focusing on anything other than that fact. And he knows it’s for show, that they’re walking up Willie’s uncle’s driveway and someone might see, but none of that matters because Willie is holding his hand.

“This is going to be easy. You already know everything about me and they know practically nothing. You probably won’t even have to lie that much,” Willie is saying and Alex is nodding like a bobble head even though he’s only half listening, “Besides,” Willie adds, “it’s only for the day anyway.”

And that snaps Alex right back to reality. Because tomorrow he’s going to have to go back to pretending like he isn’t in love with his best friend. And he’s going to have to pretend like that fact isn’t slowly killing him. And none of this is real and Alex sort of wants to cry.

Instead, he says, “Right, no big deal.”

Willie yanks them to a stop on the bottom step, tugging his lip between his teeth for a second, “Seriously, Lexi, thank you for doing this.” And then he does the most unbelievable thing and reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind Alex’s ear. It does absolutely nothing since his hair is not actually long enough to stay put, but Alex melts anyway.

“Hey,” he says, squeezing Willie’s hand, “anytime.”

Willie blushes, “Yeah,” he breathes, turning away, “um, ready to do this?”

Alex shrugs, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

As Willie introduces him around, Alex starts to relax. Really, pretending to be Willie’s boyfriend is not nearly as hard as he thought it would be. They hold hands and when anyone asks how they met, they tell the truth, “We were friends first.” Willie calls him truly ridiculous pet names like, “Hotdog” and “Honeyboo” which make some of his aunts coo at them.

Willie had basically said that he didn’t want to go to this party alone because all his relatives were awful, but that he’d only be allowed to bring someone if they were dating.

And yeah, Willie’s aunts and uncles are all a little distant and awkward, but seems mostly unbothered by their snubs.

His cousins, on the other hand are admittedly sort of awful, the kind of spoiled rich kids who think their money entitles them to look down on everyone else, but they pretty much leave the two of them alone too.

Willie’s mom had been the black sheep of the family, a free-spirit artist, who had run off with Willie’s dad right out of high school. Willie had never seen his mom’s family growing up, but after she and his dad died in a car accident, his attendance at these yearly reunions had become mandatory out of some twisted sense of duty or something. The rest of the year, Willie lives with his dad’s best friend, Ray, who is apparently not allowed to attend either.

Alex isn’t quite sure how to help, but Willie never once lets go of his hand, so maybe just being there is enough.

It’s a long afternoon, but only slightly painful, and then suddenly they’re climbing back into the car.

It takes a few seconds for Alex to realize that Willie hasn’t actually put the key into the ignition, or for that matter, let go of Alex’s hand.

“Hey,” Alex murmurs, “you okay?”

Willie drops his head onto Alex’s shoulder, “It’s just so exhausting, you know?”

Alex hums, because he doesn’t really.

“They’re all so fake, being all polite, and acting like they want to know me, but they didn’t fucking want me.”

Alex realizes then that Willie is crying, and he tries to shift so he can pull him into a hug, but Willie won’t let go of his hand.

“And I love Ray, I do, and it’s not like I want to live with them, but they spent my whole childhood pretending I didn’t exist and then when they were forced to acknowledge me, they still didn’t want me. And I lied to you. Ray usually goes with me and they wouldn’t have cared if I’d brought a friend as long as they could put on their little ‘happy family show,’ but I wanted you, and I wanted to be able to hold your hand, and now I don’t want to let go because I love you so much, but you probably don’t want me either.”

And Alex is, well, Alex is trying to wrap his head around the fact that his whole entire world just got rewritten. Because even if that was a bunch of heartbreaking word salad, he’s pretty sure Willie just said he loved him.

And this is why he doesn’t respond nearly fast enough, giving Willie the time to realize what he just said and freak out about it. Honestly, it’s all very Alex of him.

He tries to pull away, but this time, it’s Alex who won’t let go.

“Hey,” he says softly, and when Willie just keeps fighting against him, he says it louder, “Hey!” Willie freezes, staring at him, wide-eyed, “I’m, like, stupid in love with you too.”

Willie blinks, and Alex has a feeling his whole world is rewriting itself too.

“Oh,” he says, “Well, that’s convenient.”

Alex smiles at him, “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

The sit there smiling at each other, and they’re both crying still too, but none of that matters because Willie loves him.

“So, um, I’m gonna kiss you now,” Willie whispers.

“Okay,” Alex whispers back.

#jatp 2024 feb fan fest #julie and the phantoms #willex for the soul #fake dating #love confessions #i hope you like it

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

“Why the fuck is your alarm set for five in the morning?”

Stolen from an @innytoes Prompt List I came across (hunted down? I don’t know. I don’t remember. Don’t judge me.)

The band had just returned from their final tour dates on the east coast and Alex was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed. With his boyfriend. For the first time in months.

He grabs his luggage at the carousel and walks out the doors, scanning the faces for Willie. He sees him almost immediately and when their eyes meet, Willie’s eyes widen with excitement and he bounds toward Alex, nearly knocking him over when he’s wrapped into a tight hug.

Alex chuckles as he returns the hug. “Missed you too.”

“Hey, what about us?” Reggie pouts from behind him and Willie looks up with a grin, not loosening his grip on Alex.

“Love you guys but I’m not sorry to say I won’t care about you until tomorrow or maybe even the next day. I’m taking my boyfriend now. You’ve had him long enough.”

Reggie and the others laugh as they wave Alex and Willie off. They’ll see him soon and understand their need for some alone time completely. Willie detaches himself from Alex, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the airport. 

Alex swears that when he’d left, Willie was not this reckless of a driver but they make it home in one piece and after hauling his stuff inside, he collapses on their bed.

Willie chuckles softly at him as he leans against the doorframe, “you don’t want food?”

“No food, just sleep,” Alex replies, his voice muffled by the mattress. He turns his head to free his face. “And cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles.” He plants his face back into the bed.

Willie shakes his head and laughs, toeing off his shoes and walking to the bed.

“OK, sleepyhead, but first you need to get out of your travel clothes.”

Alex groans into the mattress.

“And you need to actually get onto the bed.”

“Mmph.”

