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The thing was, Reggie didn’t get sick . Ever. Which means whatever was happening to him - whatever was enough for him to miss school for a whole day - was serious, and Bobby was ready to punch whatever the hell thought it had the right to deprive him of boyfriend kisses for a day. “B I’m sure he’s fine,” Luke assures him as he throws his arm over his shoulders. His hand ruffles Bobby’s hair and Bobby ducks out of reach, shoving Alex into Luke’s chest instead. Which… was a bad choice on his part because now Luke was swapping spit with the dork of a drummer and Bobby had to make sure they didn’t run into anything as they continued to walk down the street.
“Lu, come on,” Bobby complains, tugging at Alex’s sweatshirt sleeve. Alex’s hand swats him away and his other hand combs through the back of Luke’s hair and smiles against his boyfriend’s nose. “Guys, I’m serious he’s probably in the hospital or something!” Bobby squeaks when Luke trips him and he tumbles into a puddle. Bobby pulls himself up, grumbling in complaint as he brushes off his knees. “Asshole,” Bobby sticks his finger into his mouth then grins wickedly as he slides it into Luke’s ear. Luke groans and pulls his head away from Bobby’s finger and Bobby gives him a shit-eating smile.
“Bobbyyyyyyyy,” Luke complains as he grabs Bobby’s wrist and wipes the finger off on Alex’s shoulder, who shudders in response and kisses the top of Luke’s head.
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Alex mumbles and he snuggles into Luke’s side. “Here’s Reggie’s homework,” Alex shoves the extra bag into Bobby’s chest and he wraps his arms around it tightly, pressing his face into the top of it. “I finished everything except history and he’s usually good in that department.” Alex sneaks a disgustingly long kiss from Luke. “We’d go with you but -”
“- you have a reservation for two at the carnival I know,” Bobby rolls his eyes and pulls on the bag so he has both his own and Reggie’s against his back. “He’ll gripe about it the next time he sees you though,” Bobby says half-warning them. Luke chuckles warmly and wraps his arm around Alex’s waist.
“He can gripe all he wants,” Luke kisses Alex’s cheek. Gross. “But Lex and I have been waiting for this all week Bobbers,” he rests his head on Alex’s shoulder. “Besides, maybe playing nurse to your boycrush will finally get you two to stop with the pining during rehearsals.”
“We do not pine ,” Bobby protests. Wilsons don’t pine, they brood and they are anti-social recluses but they don’t pine for cute bassist boyband hairstyled friends who are nice to him.
“Yes,” Alex nods and reaches out to squeeze Bobby’s bony shoulder reassuringly. “But it’s a problem you can easily fix. If you actually ya know, admit to liking him.” He squeezes Bobby’s shoulder again, then a third time and frowns. “Have you been eating? You know mom always likes having you over if -”
“- I’m fine,” Bobby shoves Alex off of him and backs into a street pole. Luke gives him a pointed look and well. Fuck. If Luke catches onto his lack of eating habit he’d be screwed for sure. “I’ll tell Reggie you guys are two busy swapping spit to visit your favorite bassist.”
“He’s our only bassist.”
“ Bobby .”
“What?”
Luke sighs and runs a hand through Bobby’s hair. “I wish you would stop treating us like we’re stupid, that’s all. We’re your friends, and we care about you.” He looks at Bobby with those big soulful eyes and Bobby had to squeeze his own pair of eyes shut and stare at the ground instead.
“I’m fine,” Bobby repeats without looking up to meet Luke or Alex’s eyes. “I’ll tell Reggie you say hi, he’ll be fine for a day without practice. Have fun at the boardwalk,” he flickers his eyelids up so he can look at Luke and almost regrets it instantly. “Reggie needs me,” Bobby looks back down at his feet. “I’ll give you guys an update during next practice.” He shoves between them as he walks down the street and turns the bend to Reggie’s house instead of his own.