Willie rolls his eyes and bends down to remove Alex’s shoes, setting them neatly by the door so that tomorrow Alex doesn’t have an aneurysm.

“You’re really not going to help me at all?” Willie asks with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Alex turns his head again, “what happens if I don’t?”

“Then you might wind up in one of Luke’s cutoffs and a pair of hotdog socks.”

Alex shudders at the thought and sits up to undress before climbing into bed properly. Willie prepares himself for bed and crawls in beside Alex, wrapping his boyfriend up onto his chest.

“Y’don’t need food?” Alex asks, already half asleep.

“I’ve got everything I need,” Willie replies, turning off his lamp and settling in to enjoy holding Alex for as long as it takes to fall asleep (which may very well be several hours from now).

Alex is awoken suddenly to loud music playing from the other side of the room. He feels Willie panic beside him and lifts his head to try to figure out what’s going on only to catch Willie turning off the alarm on his phone.

“Why the fuck is your alarm set for… FIVE in the morning?”

Willie turns a sheepish grin on him, “I forgot to turn it off. Sorry.”

Alex drops his head onto Willie’s chest. “Didn’t answer the question,” he mumbles.

Willie rubs his hand up and down Alex’s back. “It was so I could wish you good morning.”

Alex leans up on his elbow to get a good look at his boyfriend. “You set an alarm. So that I would wake up to a good morning text. On the other side of the country?” he clarifies.

Willie can’t help the grin that is starting to take over his face.

“Why didn’t you just send it before you came to bed? You were three hours behind us!”

Willie’s grin turns sheepish again. “I didn’t think of that,” he mutters.

Alex shakes his head in disbelief and leans in to kiss his boyfriend before laying back down. “You’re unbelievable.”

“An unbelievably good boyfriend.”

“Yeah, sure, that. Go back to sleep, you bonehead.”

“Love you too.”

“Yeah, yeah. Love you too.”

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #willex #alex mercer #willie jatp #willie nolastname #nobodys fics #turns out it's really weird for me to write willie with he/him pronouns now

[invisibleraven]

Everyone has Mostly Useless Magic Powers AU plz and thank you

-Luke's power is always knowing what you want to eat or drink, which comes in useful when he's working the diner, since he can always recommend the closest item on their menu. The tips for this almost make up for the stupid paper hat.

-Reggie's power to always know where your keys are makes him Ray's favourite, especially when he's in a rush and needs to be gone like, five minutes ago. Reggie glows under the raise every time Ray calls him a lifesaver with a kiss to the forehead.

-Alex's power is super fast pacing speed, so between that and drumming, he's got wicked calves. Willie is most appreciative, even if Alex thinks it's a little weird for his boyfriend to be obsessed with his legs.

-Willie still has his electrical manipulation powers, ala canon. Enough to get the cops off the cases of a few skater bros, but not enough to like, open a bank vault, or bypass the security gate so he can skate in Justin Bieber's empty pool-or so he claims.

-Julie's power is small gardening magic-her plants never need to be watered or trimmed, they just thrive. Usually when she sings to them, so the year she avoided the studio saw a lot of withering on both their parts. But Wake Up brought them-and her-back.

#au headcanon writing exercise #julie and the phantoms

[daintyduck99]

"sorry, that was my first kiss." "i could tell." "...." "i'm kidding!" for some reason this gives me Willex vibes

Alex prides himself on his motor skills.

They're what make him an excellent drummer, and an awesome surfer, to borrow Reggie’s words. He rarely ever sends a stick flying or has a wipe out.

So it's a little infuriating when he wipes out on the beach, all because some smarmy, laughing asshole wasn't paying attention.

Then they shake their hair out, apologizing all the while with sincerely smiling eyes, and offer Alex a hand up, and oh, oh.

They're strong, and beautiful, and maybe not such an asshole, after all.

It's still infuriating that Alex loses control of his motor skills again. His knees buckle.

The beautiful surfer just laughs, not unkindly, and grips his hand tighter.

“Whoa, dude. I really pancaked you, huh?”

“Uh.”

Alex swallows, grimacing internally. Apparently he's lost all ability to function.

He tries again.

“Yeah. I should…my board…”

They hum. Their fingers slide out of Alex's in a way that sends sparks down his spine, and he has to work to suppress a shiver.

Alex's board suddenly obscures his vision. He jumps, only for his lips to twitch reflexively into a smile as they huff a laugh.

“Easy, Adonis.” Their easy grin pops out from around the board. “I'm Willie.”

Alright, okay. Just say your name. Your heart's pounding but it's fine! Just. Say it.

“And I'm not a horse.”

Great! Awesome.

If God is real, maybe he'll take mercy and smite Alex now, or send a tsunami.

But Willie shrugs, seemingly undeterred.

“Well, if you were, you'd be a pretty horse.”

A laugh crawls out of Alex's throat. It's not cute, like Julie's nervous little giggle when she's flirting with someone. It's. Um.

It kind of sounds like he's choking on sand.

All he really knows is that he's doing everything wrong, but Willie must like a challenge, or maybe they have a soft spot for awkward introverts. They coax Alex's name out of him, and get him to join them in the water, where he slowly relaxes.

He's in his element again, and it's easier to laugh and smile and yell and grapple with Willie. It's almost like being with the guys.

Then they go under, and come up laughing and sputtering, grasping each other's elbows, and Willie's eyes flit to Alex's lips, and it's not like being with the guys at all.

Not with how warm he feels, or the way his heart flutters, or when a shaky breath spills from his lips as Willie slowly leans in.

Alex lets his eyes fall shut, breathing out shakily again as their noses bump. His hands are locked on Willie's elbows.

They laugh quietly, with the same warmth that was just shining in their eyes, and anchor Alex with a gentle hand on his jaw.

Their lips touch softly, almost…tenderly.

Alex sighs, melting into the warmth seeping between them in every point of contact, and Willie deepens the kiss.

It should freak him out, but he's floating.

Distantly, he just tries to copy what Willie does. Eventually, they have to stop for air.

Willie laughs breathlessly. “Damn, Adonis.”

“Sorry,” Alex mumbles, ducking his head as the freakout hits. “That was my first kiss.”

“I could tell.”

Alex's head snaps up. He scowls, stung.

It's one thing to hear it inside his head. His brain is a rude, anxious bitch. But this…

Maybe his first impression wasn't so off.

“Alex? Alex!”

A frantic hand is flying in front of his face.

“I was kidding!” Willie exclaims, and something loosens in Alex's chest as he searches Willie's eyes. Guilt and panic swirl there in equal measure. “I'm sorry.”

Alex huffs a laugh. “Okay, yeah. I can tell.”

Willie cocks his head. He mirrors Alex's smile.

“That phrase is gonna haunt me, huh?”

And it does, for the rest of their lives.

#first kiss prompts #willex #I'm not usually inspired to write for them but you are SO correct #ficlets with ash #julie and the phantoms

[michelangelinden]

@latinposeidon said this, I said "bet" (to myself), here we go.

Willex. 800 words. Rated T (for language).

It's—kinda become a thing. Willie pulling Alex in to kiss him by whatever he can grab of him.

At first it had just been his hand, when they were walking and Willie was getting tired, they'd gently tug at his hand, Alex would turn, and Willie would pull a little more to get him to press his lips to theirs.

Then there were obviously times where Alex had been out of reach, for whatever reason, where Willie would reach out a hand until he had been able to grab Alex's sleeve and tug at it like a toddler to get his attention, and then some more for Alex go get what Willie wanted (to be smooched, if that wasn't clear).

One time, when they were getting more comfortable in their relationship and both ultimately bolder, Willie had slipped a finger through Alex's beltloop and twisted him into his arms before pressing their lips together. If Alex wasn't so distracted by Willie kissing him senseless, he'd have melted right into the floor by the action. In the back of his mind he remembers Reggie and Julie giggling somewhere in the background.

Alex's favourite way for Willie to pull him in (until now at least) was when Willie had grabbed a handful of the front of Alex's hoodie the second they reached each other after a great gig. The kiss had been crushing, urgent (incredibly hot, if Alex could say so himself) and he thought about it for weeks. Especially because a few minutes later, when they were talking, nerves calmed a little, Willie had hooked a finger through Alex's necklace and used that to get him closer again (neither worried about breaking the necklace because there wasn't much tugging needed to get Alex to kiss Willie again).

Now there's a new competitor for "favourite way Willie uses to pull Alex in."

It's at band practice. Willie is sitting on the couch, vibing, being their biggest fan, clapping loudly after every song. They're having a small break before focusing on their newest song, and Alex walks over to the couch because he knows Willie has to leave soon to get to something. Willie is already getting up, ready to tell him their goodbyes.

"You really can't stay until the end of practice?" Alex asks with a small pout.

"You'll literally see each other tomorrow," Luke chimes in from somewhere by the piano.

"Shut up!" Alex calls back and suppresses a roll of his eyes.

Willie in front of him giggles and it immediately pulls Alex's attention back to him.

"I'll literally see you again tomorrow," Willie repeats teasingly. Their hands find Alex's waist, slowly sliding down to his hips.

This time Alex does roll his eyes, although very fondly. "God forbid I wanna spend time with my boyfriend."

"Well, the boyfriend is very sorry he has to leave now, but they promise to be back for practice tomorrow." Willie's thumb dips underneath the waistband of Alex's sweats and it's only mildly distracting. (Very mildly.)

"That is acceptable," Alex manages to respond.

"Are you gonna play Long Weekend for me tomorrow?" Willie asks. He's blinking up at Alex like he sometimes does when they're trying to convince him to do something illegal with them. Their hands slide to Alex's front and begin fiddling with the strings of his sweats. Now it's getting really distracting.

"I—I'm sure that can be arranged." Alex swallows. "I'll suggest it."

Willie smiles. "Thanks, baby."

Alex doesn't get to respond anything, just feels the tug at the strings where Willie pulls at them to pull him in. They kiss him, slow and innocently sweet, and before Alex can consider reciprocating, Willie is already pulling back.

"See you tomorrow," he says, ties a bow into the strings, pecks Alex's cheek, and then turns and exits the garage.

Alex stares after them. He feels like he left his brain somewhere around "Long Weekend".

The entire garage is silent around him.

"What did I just witness?" Luke asks.

Alex responds by slowly lowering himself to the ground.

"Gimme—gimme a sec," he announces before he's fully lying down on his back, eyes towards the ceiling.

It takes him too long to fully comprehend what just happened.

Reggie doesn't hesitate to drop down on his stomach next to him, propped up on his elbows, chin in his palms, legs kicking.

"So, how are we feeling about that?" he asks cheekily.

"I need to process this," Alex responds weakly.

Behind his eyes runs the scene he just experienced, Willie's expression, the petname, them pulling at his fucking pants' strings of all things.

"Can we expect this to be done before the end of practice?" Luke pipes up.

"Let the boy suffer," Julie says, "he just got knocked out cold by his own boyfriend."

"Do you wanna plan a revenge attack?" Reggie asks Alex, entirely too invested.

"I don't—I can't—" Alex says uselessly, still not recovered.

That person was gonna be the death of him.

#love this concept #no beta we die like Alex in this #i wrote this instead of reviews at work #it had to be done #thank you for this good good post Tyler #julie and the phantoms #willex #alex mercer #willie jatp #linden writes stuff

[jatpanddescendantsfanartdump]

Willie: my boyfriend is too tall for me to kiss him on the lips, what should I do?

Reggie: kick him, then when he kneels down in pain, kiss him

Julie: tackle him

Luke: kick him in the shin

Flynn: dump him

Alex: no to all of those, just ask me to lean down!

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #alex mercer #jatp willie #willex #alex is too tall for willie

[meggie-jolly]

For the ship kiss ask: Willex - 19

Thank you for your prompt, I'm sorry for taking so long, my week was pretty busy. Here is my take on the prompt, I hope you enjoy reading it:

A few months after their fateful Orpheum performance Julie and the Phantoms had scheduled their first actual paid gig. They were the main event, not opening for another band and it wasn't and open mic. They had actually been hired, not as a last minute desperate replacement, but deliberately. There were flyers and posters. It had been announced on the club's website and social media and of course Flynn had posted about it on their own social media multiple times as well. Not that Alex really understood all of that, he mostly didn't care and just nodded along enthusiastically whenever Flynn and Julie got excited about how many likes they got or who shared their posts in a story or something. 