Reggie’s street was… well the vast difference of social class was obvious in the differences of Reggie’s street compared to his own, or even Alex and Luke’s. Reggie’s was the least fortunate of all of them, which meant when it came down to it most of the time they had to figure out ways to help Reggie earn cash for whatever he can’t scrounge up from the shelter at the back of the neighborhood. The houses got cheaper and in worse condition as Bobby walked down it, his arms crossed his chest and he hugged himself tightly, trying to look as unassuming as possible. Reggie’s neighborhood was… well, ghetto, when it comes down to it.
When Bobby finally got to Reggie’s house his feet felt like they were filled with lead. With a heavy sigh he adjusts the position of the backpacks on his shoulders so he could easily crouch low and avoid getting caught by Reggie’s dad, who - judging by the sounds coming from the living room - was currently drunk again. He winces when the sound of a glass breaking sounded through the window and turned the corner to the back of the house, and slid Reggie’s first floor bedroom window up. “Reggie?” He asks, peeking his head in slightly, he didn’t see his friend though, so Bobby slid both bags into the room then pulled himself through the window feet first and shut it quietly behind him. “Reggie?” Bobby asks a little bit louder, scanning the room with his eyes. Reggie’s room was small, there weren’t a lot of places for him to hide. He was too big for under the bed anymore, and the loose floorboards were where he stored his emergency packs so the only logical hiding place was -
“Hi Bobby,” Reggie says softly as he looks up at him, squinting when the light from outside of the closet fills the darkness and flushes the shadows out of the way. Bobby sighs and sinks to his knee, gently checking Reggie over for injuries - he should’ve known better. Reggie doesn’t get sick… the only time he ever stays home sick is if… “hey mama bear I’m okay!” He whispers with a quiet chuckle when he bats Bobby’s hand away from his shoulder. He only used one arm to do it, Bobby was afraid to check the injuries so for now he settles for pulling Reggie into his lap, picking him up to carry him to the bed.
“You’re supposed to tell us if it gets this bad,” Bobby scolds, but it’s only half-hearted. He isn’t really upset at Reggie. Is he ready to knife his dad? Hell yes, but Bobby would never be mad at Reggie for anything. Reggie blissfully ignores his concern and attaches himself to Bobby like a koala, wrapping his limbs around him to get as much warmth as possible. “Hey, hey!” Bobby chuckles and wraps his own arms around Reggie, holding him close and resting his chin on the top of Reggie’s head. “You’re safe now Reg,” he gently rubs Reggie’s arm with his thumb, the finger dragging up and down from elbow to shoulder and Bobby gently kisses the top of Reggie’s head.
“I know,” Reggie mumbles, yawning adorably as he nuzzles into Bobby’s chest. “You keep me safe,” he tucks his face into the nape of Bobby’s neck. Bobby can’t help but smile at how adorable the other boy looked, relaxed and sleepy in his arms. “Sorry I missed school,” Reggie mumbles and rests his chin on Bobby’s shoulder. Bobby chuckles, the sound warm in his chest as he brushes through Reggie’s hair.
“Don’t worry about it my little lion,” he nuzzles his nose into Reggie’s hair and kisses the top of his head. “Lex did your homework and Luke was his emotional support human. You didn’t miss much.” Bobby hugs Reggie a little tighter and keeps him close, turning them so he could spoon Reggie from behind and wrap his arm around his chest, letting himself relax as they snuggle into each other.
“Rawr,” Reggie says with a little giggle, clawing his hand out for fun before he burrows into Bobby’s chest again. “You’re warm,” Reggie hums and Bobby can feel his smile press into his shoulder.
“I am wearing your flannel today,” Bobby points out as he continues to brush his hand through Reggie’s hair, feeling him slowly fall asleep. “Get some rest love,” he kisses Reggie on the nose. “I’ll tell you all about school when you wake up.” The sound of Reggie’s soft lion-like snore fills the air and Bobby keeps his eyes on the bedroom door, just in case. For the most part, Reggie and he were able to get a peaceful night of rest, protecting each other from the monsters that roam the night in their neighborhoods.