It didn't matter, this was their first real gig as Julie and the Phantoms, it was starting in ten minutes and Alex was a mess. There hadn't been time for stage fright before their Orpheum performance with all the zapping and the being captured by Caleb and it felt like he was getting double the dose this time. Also, this time it wasn’t live or death, so to speak. Oddly, that made him even more nervous. 

Alex was pacing up and down the alley behind the club, unable to go back inside and wait in the green room with Julie, Luke and Reggie. He checked his watch anxiously, he would have to go in soon, if he wanted to go on stage with the others and not be pulled in by Julie's… whatever it was that made them appear when she sang. 

Maybe one mare round of pacing would calm him down. Or practicing the trick where he twirled his drumsticks in the air and caught them just in time for his solo. — Of course he dropped them and just as he was bending down to pick them up, he heard the distinct woosh of a ghost appearing. 

"Sorry, I'll be right in, give me just another min…" he mumbled, expecting it to be Luke or Reggie, but when he looked up, it was Willie. "Oh, it's you. I didn't know you would come."

Willie grinned at him in the calming way he did. "Of course I came. You invited me, didn't you. And I haven't gotten the chance to hear you play yet." 

Alex nervously pushed his hair back behind his ear. "Thank you, but maybe don't expect too much from me this time. I haven't been this nervous before a gig since the early 90s. Do you think it's possible of a ghost to get injured by their should bounded object? Because with my luck I'll manage to poke myself in the eye with a drumstick when attempting to throw them."

He was rambling, he knew that, but at least he wasn’t pacing. 

Willie softly put his hand on his shoulder. 

“You’ll be great. You guys are amazing and bursting with talent.” 

“You haven’t heard us play yet.” 

“You rocked the Orpheum, obviously your guys are good. And Caleb is a terrible person, but he knows his music and would never let anyone play at his club who wasn’t good.”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

“Interesting point you make there.” 

He took a deep breath and focused on Willie’s hand on his shoulder. 

“Ok, I think I’m ready to go in. Thanks Willie.”

Willie smiled widely. “Anytime Hotdog. And just in case…,” he leaned forward to press a kiss to Alex lips.

“For luck,” he explained before poofing out and leaving Alex speechless and thoroughly distracted from his stage fright. 

You can find it on AO3.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #willex #willie jatp #alex mercer #alex mercer/willie #ficlet #my writing #ask #prompt fill

[innytoes]

57 for Willex + Lancelot

Of course this is set in the Care and Feeding of Dragons verse.

"Morning, Dad!" Willie called, all but skipping into the kitchen. His dad was sitting at the kitchen island nursing a coffee, glaring at him blearily. He'd never really gotten used to the fact that no matter what time Willie got up, he was go-go-go. It was still just as funny now as it was when he was a kid. He started grabbing stuff from around the kitchen, maybe making a little more noise than necessary.

"What's wrong with cereal?" Dad complained, as he started measuring out flour.

"Alex is coming over for breakfast today," Willie told him. "So I'm making pancakes."

"Is he now?" Dad asked, before leaning over to give him sad puppy eyes. "What about your beloved father? Does he get pancakes?"

"What's wrong with cereal?" Willie snarked back, laughing when Caleb threw him a glare. "I'll make you pancakes if you promise to leave us alone to eat ours."

"Oh yes, I wouldn't want to interrupt your romantic date," Dad said. "You can have the dining room all to yourselves. I'll stay in here, with the coffee maker."

"Deal," Willie agreed. He went on to make the pancakes, loudly mixing (in the metal bowl for maximum noise) while Dad sipped his coffee. He was just pouring the first pancakes out on the griddle when the doorbell rang.

Just as planned.

Listen, it wasn't Willie's fault that Dad hadn't caught on to Alex living with them yet. Alex was too worried that Dad would say no and kick him out, which would mean he'd have to go live in the garage that Sunset Curve rented as a studio. Willie had tried to convince him that Caleb totally wouldn't mind, especially not with Alex' sad 'my parents don't want me back because I'm gay' backstory, but well, the anxiety brain weasels in his head won out.

Also, like, Willie kind of liked the chaos and sneaking around so he didn't push too hard. So every morning Alex would slip out of Willie's window, over the porch roof down one of the fancy support beams and pretend to come over, and every night Willie would say goodbye and then sneak him back in. Or, if Dad was working, just hide him in his room and pretend to be asleep when Dad got home. Or stage it so he'd been alone in the living room all evening.

So maybe he had to make some extra noise to drown out the sounds of Alex climbing down out of his window, with Dad already up. Not exactly a hardship for Willie. He liked being loud.

"I'll get it, don't leave the stove unattended," Dad said, bringing his coffee to the door and greeting Alex. It was always cute, the way Alex still stumbled over 'Caleb, Mister Covington, sir' after how long they'd been dating. Willie grinned, leaning over the island to press a kiss to Alex' cheek as Caleb made him a cappuccino with his fancy coffee maker.

He listened to his boyfriend make awkward small talk with his dad about 'if he got home alright' last night, going from Boring Normal Pancakes to Fun Pancakes with the last of the batter. A bat for Dad. Some (slightly lumpy) drum sticks for Alex. And a skateboard for himself. He placed those on the tops of the three stacks.

"Okay, done!" he said, dumping Dad's plate in front of him before dragging Alex to the dining room with him before he could roll his eyes.

The dining room, which was set up nicely, with a table cloth, the fancy silverware, and a small bouquet of flowers. On the seat opposite to Willie's, there was a fancy-looking box.

"Did I forget an anniversary?" Alex squeaked.

"Not unless I forgot it too," Willie said, going over to the Mysterious Box. It had Alex' name on it. He put down his plate, turning to Alex. "It's for you!"

Alex slowly approached, apprehensively shaking the box a little. It didn't sound like a bomb or anything. "You promise this isn't some kind of prank?"

"Hotdog, I swear it's not. Not from me, anyway." Did Luke and Reggie manage to break into their house? Dad had a great security system. Even though Willie had sometimes felt it was more to keep him In than it was to keep burglars Out. "Open it!"

"Okay," Alex said, putting the box on the table and using a fork to carefully lift the lid off at an arm's length. Willie hid behind him, peering over his shoulder, just in case it was some kind of glitter bomb.

When nothing happened, they moved closer, peering into the box.

Willie gasped. Inside was a soft, perfect, light pink dragon. It was the same one as Lancelot, except not squished and cuddled and spilled jam and glitter and paint on and washed for more than a decade.

"He's perfect," Alex said, gently lifting the dragon out of the box and hugging him close.

"Dude!" Willie said. "There's something on his tail!" He gently undid the ribbon. It was a key. A very familiar looking key.

"Well, if you weren't going to give him one, I thought I would," Dad said. He was standing just outside the dining room, leaning on the door frame, obnoxiously sipping his coffee. Keeping his promise, while still trolling the heck out of them.

"You knew?" Alex said, sounding scared.

"You boys aren't as subtle as you think," Dad said, smirking. "And if Alex is going to be living here, he needs his own stuffed animal."

"That's right," Willie agreed. "We take stuffed animals very seriously in this house."

Alex still looked a bit lost, hugging his dragon close. "You mean I can stay?" he whispered.

"Of course," Dad, coming into the dining room and putting a hand on Alex' shoulder. "You're always welcome here, Alex. How about we discuss the details after your romantic breakfast?" He winked at Willie.

Willie didn't even pretend to be mad, just catching his dad in a hug. "Thanks, Dad." All the sneaking around had been fun, but he'd known it would end up like this anyway. Well, he figured there's be more shouting first, but this was better.

"Wait, if you take stuffed animals so seriously, does that mean your dad has one too?" Alex asked Willie, as Dad retreated to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, he has a big squishy bat I won for him at the fair when I was eleven," Willie said proudly. It still lived on Dad's fancy armchair in his bedroom.

"I use it to scream my frustrations into when my son does things like sneak his boyfriend in and out of the house for weeks!" Dad called.

"DAD! Stop ruining our romantic breakfast!" Willie called back, and Alex laughed, gently placing his new dragon on the chair next to him.

Yeah, things were going to be fine.

#julie and the phantoms #little dragon willie #willex #fanfic #lancelot the plush dragon #and his new friend #good dad Caleb #Caleb has a big squishmallow bat #you know he got all emotional when Willie used his hard-earned fair tickets on a bat for him #and yes the jellycat plush lancelot is based off also comes in pink #I wrote a thing

[onlygenxhere]

The Day After Halloween

“Alex…”

“Hey hotdog?”

Alex groaned and tried to roll over but there was a weight on his chest holding him in place. He cracked open an eye to see his boyfriend propped up on his chest grinning at him.

“What time is it?” he croaked.

“Just after eight,” he grinned and reached up pushing Alex’s hair out of his face. “You gotta wake up babe. We got places to go and things to do.”

Willie slid off of him to stand beside the bed and Alex noticed he was completely dressed, except for his shoes.

Alex blinked at him trying to figure out what was going on. Last night was Halloween and they’d had a huge party in the apartment with the other guys. It had been fun but it had also been a lot for him.

The last of their guests hadn’t left till nearly two in the morning.

He’d been asleep maybe five hours which probably explained how Willie had managed to get up, get dressed and lay back on top of him all without waking him up. He had been, and still was, exhausted both mentally and physically.

“Why am I getting up?” He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Why are you dressed?”

“Alex,” Willie laughed, “It’s the day after Halloween. We have to go hit up all the Halloween stores for the sales before they pack up for the next ten months.” He shook his head at him like he should have known although Alex didn’t remember having this conversation or ever going shopping with Willie the day after Halloween before.

Although in Willie’s defense they didn’t live together this time last year.

He had just pushed himself up to sitting in an attempt to wake up a little more and wrap his very tired brain around what his boyfriend was trying to get him to do when their bedroom door flew open and Reggie rushed in with Luke right on his heels.

“Why aren’t you up yet?” Reggie plopped on the end of his bed and smacked his leg still under the covers. “Why isn’t he up yet?!” he frowned at Willie.

“Come on man!” Luke was bouncing just inside the doorway. “The good skeletons are gonna get gone if we’re not there when the doors open and they’re half off!”

Alex looked back and forth between his best friends. “What is wrong with you two?” Neither one of them were particularly morning people and here they were acting like it was Christmas morning not November 1st.

Reggie scoffed. “Nothing,” He bounced up and down on the end of his bed.

There was a loud sigh and Alex looked up to see Julie leaning in the doorway sipping on a cup of coffee looking only slightly more awake than he felt.

“They decided hot chocolate and Halloween candy was a good idea for breakfast this morning.” She said quietly before taking another long sip of her drink. She was also dressed and ready to go despite being much more subdued than the other three.

Alex turned to Willie with raised eyebrows. “What did you have for breakfast?”

“Same as those two,” Willie shrugged as he gestured at Luke and Reggie. “I just handle my sugar better.”

“Uh huh,” Alex chuffed.

“Come on!” Reggie started to pull on his blankets and Alex grabbed it quickly before this innocent conversation turned R rated.

“Stop Reg!”

Reggie let go and threw his hands up like he’d been burned. “Oh crap, are you naked?”

He’d been trying to ignore the fact that he’d been having this conversation with all of them in his room with no shirt on but now that Reggie had pointed it out he was feeling even more self-conscious.

“Alright Willie!” Luke said as he and Willie high fived without looking at each other.

That was not helping.

“Ok, okay!” Alex kicked Reggie off the end of the bed. “If I’m going to get dressed everyone needs to get out but Willie if he wants.”

Reggie bounced back up from the floor with a smile. “Sweet! We need to leave in twenty minutes if we’re gonna be there when they open.”

“We’ll fix a travel cup of coffee for you dude.” Luke said giving him finger guns before he slid past Julie with a quick kiss to the top of her head.

Julie mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ before she left too, closing the door behind her.

Alex sighed and fell back against the headboard looking up at his boyfriend shaking his head. “It’s a good thing I already love them because they are a lot.”

Willie grinned mischievously before climbing on top of him for the second time this morning, straddling his hips and sitting back on his thighs.

“Am I too much too?” Willie ducked his head and bit his lip before looking up at Alex from under his lashes adorably.

“Never,” Alex reached up to pull Willie down into a soft kiss.

They broke apart but instead of pulling away so Alex could get up Willie moved down to kiss his neck.

He laughed and then gasped when he felt Willie’s hands sliding along his torso.

“I thought we needed to get ready to go?”

“We have twenty minutes.” Willie whispered as he pulled back to wink at him. “I only need ten.”

Alex swallowed and nodded never one to turn down Willie when he had that look in his eyes.

It actually took fifteen minutes but they still managed to get to the store in plenty of time to get some great deals.

Then they all went out and had lunch together before heading home and going to their own rooms for afternoon naps and more alone time.

Halloween may be Willie’s favorite holiday but Alex would contend the day after was even better.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #willex #happy willex wednesday #willex wednesday #the day after halloween should be a holiday all it's own #the high five is from owen's part as chad on acapulco #gang's all here

[legolasghosty]

kiss out of spite for willex plz and thank you (if this isn't too late I'm so behind lol)

You are absolutely not too late!!! I'm just very behind, lol! Hope you enjoy!

"Hey Hotdog," Willie says as he slides onto the bench beside his boyfriend, his board under his arm.

"Hi," Alex responds, that familiar smile crossing his face as he leans in to peck them gently on the mouth in greeting. "How was the ride over?"

"Great, all the dogs are out!" Willie answers. One of the things that makes this cafe one of his and Alex's date spots is that it's not too far to walk (or skate) to from either of their apartments. And the warm, spring weather makes it an easy place to meet up.

Alex laughs. "Oh I know, Reggie hasn't stopped texting the guys and I pictures all day."

Willie claps a hand to his chest in mock offense. "And he hasn't sent any to me?! I thought we were friends."

"Nope, you've been spared the spam of puppy pictures, he definitely likes you more than me," Alex argues lightly.

"What, you don't appreciate him sharing the cuteness of his day with you?" Willie teases.

The barista calls out Alex's name before the drummer can reply. Alex holds up a finger, as if to say Hold that thought, then rises and heads for the counter. Willie glances towards the menu board. Right, cafe, he should probably get something. They wonder if that new chocolate thing comes in decaf.

"Okay, I got one of the berry lemonades and one of this dutch chocolate mocha," Alex says, placing a tall glass and a large mug on the table. "Which do you want?"

Willie feels their face warming as they realize that Alex ordered drinks for both of them. "Um, I'm good with either," he says, trying to translate the way his heart skips a beat into a smile Alex can read. "Thank you."

Alex groans playfully. "Look, we both know I can't make decisions, so pick a drink, Covington." He sits down on the bench beside Willie and nudges both drinks in their direction.

Willie hesitates, glancing back and forth between the cups. "This is decaf, right?" he asks after a second, tapping the rim of the mug.

"Yep, can't have you going hyper or me throwing up," Alex confirms.

"I'll try that one then," Willie decides, wrapping both hands around the hot ceramic and lifting it.

"Perfect," Alex declares, taking a sip of the lemonade. "You'll have to tell me if it's good though, looked interesting."

"Will do." Willie takes a sip of the beverage, recoiling slightly when it burns their tongue. "Thank you," they repeat.

"Of course," Alex says, though the pink in his cheeks betrays his casual tone. "Gotta keep my partner well hydr-" He cuts himself off, probably realizing that drinking coffee is the opposite of hydrating. "Happy to," he finishes after a second.

Willie lets it go, since Alex already seems embarrassed. "So about all those dog pictures Reggie sent you," they hint instead, raising an eyebrow.

Alex chuckles, seeming glad for the change of topic. "What, you want to see them that bad?" he questions, incredulous. "There's a lot of them."

"Gimme!" Willie declares, reaching for the pocket of Alex's pink hoodie, where his phone usually resides.

"Okay okay okay," Alex giggles, holding up one hand in surrender while grabbing the device with the other.

He unlocks it and leans closer so Willie can see the screen. Feeling brave, Willie wraps an arm around his waist to guide him even closer. Alex's ears are turning pink, but he carefully slips his own arm around Willie's shoulders.

"So..." Alex hums, scrolling back through the Sunset Curve group chat on his phone, past dozens of pictures and messages. "Yeah all of this is from today," he continues, still scrolling. "But here's the first one I think."

Willie coos at the blurry picture of a couple of golden labs wrestling near a playground. Next is a spaniel on a walk with their human. Then a dog walker being nearly dragged across the sidewalk by four dogs of various sizes. Willie laughs at that one.

Alex scrolls down to the next one, but someone loudly clearing their throat pulls both of their attention away from the screen. On the other side of their table stands a tall, white man in jeans and a flannel shirt. He also has a very deep frown on his face.

"Hey, what's up?" Willie asks cautiously. He feels Alex's arm tense around his shoulders.

"What's 'up'," the guy snaps, putting air quotes around the second word, "is that you two are being all rowdy over here and bothering my family."

The guy has a slight southern accent, but the look on his face is anything but hospitable. Willie glances across the cafe to see a woman and three kids, probably all under the age of 10, a few tables away. The kids are making more noise than he and Alex were though.

"Sorry," Alex says quickly. "We weren't trying to, we'll be quieter."

The guy doesn't seem satisfied by that, which doesn't surprise Willie. They're pretty sure they know what this is actually about.

"You'd better get real quiet," the man says, taking a step closer. "I don't need you people exposing my kids to all your unnatural tenancies."

Willie feels Alex shrinking into their side and resists the urge to punch this guy in the face. Sure, they're both well aware that jerk homophobes are everywhere. But right now? Really? Alex is barely back from having to spend a weekend with his homophobic parents for a family reunion. Can't this jerk just mind his own business?

"With all due respect," Willie responds, his tone icy, "I think your kids aren't going to be eternally traumatized by me and my boyfriend being on a date while they're drinking hot chocolate in the same cafe. Please leave us alone."

"You people got some nerve," the man growls, one fist clenching.

Willie slides the hand that isn't on Alex's waist into his pocket, reaching for his pepper spray.

"Sure, we have guts," Alex cuts in, startling both the man and Willie. "But not because we're doing anything wrong. We're brave for still being out here when people like you are here too. People who want us dead just because we're queer."

Willie feels a rush of pride for his boyfriend in his chest. They know just how much Alex has had to fight against the homophobia drilled into him from an early age. They know all about how much pain it causes him when his parents continue to pretend that he isn't gay. They know how terrifying these situations are for the both of them. And Alex is standing up for them anyways.

"Yeah, and we're not going anywhere," Willie adds, feeling Alex's trembling. "It's not like being gay is anything new. It's just a part of humanity, whether you like it or not. So you might as well give up and leave us alone, because your big man act is just pathetic." He channels every bit of his dad into that last sentence. "Now either leave us be or we'll call the cops."

The guy splutters for a minute, then storms off. Alex just stares after him for a long moment, then turns to Willie with a nervous smile.

"You okay?" the drummer asks, brushing a strand of hair away from their face.

"Yeah, you?" Willie responds, catching Alex's hand with their own.

Alex nods. "I think so. I just wasn't really expecting that I guess."

"Me either," Willie says, taking in a deep breath.

He glances back over at the man's table to see him snapping at his kids to finish their drinks so they can leave. They can't help the smirk that pulls at their lips. The two of them did that. They stood up to that jerk and drove him off. Together.

"You did great," he tells Alex, squeezing his hand.

"Right back at you," Alex chuckles, his smile growing a bit. The drummer steals a look over at the other table as well. "Geez, sucks to be that guy's kids," he comments.

"Yeah," Willie agrees sadly. "Maybe he'll get better?"

Alex just shakes his head. Willie wonders if he reminded the drummer of his dad at all. But now isn't for thinking about jerks, they tell themself. Today is for having fun and being back together.

"Hey, you wanna tick that dude off a bit more?" Willie asks, raising an eyebrow and grinning.

Alex huffs a laugh. "Depends, what did you have in mind?"

Instead of verbally answering, Willie moves his arm from Alex's waist to cup the back of his neck. They move in closer, pausing a few inches away from his face to wait for an answer. Alex smirks and closes the distance between them in a warm, solid kiss.

Willie lets go of Alex's hand to cup his jaw as the drummer's fingers slide into their hair. It's firm and steady and it's not long before they're both smiling too much to keep kissing. The glare the homophobe shoots them as he herds his family out the door just makes them laugh.

"I missed you," Alex breathes into the space between them. "I know I wasn't actually gone for that long, but..."

"I get it," Willie responds softly. "I missed you too."

They separate fully after another minute. Willie's coffee is getting cold, but they don't really mind. "So my place after this?" he suggests. "We can get takeout for dinner and watch some cheesy gay romcom or something?"

"Sounds perfect," Alex agrees.

The End

#legolas tag #julie and the phantoms #legolas ask #jatp #jatp fanfic #alex mercer #willex #willie jatp #tw homophobia #but the homophobe gets told off #win for the gays! #hope y'all like it!!! #took me wayyyy too long to write but that's fine

[missjoolee]

20 questions writer meme!

Tagged by @onlygenxhere, Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 15 (I keep meaning to move tumblr fic over though)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 62,690

3. What fandoms do you write for? Julie and the Phantoms like half Nancy Drew CW (it was a crossover)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A JatP Untitled Goose Fic 🦢⚠

I Hit Back a Little Louder

Oh My God, They Were Gymmates

A Kitty on My Foot and I Want to Touch It

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Ehhhhhh unreliably. I want to but get anxiety. I've been working on it and have done a lot better on more recent fic than older ones.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Me? Angst? Psh. girl please. i only tease the angst at friends via ps i love you au (😘) but like. maybe ch 2 of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up or i've had some semi angst adjacent drabbles on tumblr. I guess. I'm not about that life.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most are fairly open-ended but headed towards HEA. But i feel like maybe Live It Like It's Meow or Never because Reggie gets to be a cat and take a nap in the sun!

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do not. I'm just starting to get comfortable writing slightly heated kissing 😅 (comfortable she says! HA! she had a mini panic attack writing the kiss in Justice, Over Easy)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Remember that half Nancy Drew CW fandom i mentioned earlier? I did a JATPxND ficlet that went over surprisingly well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? nope. i currently have a hard enough time writing with myself lol

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? i'm assuming this means to write since it's a writers ask game. Juke, but if i bring alex into it much, willie is bound to follow (him anywhere)

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I had a really intense juke dream about a month ago... 2 months ago. that i started writing a scene from because honestly it was a pretty cool premise. but the further i get away from that night, the more other wips are being prioritized. maybe i will just share the morning text ramble of it i did in the group chat because i really do want to share something. I just don't think it will be a written out ficlet.

16. What are your writing strengths? IDEAS. I can see a thing happen and be like "BUT WHAT IF JUKE" for days on end. in apparently very strange places too. I feel like i have rather unusual premise for what i end up writing sometimes.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? despite knowing what a good narrative can look like, i immediately cannot recall it once writing. It's not like it's bad but i feel like it lacks a bit and reflects my short time since starting to write. Also, if i write it the simple dumb way to get it out of my brain. Chances are, it will take me 4 months to go from reading it and saying "well i wrote the thought out. it's there. it's done" unable to write it any different or better, to my editor brain kicking in and figuring out how to really say it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Um. If it's necessary within the realms of the plot and characters it's fine? I'm not multilingual so anything i did would be google translated or asking a friend that speaks it, so i don't really mess around with it. as a reader, if a fic on ao3 says it's in english, i normally don't want half a chapter to be in another language even if it is a native tongue to multiple characters since I don't know what they are saying without using a translator or scrolling to the bottom a/n so /shrug. take that as you will.

19. First fandom you wrote for? jatp. no other fandom i've been a part of has made me go quite this feral.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Picking a favorite is impossible. But I'd say i'm probably currently most proud of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy Up as it was the first (and only) chaptered fic that i've finished and i challenged myself with each chapter. But honestly, i add new elements to each fic i post, whether its learning new html, learning how skins work on ao3, making a gif/picture to go with it, or just challenging myself within the writing like getting more confident with intimacy.

I think I'm supposed to tag people so, @tangledstarlight @story-courty @writerownstory no pressure though!

#tag game #writers game

[floating-in-the-blue]

You know I wanna know more about the Willex RWARB fic you are Totally Not writing of course?

Thank youuu!!! I'm happy to talk about it and just need to, uh, decide which parts to talk about because otherwise I'll just ramble endlessly (I might do anyway).

I hope you're in the mood for angsty because I've been meaning to talk about HUGS for ages now and never found the opportunity.

Okay so I always have opinions about Alex and hugs but they're even sadder in this au. So basically, Alex never really got along with anyone in his (royal) family except for this sister. And she's the only one who would actually hug him a lot and always full of love. And then she dies of an overdose and Alex is left with parents who don't much care about him and an older brother and a king (or queen, not sure whether I'm going with book or movieverse on that one) and all they care about is that he keeps up the royal image and the facade.

They don't hug him.

Nobody really does. Because nobody is really supposed to get that close and there's all those rules and protocols and they don't really include touching the prince.

And Alex keeps to himself and doesn't let anyone get close because he's too afraid and anxious and also a closeted gay! Much too risky.

Until one Luke Patterson crashes into his life, closely followed by Reggie. And weirdly, they seem to care more about him than about him being a prince and he has no choice but to surrender and become their friend. And they are so touchy!! Even when they eventually figure out that's he gay!!!

But of course Alex can't spend as much time with his friends as he would like, especially once out of college, because his family doesn't exactly approve of these friendships. So he mostly back to not being touched at all except in a professional way by make up artists and hair stylists and bodyguards guiding him etc. plus the obligatory hand shaking at all the boring events he has to attend.

Shaan, his equerry/personal assistant never touches him unless strictly necessary.

And then there's Willie. And even in their enemies/rivals phase, he doesn't care about the rules and touches Alex all the time. Handshakes that are silent arm wrestling competitions, slaps to his shoulder that are a little too hard, confrontational nudges.

Alex can't get enough and then he kisses him and there is a whole lot more touching going on once they figure everything out but of course it's not supposed to be serious and Alex is careful but then in Paris it all comes out. That he's never been with anyone before Willie. That he's touch starved as hell. That he misses hugs.

Willie tries to hug him on the spot but they're still in public and also Alex is terrified he'd just shatter apart if Willie hugged him so he laughs it off and they walk on but later, in the hotel room, Willie is determined to give Alex a proper first time, being gentle and taking his time with him and Alex already knows it's a mistake but okay, he'll deal. Only afterwards, Willie doesn't leave and when Alex finally accepts he won't and declares he's going to sleep now and turns away from Willie, Willie scoots close and spoons him from behind and Alex deserves a medal of bravery for not starting to cry right then and there.

Skip forward to more casual sex and things starting to get too serious and Alex finally putting a stop to it only for Willie to chase him back to London and his teary eyed love confession and telling Alex that Alex needs to say "please leave" because otherwise he just won't and Alex is crying too by now but then he just crushes Willie in a hug (say hello to the jatp hug but 120% more dramatic) and it's the very first time he has initiated a hug and now I am having FEELS again.

Also, under no circumstance imagine him being on lock down when the emails get hacked and published for all the world to read and he's cut off from Willie but also his friends and everyone and his whole family is disgusted by and disappointed in him and there's nobody to comfort him and then Shaan appears to show him Willie's speech on his tablet, Willie, who hates making speeches, making a speech about how much he loves Alex and Alex is just sobbing and then Shaan places his hand on Alex's shoulder in total violation of protocol and it's not enough, not ever, but it's also more than he has gotten from anyone else and Shaan and his hand stay there while Alex sobs his heart out.

:( (sorry for the feels)

#yeo writes #the willex rwarb au I'm not writing #best gay ghosts #sad phantoms #willex #phantomfloat

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

I have such soft hair and nobody is playing with it!

Moar from an old @innytoes prompt list (I don't know what's happening but my brain just keeps making things)

The friends have filled up the Molina’s living room: Willie has their head in Alex’s lap and their legs propped up on Luke’s. Reggie is half sitting on them and half sitting behind them, his butt wedged between Willie and the back of the couch. Julie is at Luke’s feet, her own legs intertwined with Flynn’s who is wrapped up on the loveseat with Carrie. 

They’re all talking animatedly, hands filled with pizza flying through the air. It’s honestly a wonder that nobody’s gotten sauce or cheese to the face.

Willie sighs loudly but nobody seems to notice, each wrapped up in their respective conversations.

They try again.

This time Alex stills, initiating a domino effect and after a moment the entire room stops.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

Willie sighs again, softer this time and much less exaggerated, “I have SUCH soft hair and nobody is playing with it!”

Alex rolls his eyes and the others laugh. “Do you want pizza in your hair? Because that’s how you get pizza in your hair.”

Another sigh. “I guess I can wait. If I have to.”

“Dramatic today, are we?”

“Today?” Carrie raises an eyebrow with a teasing smile.

Willie grins, “it’s just SO soft. Begging to be played with. Really.” They look up at Alex, giving him their absolute best puppy dog eyes (he’s been practicing. Luke and Reggie have been phenomenal teachers, not that they needed much help).

Alex rolls his eyes again, wiping his fingers off now that he’s finished his pizza. “You are an absolute delight,” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm, before leaning down to kiss his boyfriend. When he sits back up, his hands automatically make their way to Willie’s hair and they beam up at him.

“I am, thanks for noticing!”

“Happy?”

Willie lets their eyes close, the feeling of Alex’s fingers carding through their hair serving the intended purpose. “Mmmm… always.”

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #alex mercer #willie jatp #willie nolastname #willex #i should have saved this for wednesday but I have no chill #fanfic #nobodys fics #I was honestly hoping for hand to forehead level dramatics but this happened instead